CHSS and CEEL Cohort Join Prestigious Study Group in Italy

Montclair State University sent its second annual cohort of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students to Italy in March 2025 to participate in the prestigious Students-Professors Study Group in Reggio Emilia. This innovative, interdisciplinary, international immersion was co-designed and co-taught by Dr. Gina Miele (College of Humanities and Social Sciences) and Dr. Elizabeth Erwin (College of Education and Engaged Learning). The educational experience involved travel to Italy in March, as well as a University online course to learn about the acclaimed Reggio Emilia approach in education. Feedback from students about this international travel experience described it as personally and professionally “transformational” and a “life changing trip.” The incredible in-depth study of the Reggio Emilia pedagogy could not have been achieved any other way than to be fully immersed with other educators in the cultural, educational, and historical Italian landscape from which it all began decades earlier.

Information sessions for the 2026 cohort will be held in May, July, and September. In November 2025, Dr. Miele, in collaboration with the Montclair State University Galleries will host a workshop on campus with NJEEPRE (New Jersey Educators Exploring the Practices of Reggio Emilia). The event will bring Reggio-inspired educators from all over the state to campus and give faculty and students an opportunity to network and continue learning about the Reggio approach to education.