Dr. Molly Dunn Explores How Technology Improves Access to Higher Education and Brings Global Perspectives to Teacher Preparation at NDMU
BALTIMORE, Md. — When School of Education associate professor, Dr. Molly Dunn, returned to Malawi in 2025, she saw significant change at the university where she had previously helped faculty strengthen their teaching practices. Her second Fulbright experience gave her the opportunity to study how educational technology could build on that progress and reach more students.
Dr. Dunn completed a Fulbright U.S. Scholar opportunity from January through June 2025 at Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR). The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program is a competitive grant that offers awards in 120 countries for U.S. citizens to teach, conduct research, and carry out professional projects. The project continued work she began during a 2023 Fulbright Specialist visit, when she trained faculty in pedagogy, curriculum design, and student engagement.
Her 2025 project, Harnessing the Power of Education Technology in Malawian Higher Education, focused on how technology could support teaching and learning in ways that reflect local needs and circumstances.
Working with Malawian colleagues, Dr. Dunn conducted a mixed methods reach project, met with students, faculty, and university administrators, and conducted focus groups to understand their experiences with online learning. She was impressed by LUANAR’s progress since her first visit, when online instruction was still relatively new.
“I was really encouraged to see that they had gotten it off the ground,” Dr. Dunn said. “It was functioning really well, and we were able to study the ways in which it could be leveraged further in the future.”
Dr. Dunn’s research examined how educators and students adapt to challenges such as unreliable electricity, limited internet access, and access to devices. The team found that students were making use of the resources available to them, including cellphones and messaging platforms, such as WhatsApp, to access class notes and communicate with professors. They were also devising forward-thinking solutions while leaning into and assisting their peer networks, a core foundation of the Umunthu philosophy that undergirds Malawian culture.
“The ways the university stakeholders in Malawi are adapting to these challenges are redefining what meaningful edtech integration in sub-Saharan Africa might look like,” Dr. Dunn said. “It’s very dynamic. It’s both context-dependent and culturally responsive. It’s grounded in the everyday realities of those who use it, while privileging values of interconnectedness, altruism, and community support.”
Dr. Dunn’s experiences have strengthened her commitment to expanding international education opportunities for NDMU School of Education students. She hopes future teachers can learn from other cultures and communities, broadening their perspectives as they prepare to serve diverse student populations.
Her own cross-cultural experiences began in childhood, when her family lived on a Native American reservation in South Dakota. She later studied abroad in Mexico, taught at an international school in Venezuela, and completed two Fulbright experiences in Malawi. This most recent exchange, she brought her two elementary-aged sons along, where they immersed themselves in Malawian culture and attended international school with students from 58 different countries.
“These types of cross-cultural experiences are foundational. They will change you forever, and they bring back priceless gifts to the communities of which you are already a part,” Dr. Dunn said.
Through international partnerships and other opportunities, Dr. Dunn hopes to help NDMU teacher candidates develop a deeper appreciation for cultures around the world and the connections people share through education.
Established in 1895, Notre Dame of Maryland University (NDMU) is a private, Catholic institution in Baltimore, Maryland, with the mission to educate leaders to transform the world. Notre Dame has been named one of the best “Regional Universities North” by U.S. News & World Report.
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