Bringing Asia To Los Angeles
Students: The Summer Seminar
Los
Angeles Education Demographics
Along with other units in the UCLA International Studies Program (ISOP),
the Center for East Asian Studies is engaged in educational outreach. For seventeen years
ISOP has conducted a two-week summer program for middle and high school teachers which
combines lectures, demonstrations, and curriculum workshops. More than eight hundred
teachers from over one hundred schools have participated in this program, which is
supported by the California State Department of Education and the United States Department
of Education and is the oldest and largest program of its kind in the region. Each
year’s program is organized around a particular theme and participants approach the
theme in small regional seminars. The Center for East Asian Studies and the UCLA Center
for Pacific Rim Studies collaborate in funding and organizing the East Asia/Pacific Rim
seminar. We are available for direct consultation in lesson design and in locating
speakers and other resources to help teachers develop special events such as an
“Asian Culture Day.”
The 1999 Seminar
In 1999 we focused on developments in East Asia since 1800, with particular
emphasis on understanding the dramatic changes in the region since 1945. Focusing on
helping teachers address the California history, social studies, and language arts student
performance standards, we will offer expert presentations on the history and culture of
the era, as well as sessions devoted to exploring ways to use new and old technologies to
help integrate Asian studies into the curriculum. Sessions examined East Asian efforts to
modernize, roads to war and revolution, and recent economic and political changes.
Participants learned how they and their students can use web technology to explore these
topics, collaborate on research projects, and present their findings. Click here to see the
seminar schedule, recommended links, and other activities.
The 1998 Seminar
The 1998 summer program addressed California middle school curriculum needs. We supplied
background information and teaching ideas on the emergence and development of East Asian
cultures in the ancient and medieval periods. Among the presentations was one showing how
teachers can create web-based presentations for their students and how they can use web
bulletin boards to develop student writing skills and to stimulate student discussion of
East Asian topics. Again, worked to support participants after the seminar concludes.
Click here to see the
list of presentations and trips scheduled for the 1998 seminar.
The 1997 Seminar
We interviewed a number of past seminar participants to assess how readily they have been
able to take the content and teaching strategies presented in the summer seminar into
their classrooms. As a result we tailored the 1997 seminar to the specific content and
skill development requirements of the standard California curriculum as well as looking
for situations where incorporation of case studies from Asia would be appropriate (e.g.
units on changes in family organization and units on economic behavior). Click here to see the schedule for the
1997 seminar. We worked with participants in subsequent weeks as they designed
curriculum units and lesson plans for use with their students. Some of these lessons will
be available at this website.
Fee: The fee for the program is $75 including materials, parking, and field trips.
Credit: Participants who complete all seminar requirements (attendance and
participation in all sessions of the seminar and completion of a curriculum development
project) are eligible to receive either Los Angeles Unified School District salary
advancement credit (4 points) or UCLA University Extension (4 units).
Contact: To discuss the program, contact
Clayton Dube
UCLA Asia Institute
(310) 825-0007
cdube@international.ucla.edu
Teaching
about Asia
