Reflective Essay-Post here

As I go into the school year, I can see several ways that I will be able to incorporate what I have learned about East Asia into my teaching. When I teach the China unit, I would like to provide more of a review of the dynasties that the students studied in the sixth grade before we forge ahead into the Sui Dynasty. I've found a dragon timeline a bit like the one Mary Green at the Bowers Museum has, and I plan on using it as part of this review. I also plan on using more maps in this unit to show the connections in size between China and the U.S. in order to give the students a better perspective. Dr. Dube had several maps in his opening day lecture that I believe would work well in my classroom. There is also a wealth of information about China on the cultural-china website I have written about elsewhere. In addition, I intend to use more primary source material such as I focused on in my final project.

When I teach the Japan unit, I plan to use a lot of the ideas Dr. Miyake brought up during her presentation. The link for lessons on Japan that was provided in the forum by Dr. Dube will also come in handy. I very much like the idea of using the manga version of the Tale of Genji to further interest my students in the literature of the Heian period. I also want to do more with the warrior period's literature, specifically by bringing in part of the Tale of Heike. So many ideas for classroom activities were presented that I am sure to be using them and variations of them for some time to come, but one I am thinking of doing with this unit is writing an obituary for a samurai. I would also like to show The Twilight Samurai at lunch while I do this part of the unit so that interested students could watch this amazing film. Actually, I am considering working with our World Cinema instructor and promoting films throughout the year.

I feel so much more knowledgeable about the three East Asian cultures we studied that I am seriously considering developing an East Asian Studies course as a seventh period enrichment class at our school. I know there is an interest in East Asian history and culture at my school-- I was approached by a student close to the end of last year to moderate an Asian club. I feel comfortable with teaching the history and literature at this point, and I believe I could recruit people from the community to fill in gaps I have regarding art and language. Such a class would give me the opportunity, too, to use the information that I acquired on Korea. I agree with Ying's point about having a wealth of East Asian resources in our backyard, and I now certainly have a treasure trove of materials I feel I can comfortably and competently use in the classroom. I am so looking forward to sharing this wealth with my students.

Reflection on the Seminar Experience

The USCI 2011 Summer Residential Seminar is both educational and informative. It covers a wide range of information about geography, history and culture of East Asia as well as resources that can be useful in our future teaching. Moreover, it provides a forum for us to discuss and share our information and thoughts regarding the material we covered during the session.

As for the educational aspect of the seminars, we had a comprehensive coverage on Chinese geography, history, and culture as well as those of Korean and Japanese. Overall, I gained general knowledge about Chinese, Korean and Japanese geography and history. Some highlights during seminars includes: the impact of Confucianism and Buddhism is to Korea culture and society, the many educational resources and teaching suggestions can be used to teach Japanese literature, and debate can be a powerful tool in teaching not just for understanding Chinese philosophy, culture and literature, but also used for engaging students into critical thinking.

At the beginning of the summer seminar session, we were made aware of the increasingly interconnected world and the important role East Asia is going to play in the world trade and economy. We are facing the challenges of integrating and incorporating the Asian studies and new media into our curriculum teaching. Through the seminars, I not only learned the content materials that I can use in my future teaching but also got some knowledge and ideas on how to integrate the materials into the curriculum. For example, I can use brainstorm to start a lesson. During the lesson, I can make content materials interesting by using anecdotes, legends, and stories. In addition, pictures, cartoons, films, and websites can also be good resources to help students understand the teaching material. Moreover, field trips can give students some real life knowledge and experience about what they learn. Furthermore, I can encourage and engage students to discuss the current events that relate to East Asia and debate on the some interesting issues that can better help them understand about background and culture of East Asia.

In sum, the seminars are intense, comprehensive, informative and educational. As a teacher, I have not only gained a lot of information about East Asia but also obtained many teaching resources about the East Asia countries. Moreover, I have learned many teaching methods that I can use to integrate the knowledge I have obtained into my future teaching. The seminars will help me in many ways in my teaching.

Team: My essay is attached here. Hope you are all well and surviving your first weeks of school. All Best, Arana
edited by agreenberg on 8/26/2011
edited by agreenberg on 8/26/2011

Please find my Reflective Essay attached.
edited by ccable on 8/27/2011

Dylis,
The dragon timeline is at http://resources.primarysource.org/content.php?pid=55748&sid=408003. Enjoy!

Like most people of my generation, my education was minimal in the area of East Asia history, geography, and culture. Prior to August 1st, I had learned more about China and Japan by teaching units to my middle school students than I had in my years as a student. However, choosing to attend the USC-China 2011 Summer Residential Seminar was the wisest decision I have made most recently. Ask anyone who knows me that since coming home from the seminar, I have been sharing enthusiastically with family members, friends, and colleagues much of what I learned about China, Japan, and Korea in nine short days.

How will I incorporate East Asia into my teaching? First of all, my teaching of ancient China in sixth grade and medieval China and Japan in seventh grade will be accomplished with a higher degree of knowledge, energy, interest, and confidence. I now possess a wealth of resources by way of websites, literature, notes, movies, maps, and more, thanks to professors Clay Dube, Jennifer Jung-Kim, Yang Ye, Lynne Miyake, and David Schaberg, and to the Freeman Foundation for endorsing the entire program.

Strategies that were used to teach us at the seminar are valuable ones to take back to the classroom. The philosophies debate, the slides, interpretation of primary source literature, the powerpoint presentations, the field trip to the Japanese gardens at Cal State University Long Beach and to the Bowers Museum in Orange County, the connections made to present-day China, Japan, and Korea, and even the "Dynasties Song" are all tools for me to use in my teaching of East Asia this year.

I have a new understanding of and appreciation for East Asian history, cultures, civilizations, literature, and people that I never had before. I came away from an intense, comprehensive seminar taught by experts who gave me a very memorable experience. There were many "firsts" for me: being a student at USC, watching a Chinese movie and a Japanese movie with subtitles, using the online forum to share and discuss the daily topics, and sampling new foods in Chinatown and Little Tokyo. My new network of colleagues is priceless. I am motivated to teach the East Asian units this year, and I have already planted the seeds with my principal that Chaparral Middle School needs a Zen garden. Thank you one and all!

Attached is the Reflective essay for Maryln Jone
edited by jdarrough on 9/9/2011