- 2007 -
The NCTA-Ohio Study Tour to Japan and Korea

 

 [Ohio Seminar Sites] [Study Tour 2005] [Study Tour 2007] [Past lesson plans]  

 

Japan and Korea: Cultural Convergence and Divergence
June 17 - July 3, 2007

May 19-20 - Columbus Orientation
June 17, 5 pm - Columbus Pre-departure orientation
September 15-16 – Columbus Follow-Up

 

Purpose

This study tour for middle and high school teachers is designed to let you experience firsthand important cultural, historical, and educational aspects of Japan and Korea. During the tour, we will explore Japan and Korea’s past and present, examining how the cultures have converged and diverged. We will visit key cultural landmarks of each country, including palaces, temples, and museums. We will visit schools and observe classes. While we will travel as a group, we will also leave time for you to take charge of your own learning through independent exploration and research. We hope that these many firsthand experiences will provide you with the information, insights, and artifacts you need to help cultivate greater understanding of Japan and Korea in your schools and communities.

Tour Sponsors

Funding for this study tour is made possible through the generous support of the Freeman Foundation. The Foundation is committed to providing educational opportunities about East Asia for American educators and students in grades 6-12. Our tour is offered as a part of the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA), the same program under which OSU offers its Teaching about Asia seminars with the support of our regional coordinating site, Indiana University. NCTA also includes regional coordinating sites at the University of Washington, University of Colorado, Columbia University, and the Five College Center for East Asian Studies ( Smith College).

Tour Leaders

Dr. Mineharu Nakayama (faculty expert on Japan) and Dr. Chan Park (faculty expert on Korea) will lead this study tour. Amy Carey, Assistant Director of OSU’s East Asian Studies Center, and Jiwon Han, Assistant Director of OSU’s Korean Studies Initiative, will coordinate logistics and assist on the tour.

Tour Participants

Vernon Bedel

I am the high school art teacher at Elwood High School in Muncie, Indiana. I grew up in a rural area near Greensburg, Indiana, and worked as a farm hand during my early youth, and subsequently as a truck driver. I have been an artist from an early age, and graduated from Ball State University with a major in visual arts. I became certified to teach through the Industrial Education Department at Ball State. I like outdoor activities, art museums, and honest people. I became interested in Asia while completing a methods course at Ball State. I have traveled to Alaska, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Yukon, and the Virgin Islands.  

Frances Bressman

I teach Japanese, and occasionally World History, at Bloomington Kennedy and Jefferson High Schools in Minnesota. I have been teaching in Bloomington for 14 years and offer Japanese 1-4 including a College in the Schools concurrent enrollment option with the University of Minnesota. I am a graduate of Carleton College with a BA in History and Asian Studies. I have a MED in Second Languages and Cultures from the University of Minnesota and have earned my teaching certificate in Social Studies and Japanese. I lived in Japan for three years after college and taught ESL. I have also lived in India and traveled extensively in Asia and Europe.
I am married and plan to adopt this year.

Nancy Clendenen

I am a 27-year veteran teacher who still feels like I am 25 (well, maybe 35). I enjoy learning and experiencing new ideas, places, and things. I have worked as an educational media specialist for 16 out of the 27 years and the rest has been as a Gifted and Talented Specialist. I have worked with children K-12, from England to the Washington DC area to Ohio. I have taught mostly in urban areas but have had experience with upper/middle class suburban and small town schools as well as a large military elementary school. I have been video conferencing with two Chinese schools for two years now and hope to do the same with a Japanese and/ or Korean school(s).

Sue Coffman

I have taught English at Grandview Heights High School in Ohio since we relocated from Wisconsin in 1975. I got my BS from Wright State University and my MA from OSU. My husband and I have twin sons, now grown, who live in Portland, Oregon and New Mexico, respectively. Our empty nest is located in Grandview, Ohio. For the last nine years I have been teaching seniors--British Literature, AP, and Novels. This Spring Break I took a group of seven students to England and Scotland. I love to travel, but I have never before had the opportunity to visit East Asia!

Carolyn Creighton

When I entered the clearing at Chiczen Itza seeing ruins with my own two eyes, I experienced one of the best social studies lessons ever. It stoked those fires to see the world. Hi! I’m Carolyn Creighton, transplanted Texan to Alabama, with twenty-three years invested in children in public schools; sixteen years in middle school language arts and social studies. For the past seven, I have been the assistant principal of a rural pre-k through 8 th grade school. I finished an Ed.S. in December, 2006; lifelong learning is a goal.

Rhoda Erdman

My passion is teaching. I am a veteran teacher in the Brecksville-Broadview Heights School District near Cleveland, Ohio. In recent years, my concentration has been teaching social studies to sixth graders. I have two children and three grandchildren who call me their “nonna”. My son and his family live in Ohio. Northern Italy is home to my daughter and hers. I enjoy cycling and live adjacent to Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the trails there. Rollerblading, skiing, golf, Italian classes, and travel round out my activities.

Leslie Gilchrist

Hi, my name is Leslie Gilchrist.  I serve as an assistant principal with the Cleveland Municipal School District currently working at a K-8 school.  Prior to this position, I taught English in high school. I live with my standard poodle, Pierre. We spend a lot of time reading, walking, and traveling together although Pierre does very little reading. I parent one super son and a wonderful daughter-in-law who both stay rather busy with my three grandchildren. The Asian culture is my favorite and I look forward to the many aspects we will encounter in Japan and Korea.

Cathy Hart

I am a recently retired teacher and I am enjoying working as a substitute, guest teacher, and tutor. I was privileged to study in Japan for three weeks in October of 2004 with the Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program. I am thrilled to be joining this tour to experience more cities in Japan and to study in Korea. In addition to travel, I love to gather with friends, attend performing art events, visit museums, take long walks, and read. I have a wonderful husband and an incredible daughter who is currently in law school.

Jill Hurley

I am a 1979 graduate of Columbus South High School. I was awarded a scholarship to the Columbus College of Art and Design, and graduated with a BFA, majoring in Fine Arts with a focus on Printmaking. I began teaching children, both for Columbus Parks and Recreation and CCAD Saturday Art classes. I have always had a desire to live by the ocean and in 1989 I moved to the coast of Oregon. I continued to teach children in Oregon, in recreational settings as well as focusing on my own interests as an artist. I returned to Columbus in 1998 to help my mother, who was battling cancer. Her friends persuaded me to get my teaching certification. I have been teaching for Columbus Schools for 7 years, 5 years at my alma mater South High and currently at the Arts Impact Middle School. I enjoy traveling, outdoor activities, hiking, swimming, kayaking, bicycling, painting, gourmet cooking and I recently learned how to scuba dive.

Ellen Miller

This is my twenty-fourth year of teaching, having taught in several school districts in Ohio and New York, I am now in Bexley, Ohio. Most of those years have been as an interventional specialist, however, recently I have been given the opportunity to teach 7th grade world history. This has been a good match because of my love of international travel. I am also a mother of three awesome children. I am a lover of music and animals. I am most interested in how people of different cultures interact with each other. I am always looking for the humane in humanity.

Matt Morrison

A graduate of Michigan State University, I have been teaching at Okemos High School in Michigan for the last 12 years. During this time, I have enjoyed teaching a great variety of courses, including AP US History, World History, History of Film, 20th Century Humanities, French, Economics, and Psychology. My interests are as broad as the classes I have taught, and my favorite activities include traveling, reading, and film. My overseas experience includes a year teaching in the UK on a Fulbright and study abroad for both my undergraduate and graduate degrees in Europe; I am thrilled to be making my first trip to Asia with OSU.

Natalie Mroz

I am a seventh-grade social studies teacher at Bexley Middle School in Central Ohio. I have a BS in Elementary Education and an MA in School/Community Relations, both from OSU. I love traveling and sharing with my students the interesting people and places I experience. I provide my students with authentic learning activities that help them understand and connect with other cultures. We use whatever resources we can to further these goals, including traditional ones, such as books, videos, and letters, and those made possible by technology, such as e-mail and burning DVDs. Studying in Asia will make what I do even better.

Bobbie Mucha

I am the social studies department chairperson at Westerville South High School near Columbus, Ohio where I teach Government, Higher Level International Baccalaureate History, Advanced Placement United States History, and a regular level 10th grade Global Social Studies course. I am a member of the ODE Content Advisory and Range-Finding Committees for the Ohio Graduation Test. I am married to my high school sweetheart and the proud mother of two beautiful physicians, both married. I look forward to being a first-time grandmother when I return from Asia.

Heather Post

I am a resource room teacher at Ionia High School in Michigan. This is my sixth year teaching ninth and eleventh grade students. I am also the assistant head coach of the debate and forensics team. In my spare time, I love to read, crochet, knit, quilt, and cross stitch. I have a passion for anything to do with history. I took the Teaching East Asia class this past fall. I am very excited about this trip, as I have traveled to Europe and Nicaragua, but have never been to Asia and can’t wait to learn more.

Beth Schmidt

As an 18-year-old single mother, many people assumed I’d never finish college. I proved them wrong when I earned a degree in International Studies. I began working for a major airline and enjoyed the travel benefits. I’ve traveled to the Caribbean, Europe, and Central America. Feeling unfulfilled in the business world, I earned a Masters in Secondary Education from Xavier University and have been teaching for 5 years. This year I began teaching Freshman Social Studies at Dixie Heights High School. I live in Northern Kentucky with my amazing husband, awesome daughter (13) and cute son (2)!

Keri Shivlie

I graduated from Grand Valley State University with a degree in Special Education in 1999. I received my master’s in 2002 in Learning Disabilities. I have been teaching for Grand Rapids Public Schools in Michigan as a special education teacher in middle school for eight years. This year I teach in a resource room and have had the opportunity to also co-teach in a 7th grade Social Studies classroom. The class on East Asia has been a huge benefit to my teaching experience. I look forward to traveling to Japan and Korea this summer to experience new cultures.


Eligibility

Applicants are all alumni of a Teaching about Asia seminar coordinated by The Ohio State University or Indiana University. Individuals may participate in only one Freeman-sponsored study tour.

Itinerary

The tour will begin with an orientation in Columbus to take place on May 19-20, 2007. This will give participants the opportunity to meet one another, develop personal and group goals for the trip, and begin delving into the culture and history of Japan and Korea with the tour leaders.

The group will depart for Japan from Columbus on June 18. A second pre-departure orientation will be held on June 17 at 5 p.m. in Columbus, the evening before our departure. Once in East Asia, the tour will include visits to key cultural landmarks of each country, including palaces, temples, and museums. We will visit schools and observe classes. A tentative list of destinations is as follows:

JAPAN- June 18-25:

KOREA - June 26-July 3:

Costs covered by NCTA-Ohio:

  • Round-trip airfare from Columbus to Japan/Korea
  • Double-occupancy accommodations
  • Transportation to group functions in Japan and Korea
  • Entrance fees/tickets to group functions in Japan and Korea
  • All breakfasts and some other meals
  • Selected texts for pre-departure study
  • Food and accommodations during orientations in Columbus
  • Food and accommodations during the follow-up session in Columbus

Costs covered by participants:

  • $500 non-refundable fee (due upon notification of acceptance)
  • transportation to and from Columbus for study tour
  • transportation to and from orientation in Columbus
  • transportation to and from follow-up session in Columbus
  • health and repatriation insurance (required)
  • sightseeing costs incurred during independent study time in Japan and Korea
  • some meals
  • alcoholic beverages
  • ID and passport fees
  • Telephone calls and personal expenses
  • One gift for official visit

Other Participant Responsibilities

Participants are expected to submit a lesson plan. These lesson plans should include knowledge or materials acquired on the study tour. These lesson plans, due by January 14, 2008, will be compiled and provided to each member of the study tour.

Participants are also expected to conduct an “East Asia Day” in their classroom upon return to their schools. The East Asia Day will provide students an opportunity to work on individual projects regarding East Asia. Competition ideas include a poster competition or a performance/ event competition (e.g., a play, music, oral presentations) for students.

Orientation

The main orientation for study tour participants will be held in Columbus, Ohio on May 19-20, 2007. Orientation activities will include lectures on Japanese and Korean history and culture, development of group and personal trip goals, exchange of practical travel tips, and discussion of cultural dos and don’ts. Participants are responsible for travel expenses to and from Columbus, but food and lodging will be provided by EASC.

Follow-up

In addition to the orientations before the study tour, participants are required to participate in a follow-up program in Columbus (date TBA). The purpose of the follow-up is to reflect on the trip, share experiences, and update colleagues on how materials are being implemented in the classroom. Once again, participants are responsible for travel expenses to and from Columbus, but food and lodging will be provided by EASC.

For More Information

Amy Carey
NCTA-Ohio Program Coordinator
E-mail: carey.189@osu.edu
Phone: 614-688-4253