Representatives from the SIUE School of Education traveled to Lanzhou, China on the invitation of the Director-General of the Education Department of Gansu Provincial Government and the President of Northwest Normal University (NWNU) in Lanzhou, China. The purpose of the trip was to explore areas of partnership between the School of Education and institutions in China.
In March of 2012, the School of Education signed a letter of engagement with NWNU. With Dean Bette Bergeron’s approval and under the leadership of Associate Dean Mary Weishaar, faculty members Yuliang Liu and Huaibo Xin, and Student Services Director Gretchen Fricke, a pilot project for the International Training Program in Pedagogy was implemented. This program brought four faculty members from NWNU to the SIUE School of Education during the fall 2012 semester to focus on enhancing their pedagogical practices and learning more about the American system of higher education. Evaluation data indicated that the program was very successful.
As a result of this success, the Program Leadership Team Members and Dean Bergeron, with support from SIUE Chancellor Julie Furst-Bowe, visited NWNU from May 5-14, 2013. Discussions were held with hosts from Northwest Normal University and administrators from Gansu Province. The travel included official meetings with university and provincial ministers, meetings with groups of students, a discussion on American education with selected middle and secondary teachers, and several cultural events.
The overall goals included:
- Provide a knowledge base of SIUE and School of Education programs for NWNU students
- Discuss and determine mutual academic needs and interests for NWNU, Gansu Province and SIUE
- Define general parameters of a potential Memorandum of Understanding between NWNU and SIUE
- Orient new visiting faculty from NWNU for their upcoming participation in the SIUE International Training Program in Pedagogy for fall 2013 semester
- Develop first-hand understanding of the culture of northwest China and potential living conditions for prospective SIUE students and faculty
Eight faculty members from NWNU will be joining the School of Education for the fall 2013 semester to participate in the International Training Program in Pedagogy. Find out more about the School of Education’s international activities.
Photo(L to R): Xiaodong Zhang, Director for the Division of International Cooperation and Exchanges in Gansu Province; Gretchen Fricke, School of Education Director of Student Services; Mary Weishaar, School of Education Associate Dean; Jiayi Wang, Director-General, Education Department of Gansu Provincial Government; Bette Bergeron, School of Education Dean; Ping Wang, Deputy-Director General, Gansu Provincial Education Department; Huaibo Xin, School of Education Assistant Professor; Yuliang Liu, School of Education Professor