TEACHING ABOUT EAST ASIA
the freeman seminar

CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY
CLEVELAND, OHIO

January – April 2005

ASSIGNMENT TASK:

Develop a series of three lesson plans, one each devoted to China, Japan and Korea, with the subject matter area, student population and grade level at which you plan to implement them clearly in mind.

The units should be tied to specific instructional goals, themes, assumptions, approaches and standards appropriate to your individual teaching situation yet couched in terms broad enough to be transferable to another educational setting and / or implemented by another instructor.

In as much as is reasonable and useful, the lesson plans should make use of locally-available external resources and useful Internet materials. You are particularly urged to consider the utilization or appropriate adaptation of seminar materials as part of these plans.

• The unit may represent either a portion of a broad overview plan (a three week thematic and resources outline, part of a course on world history, devoted, for example, to an examination of linkages between dress and social status in several different historical periods in several different locations around the globe) or a detailed several day plan for a single portion of a much larger unit of study (perhaps an investigation of ties between geography and diet in China tied into a unit that would later move on to make comparisons with similar interactions in Nigeria and Pakistan).
  
• The first approach would center on identification of the broad thematic, comparative or chronological interactions to be considered together with the resources (for both teacher and student) to be utilized in instructor preparation / classroom sessions / homework assignments over the course of the portion of the unit devoted to an East Asian culture; the second, on the session-by-session playing out of the highlighted portion of the larger course of instruction (incorporating all the resources and detailed implementation plans needed to present the unit in the classroom).
  
• In either case, the developed unit must be placed in the appropriate theoretical and practical context -- the larger themes discussed with reference to the particulars involved and vice versa. Only the emphasis should differ within the macro or micro approach undertaken in the study unit.
  
• Your goal should be the development of a teaching unit any instructor could pick up and take into the classroom once the goals, objectives, methods, materials, instructional strategies, lesson plans and evaluative criteria spelled out in the unit plan as described are understood explanatory list of instructional resources necessary to implement the lesson plans, including at least one instance of each of the following if at all feasible:
  
• The appropriate and effective use of a specifically identified locally-available resource (museum exhibit, site visit, performance viewing, expert presentation, artifact collection or workshop session) tied to the subject matter being taught;
  
• An internet-based resource -- a web site developed for student or teacher use directly supporting your teaching unit, a list of useful web sites assigned for student research (with an indication of the associated assignment might be), a gallery of reference images, an independent study assignment using web resources, a teaching resource archive, a map collection.
  
• The larger TEACHING PORTFOLIO containing the lesson plans should be accompanied by an overview INTRODUCTION outlining and explaining the larger subject matter context, student population and grade level at which the lessons will be implemented. The specific instructional goals, themes, assumptions, pedagogical approaches and standards used in the lesson creation and evaluation process should also be clarified and explained. .
  
  As part of this discussion, you should explain how / what you have taught about East Asia in the past with respect to your chosen teaching topic and what new elements/resources you will use in the future as a result of what you have learned in the seminar program. . It should reference as well the opportunities you will have to teach about East Asia during the course of the next school year in general, both in the instructional context itself and within the larger community of colleagues, school and neighborhood. The discussion also should include a consideration of the principles and insights derived from the seminar itself that you hope to pass on to your students through these specific classroom activities.
  
• For those enrolled in the seminar for graduate level credit, the TEACHING PORTFOLIO must also contain an annotated resources list of between fifteen (two credits) and twenty-five (three credits) items suggesting books, articles, web sites, films and / or other materials useful as (1) background reading for an instructor unfamiliar with the subject matter involved, (2) guides to the teaching methodology employed and (3) supplements to the lessons themselves for student use.
  
  These annotations should incorporate basic bibliographic information sufficient to locate the resource easily; an indication of where and how to obtain the material, if appropriate; a brief note clarifying the larger context from which the resource is drawn; an extended overview description and evaluation of the resource’s educational content and / or utility; and suggestions for use.

TEACHING UNIT EVALUATION CRITERIA: Your completed PORTFOLIO will be evaluated with reference to the following standards: (1) the intelligence with which the instructional objectives of the unit are stated, supported and achieved; (2) the quality and effective utilization of incorporated instructional resources; (3) the organization and presentation of the completed instructional unit.

Specific Evaluation Criteria:

• Employs a consistent and well-conceived organizational strategy; is appropriately structured with respect to content and presentation;
• Handles issues of language (grammar, diction, spelling) and annotation / attribution appropriately and avoids typographical errors;
  
• Clearly states grade / skill level expectations;
  
• Meets clearly stated grade level curricular expectations;
  
• Is tied creatively and effectively to the specific subject matter with which the lesson plan is linked;
  
• Clearly and effectively evidences instructor creativity, expertise and experience in choice of subject matter, teaching rationale, thematic emphasis, planning resources used and/or consulted, approach, processes and procedures used, and homework / classroom experiences;
  
• Includes appropriate and effective evaluation standards and procedures;
  
• Provides effective curricular unit classroom resources and useful explanations for classroom materials and lesson plans;
  
• For those taking the seminar for graduate credit, incorporates an effectively annotated bibliography discussing both print and non-print resources useful in preparation and/or implementation of the curriculum unit.

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SUBMIT PRELIMINARY PLANS TO THE INSTRUCTOR FOR COMMENTS PRIOR TO THE FINAL SUBMISSION OF YOUR PORTFOLIO FOR FORMAL EVALUATION; ALSO CONSIDER POSTING A VERSION OF YOUR PLANS ON THE SEMINAR WEB SITE AS A COURTESY TO YOUR FELLOW PARTICIPANTS.

SUBMIT FINAL VERSIONS OF THE PORTFOLIO BY EMAIL AS AN ATTACHMENT (USING MICROSOFT WORD OR WORDPERFECT WORD PROCESSING SOFTWARE) TO THE SEMINAR INSTRUCTOR AT l.makela@csuohio.edu NO LATER THAN WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2005.

THE PORTFOLIO MAY ALSO BE MAILED TO THE ADDRESS BELOW (TOGETHER WITH A FLOPPY DISK VERSION THE INSTRUCTOR WILL FORWARD TO THE EAST ASIAN STUDY CENTER AT INIDANA UNIVERSITY):

LEE A. MAKELA
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY
CLEVELAND, OHIO 44115