International collaboration in teacher education: NSYSU heads to Brawijaya University in Malang, Indonesia under the International Schweitzer Program
2024-11-05
Capturing the spirit of Borderless Teachers project, the National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU) Center for Teacher Education received its fourth round of funding from the Ministry of Education International Schweitzer Program, this time for an overseas education volunteer project titled "In the heart of Indonesia: NSYSU pre-service teacher immersion in Malang, Indonesia" led by Assistant Professor Yu-Hui Chang of the Center for Teacher Education and Institute of Education and Assistant Professor Dale Albanese from the International Graduate Program of Education and Human Development (IGPEHD). During the summer, 12 pre-service teachers (PSTs) from diverse departments, including Biological Sciences, Applied Mathematics, Foreign Languages and Literature, Finance, Theatre Arts, Chinese Literature, Physics, and the Institute of Education were selected to visit Indonesia, where they experienced firsthand a multilingual, cultural environment where, similar to Taiwan, English is not an official language but was a lingua franca. Through their teaching service, they gained a deeper understanding of different learning needs and enriched their cultural awareness.
This program collaborated with the faculty and students of the Faculty of Cultural Studies (Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, FIB) at Brawijaya University (Universitas Brawijaya, UB) in Malang, East Java, Indonesia. Through collaborative preparation and practice teaching with local PSTs, NSYSU participants were better able to align their teaching to fit the needs of local students. In addition to organizing an all-English camp in Malang for 40 high school students from Islamic schools and the public Malang Fourth Senior High School, the team also visited the UB affiliated Brawijaya Smart School (BSS), where they introduced Taiwanese culture and delivered subject lessons to over 300 junior and senior high students. The principal investigator of the program, Dr. Yu-Hui Chang, organized a technology-enhanced teaching workshop for Indonesian PSTs, while co-principal investigator Dr. Dale Albanese held a global literacy workshop at BSS, where participating local in-service teachers shared their ideas and concerns about international issues and education. The team also joined a community history and cultural exploration field class for junior high students, visiting local historical sites and cultural villages, which offered in-depth insight into Indonesia's traditional crafts and community characteristics.
"The Indonesian students are lively and expressive," said Chun-Yuan Hsieh from the Department of Biological Sciences, who served as the team's deputy leader and course coordinator. Hsieh initially worried about leading lessons in English, but with several rounds of practice and adjustments with peers, everyone was able to help each other feel prepared to create supportive learning environments and engaging activities for the students. This year, the team planned the curriculum around the theme "Cross-Cultural Odyssey," utilizing their creative teaching abilities to design rich Taiwanese cultural courses on interdisciplinary topics. For example, PSTs from the Department of Applied Mathematics combined spatial thinking with lantern-making and computational thinking games to engage students in problem-solving. Another introduced hands-on scientific experiments with non-Newtonian fluids, while a PST from the Department of Biological Sciences designed interactive games to explore the theory of natural selection. Department of Chinese Literature pre-service teachers led courses on calligraphy, Lunar New Year traditions, the Chinese zodiac, and Taiwanese species.
Additionally, the team conducted activities on social issues and self-exploration, with Indonesian students providing feedback that it was an innovative learning experience. For instance, one PST from the Department of Physics led discussions on environmental issues, one from the Institute of Education had students design currency and learn about exchange rates. Department of Finance PST guided students to simulate the election process to conduct political campaigning and democratic voting, Foreign Languages and Literature PST used films to facilitate self-awareness of emotions, and a PST from the Department of Theatre Arts led students in body and voice exploration, guiding them to observe and express themselves.
"We received positive feedback from the students. It was their first time learning about Taiwan, and they want to know more." Dr. Frida Unsiah and Dr. Syariful Muttaqin mentioned at the closing ceremony that this program helped both groups of students enhance their cultural understanding and teaching growth, and they looked forward to continued reciprocal exchanges in the future. At the ceremony, program principal investigator Dr. Yu-Hui Chang encouraged the PSTs to reflect on the initial purpose of the program and the general goal of all educational service, thereby cherishing every opportunity to teach and appreciating the many people who helped make this overseas teaching experience possible, with the hopes that they will continue to carry forward their passion for teaching.
This International Schweitzer Program teaching service in Malang was made possible thanks to the guidance of the Ministry of Education's Department of Teacher and Art Education, as well as the support of the FIB UB in Indonesia. Special thanks go to Dean Dr. Hamamah, Vice Dean Dr. Sahiruddin, and professors including Dr. Frida Unsiah, Dr. Syariful Muttaqin, Dr. Widya Caterine Perdhani, Dr. Scarletina Vidyayani Eka, Dr. Devinta Puspita Ratri, and Dr. Ni Made Savitri Paramita, for providing program support, teaching feedback, and recruitment and supervision of the Indonesian PSTs who formed a collaborative preparation team. Their efforts enabled the Taiwanese PSTs to adjust their teaching strategies and difficulty levels in real-time, helping them to avoid biases and assumptions during the teaching service enhance their international perspective and educational professionalism.
Capturing the spirit of Borderless Teachers project, the National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU) Center for Teacher Education received its fourth round of funding from the Ministry of Education International Schweitzer Program, this time for an overseas education volunteer project titled "In the heart of Indonesia: NSYSU pre-service teacher immersion in Malang, Indonesia" led by Assistant Professor Yu-Hui Chang of the Center for Teacher Education and Institute of Education and Assistant Professor Dale Albanese from the International Graduate Program of Education and Human Development (IGPEHD). During the summer, 12 pre-service teachers (PSTs) from diverse departments, including Biological Sciences, Applied Mathematics, Foreign Languages and Literature, Finance, Theatre Arts, Chinese Literature, Physics, and the Institute of Education were selected to visit Indonesia, where they experienced firsthand a multilingual, cultural environment where, similar to Taiwan, English is not an official language but was a lingua franca. Through their teaching service, they gained a deeper understanding of different learning needs and enriched their cultural awareness.
This program collaborated with the faculty and students of the Faculty of Cultural Studies (Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, FIB) at Brawijaya University (Universitas Brawijaya, UB) in Malang, East Java, Indonesia. Through collaborative preparation and practice teaching with local PSTs, NSYSU participants were better able to align their teaching to fit the needs of local students. In addition to organizing an all-English camp in Malang for 40 high school students from Islamic schools and the public Malang Fourth Senior High School, the team also visited the UB affiliated Brawijaya Smart School (BSS), where they introduced Taiwanese culture and delivered subject lessons to over 300 junior and senior high students. The principal investigator of the program, Dr. Yu-Hui Chang, organized a technology-enhanced teaching workshop for Indonesian PSTs, while co-principal investigator Dr. Dale Albanese held a global literacy workshop at BSS, where participating local in-service teachers shared their ideas and concerns about international issues and education. The team also joined a community history and cultural exploration field class for junior high students, visiting local historical sites and cultural villages, which offered in-depth insight into Indonesia's traditional crafts and community characteristics.
"The Indonesian students are lively and expressive," said Chun-Yuan Hsieh from the Department of Biological Sciences, who served as the team's deputy leader and course coordinator. Hsieh initially worried about leading lessons in English, but with several rounds of practice and adjustments with peers, everyone was able to help each other feel prepared to create supportive learning environments and engaging activities for the students. This year, the team planned the curriculum around the theme "Cross-Cultural Odyssey," utilizing their creative teaching abilities to design rich Taiwanese cultural courses on interdisciplinary topics. For example, PSTs from the Department of Applied Mathematics combined spatial thinking with lantern-making and computational thinking games to engage students in problem-solving. Another introduced hands-on scientific experiments with non-Newtonian fluids, while a PST from the Department of Biological Sciences designed interactive games to explore the theory of natural selection. Department of Chinese Literature pre-service teachers led courses on calligraphy, Lunar New Year traditions, the Chinese zodiac, and Taiwanese species.
Additionally, the team conducted activities on social issues and self-exploration, with Indonesian students providing feedback that it was an innovative learning experience. For instance, one PST from the Department of Physics led discussions on environmental issues, one from the Institute of Education had students design currency and learn about exchange rates. Department of Finance PST guided students to simulate the election process to conduct political campaigning and democratic voting, Foreign Languages and Literature PST used films to facilitate self-awareness of emotions, and a PST from the Department of Theatre Arts led students in body and voice exploration, guiding them to observe and express themselves.
"We received positive feedback from the students. It was their first time learning about Taiwan, and they want to know more." Dr. Frida Unsiah and Dr. Syariful Muttaqin mentioned at the closing ceremony that this program helped both groups of students enhance their cultural understanding and teaching growth, and they looked forward to continued reciprocal exchanges in the future. At the ceremony, program principal investigator Dr. Yu-Hui Chang encouraged the PSTs to reflect on the initial purpose of the program and the general goal of all educational service, thereby cherishing every opportunity to teach and appreciating the many people who helped make this overseas teaching experience possible, with the hopes that they will continue to carry forward their passion for teaching.
This International Schweitzer Program teaching service in Malang was made possible thanks to the guidance of the Ministry of Education's Department of Teacher and Art Education, as well as the support of the FIB UB in Indonesia. Special thanks go to Dean Dr. Hamamah, Vice Dean Dr. Sahiruddin, and professors including Dr. Frida Unsiah, Dr. Syariful Muttaqin, Dr. Widya Caterine Perdhani, Dr. Scarletina Vidyayani Eka, Dr. Devinta Puspita Ratri, and Dr. Ni Made Savitri Paramita, for providing program support, teaching feedback, and recruitment and supervision of the Indonesian PSTs who formed a collaborative preparation team. Their efforts enabled the Taiwanese PSTs to adjust their teaching strategies and difficulty levels in real-time, helping them to avoid biases and assumptions during the teaching service enhance their international perspective and educational professionalism.
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