The School of Extended Education's global educational outreach at Sonoma State University flourished this summer with two groups of Korean educators and one group of Korean students participating in a variety of learning experiences.
Twenty-six science teachers from the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education are in the middle of a four-week professional development summer program at SSU. The Program and Academic Director is Dr. Hee-Won Kang, Professor of Curriculum and Instruction and she is assisted by Dr. Paula Lane, Assistant Professor of Science Education.
The School of Extended Education is overseeing the management and implementation of all aspects of the program from classroom learning to a variety of tours and visits.
Highlights include an extended trip to Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park. Another field trip included a guided tour of the Point Reyes Peninsula, Black Mountain, Earth Quake Trail and San Andreas Fault Line. All field trips and scheduled Northern California visits compliment the planned curriculum.
Overlapping the visit is a second group of 25 elementary school teachers of English (or potential teachers of English) sent by The Korean Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education.
Their professional development program focused on studying English teaching methodology with Professor Hee-Won Kang and to improve their English proficiency with faculty (George Dancisak and Cheryl Evans) from the Sonoma State American Language Institute (SSALI) of the School of Extended Education. This successful program, now in its second year, is coordinated by Helen Kallenbach, Director of SSALI.
In addition to their classes on the SSU campus during the four-week schedule, the group has visited San Francisco, including several museums; Sacramento and the state capitol building; The Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE) where they were warmly welcomed by Dr. Carl Wong, superintendent; the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens; Armstrong Woods, Korbel, and Bodega Bay; and two elementary schools in Petaluma.
They were also guests at SCOE's conference on "Multiple Perspectives on Multiple Pathways" at the Doubletree Hotel.
The third group visiting the SSU campus were nine Korean students from Jeju, South Korea, Santa Rosa's sister city. They attended Session 3 (July 21-25, 2008) of SSU's Excel for Youth program. Coordinated by Deb White, this is the third year that students (with the support of host families) have participated in this dynamic cultural exchange program.
The students took part in such classes as Industrial Scrap Magic, Wetland Detectives and Multimedia. Excel Director, Alison Marks said, "This is not only a great opportunity to mainstream Korean students with American students but an opportunity for our students to gain an understanding of another culture up close and personal."
For more information regarding either group of Korean educators, please contact Dr. Hee-Won Kang at (707) 664-3111 or by e-mail: hee won.kang@sonoma.edu.
Above, Korean teachers visit an EXCEL class.
