Boise State University’s Center for Global Education received a $100,000 grant to support Boise State faculty members and Treasure Valley K-12 teachers who wish to immerse themselves in Chinese language and culture in Taichung, Taiwan, in June 2020.
This is the first time Boise State has earned the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Program grant, which is sponsored through the U.S. Department of Education. Thanks to this grant, six Boise State faculty members and six K-12 teachers, specialists, librarians and administrators from the Treasure Valley will be selected to travel to Taiwan from May 30 to June 30. The center is actively seeking participants; the deadline to apply is Jan. 31, 2020.
Interested parties may learn more and apply here: https://www.boisestate.edu/globaleducation-glo/faculty/gpa_taiwan/
Participants from different disciplines and knowledge subjects are welcome to apply. Each candidate will apply with a project that responds to the grant’s goal of increasing knowledge of Asian societies and integrating new or revised courses to majors and minors where there might be a lack of coverage.
As part of the grant proposal, “Taiwan in the 21st Century: At the Crossroads of Past and Future,” participants will attend a pre-departure orientation in May 2020 and travel as a group to the partner university, Providence University. Once there, participants will engage in daily Chinese language and culture courses while experiencing Taiwan through experiential learning activities, excursions and by visiting iconic cultural sites.
In addition, participants will work on individual projects, with assistance provided by an instructional designer. Through these projects, participants will focus their research on developing new or reformulating existing curriculum with an East Asia focus.
“The idea for the grant came from recognizing the deep connections and sisterhood that exists between Idaho and Taiwan,” said Gonzalo Bruce, assistant provost for global education and principal investigator for this grant. “Taiwan enjoys a unique history and geopolitical position where several cultures converge. As we look into the future, Taiwan is poised to play a key role in the region’s economic, social and political development. The program provides a platform for Idaho educators to enrich the current curricular offerings on Asian studies and Asian languages, both at Boise State and the Treasure Valley school districts.”
Upon return, participants will promote knowledge-sharing and knowledge dissemination at their corresponding educational institutions and communities. The culminating event at Boise State is scheduled for November 2020, during International Education Week, where participants will share their experiences and completed curricular projects in a poster session.