Education

This course introduces the basic theory of education, basic concept of pedagogy, the status of education in Taiwan, and today's major issues related to education. Lecture topics include an introduction to curriculum, the significance of education and connotation, foundation of education, educational reform, access to education, and non-traditional schools. This class includes lectures by professor, class discussions, guest speakers, field data collection, group work, and student reports.

In the past, teaching and learning after middle school was primarily focused on preparation for basic scholastic ability tests. After the 12-year state education promotion, this focus on examinations must be completely reformed, and teaching and learning must be greatly adjusted. School teaching should not only teach students to copy knowledge, but to teach them how to create knowledge and actively learn. This course focuses on teaching and learning and the possibilities under the 12-year state education.

The course is designed to equip students with experience, knowledge, and skills for succeeding in globally interdependent and culturally diverse workplaces. During the course, students are challenged to question, reflect upon, and respond thoughtfully to the issues they observe and encounter in the internship setting and local host environment. Professional and personal development skills as defined by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), such as critical thinking, teamwork, and diversity are cultivated. Assignments focus on building a portfolio that highlights those competencies and their application to workplace skills. The hybrid nature of the course allows students to develop their skills in a self-paced environment with face-to-face meetings and check-ins to frame their intercultural internship experience. Students complete 45 hours of in-person and asynchronous online learning activities and 225-300 hours at the internship placement.

This course offers an introduction to the teaching of foreign languages and culture. It surveys historical approaches to teaching languages, including their characteristics, benefits, and disadvantages. This course also covers different types of language, learning, and relevant linguistic concepts. It includes heavy discussion of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

The course equips students with the skills to be able to design, carry out, report, read, and evaluate qualitative research projects. It is taught by qualitative research experts who have experience of using the methods they teach. It covers the full cycle of a qualitative research project: design, data collection, analysis, reporting, and dissemination. Students gain a conceptual understanding of current academic debates regarding different methods, and the practical skills to put those methods into practice.

This course provides a general introduction to educational studies through the use of media. Media understood here includes both fictional (e.g. film and literature) and non-fictional sources (e.g. TV shows and documentaries). The course considers how various educational concepts are represented through media, including (but not limited to) teacher-student relationships and identities, educational curricula, schooling, the function of academic institutions, as well as broader understandings of what constitutes education itself. Through engaging with selected sources, questions around what education is and how education is represented are considered. Students examine the value of both fictional and non-fictional sources when thinking, researching, and writing about education, as tools for both entertainment and insight. This further raises questions around performativity and reliability in education and educational research, the relationship between representation and reality, and the ways in which understandings of reality are affected by such images more broadly.

This course is designed to connect school students in remote areas with the international and local NTU students in Taiwan. Students demonstrate their commitment to the rural community through service and learning opportunities. Activities range from distance interactions through webcam and school visits located in Keelung City, Chaiyi, Nantou, Taitung, and Kaohsiung areas. By going to one of the 7 primary or secondary schools located at the countryside in Taiwan, students are given the opportunity to gain an in-depth understanding of Taiwanese culture and share their own culture. At the same time, teachers and students in Taiwan will acknowledge their own community values and opportunities for exchange from a global and co-existing point of view. Students participate in volunteer activity via webcam, volunteer training with reflective learning and school visit and teaching. Assessment: presentation and final report.