Providing Teaching Techniques to Korean Educators
Contact: Dean Woodbeck (woodbeck@mtu.edu; 906-487-3327)
HOUGHTON -- A group of 41 high school teachers from Korea is in the midst of a three-week training program at Michigan Technological University.
The applied science teachers are studying the latest teaching techniques in the U.S. and discussing how they might apply what they learn back home.
The teachers arrived at the campus on July 14 and will complete their visit on August 6. The program introduces them to the U.S. educational system in general, and specific topics in electronics and mechanics.
They have also made site visits to Hancock and Houghton high schools and the Copper Country Intermediate School District.
"Our primary goal is to show them how to increase hands-on learning and minimize the lecture-and-listen approach," said Brad Baltensperger, chair of Michigan Tech's department of education and director of the program. "We are also providing them with 120 hours of instruction, including detailed course work with applications they can use in their classrooms.
"We want to provide them with examples of how to coach and mentor their students, and demonstrate concepts with hands-on methods."
Peck Cho, professor of mechanical engineering at Michigan Tech and a recent inductee of the Korean National Academy of Engineering, is the program's academic director.
It certainly isn't all work for the teachers, who have also made trips to Marquette for music and art festivals, taken field trips to Lake Superior, explored area waterfalls, and visited the Quincy Mine.
The program is funded by the National Institute for International Education Development, a branch of the Korean Ministry of Education.
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