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News Release

Contact: Mark McGowan, NIU Office of Public Affairs
(815) 753-9472

June 28, 2005

Chinese educators visit NIU College of Education
for glimpse at trends in technology, curriculum

DeKalb — A delegation of eight educators from Beijing, China, visited Northern Illinois University's College of Education earlier this month for a look at the past and the future.

They followed in the footsteps of a group that came in spring of 2004, starting their Wednesday, June 8, experience in the One-Room Schoolhouse to learn about the history of educational partnerships between NIU and China before moving to Gabel Hall for a glimpse of today's educational technology and tomorrow's.

“We hope they took what will be useful to them in designing and redesigning curriculum for different schools in China,” said Diane Jackman, associate dean of NIU's College of Education. “Everyone learns differently, and there are lots of ways to approach subject matter. We all want to improve student learning and find ways to make sure all students are successful.”

The Chinese group included the presidents of the Changping Teacher Education Institute and the Tongzhou Teacher Education Institute; the division director and three professors from the Research Center for Curriculum and Textbook in Basic Education of Beijing Academy of Educational Sciences; the division director of the Shijingshan Teacher Education Institute; and a professor from Fifth Middle School.

“They were so impressed with the faculty and the facilities and the program that was put on, they wanted to make sure NIU was included this time,” Jackman said. “They specifically wanted to take a look at curriculum development and trends in curriculum and technology, because that's one of the trends they're seeing.”

In the morning, they learned about ITAAR, the latest federally funded project to prepare tomorrow's teachers to use technology, from Corenna Cummings, NIU's PT3 project director and an associate professor in the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment. ETRA Chair Jeff Hecht provided information on current research and research possibilities while giving the visitors a tour of the technology classrooms.

Chris Sorensen, dean of the College of Education , spoke about the importance of working with public schools and across university departments and colleges when preparing classroom teachers. She focused on NIU's Project REAL partnership in Rockford and the Wright School partnership in DeKalb.

Nina Dorsch, chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning, addressed trends in curriculum reform. Thomas Smith, assistant professor in ETRA, offered perspectives on assessing teaching and learning.

“At the end of the day, they were extremely pleased with the information they had received and excited about future possibilities. They had learned a lot,” Jackman said. “They were interested in looking at faculty exchanges and student exchanges, and we're willing to talk and explore the possibilities. They also invited us to travel to Beijing.”

Deborah Pierce, executive director of International Programs at NIU, said delegation visits are “crucial for educators from other countries who may not have a lot of opportunities to experience U.S. higher education on a long-term basis.”

“We try to give a quick overview that will give them as much information and context as possible. As China, in particular, internationalizes its universities and reaches out to the rest of the world, this kind of familiarization effort and tour is important,” Pierce said.

“I spoke a lot with one of the visitors,” she added. “She was very impressed with the range of strong academic programs at NIU, especially in the College of Education, and I think she really appreciated what the college administration and faculty did for the delegates so they could learn more about an excellent U.S. university.”

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