Pictured are Niagara University Graduate Students and Faculty visiting Rajinibon Girl’s School in Bangkok, Thailand along with faculty and administrators from the school.

Thailand

On July 20, twenty-three Niagara University graduate students and faculty from the College of Education departed from campus to begin an eighteen day Asian trip, that one graduate student characterized as, “the trip of a lifetime to Thailand.” Although delayed at the outset, the group spent an unexpected day visiting Hong Kong on the way over and enjoyed visiting one of the most vibrant cities in the world.  The Niagara University students and faculty arrived in Bangkok where they met up with three additional members of our group who served as an “advance team.”  Within the first week we flew 600 miles to the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai and experienced bamboo rafting down a jungle river and elephant riding through rain forest to a hill tribe.  After several days the group traveled back to Bangkok for school visits and left again for a flight 600 miles south to the province of Phuket, now famous as the location where the Tsunami caused such damage last year.  

On the return to Bangkok, students spent several days visiting schools within the city and having the opportunity to teach English to Thai students.  Drs. Mike Smith and Tom Sheeran also conducted workshops that assisted English language teachers from Canada, England, New Zealand and the Philippians with an understanding of constructivist methods and techniques.  Graduate student Julie Consentino, who participated in the study abroad trip, reflected on the experience in a summary of the journal she kept during this experience,

“There are several highlights of my trip, some scheduled and some spontaneous.  Every adventure was like a gift of knowledge about their customs, every temple or school visit was like a key to understanding their ways, and every smile from strangers on the street or in a market reflects the lovely spirit of all Thai people.  A common thread throughout my journal was how I felt about the people.  Simply put, Thai people are some of the kindest, most welcoming, generous, and thoughtful people I have ever met.”

Julie’s experience accurately reflects an almost universal feeling about the Thai people and about our interaction with them.  This trip was truly the experience of a lifetime, one that participants continue to express their appreciation for the range of opportunities they enjoyed.

Netherlands

What do you get when you mix 36 graduate teacher candidates and faculty, take them to Western Europe for 15 days, stir gently, and expose them to numerous new educational experiences? A learning event called Niagara University Study Abroad!

In May, Drs. Erwin, Heaggans, and Sze led a tour group to parts of Western Europe, including Maastricht and Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Hasselt and Brussels in Belgium, and Aachen in Germany. Participants visited a variety of elementary and secondary schools, observed students and teachers, heard presentations from school leaders, and gained insights into European models of education.

Candidates observed many of the same principles of learning and teaching known from prior experience being used in these different cultural settings, but they also saw some new approaches. Noticing how different societies have developed these unfamiliar solutions to educational problems stimulated the candidates to think about how and why US and Canadian schools address these same issues as they do.

These direct experiences with school practices in other cultures develop teacher candidates with broader professional experience and insight than they would have otherwise, a plus for the candidates and for the College of Education programs. In this way the NU Study Abroad experience uniquely contributes to the professional preparation of outstanding teacher candidates.

Photos Left to right:

Bikes at secondary school in Maastricht, Netherlands 

Mural of WWII action designed by secondary students in Germany

American WWII cemetery in Netherlands

"Caves" of St. Peter near Maastricht, Netherlands

Atomium museum in Brussels, Belgium

Brussels town square

Wooden shoes in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Canal in Amsterdam, Netherlands