Teacher Training

The Southeast Asia Program Outreach office offers a number of teacher training workshops and professional development opportunities throughout the school year and into the summer. Topics are either thematic or broadly conceived. Some focus solely on Southeast Asia, while others are collaborative workshops organized with other area studies programs.

We approach our offerings with the understanding that they should be standards based and have an application to specific elementary, middle, or high school curricula. Teachers receive a combination of content area expertise and practical ideas for how to use that expertise in the classroom. Teachers are provided with lesson plans, handouts, resources and other materials for use in their future planning. These professional development workshops are funded in part by a National Resource Center grant (Title VI) from the U.S. Department of Education.

Southeast Asia Teacher Study Group

Periodically, we form a group to meet regularly to discuss topics related to Southeast Asia, including ways of reaching our Southeast Asian students more effectively. Professional development hours and in-service credit are available. Sessions are held at the Kahin Center for Research on Southeast Asia, 640 Stewart Avenue, Ithaca, NY unless otherwise noted.

If you teach outside of the Ithaca area and cannot make it to the study group but would like us to hold a short workshop on one of these or another topic in your school or district, contact us and we will try to accommodate groups of 15 or more teachers.

International Studies Institutes

These institutes are generally held in the spring and summer and involve a collaboration through Cornell Educational Resources for International Studies (CERIS). Explore workshop themes and topics covered in Past Teacher Training. During the school year, you may also want to participate in the jointly sponsored Current Events Teacher Study Group.

Burma/Myanmar and its Diverse Peoples

In-service and after school professional development presentations are available to help teachers understand the history and culture of this complex country and the diverse ethnic groups that make up its population. As Karen, Chin, and Burmese refugees resettle in the U.S. teachers need to find ways to better understand the backgrounds of their new students as well as ways to help all students learn more about this fascinating part of the world.