Asia for Educators: A Comprehensive Resource Guide

Introduction

Educating students about Asia is crucial in today's interconnected world. Understanding Asian cultures, histories, and societies fosters global awareness, promotes cross-cultural understanding, and prepares students for a future where they will likely interact with people from diverse backgrounds. Fortunately, a wealth of resources is available to educators seeking to enrich their curriculum with Asian content. This article serves as a comprehensive guide to these resources, catering to educators at all levels and across various disciplines.

Key Organizations and Initiatives

Several organizations are dedicated to supporting education about Asia. These groups offer a wide array of resources, including lesson plans, curriculum materials, professional development opportunities, and access to experts in the field.

The Association for Asian Studies (AAS): As the largest society of its kind, the AAS is a scholarly, non-political, non-profit professional association open to anyone interested in Asia. They publish the Education About Asia journal, a valuable teaching resource. Asia scholars have chosen exemplary articles from the journal for thematic course readers. A general introduction illustrates the themes in each reader, and introductions for individual essays create dialogue among the included articles. These readers are intended as a useful and substantial teaching resource for college professors, undergraduates, and high school teachers.
The Asia Foundation: This nonprofit international development organization is committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia. While not solely focused on education, their work often intersects with educational initiatives.
The East-West Center: Through the Asian Studies Development Program (ASDP), a joint program with the University of Hawai'i, the East-West Center enhances teaching about Asia at American two-year and four-year colleges and universities at the undergraduate level.

Read also: In-depth Look at Education Review
The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership (CGP): Established in 1991, CGP operates grant programs in intellectual exchange, grassroots exchange, and education.
The National Committee on United States-China Relations: This organization promotes understanding and cooperation between the United States and Greater China.
U.S.-Japan Foundation (USJF): Since 1980, USJF has supported projects that have involved more than 5,000 pre-college teachers in the US and Japan in mutual study and learning on topics related to the US-Japan relationship.
Primary Source: This nonprofit professional development center has educated thousands of K-12 teachers about world history and cultures. One of its longest and most successful programs is its collection of China studies courses, resources, and tours.
Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (SmithsonianAPA): SmithsonianAPA's Learning Together page was launched in 2019 to connect the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center's programs, curatorial expertise, and community anniversaries with K12 teachers across the country.

Read also: United World College in Singapore
Teach Japan: A collaboration between several museums and the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership.

Online Resources and Digital Archives

The internet has revolutionized access to information, and numerous online resources are available to educators seeking to teach about Asia. These resources include primary source documents, lesson plans, multimedia materials, and interactive tools.

Asia for Educators (Columbia University): A resource site for teachers developed by Columbia University's East Asian Curriculum Project (EACP), a national initiative devoted to supporting education on Asia at the secondary and elementary levels.
Asia Pacific Heritage (Library of Congress): Offers primary sources, lesson plans, student activities, collection guides, and research aids.
Densho: Documents the testimonies of Japanese Americans who were unjustly incarcerated during World War II, featuring primary-source documents, classroom activities, and information on professional development for educators.

Read also: More on Asia Pacific Education
IDP: Offers a variety of online resources for teaching about the Silk Road.
OneWorld Classrooms: A nonprofit organization that builds bridges of learning between the classrooms of the world.
TEA Online Curriculum Project (University of Colorado Boulder): Offers lesson plans and educational resources on various topics, including "Becoming Modern, Early 20th c."
The Allure of Matter: Material Art from China (Smart Museum of Art): This site is home for digital content that builds upon The Allure of Matter: Material Art from China exhibition at the Smart Museum of Art.
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (The Met): A comprehensive overview of East Asian art history, with options to select by country and time period.
Short Classroom-Applicable Video Presentations (NCTA): Explore these short classroom-applicable video presentations available from NCTA.
Educator Toolkit for the Cyrus Tang Hall of China: This webpage includes links to ten separate activities which accompany the museum’s online Cyrus Tang Hall of China exhibit. All of the activities are based on inquiry, empathy and object-based learning.
Collections of public-domain and copy-permitted historical texts: Presented without advertising for educational use.
Department of Education’s searchable database: A searchable database of journal and non-journal literature on education.

Addressing Specific Topics and Themes

Many resources focus on specific topics or themes related to Asia, allowing educators to delve into particular areas of interest.

China's Farmers in the Twentieth Century: A unit that explores the plight of China's farmers in the twentieth century.
The Communist Party in China: Resources that help students understand the role of the Communist Party in China's political system. This includes the relationship between the party and the state in a communist system.
U.S.-China Relations: Resources related to the U.S.-China Relations Act (1979) and discussion questions.
The May Fourth Movement: Resources on the May Fourth Movement (ca. government, and continued through the 1920s.

Museums and Cultural Institutions

Museums are invaluable resources for educators, offering access to artifacts, exhibits, and educational programs. Many museums have dedicated resources for teachers, including lesson plans, workshops, and online materials. The following is a list of fourteen major museums in the United States that offer resources and materials on Asia for educators at all levels.

Museum Example 1: Offers slide packets, videos, a Teacher Resource Center, and workshops for educators.
Museum Example 2: Provides laminated posters on Japan with a teacher guide, activity suggestions, and information about the object; teacher workshops.
Museum Example 3: Offers slide sets, videos, and cultural experience boxes available for loan to teachers.
Museum Example 4: Provides videos and teacher packets available for loan. The bookstore sells videos and museum bulletins on Asian art. Workshops for educators.

Resources for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Studies

It is crucial to incorporate the experiences and perspectives of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders into the curriculum. Several organizations and resources are dedicated to supporting AAPI studies.

AsAm News: A community of users interested in reading, learning, and commenting on news, events, people & issues in the Asian Americans and Pacific Islander communities. Here you will find a full roundup of headlines and blogs about the Asian American community from both mainstream and ethnic media.
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) Grassroots Organizations Toolkit: This toolkit represents the work and thinking of 15 grassroots organizations with Asian American bases living in the most precarious margins of power: low-income tenants, youth, undocumented immigrants, low-wage workers, refugees, women and girls, and queer and trans people.
APIA Scholars: APIA Scholars is the nation’s leading non-profit organization devoted to increasing higher education success for our Scholars.
National Asian and Pacific Islander Council (NAPIC): The NAPIC is an affiliate organization of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC).
Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA): The Asian American Journalists Association is a professional membership association founded in 1981 by a group of AAPI journalists seeking to support one another and to encourage more AAPIs to pursue journalism.
East Coast Asian American Student Union (ECAASU): The East Coast Asian American Student Union (ECAASU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to inspire, educate, and empower those interested in Asian, Asian American (A/A) issues.
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC): The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) is comprised of Members of Congress of Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander descent and members who have a strong dedication to promoting the well-being of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community.
College Educated - AAPI College Student Resources: College Educated was founded on the principles that everyone deserves a college education, and that college should be accessible and in reach for anyone who wants to attend. On College Educated, you’ll find scholarship information, career resources, school and program rankings and advice on what it takes to enroll and succeed in the college of your choice.

Multilingual and Multicultural Resources

The MMPP is a 15-credit interdisciplinary program that educates and trains graduate students from various disciplines to exemplify multilingual multicultural awareness and understanding in their professional practices, and in collaboration with professionals from other disciplines. Dept.

Integrating Technology into the Classroom

Flipping the Classroom: Educators can explore strategies for "flipping" their classroom to take better advantage of technology and spend more class time doing communicative activities.

Historical Figures and Events

Resources are available that focus on key historical figures and events in Asian history.

Historical Figures: Resources on figures such as Xunzi/Xun Qing/Xun Kang, Laozi, Zhuangzi/Zhuang Zhou, Li Si, Dong Zhongshu, Ban Zhao, Zhangsun Wuji, Cai, Yü (Li Liweng), Yuan Mei.
The Macartney Mission: Resources on the Macartney Mission (1793), when the British government sent George Macartney (1737-1806), to present its demands to the Qianlong emperor (r. 1736-1796).
The Opium War and Treaty of Nanjing: Resources on foreign encroachments upon China during the nineteenth century, including the Opium War and the Treaty of Nanjing (1842).

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