SSU CIPA Director and Teacher Education Professor Present at Conference

Jan. 3, 2012

Shawnee State University Teacher Education Professor Xiaodan Huang and Center for International Programs and Activities (CIPA) Director Rita Haider participated at the National Association of Foreign Student Advisers (NAFSA) Region VI Annual Conference in Louisville, Ky. in November.

The theme of the conference was "Be the Change" promoting respect, hope and understanding.

Huang presented at "Connecting to China's Education System: English Immersion and the SSU Experience." Through faculty work in an English immersion project in China, Shawnee State has developed a student exchange program with South China Normal University.

Three groups of SSU pre-service student teachers have completed student teaching in the Chinese K-12 schools which is recognized for licensure by Ohio since the program started in 2009.

"The program has been very successful for our student teachers going to China," Huang said. "Although Shawnee State has student exchange programs with universities in several countries, China is the first country that has a student teacher program for our students."

Haider presented "International Student Services on a Shoestring Budget." She presented information on the Lending Closet at Shawnee State that provides basic dorm supplies for international students, the Bike Lending Program and International Meal Day at SSU.

The Bike Lending Program was set up for international students so they would be able to move about the city easier and to have a type of transportation they are generally used to in many countries. Before they can ride a bike, students must go through a training program and learn the laws for riding bikes in the United States.

International Meal Day is a monthly event where international students submit recipes from their home countries and the campus dining facilities prepares the food for the entire campus one day each month.

Haider was also on a panel of expert judges to determine winners of awards for case study conundrum participants. Teams presented their descriptions of a conundrum in international education.

The case studies required broad familiarity with various dimensions of international education and participants were expected to generate solutions that cut across knowledge communities. Teams had 15 minutes to present their findings and recommendations to the panel.

"It was fascinating to hear the students' case study conundrum presentations," Haider said. "They were very knowledgeable of the problems and challenges we face in international education."