This award supports the participation of American researchers, postdocs, and graduate students in a U.S. - Singapore workshop on expanding U.S.-Asia Collaborations in Geography education to be held in Singapore in early 2010. The co-organizers are Dr. Michael Solem of the Association of American Geographers (AAG) in Washington, D. C. and Dr. Chew?Hung Chang of the Southeast Asian Geography Association and the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. The workshop will extend the networks of the AAG?s Center for Global Geography (CGGE) education to support online international collaborations between geographers. In the past they have developed Phase 1 consisting of three modules (Nationalism, Global Economy, and Population) and are now planning on developing Phase 2 consisting of three new modules (Migration, Global Climate Change, and Water Resources). The workshop sessions will result in three major outcomes for the Phase 2 project: 1) a collection of new Asian case studies and collaborative activities for the modules, 2) classroom trials of the workshop materials in undergraduate geography classes taught in the U.S. and Asia, and 3) a cadre of American and Asian geographers who actively use the modules to plan collaborations in their own geography classes. Materials developed in the workshop will draw on geographic research by participating students and faculty. Workshop participants will receive training for managing collaborations with the modules. They will also be prepared to collect data as part of an international research effort to study the impact of the materials developed in the workshop.
There is sufficient overlap of interests between the Association of American Geographers and the Southeast Asian Geography Association to indicate that they can successfully pursue the activities proposed and that the interaction will benefit both sides. When published, these modules will offer a larger variety of resources for teaching geographic issues. By involving postdocs and students in early career stages, the workshop will provide an opportunity for participants to build valuable international networks that can continue to enhance their teaching and research in subsequent years. Ultimately, these relationships will enhance the international perspectives of undergraduate students in the U.S. and abroad who use the CGGE modules to learn about geographic issues in Asia. Broad dissemination of the workshop?s materials will be made available through publications and the AAG websites. The materials will be published in English, Spanish and Chinese.
