For many, summer is a time for camping, outdoor sports and cold drinks on a warm patio. But for educators, summer isn't always about winding down—it's about catching up on research and writing, travelling to international conferences, and devoting time to exciting projects.
We asked some of our Faculty of Education professors and alumni to tell us what they’re doing this summer (spoiler alert: they’re keeping busy). Read “How I'm spending my summer - Part 1” here.
Mijung Kim, associate professor, Elementary Education
My summer plans started in April when I was invited to be an expert in science education for UNESCO’s Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development curriculum project.
This international-level project works to embed issues of peace, sustainability, social justice, and global citizenship development within school textbooks in subjects such as science, geography, mathematics and language arts. Since I have a background in science education for sustainable development and a problem solving approach for social and environmental issues, I was one of six scholars from across the world, in the science subject group, invited to discuss principles and strategies for embedding these topics into school subjects and textbooks.
After several teleconferences and presentations from May through June, I was in Bangalore, India, for a workshop from June 27 to 30. Right now we are in the middle of developing the framework and guidelines for curriculum and textbook developers to produce these embedded resources for peace, sustainability and global citizenship as elaborated in the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
When I wasn’t working on the UNESCO project, I was in Beijing, China, with a colleague from Brock University, co-leading a professional development workshop for teachers organized through the Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education at the Faculty of Education.
About 60 K-12 teachers and school leaders in science and mathematics from Beijing school districts participated in this workshop.The teacher participants’ passion, dedication and innovative ideas in science and mathematics teaching impressed us a lot and helped us see different ways of problem solving in different contexts. An education minister in Beijing district shared with us their enthusiasm and dedication to developing their society through education, and the current project was part of their future making.
Read more about Mijung Kim’s teaching and research in the area of science education: Mijung Kim brings global perspectives to science education.
Feature Image: Elementary Education’s Mijung Kim (centre, back row) with colleagues at UNESCO’s Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development.