China: A place to visit for a once in a lifetime experience Past Review
By Abbey D (Elementary Education, University of Northern Iowa) for
Dongguan University of Technology: Dongguan - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
I am glad I had this experience to make me a better person with more worldly experience and understanding of life, but I would not pick this same program again. I also have decided not to teach abroad for a while since I feel like I am needed just as much in the U.S. as I could be used as a teacher in other countries. Overall I was disappointed in the leadership of the people in my group throughout the camp and expected better guidance throughout the course.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The workload was just fine as the amount of effort I put into my prior to leaving lessons was feasible, however, I did not feel confident in what I had prepared for my program once I arrived to teach. My professor did not give us any examples of what she was looking for in her assessments of our work and did not spend much time overseeing our progress during the program. Also during the semester of preparation prior to departure she was rarely present at our weekly meetings so the program was mainly run by students that had been on the trip previously. The main differences between the Chinese educational system and the American system were based on assessment. The American style of teaching tends to be very hands on and interactive where in China students mainly sit and write for memorization without any authentic assessment evaluating what they have learned. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The staff of the Chinese Summer Camp were wonderful however the Teacher Assistants were not very knowledgeable in understanding or speaking the English language. This made it very hard to teach and convey ideas to students when the TA's themselves did not know or understand what was being said. Also I was expecting the UNI staff to be more of a guide throughout the trip but this was not the case. The facilities at the university were perfectly adequate however the camp did not have many supplies for foreign teachers to use for instruction and did not make their goals of the camp apparent until the day of classroom teaching at 8:00 a.m. when classes started at 8:30 a.m. during the morning meeting. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The housing situation was perfectly fine as it was interesting to see the living conditions of Chinese professors during their academic year. |
| * Food: |
The accessibility of food was great as it was also provided by the camp at no expense to us, however on a regular basis it was very cold and under cooked. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I loved the first part of the trip as we visited the Forbidden City, Ming Tombs, the HouTong, Tiannamen Square, The Great Wall of China, and the Olympic Plaza. Also the field trips sponsored by the camp were amazing and were so interesting to get to see what life was like outside of the camp. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
The camp was good at taking care of students and foreign teachers alike when any medical issues arose. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Direct Enrollment |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Education majors will mostly benefit from this program. Students that attended this program that were not education majors had a difficult time coming up with instructional ideas for content and activities. Something I would have benefitted knowing about this program would be that you will mostly be in charge of all of your communication on your own. Relying on the Teacher Assistants for resources will only get you so far and you will have to find ways to get around by yourself/with other UNI students and will have to be the real teacher without any guidance of curriculum or content once you get into the classroom. |
