June 4, 2007

Sarah Kieft in a traditional Chinese gown.

Kieft is one of 19 student teachers from SFU who travelled to Dalian, China and says she has learned much professionally and personally. She travelled to Dalian as part of the International Teacher Education Module (ITEM), which encourages and provides field experience for student teachers to develop global perspectives. The vast differences in the language, culture, schools, people, food, traditions, and living conditions in Dalian required Kieft to adjust quickly while appreciating these contrasts between Canada and China.

“Professionally, teaching and living in Dalian has taught me the importance of working together,” explained Kieft, something she found that the Chinese people are exceptionally good at as their culture tends to revolve around interdependence. “In the classroom, my students taught me that word choice is as important as the way I speak more slowly and with clarity.”

After spending two months studying, working, and living in Dalian, Kieft feels she has opened her eyes to life outside Canada. She learned that a language barrier isn’t always a barrier, as long as one is patient and willing to try. Kieft feels that before her experience in Dalian, she had taken for granted the abundance of space, natural resources, and the minimal pollution problems in Canada. She has come to cherish those things since returning home.

ITEM focuses on the theme of internationalization of education and equipping student teachers with knowledge and experience to prepare them for the diverse classrooms in B.C. During their international assignment, student teachers explore the issues of diversity, global education, English-as-an-additional language and intercultural communications, all critical components of classroom life. Other ITEM field sites include Trinidad & Tobago, Mexico, and Panama. A site in South Africa has been proposed for 2008.

For more information about the ITEM program,

go to www. educ.sfu.ca/pdp/admissions/international.html

or contact Kathryn Jung at kdjung@sfu.ca

Some photos from Kieft's "ITEM Dalian 2007"