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Welcome to the Program for Teaching East Asia
The Program for Teaching East Asia (TEA) at the Center for Asian Studies conducts national, regional, and state projects designed to enhance and expand teaching and learning about East Asia at the elementary and secondary school levels. Specific projects focus on curriculum development, professional development for teachers, and curriculum consultation and reform related to Asia in K-12 education. TEA projects are currently supported by a generous grant from the Freeman Foundation and grants from the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in San Francisco, The Japan Foundation, New York and the CU Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship.
The Program for Teaching East Asia is conducted under the auspices of the University of Colorado Boulder Center for Asian Studies. Our Center's statements on Institutional Racism in the US and the University of Colorado Campus Land Use may be found at https://www.colorado.edu/cas/center-asian-studies-statements.
Current Programs
Fall 2025
Check back in August 2025 to see our upcoming programming.
Spring 2025 - In-Person Workshop
Lunar Phases: Korean Moon Jars - A Hands-on Workshop for K-12 Teachers: May 17, 12:30 to 4:30 PM, Denver Art Museum. Immerse yourself in the artistry and history of Korea's porcelain moon jars at this professional development workshop, presented in collaboration with the Denver Art Museum. Teachers will explore the museum's exhibition Lunar Phases: Korean Moon Jars and take part in a public artist demonstration by master ceramicist Lee Dong Sik. This program is full and no longer accepting applications.
Summer 2025 - Online Course
China's Space Dream: Teaching China's Space Program: June 26 - July 20, 2025. As the third nation to independently send humans into space, this three-week online seminar explores China’s rise as a space power. From Shenzhou 5 to the new Tiangong space station, teachers will explore China’s impact on global space exploration. This program is full and no longer accepting applications.
Summer Institute 2025
East Asia Under Mongol Dominance: Subjects, Allies, & Adversaries: July 19-25, 2025. The Mongols' dominance impacted China, Japan, and Korea in different ways in the 13th and 14th centuries. While some East Asians were subjects of the Mongols, others served as allies or resisted their insurgence. Through different disciplinary lenses including art and literature, this institute will examine the short-term rule and long-term implications and legacies of the Mongols in East Asia. Applications have closed.
Summer 2025 Study Tour - Taiwan
Layers of History and Identity: June 29 - July 13, 2025. The Program for Teaching East Asia (TEA) at the University of Colorado Boulder and The Five College Center for East Asian Studies (FCCEAS) are organizing a two-week NCTA Study Tour to Taiwan. Fourteen participants will explore Taiwan's history and culture in Taipei, Tainan, and Kaohsiung. The tour is open to full-time, in-service K-12 NCTA teacher alumni who have completed at least 20 hours of NCTA programming, ideally an introductory seminar. Participants must complete pre-departure online modules, attend an orientation webinar, and submit a follow-up curriculum project by Sept. 2, 2025. This course is full and no longer accepting applications.
Winter/Spring 2025 - Webinars
Art in the Classroom: January 28 - May 1. Explore the deeper significance of objects from across East Asia in this webinar series, where we examine their creation, imagery, and broader historical context. Join one or all sessions to discover how these objects can enrich classroom discussions and lessons.
Learning Behind Barbed Wire: A Look at Schools in a Japanese American Incarceration Camp During World War II:April 22, 7pm ET. Join for a webinar exploring her research on K-12 education at Amache, one of the Japanese American incarceration camps during WWII. This session will offer educators insights into the school structure, daily life, and the reciprocal impact of Amache schools on the community, while discussing ways to engage students in critical conversations about this historical event and its effects on children and youth. This program is full.
Resources from TEA
TEA's NCTA Video Project. TEA's NCTA "Short Takes" is a collection of 40 video lectures designed for use by classroom teachers as professional background or classroom use. Each video focuses on a timely topic or “best practice” presented by an NCTA consulting scholar, seminar leader, teacher alum, or author.
- Take a “quick course” on a current topic you can integrate into your teaching.
- Choose a video to show in class.
- See how NCTA alumni are using new resources successfully.
- Hear what authors have to say about using their new books in the classroom.
Access the complete collection.
Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 in China and the U.S. through Literature and Writing is a 2020-2021 special project undertaken by TEA with funding from the Universty of Colorado Office of Engagement and Outreach and the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA). The project worked with ten secondary teachers to introduce them and their students to the book Wuhan Diaries: Dispatches from a Quarantined City, by the Chinese author Fang Fang. Students then wrote diary and journal entries recording their own experiences processing their year during the COVID pandemic. Their moving personal accounts link their personal experiences to experiences in China and globally. Visit our project page for more information on the project and selected student writings.
Resources and Strategies for Teaching about Asian America and Responding to Anti-Asian Racism. Educators have a critical role to play in teaching about Asian America and, now more than ever, educating to combat anti-Asian racism and all forms of racism. Developed for Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, May 2021, this TEA-NCTA resource offers educators a selective "toolkit" to address these goals during the May 2021 Awarness month and every day.
