Back in Nanzhou for the third summer—the NPUST Center of Teacher Education has once again organized a set of successful learning activities designed to help Pingtung County middle-schoolers better navigate their futures. Over the break, the university students used a specially designed program to help the young learners to self-identify, explore career paths, and enhance their interests in learning.
The team was comprised of 13 students from various departments at NPUST. Sacrificing their summer hiatus, the students used knowledge from their own majors of study to create interdisciplinary hands-on activities that were both engaging and challenging.
Professor Wu Ya Ling of the Teacher Training Center explained that “this year (2020) is the 16th year that the university has organized the Schweitzer Education Service Camp and the third consecutive year for it to be held at Nanzhou Middle School. The students in the Teacher Education Center are on paths to become future teachers of higher-education – and they are sacrificing their summer to use their acquired skills to design cross-discipline educational activities to help middle school students. For them, it’s a type of learning experience. We hope that the students will continue to carry on the Schweitzer spirit of educational service”.
Student and team leader Mengwen Tsai planned and organized the event. Noting that it was her first time participating in the camp, she reflected on the experience, saying that “all though it was a lot of work to prepare, the interaction with the students – being able to help them and see their passion – was really encouraging. It was very much worth the labor.”
Over 70 students from Jiadong Junior High and Nanzhou Junior High participated in the camp this year. The students were very engaged and loved the program – evidenced by the fact that they pleaded with their principal to invite the students from NPUST back again, so that they can enjoy more of their excellent hands on learning activities.
