Workshop Summary
October 7th through the 8th we hosted our series of pedagogical workshops "Asia Across the Curriculum: Encountering Asia in Wellness, Science, Music, and Art" in conjunction with the Southwest Conference on Asian Studies. The workshop was a success, with renowned scholars of Asia teaching the educators and teacher candidates in attendance multidisciplinary ways of engaging Asia in their classrooms. 
Martial arts scholar Dr. Adam Frank of the University of Central Arkansas led a martial arts qigong workshop in which he led participants through breathing techniques, postures, and basic movements. The qigong he demonstrated could easily be used in a physical education or health classroom. After Dr. Frank's demonstration, Dr. Gloria Chien gave a presentation on Japanese tea culture and the health benefits of tea, and simulated a contemplative tea ceremony for the participants.
Dr. Matt Marone, a chemistry professor at Mercer University in Georgia prepared a science experiment for participants in which they used ancient Daoist alchemical techniques to make copper. This experiment fascinates his own students and would be an interesting
activity for science classes that can also connect to Chinese culture.
For our music and dance workshop, Dr. Kae Hashimoto Reed of Arkansas Tech University gave a presentation on the history of drumming in Japan and performed a demonstration, after which participants were able to try drumming for themselves. After Dr. Reed's presentation, Dr. Melody Li of the University of Houston and Dr. Cynthia Ma of Washington University at St. Louis taught the participants simple Chinese dances and introduced props like fans and streamers that are often used in Chinese dance performances.
During our arts workshop, Dr. Guo'ou Zhuang of the University of Central Arkansas gave an introduction to Chinese calligraphy and let participants try it for themselves. Dr. Cynthia Ma led participants through paper-folding, and though not all of us were able to produce an origami crane, Dr. Ma did a great job of introducing paper-folding and demonstrating how it can be used in art classrooms.
Arkansas NCTA hosts one workshop each spring, multiple workshops each summer, and one workshop each autumn. To keep up with our pedagogical workshops, check out our News & Events page!
Resources
Interested in learning more? Check out these additional resources related to content covered in the workshop.
Japanese Tea Culture - Global Japanese Tea Association
Here are two articles about tea and contemplation. The first is an introduction to the history and basics of Japanese tea culture, and the second highlights the health benefits of tea meditation and teaches the reader how to contemplatively drink tea.
Dr. Melody Li: The Art of Chinese Dance
If you enjoyed Dr. Melody Li and Dr. Cynthia Ma's workshop and performance, check out this similar talk that Dr. Li gave on the Art of Chinese Dance. If you would like to find more Chinese dances, search "lotus award" (taoli bei) on Youtube and browse the competitive performances. Follow Dr. Li's Youtube channel to learn more about Chinese popular culture.
Teaching Physics through Ancient Chinese Science and Technology by Dr. Matt Marone
If you'd like to learn more about the relationship between Ancient Chinese technology and modern-day science, Dr. Marone's book linked here is a great source of unique research on the topic. Dr. Marone is a key voice in this area of research and his book introduces both theory and practical application.
Dr. Marone has also more recently published The Art of Teaching Physics with Ancient Chinese Science and Technology that can be used in dialogue with his previous book to effectively implement Ancient Chinese science and technology in a Physics classroom.