The UNG STARTALK Chinese pilot program consists of a two-week residential immersion summer camp and 60 hours of hybrid outreach activities during academic year.
Features of the UNG STARTALK Chinese pilot program
- Standard based teaching: astronomy topics selected from Georgia Performance Standards for High School Astronomy.
- Proficiency and Performance based teaching: using ACTFL and STARTALK guidelines to design learning and assessment activities.
- Diverse and inclusive student population: collaborate with Chinese programs at high schools in Georgia and focus recruitment efforts on high school youth with limited learning options.
- Cross-disciplinary curriculum: Faculty at K-16 levels, with expertise in language teaching, literature and film appreciation, science education, physics, and computer science work together to develop content-based curriculum and extracurricular plans that enriches this stem-based language and culture learning program.
Learning Goals
By the end of the program, students are expected to:
- Improve their language proficiency to at least a sublevel at ACTFL OPI test scale.
- Deepen their understanding of Chinese culture connected to the topics of astronomy and the related myths.
- Develop their knowledge of astronomy.
- Develop interest in federal careers, such as working in NASA and other aeronautics related educational and research institutes.
