Galloway, N.J. – Through Stockton University’s continued partnership with National Chiayi University in Taiwan, 10 students from the Schools of Education and Business had the opportunity to travel to southern Taiwan for a week of learning and teaching in December.

The students were accompanied by Stockton’s Director of Global Engagement Patricia Sagasti Suppes; Interim Dean for the School of Education Kimberly Dickerson; and faculty members Chia-Lin Wu, Norma Boakes and Pam Kosick. 

While the students stayed with the faculty members, Sagasti Suppes and Dickerson met with their counterparts at NCYU to discuss the various ways in which they plan to develop more opportunities for students and faculty to "participate in these productive cultural exchanges." 

"These collaborations will include joint research, visits in both directions and exchanging students for semester-long study," Sagasti Suppes said. 

During their study course, the students gained valuable classroom experience. They observed typical classroom management strategies in two local elementary schools and then gave lessons on basic math, physical education and American culture.

According to Wu, who led the inaugural faculty-led program to Taiwan in 2017 and has continued to lead it, the study course presented an opportunity for reciprocal learning relationships between Stockton’s students and the students of NCYU.

“Recently, the Taiwanese government, specifically the Ministry of Education, has been promoting English as a second language. They’re attempting this by having certain courses in schools taught in English,” Wu said, listing physical education, music and science as subjects that have been utilized so far. “With our students, they wanted to see if the Taiwanese students would understand the lessons in English, particularly in math.

“I think our students did a pretty good job teaching their lessons,” Wu continued. “It gave them the chance to be teachers in a different culture setting.”  

For Abby Winterbottom, an Education major who has visited Taiwan twice, the experience – particularly of observing lessons – was revelatory, as it showed her firsthand what it is like for a student to experience a school lesson in a language they’re not fluent in.

“It was extremely difficult and even impossible for me to understand what was happening if Dr. Wu and other faculty had not translated the lesson for me,” Winterbottom said. “From that, I learned how important it is to use visuals and different methods of teaching when I have students in my future classroom whose native language is not English.

“Then, when we had the chance to teach our lessons to the students, I was able to take what I learned from the observations and incorporate that into my lessons,” Winterbottom continued. “My group added lots of pictures and diagrams for the students to look at while we taught them. This helped them understand what we were teaching and made them feel more comfortable learning it.”

Computer Science major Sara McShea, who tutors math, shared similiar sentiments, adding that the experience mirrored what she saw with students at Stockton’s Tutoring Center. 

“Being in a math class taught entirely in Chinese gave me a deeper understanding of what students in the tutoring center may experience when concepts are initially explained in ways unfamiliar to them. This taught me the value of using visual aids, real-world examples and step-by-step demonstrations to help make abstract ideas more comprehensible. My experiences working with elementary students in Taiwan showed me how to communicate complex ideas in creative and engaging ways,” McShea said.

When the students weren’t in the classroom, they explored the Taiwanese university’s on-campus farm, learned about sand preservation at the island’s rocky beaches, visited museums and monuments and enjoyed authentic hotpot dinners. Students even participated in one of the schools' 50^th anniversary field day celebrations and joined the NCYU students for karaoke, shrimping and perusing the Taipei Night Market. 

Wu is optimistic about the future of Stockton’s relationship with NCYU, hinting at another NCYU visit to Stockton in 2026. In the meantime, Wu is always ready to lead a faculty-led program to the island and thinks more faculty members should consider leading educational explorations like this.

“Faculty-led programs broaden our students’ perspectives on the world and help them understand different cultures and backgrounds,” Wu said. “We should broaden their knowledge about the world because the world is changing every day, and if we can show them how to respect that, the world would be a better place.”

Winterbottom and McShea agree that studying abroad enhances one’s collegiate experience and believe that students should consider joining faculty-led programs like the one they experienced in December.

“I think anyone who has the chance to study abroad should do it! There are so many different things you can learn and experience while you are in college that you may never get to do again. You also learn so much about your own culture when you are immersed in a different one,” Winterbottom said.

“Most of us on the trip, including myself, had never traveled outside the country before, and we all found the experience incredibly rewarding,” McShea said. “Being fully immersed in a new culture gave us not only educational insights but also lifelong memories and friendships. Even now, we continue to reflect on the trip and the bonds we formed in such a short time.

“Opportunities to travel and learn in this way may be rare once we enter the workforce, so taking advantage of these experiences while still in school allows us to grow academically, personally and professionally.”

– Story by Loukaia Taylor

– Photos submitted by Chia-Lin Wu

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