The Interaction of
Environment and Culture in Malawi: An Interdisciplinary Area Studies Short-Term
Seminar Project.
ABSTRACT
Under the GPA Short-Term Seminar Projects,
Competitive Preference Priority II, this project will enable two Mercer
University faculty and twelve K-12 educators comprised of ten practicing
teachers enrolled in teacher education programs at Mercer University or teaching
in the Metro area, and two school administrators from the metro-Atlanta school
districts, to travel to Malawi, Africa on a four-week field trip. The goals of
this field trip are to enable the selected participants to: (1) collect data
for use in integrating environmental awareness and cultural competency into
their Area Studies curricula in their classrooms, and (2) establish an ongoing collaborative
online exchange program with their counterpart Malawian educators. The specific objectives of the project are to:
(1) study the impact of ecology and environment on the culture and history of Malawi;
(2) develop lesson plans, instructional strategies and curriculum resources to
integrate international Area Studies into the K-12 curricula; (3) collect pertinent
environmental and cultural artifacts
with the help of Malawian environmental specialists and students, educators, artists,
the clergy, businesspeople, and government officials; (4) train the team
members to be mentors and information sources to disseminate the results of the
project to other US K-12 school systems; and (5) create an on-going, online
resource for collaborative opportunities for American and Malawian educators to
engage in cross-cultural understandings. The project objectives support Mercer
University’s strategic plan that emphasizes promoting global and
interdisciplinary studies to enhance student perspective and potential
contributions to society. The project
will also complement Mercer University’s on-going study abroad initiatives
which include, among others, Mercer on Mission (MoM) overseas and Tift College
of Education’s collaboration with the Ricks Institute in Liberia, Africa.
Number of Participants: 12
Project Director: Zipangani
M. Vokhiwa, PhD
Assistant Professor of Science
Department of Math, Science
and Informatics (MSI),
College of Continuing and
Professional Studies (CCPS)
Mercer University,
1400 Coleman Avenue,
Macon, GA 31207
Tel: (678) 547-6511
Fax: (678) 547-6494
Email: Vokhiwa_zm@mercer.edu
