Welcome to the National Consortium for Teaching About Asia (NCTA) at the University of Pittsburgh

For over 25 years, the nationwide network of NCTA sites has worked with thousands of K-12 educators to provide high-quality professional development opportunities. Funded by the Freeman Foundation, NCTA gets teachers quickly up to speed on the histories, arts, cultures, politics, languages and literatures of East Asia, with a particular focus on China, Japan and Korea.  The core of our professional development opportunities are our 36-hour seminars for educators, taught by university faculty throughout our eleven state region of Alabama, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. In addition to our core seminars, we also host other professional development opportunities, such as workshops, webinars, online book discussions, and study tours to East Asia. We look forward to working with you.

 

Food in Contemporary Japanese Literature: An NCTA Workshop for K-12 Educators Resources

Food in Contemporary Japanese Literature: An NCTA Workshop for K–12 Educators, held on October 25, 2023, that offered an introduction to contemporary Japanese literature through readings that celebrate food. It began with a video featuring award-winning author Hideo Furukawa and his translator, Kendall Heitzman, discussing a chapter from his memoir Zero F, set in Fukushima after the March 2011 disaster. Next, it looked at popular Japanese literary genres, including manga, modern tanka poetry, the I-novel tradition, and zuihitsu. Lastly, it concluded with the possibilities of translation, using a tanka by Ainu poet Hokuto Iboshi, guided by notes from poetry translator Andrew Campana. This workshop provided guidance for teachers in K-12 who want to include contemporary Japanese writing in their curriculum or to focus on food writing. Click Here to Access the Workshop Resources

Centering Taiwan in Global Asia: An NCTA Resource Workshop for K-12 Educators Resources

Centering Taiwan in Global Asia: An NCTA Resource Workshop for K-12 Educators was a collaborative K-12 curriculum resource workshop with the Asian Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh on October 19, 2023, which sought to examine the island of Taiwan's rich and compelling historical narrative as well as the important role it plays in today's geopolitical and economic landscape. This workshop also included strategies for incorporating the study of Taiwan into the K-12 classroom with the award-winning interactive curriculum resource website, Centering Taiwan in Global Asia Click Here to Access the Workshop Resources

Upcoming Events

New to NCTA?
The National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA) funded by the Freeman Foundation and launched in 1998, is a nationwide initiative to... New to NCTA?
Find a seminar in your state
The NCTA coordinating site at Pitt serves an 11 state region from Maryland to Minnesota. If you are  K-12 educator looking for a seminar about... Find A Seminar in Your State!
NCTA National
NCTA at Pitt is just one of the coordinating sites within the Unites States. NCTA is a nationwide initiative, supported by the Freeman Foundation,... Visit NCTA National Site
Benefits for K-12 Educators
Benefits for K-12 teachers who complete all the requirements of the NCTA seminars vary according to the type of NCTA seminar taken (the 30-hours... Benefits for Teachers
Study in Asia
NCTA alumni are eligible for a variety of summer experiences in East Asia sponsored by both the University of Pittsburgh coordinating site and the... Learn More
EAGLE
The East Asia Gateway for Linking Educators (EAGLE) Is an online database of materials for NCTA teachers, a media collection database, and the blog... Learn More