NCTA provides content rich professional development programs for K-12 educators and pre-service teachers in all fields. This includes face-to-face college level seminars, online courses, workshops, book groups, webinars, and among other opportunities. Below are current offerings both locally and nationwide:
Wednesday, October 7, 2026
7:00pm - 8:30pm (Eastern Time)
Online, Synchronous on Zoom
This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chairman Mao Zedong in 1976, prompting a shift from China’s mostly rural, agricultural-based society, which was tightly controlled by a command economy, to a predominantly industrial and technological one that slowly but steadily embraced the open market of the world’s global economy. Despite its sweeping economic and social changes, China’s Communist Party, particularly under current leader Xi Jinping, has diligently sought to maintain control of its citizens in these fifty years since Mao’s death by redefining and reinforcing the party’s legitimacy through a variety of measures.
Join us and our colleagues at Pitt's Global Studies Center for this free online workshop for K-12 educators on Wednesday, October 7, from 7:00-8:30 pm via Zoom to hear Modern China expert, Dr. David Kenley, Professor of History and Cyber Leadership at Dakota State University, discuss the significant changes in China over the past fifty years since Mao’s death and his legacy within China and as a global figure. The presentation will be followed by a presentation on pedagogical strategies and curriculum for K-12 classroom use.
All teachers who attend the session will receive their choice of complimentary book. Other benefits include a Certificate of Completion, and Pennsylvania teachers will receive Act 48 hours.
Saturday, October 24, 2026
10:30am - 2:00pm (Eastern Time)
In-Person at the China Folk House Retreat, Rolling Ridge Conservancy
Onsite Director: Dr. John Flower is co-Founder of the China Folk House Retreat, retired Director of the Sidwell Friends School Chinese Studies Program, a former associate professor of East Asian History at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Fellow at the East Asia Center at the University of Virginia. He has thirty-five years of research experience in the Chinese countryside, focusing for the last 15 years on the multi-ethnic regions of northwest Yunnan Province. John has received research grants from the American Council of Learned Societies and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and support for people-to-people exchange programs through the U.S. Department of State.
The Japanese Postwar Constitution, promulgated during the US Occupation of Japan, was once understood to have been written entirely by a US committee. Scholarship in the past 35 years has complicated that narrative, revealing a complex negotiation with significant input from Japanese stakeholders. Since 1947, the constitution has been a source of ongoing discourse, with the possibility of constitutional revision always on the horizon. Now, at the 80th anniversary of the 1947 "Peace" Constitution, debate and pressure for revision have taken on new momentum under current Prime Minister Sanai Takaichi.
What's the story of this constitution that was widely predicted to fail? How does the 1947 constitution offer windows into Japan's post-1945 history, national identity, economic development, war memory and responsibility, and global relations? What's at stake as the constitution turns 80?
Course schedule and topics:
October 31-November 7: Intro/Reading Week.
November 7-14: Re-examining the origins of the 1947 Constitution
November 14-21:Revision contests in the post Showa-era
Thanksgiving break
November 28-December 6: Revision at 80? Why now?
In this free 3-unit special-topics course for Middle and High School educators, each week features a required recorded or live webinar with a specialist, a modest reading assignment, and an asynchronous discussion forum. Participants have access to a collection of course materials including primary source documents and secondary readings. Full participation in all three units of the course is required to receive a completion certificate for 12 PD hours and a relevant book. Pennsylvania teachers are eligible for Act 48 hours.
Course Limited to 25 Educators & Selection will be made on a rolling basis
Application Deadline: Monday, October 26, 2026
