Research link leads to US collaboration
Research link leads to US collaboration
A friendship forged over several years of meeting at professional conferences around the world has led to plans for ongoing research and study collaborations between Victoria and a university in the United States.
Senior lecturer Barrie Gordon from Victoria’s Faculty of Education and Dr Michael Hemphill from the College of Charleston (CofC) in South Carolina first met in 2010. They share an academic specialty—sport pedagogy—and have met a number of times since then at international conferences related to the Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) model.
After his first trip here in 2014, Michael visited New Zealand again earlier this year, bringing with him 19 students and two other academics on a study trip. During their two week stay in Wellington the group examined New Zealand’s unique sporting culture as it relates to education, and also enjoyed some special Kiwi cultural experiences.
“Barrie taught us a traditional Māori game called Ki o Rahi,” he says. “Our students were able to learn about the history and cultural significance of the game from Barrie, then they had to design their own lesson on it. We’re going to present those lessons back in the United States—it’s a great example of the unique benefits a Study Abroad programme can offer, because these students have been exposed to a culture that most Americans know very little about.”
Along with Barrie, the Charleston academics were also able to meet with others in the Education faculty including the Dean, Associate Professor David Crabbe, and the Head of School Dr Kate Thornton to discuss future collaboration.
Barrie says the prospects of continued research and study links with the College of Charleston are very exciting. “The plans include yearly Study Abroad visits from them, and our Education faculty is hoping to develop a paper that could see a group of Victoria undergraduates travel to Charleston as part of the course. We will also build further joint study programmes and research relationships between academics from Victoria’s Education faculty and the College of Charleston.”
Contact: Barrie Gordon, +64 463 9770