EASC offers professional development opportunities for K-12 educators throughout the academic year. Here you can find our upcoming NCTA short courses and webinars, as well as see courses that have been offered in the past.
EASC's online professional development opportunities are open to all K-12 educators and pre-service teachers.
Start Date: April 19, 2026
End Date: May 30, 2026
Registration Deadline: April 11, 2026
Taught by Cecilia Boyce, this six-week NCTA course will equip teachers with the knowledge and resources needed to incorporate Yoko Ogawa's "The Memory Police" into their classroom. Through the exploration of Ogawa's work teachers will gain more insight into the cultural and historic subtext of her stories while engaging in dialogue with other teachers. The course will be comprised of a weekly Canvas discussion based on brief excerpts from Ogawa’s other novels followed by weekly on-hour Saturday morning Zoom sessions (10:00am ET) focused primarily on the author’s narrative techniques.
This course offers teachers 12 professional development hours and is capped at 25 participants. For any questions reach out to easc@iu.edu.
Start Date: April 26, 2026
End Date: May 09, 2026
Registration Deadline: April 18, 2026
This asynchronous NCTA short course will cover Japan's unique culture of fermentation. Participants will explore the agents used, how methods vary based on the size of producers, and the different types of ferments found in Japan. This course will also explore how Japan fits into the larger East Asian region consisting of China, Korea, and Taiwan. Focus will be on how Japan has influenced the surrounding area especially during its pre- and inter-WWII imperialist expansion in the region. Participants will be introduced to the similarities between ferments from different countries and how regional ingredients are adapted to make unique combinations.
This course offers teachers 3 professional development hours. For any questions reach out to easc@iu.edu
Date: May 07, 2026
Time: 7:00 - 9:00pm ET
Registration Deadline: May 03, 2026
Location: Online, Zoom.
This webinar, taught by PhD student Yunmeng Zhang will introduce two significant figures from the Tang Dynasty: Li Bai and Du Fu. Participants will begin with a comparison of the poets focusing on both the convergences and divergences in their lives, as well as what each represents within Chinese culture and literary tradition. Yunmeng will bring the two figures into a comparative framework, allowing the audience to develop a more grounded, understanding of Chinese culture through the lives and works of these two figures. This comparative lens will serve as an accessible entry point for educators beginning to engage with China’s literary and cultural traditions.
This course offers teachers 2 professional development hours. For any questions reach out to easc@iu.edu.
Start Date: May 10, 2026
End Date: May 30, 2026
Registration Deadline: May 03, 2026
In this course participants will explore Cultural Anthropology’s study of the Native, the discipline’s complicity in legitimizing forms of violence on Indigenous Peoples, and the recent rise of Indigenous East Asian Anthropologists and Scholars responding to the discipline. Using historical and contemporary case studies in East Asia, participants will examine the interconnections of settler colonial structures across nations, regions and oceans. Thematically, we will focus on the discourse of development and the frontier, settler state policies, migration, citizenship and sovereignty, Indigenous activism in media and art, gender and resistance.
This course offers teachers 6 professional development hours. For any questions reach out to easc@iu.edu.
Date: June 11, 2026
Time: 7:00 - 9:00pm ET
Registration Deadline: June 05, 2026
Location: Online, Zoom.
This webinar, taught by PhD student Yunmeng Zhang, introduce participants to “Diary of a Madman” (1918) by Lu Xun, which has been widely considered the first modern Chinese short story. Participants will be guided through an exploration of how Lu Xun uses the idea of a “madman” to question social definitions of tradition, decay, illness, and normality. Yunmeng will also offer practical strategies for using this story in the classroom. Participants will learn how to introduce the text through discussion-based approaches, connect it to familiar works such as dystopian literature and historical allegory, and guide students in reflecting on questions like: Who defines what is “normal”? When does conformity become harmful? And what role does education play in shaping moral awareness?
This course offers teachers 2 professional development hours. For any questions reach out to easc@iu.edu.
HAMILTON LUGAR SCHOOLBLOOMINGTON
355 North Eagleson Avenue