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Canadian Studies Center, Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington

K-12 STUDY CANADA in Vancouver and Whistler

k12 Sept. 2010 Group
The K-12 STUDY CANADA Summer Institute celebrated its 32nd year in Vancouver and Whistler this summer. Participants and presenters enjoy their last day in Whistler. Said one participant, "Out of all the programs, courses, and degrees that I have worked on, this course is by far the best."

September 30, 2010

Originally posted: September 2010

This summer, the Pacific Northwest National Resource Center on Canada (Center for Canadian-American Studies, Western Washington University, and the UW Canadian Studies Center) held its 32nd annual K-12 STUDY CANADA Summer Institute in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia. The week-long institute served twenty K-12 educators from across the US, including Colorado, Ohio, South Carolina, Montana, Georgia, California, Michigan, Virginia, and Washington.

This year, the program featured Joël Plouffe, WWU’s Visiting Scholar of Québec Studies and doctoral candidate at the University of Québec, Montréal. Joël, a scholar of Arctic geopolitics, provided the presentation, “A Portrait of Québec: Its History, People, and Politics.” Other presentations ranging from Canadian politics to economics to geography and history were provided by Karen Palmarini from the Canadian Consulate in Denver; WWU faculty Don Alper, Paul Storer, David Rossiter, Cecilia Danysk, and Tina Storer; and UW’s Nadine Fabbi. Field trips included tours of the 2010 Olympic Commerce Centre, Stanley Park, and downtown Vancouver, as well as the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre in Whistler.

k12 Sept. 2010 Participants

Tina Storer (second from left), Institute program coordinator, with Summer Institute participants and beautiful downtown Whistler in the background.

The program, which will move to Ottawa in 2011, is the premier institute on Canada in the US. Participants enjoy one week of intensive presentations, field trips, and assistance with curriculum development. (Many curriculum projects are also available on the K-12 STUDY CANADA website.) Educators receive university credits or Washington state clock hours for attendance and completion of projects. As one 2010 participant stated, “Hands down, this was the best teacher workshop I have attended!”

Information about the 2011 Institute, A Capital View of Canada: Nations within a Nation, is also available online at: www.k12studycanada.org/scsi.asp

The Institute is coordinated by Tina Storer, Education and Curriculum Specialist, and Don Alper, Director, at the Center for Canadian-American Studies, Western Washington University.

K-12 STUDY CANADA Program

The K-12 STUDY CANADA Summer Institute is supported by a National Resource Center Title VI grant and an Outreach Grant from the Government of Canada.