This 21 hour professional development seminar series explored how currency serves as a lens for understanding national identity and national narrative making in China, Taiwan, and Japan. By examining the figures, images, and places depicted on banknotes and coins, educators gained new strategies for teaching about modern Asia in the classroom.
The course starts Sunday, June 1st and ends Wednesday, July 2nd. Participants engaged with 4 online modules, attend three 2-hour live Zoom sessions, and complete a final assignment.
Schedule Overview
| Week | Dates | Activity | Hours |
| Week 1 | June 1–7 | Pre-Work Module (Asynchronous): Complete readings and reflection activities | 3 hours asynchronous |
| Week 2 | June 10 | Session 1 – Historical Figures (Zoom, 4:30–6:30 PM PT) | 2 hours homework + 2 hours reading + 4 hours for 2 Zooms |
| Week 2 | June 12 | Session 2 – Cultural Objects & Images (Zoom, 4:30–6:30 PM PT) | 2 hours synchronous + 2 hours prep reading |
| Week 3 | June 17 | Session 3 – Geography & Places (Zoom, 4:30–6:30 PM PT) | 2 hours synchronous + 2 hours prep reading |
| Week 4 | June 24–30 | Work on Final Curricular Project (Asynchronous) | 5 hours project work |
| Final Submission | July 2 | Final Project Due (Submit online and share with cohort) | 1 hour project review and feedback |
Total = 3 hours (Week 1) + (6 hours Zoom + 6 hours prep reading) + 5 hours (project) + 1 hour (final peer review) = 21 hours
Here are the details for the Zoom sessions:
Session 1 – Tuesday, June 10, 2025, 4:30 -6:30 pm Pacific Time: Historical Figures on Currency
We’ll explore how China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea feature historical figures on currency and how these choices reflect state values, collective memory, and political goals. What does it mean to elevate a person to this level of symbolic representation? Who is missing—and why?
Session 2 – Thursday, June 12, 2025, 4:30 -6:30 pm Pacific Time: Cultural Objects and Images
This session examines non-human imagery—monuments, traditional arts, mythical creatures, and artifacts—as tools for cultural storytelling. How do visual elements encode heritage, identity, and ideology? We’ll discuss how these images reinforce national stories and cultural continuity, and how educators can help students interpret visual culture in historical context.
Session 3 – Tuesday, June 17, 2025, 4:30 -6:30 pm Pacific Time: Geography and Places
Currency can reflect landscapes and built environments that define the nation.We’ll investigate how physical landscapes, architectural landmarks, and regional symbols on currency reflect political geography, contested histories, and national unity.
Program benefits
- Teaching resources.
- 21 free WA OSPI clock hours.
Program leaders
Dr. Brian Dowdle, Professor of Japanese Language and Culture, and Senior Mansfield Fellow, University of Montana.
Dr. Lauren Collins, Program Director of Asian Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Program Expectations
Participating teachers were expected to be active, engaged members of the learning community throughout the seminar. Each session was designed to be interactive, with breakout discussions, collaborative activities, and opportunities to share perspectives and classroom applications. Teachers were asked to join Zoom sessions with cameras on to foster a sense of presence and community, and to complete short online assignments before each meeting—such as brief readings, viewing images, or reflecting on classroom connections—to prepare for discussion. During sessions, participants were expected to contribute thoughtfully to discussions and group activities, bringing their insights and experiences to enrich the collective learning process. All participants submitted a final project that connected seminar content to their teaching, such as a lesson plan, classroom activity, student assignment, or reflection essay. This seminar was intended not only to deepen content knowledge but also to support practical classroom integration, and active, respectful participation was essential to creating a welcoming, inclusive environment where all voices were valued.
This program was sponsored by the East Asia Resource Center at the University of Washington and funded by a Freeman Foundation grant in support of the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA).