Tree of Wisdom: Telling Tales from Southeast Asia and Korea

This collaboration between SEAMEO and the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Center of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU) is the final phase on the development of teaching-learning materials on Southeast Asian and Korean folktales. In this current phase, SEAMEO SPAFA will coordinate the production of picture cards that can be used for story-telling sessions. Illustrators and story-tellers from the region will be tasked to illustrate one story each which will be compiled in a Picture Card Package for use in Southeast Asian and Korean classrooms. Through this project, it is hoped that school-children will have a better awareness and appreciation of their own countries’ folktales and the oral literature of the region, which is line with SEAMEO and APCEIU’s shared goal of education for inter-cultural understanding. A related follow-on activity will be an Illustrator’s Forum to be organized by SEAMEO SPAFA whereby the Picture Card illustrations can be exhibited. APCEIU will create a Folktales website.

In 2010, APCEIU collaborated with three SEAMEO Units, namely SEAMEO Regional Centre for Archaeology and Fine Arts (SEAMEO SPAFA), SEAMEO Regional Centre for Educational Innovation and Technology (SEAMEO INNOTECH), and SEAMEO Secretariat to co-implement a project called ‘SEAMEO-APCEIU Collaboration on the Development of Learning Materials on Asian Folktales’. The project publications, ‘Telling Tales in Southeast Asia and Korea – Teachers’ Guide’ and ‘Telling Tales in Southeast Asia and Korea – Situation Analysis’ were developed as outputs.

APCEIU again partnered with SEAMEO in 2011 to implement a project called ‘SEAMEO-APCEIU Collaboration on the Development of Multimedia Educational Material’. The project aims to present the folktales of Southeast Asian and Korea in a more user-friendly format by developing audio-visual content that will hopefully draw the interests of children in primary education. This multimedia format allows children to absorb the tales more easily as well as assist teachers in their delivery of the tales in classrooms. The multimedia material is available both on- and off-line in consideration of the diverse technological infrastructure of the Southeast Asian region. Now, this third and final phase on the collaboration between SEAMEO and APCEIU are focused on the development of Picture Cards for 12 of the stories. This provides another mode of delivery for primary school teachers to tell the stories, and complements the book and DVD. The project is funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of the Republic of Korea.

o.

1. Develops and disseminates the collected folktales in a learner-friendly visual format;
2. Increases the level of cultural literacy of children in primary education in Southeast Asian countries and Korea; and
3. Strengthens cultural exchanges and cooperation between Southeast Asian countries and Korea through common educational materials.

• Provide summaries of the tales in “Telling Tales from Southeast Asia and Korea: Teachers’ Guide”;
• Design and produce the Folktales Picture card Package;
• SEAMEO-APCEIU Meeting to review the illustrations of the folktales;
• Development of user’s manual;
• Post-production and packaging of the material; and
• Dissemination of the materials (by post and on-line platform)
• Create a Folktales website

Teachers and school-children in primary schools in Southeast Asia and Korea

•  Tree of Wisdom: Telling Tales from Southeast Asia and Korea
• Picture Card Package produced
• Folktales website created (Click here for the website)

• Enhanced appreciation and awareness of school-children about the folktales of their neighbours in Southeast Asia and Korea.
• Educators confidently use story-telling techniques in the classroom, supplemented by the picture cards material.
• Shared knowledge and techniques in using picture card materials on folktales among professionals, thus, also paving the way for more cooperation among them.