Prof. Heidi Ross, Director and Adam Maltese, Assistant Professor at Center for East Asian Studies, the School of Education, Indiana University visited the School of Education, Zhejiang University from 23 to 26, February 2013. Prof. Xu Xiaozhou, President of the School of Education, Prof. Wu Xueping, Dean of the Dept. of Education, Associate Professor Kan Yue, assistant to the President of the School of Education were present at the meeting.

Their major task was to exchange views on the cooperation in three international research projects. The meeting was centered on the cross-cultural project of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM for short), which would make a comparative study on the interest and experience of teachers and students in STEM disciplines worldwide. The project got the grant from the Indiana University and was seeking to get the follow-up finance from American National Foundation. The Project will compare the students and teachers in China, America and Australia, e.g. how they developed their interest in STEM disciplines, how the interest maintained, changed and influenced the students’ selection of majors and careers, to discover the major factors influencing STEM fields in order to help the educational organizations in the three countries to improve STEM curricular setting and provide some relative strategic ideas. Besides, two sides talked on the development of internet curricula and the training of primary and middle school headmasters.