Teaching and Courses

2020 Online Courses & Learning Adventures | University Filmworks

Environmental Studies

Eastern Civilization

Southeast Asian Civilization

Thai Geography

Searching and Referencing | New online course for 2020

Click to visit Searching and Referencing online course for 2020

Learning Adventures – Teaching through storytelling

During my formal education, my favorite teachers were the ones who shared knowledge and answered questions through personal experiences and real-life stories. Many of these stories, and the lessons behind them, I fondly remember today.

In fact, many anthropologists would agree that teaching and learning through storytelling is how knowledge was passed down in traditional human societies before recorded history.

As a professional academic, I do my best to teach through sharing personal experiences. I have also found success in developing my courses and stories through online photo journals, video, and other multimedia.

I developed online courses and the Learning Adventures series in order to address digital transformations in education, and to visually support my university presentations and public talks. The text, photos, and videos on these pages provide an accessible multimedia platform for students to follow and explore on their mobile devices, such as laptop computers, tablets, and smart phones.

For example, when teaching a course in Eastern Civilizations, I often share my personal experiences and stories from the Silk RoadPakistanTibet and the Great Wall, and students can follow topics through the photos, maps, and links for each Learning Adventure. If teaching Environmental Studies, I may share personal experiences from the Amazon RainforestGalapagos Islands, or an environmental issue encountered at a particular international surfing destination.

Teaching Demo | Silk Road | Eastern Civilization

Other courses I have enjoyed teaching

Interdisciplinary Study

Research Methodology

Chinese Philosophy

Interviews with students and class music videos

Anna Nilsson | International Studies | University Filmworks

KK | Hospitality and Tourism | University Filmworks

Indonesian Music and Dance | University Filmworks

Burmese Cultural Arts | University Filmworks

How I began teaching in Phuket, Thailand

Prince of Songkla University, Phuket Campus, Thailand

After graduating with my Master of Arts from National Chengchi University (NCCU) in Taiwan in 2006, I moved to Phuket, Thailand, and joined the International MBA program in Hospitality and Tourism Management at Prince of Songkla University.

Doing a degree in tourism made sense to me; I had deep experience working in tourism, and had been a tourist in forty countries. In addition, I had visited the resort island of Phuket in 2005 and discovered an burgeoning surf tourism industry and uncrowded waves on the island's beaches and reefs. I was keen to return to the island and explore other areas for surfing on Thailand's Andaman Coast.

In 2007, while conducting research for my MBA thesis, I was invited to teach a class at the Faculty of International Studies (FIS).

FIS was opening a new course called Introduction to Interdisciplinary Study, and it seemed like a great opportunity get teaching experience abroad. It was also an important opportunity to earn a salary, considering the international student tuition costs I had been paying.

I immediately said, “Yes,” and began teaching the next day.

After completing my MBA in 2010, I stayed on at FIS, accepting new and challenging courses to teach, including Chinese Philosophy, Research Methodology, Thai Geography, Eastern Civilization and Southeast Asian Civilization.

I continued to teach at the Phuket Campus while earning my Ph.D. in Environmental Management at the Hat Yai Campus, which was located a six-hour drive away on the Gulf of Thailand.

After completing my Ph.D. dissertation in 2013, the Faculty of International Studies requested I develop a new course in Environmental Studies for the social science programs at the Phuket campus. I believe this course is particularly important for students, and emphasis is placed on personal responsibility and participation in addressing environmental issues.

To date, I have been teaching at FIS for 10 years and earned tenure in 2013.

Please take a moment to explore the my portfolio of course pages in this section of my website.

Thank you for visiting my Teaching and Courses page.

–Steven A. Martin

2012 Thai Geography international student field trip to Emerald Pool, Krabi, Thailand