The RCEF Blog 博客

Teachers should provide students with opportunities to complete tasks independently so that they build self confidence. Students will be more active and take the initiative more frequently when they receive attention and appropriate encouragement from the teacher. Their confidence accumulates gradually.

Around noon on May 20^t, we observed an Integrated Practice Class at Xiaochao Primary School. It was the third part

Rehearsing the phone call.

of a project called “Hand in Hand, Heart to Heart” and the theme of this particular class was “The Relay of Love.”During the class, each student wrote a letter to a student from a school in Chaijia Village located in an impoverished area of Gansu Province. They also planned to send the money they had fundraised to help the school.  However, as the exact address, zip code, and recipients’ names were still unknown, it was necessary to call the school in Chaijia first. Normally, it would be the teacher who makes the call. However, Xiaochao Primary School is one of RCEF’s partner schools and they share our value of student-centered education. Not only is the development and personality of every single student emphasized, but practical experiences are promoted as a valuable source of knowledge and skills. Therefore, during the group lesson planning time, some of the teachers suggested that the students might simulate making the phone call first. During the simulation, they could learn important tips for calling a stranger and what to say during the call. In the end, the students with the strongest oral skills would make the final call. Sara Lam, RCEF’s Co-Executive Director, did not agree with the plan. Her reason was that students with better oral skills were the same ones who had already made the presentation during the fundraising campaign. They already had plenty of opportunities to practice. Instead, students who are relatively shy or who have not made speeches before should practice the phone calling situation and other students could then vote from among them who would make the final long distance call.

Actually, we were worried about Sara’s plan at the very beginning. It is not an easy task for a primary school student to explain him or herself clearly to a teacher far away who is a complete stranger. The teacher, Ms. Zhang Li, began the lesson with doubts. After Ms. Zhang announced that those without speech-making experience should come to the front and act out the phone call simulation, those students who had speech experience seemed dissatisfied, while the other students were too timid to go to the podium. Finally, after continuous encouragement from classmates and teachers, eight students stepped to the front hesitantly.

The first round of the simulation failed with the caller not knowing what to ask and the receiver not knowing how to answer. Witnessing the situation, Sara came to the front and encouraged the children: “Don’t be afraid. Be confident and brave. How about letting me simulate the situation with you?” During the phone call, Sara guided the student in how to ask questions. The simulation thus helped the whole class. Afterwards, the students were encouraged to act out the situation again. After several turns, the whole class came up with some suggestions about how to make the phone call and what content should be included in this specific call. The most delightful thing was that the boy who was the least willing to come to the front was selected as the representative to make the formal call. During the call, even

Classmates crowd around the boy as he makes the phone call.

though he was very nervous and spoke in a soft voice, he completed the mission and was rewarded with  applause. The smile on his face after hanging up the phone showed real happiness. I believe the memory of that applause will help this child establish more confidence and he will never forget it. It will help him face crises of self confidence in his future life. From the example, we can conclude that every student has the potential to perform whenever there is an opportunity. Bearing this belief in mind, the teacher should also be able to help students who have low self confidence.

As a matter of fact, all students are eager to express themselves and look for affirmation. Without Sara’s encouragement, little boys hiding in the back would not have gotten the task of calling a stranger. Neither would they experience the happiness of success.

Dear teachers, do your students also appear  passive or uninvolved in activities? If so, from now on, please provide opportunities for them and encourage them to take the initiative. If the student says: “I am not good at it. I will be nervous in front of people” you should respond: “Yes, you are brave. Just step to the front and I will admire your courage.”

The teacher should be a direct source of self-confidence for students. If your students are not as lucky as those from Xiaochao to have a teacher like Sara, could you be the person to empower them with confidence?

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Teachers should provide students with opportunities to complete tasks independently so that they build self confidence. Students will be more active and take the initiative more frequently when they receive attention and appropriate encouragement from the teacher. Their confidence accumulates gradually.

Around noon on May 20^t, we observed an Integrated Practice Class at Xiaochao Primary School. It was the third part

Rehearsing the phone call.

of a project called “Hand in Hand, Heart to Heart” and the theme of this particular class was “The Relay of Love.”During the class, each student wrote a letter to a student from a school in Chaijia Village located in an impoverished area of Gansu Province. They also planned to send the money they had fundraised to help the school.  However, as the exact address, zip code, and recipients’ names were still unknown, it was necessary to call the school in Chaijia first. Normally, it would be the teacher who makes the call. However, Xiaochao Primary School is one of RCEF’s partner schools and they share our value of student-centered education. Not only is the development and personality of every single student emphasized, but practical experiences are promoted as a valuable source of knowledge and skills. Therefore, during the group lesson planning time, some of the teachers suggested that the students might simulate making the phone call first. During the simulation, they could learn important tips for calling a stranger and what to say during the call. In the end, the students with the strongest oral skills would make the final call. Sara Lam, a RCEF staff did not agree with the plan. Her reason was that students with better oral skills were the same ones who had already made the presentation during the fundraising campaign. They already had plenty of opportunities to practice. Instead, students who are relatively shy or who have not made speeches before should practice the phone calling situation and other students could then vote from among them who would make the final long distance call.

Actually, we were worried about Sara’s plan at the very beginning.It is not an easy task for a primary school student to explain him or herself clearly to a teacher far away who is a complete stranger. The teacher, Ms. Zhang Li, began the lesson with doubts. After Ms. Zhang announced that those without speech-making experience should come to the front and act out the phone call simulation, those students who had speech experience seemed dissatisfied, while the other students were too timid to go to the podium. Finally, after continuous encouragement from classmates and teachers, eight students stepped to the front hesitantly. Read the rest of this post

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Teachers should provide students with opportunities to complete tasks independently so that they build self confidence. Students will be more active and take the initiative more frequently when they receive attention and appropriate encouragement from the teacher. Their confidence accumulates gradually.

Around noon on May 20^t, we observed an Integrated Practice Class at Xiaochao Primary School. It was the third part

Rehearsing the phone call.

of a project called “Hand in Hand, Heart to Heart” and the theme of this particular class was “The Relay of Love.”During the class, each student wrote a letter to a student from a school in Chaijia Village located in an impoverished area of Gansu Province. They also planned to send the money they had fundraised to help the school.  However, as the exact address, zip code, and recipients’ names were still unknown, it was necessary to call the school in Chaijia first. Normally, it would be the teacher who makes the call. However, Xiaochao Primary School is one of RCEF’s partner schools and they share our value of student-centered education. Not only is the development and personality of every single student emphasized, but practical experiences are promoted as a valuable source of knowledge and skills. Therefore, during the group lesson planning time, some of the teachers suggested that the students might simulate making the phone call first. During the simulation, they could learn important tips for calling a stranger and what to say during the call. In the end, the students with the strongest oral skills would make the final call. Sara Lam, a RCEF staff did not agree with the plan. Her reason was that students with better oral skills were the same ones who had already made the presentation during the fundraising campaign. They already had plenty of opportunities to practice. Instead, students who are relatively shy or who have not made speeches before should practice the phone calling situation and other students could then vote from among them who would make the final long distance call.

Actually, we were worried about Sara’s plan at the very beginning.It is not an easy task for a primary school student to explain him or herself clearly to a teacher far away who is a complete stranger. The teacher, Ms. Zhang Li, began the lesson with doubts. After Ms. Zhang announced that those without speech-making experience should come to the front and act out the phone call simulation, those students who had speech experience seemed dissatisfied, while the other students were too timid to go to the podium. Finally, after continuous encouragement from classmates and teachers, eight students stepped to the front hesitantly. Read the rest of this post

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This semester, I participated in the Integrated Practice Class group and benefited greatly. In contrast to traditional teaching, this class is not confined to the classroom. It is aligned with students’ lives and respects their interests and hobbies. Students can do hands-on exploration and develop their own initiative. I think teachers and students are fortunate to participate in Integrated Practice class. As Principal Sun said “Anyone who tries this class will like it” and it’s really true. The group lesson planning, discussion, and team teaching are effective. They help teachers to have a good grasp of the lesson, correctly guide students, and improve quickly. There is a Chinese saying that the wisdom of the masses exceeds that of the most talented individual. I believe that as long as we remain determined to teach this class well, it will become more and more successful.

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Away from our school, far from my home with doubts in my mind, I come to an unfamiliar place—the “Friends of Nature” training centre in Beijing. After everyone gave introductions, I found out we had all came from many different positions and places to meet and share together.

I benefited greatly from two of the lectures given by Ms. Zhu Xiu Ying and Ms. Gu Fang. Their way of teaching each had a unique style.  

Ms. Zhu Xiu Ying is an excellent primary school teacher in Beijing and also a director of her school’s Young Pioneers program. Her teaching has received a National First Class Award. In this training she primarily introduced two of her Integrated Practice Class project units: “Seeking Knowledge” at the Qing Shui River and “What Happened to the Black Crane of Qing Shui River?”    

Each of her projects was detailed and thoughtfully prepared. Her description of the first project basically followed this framework: 1) the purpose of activities, 2) the implementation process [setting up groups, researching in groups, collecting information from the internet and photos, field research, collecting statistical data, survey, advocating to the government], 3) problems and challenges that may be encountered [lack of time (class full), overcoming fear (students scared to investigate), troubles during an activity], 4) results achieved from the activities (giving presentations, radio broadcasting), 5) impact from the activities (impact on teachers, support from Principal, other groups), 6) student outcomes from the activities (able to speak without fear, able to have face to face conversation with a person in authority, express thoughts by writing). Lastly, Ms Zhu emphasized the most important aspect of Integrated Practice Class is the “practice” and encouraging students to “do”.

Ms. Gu is a one of 35 biology teachers in Beijing. Her teaching was highly praised by Premier Wen Jiabao. She mainly introduced the connection between Integrated Practice Class and Science Class. She mainly talked about the components of research-based learning: 1) what do you want to research, 2) what can you research, 3) how to research, 4) who to research with, 5) outcome of research, 6) presentation of the findings. She then explained the steps of selecting a research topic: 1) read, 2) ask questions, 3) filter questions, 4) decide topic.

I benefited greatly from listening to the lectures given by the two teachers. Ms. Zhu’s style of teaching has many similarities to our school. For example, every one of our activities has a purpose. We organize student small groups to investigate, explore, collect statistical data, promote results and reflect. However, there are also aspects that are different. For instance, they mainly work with only the best, elite students in a class whereas we emphasize on participation from the whole class. In addition, I believe they have a lot of connections, from which they can receive help and support for their activities. They live in the city and most of their activities revolve around environmental protection. It is a regret that I didn’t get to know more about the process they went through in implementing these projects and I still have questions about the details of their classes. For example, Ms. Gu mentioned how she teaches her students to raise questions, filter and decide a topic. It is a shame that I could not see that in action. If there is a chance, I would like to see their classes with my own eyes.

In all, I learned a lot from this training and it broadened my horizons.

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Selling eggs may just be an ordinary thing in the eyes of villagers but it can be an exciting learning experience for the

Students and their eggs attract attention at the market.

students from Guan Ai Primary School. Five of our students, Sara Lam and I (Principal Sun) went to the marketplace as an out-of-school educational experience to sell the eggs from the chickens that students have been raising in their extracurricular elective class. Half of our eggs were green, which were apparently rare and drew excitement from the teachers and other villagers. The students did research on them and wrote the information on a piece of paper for potential customers.

As we entered the market, we were dazzled by the huge variety of delicious snacks that made our mouths water. We continued to walk around the market searching for a place where people sell eggs. First, we wanted to know what the going rate for eggs was. Second, we wanted to find a suitable place to set up shop. At last, we found an old lady by the market exit with approximately 5 to 6 catties of eggs for $5 RMB/catty. However, we thought we might cause too much attention so it was best not to set up right next to the old lady and we went to look for a site elsewhere. At last, we found a more crowded area and began our business. Read the rest of this post

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At our rural school, a lot of students are “left behind”, meaning that their parents have migrated to cities to work. Most of the children lack family education and have developed a lot of bad habits. Wasting money is one of the worst. Many teachers have tried different methods to counter this problem but none have worked. The other day, it was my turn to give a speech in front of the school so I wrote a letter from a parent’s point of view hoping to move the students to understand the difficulties their parents go through and change their bad habits.

When you receive this letter, Mum and Dad will have already boarded the train on our way to the city to open up a small restaurant. You may question why we did not take you with us and left you at home in the care of your grandparents. It is not what you think it is. Mum and Dad wanted to keep you by our sides; however, the situation is too difficult. Your mum and I wanted to save as much money as possible by living in a small room so we could use the rest of the money to get you to school and let you live in a more comfortable environment.

You can not imagine the level of hardship we had here. Your Mum and I have to stay up all night till midnight and wake up before five in the morning to prepare for work. No matter how cold it is in the winter, your Mum is always outside the door welcoming customers and her hands are always cold. There was a period of time last year when she complained about her leg pain. I told her to visit the doctor but she refused to go because she did not want to spend the money. Eventually one night, her leg pain got so bad that she had to go to the hospital the next morning. However, she still refused to get the medicine and only took some painkillers. My heart was almost broken seeing her like that. In the summer, no matter how hot it gets, your mum will still be outside welcoming customers with her face bright red from the heat of the sun. Mum and I work this hard because all we want is for us as a family to live in a better condition. Whenever we have a break, the most we talk about is you. We are worried about you, not knowing if you are happy at school or not, if you have any improvement in studies or if you are getting along with your classmates.

Two days ago, we received a phone call from your teacher who said you had wasted much of your money on snacks. Mum was initially angry and then she cried. It is our fault that we could not educate you well and let you develop such bad habits. She insisted on coming back to see you but I persuaded her not to because I think you are grown up now. I am writing this letter to you, hoping that you will understand the hardship we have to face to earn money. You have to listen to your teacher and study hard.

Your Mum and I both hope you can be good and when we come back, we wish you could show us another award from school like you had last year. Then no matter how hard Mum and I have to work, it will be worth it.

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At our rural school, a lot of students are “left behind”, meaning that their parents have migrated to cities to work. Most of the children lack family education and have developed a lot of bad habits. Wasting money is one of the worst. Many teachers have tried different methods to counter this problem but none have worked. The other day, it was my turn to give a speech in front of the school so I wrote a letter from a parent’s point of view hoping to move the students to understand the difficulties their parents go through and change their bad habits.

When you receive this letter, Mum and Dad will have already boarded the train on our way to the city to open up a small restaurant. You may question why we did not take you with us and left you at home in the care of your grandparents. It is not what you think it is. Mum and Dad wanted to keep you by our sides; however, the situation is too difficult. Your mum and I wanted to save as much money as possible by living in a small room so we could use the rest of the money to get you to school and let you live in a more comfortable environment.

You can not imagine the level of hardship we had here. Your Mum and I have to stay up all night till midnight and wake up before five in the morning to prepare for work. No matter how cold it is in the winter, your Mum is always outside the door welcoming customers and her hands are always cold. There was a period of time last year when she complained about her leg pain. I told her to visit the doctor but she refused to go because she did not want to spend the money. Eventually one night, her leg pain got so bad that she had to go to the hospital the next morning. However, she still refused to get the medicine and only took some painkillers. My heart was almost broken seeing her like that. In the summer, no matter how hot it gets, your mum will still be outside welcoming customers with her face bright red from the heat of the sun. Mum and I work this hard because all we want is for us as a family to live in a better condition. Whenever we have a break, the most we talk about is you. We are worried about you, not knowing if you are happy at school or not, if you have any improvement in studies or if you are getting along with your classmates.

Two days ago, we received a phone call from your teacher who said you had wasted much of your money on snacks. Mum was initially angry and then she cried. It is our fault that we could not educate you well and let you develop such bad habits. She insisted on coming back to see you but I persuaded her not to because I think you are grown up now. I am writing this letter to you, hoping that you will understand the hardship we have to face to earn money. You have to listen to your teacher and study hard.

Your Mum and I both hope you can be good and when we come back, we wish you could show us another award from school like you had last year. Then no matter how hard Mum and I have to work, it will be worth it.

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