ALC

Today we visited Tian’anmen Square and the Forbidden City. We started with a bus ride downtown then walked 1-2 miles to Tian’anmen Square. On our way, we passed an elaborate structure with a few soldiers standing outside along with a few men dressed in suits. We asked Yuehua what it was. Her answer? The Chairman’s residence. It was just so unexpected and had little fanfare associated with it. We continued down the sidewalk until we reached Tian’anmen Square. It had taken us nearly two hours to reach this point. We crossed over the bridge and through the doorway under Mao’s picture. This image looked heavily airbrushed/Photoshopped. It reminded me of an image from a funeral mass card. By this point, we were surrounded by thousands of Asians. This was the only time during the entire trip ... read more

The group left today for separate directions: Helen left for Harbin; Mariah, Ming, and Jon went to Guangzhou; Leo, Jackie, the teachers and I all traveled to Beijing. Lisa and Dr. Hua went with us on the bus ride to the airport and said goodbye to us at the security checkpoint. We boarded the plane and had to wait two hours for clearance from the tower. The airline never gave us further explanation but I wonder if it had to do with the weather in Beijing. When we came in for our landing, the plane went through quite a bit of turbulence. The trees were bending like mad and leaves were blowing all over the highway after we left the airport. The temperature is cooler here, with a high in the low 60s. Our taxi driver ... read more

Today the teachers and fellows spent the morning presenting their lessons to college students at JIE’s main campus. These students are training to become middle school teachers. The purpose of these lectures is to offer the students an example of an inquiry-based lesson but, more important, it shows them how they can teach the materials and incorporate this different style of instruction into their classrooms. One of the students told Leo that he attended Dangkou Middle School and hopes to return as a teacher. Dr. Hua walked me around to each class so that I could take photos and listen for a few minutes. I spent the remaining time in Mariah and Helen’s classroom, where the students designed an experiment to produce the tallest Coca-Cola geyser. Each group presented its design then we went outside for ... read more

While waiting for the bus at the hotel, Jon learned from the vice principal that Dangkou MS has transformed its teaching philosophy as a result of Purdue’s visit last year. The teachers are now beginning to value the ability of students to think individually and explore on their own. Such thinking represents an incredible departure from traditional Chinese education (and also from American education, in same cases). Although this new way of teaching will take several years to integrate fully, the vice principal is encouraged at the changes already evident. We started the day with our first lesson: Sue and Shelly’s Genetics with a Smile. This lesson examined various dominant and recessive traits: hitchhiker’s thumb, ear lobes, tongue rolling, etc. The classroom was set-up with the students sitting in five groupings of desk at the front ... read more

We started the day with a trip to JIE. Dr. Hua presented an overview of the K-12 and college/university systems within the Jiangsu province. He then offered more in-depth information about JIE and how they operate. The undergraduate student curriculum at JIE is comprised of three parts: basic education (including literature, arts, chemistry, math, biology, physics, geography, etc.), science discipline concentration, and teaching. The university enrolls 7200 students/year at its three campuses combined. Science teachers in China face similar struggles as American teachers. Although the teachers are open to using inquiry-based instruction, they lack time, equipment, and student interest. The teacher/fellow teams met with JIE faculty and teacher mentors to share the lesson they will teach in a few days. The mentors offered advice on how to incorporate these lesson plans into Chi... read more