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 doorw [View Full Entry]

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Today was a big day for everyone. All of the fellows began their research segments. It sounds as if everyone made it to their respective research sites without too many problems. The teachers and I met Yuehua at the hotel and we traveled to the Great Wall. Getting there was half the adventure! After walking around to four different locations looking for taxis, we headed to the nearest bus stop. Then we went to the transfer station to catch the bus dedicated to the Great Wall run. That bus stop happened to be the gate of Beijing. We stood around for [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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We spent most of today sightseeing and shopping in Nanjing. We began the day at the Gan Xi residence and Folk Custom Museum, the former home of a famous scholar and his family from the Qing dynasty. This residence is similar in style to the residence that we visited in Suzhou. This home, however, is much larger. And it has a number of local craftsmen who produce various goods and sell them. We then took a 10-minute walk to the gardens/residence of a of an emperor from the Ming dynasty. The emperor gave this residence to his top general. We had [View Full Entry]

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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 lis [View Full Entry]

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Today we left Wuxi to travel ~1 hour southeast to visit the Dongwu Foreign Language School and Foreign Language Teachers College. We had a brief tour of their campus and then spent about 20-30 minutes meeting with their principal. We then traveled another hour to our lunch destination, which was located at the edge of Taihu Lake. We were supposed to have a quick lunch to allow more time for sightseeing. It’s not easy, however, to rush through a meal that has a minimum of 20 dishes. The menu usually includes one or more local specialties. Today’s version had a small [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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Today we spent the day at Wuxi Dangkou High School in E'Hu. E'Hu is considered a very important area in Chinese history due to its role in the introduction of science education. Dr. Hua was very proud to bring us to this particular school, his alma mater, because one of his ancestors was a school founder. We started the day with a welcome from local government officials, the school principal, and two school vice principals. These welcoming ceremonies generally last about an hour and give the school representatives - Chinese and American - an opportunity to provide a brief program/school [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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The weather here was hot, humid, and hazy. Today we explored a small portion of Nanjing on foot. We headed towards a park built around a small lake, with some traditional Chinese strctures. We then passed by a variety of storefronts and continued across a river that feeds into the Yangtze farther west in the city. We eventually crossed back over the river, along the ancient city wall. We found another park, which had a Buddhist temple. Westerners are something of a site for the locals. A number of individuals let us take their photos; a bride, dressed in red, offered [View Full Entry]

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