Contents
Organizational News
U.S. and Chinese Teachers Share Teaching Methods
Teachers from Windrush School in El Cerrito, California exchanged service learning and reading methods with RCEF teachers.
Libraries and Reading
Reading Teachers Wrap up the Semester
Reading project teacher came together to discuss what they learned this year.
Integrated Practice Class
New Video: Water Investigation Project
A new video shows how students went into the community to research water issues.
New Video: Sweet Potato Project Concludes
The final steps of a yearlong project can be seen in this video.
Donor Updates
Recognition of Recent Donors
We warmly thank those who donated to RCEF in June 2010!
U.S. and Chinese Teachers Share Teaching Methods
By Hu Laxian, Teaching and Curriculum Specialist
Above: A Windrush teacher intorduces herself to the Chinese teachers.
On June 29, eight American teachers from Windrush School in El Cerrito, California traveled to RCEF's program site, Xiaochao Primary School. The summer vacation had just begun in China but around 30 local teachers returned to school to dialogue with the American educators about reading and service learning. In China, service learning is a method used in "Integrated Practice Class," a mandatory subject for grades 3-6. RCEF program teachers showed pictures and videos of the service learning projects they led this year. and the Windrush teachers shared their school's service learning philosophy and examples of projects that their students had completed.
Windrush School's educational philosophy and curriculum priorities share similarities with RCEF. We both promote student-centered education and facilitate children to participate in practical activities that develop a diverse range of values and abilities, including empathy, a sense of responsibility, and desire to serve others. Windrush School's goal in service learning is to help students gain knowledge and skills through public service activities that develop their hearts and minds. They foster a deeper understanding of society and the duties of acitizen. This is not only good for students' academics but it also helps to grow civil society.
Above: A Xiaochao teacher presents on an Integrated Practice Class lesson she taught this semester.
After the presentations and exchange, the American teachers said they were impressed by RCEF teachers' methods. In particular, they said they wanted to learn from our collective lesson planning and teacher group reflection model. At the same time, we must learn from the sustainability and concrete results of the Windrush service learning approach and its integration with other curriculum subjects. In the future, I hope that we can build up a sister school relationship with Windrush through online learning, exchange, and sharing experiences. This will help us prepare our students for a lifetime of improving their communities.
Reading Teachers Wrap up the Semester
By Sun Chuanmei, Program Manager
Above: Teachers discuss reading methods.
From June 28 to 29, RCEF organized a two-day meeting for our reading project teachers at Xiaochao Primary School to conclude their work this semester. The first part consisted of sharing and reflections on their own learning and daily experiences in reading class. During the second part, teachers who attended national reading conferences in Hangzhou and Changzhou shared what they had learned and we watched and discussed DVDs from the conferences. Finally, we watched some relevant film documentaries from Hong Kong and Taiwan. In just a day and a half, teachers discussed how to get children in higher grades interested in book discussions, how to use picture books in lower grades, and how to start school-wide reading activities. We came to initial consensus on the following points:
- Whole school reading activities can be organized when parents come to pick up their children. For example, children can tell stories to their parents.
- We can spend ten to fifteen minutes a day reading aloud to students. It's a simple thing to do and the students really like it.
- Different kinds of reading lists can be very effective at promoting students' reading.
- Teachers have a lot of power as role models. Children are often curious about and willing to check out books that are recommended by their teacher.
- Students like to receive affirmation about their reading so it's very important to consider one's strategy for giving praise and encouragement.
- While reading, it is suitable to allow kids to predict what's going to happen next as this raises their interest levels.
- During a reading class, teachers' language is essential and can bring more space and freedom to the reading classroom.
- The participation of students as "little librarians" is important in cultivating a whole school reading culture.
- Small group cooperative learning can be a very useful method for book discussions in higher grades.
Teachers have already started to use some of these methods and some are still waiting to be tried. I am glad to hear that the teachers have more concrete ideas about reading methods than before and that they feel that their reading classes have become richer. Two days was a short time and during the concluding discussion, teachers said they had learned a lot of practical teaching methods but would need time to digest them. For RCEF, organizing teachers to share their own experiences and then transfer them to the classrooms is difficult to do in two days. We have much to work on!
INTEGRATED PRACTICE CLASS
Integrated Practice Class is a mandatory primary school subject which emphasizes interdisciplinary, community-based learning. RCEF is developing practical approaches for teaching this class with the goal of sharing field-tested case studies and methods with more rural schools.
New Video: Water Investigation Project
After watching a documentary on water made by a rural filmmaker, students brainstormed many water-related issues in the local area and split into groups according to their research interests. You can read about it in detail here and see students in action in the video below.
New Video: Sweet Potato Project Concludes
The last two months of the semester were busy ones for the Sweet Potato Project. The students and teachers finished up the last steps of the project, including planting and cooking the sweet potatoes. See below for a new video that displays all of the steps of the project. Past lessons in this year-long unit can also be found here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. Part 4.
Donor Roll
We are grateful to all the supporters who donated to RCEF in June 2010! (A complete list of donors through the years is available here.)
Bronze Sponsors ($100-$999)
Barclay Global Investors (Stuart, FL)
Global Giving (Washington, DC)
Julie Chao (Washington, DC)*
Rebecca Zeren (Portola Valley)
Ting Xiang (Houston, TX)*
Yong Hao (Arcadia, CA)*
Supporting Sponsors (under $99)
Hui-Hai Liu (Danville, CA)
Linda Sze (Ontario, CA)
Jessica Mouw (Ashburn, VA)
Jing Cao (Sunnyvale, CA)*
* Donation made in honor of the upcoming wedding of RCEF's co-founder Wei Ji Ma and long-time RCEF volunteer Ting Zhou. They met while teaching in a village in Hebei Province and are making RCEF a theme of their October wedding. Donors who contribute towards their wedding goal of raising $3000 for RCEF will receive a personal note from the couple and will also be recognized in this newsletter. To find out how to contribute and read the story behind their rural romance, click here.
The RCEF Newsletter is a monthly publication about the educational initiatives being carried out by RCEF in rural Yongji, Shanxi Province, China.
Contact Us
Donate
You can help rural Chinese students and teachers reach their potential! Donations are 100% tax-deductible in the U.S.
Checks payable to "Rural China Education Foundation" can be sent to:
PO Box 92424
Rochester, NY 14692-0424
Donations can also be made online!
Donate Your Used Car
Donating your used car can directly benefit RCEF! It's an easy and convenient process.
RCEF Annual Report 2008-2009
Click here to download: [English] [Chinese]
See videos of RCEF's activities on our Youtube Channel!
Part 1: Egg Selling Experience
Students brought their eggs to market for the first time. See their salesmanship in action!
Click here to view.
Part 2: Egg Selling Experience
A customer gives valuable advice to students on how to promote their eggs' advantages over other eggs.
Click here to view.
Singing, Dancing Little Librarians
Students celebrate their roles as managers of the school library by creating their own song and dance.
Click here to view.
Teacher Profile: Mr. Pei
Mr. Pei Weifeng, a Guan Ai 3rd grade teacher, leads his students through a science class.
Click here to view.
Anti-Smoking Investigation
Students carried out a campaign to educate their neighbors in three villages about the harms of smoking.
A Day at Guan Ai School
Follow our students through a typical day at a rural village boarding school.
Past Newsletters
RCEF posts monthly and quarterly newsletters on our website.
Click here to read past issuesFrom our Blogs:
Planting and Cooking Sweet Potatoes
Project teacher Principal Sun describes the lessons learned from the last few steps in the yearlong project on sweet potatoes.
The Little Boy on the Phone
Teachers give the shyest students a chance to build up their self confidence.
Selling Eggs
A firsthand account of students' eye-opening lesson peddling their eggs at the city market.
Exchange with an American Librarian
Students and teachers asked a visiting American librarian many questions about how school libraries in the U.S. work.
Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Apples
Students tried out different sweet potato recipes as part of their year-long project on the history and culture of the sweet potato. You can read more about the steps of the project here.