“Diverse Inspirations, Growing Together” – SUIS Qingpu’s 2024-2025 2nd Teacher and Student Workshop Event

Under the theme “The Channel for Teachers’ Growth – Diversified Inspiration for Growing Together,” SUIS Qingpu’s 2024-2025 Semester 1 Teacher and Student Workshop transformed into an interstellar voyage, shining with the light of wisdom and innovation.

On 29 November, nearing the end of our first semester, SUIS Qingpu’s Teacher and Student Workshop series came to a conclusion with another successful Workshop Friday! For this event, we invited 15 Chinese and expatriate teachers as well as one high school student to lead workshops, focusing on a variety of topics such as the optimization of education and teaching methods, the innovative application of science and technology in the field of education, the scientific guidance of physical health, the inheritance and development of traditional culture and art, and the in-depth exploration of language subject knowledge.

SUIS Qingpu Teacher and Student Professional Development Workshops: Unlocking New Highlights in Education

Friends who care about the professional development of teachers and students of SUIS Qingpu! Today, I will take you to reveal the secrets of SUIS Qingpu’s super material teacher and student professional development workshop! This workshop is full of highlights, and people can’t help but praise every place, come and take a look!

Organizational model innovation

Let’s start with a significant organizational change for our workshop format – this was a breakthrough for our workshop offerings.

In the past, the workshop relied on a unified arrangement, but this time it was different! From the beginning of the preliminary planning, we identified our target direction and arranged the workshop classrooms independently.

What does this mean? It means that the professional development for our teachers became more individualized, while the school’s top-level design was more standardized.

The schedule was also very flexible, allowing teachers to be more proactive and efficient in their self-improvement. This sense of independence brought substantial emotional value!

Hey, friends! The SUIS Qingpu ‘Workshop Friday’ was full of highlights, all reflected in the following wonderful content.

AI leads the way

At present, AI is booming, and thus this workshop decisively followed the trend of the times, vigorously carrying out innovative projects such as AI-assisted classroom professional exploration and interdisciplinary exploration. We thought about how many new ways AI could create for teaching and learning when it came to the classroom! This undoubtedly brought unprecedented challenges and opportunities for both teachers and students to keep education up to date with the latest technological frontiers.

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Helen Xie

Exploring the Applications of AI in Education

In the AI era, the ability to ask questions is more crucial than finding answers. Educators should learn about AI tools that enhance teaching efficiency and how to have a clear strategy for developing competent AI users.

Sheena

Beginner-level AIGC illustrations

If you are interested in art design, you may wish to try the magical painting experience empowered by AIGC.

Suzy Lu

Beginner-level video-editing skill training & social media marketing

strategies

In this workshop, teachers acquired fundamental editing skills and cultivated a mindset geared towards editing. Additionally, they gained insights into social media marketing strategies that enhanced their influence within their chosen field!

Cultural inheritance and innovation

In terms of cultural inheritance and innovation, there were many highlights! Shirley Shi, a physical education teacher, brought intangible cultural heritage handmade lacquer fans and plant rubbing and dyeing activities, “using lacquer as a pen and water as a painting,” leading teachers to deeply appreciate the unique charm of traditional culture. Science and technology teacher Zhang Lunlun’s silk fan-making experience workshop was equally impressive, allowing teachers to clearly understand the whole process from silkworm cocoons to finished products. The workshops held by the two teachers across borders and fields strongly highlighted the grounding and innovative development of Qingpu Concord’s interdisciplinary literacy, which greatly benefited the cultivation of students’ sense of cultural identity.

Shirley

Creating a cultural heritage artefact – making a handmade lacquer fan

With lacquer and water as the medium, the beauty of the lacquer fan comes from nature, and each lacquer fan is a unique creation. Teachers fanned the elegance of the millennium with the charm of lacquer painting and experienced the joy of creating something special. The lacquer fan is the perfect interpretation of Chinese aesthetics.

Lucy

Silk fan making

Here, participants could not only experience the fun of handmaking but also learn about the production process and the historical and cultural background of silk.

Pedagogical Practice Exploration

The exploration of teaching practice was also remarkable. Teacher Chen Lu shared the application of games in the classroom, making games a dynamic factor that enhanced interaction and promoted personalized teaching. With a focus on classroom management, Lucy Clarke provided teachers with practical strategies to help create a positive learning environment. These explorations injected new vitality into teaching and learning and helped teachers better guide students in their learning.

Jenny Chen

Gaming examples for the classroom

Gaming activities in class can be really valuable for strengthening interaction. They make learning more fun and engaging. Team games can help students work together and communicate better.

Lucy Clarke

Developing Classroom Management Skills and Confidence

This workshop focused on the fundamentals of classroom management, providing attendees with practical strategies to help create and develop a positive learning environment with an extra focus on noisy classes.

Seth Matthew Hoover

Expat Teaching Impact: Teaching Beyond Borders

This workshop highlighted the importance of building relationships, breaking stereotypes, and creating a lasting impact beyond academic content, as well as learning how to inspire students to become global citizens.

Cecilia Xiong

The Decoder of Stories: How Narratology Reveals the Deep Structure of Fiction

From the perspective of narratology, this paper analyzes the narrative structure, character building, and treatment of time and space in the IB Chinese A novel text “Alive”, and how the author conveys the deep themes and emotions of this work of literature through these narrative techniques.

Matthew Seth Saunders

The History of the English Language

This workshop explored the long and complex history of English vocabulary and helped teachers understand the connections to the development and progress of human civilization.

Shawn

Kickball

Although it combines the characteristics of football and softball, it is more similar to baseball as a whole. It can be roughly considered as a softball event that uses a football instead of softball, kicks instead of batting a ball, and allows defensive players to defend with bare hands.

Joe

Life Engineering – Ba Duan Jin

Teachers in this workshop learned that “Baduanjin” strengthens the body through the adjustment of body movement, breathing, exhalation, and spiritual emotion, focusing on “essence, qi, and spirit”.

Logo

The self-assessment of knee injuries and exercise rehabilitation

Various detection methods were shared in this session, along with knowledge of sports rehabilitation related to knee joint injuries, enabling participants to master certain self-exercise rehabilitation techniques for effective maintenance and prevention.

Grace Yin

Let’s do super aerobic ‘drums’!

Attendees did super aerobic ‘drums’ together to release their energy, melt away stress, and purify their minds.

Guillaume Domas

The D&T Workshop: Your Hub for Hands-On Innovation

The Design & Technology (D&T) Workshop was a versatile space open to all staff for project development, crafting, and collaboration.

PART.

Students come to the fore

There was also a wonderful highlight – the ‘Poetry and My Story with Xu Zhimo’ workshop led by student Chen Haoyuan. It was surprising that students could also be the ‘protagonists.’

This workshop aligned wonderfully with the school’s educational goals, allowing students’ soft power to flourish. During the workshop preparation process, Chen Haoyuan developed his planning, organization, and coordination skills, while also greatly improving his speech, communication, and teamwork abilities. After commencing his session, he used his own growth experiences and creative works as clues to help teachers understand the mystery of poetry creation, stimulating everyone’s enthusiasm for writing poetry. Together, teachers and students expressed their creativity, creating a truly heartwarming experience!

Student Workshop

Byron Chen

Poetry and the Story of Me and Xu Zhimo

PART.

Full support from the leadership

Here was the point!

The school attached great importance to this workshop. Huang Ying, SUIS Qingpu’s Principal, Co-Principal Adam Neufield, Vice-Principals Liu Guixiang and Lu Xianwen, and Li Mingwei, Director of the Teacher Development Centre, all attended the classroom and participated in the entire activity.

This was a workshop for the whole school to witness the development of teachers and students – we look forward to an even brighter future for them!

Ladies and gentlemen, wasn’t this kind of workshop super cool?

PART.

Diversified inspiration, growing together

With an open attitude and diverse perspectives, the SUIS Qingpu Teacher Workshop Day built a valuable platform for teachers to exchange experiences and ignite inspiration. Here, every sharing was a ray of wisdom, and every discussion created a spiritual resonance.

By focusing on core topics such as teaching optimization, technological innovation, and cultural inheritance, this workshop not only helped teachers improve their professional ability, but also injected more vitality and warmth into education. This feast of knowledge and ideas not only nourished the participants, but will also have an impact on future classrooms.

Let’s look forward to the fact that SUIS Qingpu’s Teacher Workshop will continue to write more chapters of innovative education in the future, empower teachers, inspire students, and work together towards a better future of education!

PART.

Full support from the leadership

Here was the point!

This was a workshop for the whole school to witness the development of teachers and students – we look forward to an even brighter future for them!

Ladies and gentlemen, wasn’t this kind of workshop super cool?

PART.

Diversified inspiration, growing together

PART.

Feedback from teachers

Last Friday I attended a student workshop called “Poetry and My Story with Xu Zhimo”. Before that, I thought that today’s students might not be so fond of poetry as a literary form, but I was surprised by the performance of the workshop leader, Chen Haoyuan. He showed us a heartfelt love for poetry, especially modern poetry, and an extraordinary creative talent, with delicate emotions and precise expressions. While explaining his poetry creation experience to the teachers, Haoyuan also instructed the teachers to create a three-line love poem each, which was full of teaching effect. I liked this kind of workshop format of student sharing, and I look forward to more student-led workshops in the future.

Penn Hu，Head of CUG

After attending the Ba Duan Jin workshop, I felt that this traditional qi gong exercise not only soothed the body and mind, but also strengthened the body’s flexibility and strength. Each movement is combined with one’s breathing to bring inner peace and better energy flow. Through this workshop, I gained a deeper understanding of the health benefits of Ba Duan Jin and look forward to continuing to practice these techniques in my daily life.

Jaden Ni，High School teacher

At the end of the workshop, the teachers actively shared their gains, their new understanding of the narratology of “Alive” and their deep understanding of the theme and emotion of the work, which helped to assure me that the workshop had achieved the desired results. Their feedback was not only an affirmation of my work, but also a motivation for me to continue to study and share my literary works.

For me, this workshop was not only an output of knowledge, but also a journey of self-growth. Exploring the narrative mysteries of the novel with the teachers gave me a deeper understanding of the charm of this work, and also made me think more about the application of narratology in literary teaching and the interpretation of works. I look forward to continuing to walk with more people in the world of literature in the future and jointly discover the treasures behind works.

Cecilia Xiong, High School teacher

Last Friday, I had the pleasure of attending a workshop on “Knee Injury Self-Assessment and Sports Rehabilitation” led by Mr. Logo. The whole event benefited me a lot and gave me a deeper understanding of knee injuries and their rehabilitation.

First of all, Ms. Logo’s explanation was very detailed, whether it was the basic knowledge of knee joint structure or the identification of specific injury types, he used vivid cases and concise language to explain things at a simple level. This gave me a clear understanding of the causes and symptoms of knee injuries.

In addition, in the sports rehabilitation part, Logo teachers were provided a series of practical self-assessment methods and rehabilitation exercises. Through live demonstrations and guidance, I not only learned how to properly assess the condition of the knee joint, but also mastered some simple and feasible rehabilitation exercises. The teacher especially emphasized the standardization of movements and the importance of individual differences, reminding us how to effectively prevent injuries in daily sports.

During the whole process, Mr. Logo also answered the participants’ questions very patiently, making the atmosphere of the workshop both professional and relaxed. Through this study, I felt a new way of health management and gained confidence with respect to how to better protect and care for my knee joints in the future.

Thank you very much for your careful preparation and wonderful sharing, Mr. Logo. I look forward to more opportunities to participate in similar workshops in the future!

Howard Liu，Middle School teacher

In the DIY lacquer fan making activity, I not only experienced the charm of traditional handicrafts, but also gained a sense of inner peace and satisfaction. In the fast-paced work of school education, such activities are undoubtedly a rare time of relaxation and enjoyment. This event also made me deeply appreciate the importance of teamwork. In the production process, teachers in the same group helped each other, mixed paints, and pasted plants, with the ‘distance’ between them decreasing. I hope that there will be more opportunities like this in the future, so that we can enjoy the beauty and fun of life and enhance our professional happiness in addition to work.

Angel Jiang，Middle School teacher

Last Friday, I had the pleasure of attending Lu Shan’s video editing workshop, and I learned a lot. Here, I appreciated the charm of video editing and the joy of creating. Through the guidance of the workshop leader, I learned how to choose shots, match music and edit videos. Although I encountered many challenges along the way, I was very happy with every breakthrough. This workshop not only allowed me to master the basic skills of video editing, but also gave me a deeper understanding of creation. I would like to thank the school for providing us with this valuable learning opportunity, and I look forward to recording more beautiful moments with my camera in the future.

Lily Su，Primary School teacher

Thank you very much to the school for organizing this workshop – it was a very rewarding experience! The following points are my feelings and experiences about this study:

Expansion of knowledge: The workshop provided a lot of new knowledge and skills…areas of knowledge that I have not usually touched. Through practice and interaction, I was able to better understand and master this knowledge, which was very rewarding.

The importance of practice: In the workshop, we had many opportunities for hands-on practice. This made me realize the importance of combining theory and practice, which can help us better understand theoretical knowledge.

Teamwork: Workshops usually require group work to complete tasks, which in turn improves my teamwork skills. By working with different people, I learn how to communicate and solve problems more effectively.

Self-reflection: At the end of the workshop, I reflected on my learning process and performance. This helped me summarize my strengths and areas for improvement, and provided some lessons for future study and work.

Overall, the school workshop provided me with a valuable platform to improve myself, not only intellectually, but also personally. I look forward to having the opportunity to participate in more of these learning activities in the future.

Jeff Wu，Primary School teacher

Review of Mr. Hoover’s Workshop: Expanding Horizons in Education

Attending Mr. Hoover’s workshop was an enlightening experience that delved deep into the pivotal role teachers play in broadening students’ horizons. The session was not only informative but also incredibly inspiring, as it highlighted the importance of preparing students for life abroad and beyond the classroom.

One of the most valuable aspects of the workshop was the opportunity to share personal experiences. Participants, including myself, reflected on our own upbringing and the significant influence our teachers had on shaping our perspectives and career paths. It was fascinating to hear diverse stories from fellow educators, each illustrating the profound impact that effective teaching can have on a student’s life. These reflections served as a powerful reminder of the responsibility and privilege we hold as educators.

The discussions were both lively and insightful, fostering a collaborative environment where ideas flowed freely. The exchange of tips and strategies was particularly useful, as it provided practical approaches to integrate into our teaching practices. Listening to others’ ideas encouraged me to think creatively about how I can further engage my students and prepare them for global opportunities.

Mr. Hoover facilitated the workshop with expertise and passion, creating a space where everyone felt valued and heard. His ability to guide the conversation while allowing room for organic discussion was commendable. The workshop left me feeling motivated and equipped with new tools to enhance my teaching methods.

In conclusion, Mr. Hoover’s workshop was a resounding success. It reinforced the importance of our role as educators in shaping future generations and provided valuable insights into how we can better prepare students for the world beyond their immediate environment. I highly recommend this workshop to any educator looking to make a meaningful impact on their students’ lives.

——Jacques Bisschoff，Primary School teacher

Participating in student Gaoqiao’s (pen name) poetry workshop was like embarking on a passionate journey back to youth. There was also an emotional heart under the handsome appearance of Gaoqiao, which led the attending teachers into the torrent of poetry. When Gaoqiao shared his poems and background, he looked confident and vigorous. It was not so much that he was infected by his poetry, but, by his state of complete self-acceptance, as if every emotion of life passes through his body, emotions and mind, he is able to finally output poetry from his mouth, as natural and smooth as flowing water and without hindrance. Behind this vigorous vitality is the complete acceptance and support of Gaoqiao himself, his parents and teachers. At this time, I just want to say to Gaoqiao: Keep flowing, Gaoqiao, continue to flourish, Gaoqiao!

——Yuki Wang，Primary School teacher