Q1：What is the driving educational philosophy at SUIS Qingpu?

In order to properly implement the national education policy, training all-round development of socialist builders and successors, we have set educational goals using Xiehe characteristics, which are effective in their delivery of the targets within the policy. The Xiehe Six Major Goals cover: knowledge, ability, moral and emotional understanding, which will promote the harmonious development while following our characteristic philosophy of “East meets West”.

No matter where the students come from, they will feel mutual respect and they engage in self-improvement through collaboration.

As an initial stage of growing and learning, the Elementary Integration Courses in SUIS Qingpu focuses on the forming of moral standards,  appropriate behavioral conduct and good learning habits. We develop students’ holistically through different subjects——whether the basic subjects such as Chinese Language, Maths or comprehensive subjects such as ELA, Steam, Inquiry——to synchronously help students lay a solid foundation and become bilingual learners demonstrating inquisitive thinking, so that they have a multi-vector approach to their future.

Q2：How to deliver a primary and junior curriculum?

The curriculum concept of SUIS Qingpu Campus is the combination of East meets West, – the guiding principle of Xiehe Group –  and the unification of child-centered education. Based on local educational standards, we insist on building our unique pioneer curriculum system according to the requirements of school managememt and the promotion of a multi-cultural environment. Our Pioneer curriculum aims to strengthen national curricula through an international philosophy of teachin. Thus we ensure our students’ fundamental knowledge of required courses, guarantee the expansiveness and enquiry of their study and provide them with more knowledge they may need. Through these means, our students will surely inherit Chinese qualities and embrace global opinions.

Q3：Can you briefly introduce the characteristics of the three types of courses: 

basic, extension, and inquiry?

The primary curriculum is divided into basic courses, extension courses and inquiry according to teaching content. Meanwhile, the curriculum systems are not simply stacked up, but are restructured and remodeled according to the teaching objectives. This structured curriculum is designed to reorganize different and complex curriculum contents under the guidance of the educational philosophy and core values of SUIS education, so that the curriculum objectives (knowledge, ability and skills), curriculum content (what to learn), curriculum implementation (how to teach), and curriculum evaluation (how to evaluate teaching effects) have a high degree of internal cohesion. Core values can be consistently implemented, ensuring the content easily understood and the objectives successfully achieved.

Not only is basic knowledge ensured but teaching content is also appropriately refined. According to the students’ different abilities, teaching methods are optimized from complexity to refinement and teaching efficiency is improved. This leaves more space and time for students’ self-study and cultivating their wide-ranging abilities and thinking. Eventually, they achieve balance of their knowledge, skills, attitudes and emotional health.

Foundational curriculum

Taking the basic subjects of the national compulsory curriculum as self-evident and subject standards is the collective basis for all students’ comprehensive development. We strictly follow prescribed national targets to cultivate students’ basic capacities.

Extension curriculum

It is the extensions on foundational course that can help different learners, with different abilities develop. Extensions are presented in four types including elective courses; associative learning; student activities and thematic education.

Exploratory curriculum

Our Exploratory Curriculum is an advantageous complement to the above two courses, which fully reflects the cultivation for students’ independent learning and innovation abilities, and plays a crucial role in cultivating students’ sustained development.

Q4：Can you introduce more details about your curriculum?

With regard to the implement of our basic curriculum, we are always improving our teaching content and teaching methodology.

Our English subjects have always been or principal advantage in SUIS. Our local English teachers and foreign teachers work together and learn from each other, constantly striving to refine and improve our delivery. We’ve established a positive and efficient assessment system and we’ll maintain our strengths in English teaching and inquiry-based teaching methods. We have a variety of English lessons such as Chinese English classes, ELA (English Learning Arts taught by foreign teachers) as well as co-taught lessons.

We have created our ‘SUIS English Curriculum’ to feature leveled reading, creative writing and dramatic performances, supported by high-quality teaching resources from all the campuses. At the same time, we organize our primary students in different grades to attend international English exams to check our students’ English levels.

In terms of Chinese teaching, we have always emphasized the establishment of a broad Chinese outlook. With the characteristics of ‘mother tongue exploration’ and ‘Chinese culture’, based on grasping the commonalities and principles of Chinese subjects, we promote the development of thinking with the acquisition of language, from the inside to the outside of the classroom, everything and everywhere is our classroom. To learn, read and use Chinese, we conduct a characteristically SUIS mother tongue education.

In terms of mathematics teaching, we make bilingual teaching and layered development as our focus to create experiential and exploratory mathematics teaching, so that students can understand and internalize the fundamentals of mathematics via the process of personal experience. Learning through playing, learning through doing and learning through researching; through the creation of context, independent exploration, exchange and cooperation, and application of practical teaching methods; combining mathematics with skill practice, and creating ‘mathematics game street’ and ‘little entrepreneurs’ and other year-round expansion experience activities, students from different grades can learn ‘fun mathematics’. It is these authentic experiences and practical applications of mathematics that allow our students to excel.

Q5：How is the philosopy of ‘East meets West’

being achieved in SUIS curriculum?

As the main focus of our school curriculum, the philosopy of ‘East meets West’ is what we always emphasise when we develop our curriculum. Furthermore, we keep in mind ‘Chinese roots, Global wings’ as our goal.

Cross cultural and bilingual teaching is the subject feature of some core subjects, such as Music, PE and Art. We conduct co-teaching with Chinese teachers and Foreign teachers. We, according to the students’ learning ability and needs across different grades, distribute different curricula by intergrating National Curriculum Standard with International Curicula targets and methodology.

Through the combination of Chinese teachers’ advantages and Foreigh teachers’ advantages, and eliminate avenues of weakness by promoting each other’s strengths. Thus, the students are encouraged to engage in independent learning, inquiry learning and collaborative learning. In this way their English communicative competence will be greatly improved. In the cross-cultural bilingual teaching classes, students will gradually adapt to the co-existence between different cultures, and then be able to openly face cultural differences and similarities. Most importantly, furthur development will be achieved in students’ capacity for cross-cultural communication and cooperation by allowing them to see different educational cultures and different educational perspectives.

Our Intercontinental Carnival is a transdisciplinary and cross cultural activity belonging to our Inquiry curriculum. It aims to strengthen integrated learning between different cultures and different subjects. As a Project-Based Learning activity, it stimulates creativity and imagination among students, and gives full play to students’ potential through the integrated learning across different areas. By conducting co-teaching and systematic Chinese-foreign cultural inquiry, international curriculum and activities, students’ bilingual application ability, capacity for international understanding and cross-cultural cooperation skills will be cultivated.

The Intercontinental Carnival is a featured course in our primary school, which aims to broaden students’ horizons, explore and experience different global customs and cultures, and conduct true transdisciplinary cross-cultural inquiry and learning. This year, we embarked on a journey across Asia. Through in-class learning, cultural exploration, hands-on activities, performance reports and other diverse endeavors, our students gained an understanding of and experienced the customs and culture of Asia. The whole learning activity lasted for one month. The curtain was opened by a splendid opening ceremony, which enabled students to be completely immersed in the rich and colorful exploration and learning, and closed with a delightful closing ceremony.

Q6：How are the course activities structured in primary school?

The course activities of Xiehe Education are rich and colourful. We will coordinate and arrange different outreach activities on the basis of different subjects, such as Han Culture Week, Maths Week, English Week, Parent-child Games, Art Shows, Science Fairs and the Continental Carnival. And in the mean time, a variety of school art clubs or school teams will meet students’ personal needs and development, through avenues such as dance, choir, football, badminton, AI programming and drama.

In addition, we have signed a cooperation agreement with Qingxi Country Park for students’ field trips, which is relating to the 24 solar terms, art and inquiry, so students will have more opportunities for experiential learning and play.