In 2023, Xingyuan Primary School, located in Liangjiang New District, Chongqing, was rated as an excellent case of smart education by the Ministry of Education.
△ Zou Xianlian talks about "what is a good education"
"Xingyuan" comes from "The Book of Rites: The Mean", "The way of a gentleman, such as going far, must be self-defeating, such as ascending to the height, you must be inferior." The school's philosophy is "all things are upright, ascend high and go far", and the eight characters come from ancient books, "Tao gives birth to one, life to two, two to three, and three to all things". "Yangzheng" is taken from the Book of Changes, "to be upright, the holy merit is also".
Principal Zou Xianlian believes that education should nourish people's lives with all things, and primary education, as an enlightenment education, profoundly affects the development trajectory of a person's life. Since its inception in 2018, the school, which features a digital campus, is attracting a lot of attention.
Teaching and Learning in the Age of AI: A Conversation with a Little Girl and Generative AI
"I'm a Chinese girl who wants to grow taller, please give me a recipe." Shortly after the release of generative AI, at a flag-raising ceremony at Chongqing Liangjiang Xingyuan Primary School, the information technology teacher organized the whole school to have a conversation with generative AI on the big screen in the playground.
From the founding of the school to the present, the changes in the students are obvious. They are unfettered in front of the camera and actively seek answers to their questions in informal learning spaces. They will be confident in socializing with strangers. Discerning thinking, not a metaphysical symbol, has been integrated into daily life.
Walking around the campus, it is not uncommon to see a child holding a task list in one hand and drawing while observing the leaves. The entire campus environment is a micro-ecology for on-campus research.
In the past few years, because the school has taken a too innovative path, Zou Xianlian has suffered a lot of doubts: "The school must be very rich" and "It's all superficial work"......
The quiet and beautiful campus environment, the modern teaching building made of red bricks, the brand-new plastic sports field, the open coffee chat area, and an informal school space of more than 2,000 square meters - Xingyuan Town. Many people who visit the school for the first time will say, "This must be an aristocratic school." "However, in fact, most of the students at Liangjiang Xingyuan Primary School are from rural to non-hukou families who have been demolished and rebuilt nearby, which is an ordinary public school.
Zou Xianlian clearly remembers that before the school was established, she was traveling in Crescent Spring when she received a phone call, and the leader suggested that she take over a school.
After returning to Chongqing, Zou Xianlian went to Liangjiang New Area to inspect the site. "I remember there was a very steep slope, it was too bumpy, the car couldn't drive at all, and it was a dead end road to go inside. There weren't many people around, there were large tracts of farmland, and the sound of barking dogs roamed back and forth. There was also an old man, poking his head out, looking at me curiously. "No one would have thought that this school, which was originally not well-positioned, would grow steadily and become a good school at the doorstep of the real people.
"When you can't make a choice, you have to make the right choice." In Zou Xianlian's words, although my heart was cold at that time, I still had to stick to what I should stick to, and I had to go on the road I chose.
In the beginning, the school only had first and second grades, and there were no computer classrooms. Zou Xianlian installed computers and networks in the corridor of the classroom as a formal learning space. As more and more children crammed into the computer area, there is not enough space and security becomes a potential issue. Zou Xianlian thought of an integrated learning space, revising the ground floor and garden into a place for activities, and then expanding the Pingba area and labor base on both sides, so that there was a large space.
"In order to change the way teaching and learning, I wanted to do an exploration." After working hard to raise funds, she contacted a young designer in Chongqing who has won international design awards with cutting-edge artistic concepts and cross-border thinking, and boldly started a big experiment on the integration of educational space and learning socialization - Xingyuan Town.
"The school is a living organism full of vitality, vitality and in line with the law of human growth. At the same time, it is also the first place of socialization of children, the beginning of the gradual maturation of consciousness development. "The new design of the space comes from Zou Xianlian and the design team's understanding of the future of education. With the concept of "small town", small social scenes are implanted into educational places, and classrooms are transformed into "learning spaces", so that children can have the fun of independent exploration in the real environment, so as to cultivate various literacy abilities and higher-order thinking.
Five functional areas are designed inside the space, namely "book house, bank, conference hall, theater, and programming", and five theme scenes are set up outdoors: "farm, market, factory, square, and playground".
In this completely open and changing space, students can play where they want, learn where they can learn, and grow naturally through experience. Students in small towns are given social identities, which can be consumers, managers, or defenders. The reading area has a long corridor facing the side of the large outdoor floor-to-ceiling windows, equipped with computers and comfortable chairs, where students can consult materials and study independently.
The theme hut has been built, where does the equipment come from? Bureau leaders and Zou Xianlian thought of corporate donations. "If you have any products that you want to experiment, put them here for the children to play with and see."
Before the renovation of Xingyuan Town, Zou Xianlian had already left for Nanyang Technological University in Singapore to start a nearly one-year study tour.
"Before leaving, I did countless discussions with the middle-level team, and designed every detail of the combination of space and school culture, the necessary scenes in the town, the required data, resources, etc., through a table system. After I left, the leadership team of each department took the teachers to do the beautification and practical implementation. I think that's also the power of systems thinking in management. ”
Learning from Singapore's "Mr. Big" spirit, Teach for Thinking Style
Reflect on the current classroom in China
After nearly a year of living and studying in Singapore, Zou Xianlian felt shocked. Inside, she sees the spiritual power of culture when it acts on the daily life of a people. "For me, it's an all-round and multi-dimensional life cultivation."
What touched Zou Xianlian the most was the spirit of "Mr. Big" in the professors of Nanyang Technological University. The average age of each professor is over 60, and some are in their 70s. Before class, they will always take the time to prepare carefully before class, including teaching aids, courseware, and class status. In the middle of the class, you will stand and talk about the class for a few hours. At the end of the course, some old professors would go to the cafeteria with their students to eat, eat, and chat, and then continue classes in the afternoon.
"What is the source of this power?" She pondered. The back of a 70-year-old professor flashed in front of him, dressed modestly and holding a faded paper cup with a few tea leaves floating in it. In class, I was full of energy and eloquent. "Being a role model and learning from high school as a teacher, I think this is the power of education."
"The way of thinking shaped by values has affected the national literacy and civilization of the whole country." The excellence of Singapore's system has attracted global attention, and Zou Xianlian has gone deep into the fabric and walked into communities, museums, art centers, art galleries, subways, supermarkets, and school classrooms, and found that the answer lies in education, in spirit, and spirit comes from values. More specifically, the power of the integration of cultural inheritance and education can be seen in the classroom and outside the classroom.
Observing the classrooms in primary and secondary schools in Singapore, Zou Xianlian was also struck by the relaxation shown by students and teachers, as well as the teaching method of teaching for thinking.
In an elementary school science class, the school tools used by the children in the classroom were made from raw materials by watching videos in the previous class. Through two straws and two balloons, it mimics the respiratory system of the producer. Students and teachers discuss the names and functions of organs. In mathematics class, the teaching design of reverse thinking is integrated into every part of the curriculum, and primary school students can freely use calculators, explore results, and discuss and raise objections among peers. "In one class, only two questions were done, and the teacher coordinated and solved them at the necessary moments. Classes are given to students and focus on inquiry, understanding, and participation. ”
Zou Xianlian reflected, "Chinese children have strong math tests and calculation skills, but many of them may stay in the knowledge and do not know why. ”
What makes her feel even more powerless is the "fragility" of China's education system. "When I visited the Singapore Museum, I saw that the community members or teachers would take the students to learn, and each student would have a task list to observe. In the same way, although we have good policy documents to guide us, in the process of landing, there may be deformations and mutations layer by layer. ”
"Even the psychological problems of adolescents, which everyone is paying special attention to now, are behind the complexity and systematization of the education system. Everyone is powerless, and they feel powerless. ”
Comparing the educational evaluation models of the two countries, Zou Xianlian described it this way: "If the upward path of life is compared to a ladder, the cultivation method of our education is like a straight ladder. Education in Singapore is more like a process of climbing a tree, when a child climbs to a certain point, its forks begin to become more, the choices are diverse, and each time he goes to a different branch, he sees different scenery. ”
It is true that, as Zou Xianlian said, the whole education of a living organism cannot be achieved by one school, but it needs to form a joint force to promote the improvement of the education ecology.
"Is our education really cultivating people?" Zou Xianlian asked questions over and over again. Learning for the sake of learning, brushing questions, solving problems, and scoring are the norm in primary and secondary school classrooms in China.
Since the construction of the school's "Xingyuan Town", there has been a phenomenon that makes Zou Xianlian feel very powerless. Some language and math teachers will prevent students from playing in the space on the grounds that they have not completed their homework. "Xingyuan School has made a lot of innovations, but why has the curriculum of Chinese and mathematics not changed much? Because of the exams, teachers have to deal with scores, which also binds teachers to practice innovative courses. ”
Zou Xianlian clearly realized that the most important thing is to change the way of thinking of teachers, but this process must not be rushed, and it is necessary to accumulate strength, change little by little, and change from small climate to big climate.
In the first two months after returning from the visit, Zou Xianlian led the core of the school to do two things. First of all, a professor and team from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore were invited to work with all the teachers of the university to discuss the topic of "where to go, what kind of education to do, what kind of people to cultivate, and what are the methods and paths?" "A five-year plan for the future development of the school was formulated. The second thing is to invite domestic educational technology experts to train teachers in generative AI-enabled teaching. From the way of thinking to the broadening of her horizons, she wants teachers to have the growth of tool culture, and slowly make progress.
As for the future, she predicts that although the school will definitely exist, the shape will change a lot. The role of teachers will no longer be the iron rice bowl described in the market, and the future will be a great challenge for teachers.
In the era of unbridled science and technology, education must adhere to conscience
"What is a good education?" For this question, there are 1,000 educators, and there are 1,000 answers.
Engaged in front-line primary school Chinese teaching work for more than 20 years, Zou Xianlian has come to the answer based on her experience: education must be vivid. She believes that education is oriented to living individuals. Teachers need to construct all possible factors to shape the environment and engage the inner emotions and motivations of students. A teacher who loves to laugh, is kind, and full of emotions can influence children more than a teacher who only has knowledge.
"When I was looking for a chef at school, I chose a female chef, and I was opposed by a lot of people, after all, school meal making is hard work, but I persevered because I saw something special in this female chef."
Once you experience the canteen of Xingyuan Primary School, you will perceive a different vividness. In addition to their busy work, teachers will also participate in festivals organized by the cafeteria with students and do crafts together. Every Friday before the end of work, the cafeteria will prepare a thoughtful weekend breakfast for the teachers.
Although the initial education is only in junior high school, the chef's delicacy and dedication leave traces on every detail of the canteen management. When the children drink soup, she observes which ones they like to drink and which ones they don't. Then give feedback to the class teacher to find the reason. ”
The canteen strictly controls the ingredients, frozen meat, bulk rice, and bulk condiments are all prohibited.
"In the era of science and technology, education must adhere to conscience, because we are dealing with a group of healthy children."
In Zou Xianlian's view, teachers should be misbehaving, and the most important thing in education is to influence, not just to teach knowledge. "In a 40-minute class, if you only teach dead knowledge, you will definitely be eliminated. We must take into account the factors of the times, the world is developing too fast. ”
During the Double 11 period, the school once held a live broadcast event. The activity was integrated into the wisdom evaluation system of Xingyuan Bank, guiding students how to use their own points, and indirectly cultivating their consumption outlook.
"We've learned that you can't buy blindly online." "We've learned that buying things is divided into what you want to buy and what you need to buy." At the end of the live session, the students enthusiastically expressed themselves.
The new curriculum standard emphasizes the consistency of teaching evaluation, so that the process of evaluation and teaching becomes the process of learning. The overall operation process of Xingyuan Bank's smart evaluation system is that teachers evaluate students' behavior and performance, and after students obtain points, they can exchange points for gifts and wishes in the system. The whole data process is transparent and open to parents and teachers, and home-school collaboration obtains student growth data.
"Teachers now receive nearly 2,000 evaluations a day, sometimes even more than 3,000."
The evaluation indicators are set as learning evaluation and activity evaluation, and the corresponding evaluation links and standards are different. The evaluation indicators of learning are mainly based on the evaluation of teachers of each subject, and students' academic performance and activity participation can be included in the evaluation content. The activity evaluation was initiated by the project team of Xingyuan Bank and other teams of the school.
"The campus bank is also a course space, and it takes a lot of thought." Xingyuan Bank and branches are set up on the first floor, which is the traffic port on the way for students to go to and from school, which helps to maximize the publicity effect of the activities and posters announced. In order to motivate students to be motivated and participatory, the "Bank Station" displays a wide variety of goods, including wish cards, school supplies, daily necessities, labor results, and cultural goods, and the goods are updated regularly. The "cloud supermarket" is connected with the Wuzhi platform, and can be entered with one click at the ATM, and some goods are consistent with the physical goods. ATMs are open around the clock, and students can scan their faces to log in, check their points and mall activities, and can also redeem points with one click.
In terms of the specific operation of the bank, there is a strict recruitment process for the project team members. "In the selection of posts at the beginning of the school year, the president is determined based on the willingness of teachers to select posts and comprehensive quality, and the president then discusses with the school to determine the vice president. After the core structure is formed, the teachers of the project team will recruit a number of staff members for all students in the school, including product managers, couriers, propagandists, etc. ”
"Once, when the teacher was using the evaluation system, he felt that the process was too cumbersome and wanted to simplify the evaluation indicators, and I was very happy. Because they're starting to think. Zou Xianlian said that when behavior becomes a habit and the way of thinking is optimized, it will truly return to the essence of education. Only when the teacher's cognition is improved and he becomes wise, can he cultivate a wise student.
At present, another major innovation of the school lies in the normal use of online and offline hybrid teaching. "Teachers have tasted the sweetness of online classes during the pandemic." Behind its in-depth use, thanks to the school's combination of intelligent systems, the curriculum has been deeply innovated and the way of teaching and learning has been changed.
On October 12, 2022, the third lesson of "Tiangong Classroom" was held on the Chinese space station. The school has prepared an inquiry-based theme course for students at different stages in advance on this topic, which will be carried out on an online and offline integrated teaching platform. "It's amazing, it's amazing, I want to be an astronaut to explore those unknown planets." Watch astronauts do fine effect experiments in space, water balloons become "lazy" experiments, fun drinking water in space, wrenches that turn around, and the mystery of plant growth...... It sparked a great interest among the students, "I want to do some strange little experiments like my uncle and aunt in astronauts."
The school class time is set up as 15 or 20 minutes of micro-lessons, 30 or 35 minutes of new lessons, 50 or 60 minutes of long lessons, and there are also morning exercise time, small song singing time, independent time, lunch break time, etc. Every night from 19:30 to 20:00 is a parent-child exchange, and parents can share their children's homework or work. The opening ceremony of the school was also carried out through the integration of online and offline. Community volunteers and social professionals have the opportunity to participate in the school's daily teaching and curriculum development. Using the online and offline integration platform, the chief announcer of the Chongqing Meteorological Bureau explained the knowledge of the flood peak to the students - "Some time ago, the water rose in many places in Chongqing, do you know how the flood peak was formed"; A professor from Chongqing University explained garbage sorting to students - "What kind of garbage does leftover fruit peel belong to?" ”……
The school also does not have a fixed timetable, and there is a school-wide timetable every week. Depending on the goal, teachers can dynamically adjust the class schedule and choose different types.
"Big money does big things, small money does small things, and N small things make a big thing. This process requires wholehearted dedication. Because, education needs a group of people to stick to it together. ”
In the past two years, the school has received some attention in the field of education because of its bold innovation, effective curriculum design, and organizational form under systematic thinking. The school, which was built on farmland, has also been included in the database of excellent cases of smart education by the Ministry of Education. "Some of them just took pictures and looked at the water, without thinking about what the real steel skeleton represents under the space and what is the connection with the essence of education." ”
At times, Zou Xianlian feels lonely, "very few people really understand or understand these innovative attempts in school". Whenever this happens, during her trip to Singapore, she meets the shadow of a big gentleman, which gives her the strength to continue to do the difficult but right thing.
"The process of civilization must permeate little by little, and cannot be forced." She is always sober, and the road under her feet has only walked a little, "If we don't combine interdisciplinary forms and other forms to deeply apply the 'Xingyuan Town' learning space and let children explore deeply, then it will still stay in formality." We're going to keep going. Again, this is a challenge because we have to do everything possible to change the thinking of teachers. ”
In addition, Zou Xianlian is also preparing for a new campus, and on the basis of the successful experience of building the original smart education environment, the curriculum content has been renovated to incorporate traditional Chinese culture such as drama. The principal, who demolished the wall, also wrote on his official account: "Is the new school renovation a purchase of advanced equipment?" No！ Design your study space first. (Xia Wenhe)