# data[].attributes.headline
Growing as a Teacher: Flexibility and adapting to Change

# data[].attributes.subject
Growing as a Teacher: Flexibility and adapting to Change

# data[].attributes.body
Moving to China, to living in a huge mega-city, working in a different work-culture and navigating language-barriers were new challenges and situations that I became exposed to while teaching in Shanghai.

This required me to learn how to adapt and navigate difficulties by overcoming old habits, being bold and taking on new things I would not have done before; such as being more socially proactive, asking for help and communicating with those around me by learning small phrases and trying to get to know the people.

# data[].attributes.headline
What makes me a good fit in an International School?

# data[].attributes.subject
What makes me a good fit in an International School?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Candidate video - What makes me a good fit for an international school?

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Staying in a Tolou guest house in Fujian, Spring 2021

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Credit: photo shared by Director of Arts, Mr. Hicks (2019)

# data[].attributes.headline
Life of the School: Winter Performances, December 2020

# data[].attributes.subject
Life of the School: Winter Performances, December 2020

# data[].attributes.body
We have so many talented students who give incredible music performances and enrich the the culture of the school.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Credit: official yearbook photo (2021-2022) SUIS Jiaoke-EMW

# data[].attributes.headline
Life of the School: Community events (Sports Days and inter-house competitions) 2020-21

# data[].attributes.subject
Life of the School: Community events (Sports Days and inter-house competitions) 2020-21

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Credit: personal photos with permission of participants (2021)

# data[].attributes.headline
Amazing Colleagues in an international community

# data[].attributes.subject
Amazing Colleagues in an international community

# data[].attributes.body
What I love about teaching in international schools is the people you meet, work with and have fun with outside of school. We are all educators, professionals but also we bring with us our talents, personalities and perspectives that enriches our community. As international teachers, we all come from various backgrounds and bring with us a wealth of experiences to share and are caring of each other.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Covid testing in my community during the 3-month lockdown in 2022. Credit: personal photos (2022)

# data[].attributes.headline
Managing the challenges of Online Learning and Zero-Covid (2020 to 2023)

# data[].attributes.subject
Managing the challenges of Online Learning and Zero-Covid (2020 to 2023)

# data[].attributes.body
The biggest challenge to my time in China was the Zero-Covid policies between 2020 to 2023. This saw China go through strict lockdowns, severe travel restrictions and border closures, schools closed at short notice and months of online learning that was frequently disruptive to our students.

Everyone dealt with the restrictions and the unpredictability of the policies with patience and resilience, but there were incredibly tough moments during the March-June lockdown in Shanghai 2022 where members of our school community suffered emotionally and mentally. We made sure to keep in touch with each other and to offer emotional support during the long months of confinement.

Being unable to return to Europe for over three years was difficult as I could not see my family - an experience shared by millions around the world. However, I found solace and support from my community and teaching friends in the city. It is with renewed hope that the disruption to learning and school life in the last 18 months are now behind us.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Credit: personal photos with permission of participants (2022)

# data[].attributes.headline
Life of the School: amazing colleagues and fun moments (Spooky Sundowner Event, October 2022)

# data[].attributes.subject
Life of the School: amazing colleagues and fun moments (Spooky Sundowner Event, October 2022)

# data[].attributes.body
I have met some amazing colleagues who have made my time in Shanghai an enjoyable experience - many of them have helped me to grow as a teacher and as a person and I always look forward to those moments where we get to dress up during school events to contribute to the community spirit.

# data[].attributes.body
In September 2021, I took over managing and training the Touch Rugby Extra-curricular activity. It was a learning opportunity to coach students and I had amazing support from the school's athletics director on how to build a P.E. lesson so it became a bit of a cross-curricular learning opportunity.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
History Awards Ceremony at assembly, credit: official school photograph for yearbook (2020-2021) SUIS Jiaoke-EMW

# data[].attributes.headline
Life of the School: History in-house competitions

# data[].attributes.subject
Life of the School: History in-house competitions

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Student inquiry-based learning on analysing sources to understand the different contemporary reactions to the end of the First World War.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Chinese New Year celebrations in January 2021, credit: official school photograph for yearbook (2020-2021) Jiaoke-EMW

# data[].attributes.headline
Life of the School: Chinese Lunar New Year

# data[].attributes.subject
Life of the School: Chinese Lunar New Year

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Indoor Floorball student vs teachers match, credit: official photo from school yearbook (2020-2021) SUIS Jiaoke-EMW

# data[].attributes.headline
Life of the School: Teacher vs Student sport matches

# data[].attributes.subject
Life of the School: Teacher vs Student sport matches

# data[].attributes.headline
Life of the School: Promoting Humanitarianism and Holocaust Memorial Day, January 2021

# data[].attributes.subject
Life of the School: Promoting Humanitarianism and Holocaust Memorial Day, January 2021

# data[].attributes.body
Making connections for our students is one way I have been able to communicate important themes and global issues by finding examples that are relevant to them. During Holocaust Memorial Day I chose to promote humanitarianism (a philosophy of action and reflection I grew up with in Geneva) to highlight how ordinary people can help those in need. For many of our students, little did they know that Shanghai played a significant role in helping Jewish Refugees escape the Holocaust. By making this connection with a serious topic, I was able to help make the theme relevant to our students for them to reflect upon.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Riding a camel on the ancient Silk Road was one of the highlights of my travel opportunities in China.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
credit: official school photograph for yearbook (2021) SUIS Jiaoke-EMW

# data[].attributes.headline
Life of the School: Promoting the School Ethos and international-mindedness

# data[].attributes.subject
Life of the School: Promoting the School Ethos and international-mindedness

# data[].attributes.body
I had the opportunity to lead an assembly to promote awareness of the diversity of our school community on our campus and how our School Ethos guided us in how we interacted with each other (Creative, Caring, Communicate, Calm). In the assembly I used the characters from Roald Dahl's books to give the students examples of characteristics they could connect with the school ethos. We also used some of the stories to use as examples on how different people interact with each other and may have different perspectives to our own about the world around us.

# data[].attributes.body
Despite the challenges of the pandemic in 2020, I was able to help our Grade 6 students explore 'Why the Roman Army was so powerful?' by looking at formations and collaborating to follow instructions. We salvaged some cardboard and plastic straps to form shields so as to give the students some idea of the advantages and purposes of the different formations used in the Roman Army.

# data[].attributes.body
Gr.6 Students in groups going around in an open-gallery style lesson to collect and synthesize information to analyse what life in ancient Rome was like.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
In-house created History textbooks, 2022

# data[].attributes.body
Finding my style of teaching took time to develop from my previous experience in Germany. Teaching middle school gave me a lot of joy as students were always energetic, curious and very active - I realized very quickly how the energy one puts into their teaching into their lessons, behaviour and body language can be felt by students. My style of teaching is being active - using kinaesthetic learning moments such as a carrousell to explore what the volcanic disaster of Pompeii tells us about what life in Rome was like, using sort-cards to evaluate the significance of social changes during Industrial Revolution; or using group work to analyse cartoons to analyse the consequences of the First World War.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
According to Xunzi (a Confucian scholar in the 2nd century B.C.): "I hear and I forget. What I see, I will remember. What I do, I will understand."

荀子言"不闻不若闻之，闻之不若见之，见之不若知之，知之不若行之"。

This quote best illustrates how much teaching methods and education has changed. We might have an idea of what teaching is done: with a teacher, a classroom, some books and of course students! However, we rarely understand

这句名言非常好的阐明了现如今教学方法和教育发生了很大的变化。我们一般对教学的概念就是有老师，有教室，有一些书，还有学生！然而，我们很少去 了解我们的学生究竟是如何学习的 。

How do we tell if our students are understanding what is being taught? Surely a test will help? Actually, research in education pedagogy shows that students gradually forget what they are taught as their understanding diminishes over time if the method of delivery has no reinforcement or meaningful opportunities for student to engage.

为了判断我们的学生是否理解所学的内容，一般会采用考试的方式。然而事实上，教育学的研究表明，如果教学方法没有加强或没有 让学生参与的机会 ，学生会逐渐忘记他们所学到的内容，因为他们对知识的理解会随着时间的推移而减退。

In the history department, and at Jiaoke, we feel that the best method used to help reinforce understanding is 'learning by doing' through active learning: "...a learning process that focuses on how the students learn, not just on what they learn." (see Cambridge Assessment International Education).

在协和教科EMW的历史学科，我们认为帮助加强理解的最好方法是在 实践中学习，并让学生养成 主动学习的习惯，我们应该 关注学生的学习过程 ，而不仅仅是他们学到了什么。

This involves problem solving and critical thinking, where the student uses a variety of skills that enables them to access their learning and increases student participation. Teachers help build up students' knowledge and understanding then challenge their student's thinking with take that involves the student taking part in their learning.

这个方法会促使学生使用各种技能来学习，并 增加他们的参与感，来锻炼 解决问题的能力和批判性思维 。老师会帮助学生建立知识体系，然后通过挑战学生的思维，让学生参与到学习中来。

In history, one method we use to great effect is the carrousel activity.

在历史课上，我们有一种非常有效的教学方法， 旋转木马活动 。

The class is divided into 'stations' or 'areas of learning' where students engage with material that is part of a jigsaw of information that they have to assemble.

课程内容会被分成几个"站点"或"学习区域"，学生们需要学习这个站点的相应内容，来取得一部分的知识拼图。

After an allotted time, students in their groups rotate around the room or wonder freely to other stations to gather other parts of the knowledge jigsaw to assemble.

在规定的时间后，每组学生会"旋转"，或任意到其他站点去收集知识拼图的其他部分来组装。

This jigsaw can involve students having to examine different historical sources in order to help answer a specific question.

这些拼图可以促使学生通过研究不同的历史来源去回答特定的问题。

For example, in Grade 8 History in our unit on the First World War we wanted to explore the soldiers experience in the trenches and examined sources that informed students about the challenges they faced: from disease, food, rats, bombardment, shell shock and letters from home. The outcome of this is for students to then assemble this jigsaw to produce an overview of their understanding for what it was like for soldiers living in the trenches and to evaluate the usefulness of these sources to historians.

例如，在一节关于第一次世界大战的八年级历史课上，我们想要探索士兵在战壕中的经历。学生们会收到士兵们当时面临的各种挑战来源的信息：疾病、食物、老鼠、轰炸、战斗疲劳和家书。他们会评估各种资料对历史学家的用处并通过收集组装不同的知识拼图来构建出他们对在战壕中士兵生活的理解。

This activity not only allows students to engage with the source material but also asks them to critically think about how useful are the sources to explaining the experiences of people from the past. Active learning also encourages students to be independent and life-long learners.

这项活动不仅可以让学生接触到原始材料，还要求他们批判性地思考这些材料对于解释过去人们的经历起到多大作用。主动学习还可以促织学生成为独立的、终身的学习者

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
According to Xunzi (a Confucian scholar in the 2nd century B.C.): "I hear and I forget. What I see, I will remember. What I do, I will understand." 荀子言"不闻不若闻之，闻之不若见之，见之不若知之，知之不若行之"。 This quote best illustrates how much teaching methods and education has changed.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Gr.7 Students using iPads as part of a inquiry lesson on the historical controversy of the 'age of exploration'

# data[].attributes.body
In Grades 7 and 8 we use iPads to give students opportunities to use ICT for their learning - research skills as well as communication skills - to be able to synthesize information, interpret it and explore different historical perspectives from different sources (this is often challenging as much of the internet is censored but we make do with approved education sites such as History.com, Kids Britannica and Museum websites).

# data[].attributes.body
I accommodate for the needs of my EAL and SEN learners through “buddy up” students in order to support them and check their learning through collaborative teamwork. I use model answers and a writing frame to guide them in their writing as well as clozed-procedures with word gaps that allow them to feel confident in making connections and formulating their answers.

# data[].attributes.body
My background in international education and the IB, has endowed me with the values of collaborative learning, empathy, appreciation of multi-cultural perspectives and a dedication for lifelong learning. My personal approach to teaching history is focusing on historical thinking skills: using sources, exploring interpretations, and developing student’s critical thinking skills through active learning. An additional value I hold is reflection: I apply it in my teaching by enabling students to assess their own progress and that of their peers. By enabling students to assess for themselves and to critically engage with the material they can learn not just their strengths but also how to overcome challenges through regular and constructive feedback. Collaborative learning with peer-checking, modelling answers and using visual aids are additional strategies I use.

I am a flexible person who believes in being change, listening to others perspectives and experiences, giving others a fair chance to improve and to continuously learn to improve my teaching style and knowledge in inquiry-based learning and meeting the needs of my students in my subject.

# data[].attributes.headline
Growing as a Teacher: Classroom management

# data[].attributes.subject
Growing as a Teacher: Classroom management

# data[].attributes.body
The strategies I employ for classroom management involve demonstrating the attitudes and behaviour expected by modelling those values: I am always courteous, respectful, fair, and consistent. I help establish a safe learning environment through a seating plan, clearly communicated rules of behaviour and positive reinforcement through visual displays, assigning student roles and establishing a familiar routine at the start and end of the day.

# data[].attributes.body
For our unit on the Middle Ages, I dressed up as a medieval knight to role-play and have my Gr.6 students interview me about what a knight did, how they lived and why do we stand out in romantic fiction.

# data[].attributes.headline
Growing as a Teacher: Being a homeroom teacher

# data[].attributes.subject
Growing as a Teacher: Being a homeroom teacher

# data[].attributes.body
My first homeroom group was 6LS, I watched them grow over three years and learned to know them for their personalities, interests and how they interacted with each other both in and outside the classroom. It was a lot of responsibility: managing behaviour, their emotional wellbeing, supervising and chaperoning them during their fieldtrip in Grade 7, and watching them flourish during sporting competitions.

# data[].attributes.headline
Life of the School: Creativity Week, June 2021

# data[].attributes.subject
Life of the School: Creativity Week, June 2021

# data[].attributes.body
As part of creativity week, I led a workshop on arts and crafts and teaching students how to create and paint shields and incorporate designs, linking this workshop with our unit on the Romans which Grades 6 and 7 had done.

# data[].attributes.headline
Growing as a Teacher: Creating an International Curriculum

# data[].attributes.subject
Growing as a Teacher: Creating an International Curriculum

# data[].attributes.body
In 2020 I became a head of department and got the opportunity to overhaul and create a history curriculum for middle-school. Transforming it from a UK-centric program based on National Curriculum to tailor a program that reflected the diversity of our students, their language abilities and to provide them opportunities to explore topics that explored international historical issues, perspectives and source-based skills.

Over a three period I was able to continuously develop the curriculum to meet the needs of my students and to truly focus on aspects of teaching history: Critical thinking skills, Historical Interpretation, Source-analysis and evaluation skills, and offering a range of topics such as the Ancient Rome and The Middle Ages for Grade 6, The Atlantic World - trade, exploration and exploitation as well as Social Change and Continuity for Grade 7, and Causes & Consequences of the First World War and the French Revolution for Grade 8.

I also was obliged to create and tailor the course textbooks due to the censorship laws in China from September 2020, which was a challenge as it limited the range on what topics were allowed to be taught.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Using Sources to Investigate the Past

GRADE 6 are introduced to History through the foundation stage, where they are using sources to investigate the past. The experience of using sources to solve a puzzle gives our students the opportunity to investigate the past just like real historians would. We will be looking in semester one at the Romans 700 B.C.E.-400 C.E., from how they emerged as a civilization to exploring what it was like to live in ancient Roman times. In the second semester we will be exploring international connections through the themes of the Middle Ages and the Silk Road to investigate how societies are connected across time.

通过学习如何研读史料，6年级学生被引入了历史的殿堂，他们有机会像真正的历史学家一样展开对过去的探寻。本学期，我们将聚焦公元前 700 年至公元 400 年的罗马人，从这种文明是如何出现的，到古罗马时代的生活到底是怎样的，6年级学生将进行一系列的研究。在第二学期，我们将通过中世纪和丝绸之路的主题，探索世界之间的联系，研究社会是如何跨越时间的鸿沟而产生牵绊的。

Investigating and Critical Thinking

GRADE 7 explore the theme of "historical significance" by exploring the gruesome experience of the Transatlantic Slave Trade 1500-1900. This is a topic with a focus on the effect it had on shaping the societies of three continents. We will also be studying its lasting impact that still continues to this day. Currently our Grade 7s have been investigating the degree of responsibility that people involved would have had in creating the Transatlantic Slave Trade. This is an important history skill that encourages students to use their investigative skills as well as to think critically in order to reach their own conclusions.

7 年级最近的探究主题是"历史意义"。他们研读了 1500-1900 年跨大西洋奴隶贸易的资料，了解了这段可怕的历史，并探讨了它对三大洲社会形成的影响。我们还将继续探寻这段历史是否对今天的世界仍有持久的影响。目前，7年级学生正在研究相关历史人物在跨大西洋奴隶贸易中所应承担的责任程度。这是一项重要的历史学科技能，我们鼓励学生使用他们的调研能力以及批判性思维来得出自己的结论。

Comparing Competing Interpretations

GRADE 8 are in their pre-IGCSE year where we teach them many of the core analyse skills that they would need for Grade 9 and beyond. Our main focus in Grade 8 is 20th century history and the theme of "Cause and Effect". Our students have been investigating the key causes of the First World War 1914-1918, the effects of this conflict and how its consequences would lead to the outbreak of a second world war. One of the challenges they face is to compare competing interpretations (an expectation at IGCSE level). This is a skill that we can use in the real world: from determining the contrasting opinions in a law case to interpreting the reliability of information we are confronted with on a daily basis.

为了帮助8年级学生明年顺利地进入IGCSE的学习，我们的教学重点在于帮助他们掌握9年级及以后所需的核心分析能力。8年级的探究重点是20世纪的历史以及对"因果"的理解。我们的学生一直在寻找引发1914-1918年第一次世界大战的关键因素，研究这场冲突的影响以及其后果如何导致第二次世界大战的爆发。他们面临的挑战之一是在相悖的论据中进行权衡和筛选（IGCSE教学目标之一）。这也是我们在现实世界中使用的技能：比如在法律案件中对不同的观点进行判断，又比如分析我们生活中每天各种繁杂信息的可靠性。

Our aim at JKEMW is to provide students with a fun and immersive experience in history which gives them the key critical thinking skills needed beyond school and university and to nurture a curiosity in our students, for our understanding of the past is always changing just like we do in the present.

在JKEMW，我们的历史教学旨在为学生提供有趣且身临其境的历史体验，让他们获得在校园内外都不可或缺的批判性思维能力，以面对不断变化的世界和对过去不断更新的认知。同时我们也注重培养学生的好奇心，能产生疑问才能获得探索的动力。

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Using Sources to Investigate the Past GRADE 6 are introduced to History through the foundation stage, where they are using sources to investigate the past. The experience of using sources to solve a puzzle gives our students the opportunity to investigate the past just like real historians would.

# data[].attributes.headline
Growing as  person: moving to another country and making new friend

# data[].attributes.subject
Growing as  person: moving to another country and making new friend

# data[].attributes.body
Moving to Shanghai (a mega-city of 26 million people) and making friends was a new experience that changed me - I learned to be more socially outgoing and less of a workaholic, by partaking in social events and travelling through China with colleagues and meeting new people on travel groups - making life-long connections I still treasure to this day.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Yuyuan Garden bazaar, Shanghai (October 2021)

# data[].attributes.headline
Growing as a Teacher: Understanding a new culture

# data[].attributes.subject
Growing as a Teacher: Understanding a new culture

# data[].attributes.body
What I love about working in China was exploring a new culture that is over 5000 years old and provides so much new opportunities to learn and appreciated. It was an immersive experience that allowed me to see perspectives and viewpoints about the world, history, education and life that were very different to my own.

# data[].attributes.body
In my second year, I was made Head of Department, initially I was sceptical if I had the right attitude and experience to undertake these new responsibilities. It was largely in part thanks to my Head of Grade 8 and Pastoral Team member who convinced me that I had what it took, in the time that she knew and observed me, to take on a role that she felt would enable me not just to shine but also to create a history programme that reflected my passions in historical perspectives and international-mindedness.

# data[].attributes.body
Four years ago, I undertook the greatest adventure of my teaching career and decided to teach in Shanghai, China. It was a profound life-changing experience as it allowed me not just to grow professionally but also to grow as a person by stepping out of my comfort zone and familiar surroundings and set out on a journey to see and live in a new exciting culture so different to my own.  China was a door of opportunity that I am profoundly happy I opened and stepped through to teach History to Middle School, IGCSE and some experience in the IB DP.

My time as a History Teacher for grades 6-9 at the Shanghai United International School enabled me to grow professionally: In my second year I became a Head of Department for History in Middle School, where it gave me the chance to create a internationally-minded curriculum and to continuously develop it to reflect differentiated approaches to learning and equipping students with critical-thinking and inquiry-based skills needed for high school.

Although the following 3 years of lockdowns and travel restrictions imposed by the country's zero-covid policy (2020-2023) was to be a serious challenge and mental struggle due to uncertainties and the inability to see my family for three years - the friends I made and the connections forged through the dynamic cosmopolitan city of Shanghai helped me to learn to be both resilient, patient, flexible and adaptable to change.