Doria Nan

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The International School of Nanshan Shenzhen (ISNS) held Primary Years Programme (PYPx) and The Middle Years Programme (MYPx) exhibitions from May 29 to 31.

A total of 92 Grade 5 students formed groups and showcased their research processes and results on topics of interest at the PYPx. Students covered topics ranging from AI to energy, health to environmental sustainability, and art to psychology.

Students utilized different methods for displaying their presentations, including poster boards, laptops, and their own original presentation methods. Some students also made models, videos and art works to better present their findings. According to the school, throughout the research process, students gained the opportunity to improve skills like critical thinking, research, self-management, and interpersonal communication. “Through the process, I think listening to others’ points of view is reallly important even if you don’t agree with them,” said Melody Chen, Minnie Chong, and Christine Lee, who researched malaria.

“The exhibition is the embodiment of students’ comprehensive abilities,” said visitor Miao Yan, adding that students dove into many aspects of the project such as life applications, academic challenges and the future.

In addition to the PYPx, Grades 9 and 10 students presented their community and personal projects respectively at their own exhibition. Groups of students in Grade 9 selected an authentic need they felt passionate about to help address it within the local or even global communities. Each student in Grade 10 selected their topics of interest based upon the six global context categories of IB: identities and relationships, orientation in space and time, personal and cultural expression, scientific and technical innovation, globalization and sustainability, and fairness and development.

As an overall theme, most students agreed they gained greater confidence in becoming more effective communicators throughout the project. “I became more outgoing and willing to talk,” said student Sophia Qiu, who created an international cookbook for her project. According to Qiu, she spoke with teachers, designers and students about their opinions on food culture in order to successfully create her cookbook.

ISNS student Abigail Jennings-Fitz-Gerald shared a similar experience. “I needed to communicate with a large amount of people to understand what was going on in the school in regard to mental health, and how the students in the school were feeling,” she explained on how she became a stronger communicator during her project. She created a documentary on mental health.

The personal project section of the exhibition aims to connect students’ ideas and interests to global contexts. “Although I am a student now, I believe I can change the world and contribute to the society when I grow up,” said Nico Liu, who ran a fundraising campaign for children with leukemia in China.