Matthew Jellick

Over the course of the past year, I have had the opportunity to travel around China, doing teacher-training programs across the country. From Shenyang to Wuhan and from Beijing to Xizhou, a village in Yunan Province, I have met incredible educators who understand the importance of constructive pedagogy, and how the art of teaching directly influences not only students, but teachers as well.

Covering topics such as “Assessment Design” and “Differentiation in the Classroom,” we discussed and analyzed practical approaches to curriculum development and how we could empower students through interactive lessons. The traditional method of a teacher-centric classroom is outdated and gives no ownership to the students, creating an unbalanced microcosm that doesn’t mirror real-world scenarios.

Learning should take place through experiences, not rote knowledge, where we give credence to each voice in the classroom, not only that of the instructor. The teacher is there to shed light, not to master, and we must value the ideas and input of students, creating arenas for them to voice thoughts, opinions and of course, challenges.

One of the things I have noticed in working in different cities across China is the willingness and desire of the teachers to make a difference not only in their own classrooms, but to make a lasting impression on their students even after they have graduated or moved on. A culture of change as it applies to education, acting as multipliers, because quite literally, the future depends on it.

For me, too, each of these visits are a learning experience, as it provides insight into culture, which is an integral part of the foundation of authentic education. China is diverse and multicultural, and to be able to peer into the differences, for example, of Yunnan Province as opposed to Liaoning Province helps to shed light on the directives of localized as well as national teaching design. The growth may be gradual, but it is indeed taking place.

Last year alone I visited more cities in China than I have in the previous four years combined, a silver lining of sorts to the inability to travel internationally. I am grateful for the opportunities — both inside as well as outside the classroom — which have been provided to me and I look forward to hopeful future collaboration.