Connecting with Teachers in China: New Literacies, New Opportunities 10.2.2013

Connecting with Teachers in China:New Literacies, New Opportunities

Dr. Hiller A. Spires10.2.2013

Friday Institute Seminar Series

1.3 billion people

Imbalance of wealth

Economic growth

Migration to cities

Newlit.org

CED Delegation to Beijing 2007

US Asia Conference Board 2008

NC/China Summit 2008, 2010, 2012

Chinese Scholar Junzheng Zhang 2009

New Literacies Institutes Beijing 2010, 2013Student Summer/Winter Camps 2011-2013Beijing Inst. for Science & Technology 2011 Chinese Scholar Professor Dan Li 2013

Involvement Since 2007

2007 Delegation:Dr. Hiller A. SpiresDr. Jennifer MangrumDr. Lodge McCammonDr. Dave FryeDr. Kim TurnerBrian Bouterse

NC/China Summit Partners:NCSU CED , FI, & Confucius InstituteCenter for Intern. UnderstandingNC State Board of EducationNC Department of Public InstructionNC Business Committee for Education

NLI Collaborators w/ BRS:Dr. Jayne FleenerDr. Hiller SpiresDr. Grant HollyErin LyjakDr. John LeeDr. Carl YoungDr. Meixun ZhengBethany SmithDr. Erin KrupaDr. Jonathan List

Educational Reform Policy in China

Chinese Basic Education Curriculum Reform:

Focus on innovation & creativity

Centralization to decentralization in curriculum policy

Teacher-directed to student-centered

Transmission-centered to inquiry-centered

Toward quality-oriented education

Ministry of Education, 2001

“The superior man thinks always of virtue; the common man thinks of comfort.”

Confucius

Beyond Dichotomies

Transcending binary descriptions of Chinese and western education (Chan, 2009).

The paradox of the Chinese learner (Watkins & Biggs, 2001).

Bridging cultural divides is a daily negotiation process that occurs in “humble spaces” of the classroom (Slethaug, 2007, p. 64).

Good teaching and learning are the commontreasures of humanity (Ryan, 2010).

Study I

What are teachers perceptions of new literacies

in the US and China?

Having Our Say: US & Chinese Teacher’s Perceptions

Spires, Morris & Zhang, 2012

Spires, Morris & Zhang, 2012

Study II

How do Chinese teachers acquire new literacies for themselves and

their students?

TPACK, PBI, global competence, performance assessment, professional learning

communities

Spires, Wiebe, Young, Hollebrand, & Lee, 2009

New Learning Ecology

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK)

Adapted from Mishra & Koehler, 2006

Ask a CompellingQuestion

Gather &Analyze

Information

CreativelySynthesizeInformatio

nCritically

Evaluate & Revise

Publish Share

Act

Design Studio Showcase

A Project Based Inquiry Approach to Learning.

Adapted from Spires, Lee, Young, Leu, Coiro, & Castek, 2009

Teacher Profiles

Xiaoting

Fourth year of teaching English for 10th grade Chinese students.

(pseudonyms)

Huimin

Tenth year of teaching 10th grade English to Chinese students.

(pseudonyms)

Zhijie

Sixth year ofteachingPhysics to Chinesestudents.

Xiaoting

She was comfortable having students create products using technology; she enjoyed being a facilitator in the classroom. She said students enjoyed talking with each other and collaborating on products during class.

“Before I was skeptical about technology’s place in the classroom. Now I see how it can be used. Technology tools are great because they are fun

and engaging for students. They also provide students with experience and practice in new

inquiry skills.”

Huimin

The class was structured with the teacher at the front of the room and the students sitting in rows of desks. She engaged the class in a discussion. She asked questions and had students compare what they had written with each other.

“In China, most teachers equipped with good knowledge of their own subject and education theory, and yes,

many have technology, but just PowerPoint. There is no blog, no Moodle, no modeling for how to make class interactive and fun. The relationship of technology,

pedagogy and content is really interesting. It is different from teacher to teacher.”

ZhijieUsed the NLI physics content lessons we had made available on websites, since it was difficult to find appropriate content for physics classes.

Most important idea he learned in the NLI: Design instruction so students interact & collaborate with each other rather than listening to him lecture.

“We need to make sure students know how to research, find answers and valuable resources, and to know which resources are worthy and

which are fake.”

Perspectives from Dr. Meixun Zheng

Former PhD. Student in Curriculum & Instruction

Adjunct Faculty at University of the Pacific

Ongoing Interactions with Beijing Royal School

Professional learning communities among teachers by subject areas to support implementing the New Learning Ecology.

Video conferencing sessions to support inquiry instruction as part of the New Learning Ecology.

Connections between BRS and NC teachers to collaborate and share best practices, conducting joint inquiry projects & sharing results. CED student internships at BRS.

Host teachers from BRS in our master's degree programs and students for day camps at the FI.

Conclusions

Chinese teachers enact instructional change along a continuum of pedagogical shifts. Interested in creative & innovative methods of teaching.

Opportunities to share educational best practices as we strive to provide students with a 21st century education.

Ultimate goal is to be good stewards of an interconnected, global community.

What is the value proposition for connecting with educators

in China?

Go to padlet.com/wall/f7srgy1lho

Type your comments.

Global competence: the capacity and disposition to understand and act on issues of global significance (CCSSO & Asia Society, 2011)

“This is the moment—this is the most important moment right now. We are about making a contribution. That’s what our job is. It’s about contributing something.”

-Benjamin Zander

(Thank You!)

References

Images prepared by Ethos3: http://www.ethos3.com/

Li, J. (2012). Cultural Foundations of Learning: East and West. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Mansilla, V.B. & Jackson, A. (2011). Educating for global competence: Preparing our youth to engage the world. CCSSO & The Asia Society.

Ministry of Education (PRC). 2001. Guidelines for curriculum reform of basic education (Experimental Draft). BMoE Document No. [2001] 17. Beijing Ministry of Education, The People's Republic of China (PRC).

NC Department of Public Instruction. (2013). Preparing Students for the World: Final Report of the State Board ofEducation’s Task Force on Global Education.

Ryan, J., & Slethaug, G. (2010). International Education and the Chinese Learner. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.

Spires, H., Morris, G., & Zhang, J. (2012). New literacies and emerging technologies: Perspectives from middle grade teachers in the US and China. Research in Middle Level Education, 35(10), 1-11.

Spires, H. & Zheng, M. (2012, December).  New literacies, new complexities: A model of professional development with Chinese teachers. Paper presented at the Literacy Research Association Conference, San Diego, CA.

Spires, H. (2011, October). New literacies and global learning: Implications for higher education in the US and China. Invited keynote for the Beijing Institute for Science and Technology. Beijing, China.

Spires, H. A., Wiebe, E., Young, C. A., Hollebrands, K., & Lee, J. K. (2012). Toward a new learning ecology:Professional development for teachers in 1:1 learning environments. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 12(2). Retrieved from http://www.citejournal.org/vol12/iss2/currentpractice/article1.cfm  (Reprint of the Friday Institute White Paper. NC State University: Raleigh, NC.)

References

Stewart, V (2012) A World-Class Education: Learning from International Models of Excellence and Innovation, (ASCD).

Zakaria, F (2011) The Post-American World: Release 2.0, (Norton Books).

Zhoa, Y. (2012). World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin.

Zhoa, Y. (2011). Handbook of Asian Education: A Cultural Perspective. New York, NY: Routledge

Email: haspires@ncsu.edu

Web: Newlit.org

Hiller A. Spires