Presented by Brendan Law, Executive Principal, this will be a great chance for you to learn about their approach to teaching and learning, while also having the chance to speak directly with key representatives from the school.

Speakers at the event include the following:

Stefan Sjodin,  Head of Secondary School

Stefan is a career educator with a wealth of experience in education leadership. In his presentation Stefan will introduce the many Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities for teachers there are at DSAS/KCIS.

CPD is a vital component of any school. These initiatives at DSAS are designed according to teacher preferences and needs with the goal of realizing their mission: to be a learning community aspiring to excellence.

Amy Loveday-Hu, Head of Kindergarten

Amy will share her wealth of knowledge in early years when talking about laying solid foundations for lifelong learning.  She strongly believes that initial school experiences are a particularly sensitive and important period for every child. In this must-see presentation

Amy will share her ideas on how key social and emotional skills are developed during these vital years. As she says, “Our goal of ‘fostering confident young learners’ takes us on exciting collaborative journeys every day.  What we do makes a difference, throughout children’s school careers.”

Yin Xie, Pastoral Assistant Head for the Lower Secondary School & Sophia Morling, Pastoral Assistant Head for the Primary School

Sophia and Yin share a deep dedication to student well-being, and will co-host a presentation on Pastoral Care at DSAS/KCIS. As Sophia says, “As educators, it is our duty to ensure the physical, social and emotional welfare of our pupils”.

The ideal of a fair, kind and responsible community lies at heart of the DSAS culture. Sophia and Yin look forward to talking about the school’s innovative and responsive pastoral care initiatives.

Magdi Elsayad, Head of ICT, Director of Co-Curricular Activities

Magdi has combined his passion for technology with his role as Director of co-curricular activities by introducing tech-related programs such as 3D printing to an already abundant and diverse roster.

He looks forward to sharing his ideas on the value of co-curricular activities, including how the fields of student interest are developing as technology becomes ever-more embedded in our lives.

Coco Fan, Director of Teaching and Learning (G1 – 9)

Coco has taught a broad range of grades and ages in her over twenty years’ experience in education. She will share her thoughts on the current state of education development in China.

Her presentation will be about blending Chinese Bilingual Curriculum with best international pedagogical practices, a stimulating and timely topic in tune with the evolving teaching and learning landscape in China.

Mike Hindle, Head of King’s College International School

Mike is a vastly experienced educational leader. He firmly believes that learning should be engaging, challenging and rewarding, and that every student has the capacity to excel. Mike  will draw from his broad experience to talk about overcoming cultural and language boundaries in a happy international community.

As Mike says, “Happy children learn better, whatever their cultural heritage and background. By celebrating the diversity of our school community we can joyfully prepare all our students for their future lives.”

Wuxi Dipont School of Arts and Science educates students to be well-rounded, innovative and collaborative individuals. It’s goal is to help students to appreciate their own, and others, cultures and traditions.

The school was founded with the strong support of the Wuxi local government, and through a partnership between two world-leading schools – Nanjing Foreign Language School, China and King’s College School, Wimbledon, UK.

The post Wuxi Dipont online recruitment open day appeared first on Dipont Education.

In the past three years there has been a huge decline in the ESL private education market in China. COVID, policy change, and general economic shrinkage have placed enormous pressure on this once lucrative and booming industry. As a result, a lot of ESL teachers are facing the end of their China dreams.

Photo by Tom Parsons on Unsplash

At the same time many international and bilingual schools in China are now filling the last of their vacancies for an August 2022 start.

Here are some tips on making the leap from training centers to the big league.

1. Align with your subject knowledge

If economics was not your major at university, don’t apply for an economics teaching job. You do not want the stress of trying to learn the topic between classes. Like a predator’s instinct to smell fear on the hunted, most students can detect a knowledge gap within the first 15 minutes of a course. A bitter victory it would be to bluff your way into such a classroom.

Photo by Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash

You will need subject knowledge. What was your major? Literature, History, and, to a lesser extent, Political Science are fields that are applicable to an English subject teaching role, and should be highlighted in your CV.

Look into options to undertake a PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate in Education), which effectively upgrades your qualifications to be classroom ready. Enrolling in a PGCE will also demonstrate your commitment to career development.

2. Emphasize your unique strengths

You may have been an awesome ESL teacher, but there are a lot of awesome ex-ESL teachers flooding the market these days. What makes you stand out from the crowd? Brushing up your CV is an opportunity to reflect on your achievements and your growth, and also to articulate the benefits you can bring to a new employer.

Photo by Jess Bailey on Unsplash

What is it about your classroom management style that supports autonomous, student-centered learning? Have you any experince with safe-guarding protocols? What have you learnt about the unique perspective of Chinese learners? What experience do you have with cross-cultural communication? Have you ever organized an extra-curricular activity? What made it great? What did you learn from it?

3. Be prepared to move

Back in the day you could throw a rock* in downtown Shanghai and it would bounce off a couple of ESL schools before hitting the ground. There were a lot of training centers. The daily commute was a breeze. You could live in the thick of the CBD, taking your pick of workplaces. It was easy to find a job.

Photo by Alessio Lin on Unsplash

These days it is not so easy. You may need to change cities to find a position that matches your qualifications. This is not to say that any reputable school will accept inadequately skilled teachers, but there is a greater likelihood of being accepted into a non-ESL academic role away from the extremely competitive job market in top tier cities.

If you have the ability, the determination, and the willingness to grow, a second or third tier would be the ideal place to launch your career renaissance.

*note that this is a metaphorical rock. It is never a good idea to throw stones in the inner city.

4. Prepare a killer demo lesson

You may not always have the opportunity to use it, but preparing a demo lesson is a good way to focus your intent and refine your pitch for the job. In addition, many classes are being taught online these days, albeit temporarily, so preparing a great demo lesson in this format could make a huge difference to your application.

Photo by Tumisu on Pixabay

You should aim for a snapshot of your teaching persona that highlights your mastery of the medium as well as your comfort in the subject area. The question for your audience is: Is this person able to deliver a curriculum with confidence and discernment? Charisma is not king in this situation.

5. Persevere or perish

Failure is inevitable on the road to change, but the road is long and forgiving if you give yourself the chance. Every application is an opportunity to hone your message. Every interview is a chance to practice delivering your brand to the market.

Photo by Marten Bjork on Unsplash

China has always been a land of opportunity for teachers. The difference now is that the stakes are higher, and the rewards are greater. The end of your ESL days need not be the end of your China life. You could make it the start of your education career.

Dipont Education has had a few last minute positions open up for teachers currently residing in China for an August 2022 start. Now is the time to get started on your career revival.

The post Time for your career revival appeared first on Dipont Education.

Patience. Ingenuity. Resilience. Care. The resurgence of COVID-19 and the necessary return to online classes has brought out the best in the teaching team at Dipont Huayao Collegiate School Kunshan. Students and teachers alike have not only persevered in adversity but have also kept striving to seek and soar beyond. For Huayao teachers, the delivery of online learning has been a great opportunity for innovation and professional growth.

“If you just lecture at kids it can be deadly dull, even face to face, but our teachers do a great job of using the technology to their advantage.”

Dr Jeffrey Walkington, Upper School Principal of Dipont Huayao Collegiate School Kunshan, has been impressed by the variety of strategies teachers use to combine online and offline experiences.

“If you just lecture at kids it can be deadly dull, even face to face,” he says, “but our teachers do a great job of using the technology to their advantage. For example, they will set up group work, where two or three students can go to a breakout room and discuss a topic, then come back to share it with the rest of the class.”

Students can respond in real-time to class discussions

Being responsive to the new reality of online teaching, including the impact of excessive screen time on student wellbeing, has been crucial for teachers. They have had to experiment with what works and think creatively about results-oriented, and health-oriented, lesson strategies.

When online teaching was first introduced, Emma Gu, a Chinese teacher in the Secondary School, used mind mapping software to help students sort their notes, a digital approach that was new and effective at the time.

Traditional and technological approaches embed agile communication into learning

As the novelty of online teaching wore off, however, Emma noticed a drop-off in engagement with these kinds of software-based activities. Her solution was to offer students the option of making their notes on paper, and to then take photos of these notes to share with the class. This combination of traditional and technological approaches to learning not only reduced screen time, but also embedded agile and multi-modal communication as part of the learning process.

Huayao teachers have also been exploring ways to increase interaction during online lessons. Anthony Magee, Teacher of Psychology, has students share their thoughts and opinions in chat boxes as a method of responding in real-time to class discussions and peer presentations. As a result, they can share their screens or screenshots to submit their writing for assessment purposes, while this practice also serves as an ongoing log of ideas for personal and class reflection.

Teachers at Huayao get creative in delivering online PE lessons

Perhaps one of the most difficult lessons to deliver online has been PE. Exercise is never more important than during times of lockdown and increased time at the computer, so careful thought goes into how to keep students physically and mentally healthy.

Nilton Resende, a ninth-grade physical education teacher, admits that it is challenging giving PE classes via a computer, as he is not able to monitor students’ technique and effort as easily.

To compensate, he has adjusted the content of his online teaching, adding fitness plans and nutritional information so that students can track their own physical and athletic development, as well as build new vocabulary and research skills. Nilton combines this with fun online workout sessions that see students – and teachers – working up a sweat in their living rooms or practicing volleyball techniques in their compound gardens.

Flexible approaches to learning encourage students to think creatively and question how they can apply their learning to the environment around them.

This approach of adapting teaching and learning to the physical reality of learning at home even extends into First Aid classes. Here, students are encouraged to use household objects to practice skills such as the Heimlich maneuver. Many sofa cushions have been resuscitated from the brink of catastrophe as they double as choking victims.

As well as being fun, these flexible approaches to learning encourage students to think creatively and question how they can apply their learning to the environment around them. In this way, Huayao teachers ensure students continue to discover learning opportunities in the world around them as they step away from their screens.

Online lessons have inspired Grade 5 scholar, Tino, to continue his learning independently

For Tino, in grade 5, his experiences in online classes such as science and English have inspired him to continue his learning independently. For example, after classes are done for the day, he can use an app on his iPad to measure the size of planets and the distances between them in a DIY model of the universe he has created.

As these examples show, students and teachers at Huayao have strived to turn recent disruptions into an opportunity for growth, both academically and professionally. For students and teachers, online teaching and learning has allowed the development of important soft skills such as ingenuity, creativity and adaptability. This, combined with practical knowledge of using cutting-edge technologies, is ensuring everyone in the Huayao community is better prepared for the challenges and opportunities to come.

There are still positions at Dipont Huayao Collegiate School Kunshan for an August 2022 start. Visit our careers section to review opportunities in our thriving learning community.

The post Everybody learns in the online classroom appeared first on Dipont Education.

1972. Mao Zedong was the Great Chairman, presiding over a China poised to make the greatest leap forward of modern times. In the US, the Space Shuttle was a distant concept, while the war in Vietnam raged on.

Meanwhile, in a small city in Pakistan, a youthful Syed Mozammil Ahsan began his teaching career.

He has been teaching ever since.

Mr. Ahsan’s career in education has taken him to many places, from his native Pakistan to Nigeria, then to Brunei and finally on to China. He has taught A-level Chemistry for an astonishing 40 years.

For the last 9 years, he has been a mainstay of the Dipont international high school program at Hangzhou Foreign Languages School, teaching chemistry to scores of students who, along with many colleagues over the years, have admired his knowledge, valued his patience, and sought to emulate his fine example.

“I’m still improving every day”

By his own admission, Mr. Ahsan’s first years as a teacher were stressful and unsuccessful. Responding quickly and effectively to student questions was a particular burden, and he spent late nights researching, trying to find a better way.

His solution was to seek advice from peers, and this practice has been a constant throughout his long career. Even now he is ready to consult with other teachers to seek out ways to improve the teaching of a certain knowledge point, or better understand the needs of students.

In Nigeria, a colleague shared a saying with him that has stayed with him ever since: “Knowledge is one thing, but how to pass it on is more important.”

Mr. Ahsan’s many years in the classroom have not diminished his belief in the importance of continual improvement.

As he says: “I’m not a perfect teacher. I’m still improving every day. You have to have a desire to learn from others. That what I have been doing for my entire career”

Not every class is perfect

In China especially, teachers tend to be viewed as infallible sources of knowledge and a target of special reverence. However, in Mr. Ashan’s view, a teacher is also an ordinary person. Every class is not perfect, but all mistakes can be a source of learning.

Rather than waiting for feedback from others, Mr. Ahsan reflects on every class he teaches. This is a habit of mind that he encourages in his students and peers. Intuition, following your gut, recognizing that some activity could have gone better, or that some instruction could have been clearer, is key to this practice

In Mr. Ahsan’s view, this habit of mind can improve a student’s ability to deal with mistakes. Dissatisfaction is not a bad thing when paired with the thought: “I didn’t do well today, but I will do better tomorrow.”

The modesty of a great teacher

When called upon to speak at graduation ceremonies, Mr. Ahsan often quotes the following line from the Lebanese poet, Khalil Gibran:

“Education does not sow seeds in your mind, it grows them.”

His lasting message to students on graduation day is always that “knowledge, leadership, and character are the three most vital things in life.”

Over the last 50 years, there have been many, many students to hear these words and benefit from Mr. Ahsan’s fine example. Aside from all his wonderful traits as an educator, it is the unlikely modesty of one who has achieved so much that persists in the mind.

“My happiest moment is when the graduates come back to school and knock on the door to say hello to me,” says Mr. Ahsan, summing up what gives him joy as a teacher. “It makes me feel recognized for my efforts and gives me more motivation.”

Dipont Education heartily congratulates Syed Mohammad Ahsan for the tremendous milestone of 50 years in education. Every colleague, every student, and every parent is grateful for his tremendous contribution.

Working alongside colleagues with such experience, kindness and professionalism will make you a better teacher.

Visit our careers section to review teacher vacancies in our international high school programs across our impressive network of partner schools.

The post A celebration of 50 years in education appeared first on Dipont Education.

The word curriculum comes from Latin, meaning a race or to proceed along the course of a race. There is no doubt that at times, the pace and challenge of our schools make education still feel like a race!

The first known use of the term curriculum in an educational context is in the Professio Regia, a work by University of Paris professor Petrus Ramus, published posthumously in 1576. You would think by now that we would have sorted out what exactly it is! But, after all these years, we still don’t have a clear, complete and relevant definition of this important word, which has been part of our education systems for so many years.

You could be forgiven for thinking that ‘the curriculum’ is the heart of a school, the center of all learning, the driver, the guide that sets standards and expectations that is to be revered, respected and never criticized. My opinion is that we should make it work for us rather than us working for it.

Leading us in the wrong direction?

As educators we tend to use the word ‘curriculum’ in the narrowest terms, missing a great opportunity to bring about real change and development in our centers of education and our children’s lives.

For decades we have blindly followed and revered the curriculum of our schools. If we stop for just a moment and consider the bigger picture of learning, we might find that this is not only taking us in the wrong direction but that it is also, in many cases, causing irreparable damage to learning and growing.

Even as I share this criticism with you, I feel uncomfortable questioning and challenging this word, such is the status of this ‘pillar’ of education. But it is surely foolish to blindly continue to do something that you know is flawed because you haven’t been brave enough to question or challenge.

For decades we have blindly followed and revered the curriculum of our schools…but we might find that this is causing irreparable damage to learning and growing.

Education determines the capabilities, aptitudes and skills our citizens will call upon in shaping their lives and that of their world. There is nothing more important to a country than the education of its people. Our very survival as a species depends on the choices and actions made by the adults of the future. Therefore, the curriculum that guides them through their growing and learning is of immense importance.

Dictating what happens in schools

So, where to begin when considering a curriculum for the future? It might be easier to start with what a curriculum shouldn’t be rather than what it should be…the school curriculum of the future should not be:

• molded by previous decades and centuries (this is not a reference to the study of history or previous/present cultures – these are extremely important. Rather, this refers to the structure and focus of a narrow curriculum that has not changed for many years)
• organized and delivered in subjects, purely academic
• ignorant of the importance of Emotional Quotient (EQ)
• focused only on the present needs of students
• narrow and restrictive in choice and creativity
• detached from reality
• used as a measure of what learners can’t do and consequently their ‘intelligence’
• so demanding that it makes childhood and adolescence a miserable experience
• created or greatly influenced by universities so that their selection of students is easier
• stale and boring!

Does any of that sound familiar from the curricula you’ve worked with? I’m not surprised, because it’s exactly what we have across schools in many countries. The curriculum has established itself as the master of what happens in schools instead of being the servant of it. This must change! We are failing to effectively prepare students to have a deep and relevant experience of life.

This begs the follow-up question…what should the curriculum and, ultimately, education do for our children and students of all ages (because let’s not forget that learning is a life-long process)?

Time for a rethink

The educationalist Ken Robinson gave us a clue about what schools could do to rethink the curriculum: “School systems should base their curriculum not on the idea of separate subjects, but on the much more fertile idea of disciplines…which makes possible a fluid and dynamic curriculum that is interdisciplinary.”

I believe the curriculum should be far more than a document that maps the content studied and examinations taken as students proceed through school. Schools, along with parents and society, influence and mold far more than a student’s academic ability. More and more educationalists are acknowledging that EQ is as important, if not more important, than IQ (Intelligence Quotient). There is no point in having a wonderful set of life tools if you don’t have the skills and aptitudes to make the best use of them.

Of course, knowledge has its place, it’s just in the wrong place in most schools and curricula. As dramatist George Bernard Shaw said: “What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.”

To some extent, of course, I have been complicit in the reluctance to reform the curriculum. However, I haven’t completely stood back and watched my schools’ curricula strangle learning and growth. Following many years of observing a proportion of students struggle with the basic curriculum, I reached the point in my role as leader of a school in Singapore where I believed that the main role of our school was to support the wellbeing of not only students but also that of staff (teaching and non-teaching) and our families.

To some extent I have been complicit in the reluctance to reform the curriculum. However, I haven’t completely stood back and watched my schools’ curricula strangle learning and growth.

The vision we devised at the school, which everyone could memorize was: ‘To be the best school in the world, with a dynamic learning community which nurtures and inspires everyone to be the best they can be.’

When I spoke to families thinking of joining the school, I would say: “Today is an important day in your child’s life, he/she should feel safe and secure, be challenged in an interesting and relevant way, and be fulfilled and happy. As far as possible, this is how every day should be.” This underpinned the ethos and culture of our school and, as far as was possible, its ‘curriculum’.

It’s one thing to share this ‘elevator pitch’ in a presentation to parents or to emblaze it on a wall in the school entrance. But, if the curriculum in place interferes with or prevents delivery of your vision, then it becomes mere words and a waste of time and space. The curriculum must be one of the key facilitators of a school’s vision, aims and objectives. It must be far more than an academic pathway with examinations included.

Business writer Tom Peters provides an interesting perspective for such a curriculum: “I imagine a school system that recognizes learning is natural, that a love of learning is normal, and that real learning is passionate learning. A school curriculum that values questions above answers…creativity above fact regurgitation… individuality above conformity… and excellence above standardized performance…We must reject all notions of curriculum ‘reform’ that serve up more of the same: more testing, more standards, more uniformity, more conformity and more bureaucracy.”

A future where we flourish

While I have focused this piece on the curriculum itself, in an ideal world we would transform the concept of both the school and the curriculum together – it’s almost impossible to separate the two. Essentially, though, the curriculum should describe the essence of what happens in a school and how it happens.

I started with ideas of what a future curriculum shouldn’t be. I hope by now you have an idea of what I believe it should be. The curriculum:

• should facilitate and encourage everyone in a school community to learn and grow in all life’s intrigue and beauty
• should support the development of open minds with clear, determined and creative thinking
• must provide the circumstances for people to learn and grow in a positive and supportive culture that supports, in equal measure, both success and failure.

In short, it should help us all to flourish both now and in the future!

As I come from Stratford-Upon-Avon in the UK (which was playwright William Shakespeare’s birthplace), I must leave the last word to him: “My love is thine to teach. Teach it but how, and thou shalt see how apt it is to learn. Any hard lesson that may do thee good.”

The post The curriculum in education: master or servant? appeared first on Dipont Education.

But what is it actually like teaching Chinese students in China? We give you the low-down.

What is the traditional learning style in Chinese schools?

Historically, the way in which Chinese students have been taught has generally been quite didactic. Students focus on rote learning, and independent and analytical thinking does not always figure strongly. This, however, is changing as China’s education system develops. Thanks to this more ‘traditional’ approach, however, Chinese students have great powers of concentration and focus. In addition, they are invariably strong in mathematics in particular.

There is also a culture of testing within the Chinese curriculum – the Chinese love tests and parents love grades! Whilst our international high school programs are also underpinned by testing and examinations, there is a focus on a wider range of teaching and learning strategies that require students to be active participants in the learning process. This is particularly important if Chinese students are to make a real success of a university education in the west.

What are Chinese students like to teach overall?

Chinese students are invariably focused, driven and very determined. In many cases they’re extremely knowledgeable about a subject and expect their teacher to be a subject expert. Their behaviour is usually exemplary. In addition, there are few of the classroom management issues that teachers in other countries may have experienced.

However, Chinese students are often dependent rather than independent learners. As a result, our teachers need to work to build independence even with the most able students. Teachers in our international curriculum centers work to not only to get across the content and subject knowledge that students need to perform well in examinations but also to support them in becoming confident, independent learners who will survive and thrive when studying in foreign countries.

What is the biggest challenge for international teachers teaching Chinese students?

The biggest challenge for international teachers here in China is to combine all of the best qualities that typify Chinese students with the best of the educational systems the teachers themselves come from. They need to work hard to achieve a balance between academic learning, and personal growth and development. At the same time, teachers have to constantly seek ways in which to engage students and help them thrive in a very different learning environment. Lastly, they also need to be extremely good at their subject because often students are very knowledgeable and demand similar levels of knowledge from teachers.

What about English ability among Chinese students?

The requirement to learn entirely in English in our centers is often a challenge for students, even the most gifted. Therefore, Dipont teachers and centers spend a lot of time consolidating students’ abilities in this area. This also ensures that students learn the theory underpinning the various concepts under review.

Often the problem is not that students do not understand a concept, they’re just unable to write fluently or quickly enough in examinations. This challenge is highlighted even in subjects like statistics. Because examinations have a lot of text to understand, students struggle to get to the problem requiring a solution. When they do unravel the problem, however, they are almost always able to do the required mathematics. It was just that the English impeded their understanding.

What’s the expected outcome for Dipont’s international programs?

We hope students get the highest possible grades, realize their potential and achieve their goal to attend university in a country of their choice. We try to equip them with skills and experiences that will stand them in good stead. These include a high level of English and the ability to integrate effectively into the country they study in.

What other aspects do teachers need to focus on when teaching Chinese students?

Our teachers work hard to ensure that students are well-organized and effective learners, that they can meet deadlines, work well independently and have the ability to conduct research as they do a lot of this in our international programs. Teachers endeavor to embed these soft skills through different kinds of activities and through the pastoral systems that some partner schools have in place to support their learners. Opportunities for students to get involved in something different are provided by each school. We hope that this will enable students to develop and demonstrate leadership skills, organizational competence and effective team working.

Are you a teacher or education professional? Check out our vacancies page for the latest teaching jobs in China.

The post What it’s like teaching Chinese students in China appeared first on Dipont Education.

In the keynote speech, Zhang drew on Dipont’s experiences of establishing and managing two brand-new independent schools in China. He made the comments at the RAISE International Education Resources Expo.

He said that schools of the future should be “ability-oriented rather than knowledge-oriented”. They should also support students to adapt to challenges and changes and to become future international leaders.

Over the past 15 years, Dipont has been committed to the internationalization of China’s education. The company has explored new models for schools and curricula that create student-centered learning experiences. In addition, it has promoted Chinese and international educational, and cultural exchange.

This work culminated in Dipont opening two new schools this year, Nanwai King’s College School Wuxi and RDFZ King’s College School Hangzhou, with more planned over the coming years. Using a curriculum developed by Dipont’s academic research and development team, the schools deliver bilingual teaching from kindergarten to junior high school level that not only meets the requirements of the Chinese national curriculum, but also incorporates modern international pedagogies.

The curriculum, added Benson, places strong emphasis on holistic education, extracurricular activities, diversified evaluation and a strong student care system, delivered in a dual cultural and linguistic environment. “Our vision is to develop future leaders who have deep Chinese cultural heritage but also a broad international vision and profound understanding of China and the world,” he said.

Are you a teacher or education professional? Check out our vacancies page for the latest teaching jobs in China.

The post Establishing schools of the future: Dipont CEO shares his views appeared first on Dipont Education.