We are already two months into our new academic year. How have the children felt about their studies these past few months? How are their studies going? Have they learned many new things? Have the “children who will never grow up” in the eyes of their parents become more mature? How are the children getting along? Are they used to their daily lives and the food? With these questions in mind, we have some conversations with the students. Our first stop today is the primary’s.
Laughter fills the campus during recess.
“My mom said I can stay at Malvern until I graduate!”
“I want to study here until I grow old. I even want my nursing home to be here. In fact, we made the Smart Eco-friendly Nursing Home models in Grade 5 last year!”
Two students in Grade 3 responded excitedly as their faces glowed. The children’s words made everyone laugh.
Our Classroom in the eyes of our children——Education through Play, Practical Applications of our Studies
A student in Grade 2 said: “I like how the teachers teach us, they often use games in the classroom. When we have science lessons, we go outside to observe the leaves and collect them. I have made many leaf specimens”.
A student in Grade 6 said: “In the upper grades, there is pressure to do well at school. Teachers and students work hard in class, but the teaching atmosphere is very relaxed. Even when we encounter difficult problems, we are still very focused on learning. In some classes, the teachers specially set aside time for group discussions, and now I feel more confident in expressing my opinions, even in English”.
As the teachers at MCC explain, in the classrooms, they want to teach in a more fun, interesting, and engaging way. Harnessing education in a fun way makes children more focused and helps their understanding of the teachers’ lessons and their ability to internalise the knowledge.
Wang, a student from Grade 3 has deep feelings. She said that her previous school’s teaching methods were more traditional and not flexible, which teachers spoke on stage and students listened in their seats. “I think I have made a lot of progress in mathematics at MCC. For example, when we encounter a difficult problem, the teacher will encourage us to bring the problem into a real-life scenario before thinking about the mathematical concept. I think it is really interesting”.
Focused academic learning can take more than one form. Teaching concepts and methods are often updated iteratively with time. Why do students always enjoy their classes at Malvern College Chengdu? We aim to communicate that learning is fun and self-motivated learning can turn education into a lifelong journey.
How do students complete their homework at MCC?
Aside from focusing on academic development, education through play, and utilizing knowledge in practical applications, what sort of homework are our students given? Under the “double reduction policy”, we advocate assigning less homework and encourage students and parents to minimise after-school’s subject tutoring. But, when used as a learning tool, appropriate “homework” provides a review of what was taught that day. Our teachers put significant consideration into creating “individualized” homework, as one of the features of our school’s tailored teaching.
For example, mathematics teachers give individualized tasks based on a child’s level. If a student progresses, the teacher will assign more advanced problems to provide greater challenge. A student in Grade 5 happily shared his thoughts: “Sometimes it feels like ‘leveling up’ in a game. Our teachers won’t assign too much homework which we can’t finish, in order to that, we have more time to review, read more books or do some research online by ourselves. We like these kinds of assignments”.
Li, in Grade 1, said: “We have Chinese and English library classes once a week. In the English library class, the teacher lets us pick our favorite English picture books and take them home to read with our parents”, “My mom and I upload the English words I read to a special school APP which has an online teacher who will corrects our pronunciation”.
The APP that Li mentioned is called Mlingo, which MCC developed specifically for teaching children English.
We believe that the purpose of homework is not simply to repeat exercises but is to carry out a targeted review and advanced understanding based on a students’ individual level and knowledge. The teacher assigns after-school assignments that are personalised and consistent with the students’ academic development, including reading, writing, hands-on experiments, and even extending assignments to real-life situations. Homework comes in a variety of forms but shares a common purpose: to develop academically talented individuals with well-rounded knowledge.
We are committed to create a relaxed and happy learning environment for students, but we will never lower the standard of our quality education. We want to protect our students’ interest in learning as this is key to laying a solid academic foundation. From the student feedback we have received, we are glad to see our pupils remain curious about knowledge as their grades improve and they enjoy going to school.
When the children were asked “What is the best thing about coming to Malvern College Chengdu?” they excitedly answered: “The teachers are great listeners!” Children may not use some profound wording to express their feelings, but we can see how Malvern College Chengdu has changed them.
One student in Grade 3 said happily: “If we make a mistake, the teachers will talk to us individually to let us know what we did wrong and then we can change it”. Another student added: “We aren’t afraid to talk to the teachers and we’re willing to listen to their feedback. I don’t think they would criticise me. Teachers will listen to what I would say first before what they want to say”.
Teachers create a performance scale for each student and score their work at any time. In this way, the child can clearly understand where he or she is excelling or needs improvement. This provides motivation for self-reflection and also serves as a guideline for the teacher’s final evaluation. In addition to the classroom teachers, each class also has a professional teaching assistant who cares for and accompanies the children throughout their studies. Therefore, whether they have questions about their studies or about their daily lives they can get answers quickly.
Having students respect teachers rather than fear them ensures a disciplined classroom and establishes a good teacher-student relationship. This helps the teacher to better understand the student and to achieve a “student-centered” teaching and management style.
Every child wants to feel seen by their teachers, peers, and parents, but sometimes they are too shy to show it, and when a teacher asks a question, their little heads drop. However, at our school, the students are very confident.
During our chat, many students in Grade 2 were eager to say: “I performed on stage several times last year in our school theatre”! Malvern College Chengdu hosts a variety of events annually, both large and small, such as our Winter Celebration, Chinese New Year Temple Fair, Visual Art Exhibition and Performing Arts Show, Recital Day, and more. We give each child the opportunity to perform on stage, where they can overcome their own fears and present themselves in front of everyone. Each successful performance gives them a great sense of accomplishment and boosts their confidence.
In addition to large scale performance opportunities, teachers also inspire children to design and plan “big projects” based on their own ideas or to reflect the teaching objectives.
Last academic year, Mr Well Fu and his students held MCC’s first original storybook ‘press conference’ in the public library in Chengdu. At the event, the students released Sugar Cakes (《白糖糕》), a storybook they had created together. From its planning to its execution, the children handled everything themselves under the guidance of their teachers.
As another example, the children also created their own WeChat accounts explaining how to prepare an excellent bilingual presentation, including selecting the speech topic, methods, materials, and preparing the equipment. Wang, who enrolled this year, said: “My public speaking skills have improved significantly. A teacher creates different topics, then we need to collect the information ourselves, prepare a speech, and present it in class using the skills taught by our teachers”. Some of the younger children also said they had opportunities to be teachers and give lessons to other students. This allowed them to enjoy the class more and become more willing to express their opinions.
During our conversations with the students, we had endless topics to talk about because they had so much that they wanted to share. This included talking about interesting things to do in the classroom, outdoor scientific explorations, sports, charity day, inter-school competitions, and others. As for the foodies, of course, MCC has always set a benchmark for school meals and gaining a few kilograms at the start of a school year isn’t just a myth! We want to tell everyone that we have so many fascinating stories. So, what will our secondary students say? What is MCC like in their eyes? Let’s wait and see in the next issue.
