Joint curriculum projects with a Chinese school

Introduction

A curriculum project uses the link school as a starting point for learning and teaching to bring a global dimension into the curriculum. In this way students and teachers explore life in another country, think about different viewpoints, learn about different cultures and traditions and thereby question their own identity and heritage. In this way curriculum projects develop the capacities of Curriculum for Excellence.

Why are curriculum projects a good idea?

Curriculum projects are a great idea as they bring the link alive and into the classroom. The link school can be used to give real examples of life in another country, create dialogue between students and provide a way for teachers to exchange resources and ideas. Curriculum projects can also help to ensure that a school link is sustainable as it involves a variety of staff and students.

Broadly speaking, projects can be divided into two groups: those completed in one school and those completed jointly by both schools. However, funded projects are normally joint curriculum projects, which anticipate a combination of the two.

It is probably a good idea to have a combination of both projects to sustain the link. Projects can also be flexible and start in one school, then become a joint project. They can take a lot of organisation and it is a good idea to start small.

It is important to consider the following:

• timescale for a project
• the end product
• communication
• teacher commitments
• cost.

Projects completed in a single school area are probably easier to manage. They might be more suitable if the schools teach different subjects, if a school wants to explore a certain subject but the other school does not want to do this, or if a teacher wants to impart knowledge about a particular subject.

In some ways, this exploratory work can often be the starting point for a joint project between the two schools. For instance, a geography teacher in a Scottish school might want to look at the geography of China and use China for a case study looking at maps and its environment. This could then develop into a joint project with the Chinese school, and the Chinese school could look at Scotland as a case study. The two schools could then compare and contrast what they find out about their counterpart country and students could present this as a poster which could be shared with the other school through photos. It is this interaction between the schools through joint projects that will bring the link alive.

Where should you start?

It is a good idea to start projects in subjects with teachers interested in including a global dimension in their curriculum area as this enthusiasm will drive the project forward. Inevitably, there will be extra work involved at the outset as with any new curriculum project. However, once a project is up and running it can be repeated every year if desired.

One way to start is for the link co-ordinator to start a project in his or her own subject area. Another key subject for Chinese schools is English and they will probably want to develop projects in this area, which could start off as letter writing activities. To get more staff involved, simply ask anyone who is interested to note down their ideas for curriculum projects that would tie in with their present syllabus and could either have a Chinese perspective or a project that could be done in conjunction with the Chinese school. These ideas could be shared with the Chinese school and then the link co-ordinator could share the feedback with interested staff. Further planning could then proceed for the projects to be developed. Teachers and link co-ordinators may find this British Council project planning template useful here.

 Word file: British Council project planning template (49KB)

It is likely that the link co-ordinator will be the only person at the Chinese school who speaks English apart from the English teachers. Therefore this makes communication difficult and it probably has to all be done through the link co-ordinator. If this is the case, careful consideration has to be given to any joint curriculum projects outwith the English department, as it could mean a heavy workload for the Chinese link co-ordinator to be the go-between and to translate communication, work, etc. If this is the case, it is important to consider joint projects that need little written communication and use photos instead. 

Chinese schools are exam-focused and teachers have a very content-heavy curriculum to get through to prepare students for their exams. Consequently time is precious and curriculum projects can be very difficult to fit in. However, teachers and students are very interested and keen to learn about other countries, so there is great enthusiasm for curriculum projects. It may be necessary to use the Chinese curriculum/syllabus as a starting point for projects, as Scottish schools tend to be more flexible.

• Email this page
• Print friendly format
• Digg this
• Save to del.icio.us