嘉洋理念丨理解和应用 : 国际教育的独特焦点

学术校长   威尔森博士

威尔森博士曾在新西兰奥克兰市的斯基文法中学和中国香港任职,2018年起开始在大陆地区担任国际学校校长。他拥有超过20年的教学和学校管理经验,对中西方教育文化差异有着深入的了解。

What is it that makes a school 
an “international” school?
是什么让一所学校成为“国际”学校?

I am often asked what is it that makes a school “international”? Often, we think of different characteristics that “make it international”. These might include the following, is it:
经常有人问我,是什么让一所学校“国际化”?通常,我们认为是不同的特征“使它国际化”。这些可能包括以下内容:

What is a better way to describe
 “international” education?
如何更好地描述“国际”教育呢?

When asked how International Education is different, often the answer is: We teach “critical thinking”, and other soft skills. This is a vague answer, as people are often not  sure what is meant by “critical thinking” or how to teach it. To me it is not a great way to think about the differences. Instead, it is better to think in terms of assessment. A school’s style of assessment tends to define its way of teaching.
当被问及国际教育有什么不同时,答案通常是:我们教授“批判性思维”和其他软技能。这是一个模糊的答案,因为人们通常不确定什么是“批判性思维”,也不知道如何教授它。对我来说,这不是一个思考差异的好方法。相反,最好是从评估的角度来考虑。一所学校对评估的方式往往决定了它的教学方式。

For example:
例如: 

· Chinese schools typically focus on preparing for the final exam as the key assessment. The teaching focuses on preparing the students for that exam.
·中国学校通常把准备期末考试作为重点评估。教学重点是让学生为考试做准备。

· International Schools focus on the “process of learning” and assess that process as well as the final exam. The assessments tend to be varied and assess different aspects of the student’s learning.·
国际学校注重“学习的过程”,并对这一过程进行评估以及期末考试。评估往往是多种多样的,从而评估学生学习的不同方面。

It is important to note that both styles of teaching are effective, has similar results, and hold students to high  standards. I would argue that the skills learnt in an international style of teaching create more flexible students when it comes to things such as problem solving and adapting to new things.
需要注意的是,这两种教学方式都是有效的,有相似的结果,并以高标准要求学生。但我认为,国际化教学会在解决问题和适应新事物等方面使学生更加灵活。

International Education has a Different
Focus on Assessment
国际化教育评估侧重点不同

International schools also have a final exam, but different types of assessments along the way are as important. The key thing is they have a focus on the process of learning, and whether students can understand and apply the knowledge to new situations. Great schools focus on how they know if a student is understanding and applying what they learned, and doing different teaching strategies to achieve that: 
国际学校也有期末考试,但同样重要的是不同类型的评估会伴随其中。而关键是:关注学习过程,以及学生是否能够理解并将知识应用于新情境。好学校关注的是怎样知道学生是否理解并应用了他们所学的知识,以及采取不同的教学策略来实现这一目标。

Effective teachers use different strategies like Bloom’s Taxonomy and De Bonos Six Hats to teach “soft skills” to help students in the process of learning.
有效的教师使用不同的策略,如布鲁姆的分类学和德博诺斯的“六顶帽子”来教授“软技能”,以在学习过程中帮助学生。

The Challenge for Teachers
教师面临的挑战

This approach places a lot of pressure on the teachers. To teach well they need to:
这种方法给老师们带来了很大的压力。要教得好,他们需要:

An exam or test tells you what they remembered but doesn’t always tell you what a student understands or if they can apply knowledge.
考试或测试告诉你他们记住了什么,但并不总是告诉你学生理解了什么,或者他们是否能够应用知识。

The challenge for ALL teachers is how do they take their teaching to the next level? I would suggest that they:Focus on the process of learning, and whether students can understand,and apply the knowledge to new situations.This means as teachers we must constantly ask how do I know if the student:
给所有教师的挑战是如何将教学提升到一个新的水平,我建议他们:“关注学习过程,以及学生是否能够理解,并将知识应用于新情形”。这意味着作为老师,我们必须总是问自己,如何知道学生是否 :

As teachers we need to be constantly learning and growing. One way to do this is by reading and researching good teaching practices. If you want to know more about a teaching approach based on evaluating what a student understands and can apply. I recommend reading about Understanding By Design or “backwards planning”. These approaches help teachers to reflect on their teaching, and to better know how students are learning through understanding
作为教师,我们需要不断地学习和成长。一种方法是阅读和研究好的教学实践。如果你想了解更多基于评估学生理解和应用的教学方法。我建议你阅读《通过设计来理解》《逆向计划》。这些方法有助于教师反思他们的教学,并更好地了解学生是如何通过理解来学习的。