“Future-oriented education must stay true the mission of fostering character
through education. Excellent academic performance is important, yet students
also must adhere to the school’s core values of compassion, integrity and balance
and be socially responsible. Such versatile talents are exactly what future society needs.”
—— Philip Sohmen
Executive Deputy Chairman
From 28-29th October, Pao School held the fourth Global Education Forum (GEF), themed "Education for the Future,” at Hongqiao campus.
GEF is an annual education professional training conference held by the Pao School Professional Learning Centre (PLC). Established in 2017, the PLC aims to build an academic exchange platform for outstanding teachers (both based in China and overseas) and at the same time deepen Pao School’s professional development training capabilities. The PLC provides teachers with continuous performance evaluation, skill development opportunities, and the chance to participate in various internal and external career development activities. It endeavors to improve the school’s overall quality of education and teaching and help the school achieve its sustainable development goals.
At this year’s GEF, Pao School was honored to host Yin Houqing, former Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission and President of the Shanghai Education Society. Director Yin delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the forum entitled "Rooted in China, linked with the world." He said: "Education with Chinese characteristics must take root in China. Yet, it must also link China to the world and be based on the present while looking to the future. We must continue to liberate our thinking, strive to be innovative, and stay abreast of current trends. Taking our national situation into consideration, we should study leading operational models for schools and explore those best suited for China."
President Xu Yongchu warmly welcomed educators from home and overseas. She offered some encouraging words for teachers and guests: “In today’s world, crisis and opportunity exist side by side. We should build a ‘toolbox’ to support our decision-making, and a comprehensive system to promote future-oriented education. Local education policy must be steadily implemented to enhance the growth of students and teachers to ultimately accomplish our missions.
Ms. Chen Ying, a member of the Party Leadership Group of the People's Government of Changning District, delivering a speech
Speech from Caroline Xu, Deputy Head (Academics) and Middle School Principal
The first day of this year's GEF focused on project-based learning. Pao School is an experimental school for Shanghai’s three-year action plan to utilise project-based learning in compulsory education. With that in mind, on the day of the event, Ms. Cao, a teacher at the Middle School, showcased Year 7’s Chinese humanities class with a demo presentation.
Dr. Xia Xuemei, Deputy Director of the General Education Institute of the Shanghai Academy of Educational Sciences and Director of the Curriculum and Teaching Research Office; Wu Yuyu, Deputy Director of the editorial department of the Shanghai Academy of Educational Sciences; Chen Mingqing, 'Distinguished Moral Education Teacher' Awards winner, Bao Liqian, 'Distinguished History Teacher' Awards winner, and representatives from different schools participated and discussed the lesson.
The second day of the forum was a professional development day for the school’s faculty and staff. During the day, teachers attended workshops and held discussions with their fellow educators. Expert speakers based outside of China participated primarily online, while Chinese experts were invited to the Hongqiao campus to give in-person lectures and training.
The professional development day has three strands: education and technology, education for the interconnected world, and education in a time of changes. Withing these areas, the discussion topics included: educational technology, project-based learning, STEAM teaching, multicultural competency and core literacy.
At the closing ceremony of the event, Executive Headmaster Mark Bishop encouraged teachers to apply the gains of the past two days to their teaching in the future. He said：“The point of today is to allow staff a day which doesn’t involve having to give but rather just take in – take in new ideas; to receive interesting, thought-provoking insights from some leading educators or just use it as time to reflect on what we currently do and to discuss those ideas and thoughts with colleagues.”
Andreas Schleicher, the initiator and overseer of the PISA test and the Director for Education and Skills of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), concluded the event on a high note with a speech.
