Teaching, Learning, and Risk-Taking: Global Citizen Award

What do you know about risk taking? I am sure you have heard the clichés about how it is necessary today to do more than just follow the standard line in order to change the world. In my interview with Rebecca you will hear how risk-taking, learning and teaching intersect to instill the ability to changes lives—your own and many others too.

***********************************************************************************

Can you tell us a little about yourself? Where did you grow up and go to secondary school and undergraduate university? What did you major in and what was your overall experience like? How did you like your classes, the students and the teachers?

Both my parents worked at a university, so I attended the primary and middle school attached to that institution, since most of the faculty and staff live in the apartments on campus provided by the university. Such an environment sounds great as students, parents and teachers know each other, but I felt suffocated. I completed my junior study at 13, then was admitted to a top high school locally and attended a university in another city three years later.

My best subject was Math, my ideal major was Law, but I stumbled into English. Most of my classmates in university were passionate about their English majors, and worked hard to master the language, so being surrounded by them pushed me to succeed. I enjoyed my classmates and the teachers were great, too. They treated each of us fairly, whether we were top students or students at risk. I was really proud of myself in those years. I was awarded “the best student of the year” twice and won many other honors. I was also a recipient of university scholarships for the whole four years.

Rebecca, graduation ceremony

Why did you decide to attend the University of Nottingham’s English Language Teaching Program for a Master’s Degree? Can you describe the program and what skills you learned that have been useful for you since then?

For me, teaching itself is a process of constant improvement from practice to theory and to practice again. Having taught English for five years, which might be equivalent to attending another 4 or 5-year University, I felt it was time to acquire solid theoretical knowledge of English Language Teaching (ELT) from English-speaking countries. The ELT program at the U. of Nottingham was co-offered by the School of English and the School of Education in the year I was admitted. Applicants needed to have at least two years’ teaching experience. It provided a broad course of study in language teaching and linguistics. I also had the opportunities to work with several world-renowned experts to expand my own expertise in language teaching and applied linguistics.

Modules of this program explored ELT from multiple perspectives, including Second Language Acquisition, motivation and individual learner differences, materials evaluation and design, discourse analysis, and corpus linguistics, among others. All have been very useful for my later jobs as lead teacher in a Chinese institute and academic manager in an American Education organization evaluating classes delivered by native English speaking teachers. By taking into consideration individual student’s differences, I helped to design specific learning materials and curricula to motivate students at different levels; I combined theoretical and ideological dimensions with practical applications in English Language Teaching to guide my own teaching and give other teachers feedback.

In addition, some basic communication skills I developed in England enabled me to interact appropriately with Westerners while working with uncooperative English Directors of Studies; to make presentations; and to do effective research.

 

Main Campus University of Nottingham

One of your job experiences has been as a Lead Teacher at one of the best universities in China, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Can you describe what this experience was like?

 Apart from teaching classes such as Advanced Interpretation and Presentation Skills, I was in charge of corporate training and online courses sponsored by Hujiang, the biggest online language-learning platform in China and a counterpart of Coursera. I developed curricula and updated learning materials according to accredited standards. The adapted teaching approaches were designed to suit students of different levels. This method has greatly increased students’ interest in learning English and furthered their language abilities. The project I managed also helped the school to generate 200% growth in the number of partner companies in the first two quarters of that year.

Online teaching ignited the reform of education. Leveraging the Internet for education is sure to attract more attention from educators worldwide.

You have taken a number of courses from Coursera and earned certificates. Why have you done this and how good were the courses? Would you recommend them to others?

I have recommended Coursera or EdX to many friends around me especially those who plan to learn something new. The development of the internet provides a good and convenient platform for lifelong learners. Coursera is one fine example of such development. There are so many courses uploaded on Coursera, and learners can choose what they want by majors, universities or languages. It’s very helpful and it’s FREE. Students can also go to course forum discussing problems they encounter.

  

The reason I registered for Coursera courses was to satisfy my hunger for new experiences and learning. I delivered E-courses on Hujiang, but I had never taken any courses online myself. Therefore, I wanted to experience it from the prospect of a learner. In addition, I took some courses I thought I would be interested in to see if that interest might lead me to a different Master’s or Ph.D. program in the future.

Rebecca's Coursera certificate

 What do you think makes a good teacher? Are you a good teacher?

Generally, when Chinese parents define good teachers, they may initially focus on teachers’ “achievements,” such as how high their classes’ average scores are or how many of their students are admitted by top universities. For me, a good teacher should be knowledgeable--this is fundamental--but he must also respect each student and should think of his students as his equals.

Mrs. Thompson from a real story called “Three Letters from Teddy” is a very good example. She believes in her students and makes her students feel important.  A good teacher is not just a subject master, he should know how to teach students to fish so they can eat for a lifetime; and tell students how to conduct themselves in society. A good teacher possesses great personal charisma and is beloved by most of his students.

For me, teaching was at first a job, a way of making living. I had never thought that I would love it until one day I read students’ notes saying that they enjoyed my classes; that I’d revitalized their interest in learning a foreign language; that they were moved that I had never given up on them. They are my friends, and I believe I am theirs too. They often came to me sharing their stories in study and life. What a rewarding job! Whenever I think back on the moment that the President announced my name at the students’ Graduation Ceremony as the “Most Popular Teacher of the Class,” I am still moved beyond measure. I knew at that moment that I couldn’t have made it without those lovely students.

Since then you have spent a number of years as a Regional Account Director at ACT Education Solutions. Can you describe what it is you do and what you like about your job?

One of the main programs of ACT Education Solutions (AES) is the Global Assessment Certificate (GAC), which was designed to help non-native speakers become academically and culturally ready to attend schools in English-speaking countries. It’s a global program and GAC schools are around the world, but China is the biggest market where there are amazingly over 100 schools. GAC students are allowed to take the ACT test in the schools where they successfully complete GAC courses.

The job of the Regional Account Director (RAD) is to ensure compliance with applicable contract requirements and all AES policies and procedures, provide program management leadership and provide compliance supervision for schools. There are two main roles that a RAD plays: administrative and academic. Tasks range from developing strategic plans in support of sales and branding activities to resolving complex school cases to guiding schools through university application procedures; from developing teachers’ ongoing development programs to leading worldwide academic workshops to administering and auditing ACT tests in local schools.

It is a job that requires a combination of several skills. The RAD has to have a high degree of collaborative competence as well as very strong organizational abilities and superior cross-cultural communication skills. I enjoyed this job very much! I had never been so busy and so multi-tasked before, but it was immensely rewarding. The Event Videos I created for each Professional Academic Conference are still being used by AES.

I have been reading a number of comments and descriptions from educators about students from China lately and many of them are not good: Here is just one: “China is behind the curve when it comes to innovation in education. They promote only rote memory no critical thinking no creative thinking. The next politician that says American education needs to be more like China needs to have brain surgery. The test scores are all eschewed because of the competition system and the cheating. Yes I said cheating. When a public Chinese school hands out copies of the tests and instruct the students to learn (memorize) the answers that is cheating. I know this because I have seen it with my own eyes. I have lived in Beijing now for four years and the system is not better in the time I have observed.”

 How would respond to this comment? Is it accurate in any way and if so how pervasive are the issues he raises?

I’m surprised that a public school would allow such cases to happen and the teacher wasn’t caught at all. Statistics show that students all over the world cheat more than they used to. My teachers at any of the schools I attended had never been so “generous” as to hand out test questions before exams. But there were cases when I was in junior middle school that a history teacher asked us to be prepared for certain questions and threatened that he would test us in a quiz.

The National Higher Education Entrance Examination (Gaokao), which is held once annually at the end of the school year, is pretty much the only thing that matters when it comes to determining whether or not Chinese students can attend university. Test centers are assigned randomly to students, and cheating in the exams would be even more difficult than taking the exams. However, there are always a few daredevils every year who attempt to cheat, but they rarely get away with it and when caught, they have to wait for 3 years to take the test again. If teachers handed out answers to test questions to students before tests, it would do nothing to truly benefit students. It damages schools, too, in terms of their reputation, graduation rate as well as top university admission rate. Teachers get no bonus for students’ mediocre performance, assuming that most students won’t progress or even get worse by being fed correct answers, and those schools will have a great number fewer new students the following year because of schools’ deteriorating reputations. So, for any normal school, be it public or private, it’s nothing but a self-destructive behavior.

I agree that neither critical thinking nor creative thinking is well promoted in Chinese schools. Schools are still very score-oriented. An article “Chinese Educators Look to American Classrooms” published in the New York Times last year contrasted classrooms in China with the United States. Yes, Chinese students are ill nurtured to become “book-cramming robots”, which is diametrically opposed to the nation’s original intention of education. Memorization fits a style of learning that was used before the technology revolution but with the changing focus and requirements of business and industry, it does not seem to be the only method to help prepare graduates for success, nor is it the best method.

I would recommend another article written by Howard Gardner, a professor of education at Harvard University, “Learning, Chinese Style.” It’s true that Chinese value skills more than originality and independence. Chinese parents and teachers worry that skills may never be acquired if they are developed late, whereas, Westerners fear that creativity may never emerge if it is stimulated later.

Without a doubt, China’s education needs major surgery. In effect, some surgeries were being conducted years ago, and they will continue their steps for better education. However, it takes time. It may take another 10 years, or even longer.

               

Unfortunately, people like to exaggerate problems. Whenever they find something wrong, they blindly believe that any education outside of the country is better. They quote words out of context to suit certain purposes; some may even publish articles criticizing every bit of their own education system in the name of Western scholars and educators.

I am not afraid of criticism. I welcome criticism of China, because it is helpful for development and improvement. Having worked in the education field for almost 15 years in China, I know it is on the way to improving itself. There are obstacles preventing radical reforms from happening overnight, but it’s moving.

You have recently been visiting schools in China, Can you tell us what you find when you go there? Is education in China changing and if so in what ways? How has it changed since you were a student?

Students are still under much pressure studying for National Entrance Examinations (Gaokao). Many teachers or parents comment that the situation won’t change much if a Gaokao revolution doesn’t take place. Students now seem to have much heavier workload than those students at my age had, although the admission rate has increased by almost 40%. On top of that workload, they are supposed to participate in social activities, or some group projects, which I was not required to do as a student. Gaokao has been experiencing reforms over the past ten years, but it’s still on its way to a brand new phase.

An increasing number of Chinese high schools now are doing international programs such as IB, AP and A-level, so that their students have easier access to Western Education and higher possibilities of studying abroad for a Bachelor’s degree. Students nowadays have many more choices and opportunities.

Multimedia instruction is widely used in classrooms, and teachers are required to be more versatile than before in terms of subject knowledge, PowerPoint-type applications and extracurricular activities. 

Rebecca with a student

Are you at all worried about the huge influx of students into the US especially those that enroll many hundreds or even thousands? Do these students get enough training in soft skills and enough opportunity to mix in with other students? Do you think Chinese students should go to schools with such huge populations of Chinese students around them?

Yes, I do worry. I am worried about both, the huge influx of students, and US schools that have large Chinese student enrollments. I hope that applicants know why they are rushing to the States for further education. If they are not clear about why they are making such a big movement, at least, they should make sure that they are ready, both linguistically and academically, to experience a new life abroad. As a developed country, America has the largest number of top universities and best education in the world. It’s appropriate and reasonable that students look forward to getting the best education. However, to an individual student, the best should mean the most suitable.

I don’t understand why many hundreds or even thousands attend one particular school. According to a survey I conducted recently, 99.6% of Chinese students prefer to study on a campus with few Chinese students if they are abroad, so that they can fully expose themselves to English. This sounds reasonable, but the fact that they are all flocking to the same schools defeats this very preference. It is not how many Chinese students are around them that matters, but how determined are they to network with native friends in unfamiliar surroundings.

I also can’t figure out why a school would enroll so many Chinese students at once. Admission in the United States was believed to be fair and strict, but either market demands or financial crisis cast a grey color over it. Students who failed to go to high schools or universities in China are desperate to find a way “out.” And they seem to be easily locating a spot abroad. Whatever future they may have, they may not care at the moment. Getting out of China seems to be the first imperative for them.

What are the skills you would want to tell students in China to develop in secondary school or in university that will prepare them to become global citizens?

Students had better know how to communicate effectively in a foreign language that is spoken in the countries they will go to. Since most of them choose English-speaking countries, verbal and written communication in English is very necessary. Mastering English so that they can understand native people and make themselves understood is critical. Cultural differences may lead to potential issues, so cross-cultural communication becomes strategically important.

Personal skills such as self-management and independent learning are vital for the development of an individual. Students should be responsible for themselves; they should know how to deal with pressure, and how to prioritize tasks.

Skills are interdependent. Critical thinking can’t exist without independent learning. Students need to learn to cultivate such skills to deduce consequences from the information collected, and learn to make use of information to solve problems. It helps greatly in cooperative reasoning and constructive tasks.

Also, I hope that students develop a little social awareness in terms of developing sensitivity to the needs of others and increasing sensitivity to social justice. They can achieve this by serving in local communities, and engaging in social activities on a regular basis.

Do you have any other advice for students and parents in China who are thinking about education abroad?

There are parents with kids of different ages often asking me how they could send their child abroad. Some plan for their kids’ colleges; some for high schools; some even have started to put together an entire plan from primary school through college or even career when the children have just completed kindergarten! The only advice I would like to give is to tell them to ask themselves as many “Whys” as possible.

Why study abroad? Why this country? Why this time? Consider idioms that say “look before you leap”, and “measure three times and cut once.” Studying and living abroad alone could be a growth experience, but experience is not a reason enough to convince oneself to go abroad. Be prepared to get yourself psychologically ready as well as language and academically ready. No place is Paradise. Studying abroad is by no means the only option. A parent asked me the other day if I could help his daughter to register in a High School in the States simply because her scores don’t meet the threshold of the domestic high schools. I’m curious about why parents firmly believe that their kids are sure to have a brighter future growing up in an alien environment.

Do you think you would ever consider going back to work full-time in China to help students and educators? Why or why not?

Absolutely. Unlike my friends who are loyal to a company or a city for over 10 years or longer, I am astatic. I have adventure in my blood. I enjoy the feeling of creating a vision and then acting upon it. From China to U.K. to China to the States, I feel that I am always on the way, but living in a way I like. “Where is the next stop or terminal?” I always ask myself. My attempt at America doesn’t seem to be successful: I spent almost two years seeking a job in the field of international education, and I still haven’t landed one. I will never regret what I have decided, however, because I trust in my heart that there is an opportunity ahead. Only if I continue working for education, then China will be a stop or the terminal. I dream this sometimes that I go somewhere else like Africa or South America to directly work with educators there, to feel the pulse of students from different continents. In case my next stop takes me to a Spanish-speaking environment, I’ve started Spanish courses online.

Rebecca in China

***********************************************************************************

Rebecca’s words have taught me a great deal. It’s no surprise given that she is a star teacher who has changed lives in the classroom and in her job promoting learning on-line too.

She is a part of the group of forward thinking educators who know how important and and game changing on line learning is today. She has both helped huge numbers of students improve their abilities through online programs and learned quite a bit herself through MOOCs.

Every day the naysayers post opinions about on-line learning that try to undercut its ability to teach students. While it is not a panacea for all, on-line learning offers students options they would not have, either because of economics, or distance from schools or a host of other factors. While it is also true that many students who enroll in some of these programs do not complete them, many thousands do and earn certificates—far more than what a traditional school can offer on campus. In addition, the technology for some of these programs is sophisticated enough to evaluate each individual student’s answers to questions and use these to shape further assessments—something that rarely happens on most colleges campuses around the globe.

If it sounds like I am a naïve cheerleader for on line learning, I’m not. I know that a student who has the chance to attend a school physically will experience many life-changing options tha cannot happen on-line. But the issue of cost and access may outweigh the journey a student has to take in order to learn certain skills. I think Rebecca and others in China and around the globe have seen how much things have changed there in just a few years and that schools need to be aware of how they could help students and countries improve the level of education for may more people than traditional schools do now.

I hope that many involved in international education will pay attention to Rebecca’s words about students from China. Her expertise in teaching them should serve as a model for others to emulate. It bears repeating that most students from China do not want to study abroad only to be surrounded by other students from China. They would prefer being in an environment in which they are immersed in a new culture and in which they will be able to become both linguistically and culturally fluent.  I fear that some schools around the world are placing far ore emphasis on enrolling full-paying students rather than creating programs and opportunities that will best prepare the students themselves for future success. (I have written more about this issue  here).

I agree with Rebecca that the process of rote learning in China is still too often the paradigm of choice. On the other hand, at many of the top high schools and universities they are implementing efforts to instill critical thinking, and supplemental learning through activities and service. It will take some time for this to filter down throughout schools, but they have invested much in learning from the West about critical thinking over the last decade and I have been lucky enough to know many students from China who have come to the US with a passion for learning that exceeds the vast majority of domestic students.

Rebecca demonstrates ths with her willingness to travel the globe in search of learning, the best instruction and new opportunities.  Whether it be in China, the UK or the US, she has been an outstanding example of the new generation of learners and teachers who are also global citizens.  Given all of her success ad experiences I am saddened to now that there are not schools and business in the US beating a path o her door to try to keep her talents here.

If Rebecca dos go off to yet another continent, I have no doubt she will bring her gifts and passion for students and learning with her. She has many new and what I think will be great adventures ahead of her. I wish to thank her for her exceptionally tailed and informative response to many hot button issues in education. She has again proved why she is an award-winning teacher.

*********************************************************************************** 

“Language development, for instance, has a critical period that begins in infancy and ends between eight years and puberty. After this critical period closes, a person’s ability to learn a second language without an accent is limited. In fact, second languages learned after the critical period are not processed in the same part of the brain as is the native tongue.” The Brain That Changes Itself