DECEMBER 2018
A Message from the Superintendent Dear Lawrence Faculty & Community Members,
Special thank you to Dr. Jennifer McCormick for inviting our school corporation to join her on a diplomatic trip to China. Lawrence Township was honored to join an eight-day trip to China representing Indiana and our country. The trip included visits with numerous schools and the Chinese Department of Education. Lawrence Township has been selected for future partnership with Chinese schools. Learn more in the reflection below by guest author, Amy Beverland teacher, and 2017 Lawrence Township Teacher of the Year, Margaret Manuzzi.
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I was honored to be a member of the MSDLT delegation that attended State Superintendent McCormick’s STEM study trip to China in October. Our goal was to look at STEM education in the Chinese education system through the lens of what we are currently doing as a district and what we need to consider as our next steps. During the trip we visited schools from the primary to high school levels and met with the departments of education from each province. We toured schools and campuses, talked formally and informally with teachers and administrators, and spoke to students. What was most evident was the importance the Chinese culture places on education. Students are recognized for their accomplishments by red scarves, patches on their uniforms, and their pictures posted throughout the schools. Students at all levels are aware of the need of a high-quality education and what it can lead to later in life. Classes ranged in size from 35-50 students and teachers had the attention of each student. School is serious business.
As we listened to education leaders from the Chinese delegations, they expressed a need for a solution to the same problem that we have begun to tackle: the need for change in instruction and practice in schools at all levels as the “educational WHY?” changes. Administrators expressed their trials and struggles with how to implement the changes needed through STEM educational practices while still ensuring they are preparing students for national exams and content restrictions. While our WHY is shifting to a new economy leaving behind more traditional industry, the Chinese WHY is shifting laterally to a more technology-dependent and collaborative industry. The “early adopters” of change in China stood out with their rooftop gardens, variety of STEM labs and makerspaces within a school, and classes where students worked together in groups to solve real-world problems. They are on the same “experimental path” that many of us are as we delve into STEM as our instructional method.
The District of Destination MSD of Lawrence Township
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