On March 26, History and Geography teachers from Middle and High School met in the recording room of Zhentao Building for a department meeting. The major topic this time was classroom activities. Based on their given open classes and relevant reflections, Mr. Pickart, Mr. Hiller, Mr. Sharp, and Mr. Mathews shared their own experiences with the whole group. They used exhibitions, mock trials, and games to motivate their students to be fully engaged in learning. They took pictures and videos to record some interesting details and shared them during the meeting. The confidence and pride reflected from their presentations were really encouraging. The fact remains that, in order to achieve their expected effect, teachers need to prepare very detailed instructions for the students before the class and do reflections as well as modifications timely after class. These activities also successfully attracted the attention of the rest of the teachers. Considering the differences between Middle School and High School students as well as the diversities among different levels, other teachers exchanged their ideas with the presenters, especially about how to balance the academic and fun sides of the activities.

Classroom activities are important in daily teaching practices. The design of effective activities which meet the teaching objectives and students’ levels in limited teaching hours are real challenges for teachers in accumulation and creativity. The good ideas shared by the presenters inspired the rest of the teachers and would motivate them to create more good examples in the future.

(Written by Shen Zhou Pictures by Shen Zhou)