Cultivating independent learners is one of the core values of SHSID middle and primary school section. The school encourages students to think independently, look at the problems from different perspectives, dare to question, develop critical thinking skills, and become a person who can take responsibility for their own learning. Critical thinking is a way of thinking about the process of thinking and making the results of thinking more accurate and reliable by assessing the rationality of the process.

This semester, the fourth-grade students from native Chinese classes have been working on a very interesting project “Shanghai Most.” This project guides students to find five of the best places in Shanghai by information searching and field visits and to develop their inquiring and thinking skills through information extraction and integration.

Students can choose the “objective most,” such as “the tallest building in Shanghai,” or they can listen to other people’s opinions, think and analyze the information independently, and come up with the “subjective most” of Shanghai, such as “the loveliest road.” The project will be presented in the form of a video or poster and will examine students’ digital and information technology skills, as well as their overall higher-order thinking skills to understand and present the work.

This project will guide students to learn more about the city they live in, to understand Shanghai from different perspectives, and to develop a sense of identity and love for the city’s culture.

Let’s take a look at the students’ fantastic presentations!

Many students found unique “Shanghai Most” through field visits and their personal experiences.

For example, this student transformed what she heard and felt into a reflection on the “cutesiest” street in Shanghai. From the word “cutesy,” we can tell that the student has a deep understanding of the city and culture she lives in and has used her own understanding to form unique a perception and cultural identity of Shanghai. Students begin to use their thinking skills to develop as independent learners.

Another student incorporated all five of Shanghai’s best into his daily schedule through a video, with beautiful language and a smooth connection between each of Shanghai’s best, expressing his thoughts using modern technology. The student summarized, interpreted, analyzed, reasoned, evaluated, and concluded the information obtained, which guided his actions. Through the process, he developed the ability to think independently and critically.

Several students presented the “Shanghai Most” they discovered through beautiful posters, each of which was a result of their thoughtful and personal experiences, demonstrating their ability to think critically and their understanding of the city and culture they live in.

Through the project “Shanghai Most,” students learned about the city they live in from different perspectives and developed cultural identity and critical thinking skills. The Chinese department hopes that students can further develop and apply their thinking skills through different meaningful projects, so that they will gradually become independent learners and critical thinkers.

A student wrote in her work, “I love Shanghai. It is a culturally-diverse, technologically-advanced, all-encompassing, and colorful city.” This group of observant and thoughtful learners are ready to shine into the future with a focus on China and a global perspective!

(Written by Wu Yin, Chen Qinli Pictures by Puxi Campus G4-5 Teachers, Nina Edited by Huang Shiyuan, Brie Polette)