【外教工作坊】Foreigner teachers‘workshop

2016-12-24 Enrico David

Enrico 

Continuous professional development is vital to building a strong and successful school. At Xiwai, professional development takes many forms, from weekly staff meetings to all-day trainings and seminars and even special off-campus training events.

In the Bilingual Middle School and International High School, foreign teachers also use their Friday staff meetings to share ideas and hone their teaching skills. Each week, a different teacher or group of teachers leads a workshop on some aspect of teaching and education. According to Principal Enrico Piccinini, “Every teacher has something he or she can do better than the rest of us. These workshops are an opportunity for each of us to learn from our peers and become better teachers in the process.”

Middle school

Recently in the Middle School, English teachers Mark Wilkinson and Jo Folscher gave a workshop on how to guide students effectively, with an emphasis on lower-level English speakers. The workshop started with a brief exercise to show that teachers don’t always follow directions well either! Mark and Jo then shared some strategies for how to structure your lessons so that students are able to understand well and be more productive in class. Teachers came away with some great ideas that they can apply in their own classes, regardless of which subject they teach.

High school

In the High School, English and SAT teacher David Mielke gave an informative presentation on the format of the new SAT and how to prepare students for this crucial test. David explained that the new SAT requires much more critical thinking and a great deal of background knowledge from other subjects – not just English and mathematics, but also history, science, and other disciplines. Students can no longer hope to do well on the SAT just by taking “crash courses” and learning clever strategies and shortcuts. The only good preparation for the SAT now is a full and challenging curriculum with a strong focus on reading and critical inquiry.

Also in High School, English teacher Alex Leibowitz gave a talk on how to align our teaching with Common Core standards. These standards for grades K-12 are currently used in 42 out of 50 states in the United States, and they form the basis of our Bilingual Middle School and International High School curricula as well. Alex gave an overview of the standards along with specific examples of how to apply the standards in our lessons.

So far, the foreign teacher-led workshops in the Middle and High School have been informative and helpful. They also provide both experienced and new teachers with a platform to share their experiences and insights as educators. If you would like to participate, stop by the International Department any Friday afternoon – all teachers are welcome to join!

我是中英文分割线

是否坚持可持续性的专业发展是学校建设成败的一个重要因素。在西外，教师专业的发展呈现出多种形式，可以是周教职工会议、日培训和研讨会，也可以是校外的培训活动等。

外教周五例会

在国际双语初、高中部周五例会上，外教们一起分享经验、打磨教学技能。每周外教都会以个体或小组的形式，就某一个教学或教育议题开展专题讨论。外方校长Enrico Piccinini提到，每位教师都有其他教师所不能及的特长，专题研讨会不仅为教师们提供相互学习的机会，而且有助于教师们自身的职业发展。

初中部

初中双语国际部的英语教师Mark Milkinson 和Jo Folscher 进行了一场关于如何高效引导英语水平较薄弱的学生学习的研讨会。这个研讨会从一个简短的练习开始，向老师们展示其实老师也并不总是能跟从指令，何况学生？仅接着Mark和Jo分享了一些课程设计的策略，为了使学生更好地理解课堂指令并能有更好的课堂产出。各学科的老师们纷纷给出自己关于课堂管理和教学的好想法。

高中部

 在高中双语国际课程部，英语及SAT教师David Mielka 献上了一场精彩的公益讲座。他讲解了SAT新政及其备考策略。David解释说新SAT考试对考生的批判性思维能力及除英语及数学以外其他学科（诸如历史、科学等）的背景知识有更高的要求。这样一来，要想获取高分，就不能单单依赖速成班或考试技巧了，而是要通过聚焦于那些培养阅读能力及批判性思维能力的充满挑战性的课程。

英语教师Alex Leibowitz 则做了一场关于如何将教学接轨核心课标的讲座。该课标是目前美国 的42个州（共50个州）K-12年级使用的课程标准，也是国际双语初、高中部课程设置的基石。Alex介绍了课程标准的主要内容，并举例阐述了如何将课标运用到日常课程教学中的具体实施办法。

小编：我们都知道，SAT今年改版了，那它具体有什么变化呢？我们的学生又需要注意哪些事项呢？不妨来听听我校SAT教师David怎么说。

David & SAT

Everything You Want to Know About

The New SAT

SAT的新政策

1、现在，SAT的总分从之前2400分改为1600分。数学占总分的50%，即1600分占了800分，而做题时间在180分钟中占80分钟。

2、论文写作可选写，但大部分名校仍有要求。此外，论文写作的时间由原来的的25分钟改为50分钟；

3、若有答案错误，则不扣分。（换言之：猜测不扣分）

4、词汇和语法题改为基于语境的题目，而不是孤立存在的。

5、阅读文章的内容与核心课程及AP科目相一致。

新SAT的核心技能

1、语境中的单词

学生需熟记不同课目中的重点及常用生词和短语；其次，能根据语境猜测词义；

2、证据运用

学生要会解释、综合、和使用“证据”。这些证据的来源广泛，包括信息图表（如表格、图表和图形）及文学和纪实文学体裁，人文学、科学、历史与社会研究等科目、以及工作和职业的话题等。

3、材料分析

学生阅读一篇文章后，要会解释作者是如何使用论据来说服读者的。这个任务反映了大学写作的任务，因为它要求分析作者如何使用论据、论证手法、修辞手法来有力论证。

4、广泛阅读

学生需要掌握有关艺术、科学、 公民、文化即政治生活等的理念、争论或思想趋势。

SAT测试被大多美国4年制大学采纳。许多希望出国留学的西外学生需参加该考试，所    以他们应该尽早熟悉该考试。2016年，新版SAT推出，新政策包括：数学部分变得更长，更多基于语境的阅读和写作，以及与核心课程目标更紧密地保持一致。 此外，论文写作虽然推荐给大多院校，但却是可选项。这个研讨会讨论新测试的变化，所需的学术技能，以及西外的课程设置如何更好帮助学生备考。

写在最后

迄今，初、高中部外教引导的研讨会都非常有益，不仅信息全面而且可以切实帮助教师解决日常教学问题，进而对教学有新的理解。这些研讨会还给有经验的和新教师提供一个平台来分享他们对教学的洞察并交流经验。如果你想加入我们，不妨在每周五下午来访我们国际部，欢迎所有的老师们加入我们。