Physics lesssons in action at Wycombe Abbey International School Changzhou

 
Some photos of  Dr Dawber's recent visit to Wycombe Abbey International School in Changzhou showing her amazing physics lessons in action!

Update from Dr Dawber - Day 5

16.6.16  Update from Dr Dawber

Yesterday was blisteringly hot and very humid, so I didn't get outside much. However, the effort of sitting in the sun for half an hour on Tuesday (which was also pretty unpleasantly hot) as a cure for jet lag paid off. I finally slept well! 

Yesterday morning I did lots of admin and planning of lessons and experiments and, in the afternoon, I taught a yr11 (U5) revision lesson. Only 6 students in the class (I think there are only about 6 in ordinary year 11 as a whole, but they also have a 'pre A level group of year 11s who are not doing English igsces). The poor things were a little distracted by the thought of their IGCSE chemistry paper 2 an hour later, but it was fun and went well, nonetheless.

I also gave various Wycombe abbey science resources and schemes of work to the teachers here, they were very, very grateful! 

After dinner I got a guided tour of the swimming pool, so no excuses for not getting some exercise in any free time I have now! Sadly I forgot the mosquito repellent for my evening stroll so now I'm covered in bites, yuck.  

Today we tried out the Paper Pan project using the meths-types burners that they use here in science instead of Bunsen burners (the Chinese government has banned all use of gas in schools as I understand it). Sadly they don't get very hot and it took 45 minutes to boil the water - about as exciting as watching paint dry - so we've had to abandon that idea. The rest of the morning was mostly spent planning alternative experiments - I have a few up my sleeves but they don't have very much apparatus here yet and it's surprisingly difficult to get hold of everyday things we take for granted - but I think it's looking ok for the next two weeks. 

This afternoon I had another lesson with the yr11s (U5), mostly on Electromagnetism. They were really appreciative and wanted another! So after a meeting with the head of 6th form (who's also a house master) about UCAS and university preparation,  I gave an extra lesson to the yr11s going over everything they found hard. It was really rewarding, as they seemed to get so much out of it. I suspect I may see some of them again before their IGCSE physics paper 2 tomorrow afternoon! 

The pupils here are very friendly, (perhaps partly because I'm a bit of a novelty!?).  They all say hello, and give a little wave at the same time when they meet you in the corridor, even ones I've never met. It's very sweet! Especially with the tiny ones from primary and kindergarten 😊

Dr Dawber's visit (Day 3)

14.6.16

Lessons here start at 8.00am (tutor period is just before lunch!) so I turned up bright and early to observe a Yr13 Biology revision lesson. Sadly the one student in the class actually had an exam this morning, but I had an interesting chat with the Biology teacher instead (there is only one at the moment). After break, I ran a Physics revision class for two super-bright Yr13 girls, Charlotte and Claire, on Oscillations. Really lovely to get into the classroom and have such excellent students (Charlotte is going to Cambridge to read Engineering, and Claire to New York to read medicine). They rocketed through the questions I gave them.

After lunch I went to observe a primary Jiangsu Maths lesson (year 6). Very interesting but sadly all in Chinese, so I struggled to follow. But the kids were super and told me (in English) a little bit about what they were doing.

After tea, I ran a mentoring session with five of the six teachers from the Science department, where we discussed good practices for teaching science. I gave them the schemes of work and a number of resources that we use here and they were absolutely delighted.

After dinner (I'm getting used to the food!) I had a visit into down town Changzhou to go to the mini supermarket. Fascinating to walk through the colourful street market on the way there. All in all, a busy, varied and productive day!