Day 11: Presentation day at Banqiao High School, Lin Garden, and Karaoke

Today, Kelly and I did our presentations on teaching methodologies we use in our own classroom.  I showed the Taiwanese teachers how I implement team word-webbing in my AP World classroom.  This year in AP World, I've started implementing a lot of new techniques in my classroom.  One thing I've been doing is using the Kagan methods. I have to give credit to my colleague, Jonathan Rutz, for all his helpful guidence with this.  Kagan is something that Kelly and I both use in our own classrooms and since we are both World History teachers, it worked out well for us to present on the same day.  



Giving my presentation on team word-webbing



I showed the Taiwanese teachers a PowerPoint I had made on the usefullness of Kagan in the classroom.  I also had them do an activity on word-webbing that Rutz and I both used this year. 

One thing I need to point out is that the Taiwanese teach history in a very traditional sense.  It is very teacher-centered.  So, when I introduced group work/cooperative learning to them, they were concerned about how much time it would take.  Just like American teachers, the Taiwanese have to cover a lot of content in a short amount of time.  In Taiwan, tests are very important.  The kids view it as "life and death" - if they don't score well on their college entrance exam, then they don't get into a good college and their parents are very disappointed to say the least. 

The Taiwanese history teachers expressed to us how much pressure is on them to make sure their students are prepared.  



Taiwanese teachers doing the word-web activity





"Two heads are better than one" ... See, cooperative learning really does work!

 After the teachers did their word-webs, I asked for a few volunteers to share what they came up with.  Although reluctant at first, several teachers started to volunteer. Teacher John, seen below, shared his thoughts.  He had some very good inisghts.

Kelly's presentation was awesome! She shared her PowerPoint on Writing To Learn (WTL).  I am going to use many of her ideas in my own classroom as well.

At the end of Kelly and I's presentation, we asked the teachers to do a venn diagram comparing Taiwanese and American education.  We used big hoops and post-it notes (another method I learned from Kelly). 

At the end of the day we had a Q&A session.  Again, we learned so much from the Taiwanese teachers and I think they learned a lot from us as well. Several commented that although cooperative learning is something they tend to shy away from, they were impressed by it's effectiveness in the way we use it.  They really seemed to like the team word-web idea and the WTL.



Venn Diagram: Taiwanese education vs. American education

 The teachers' post-it notes can be seen below.  I thought they were very interesting, especially the first one.



An interesting comment from a Taiwanese teacher on Taiwanese education




This was from the U.S. side of the venn diagram








This is something we all share :) This was in the middle of the venn diagram

 

Jim found a pretty cool newspaper in the men's bathroom - it showcases the two Taiwanese pitchers that play for the Nats and Orioles (Wang and Chen).  In addition to Jeremy Lin, the Taiwanese love these guys!

Before the day ended, we wrapped up and took some pictures with each other and our teacher friends. It was another great day at Banqiao high school.



Jim, me, Jacki, and Kelly





Here with our interpretor for the day.  His name was Dragon - we thought that was pretty cool.  He was so thorough.  He is getting his Master's in translation.



After the school sesssion, we headed to the Lin Family Garden and Mansion.  We were escorted there by Cynthia, who is Kelly's "host sister."  Her friends came along and took us on a great tour of the gardens and city.  The Lin Family Garden was built in 1851 by the Lin family and is currently Taiwan's most-complete surviving example of traditional Chinese garden architecture.


Lin Family Gardens with some great Taiwanese kids





The gardens were so serene

 


The Lin Family was clearly a very wealthy family




Another group shot



Inside the main room of the mansion



We ended our evening with some great noodle bowls, some pretty hilarious laughs, and a night of karaoke at the Kao residence.  The Kao's are Jim and Kelly's host family.  They had a karaoke machine and we all busted out a tune or two.  I have to say though, Anne (Cynthia's adorable friend) and Jim took the reigns and were the best at it.  It was so much fun though!



Cynthia, Cynthia's dad (Principal Kao), and friends




Anne and Jim singing away



Before leaving the house, we tripled checked with Principal Kao about what we would be doing the next day.  We've learned the hard way to always ask several times what to wear and what we will be doing.  The day we went to the Yehliu Geo Park (Day #3), Kelly and I showed up dressed like we were going to be teaching at work.  Little did we know we would be walking around a national park in 100 degree weather for 3 hours! Here's a picture of me below that Jacki took at the end of the day.  I tried to be a good sport about it, but trust me, I was dying inside. Notice, I not only wore inappropriate clothing for a national park, but I also brought my backpack with my computer. Never again! 




Lesson learned from the day at Yehliu National Park on day #3

 

After karaoke, Jacki #1 and I had to make our way back to Lin Kou which was about 40 minutes away.  So, we braved the Taipei bus system that night.  It was successful, because we found our way back to our host families!



About to board the bus back to Lin Kou
(Jacki, Anne, me, Cynthia)