Seven American teachers participated in the workshop and were joined by; AHEAD Education Academic, Business Development and HR staff; Board Member, Murph; Global Partnerships Director from Wasatch Academy in the United States, Graham and China Director, Chris.
To begin with, Danny, the Director, Department of Academics, AHEAD Education Group, delivered an overview of the training program. In the Chinese educational environment, to structure an internationalized curriculum that best suits Chinese students, the advantages of Chinese basic education and the characteristics of western explorative and innovative education should be integrated. Fully understanding and deeply practicing the “one body, two wings” international curriculum system is the solid foundation for Ahead Education to be a leader in the development of international education programs in China. He explained the strengths of AHEAD and explained the advantages of its involvement with the American program. He continued by discussing, in detail, the structure and purpose of the Wasatch Academy curriculum including the philosophy behind its curriculum design and method of operation, and then explained the responsibilities of the foreign teachers and the program managers.
In the afternoon, the Academic Department delivered lessons about the roles and responsibilities of the teaching department, curriculum structure and courses. The following day workshops were conducted by the Business Development and HR departments with the purpose of explaining their roles and responsibilities. Company staff interacted with foreign teachers through games which highlighted the difference between Chinese and western education, and those foreign teachers with teaching and life experience in China also shared their experiences. The workshops were an excellent opportunity for the administrators and the new teaching staff to develop good working relationships.
Murph gave a lesson on the Wasatch Academy educational concept and policy, followed by Graham and Chris who dealt with Wasatch Academy teaching standards and requirements.
The workshop highlighted the aim of both Wasatch Academy and AHEAD Education Group for teaching to pay more attention to critical thinking, creativity, cultivation of leadership skills and inspiring an enthusiasm for learning. Both organisations stressed that teaching is not only about math and science.
The orientation program was both strict and warm and this helped to enhance the recognition and approval of AHEAD Education Group for the new group of foreign teachers. AHEAD is highly satisfied with the calibre of the teaching staff in the Wasatch Program this year, both academically and personally, and this will assist in bringing vitality to the schools.
American Elite High School Program
- The American Elite High School Program is a three year American high school curriculum program developed and managed by AHEAD EDUCATION in collaboration with Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, UT, USA), a 100 year old, well-known American private school, ranked first in Utah. The program was launched in China in 2013 and involves students completing twelve credits taught by American professional teachers and six credits taught by Chinese teachers approved by the American partner school, thereby obtaining a diploma from the Wasatch Academy.
- As the provider of American core courses, Wasatch Academy will provide the forward-looking concept of international education and the first-class international education resources for the American elite high school.
- Currently, the American Elite High School Program is implemented at three prestigious Chinese high schools and as new schools come on board, this is leading to the formation of an alliance of American Elite High School members. Founding partners include Nanjing Foreign Language School (Xianlin Campus), the High School Affiliated to Nanjing Normal University (Jiangning Campus) and Jiangsu Kunshan Senior High School (Greater Suzhou). This alliance is expanding as an increasing number of Chinese elite high schools realize the great demand for a premium international curriculum program and diversified education modes.