For the past few years, LCHS has been collaborating with teachers from Shanghai Normal University for the International Teacher Training Institute. The program is run by the Professional Development division at USC Rossier School of Education and brings Chinese educators overseas to observe schools throughout the US. The teachers will be visiting our campus for the next six weeks observing our faculty, especially their interactions with students during class.
“We’ve done our best to match teachers up with classes of a similar discipline,” said Vice Principal Jonathan Lyons. “They’ll be focused on discussing how Western education is different from their traditional methodologies. By the end of [their time here], the delegates should be more capable of teaching in an American classroom.”
Observing classes that are similar to the ones they teach provides the delegates an opportunity to reflect on their own teaching methods. However, there are other aspects of teaching that go beyond the class material. For the delegates visiting her classroom, physics teacher Eryn Walsh focused on emphasizing the importance of class structure.
“There are many different ways of structuring a classroom, and one of the main components is how you [as a teacher] interact with the class,” she explains. “If the students are sharing their ideas or questions, it gives them a chance to discover the answers for themselves. It defeats the notion that the teacher always has the answers, and that’s something I try to explain [to the delegates] when they visit my class.”
All in all, the program is sure to give visiting teachers new insights on education. Hosting these delegates is a huge honor for LCHS, and it’s become a great opportunity for our district to further the development of international education.
Photo by Spartan Collective
