Research-based learning in rural areas

Author: Gao Weixing, Yu Jinli
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-03-01
Features: Effective, Infinite Exploration, Research-Based Learning in the Context of Information Technology, Moving Towards Curriculum Leadership, Research-Based Learning in Rural Areas, Small Class Size in Large Classes, Catalyst for Innovative Thinking. Did you know? 1. How can schools implement the open-ended course of research-based learning reasonably and effectively based on the local context? 2. How can research-based learning be conducted in the context of information technology? What is eClass? 3. How can research-based learning be evaluated and managed? Exams are not suitable; without exams, what should be done? 4. Can rural high schools carry out research-based learning? Is it a resource issue or a problem of awareness and action? 5. How can large-scale schools with more than 20 parallel classes carry out research-based learning for all students? Are there specific strategies? 6. How is Shanghai's research-based curriculum planned and designed? What are the similarities and differences between it and the research-based learning in the National General High School Curriculum Plan? If these six questions are resolved well, schools that "want to carry it out but lack strategies" can gain inspiration or ideas, or refer to or imitate them. This series of books is based on the two-year research conducted by project experts in school settings, telling the curriculum stories of six project schools.
The Case Studies on Research-Based Learning in General High Schools is China's first case study series focusing on the implementation and development of research-based learning. It examines the research-based learning practices of six schools of different types, aiming to engage in dialogue, interpretation, reconstruction, understanding, and analysis based on case studies, rather than simply telling, transmitting, or imposing knowledge. The series includes: Research-Based Learning in Rural Areas—Case Study of Xichang High School in Hainan, Jiangsu Province, Effective, Infinite Exploration—Case Study of Xishan High School in Jiangsu Province on Research-Based Learning, Research-Based Learning in the Context of Information Technology—Case Study of the Affiliated Experimental High School of Beijing Normal University, Moving Towards Curriculum Leadership—Case Study of Wuhan No. 49 Middle School on Research-Based Learning, Small Class Size in Large Classes—Case Study of Wenling High School in Zhejiang Province on Research-Based Learning, and Catalyst for Innovative Thinking—Case Study of Da Tong High School in Shanghai on Research-Based Learning. These six cases explore six major unresolved issues at the school level for research-based learning in general high schools in China at this stage: How can schools implement this open-ended course reasonably and effectively based on the local context? How can research-based learning be conducted in the context of information technology? How can research-based learning be evaluated and managed? Can rural high schools carry out research-based learning? How can large-scale schools with more than 20 parallel classes carry out research-based learning for all students? How is Shanghai's research-based curriculum planned and designed?
For these six questions, the series provides real-world scenarios, allowing readers to engage with the stories through their own experiences and thoughts, thereby fully enjoying the joys of appreciation, sharing, understanding, and critique.
When the General High School Research-Based Learning Case Study project was initially established, the sub-projects took into account that as the first course introduced in China, the success of research-based learning in terms of its promotion and implementation could be a key indicator of the success of current curriculum reform. Rural high schools not only account for a significant proportion of the overall high school system in China but also have their own unique characteristics in terms of educational development. The General High School Curriculum Plan (Experimental) (published in 2003) continues to emphasize research-based learning as a crucial component of the new high school curriculum, determined to select a typical rural high school as a case study to explore whether research-based learning can be carried out in rural high schools and whether it can be done well. Although, by current standards, such schools may not be considered "ideal" research partners, Xichang High School in Hainan, Jiangsu Province, became a "typical case."
Perhaps many people do not consider Xichang High School's research-based learning as "good," but it is authentic, created by the school under normal circumstances. The teachers and students of the school have also proven through their ordinary yet extraordinary practices that even the most ordinary rural high schools can carry out research-based learning and do it well!