Beijing Academy Seminar explores coordinated development of students and teachers

School principals, international experts and representatives of education authorities pooled insight and wisdom as they explored new education practices at the recently concluded academic seminar, "Design the Ideal Future School", an annual event hosted by the Beijing Academy now in its ninth consecutive year.

As its international exposure has grown, this year’s seminar, which was themed “Teacher Growth in the New Era and a New Journey”, brought together domestic and international education experts to focus on the development of teachers and students in what China refers to as the “new era”. The seminars, discussions and keynote speeches covered a wide variety of topics, including the modernization of basic education, educational innovation and reform, turning students into lifelong learners and professional development.

Representatives of education authorities, principals and teacher representatives from primary and secondary schools and vocational high schools in Beijing’s Chaoyang district also attended the conference, some via video link.

Li Yi, director of the Beijing Municipal Education Commission, said that in recent years, the Beijing Academy has carried out a series of in-depth explorations intoits education model and management style, which is a concrete manifestation of profound thinking on education.

He hoped that under the rubric of training talented and innovative individuals, and running schools in a group structure, the Beijing Academy will create broader resources and space for students, and a top-notch education system.

Wen Xian, secretary of the Chaoyang District Committee of the Communist Party of China, said that Chaoyang is an open, inclusive and vibrant area, and its urban makeup and cultural characteristics have a profound influence on the district's educational philosophy and growth or its students.

Chaoyang aims to turn more principals and teachers into education professionals, and the schools into places parents trust, and students both enjoy and remember after graduating.

Xia Qingfeng, principal of the Beijing Academy, briefed attendees on four aspects of the academy’s management approach: strengthening core values, using technology to change teaching methods, creating "innovation workshops", and turning the world into a classroom under the theme of "Letting Students Grow Creatively".

Among the keynote speakers were Professor Gu Mingyuan from the Beijing Normal University, Professor Zhao Yong from the School of Education at the University of Kansas, Professor Xie Weihe from Tsinghua University, Dr. Brett Charleston, superintendent of schools at Glen Rock Public Schools in the US, Professor Wen Dongmao, dean of the Graduate School of Education at Peking University, Professor Shi Zhongying from the Institute of Education at Tsinghua University, Principal Ren Weidong of the Beijing No. 80 Middle School, Professor Geoff Hayward, head of the Faculty of Education at Cambridge University in the UK, and Professor Chen Xiangming from the School of Education at Peking University.