Beijing STEM Teacher Workshop: School Visits & Classroom Observation

Morning - arrival and transfer
Your guide and driver meet you in the arrivals hall with a name sign and take you to your hotel. Beijing is the administrative centre of the system you are here to study: the Ministry of Education sets the national curriculum, the municipal and district education commissions interpret it, and the schools you will visit in the next days work inside those documents. Traffic between the airport and the city centre is heavy through most of the day, so the schedule keeps the first afternoon light on purpose.

Afternoon - Workshop opening: the 2022 curriculum
The workshop opens with a briefing from a teacher educator on the compulsory-education curriculum plan and subject standards issued in April 2022, which took effect that autumn. Three changes matter to a visiting teacher. Science is now introduced in grade 1 rather than grade 3. Information technology is integrated into other subjects, and labour practice is a separate subject with its own hours. And at least 10 per cent of class hours are reserved for cross-disciplinary, topic-based learning - which is the door through which most STEM work in Chinese schools now enters.

Cultural Insight - who runs teacher training
Chinese teachers are not trained once and left alone. The school's teaching-research group meets weekly to prepare lessons together, teachers give open classes that colleagues observe and critique, and a district teaching-research officer visits schools in the subject they specialise in. Since 2010 the national teacher training plan has paid for large-scale in-service programmes, and much of the practical STEM training a Chinese science teacher receives arrives through this route rather than through a university degree.

Evening - Welcome dinner and programme briefing
Dinner with the group, a short briefing on the school visits, on the protocol for foreign visitor groups in Chinese public schools, and on the two questions each participant should bring to the classroom observations.

Meals
Dinner

Accommodation
In Beijing.

Morning - the host school
You are received by the academic affairs office and given a short briefing on the school: how many classes per year group, how the timetable is built, how science and information technology hours are allocated, and how the school runs its after-school service under the 2021 reduction in homework and off-campus tutoring. Class sizes in Chinese public schools are commonly 40 to 45, with a 40- or 45-minute period, and the school will tell you plainly which of its science rooms are purpose-built and which are converted.

Late morning - classroom observation
Observe one or two science or STEM lessons, matched to the phase you teach. Note the lesson structure rather than only the content: the pace of questioning, how much time a class spends on whole-group instruction against hands-on work, how the lab equipment is shared between classes, and how the teacher checks understanding before moving on. Participants are asked to record observations against the two questions set the previous evening and to write up a short note before the afternoon session.

Lunch
With host teachers, in the school canteen where the school day allows, or at a restaurant nearby.

Afternoon - teaching roundtable with the research group
The school's science teaching-research group joins you for the roundtable. The agenda is practical: how a unit is planned across a year group, what an open class is used for, how practical work is assessed when laboratory time and equipment are limited, and how project-based learning is squeezed into a syllabus that is also examined. Your delegation is invited to present a lesson or unit of its own for critique, and to compare how the same topic is sequenced at home.

Cultural Insight - why the teaching-research group matters
In a Chinese school the unit of professional work is the group, not the individual classroom. Lesson plans are shared and revised collectively, new teachers are mentored inside the group, and the district officer's visit is a shared event that the group prepares for together. Visiting teachers who expect to meet isolated practitioners are usually surprised by how much of the work is done in company, and how quickly criticism is given and taken.

Important
School visits are arranged with the host school and are subject to its agreement, its calendar and, for groups from abroad, to the approval of the local education authority. Public schools are normally closed to visitors during the winter and summer vacations and during examination weeks. We confirm the school, the phase and the timetable in writing before the programme is finalised, and if a visit cannot be approved we substitute a teacher-training institution or a district education exchange.

Meals
Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation
In Beijing.

Morning — Water Cube, Bird's Nest & Olympic Forest Park
Visit the Water Cube (National Aquatics Center) and the Bird's Nest (National Stadium), iconic venues built for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Then enjoy the Olympic Forest Park, created for the Games, with vast green spaces, wetlands, and trails for walking or cycling.

Afternoon — China Science and Technology Museum
Ignite curiosity at the China Science and Technology Museum, filled with interactive exhibits on space exploration, robotics, energy, and transportation. Many hands-on displays make science fun, and an IMAX theater offers educational films.

Evening — Flexible Evening
The evening is yours to enjoy at your leisure after a day of discovery.

Meals
Lunch and dinner included.

Morning — Temple of Heaven
Begin your day at the Temple of Heaven, an esteemed complex of religious structures where emperors once prayed for good harvests, epitomizing the connection between Earth and Heaven. Built in the Ming Dynasty and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is also a beloved public park where you can watch local residents practicing their distinctive morning exercises.

Lunch — A Well-Known Local Eatery
For lunch, enjoy a meal at a well-known local eatery featuring authentic regional cuisine. Your guide assists you in selecting dishes that suit your taste.

Afternoon — Tian'anmen Square & the Forbidden City
Stroll through Tian'anmen Square, one of the world's largest public squares, then delve into the enigmatic Forbidden City, the world's largest imperial palace. Home to 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties, it contains hundreds of halls and courtyards; venturing off the main axis uncovers fascinating tales of notable figures often overlooked by conventional tours.

Evening — At Your Leisure
The evening is yours to enjoy at your leisure in Beijing.