On September 27th a group of 30 administrators and teachers from Qingdao #2 High School in the Shandong Province of China visited the Academy of Science and Innovation to learn about STEM education in United States schools. The group began the day with a welcome from the principal of Innovation, Robert McCain. Mr. McCain addressed the group by stating that his school was preparing students for jobs that currently don’t exist yet. He explained, “Our students are the generation who has never been without technology and they are preparing for a workforce that hasn’t been invented yet.” Mr. McCain was also very clear about the goal of the visit “We need to learn from each other to stay competitive in the global market. I have lots of questions for you and would like to know more about how education works in China”. The teachers visiting had very limited English so they communicated with staff and students through the use of interpreters.
The group included both elementary and secondary school educators as well as several administrators. Music and art, math and science, history and physical education teachers were all part of the group. Their goal for the day was to learn about what STEM education looks like in a US school. They were interested in learning more about how S.T.E.M is integrated across the different disciplines and how teachers design their lessons and assess student understanding in their courses.