2004 Gansu Summer Institute
TECC’s first project trained 27 middle school teachers in English and technology in Gulang County, Gansu Province, in July 2004. The project took 2-weeks, and involved 11 student volunteers from Stanford, Harvard, Tsinghua, Peking, and Shanghai International Studies universities (see Volunteers Info under “More Information”), and emphasized technology usage and innovative/web-based teaching methods. With the support of local government and school officials, TECC successfully implemented this project in line with its mission of bringing together American and Chinese students in order to carry out social projects involving technology and education.
Sustained Impact
This 2-week program jump-started classroom technology usage for students in the Gansu region. The materials provided to the teachers will be used to enhance school courses and college preparation, and encourage use of technology for English learning. The program leveraged existing computer classrooms and focused on building basic technology literacy, so that teachers and students would be able to self-sufficiently use online curriculum materials, search engines, and Internet communication tools after the institute. Key to ensuring and measuring long-run impact is continuing e-mail communication between volunteers and teachers, and through TECC’s website.
Incorporating Technology
The design and implementation of TECC’s education modules relied heavily on existing software and free materials from the Internet. TECC volunteers taught classes on Technology and English. Technology teachers studied the structure of LAN, and learned basic programming in Java, HTML, and MySQL. English classes focused on developing English (conversation, writing, and reading comprehension) and teaching skills, and were trained to use Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, e-mail, and search sites (such Google and Sina.com) as classroom preparation tools.
Evaluation of Results:
Our main objective in carrying out this project was to increase computer and Internet usage and English skills among teachers and students in Gansu province. The focus lay on post-Institute education – for teachers specializing in English and technology to work on spreading their knowledge to their students, and offer the means to better compete in an information-based economy.
The Gansu Institute graduated 27 middle school instructors in English or technology. Given that teachers typically teach classes of anywhere between 50 and 100 students, and may rotate classes over a year, a conservative estimate would be 1300 middle school students directly impacted each school year. Each of these students should benefit from more Internet familiarity, increased emphasis on English dialogue, and new printed materials (each instructor received a copy of the texts used in class).
Over the course of the Institute, the teachers grew increasingly receptive to new teaching methods, and many demonstrated these and other ideas in their final presentations at the Institute’s conclusion. Graduates of the English program showed marked improvement in speaking and listening abilities, and all participants were taught introductory courses on Microsoft applications and basic Internet functions. Final evaluations of the technology trainees were based on their in-class participation, achievements in experiments and final exams. A certificate was given to each teacher at the end of the institute.
2004 Beijing Summit
TECC held its Beijing Summit (August 28-29, 2004) at Tsinghua University after the year’s projects in order to evaluate project success and apply lesson learned to future projects. Gansu Team members shared their experiences and recommendations, before opening the discussion table to TECC officers from China, the US, and Hong Kong. The conversation specifically addressed ideas for developing TECC’s online platform, plans for recruitment at each site, team-specific objectives, and achieving scalable growth of TECC through collaboration with related organizations and expanding to new project sites.
TECC was lucky to have several renowned professors and entrepreneurs to speak at the Summit on topics ranging from global markets and growth in China, to entrepreneurial activity and the meaning of social impact.
Three teachers were selected from the Gansu English and technology classes based on exceptional performance and dedication during the Institute to attend a separate forum in Beijing. As the visit aimed to start a long-term exchange between inland and coastal Chinese teachers, the participants met and spoke with teachers and education experts at top middle schools in Beijing.
- Read the full project description and results here
- Find out about our site assessment and selection
- Find out who participated