July 17, Shenyang

The school we visited today was QSI. The school helps high school students get ready for SAT, which is kind of like university entry exams in the US. If mum gets a job in the US after her assignment in China, it could be very helpful.

Understanding that each student has their own pace of learning is important at QSI, and the school supports every student to perform well to their own timeline. When I heard this the first time, I thought, “Is this possible?” Then the Admissions Director explained that their learning methods and beliefs and experience created a positive learning environment, which helps develop a growth mindset. I like their saying “Time becomes a resource and is used with the intention of increasing all student performance.”

Learning through practice seems quite popular here. For example, practicing parts identification and making concept maps by collecting samples of plants in science class, as well as studying the history of the Industrial Revolution and the development of the American railway system in the 1800s by playing a board game “Ticket to Ride” to model the expansion of the rail lines across the continent.

I was grateful that my parents gave me the opportunity to experience so many new things that are not in my daily life. I felt the journey to Shenyang was so valuable; it was so much more than a tourist tour.

July 17, Shenyang

I heard the idea of ”Mastery Learning” for the first time at QSI, even though it has existed for ages. This is quite different from what I know. Sometimes I like to spend a bit more time on the subjects I enjoy, but usually, we are given equal time for each. It would be more fun if we could be flexible in how we learn. If I told my friend Nico about this idea, he probably would say, “It sounds great but won’t work in reality!” But here at QSI, they really make it happen because they have small classes and individualized study plans.

I enjoy doing crafts. And when I saw the photos on the wall, I could tell the kids were having great fun while learning. In the photos, some kids are working on posters and dioramas to model an ecosystem. Others are building a small habitat for bugs (a bug hotel!), using natural materials they collected.

I also saw lots of photos of field trips. Picking apples, helping each other to navigate the muddy spots in the path, the cows, the chickens, the orchard, all of them reminded me of my field trip experiences with friends in Germany.