[SSI Learning] 以社会性科学议题学习促学校立德树人，威海在行动！

社会性科学议题学习（Socioscientific issues learning, SSI-L）项目是在科学素养提升联盟（AISL）的背景下，由北京师范大学中国基础教育质量监测协同创新中心与美国北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校大学联合发起的科学教育合作项目，旨在促进学生科学素养、学生发展核心素养的整合性提升，并助推立德树人示范学校与示范区域的形成。山东省威海市是本项目的首批合作区域基地。

为助力于威海市SSI-L的项目推进，2020年12月1日，项目负责人、北京师范大学中国基础教育质量监测协同创新中心科学提升部主任林静、项目学科指导组专家北京师范大学附属实验中学生物学特级教师林祖荣抵达威海市，与项目山东区域负责人、项目学科指导组专家、威海市教研中心初中教研室张涛主任、高新区教研中心姜荣主任等市区教研专家走访威海市首批SSI-L五所基地校：高新区第一中学世昌校区、望海园中学、千山路小学、荣成府新小学与南海实验中学，进行参观调研。

威海市高新区第一中学世昌校区

青砖朱墙，金缕霞光，走进威海高新区第一中学世昌校区，宽广的一楼展示厅内陈列着师生的绘画、手报、书法等作品，或栩栩如生，或充满创意；或条理清晰，或色彩缤纷；或苍劲有力，或似然洒脱，张张件件，无一不彰显学校朝夕的艺术熏陶。

不同于传统校园，作为一所充盈生命温情与生命生长力量的现代学校，高新区一中世昌校区为将教育贯彻在学校的各个角落，配备了许多特色教室与场所。课程之外，学生可以在体育馆挥洒青春的汗水，在中草药种植区体会生命的律动，也可以在柔道馆领悟“柔能制刚，刚能断柔”的魅力；不仅如此，学校宽敞明亮的走廊中还设立了许多供学生休息、休闲、学习的场所，例如音乐角、船模区、拐角书架、涂鸦墙等等，甚至在墙面放置了相对的名人相片，不仅增强了观赏性，也为学生提供了更多认识和发现自我的平台。

图 1  参观教学大楼一层（高新区一中世昌校区）
Picture 1  Visiting the first floor of the main building (Gaoxin No. 1 Middle School Shichang Campus)

图 2  参观教学大楼二层（高新区一中世昌校区）
Picture 2  Visiting the second floor of the main building (Gaoxin No. 1 Middle School Shichang Campus)

作为SSI-L基地校，学校为SSI-L项目团队配备了专门的多功能活动室，活动室分有学习展示区与研讨交流区，四周布满研究相关的石、沙、海水样本、工具箱、工具墙、项目五星图、学生实践照片墙，使学生在研讨过程中更具代入感，为项目的实施提供了良好的环境。

图 3  参观SSI-L活动室并颁发学科指导专家证书（高新区一中世昌校区）
Picture 3  Visiting SSI-L activity room and awarding certificates to disciplinary guidance experts (Gaoxin No. 1 Middle School Shichang Campus)

在SSI-L活动室，学校项目组团队对该校SSI-L项目的设计初衷及实施情况进行了汇报。

自1995年至2014年，威海小石岛的西南侧防波堤持续延长，受其影响，导致小石岛港内及涝台河河口附近水域的水质条件明显下降。基于此现实问题，学校从青年教师中抽调骨干人员组建SSI-L团队，迅速地选择议题、筹建学生社团、创设议题五星图，从填海造陆的历史变迁及原理出发，考虑地质性灾害与当地经济等多因素对小石岛填海造陆的影响，进行持续的深入研究。

图 4  听取SSI-L项目汇报（高新区一中世昌校区）
Picture 4  Listening to SSI-L project briefing (Gaoxin No. 1 Middle School Shichang Campus)

接下来，项目组教师以《威海小石岛是否有必要填海造陆》为题进行了课例展示。

课堂上，由教师抛出驱动性问题，学生通过有关填海造陆的文字资料卡与视频，在组内讨论、代表发言及组间共享中分析归纳出填海造陆的方法及步骤等。在充分了解填海造陆原理和方式的情况之后，小组自行选择填海造陆的方法，用黏土模拟沙石与海洋，从工具墙中取出钢钉、曲别针、订书针等物件进行填海造陆的建模，并通过投票评选优秀小组向同学们进行展示。

图 5  观摩课例展示（高新区一中世昌校区）
Picture 5  Observing class presentation (Gaoxin No. 1 Middle School, Shichang Campus)

本议题有关威海地区的发展与改进，与生活在威海的同学零距离，使学生在议题活动中可以拓展思维、提高调查研究能力、将多学科的知识熟练运用到实际中，还可以帮助学生迅速地融入情境、投入情感，深层次地走进威海建设中，非常具有现实意义。

威海市望海园中学

“非新无以为进，非旧无以为守”，秉承打造“无边界智慧+”未来校园的理念，望海园中学坐落于威海市环翠区，依山傍海，行止安然。绿丘环绕中，综合教学楼各功能区间以空廊相连，在楼梯、庭园、屋顶绿坡、空中平台等服务空间设立画廊、阅读角等区域，错落别致，妙处横生。

望海园中学意在培养德、智、体、美、劳全面发展的人才。于德，设立诚信角落，践行学生以诚信养德；于智，配置学科特色教室，创立创客中心，提升学生的科创素养；于体，将棒球作为学校的特色体育项目，锻炼学生体魄；于美，创设多个社团教室，使学生从传统书画、木工制作、素描模画等体验中体会世界不同的“美”；于劳，设立导师劳动教育日，增强劳动教育，让学生与教师共同打造属于他们的美丽校园。

图 6  参观校园（望海园中学）
Picture 6  Visiting campus (Wanghaiyuan Middle School)

图 7  参观校园（望海园中学）
Picture 7  Visiting campus (Wanghaiyuan Middle School)

截止2020年12月1日，望海园中学已经开展了四次SSI-L学习活动。在活动中，SSI-L教师团队设计了一系列体验、探索、拓展等活动，让学生从动手体验出发，真切感受到媒染剂在染制布料中的作用，并以此为基础，继续拓展至化学、生物等学科层面，进一步探究植物染料染制工艺对人体和环境的利弊。

图 8  参观SSI-L活动室（望海园中学）
Picture 8  Visiting SSI-L activity room (Wanghaiyuan Middle School)

在活动汇报中，望海园中学表示，该校SSI-L团队对议题的理解不断加深，使议题的设置更贴近学生的生活，让学生在活动过程中更具参与感、体验感与融入感；在资料的收集与议题的修订中，教师与学生共同成长，共同进步，双方都更具社会意识；同时，也希望在日后的活动安排中，团队可以更游刃有余地设计议题系统，充分发挥SSI的议题优势，真正做到提升学生思维，锻炼学生逻辑能力，持续开阔学生视野。

图 9  听取SSI-L项目汇报（望海园中学）
Picture 9  Listening to SSI-L project briefing (Wanghaiyuan Middle School)

威海市千山路小学

威海市千山路小学始建于2008年9月，以“体验教育”为特色，构建了“知课程”、“行课程”、“创课程”三大板块的体验课程体系，同时依据学校六亩田园实践基地深入开展劳动实践体验教育活动，探索出一套极具特色的劳动教育课程体系，为SSI的议题研究提供了一定的实践基础。

在SSI-L项目汇报中，千山路小学称，在1964年，我国从法国普罗旺斯引进了三种薰衣草，分别在河南、云南、陕西和新疆试种，其中只有新疆生产建设兵团第四师65团种植成功。而威海本地亦有大规模种植薰衣草的场所，并配备相关的研究中心，基于此地域优势，千山路小学以薰衣草为主题设计SSI议题，让学生亲自走进临港区清泉谷薰衣草种植庄园开展实地研究活动，近距离地观察薰衣草，体验薰衣草精油、香薰、枕头等制作，同时购进50株五年生的薰衣草苗木，让教师与学生拿起工具，在学校种植区域亲手种下一株薰衣草，共同绘制属于千山路小学如梦如幻的浪漫画卷。

图 10  听取SSI-L项目汇报（千山路小学）
Picture 10  Listening to SSI-L project briefing (Qianshan Road Primary School)

荣成市府新小学

面朝大海，翰墨飘香，郎朗的读书声从古色古香的校园中传出，始建于1994年的府新小学坐落于荣成市政府北，寸土片瓦沉浸着悠久的校园历史，在这里默默诉说着只属于它的故事。秉承“植根养正，好习惯成就一生”的办学理念，多年以来，经过一批又一批府学人的努力，学校的办学水平一直在稳步提升，并通过特色课程建设，进一步推动学校品牌建设和高质量发展。

图 11  校前合影留念（荣成府新小学）
Picture 11  Group photo in front of the school (Fuxin Primary School of Rongchen City)

该校对其SSI-L项目的设计初衷及实施情况进行了汇报。

近年来，荣成重视城市绿化，从各地特别是南方购得大量景观树营造了荣成独具特色的滨海生态花园城市风貌，但是，南方移植的“景观树”养护，需要耗费大量的人力物力。基于此问题，府新小学抽调科研及科创骨干教师组建SSI-L项目团队，采取资料收集、实地考察、调查采访等方式，在3-5年级同步开展荣成景观树项目研究。

图 12  听取SSI-L项目汇报（荣成府新小学）
Picture 12  Listening to SSI-L project briefing (Fuxin Primary School of Rongchen City)

接下来，项目组教师以《荣成城市景观树是否需要选种南方树种》为题进行了课例展示。

课堂上，学生分为政策组、规划组、实地考察组与调查访问组，将组内所获资料汇集成报告，采取人人参与或代表发言的形式共享信息，通过录制采访视频、将考察照片粘贴至手报展出、绘制本地南方树种占比图等多种方式直观简洁地将“目前荣成滨海广场南方景观树的选用情况”研究成果展示给其他学生。

图 13  观摩课例展示（荣成府新小学）
Picture 13  Observing class presentation (Fuxin Primary School of Rongchen City)

南海区实验中学

南海实验中学新校区于2020年建设完成，该校实行从学前阶段至高中阶段共15年的“普惠制”免费教育，一直坚持发展海洋特色教育、构建独具特色的海洋校本课程体系、立足学生终生发展，希望将学校打造成南海教育的品牌。

在SSI-L项目汇报中，南海实验中学表示，自2007年3月，威海南海新区启动开发，而新区域的开发必然无可避免地会对当地自然环境造成影响，当生态的破坏就发生在身边，对一些事物的判断难免不够理智，例如：当南海新区的小观蛤的数量急剧减少时，威海当地人便认为都是南海新区开发造成的。基于此问题，南海实验中学决定以南海新区开发是否是造成小观蛤减少的主要原因为主题，虽然学校近日忙于校园建设等事宜无法更多地投入到项目的进展中，但通过线上、线下持续不断地学习与研讨中，亦制定了一系列的政策资料收集、实地测量调查及走访相关部门等开展计划。

图 14  听取SSI-L项目汇报（南海实验中学）
Picture 14  Listening to SSI-L project briefing (Nanhai Experimental Middle School)

南海实验中学希望通过SSI-L项目的研究，可以提高学生的预知能力、研究能力与辩证思考能力，希望学生可以用科学的视角对待身边的事物，以科学为原则，以数据为准绳，不随意猜测，不盲目跟从，同时面对这样一个极具争议性的话题，希望学生的探究可以为社会发展，尤其是威海当地的发展提供一些合理化的建议。

专家组总结

张涛：

在刚刚接触SSI-L项目时，威海各基地校都抱着忐忑的心情从零做起，期间一次又一次地质疑：议题的选定是否合适？课堂应采用怎样的模式才能最大化地提高学生的参与度？如何设置驱动型问题？……虽然在项目的实施前期有各位专家在网上进行指导，但远没有亲临现场参观指导更能鼓舞学校及项目团队教师的信心。林祖荣与林静两位专家对于各基地校项目的肯定使教师一直以来的担心尘埃落定，更明确了前进的方向，同时得到了许多建设性建议，不论是目前进展较为顺利的学校，还是暂时遇到困难的学校，两位专家都提供了非常具体的实施建议，为各校带来了非常大的启发，亦为今后的项目推进与议题选择开阔了新的思路。

在后续的工作中，首先应设立高标准高要求，同时考虑学生发展与社会效益两方面，争取尽善尽美地推进SSI-L项目实施；其次，要做好项目规划，作为“初学者”，在两年内做好一个议题已属不易，所以坚定不移地走好现在的路，脚踏实地地做好第一步，将目前的议题做深做透；再次，向其他省市学校汲取营养，共享资源，相信“他山之石可以攻玉”，争取学校间可以实现携手进步；最后，既然威海市已经作为先行者走在SSI-L项目研究的前沿，那么就要起到示范的作用，故而应将各校所进行的SSI-L活动计划、实施情况等撰写成稿，将说的做出来，将做的写出来，这样不仅可以提高教师的规划能力与项目实施的成就感，同时也可为其他教师提供案例参考。

希望威海五所基地校积极交流，互相学习借鉴，以学生的核心素养发展为目标，共建先进校园！

 

林祖荣：

在参观各校并听取汇报后，其最深的感受便是学校处处角落蕴藏教育，寸寸土地培养学生，学校中的设施、建筑及特色学科、特色教室等设置，都在培养学生对待事物的审美，向学生渗透家风家德等优秀文化，灌输学生社会责任的重要性。而且，各基地校皆配备了非常优秀的教师团队，在领导的重视下，由年轻教师带领学生一同研究一同探讨，将教师的热情传递给每一位学生，真正做到教师与学生共同进步，所以SSI-L项目的开展无论是从学生的发展角度，还是从教师的成长角度，都是意义非凡的。

针对高新区第一中学世昌校区的SSI-L议题，林祖荣认为填海造陆是一个很大的议题，不仅与威海沿海的特点相契合，同时也与目前社会的关注点密切关联，这必将使得学生投入更多的关注，从SSI-L的项目参与中，提高规划意识、城市发展建设等能力，今后当学生成长到可以对城市进行一定建设时，就能够知道应该从各个方面去关注一个城市的发展，这对威海未来的发展也是非常有助益的。其课例展示通过视频、资料整理等多种方式了解小石岛的环境与填海造陆的政策法规；学生到小石岛进行实地研究调查，了解小石岛的地域特点；学生在资料分析与小组讨论中理清思路，并亲手制作模型。在循序渐进的研究探讨中，数位教师与学生共同参与，打破传统课堂的操作方式，利用整个团队的力量开展项目活动，将SSI-L的综合性、实践性、科学性与社会性充分结合在一起。

在后期开展中，林祖荣建议可以将更多的调查方法融入到活动中，并尝试与生物学科结合得更紧密一些，例如可以让学生通过资料查找与实地调查，对比不同海滩间生物种类的差异，再进一步探讨这种生物差异是否与填海造陆存在着一定的因果关系，这样便可组织学生进行一些相关的实验研究课，将理论知识更好地转化为实验操作。

在望海园中学SSI-L项目的开展前期，项目组教师与学生做了大量的研究工作，比如资料的收集及相关染料的提取，这些工作对于学生提取知识要点能力的培养是非常有帮助的。关于如何在草木染的议题中将理论与实际联合起来，林祖荣建议：既然在研究草木染的过程中必然涉及到染料的问题，那么是否可以将染料的成分与化学物质鉴定相结合，例如硫酸根离子与铝离子的鉴定等，在探究植物染料与人工染料的差异时，针对成分做化学学科层面上的分析与鉴定，便可将理论知识转化为实验操作了。

关于千山路小学的SSI议题，林祖荣表示薰衣草除观赏外，还可制成枕头、精油、香薰等相应产品满足人们更多需求，但是，当薰衣草引进国内后，并非所有的地方都可以完美地体现它的这些作用效应，那么，在威海当地，薰衣草究竟可以发展到怎样的一个程度，便是千山路小学需要研究的问题。如果通过SSI议题的开展可以发现薰衣草在威海地区所拥有的价值，并提供一些意见，使其成为威海的一个亮点，那固然好，但即便研究的成果并不如预期结果，那就尽量地减少一些盲目性投资，也依然有其价值。在实践操作方面，建议可以将精油的制作等转化到实验室的一些操作，例如精油、香油的提取等。

在荣成市府新小学的研究中，“景观树为环境带来美化的同时，是否会潜在地带来一些其他的负面影响”是全社会都应要关注的问题，当学校以此为议题带领引导小学生去探究时，其最大的意义并非得出建设性的意见，而是可以让小学生提高对社会的关注度，在潜移默化中形成一种社会责任。在课堂组织方面，林祖荣表示，在调查与整理资料中，学生收集法律法规的意识、收集相关资料的能力，以及将调查的数据转换成更直观的图标，这些对能力的锻炼都不是可以从书本上简简单单得到的；在交流与探讨中，小组学习形式无疑可以提高学生的团队意识，包括学生自身的表达能力及组织能力等都可以得到很好的锻炼；在调查结果产生分歧时，学生从调查数据与决策部门官方数据差异的疑惑中，了解到实际与计划的差距，更关注收集数据的科学性，这也是学生所需要形成的意识。

林祖荣认为南海实验中学选定的南海开发问题有些太大，包括应如何界定开发、开发是否包括过度捕捞、其他自然因素是否也会影响小观蛤的数量减少等问题都应纳入团队需要考虑的范围内，这样就很难探讨南海开发与小观蛤的因果关系。可以将考虑的观点缩小化，专注于其中某一个因素探讨两者间的因果关系；或者可以从新区开发的变化入手，例如具体到水域环境的改变，再去研究水生生物的改变；又或者抛开因果关系，单探究小观蛤在历史上、品质上、产量上的变化，先研究小观蛤与影响因素的相关性，再去探究其因果关系，会使团队对项目的设计变得更明确。

 

林静：

在所有学校参观和听课活动结束后，林静对五所基地校的校园教育氛围表示了高度肯定，指出目前各校的SSI-L项目开展工作真正体现了立德树人的教育理念，并表示AISL会进一步搭建合作交流平台，助力于学校、校长，帮扶于教师，落实于学生。随后，分别对各基地校的项目进行了点评，点明了各校议题的立意和教育理念。

针对威海市高新区一中世昌校区的议题“威海小石岛是否有必要填海造陆”，林静表示该议题非常有价值，能够启发学生对填海造陆的原因、利弊、挑战和机遇进行多角度多层面的思考，并且与威海本地学生的生活联系紧密，最终能够上升到学生对“人类改造自然”这一宏观话题的思考，体现出SSI-L的教学重点目标。

威海市望海园中学的议题“草木染与化工染料染制衣物孰优孰劣”和威海市千山路小学的议题“学校田园基地是种植薰衣草还是种植其他作物”均体现出了较高的实践性和可操作性，二者的共同立意可以是“感恩自然界植物的馈赠”，启发学生认识到自然对人类的价值，思考如何更高效地用好自然界恩赐的资源。此外，两个议题的开展过程中，学生参与了大量的体验式学习，这或许可以启发学生进行产品创业，进一步将知识利用到生产实践当中。

林静认为荣成市府新小学的课程具有很好的示范作用，不仅体现了学校对议题和课程设计的用心，也展现了学校长期以来的文化积淀。议题“荣成‘景观树’有没有必要选择南方树种”具有很强的现实意义，学生在课程中体现出的文献调查、采访、实地考察等实践能力和展示时的表达能力都体现出了学生已经具备一定的实践活动能力，但是就本节课例展示来说，学生的表现略显拘谨，在之后的课堂中，教师可以将话语权更多地交到学生手里，自己充当倾听者的角色，成功的课应该是学生忙成一团的课。此外，林静也对该校后续拟开展的融雪、电话手表、反季节蔬菜等议题进行了评价，并建议也围绕一个有关荣成现代美的现实意义更强的议题构建SSI-L校本课程，以此为核心辐射出更多内容。

针对文登区南海实验学校议题“南海开发时小观蛤减少的原因吗”的实施问题，林静提出了相应建议。首先，该议题非常适合加入学生实地调查的教学内容，学生可以对水质、水温、氧气等因素进行测量，先确定导致小观蛤减少的理化原因，或者将南海开发作为议题背景，而非原因来开展学习；其次，该议题并不是要确定二者的因果关系，而是要让学生借实际话题来切入对南海开发的认识，从而思考人对自然开发和改造的问题；最后，在该议题中，还要加入对知识和跨学科概念的阐述，并且可以加入与当地环保工作人员之间的交流，从而获得详实的数据。

最后，林静对未来的项目开展提出了四点具体建议：其一，今后学校的每一次讨论和上课都留下录像和照片，一方面作为SSI-L研究探索的重要资料，进行素材积累，另一方面便于教师从录像中汲取经验，探索适宜的SSI-L模式；其二，将学校的STEM教学等其他课程内容整合进入一个主议题中，一个学校讲好一个故事，最终形成具有学校特色的校本课程；其三，基地校要走向世界，打开国际视野，了解台湾、澳门，甚至于德国、以色列等地区的教学实践，进一步助推项目开展；其四，充分利用学校的教育空间和资源，一切设计从学生实用的角度出发，让一切地方成为教育的场所。

图 15  专家组总结
Picture 15  Expert group summary

在SSI-L项目开展初期，各校取得成果值得高度肯定，SSI议题是各校进行育人工作的助力工具，希望今后各校的课程工作可以向更高的实效性方向开展，使教师与学生携手共进，一同进步！

---

Against the backdrop of the Alliance for Improving Scientific Literacy (AISL), the Socioscientific Issues Learning (SSI-L) project is a scientific education cooperation plan jointly initiated by the Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment for Basic Education Quality at Beijing Normal University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The project aims to promote scientific literacy and a coherent improvement of core literacy in students’ development, so as to help establish exemplary schools and exemplary areas for integrity cultivation. Weihai City of Shandong Province is among the first batch of regional cooperation bases in this project.

To facilitate the advancement of the SSI-L project in Weihai, the SSI-L project leader, Lin Jing, director of the Department of Science Education Quality Development of the Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment for Basic Education Quality at Beijing Normal University, Lin Zurong, an expert from the project disciplinary guidance committee and a special-ranked teacher of biology from the Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University, arrived at Weihai on December 1st, 2020 to visit 5 partner schools in the first batch of SSI-L project in Weihai, together with the head of regional SSI-L project of Shandong province, experts from the project disciplinary guidance committee, Zhang Tao director of the Middle School Teaching and Research Office, the Education and Research Center of the Bureau of Education of Weihai Municipality, Jiang Rong director of the Education and Research Center in Gaoxin District, and other specialists in teaching and research from municipal and district offices. Schools under investigation include Weihai Gaoxin No. 1 Middle School Shichang Campus, Wanghaiyuan Middle School, Qianshan Road Primary School, Fuxin Primary School of Rongchen City and Nanhai Experimental Middle School.

威海市高新区第一中学世昌校区
Gaoxin No. 1 Middle School Shichang Campus of Weihai City

Surrounded by grey bricks and red walls in the golden rays of sunlight, we enter the Gaoxin No. 1 Middle School, Shichang Campus. The spacious first-floor exhibition hall displays works from teachers and students such as paintings, handwritten newspapers, calligraphy, etc. Some look seemingly alive, some are full of creativity, some clearly organized, some of profuse colours, some vigorous and powerful, and some seemingly free and unrestrained. All of these pieces demonstrate the everyday artistic influence in this school.

Different from the traditional campus, as a modern school full of warmth and vitality, the Gaoxin No. 1 Middle School Shichang Campus is equipped with many characteristic classrooms and areas. Outside of classrooms, students can drench themselves in sweat in the gymnasium, feel the rhythm of life in the Chinese herbal medicine planting area, and experience the charm of Judo — “softness subdues sheer strength and strength breaks up softness” in the judo gym. Apart from that, the spacious and bright corridors offer students areas to rest, relax, and study, such as music corners, ship model areas, corner bookshelves, graffiti walls, etc. Photos of famous celebrities are displayed on the walls, which not only affords better ornamentality, but provides a platform for students to better understand and discover themselves.

As an SSI-L partner school, the school sets up a multifunctional activity room in particular for the SSI-L project team. The activity room includes areas for learning demonstration and for discussion and communication, surrounded by research-related samples such as rocks, sand, seawater, and toolboxes, tool wall, five-star project map, and a wall of photos of students’ practice. All of these allow students to be more immersed in the discussion process, and provide a good environment for project implementation.

In this activity room, the SSI-L project team of the school reported on its original design and project implementation status.

From 1995 to 2014, the length of breakwater to the southwest of Xiaoshidao Island in Weihai continued extending. As a result, it led to a significant water quality decline in the Xiaoshidao Port and other areas around the Laotai River mouth. Based on this practical issue, the school set up an SSI-L team with key staff selected from young teachers. The team selected certain issues promptly, established student groups, designed five-star maps, and conducted ongoing in-depth research on how to think about the impact of geological disasters, local economic development, and other factors on Xiaoshidao Island’s land reclamation, drawing upon the historiography and theories of land reclamation.

Then one member from the project team gave a class presentation on this topic, titled “Is it necessary to reclaim land from the sea on Xiaoshidao Island”.

In this class presentation, the teacher raised driving questions, then students analysed and summarised methods and steps of land reclamation by group discussion, student representative making speeches and between group sharing. After fully understanding theories and methods of land reclamation, each group chose one method by themselves, made use of clay to simulate sand and ocean, selected tools such as steel nails, paper clips, staples and other objects from the tool wall to build land reclamation models. The best groups then could be voted out and presented to the whole class.

This topic is about the development and improvement of the Weihai area, and close to the students living in Weihai, thus allows students to expand their thinking through various activities, improve their investigation and research capabilities, and apply multi-disciplinary knowledge proficiently into practice. It can also help students quickly blend into the context, invest their devotions and deeply engage in the construction of Weihai. All has great practical significance.

威海市望海园中学
Wanghaiyuan Middle School of Weihai City

“No progress can be achieved without innovation. No inheritance can be made without traditions.” Adhering to the concept of creating a “borderless wisdom +” future campus, Wanghaiyuan Middle School is located in Huancui District, Weihai City, embraced by mountains, facing to the sea, and positioned in tranquillity and peace. Amid green hills, the comprehensive teaching building connects all functional areas with spacious corridors. Galleries and reading corners stand together with other service space such as stairs, gardens, green slopes on roofs, and sky platforms, all laying out distinctively, well-proportioned, full of charm and beauty.

Wanghaiyuan Middle School aims to cultivate talents with all-round development of morality, intelligence, physique, aesthetic and hardworking spirit. For morality education, the school sets up an integrity corner to practice moral cultivation with integrity; for intelligence education, the school is equipped with special classrooms with disciplinary characteristics and maker centres to improve students’ literacy in scientific and technological innovation; for physique education, the school takes baseball as its special sports program to build up students’ physique; for aesthetic education, the school creates a number of club rooms for students to engage in traditional painting and calligraphy, carpentry making, and sketching, etc. and experience various “beauties” of the world; for hardworking spirit, in order to strengthen labour education, the school initiates supervisors’ labour education day for students and teachers, working together to build a beautiful campus.

As of December 1, 2020, Wanghaiyuan Middle School has carried out four SSI-L learning activities. In these activities, the SSI-L teacher team designed a series of experiences, explorations, and outdoor activities, allowing students to start from hands-on experience, truly feel the role of mordant in dyeing fabrics, then build on this knowledge and expand to disciplinary levels in terms of chemistry, biology and others, and further explore the pros and cons of the plant dyeing craft on human and the environment.

In its project report, Wanghaiyuan Middle School stated that the SSI-L team has continuously deepened their understanding of the issue, made the issue setting closer to students’ life, and allowed students to have a sense of participation, experience and integration in these activities. During data collection and the revision of issues, teachers and students have been learning from each other and making mutual progress. Both parties have acquired more social awareness. Meanwhile, it is also hoped that the team will be more capable of designing its SSI learning system and making best use of the advantages of SSI, so as to improve student’s scientific thinking, train their reasoning ability and continue to broaden their horizons.

威海市千山路小学
Qianshan Road Primary School of Weihai City

Founded in September 2008, Qianshan Road Primary School of Weihai features “experience education” and constructs an experience-based curriculum system with three sections — “knowledge curriculum” “action curriculum” and “creative curriculum”. The school’s six-acre field practice base is also being used to conduct activities for in-depth labour practice and experience education. The school has explored a distinctive labour education curriculum system, which provides certain practice basis for SSI issue research.

In its SSI-L project report, Qianshan Road Primary School stated that China introduced three types of lavender from Provence, France in 1964, and did trial planting in Henan, Yunnan, Shaanxi and Xinjiang. Among them, only the 65th Regiment of the Fourth Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps’ trial planning was successful. Weihai has several large-scale lavender planting sites, equipped with research centres. Based on this geographical advantage, Qianshan Road Primary School designed a lavender themed SSI issue and encouraged students to personally walk into the Qingquan Valley Lavender Plantation Manor in Lingang District to conduct fieldwork activities. Students have observed lavender closely and experienced the production of lavender essential oil, aromatherapy, pillows, etc. 50 five-year-old lavender seedlings were purchased. Both teachers and students picked up tools, planted their lavenders in the school planting area, and drew together a dreamlike romantic picture belonging to Qianshan Road Primary School.

荣成市府新小学
Fuxin Primary School of Rongchen City

Facing the sea, the school is full of the ink fragrant. Sounds of reading comes out of this quaint campus. Built in 1994, Fuxin Primary School of Rongchen City is located in the north of Rongcheng City Government. Steeped in the long past, pieces of bricks and tiles now tell their own stories silently. Adhering to its running philosophy of “rooting and cultivating righteousness, good habits make a lifetime”, the school’s education level has been on steady rise with efforts of generations of Fuxin people over the years. Its brand building and high-quality development has also been further promoted through its characteristic course construction.

The school reported on its original design and SSI-L project implementation status.

In recent years, Rongcheng City has attached great importance to urban landscaping. A large number of landscape trees have been purchased from various places, especially the south, to create a unique coastal ecological garden city style. However, maintenance of these landscape trees transplanted from the south requires huge investment of manpower and material resources. Based on this issue, Fuxin Primary School selected several key staff in scientific research and innovation to form an SSI-L project team and carried out research on the Rongcheng landscape tree project in grades 3 to 5 synchronously by means of data collection, field investigations, surveys and interviews.

Next, a teacher from the project team gave a class presentation on the topic of “Is it necessary to select trees from the south for Rongcheng City landscape trees”.

In class presentation, students were divided into policy group, planning group, fieldwork group and survey and interview group. Information obtained in each group was collected into a report. Students shared information by individual participation or representative speeches. Through recording interview videos, displaying handwritten newspapers made of investigation photos, mapping the proportion between local grown and south transplanted trees, and other direct and clear methods, students demonstrated to others their research outcomes of “the current selection of southern landscape trees in Rongcheng Binhai Square”.

南海区实验中学
Nanhai Experimental Middle School

The construction of the new campus of Nanhai Experimental Middle School was completed in 2020. The school implements 15-year inclusive free education from the preschool stage to the high school stage. It has always adhered to the development of marine education and the construction of a unique marine school-based curriculum system. Based on students’ life-long development, the school hopes to build its brand for Nanhai education.

In its SSI-L project report, Nanhai Experimental Middle School stated that the Nanhai New Area development in Weihai has been ignited since March 2007. This new area development would inevitably bring about impact on the local environment. When the ecological damage occurs around, people’s judgments on certain issues are inevitably somehow irrational. For instance, when the number of cherrystones in Nanhai New Area is dropping sharply, the locals believe it’s the result of new area development. Based on this issue, Nanhai Experimental Middle School decides to focus on the theme of whether the Nanhai New Area development is the primary reason for the decrease of cherrystone population. Recently the school has been occupied with campus construction and other matters, so it cannot invest more to make progress in this project. But through continuous online and offline learning and discussion, a completion plan has been made including policy data collection, field surveys and visits to relevant departments, etc.

Through the research of this SSI-L project, Nanhai Experimental Middle School hopes to improve students’ capability in making predictions, conducting research and critical thinking. It is expected that students can think about issues around them with a scientific perspective, that they will take science as the principle and data as the criterion, and that they won’t make any random guess or follow others blindly. Meanwhile, it is also hoped when faced with such a highly controversial issue, students’ inquiry can provide some reasonable suggestions for social development, especially the development of Weihai.

Expert group summary

Zhang Tao

When it first came to SSI-L projects, all the partner schools in Weihai started from scratch with uncertainty. They questioned again and again: Is the selection of the topic appropriate? What kind of model should be adopted in classrooms to increase student participation to the maximum? How to set up motivating questions?… Although there are experts providing guidance online in the early stage, it is far more effective to inspire confidence of schools and project teams to pay onsite visit and offer instructions. Therefore, Lin Zurong and Lin Jing, two experts’ positive comments on the SSI-L projects from each school have made their ongoing anxieties settled. They have made clear their way forward and received may constructive suggestions. Whether it is a school that has made smooth progress or that is faced with temporary difficulties, both experts have offered very specific implementation suggestions, which brought great inspiration to schools and opened up new ideas for future project development and topic selection.

In the follow-up work, first of all, schools should set up high standards and requirements, at the meantime take into account both student development and social benefits, so that they can better implement SSI-L projects. Next, it is necessary to make good project plans. As a beginner, it is not an easy job to do a good issue-based project. So, schools will unswervingly follow the current path, keep their first step firmly on the ground, and thoroughly understand the current topics. Then, they should learn from schools from other provinces and cities and share resources. With a belief that “an advice of others can serve to correct our faults”, they can achieve joint progress among various schools. Finally, since Weihai has been at the forefront of SSI-L project research as a forerunner, it must serve as an example. All schools should collect written documents on SSI-L activity plan and implementation status, etc., then do as what they’ve said and write down what they’ve done. In so doing, this will improve teachers’ planning ability, increase their sense of accomplishment in project implementation, and also provide references for other teachers.

I hope that the five partner schools in Weihai will actively communicate with and learn from each other and build an advanced campus with the development of students’ core literacy as our goal!

Lin Zurong

After visiting each school and listening to their reports, the deepest feeling is that education is embedded in every corner of these schools, and every inch of the land has been utilized for student cultivation. These facilities, architectures, characteristic disciplines, characteristic classrooms and other settings are playing a key role in cultivating students’ aesthetics, passing on excellent cultures such as family style and family morals to students, and inculcating the importance of students’ social responsibility. Moreover, each exemplary school is equipped with a very good team of teachers. Together with much attention from school leadership, young teachers lead students to learn and discuss together, so that the teacher’s enthusiasm can be passed to every student and mutual progress can be truly achieved between teachers and students. Therefore, the development of the SSI-L project is of great significance whether it is from the perspective of student development or from the perspective of teacher growth.

Regarding the SSI-L issue of Gaoxin No. 1 Middle School Shichang Campus, Lin Zurong believed that land reclamation is a big issue, not only in line with the coastal characteristics of Weihai, but also closely related to the current social concerns. So it requires more investment of attention from students. By engaging in this SSI-L project, students can improve their awareness in urban planning and urban development construction and other abilities. In the future, when they grow up and become able to engage in city development, they will understand that they should think about urban development from various aspects. That is also very beneficial to the future development of Weihai. Through the class presentation, students have understood the environment of Xiaoshidao Island and policies and regulations of land reclamation through videos and data sorting, conducted filed research on the island to understand its regional characteristics, clarified their ideas in data analysis and group discussion, and made models by themselves. In this progressive inquiry, a number of teachers have participated together with students, broken the traditional teaching method in classrooms, mobilized the potential of the whole team to conduct activities, and fully integrated the comprehensiveness, practicality, scientificity and sociality of SSI-L.

In later stages of the project, Lin Zurong suggested that more investigation methods can be incorporated into those activities and attempts can be made in closer connection to biology. For instance, students can compare the differences of species between different beaches through data search and field investigation, then further explore whether this biological difference has a certain causal relationship with land reclamation. In so doing, the school can organize certain laboratory research courses for students and encourage them to better transfer their theoretical knowledge into experimental operations.

In Wanghaiyuan Middle School, at the early stage of its SSI-L project, teachers and students from the project team have done a lot of research work, including the collection of data and the extraction of related dyes. This work is very helpful to cultivate students’ ability to extract key points of knowledge. In terms of how to combine theory with practice in this plant dyeing issue, Lin Zurong suggested: since it is inevitable to involve dyes in the research process of plant dyeing, whether it is possible to combine the components of dyes with chemical substance identification practice, such as the identification of sulfate ion and aluminum ion; when it comes to exploring the differences between plant dyes and artificial dyes, the components analysis and identification from the perspective of chemistry discipline can help transfer theoretical knowledge into experimental operations.

Regarding the SSI topic of Qianshan Road Primary School, Lin Zurong said in addition to its viewing function, lavender can also be made into pillows, essential oils, aromatherapy and other products to meet more market demands. When lavender was introduced to China, not all places could fully demonstrate the effect of its functions. Then an issue that Qianshan Road Primary School needs to explore is to what extent lavender can be developed in the local environment of Weihai. It is good if the value of lavender particularly in Weihai can be discovered through the development of SSI issues and some suggestions can be made to brand it as one of the highlights of Weihai. But what if the research results are not as good as expected, then it’s also valuable to reduce blind investment as much as possible. In terms of practical operations, it is recommended that the production of essential oil can be transformed into some laboratory operations, such as the extraction of essential oil and aromatic oil.

In the research of Fuxin Primary School of Rongchen City, an issue that the whole society should pay attention to is “while landscape trees lead to environmental beautification, whether they will bring about other potential negative impact”. So when the school encourages its pupils to take inquiry based on this issue, the greatest significance is not to get constructive suggestions, but to allow elementary school students to increase their concerns to society and form a kind of social responsibility in a subtle way. In terms of classroom organization, Lin Zurong said that during investigation and data sorting, students’ awareness of laws and regulations, their ability to collect relevant data, and the conversion of survey data into more visually direct icons, such training of students’ abilities is not something that you can get easily from textbooks. In communication and discussion, the group learning method can definitely improve students’ teamwork awareness and their skills can be well practiced including expression and organizational skills. When there is disagreement in research results, students would doubt about the difference between their investigation data and the official data from the decision-making authority, can better understand the gap between reality and plan and pay more attention to the scientific nature of the collected data. This is also the consciousness that students need to form.

Lin Zurong believed that the Nanhai development issue selected by the Nanhai Experimental Middle School is too broad. Concerns to be taken into the team’s consideration include how to define development, whether development includes overfishing, whether other natural factors will also affect the reduction of the cherrystone population, etc. Then it is difficult to explore the causal relationship between Nanhai development and cherrystone population. So the project team can narrow down the perspectives to be considered, focus on one of the factors and explore the causal relationship between the two. Or they can start with the changes in this new area development, for instance to specify changes of water environment and then explore changes in aquatic organisms. They can also put aside the causal relationship and investigate instead only the changes of cherrystone from the perspectives of history, quality, and quantity, first starting with the correlation between cherrystone and influencing factors, and then exploring the causal relationship. That will make its project design clearer.

Lin Jing

After all school visits and classroom observations, Lin Jing spoke highly of the campus educational atmosphere from the five partner schools, pointed out that the current SSI-L work in each school truly reflects the educational philosophy of integrity cultivation, and said that AISL will further build a platform for cooperation and exchange to help schools and principals, teachers and students, to ensure support will be provided to teachers and implemented among students. Afterwards, she commented on the project of each exemplary school, and explained ideas and educational concepts of each topic.

Regarding the topic “Is it necessary to reclaim land from the sea on Xiaoshidao Island” of Gaoxin No. 1 Middle School Shichang Campus, Lin Jing said that the issue is valuable. It can inspire students to think about the reasons, pros and cons, challenges and opportunities of land reclamation from multiple perspectives and levels. The issue is closely connected with local students’ life. It can eventually be levelled up to students’ thinking of a macro topic around “human transforming nature”, which reflects key teaching goals of SSI-L.

The topic of Weihai Wanghaiyuan Middle School, “the pluses and minuses of plant dyeing clothing and chemical dyeing clothing”, and the topic of Weihai Qianshan Road Primary School, “whether the school’s pastoral base is to grow lavender or other crops”, both projects show relative high practicality and operationality. The common idea of these two can be “gratitude for the gifts of nature’s flora”, which inspires students to recognize nature’s value to mankind and think about how to use the resources endowed by nature more efficiently. In addition, during the two projects, students have participated in a lot of experiential learning, which may inspire students to start product entrepreneurship and further use their knowledge in production practice.

Lin Jing believed that the curriculum of Fuxin Primary School of Rongchen City has set a good example, which reflects not only its intentions for the project issue and curriculum design, but also its long-term cultural sediments. The topic, “is it necessary to select trees from the south for Rongcheng City landscape trees”, has much practical significance. Students have demonstrated their practical abilities in literature investigation, interviews, field research represented in the project course and their expressive ability during class presentations. That proves students have gained certain capacity in practical activities. But as shown in class presentation, student’s performance is a bit restrained. So in the coming classes, the teacher can give more voice to students and act as a listener. A successful class should be the one where students are busy. In addition, Lin Jing also commented on the upcoming issues to be carried out by the school, such as snow melting, telephone watches, and off-season vegetables, and suggested that the SSI-L school-based curriculum can also be built around a more realistic topic about Rongcheng’s modern beauty and provide more content radiating from this core.

In response to the implementation problems of the issue from Nanhai Experimental School in Wendeng District, “whether the Nanhai development is the primary reason for the decrease of cherrystone population”, Lin Jing put forward corresponding suggestions. First, this topic is very suitable to add in some teaching content about students’ field investigation. Students can measure water quality, water temperature, oxygen and other factors, and determine the physical and chemical reasons leading to the decrease of cherrystones, or use the Nanhai development as the background of SSI learning, rather than the cause. Then the topic is not to determine the causal relationship between the two, but to allow students to learn about the Nanhai development via practical topics, so as to think about the problems of the development and transformation of nature done by human. Finally, it is also necessary to include some elaboration of scientific knowledge and interdisciplinary concepts, and communication with local environmental protection staff to obtain detailed data.

In the end, Lin Jing made four specific suggestions for future project development: First, every discussion and class should be recorded in videos and photos, which will on the one hand serve as important materials for SSI-L research and data collection, on the other hand be convenient for teachers to learn some lessons from the videos and explore the appropriate SSI-L model. Second, schools should integrate their STEM teaching and other curriculum content into a main topic. Each school tells a good individual story and eventually forms its school-based curriculum with its own characteristics. Third, the exemplary schools should go global, open up an international vision, understand teaching practices in Taiwan, Macau, and even Germany, Israel, and other regions, and further promote their project development. Fourth, schools should make full use of their educational space and resources, all designs should start with a pragmatic perspective for students and make all space a place of education.

In the early stage of SSI-L projects, the progress achieved by each school is worthy of high recognition. The SSI topic is a helpful tool for education in all schools. It is hoped that the curriculum work of each school can be carried out in a more effective direction in the future, so that teachers and students can move forward together and make mutual progress!