China as Our Classroom

Hangzhou

The city of Hangzhou was a major consideration in the location of the CIS Hangzhou programme. It is a cultural classroom unto itself as both one of China’s oldest cultural hubs, with myriad historic and literary sites, and also one of China's most progressive metropolises, with state-of-the-art amenities and a booming technology sector.

Students have many opportunities to go out into the city, with appropriate supervision, for community service and leisure activities.

Hangzhou Links

For the service learning component of our curriculum, students explore their rights and responsibilities to implement service as action in the community. Building on their interests, students partner with an organisation in the community and design a solution to address particular needs. After learning relevant knowledge and skills, students go in small groups to visit their organisation regularly throughout the year to implement their plan.

Hangzhou local community partners

Hangzhou local community partners

Qimingxing Educational Centre for autistic children
Huiling Work Therapy Station for mentally disadvantaged people
Greentown Yuhua School community
WABC: NGO that promotes art therapy for adults with special needs
Children's Hospital in Hangzhou
China Grassroots Football, NGO promoting football education for underprivileged youth
Hangzhou Social Welfare Centre
Jinlin Reading Centre, for children of migrant workers
The Nature Conservancy, NGO promoting clean water and sustainable development

China "Connections"

"Connections" is a core part of the CIS Hangzhou programme, aimed at helping students connect authentically with the world around them.

The key goal is to create an experiential learning environment for students to become more intellectually curious, compassionate, ethical and responsible members of our local and global community. The growth of the whole person is at its heart.

Opportunities for Students
Examples

Opportunities for Students

Students are provided with the opportunities to:

Create authentic connections to explore Chinese culture and language more deeply;
Connect their classroom learning in an experiential setting to Hangzhou and other parts of China;
Take ownership as students to build their own experiential learning experiences in China;
Apply skill sets acquired in the classroom and which they are still developing in an experiential setting;
Continue to create connections between classroom learning and the real world;
Continue to build their 21st-century skill sets for further learning.

Examples

Beyond

"Beyond" is a two-and-a-half week period of concentrated endeavour, in which we create the conditions for learners to reach elevated levels of achievement and engagement. Students complete "Beyond" projects that match their own interests and learning styles. "Beyond" sees students use China as their classrooms as they learn experientially.

Learning Environment

Learning Environment

We aim to create conditions for our community to:

Create personalised approaches to learning and discovery by tailoring learning journeys together;
Connect, pursue and be driven by personal interests;
Experience heightened engagement and fulfilment through purposeful and meaningful learning;
Continue to develop an understanding of "self";
Experience the phases of sensing, crafting, experiencing and savouring as part of a journey to fulfil personalised objectives.

"Beyond"’s motto is learning can happen everywhere and anywhere...always!

The four pillars (Community, Character, Challenge and China) and the four pathways to learning (Experiential, Personalised Learning, Interdisciplinary Learning and Learning In Depth) are all integral components to the success of the programme. The design of "Beyond" creates conditions for our learners to flourish beyond what they thought was ever possible.

As part of the CISHZ orientation, students travelled off campus to find their teachers at iconic locations across Hangzhou.

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