[SUIS QingPu] A Grand Social Service Class – The Minjin Shanghai Municipal Party Committee Western Teachers Training Course at SUIS Qingpu

On the afternoon of April 18, a total of 38 teachers from Guizhou Anlong County and Jinshan County, members of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, paid an exchange visit to SUIS Qingpu. The Shanghai field training programme of the Shanghai Minjin Municipal Committee of Social Service, an important service project, had been suspended due to the pandemic, but it is now back on track again. The training class of 38 teachers were finally able to return to Shanghai, and during their one-week Shanghai visit they entered schools at all levels for real-time class training and practice teaching.

The “Shanghai Minjin Live Class” is a department ‘brand’ created by the Social Service Department of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of Private Progress. Over the years, excellent live classes have been delivered to not only serve teachers, but also to spread its influence to society as a whole. Taking this opportunity for teacher development, we prepared a presentation of a wonderful music lesson for them so that the teachers could deeply understand the educational concept of music classes while participating in the lessons. The Minhang District Committee of the Union Education Branch undertook the task of presenting the lesson, and an unforgettable audio-visual feast was served…

Led by the Deputy Director of the Service Department of the Shanghai Municipal Committee, Cai Nannan, and the Minjin Shanghai Municipal Committee of Social Service researcher, Shen Xi, the teachers were warmly welcomed by the Minjin Minhang District Party Committee Vice-Chairman, DPP Xiehe Education chairman Ms Sunny Huang. After a short rest, teachers could not wait to attend the music lesson. In addition to the 38 Guizhou teachers on site, nearly 100 teachers in Guizhou watched the class simultaneously online.

Erika Cardona and Mia Xie from Xiehe Education delivered a wonderful bilingual music training course — “Discovering our senses through music” .

The two teachers prepared two instruments for the students: Djembe, and xylophone. In the process of teaching, teachers felt the music through a multi-sensory experience – listening to the rhythm of a heartbeat, perceiving the speed of the heartbeat, and listening to different musical rhythms. What’s more, all the teachers were asked to stand in a circle, the ice-breaker game leading them to learn, and a relaxed fun atmosphere was developed in the magical world of music.

The teachers learned the song “Senwa Dedende” from Ghana, with the clever use of breathing drawing the teachers to feel the value of the notes. Meanwhile, the teachers learned about the classification of the instrument families and experienced the Djembe and tonal xylophone in class. In the experience of tonal percussion instruments, they learned the logic and notation of the treble clef notes. At the end of the lesson, the teachers joined in an ensemble for the song “Senwa Dedende” using different instruments.

When the lesson finished, we could feel that the teachers had been infected by the enthusiasm and vitality of music! The teachers also expressed their gratitude to the two Chinese and foreign lecturers for giving them such a wonderful experience. The teachers then enjoyed a campus tour, which impressed them with the teaching environment and educational atmosphere. At last, the teachers provided a series of educational teaching experiences, hoping that their communication and activities would enlighten and inspire the teachers from Guizhou.