On the afternoon of March 13, a four-member delegation led by Professor Yang Xiangdong, Director of the Department of Educational Psychology of East China Normal University, and Associate Professor Jiang Yi, Deputy Director, visited Zhoucun Experimental Middle School to carry out curriculum development and educational practice cooperation guided by the concept of an "ecological campus".

Classroom Observation and Comment

"One can tell a deer has passed by the swaying grass and falling leaves, and a tiger has walked by when the pine wind rises." Taking the observed lesson Weifeng·Mang as the starting point, Professor Yang Xiangdong conducted an in-depth analysis of the deficiencies of current classroom teaching models in constructing students’ knowledge systems. He argued that the isolated, one-way transmission of knowledge—such as teaching character pronunciations, classical Chinese translations, and text connotations in a single lesson—often restricts the cultivation of students’ learning initiative and holistic thinking. He pointed out that teaching should proceed from reality, be based on curriculum standards, focus on the overall structure of teaching units, and design questions from the perspective of constructing large teaching units to guide students in independent learning, thereby stimulating their sense of gain and accomplishment.

Consultation and Guidance

Subsequently, Lu Lanying, Secretary of the Party Branch and Principal of Zhoucun Experimental Middle School, consulted the experts on the problems and challenges encountered in the school’s current curriculum construction, especially in the development of comprehensive practical activity courses. From the perspectives of curriculum positioning, student groups, and teacher cognition, Professor Yang Xiangdong put forward improvement suggestions for refining curriculum implementation methods and content. Based on the construction of the school’s comprehensive practice bases and the characteristic curriculum framework, he proposed that national curricula should be integrated with characteristic courses, emphasizing that students’ practical abilities should be improved in tandem with their knowledge and cultural literacy. Meanwhile, he noted that for students to achieve meaningful learning gains, it is necessary to first reduce their academic burden, decrease teachers’ one-sided knowledge indoctrination, and provide students with space and time for thinking. The core of curriculum reform does not lie in how much knowledge students acquire, but in fostering their disciplinary thinking modes. Professor Yang’s suggestions sparked discussions among teachers on future teaching and research work, clarifying priorities such as redesigning lesson plans, streamlining content, and refining key knowledge points.

Through this activity, the Department of Educational Psychology of East China Normal University and Zhoucun Experimental Middle School established fruitful cooperation, helping the school effectively advance curriculum and teaching reforms, and promoting the transformation of teachers’ teaching and research models and the school’s management mechanisms.

The Department of Educational Psychology of East China Normal University has long been committed to theoretical innovation in education-related psychology and solving practical educational problems. In the future, it will continue to base itself on reality and fulfill its social service responsibilities.