Social Service of the Department of Educational Psychology, East China Normal University

Ecological Co-Education and Collaborative Innovation

Cooperation Initiative by Faculty from the Department of Educational Psychology at Zhoucun District Experimental Middle School

On the afternoon of March 13, Professor Yang Xiangdong, Head of the Department of Educational Psychology at East China Normal University, Associate Professor Jiang Yi, Deputy Head, and a delegation of four faculty members visited Zhoucun District Experimental Middle School to carry out cooperation on Ecological Campus-oriented curriculum research and development as well as educational practice.

Observation and Commentary

Professor Yang Xiangdong took the observed lesson Ode to Wei Feng: The Man as a starting point to conduct an in-depth analysis of deficiencies in current classroom instruction in constructing students’ knowledge systems. He pointed out that focusing merely on character pronunciation, classical Chinese translation, and thematic explanation in a single lesson constitutes an isolated, one-way transmission model, which tends to restrict the development of students’ learning initiative and holistic understanding. He emphasized that teaching should proceed from reality, adhere to curriculum standards, focus on the overall unit structure, and design questions from a macro unit perspective to guide student-centered autonomous learning, thereby enhancing students’ sense of acquisition and achievement.

Consultation and Guidance

Subsequently, Lu Lanying, Secretary of the Party Branch and Principal of Zhoucun District Experimental Middle School, consulted the experts on current issues and challenges in school curriculum development, particularly in the construction of comprehensive practical activity courses. Professor Yang Xiangdong put forward targeted suggestions for refining curriculum implementation and content from the perspectives of curriculum positioning, student characteristics, and teachers’ professional understanding. Based on the school’s comprehensive practice base and featured curriculum map, he advocated integrating the national curriculum with school-based distinctive curricula, stressing the synchronous improvement of students’ hands-on abilities and academic literacy. He also noted that promoting effective learning requires reducing excessive academic burdens, cutting down on spoon-feeding instruction, and allowing adequate time and space for students to think independently. The core of curriculum reform lies not in memorizing more knowledge, but in equipping students with disciplinary thinking. His insights sparked in-depth discussions among teachers on future teaching and research directions, clarifying priorities including lesson plan redesign, content streamlining, and key-concept refinement.

This event fostered in-depth collaboration between the Department of Educational Psychology, East China Normal University, and Zhoucun District Experimental Middle School, effectively advancing curriculum and teaching reform, and facilitating the transformation of the school’s teaching-research models and management mechanisms. The Department of Educational Psychology at East China Normal University has long been committed to innovating education-related psychological theories and addressing real-world educational challenges. Moving forward, the department will continue to ground its work in practice and further fulfill its social service mission.