After a year, the engineers of the Operations and Security Department of the Koolearn Group and the Koolearn Public Welfare Foundation came to Jimunai, Xinjiang again.

This time, engineers Wang Xiaoming and Wan Songying's task was to set up 53 Dual-Teacher Classrooms in 10 schools in Jimunai County. In May 2018, Koolearn introduced the "Dual-Teacher Classroom" to Jimunai, where operations engineer Wang Xiaoming first arrived and set up 2 Dual-Teacher Classrooms at Jimunai Middle School. In one year, from 2 to 53, Koolearn's Dual-Teacher Classroom has covered all the schools in Jimunai County.
 

Introducing "Dual-Teacher" to Share Quality Education

Jimunai is a small town in the northern border of Xinjiang, remote and inaccessible. The area lacks high-quality educational resources, and teaching concepts and methods are relatively backward. In September 2017, Koolearn, the China Development Research Foundation, and the Jimunai County Government cooperated to donate the "Hope Online" platform to help build an educational resource system, while introducing Dual-Teacher Classrooms, live broadcasting, teacher training, and other methods to promote the development of educational information technology and assist in improving the quality of education in Jimunai.

In May 2018, after Koolearn set up the educational resource system at Jimunai Middle School, they formally introduced Dual-Teacher Classrooms. From Monday to Wednesday, dual-teacher classes were conducted in Chinese and mathematics for first and second-year students. Koolearn's teacher, Yu Chengmiao, would appear in the live broadcast room at Beijing Jingyi Building every Wednesday afternoon to conduct classes for students at Jimunai Middle School.

Teacher Yu Chengmiao is teaching Jimunai children

When Teacher Yu appears on the screen, the children enthusiastically wave and greet him, "Good afternoon, Teacher Yu!" Inside the live studio, Teacher Yu warmly asks about the children's recent conditions, chatting with them like friends. The children love Teacher Yu's Chinese classes and look forward to "meeting" him every week. "We like Teacher Yu's singing, it's really nice, and he also tells us a lot of stories..." Everyone talks about Teacher Yu without end. Although they can't touch him, he is the most familiar and friendly old friend. "Their enthusiasm for learning is very high, and they are also very smart." Teacher Yu also has an extra concern: on the screen, there are children waiting for him to teach them from a thousand miles away.

Their enthusiasm for learning is matched by their academic performance. Cao Wenwen, an offline tutor in Jimunai, stated, "Previously, students' academic performance was severely polarized, but now, not only has the overall performance improved, but there are no longer disparities in performance, meaning that a large number of students have improved." Dual-Teacher Classrooms enable children in remote areas to enjoy the instruction of famous teachers and receive quality education, making them unafraid of the future and bravely chasing their dreams.
 

Empowering Teachers to Cultivate Local Teaching Staff

It's not just the students who have benefited from the Dual-Teacher Classrooms; the teachers in Jimunai County have also greatly benefited. Teacher capacity greatly influences the development of students and schools. Therefore, enhancing the ability of local teachers has become the core of educational assistance.

Koolearn engaged in teacher training research at Jimunai County Direct Primary School

Koolearn conducted comprehensive teacher research in Jimunai, collecting and listening to the difficulties and needs of teachers in teaching knowledge, teaching methods, classroom management, and other aspects in order to build a local and systemic teacher training system. Starting in August 2018, Koolearn began offering customized multiple courses, such as special lectures, case analysis, and group discussions for Jimunai teachers. The three principles of combining study and practice, localizing knowledge and experience, and unifying internal and external elements have always run through the teacher training process.

Teacher Fang Meihua discusses her feelings about the training

Fang Meihua, a teacher at Jisitu Primary School in Bisteireke Township, seemed to have a feeling of enlightenment: "I was fascinated. I didn't realize that a 'cube' could be reasoned this way, and my thinking felt like it opened up." The new teaching concepts and methods were deeply inspiring for local teachers. "I have a new understanding of 'teaching presentation' and need to ask myself why, why is it difficult? How to solve it?" Training has stimulated reflection in Teacher Cao Wenwen. When combining what was learned in the training, she improved her teaching methods for composition classes. After two semesters, the class's composition level jumped to first place in the grade, and she sincerely expressed, "The children's compositions have changed from being regular to being organized with an introduction, conclusion, and a refined theme."
 

Teaching to Fish: A Virtuous Cycle of Educational Development

In a total of 53 Dual-Teacher Classrooms in Jimunai County, in addition to receiving instruction from Koolearn teachers via the live studio in Beijing, local teachers can also share their classrooms through the live studio set up at the local education bureau. "It's better to teach someone to fish than to give them fish." Empowering local teachers to drive local teacher development and achieve "self-generation of resources" is the true driving force behind promoting educational development in Jimunai County.

Teacher Zhao Meihua walked into the live studio for the first time

To truly establish the "Dual-Teacher Classroom" in Jimunai, Koolearn selected and trained a group of local "seed teachers" to conduct concentrated training and coaching, creating a local "Dual-Teacher" teaching team. On May 9, 2019, the "seed teachers" demonstrated their teaching achievements for the first time. Zhao Meihua, a teacher, stepped into the live studio for the first time, and the students suddenly "transformed" into monitors. Zhao, who was used to face-to-face interaction with students, was both nervous and worried, "I don't know if my students can adapt to the Dual-Teacher Classroom." The picture was clear, the sound was loud, and the familiar Zhao was active on the screen, pleasantly surprising the students who found no significant difference from a real classroom.

The Dual-Teacher Classroom provides children with a whole new classroom experience

After 10 minutes, Zhao and the students completely adapted to the new classroom mode. With the tacit cooperation of offline tutor Xu, the children were particularly active and focused in the classroom. At the same time, teachers from nine other primary schools in Jimunai County were also watching and learning simultaneously, preparing for the deep implementation of Dual-Teacher Classrooms in the county.

Engineer Wan Songying is guiding the school's technical teacher to use the live studio correctly

Currently, the Jimunai County Education Bureau and various schools have spontaneously begun to implement the Dual-Teacher Classroom. In a year, Koolearn increased the number of Dual-Teacher Classrooms in Jimunai from 2 to 53. The students' enthusiasm and academic performance have gradually improved, and the teachers' teaching methods have also changed little by little... Next, the deepening of the "Dual-Teacher Classroom" in the county will further connect the local teachers, bringing about greater changes in local education.

As Secretary Wang Zhi of the Jimunai County Education Bureau said, "We look forward to the Dual-Teacher Classroom bringing more changes to Jimunai, making it a driving force for promoting the development of education in Jimunai County!" Actively promoting the popularization and replication of Dual-Teacher Classrooms in the county, and promoting local educational development, both Koolearn and Jimunai County are working hard for this purpose.