On October 29, 2025, Wuxi United International School welcomed Principal Mu Chuanhui from Shenzhen Honghu Primary School, a nationally recognized special-grade teacher and a leading expert in critical thinking education. During his visit, Principal Mu conducted two demonstration lessons and led an in-depth seminar, providing teachers and students of the Primary School with an inspiring and high-quality learning experience.
Making Critical Thinking Come Alive in Primary ClassesThink: Students independently analyzed the logic of the navigation route and learned that describing a position requires both direction and distance.
Draw: Students created route maps by hand, turning abstract concepts into concrete visuals.
Debate: Students discussed how to describe positions more accurately, sharing reasoning and strategies.
The lesson then progressed to an in-depth exploration of “Change and Invariance”, such as: How do directions (based on north-south benchmarks) and distances change when the starting point changes? What happens to a position when one number in a coordinate pair changes? Through this step-by-step interactive approach, abstract mathematical thinking was effectively made tangible and meaningful for the students.
The following Chinese lesson focused on Rereading “A Quatrain for Summer Days”. Principal Mu began with the song Farewell My Concubine in an engaging way, first asking students, “Which line of the lyrics do you like best?” and then posing the thought-provoking question, “Who is a hero in the world?”
He then vividly introduced the historical background of the Chu-Han War, from battlefield situations to Xiang Yu’s critical decisions, allowing students to gain an intuitive sense of that turbulent period. Building on this, he naturally connected to Li Qingzhao’s A Quatrain for Summer Days, explaining the poem’s context and helping students appreciate the patriotic sentiments expressed through its verses.
From guiding students to read each line aloud to interpreting the resolute spirit in “To live, one should be a hero among men; to die, one should be a mighty soul among ghosts”, Principal Mu even performed The Song of the Great Wind live, bringing students closer to the cultural atmosphere. This approach made the primary school Chinese class both culturally rich and delightfully engaging for the students.
Principal Meng Praises: Three Highlights Show Classroom CharmFirst, interdisciplinary integration — centering on mathematics and Chinese, the lessons skillfully incorporated knowledge from multiple subjects, broadening students’ horizons.
Second, education with warmth — the math class used the story of the Titanic to convey humanistic care, while the Chinese class deepened emotional engagement through the theme of “heroes,” achieving a balance between knowledge and values.
Third, vivid and profound teaching — through contextual design and teacher-student dialogue, the classes were both dynamic and insightful, fully embodying the essence of WUIS’s educational philosophy.
Teaching Seminar: Inspiring the Growth of Primary School TeachersPrincipal Mu patiently listened and addressed each question in detail. He shared practical strategies, including creating real-life problem scenarios and designing progressive critical thinking tasks, while repeatedly emphasizing the core principle of student-centered education — respecting students’ cognitive development and naturally embedding thinking cultivation into classroom activities. The seminar was rich in practical insights, effectively supporting Primary School teachers in enhancing their teaching skills and inspiring new ideas for innovative classroom practices.
