Looking back over the unusual academic session 2020/21, here is my A to Z of 2020/21. 

A is for Alternative Certification Model

aka ACM. 2020/21 is when Alternative Certification Model is among us. Aaaaaargh, What. A. Year. 

B is for blended learning.

#Bring Creativity to the classrooms – remote, virtual, blended and physical. Every teacher’s Bitmoji – mini-me avatar classroom is unique, provides a sense of familiarity and stability. Blooket is one of the best tool for blended learning. Battle Royale to consolidate and revise topics we have covered and the competitiveness – UNREAL! Back in school is best! 

C is for coffee. C is for cakes. C is for colleagues and a collective spirit. C is for CPD via zoom/teams and google meet. C is for community such as the Chinese Teaching Club.

Change is hard. But like Charlie Mackesy’s mole, I am driven by my taste for cake – as illustrated by his favourite saying, “if you don’t succeed, have some cake.”[1] 

D is for distancing,

Disruption and digital divide. The pandemic has affected us all, but it has not affected us all equally. Existing digital divide exacerbated by lockdown, however, donated laptops project has made a huge impact on pupils’ engagement during lockdown 2.0. In time of strife and doubt, it’s all the more important to listen to and hold on to one’s dreams. As the mole tells the boy, “Most of the old moles I know wish they’d listened less to their fears and more to their dreams.”  

E is for ‘Event Cancelled’.

More importantly, be ever ready for the everchanging situation Covid-19 has created. So, simplifying lessons; sticking to a consistent and predictable format for lessons; and giving small pieces of regular feedback that emphasise next steps are key to unlocking pupil engagement. Top tips for keeping pupils logged in and engaged in lockdown learning. Embrace hope.

F is for F2F (face to face) lessons in the classroom

The beating heart of teaching and learning. Face coverings on, hands, desks, chairs and everything to sanitise, along with a range of adaptation to ensure our classrooms can remain covid-secure. Despite the challenges, we found ways to maintain friendly and welcoming classrooms and connect with our pupils. Next year, let’s hope it will be safe enough to go back to normal. In the meantime, Flippity remains a free must-have in my teaching toolbox.

G is for grace and gratitude.

Grateful for the many professional training led by teachers, such as #Ready to Talk好好谈谈 #Ting Shuo 听说 #Game Edition. The message in all this is that teachers know best what they need to improve, and in many circumstances our own teachers can be very effective in delivering training and development focused on those exact needs. 

H is for hybrid. Hybrid teaching is hard.

Flipping lessons, keeping it all straight for pupils who are here in front of you and those at home alone learning through Google Classroom and/ Teams is incredibly challenging.  

I is for inspiration…

“Inspiration greets us like an old friend and lights the path” ~ L. W. Heimgartner. By better integrating technology into learning experiences, we can better integrate school into pupil’s lives which means pupils are more engaged with learning inside and outside of school. Think outside. No box required. 

J is for jargon.

SQA A-Z glossary, ACM, NQ, Understanding standards, evidence, verification, VCoP, EPI, LAM. RAM, EARS, MARS…

K is for kindness.

Be kind.

L is for lifelong learning.

The desire to learn is strong among teachers of Chinese. Leading the way in cultivating a culture of learning is P.A.C.T.S – Programme for Advancing Chinese Teaching in Scotland. Delighted to have so many teachers of Chinese who are excited to learn at PACTS webinars, to find answers to their queries. 活到老学到老，学无止境.

M is for the magnificent book,

The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse by author & illustrator Charlie Mackesy. This meaningful, moving and warm book gave me strength and encouragement.

N is for National 5 Mandarin Online learning hub

Launched to extend opportunity and access to Mandarin for young people, whatever their background. 

O is for OneNote, Office 365…

No more lost 笔记本…overly optimistic? 

P is for P.A.C.T.S

Programme for Advancing Chinese Teaching in Scotland - rising to the challenge of better CPD for teachers of Chinese in Scotland. The academic session 2020/21 had been a fantastic year for online professional learning for educators, in particular, teachers of Chinese in Scotland.  

Q is for Quizizz and Quizlet

Are low effort, high impact online technology to support pupils’ retrieval review and learning.  

R is for resilience.

Reach out and outreach. Rethinking assessment. The job of a teacher is a challenging one, encompassing a diverse range of roles and responsibilities. Review and reform of SQA and Education Scotland…watch this space. 

S is for SlidesMania.

The best Google slides and ppt templates to spice up presentation. 

T is for Teams teaching hacks,

Manage it like a pro for online learning. T is also for Taking Mandarin Forward in Scottish Schools, a GTCS webinar to celebrate the learning of Mandarin in schools.  

U is for United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child UNCRC).

Scotland is to become the first devolved nation in the world to directly incorporate the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into domestic law. 

V - Virtual became reality.

Virtual reality gets real during this pandemic. We connect with pupils, colleagues, friends and family on screens. It all worked, in some ways better than expected.  

W - Wait is over.

Conti, G, Viñales, D, Webster C and Sproule, M (2021) Chinese Sentence Builders: A lexicogrammar approach (Beginner to Pre-Intermediate) is published! Book launched on 7th July. The book is available for purchase on Amazon. For more resources and links, follow us on @SentenceChinese. 

X is for xie xie 谢谢

To all our wonderful 老师与同仁teachers and colleagues who have been working and teaching in new ways and new areas to support one another during this pandemic. 

Y is for ‘You

Are on mute’ 🤐😬😅 

Z is for zoom

Which needs no explaining and zoomers aka Gen Z, 加油！Zen your way through life!

By Maggie Sproule

[1] Charlie Mackesy, The Boy The Mole The Fox and The Horse, A Poem for Every Night of the Year, A Poem for Every Day of the Year 3 Books Collection Set