Katelyn Huang / Teaching Materials R&D Manager
 In August of 2005, Eagle Educational & Cultural Enterprises held a series of teacher training events for the new school year for teachers of all branches. During the course of this teacher training, besides providing the required professional educational training, Eagle gave teachers an unprecedented opportunity to get themselves up and running. This included explaining the company's business culture and educational theory, and giving them useful knowledge about the branches to which they were assigned. We familiarized them with the teaching environment in the classroom, as well as the teaching materials and lesson plans. Training by demonstration teaching was also included. Then we helped them understand the students they would be teaching.
Eagle's requirement is definitely not just that the teachers merely show up and start teaching. We want to make sure that all Chinese and foreign teachers can be ready for teaching and classroom management, and that they are prepared psychologically and can adjust to the cultural environment. Therefore, no matter what the educational background and experience of the teacher, Eagle insists that the director of each branch and the Chinese and foreign teachers participate in the teacher training events held by headquarters, without exception. This ensures that, during the coming year, all school personnel have a consensus about educational theory, style, and quality.
Why We Hold Teacher Training
The design of Eagle's teaching materials and lesson plans is based on the proven spiral curriculum, widely used in North America. This goes hand-in-hand with unique teaching methods and the immersion technique to allow students to enjoy the same kind of teaching style and quality as North American students, in a kind of mother tongue environment. This gives students the chance to be in step with the language skills of North American students without having to study abroad. With these prerequisites, our colleagues at Eagle have given themselves an important mission. We expect that the personnel of the whole school, including the director, the Chinese and foreign teachers, and even the administrative staff, will all insist on the same educational theory, style, and quality. It is this consensus and these values that are the founding spirit of Eagle. Even though personnel and location may be different, these values are not allowed to be altered. Therefore, by means of these teacher training activities, we hope that everyone will speak the same professional language, avoid misunderstandings or inaccuracies, and, with a mutual understanding, work hard to educate students. In addition, through teacher training, we also allow foreign teachers to learn beforehand about teaching materials and environment. This approach is worlds apart from the ordinary cram school that just hurries foreign teachers straight off the plane and into a classroom full of students, much less providing them with professional counseling.
Eagle's Teacher Training
The planning work for this teacher training began in May by designing the training, the schedule, the lecturers, and the course contents. Elsa Wey, our executive vice president, chaired several preparatory meetings, and our teacher training lecturer group included Katelyn Huang (R&D manager), Karen Blakely (Science Park branch program manager), Gail Patrick (Dungda branch program manager), Tania Malo (Dungda branch teacher), and Eddie Costello (Science Park branch teacher). This shows the level of importance that the headquarters places on teacher training. The course included such things as an introduction to the curriculum, teaching methods, and techniques; demonstration teaching; classroom decorations; classroom management; writing parent communications and report cards; cultural awareness; and choosing your attitude at work. According to the on-site needs of the different branches, additional courses were arranged by the operations manager and the foreign teacher program manager of each branch, such as the balance between implementing theories and facing practical realities.
During the teacher training, over and above satisfactorily completing the pre-arranged tasks, the lecturers used videos, photos, handouts, and samples of actual teaching materials with an entertaining and humorous teaching style. During this process they demonstrated the teaching style encouraged by Eagle, to ensure that after the training, they could bring it into play in their own classrooms. Emphasizing the hands-on approach, foreign teachers who have taught at Eagle shared their past experiences, both positive and negative. Besides the acquisition of professional know-how, one purpose of teacher training that cannot be skipped is the passing on of experience, giving teachers a team-building opportunity to learn from one another. Letting people from different branches get acquainted and build a team spirit allows teachers to feel the sacredness and the seriousness of our educational work.
After teacher training, the headquarters issued certificates to each teacher who participated. This was done in order to confirm their professional commitment and hard work, and to show that we expect and encourage each teacher to show maturity and enthusiasm in the aspects of teaching and adjusting to the culture.
Eagle's aim for organizing teacher training is to take a step closer to making sure that colleagues at all branches are on the same page, and that there are no misunderstandings. It is intended to ensure the educational quality of each branch by managing each school consistently, with all of us thinking along the same lines. Eagle's educational theories and goals, pursued ever since its inception, are to allow parents to put their minds at ease when they hand their children over to Eagle, and to allow teachers to work and grow at Eagle with peace of mind. This teacher training program was only a starting point. In the future, headquarters will continue to hold all kinds of educational and management training courses to accommodate the needs of all branches. We will open courses according to practical needs in order to instill in Eagle and all its branches the idea that we must grow together to thrive together.
2005 Kindergarten Teacher Training
2005 Elementary Teacher Training
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