Meet the teachers who think outside the box

When Zhu Zhimin arrived at Hotan, a city in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, he found the weather too dry for his liking.

"I grew up in a humid climate and Hotan was so dry that my nose bled frequently," he said.

But there was no turning back.

Zhu was one of 44 teachers sent by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Education in February, 2011 to serve an 18-month exchange teaching term in Hotan. The program started in 2004 with the aim of providing Xinjiang with more educational resources.

Zhu volunteered to go because he thought it was his responsibility. He had mentally prepared himself for the difficulties to come, but he was still surprised.

The school didn't have blackboard erasers and instead used wooden blocks with pieces of carpet attached to them. The offices were simple, dark and depended on coal for heat.

The students didn't have ideal learning opportunities either. Most of them were children of farmers or herdsmen; some didn't like attending school and often got zeros in the Chinese language test.　

Cai Zheng also found himself in a difficult situation. The then Shunyi Liqiao Middle School teacher was sent to Hotan Luopu County No. 2 Middle School on the same program. He was a chemistry teacher in Shunyi, but in Hotan he taught everything: Chinese language, arts, geography and mathematics.

"They severely lack teachers and classrooms," Cai said. "Also, in Beijing, every teacher has a computer. But at this school, there's only one room for multi-media."

Tian Yingbao worked not as a teacher, but as a trainer for teachers at a military school in Hotan. He said communication was a big issue.

"Teaching the Chinese language was hard; they learned it slowly," he said.

The teachers there also didn't have effective teaching methods, Tian said. They focused too much on lecturing and placed little emphasis on interacting with the students.

Fortunately the teachers from Beijing found a way to improve the situation.

Once a physics teacher at Shunyi No. 1 High School, Zhu started teaching Chinese language in Hotan. He used skits and body language to help his students understand certain words.

"When I was teaching the word 'crowded' I put two stools in the middle of the classroom and asked four students to sit on them. They had to squish close together, and so it was easier to understand what 'crowded' meant," Zhu said.

Another important aspect was getting close to the students. Zhu often played ping-pong, participated in Uyghur dances and chatted with the children in his school. As a result, they became closer to Zhu and were more willing to come to his classes.

Similarly, Tian said student interaction and class participation were important aspects in teaching. He introduced the traditional "six-step teaching method", applied widely in Beijing schools, to the teachers at Hotan.

The key is to turn a lecture into a participatory class, Tian said. He introduced games and discussions into the classroom and saw the situation change dramatically.

"It used to be the teachers talking for the whole class. The students weren't listening… Now the kids are more active and the class is livelier," he said.

These teachers came back feeling they made a difference. Even though their exchange term ended in June, another 44 teachers were just sent to Hotan in August to continue aiding schools.

"They need teachers there," Tian said. "Many young teachers don't stay because of low pay, but the kids need good education."