SAW goes to China

Bo Wang from the Reenway Group in Shanghai learned of the work of the SAW Trust and immediately saw the benefits that a programme like this could bring to Chinese children. In December 2012 we were invited by the Tianyang Foundation and the Xuhui Education Bureau to visit Shanghai to launch SAW China! This is the beginning of a very exciting partnership that will enable teachers and children to develop their creativity using the SAW philosophy and will also enable SAW to evolve to suit the Chinese culture.

We were treated to a fabulous opening ceremony with singing and dance performances before leaders from the partner organisations talked of their hopes for the collaboration and for the future.

A training workshop enabled teachers and volunteers to explore SAW techniques and begin experimenting with how SAW could be used in their classrooms. Bo Wang was accompanied by others from her company who are keen to work with schools through SAW as volunteers.
Bo commented;

“SAW Project has a great impact on traditional Chinese education philosophy. It gives an innovative approach to young children, teachers and parents in understanding science, art and writing. As a volunteer, I enjoyed it with the students very much.”
Bo Wang from the Reenway Group in Shanghai

The workshop participants then had the opportunity to observe a mini SAW project with 5 year-old children at Wunan Kindergarten, on the theme of water.

Following our visit, SAW training materials are being translated into Chinese and a focus group of teachers at Wunan Kindergarten are experimenting with the SAW methodology. Teachers will be invited from across Xuhui district to work with Wunan to learn the SAW philosophy and disseminate SAW practise to other schools.

SAW has been running complementary projects with educationalists in the US since its inception. In 2008 at the School of Education at Salem State College, 7-9 year olds enjoyed a SAW project run by Anne Osbourn on the theme of ‘Maple Syrup’, and trainee teachers attended a SAW training workshop. Salem State has long been an advocate of the SAW approach, and SAW exercises continue to be part of the teacher training delivered by the institution.

“This project has a life of its own. It has captured the imaginations of not only my colleagues, but my students and their students and schools.”
Professor Swiniarski, Professor of Education at Salem State

“When I was doing my lesson plan I was struck by how many frameworks I touched upon in this seemingly simple lesson.”
A trainee kindergarten teacher

In 2006, 10 year old schoolchildren at the 'Scuola elementare statale Giovanni XXIII’ in Torino, Italy, used inspirational images of shells and diatoms (single-celled, intricately patterned algae) to explore science and poetry in this international SAW project.

See photos and poems from this project