Welcome to Xi’an Liangjiatan International School (XLIS), and thank you for your interest in one of the most attractive and ambitious schools in Xi’an. Greetings, and welcome to Xi’an Liangjiatan International School. My name is Marly Song, the primary principal, please read below how our early years is a unique setting where our students are enquirers and learn through play.
At XLIS our Early Years Education is inspired by the Reggio Emilia educational philosophy. The Reggio Approach sees children as inquisitive individuals with the power and ability to learn from their environment and relationships.
We encourage our students to become inquirers as they journey through four units of inquiry: Who We Are, How We Express Ourselves, How the World Works, and Sharing the Planet. One important aspect of Reggio is that children are encouraged to explore their learning environment through their senses, using the environment as their third educator (alongside parents and teachers). Our learning spaces are filled with real-world items, natural materials, and loose parts. As the children engage with the environment they let their play, imagination, and interests direct their learning. In this way, they become open-minded and knowledgeable about the world around them.
Each child is a unique individual. Listening to the voice of the child is at the center of the Reggio Approach. As educators, we listen to the children’s interests, questions, and observations, and use their voices to shape our learning together.
The Reggio ethos of “100 languages” values the many different ways children express themselves. We see our students as communicators, allowing them to express themselves creatively through play, art, music, and movement. The Reggio Approach encourages children to be risk-takers. This is why we value our outdoor environment where the children interact with nature, test their limits and extend their learning.
Our students also challenge themselves to use their developing language skills and try many new experiences.
ECEA Teacher
Ms. Mim Griffin
Early Childhood Education (ECE)
The early year at XLIS is made up of students from three to five years old. We use a curriculum framework called The Primary Years Programme (PYP), which is designed around the best of research practices in education.
It is transdisciplinary – meaning the programme strives to balance between traditional stand-alone units and transdisciplinary units. Stand-alone units are usually taught in isolation in the areas of Mathematics, Physical Education or other single subjects. Transdisciplinary units combine different subjects. This way the students make connections in their learning across different disciplines. Each unit, whether it be a stand-alone or transdisciplinary unit contains aspects of Knowledge, Concepts, Approaches to Learning (ATLs), Action and IB Learner Profile attributes. This way our students experience consistency in the program and make connections across disciplines. This continues into middle and high school.
The PYP is concept based – meaning that each unit is based around a central idea. This is a guiding statement that contains concepts the students will be inquiring into. The program is also driven by six key concepts (form, function, connection, causation, perspective, change & responsibility). Each unit’s lines of inquiry are connected to three of these key concepts.
The PYP is an inquiry-based curriculum – meaning the programme is driven by students’ interests. The students are taught to research information on topics of their interest, within the boundaries of the unit of inquiry. One of the main theories the PYP is based upon is constructivism. Students are taken from their current level or understanding to a new level of understanding at differentiated paces. Differentiation is very important at XLIS and our teachers have received extensive professional development in this area.
The PYP values play – throughout the programme a high importance is placed on play. Play is what children enjoy most and PYP teachers skillfully guide learning through play. Careful provocations are set up so students can interact with content and concepts through play.
Assessment in the PYP is based on Understanding by Design – meaning a backward planning approach to assessment is utilized. Each unit’s summative assessment is planned at the start of the unit. Lines of inquiry are formatively assessed throughout the unit and planning is adjusted regularly in accordance to students’ needs. XLIS also uses standardized testing to track our students’ progress. Three times a year our students are assessed in the areas of Mathematics, Reading and Writing.
PYP Links
The primary school at XLIS host many workshops, open days, and collaboration events throughout the year. Please see our PYP links below to find out more information.
Primary Student Handbook
PYP Year-Long Plans
Assembly Schedule
Mission
XLIS provides a non-profit education focsued on enabling confident, open-minded global citizens through life-long learning and a sense of community.
Vision
To lead education through innovation and a student-centered, community-driven approach.
Schoolwide Learner Outcomes
Inquirers
Knowledgeable
Thinkers
Communicators
Principled
Open-minded
Caring
Risk-takers
Balanaced
Reflective
Makerspace
The XLIS makerspace is where engineering comes to life in a transdisciplinary manner. Students come to the space to extend their learning into our units of inquiry. This is a space for creating, designing, tinkering and playing.
Students have the opportunity to inquire about our essential elements and science learning outcomes. They learn to write in computer code, build structures, build robots, learn pneumatics, basic CAD drawing, manufacturing, and other aspects of engineering.
Creativity, design, and play are core values at XLIS. The Makerspace is a place where these values are developed each day.
Reggio Inspired
It is our belief that children are capable, curious, and limitless in their creativity. Having a positive image of the child is at the heart of what we believe.
Our students learn through play at XLIS. We believe play to be the most natural form for our students to learn. This may be carefully constructed play in our ECE where our highly professional teachers teach our learning outcomes through play to project-based learning throughout the PYP.
The environment also pays a large part in our philosophy. It is seen as the third teacher and an important source of learning for our entire school community. Our learning spaces have been designed around the philosophy of inquiry and with the student at the centre. Each of our classrooms is designed with 5 essential spaces (makespace4learning.com). There is a display space, community space, private space, presentation space and virtual space. Students can write on the walls or the desks in order to make their thinking visible.
Primary Student Council
STUDENTS’ VOICE - PRIMARY STUDENT COUNCIL AT XLIS
Hearing students’ voices and allowing them to feel that school is a place that belongs to them is of the utmost importance for creating a nourishing learning environment.
Encouraged by the students’ initiative to have a governing body, the school has opened the door for a Primary Student Council. The Council gives students a platform to express their ideas and be able to take action.
Reflecting on the needs of having a government in the community lead P6 students to an extraordinary result. During discussions in the class they reflected on designing a summative assessment task that would promote student agency. They established the objectives and the primary structure of the Student Council at XLIS that would relate to students’ issues, represent them in the community and serve others.
