EDS436 Syntegrative Learning Concludes with Mentor Certification Ceremony

Building Sustainable Mechanisms for Practice-Based Learning

Dr Tim London, Director of Learning and Teaching at the Academy, reviewed the positioning of the EDS436 module, noting that it aims to connect academic research with real-world applications through integrated learning. He added that the course will continue to be refined based on feedback from students and mentors, while fostering sustainable, collaborative learning mechanisms.

Dr Na Li, Head of the Department of Educational Studies, outlined future plans for the module. She explained that upcoming iterations will further differentiate learning pathways, offering both practice-oriented and research-oriented options. Through transitional projects, students will be guided to engage earlier with problem-driven learning in real-world contexts.

Bringing Integrated Learning into Practice

As a representative of practice mentors, Chen Wu, Vice Principal of Taicang High-tech Zone No. 3 Primary School, shared insights from frontline teaching. Over the past two years, the school has collaborated with the Academy on AI- and PBL-based projects, enabling students to engage in authentic tasks and gradually shift from passive learners to researchers, designers and problem-solvers.

Through projects such as AI-based image recognition, “local treasure maps”, and campus plant identification, students developed project awareness and a sense of ownership through collaboration, exploration and reflection. Chen noted that the value of integrated learning lies in its ability to “connect”—linking universities with schools, knowledge with reality, and present learning with future development.