New school model aims to foster scientific spirit

As primary and middle school students across the country return to school in September, they will spend more time on hands-on scientific projects, with students in grades four through nine required to complete at least one scientific inquiry project each semester, according to a guideline issued by the Ministry of Education on Tuesday.

The guideline, which launches the "learning by doing" initiative and takes effect in the fall semester, aims to address the overemphasis on knowledge transmission and the relative neglect of competency development in science education.

Under the guideline, science teaching will shift from traditional lecture-based instruction to project-based, interdisciplinary learning centered on real-world problems.

It sets differentiated goals for different grade levels. In primary school, students are expected to observe phenomena, ask scientifically investigable questions, conduct simple experiments and create basic projects, with the focus on sparking curiosity and imagination.

Middle school students will be encouraged to formulate hypotheses based on real-world contexts, develop comprehensive inquiry plans and apply multidisciplinary knowledge to solve problems, with an emphasis on cultivating scientific thinking.

The guideline provides sample inquiry tasks across six major themes: life and health, the ecological environment, earth sciences, aerospace, emerging industries and artificial intelligence.

Example projects include simulating the causes of myopia, making antibacterial products, building an underwater vehicle from water bottles and a seismometer from springs, constructing water rockets and aircraft models, as well as learning to use generative AI safely and ethically.

Each project must span at least four class periods. Students in grades one through three are only required to complete the inquiry activities already stipulated in the national science curriculum.

The guideline also reforms student assessment. Rather than relying on examinations, evaluation will focus on students' problem awareness, inquiry and hands-on abilities, capacity for reflection and improvement, and collaboration skills demonstrated throughout the inquiry process.

Performance-based assessments will be documented and included in students' comprehensive quality evaluation portfolios, with no additional testing required.

Cheng Jianping, Communist Party of China secretary of Beijing Normal University, said science education in primary and secondary schools has long placed too much emphasis on knowledge memorization, classroom instruction and test-taking skills while neglecting inquiry, practical work and creativity.

"This leaves students with little opportunity to tackle real-world problems," he said.

The new "learning by doing" initiative marks a major shift in teaching philosophy, with its core objective being to ignite curiosity through authentic challenges and bridge theory with practice, Cheng said.

"Only by sowing the seeds of scientific spirit and innovation in basic education can China continuously cultivate a new generation capable of supporting its pursuit of technological self-reliance," he said.

Fang Yu, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and former president of Shaanxi Normal University, said the guideline is designed to transform science classes from rote memorization and standard answers into inquiry-based dialogue and real-world problem-solving.

Implementation does not require elaborate classroom demonstrations, he said. Instead, it calls for careful attention to every experiment and inquiry activity, encouraging students to get their hands dirty, make mistakes and reflect on what they have learned.

"Only in this way can China cultivate a generation of builders equipped with scientific reasoning, humanistic sensibility and the courage to innovate in the age of rapidly advancing AI, thereby strengthening the talent foundation for an innovation-driven nation," he said.

Li Qinglin, principal of the Second Primary School of Qujing in Yunnan province, said that although grassroots schools in western regions continue to face severe resource constraints, the new guideline provides clear support through improved teaching resources, broader social cooperation and shared digital platforms.

Her school will focus on closing the "last kilometer" of hands-on science education to further improve students' scientific literacy, she said.

zoushuo@chinadaily.com.cn