On the morning of May 13, 2026, the Fenghua Scholars Young Scholars Forum (Session 6), themed “Sharing and Exchange on Student-Led Inquiry Projects,” was held as scheduled in Room 413, West Campus, College of Teacher Education, Ningbo University. Associate Professor Rao Limin from Canada and Christian, a frontline teacher, were invited as keynote speakers. Graduate students and faculty members from related disciplines attended the session.

During the lecture, Christian drew on his 21 years of teaching experience to systematically share his nineyear practical experience in implementing studentled inquiry projects in Grade 7 science classes. The project occupies about onethird of the annual science class time, with students choosing their own topics and forming teams to carry out the work, while the teaching team engages in biweekly instructional planning and reflection. Christian candidly noted that the transition from a traditional “authority of knowledge” to a facilitator of learning was not easy; however, by delegating authority, trusting students, and valuing the learning process, positive changes have taken place in the classroom. Student video feedback played during the session also showed that students understand the importance of reflection and regard researchers as partners in colearning.

In response to practical challenges in Chinese classrooms, such as large class sizes and heavy exam pressure, Professor Rao and Christian offered pragmatic suggestions: try groupbased inquiry, start with short microactivities, and adopt flexible approaches like multiteacher collaboration. Regarding assessment, the lecture introduced a competencybased diversified evaluation system, emphasizing that teachers can balance knowledge acquisition and skill development through observation, thematic integration, and other methods, giving equal weight to processbased and outcomebased assessment.

This lecture provided our faculty and students with vivid case studies of crosscultural teaching reform, offering significant inspiration for exploring studentcentered teaching models and enhancing the practical reflection abilities of preservice teachers. The College will continue to promote highlevel academic exchanges to support the highquality development of talent cultivation.