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Andrea Zavadszky

We live in a global village, and can quickly find out about war, inequality, health problems, environmental degradation, animal cruelty, and student problems like bullying and depression.
This year, the Victoria Shanghai Academy’s graduating International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IBPYP) students decided to see what they could do to make a difference in the world.
The results of their in-depth inquiry were presented as part of a two-day exhibition in May on the school premises in Aberdeen. Schoolmates, parents and students from other schools came to find out what the students had discovered.
Questions from the audience allowed the young exhibitors – who were all graduating from the PYP – to explain the details of the research they had undertaken in a small team on a chosen topic. It also gave students the chance to polish their presentation and communication skills.

“This is the end of the PYP programme, so it’s like a graduation [thesis]. The central idea is that action makes a difference. Students present ideas on how they can take action, and have an impact in the world,” says Bonnie Kwok Wai-kuen, head of year, and Y5A1 teacher.
Each team consisted of three or four participants who shared an interest in the subject under investigation. The school has 160 students in six classes, and the students were divided into 48 groups; each group had a booth at the exhibition. There were some duplicate subjects, but the approach of each team’s research was different, says Kwok. “Their interest in the topic comes first and foremost,” she adds.
Students were responsible for the development of their material, along with their schedules, although they had to fulfil some requirements. The students were initially given some direct questions to inspire them, like “What would you like to change?”, “What frustrates or annoys you?” and “What inspires you?”
Students watched videos that showed them how taking action could make a difference, and then discussed them in groups. When their ideas crystallised, they got together with those with similar interests to start work. Their personal “process journals” gradually filled with notes, drawings, and stickers, recording what they had learned, and illustrating how their thought processes were changing.

Walter Kwong Chen-jun chose the topic of smoking because he was “really mad” with his father for being a smoker. “It’s an unhealthy habit, and second-hand smoke is also unhealthy. That motivated me to take on this topic,” says Kwong, who wrote a song about quitting smoking. He performed it at a “performance corner” several times during the day, and posted it on YouTube. Kwong’s father appreciated his concern, and gave up smoking as a result.
Another team drew attention to their project with the cleverly worded title “A Pack of Lies”, which referred to a pack of cigarettes. Research material obtained from the health department showed that most people start smoking before the age of 18. The group invited the health department to give a talk to the school’s finalists, an action they thought would make a difference.
The subject of unhappiness was addressed by Yoyo Yip Pik-yiu, Layla Kwok Heilaam, Sally Doong Min-ni, and Wong Kwan-hon. They collected heart-warming stories about good deeds, such as a man helping a poor student and his grandmother buy a cake for his grandfather’s birthday. The team also designed special T-shirts with positive messages such as “Together we can change the world”, and posted a cheerful performance on YouTube to remind people that “Happiness is a huge issue”.
To highlight the personal nature of their discoveries, the team exhibited a box with the heading “R. I. P. Mr Trouble, Mr Anger, Mr Sadness, Mr Stress”, and suggested that students write down what bothered them on a piece of paper, crumple it up, and throw it into the box.

Food waste was addressed by a couple of teams, who suggested co-operating with agencies such as Food Angel, Foodlink, and Feeding Hong Kong, who distribute food to the needy. Food recycling, and the possibility of ordering portions in different sizes, was also mentioned. The teams documented how they tried to reduce food waste in their process journal.
Other teams addressed animal cruelty, bullying, gender equality, and political protest.
Lessons at Victoria Shanghai Academy are taught in Putonghua and English, so the exhibition materials, and the student presentations at the opening ceremony, were in both languages. Projects were marked firstly by self-assessment, and then by peer assessment. There was a presentation to mark the students’ graduation from primary school.


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Students at Victoria Shanghai Academy research benefits of positive action

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Students at Victoria Shanghai Academy are researching the benefits of positive action.


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