On Forming "Hehe" Teachers' Group

A "hehe" (和合)teachers'group is a group of teachers formed for the purpose of enhancing mutual professional development, and bearing mutual responsibilities, among its member teachers. Such a group has the following characteristics:All its member teachers share the same educational aims and professional aspirations; They believe in'lifelong learning', and are thus prepared to acquire new knowledge; They strive to reach consensus among them despite occasional disagreements, and to achieve progress for the whole collective despite constant competition among the individuals; Working together in a team spirit based on "he"(和), meaning harmony, and "he"(合),meaning cooperation, they turn individually acquired knowledge into collective knowledge of the group in order to further facilitate professional development of the individual.There exist both theoretical and practical reasons for the development of the "hehe" teachers'group. The former lie in a synthesis of the "hehe" thinking of China and the "cooperative learning" theory of the West, and the latter in observations obtained from an in-depth analysis of the managerial, material, and human resources situation of the M Kindergarten in the aftermath of its reorganization. The analysis reveals the following problems facing the M Kindergarten that need be seriously addressed:Its managerial mechanism lags behind its school system reform; Its material conditions do not meet the requirement of the times; And the personal relationships among its teachers are too complicated. As a result of these, not much progress has been achieved with respect to cooperative teaching group formation, professional development of the teachers, and knowledge sharing among them. It is also discovered in the process of the analysis that the underlying cause for these problems has to do with lack of a solid foundation for a school culture that develops with the times, and lack of clear teaching and research regulations as well as incentives for knowledge sharing among the teachers. Moreover, the teachers do not exhibit clear motivation for professional development, nor strong will for self-initiation.In view of the above problems, and taking into consideration of the actual situation of the M Kindergarten, I see the need for the development of "hehe" teachers'groups as a way to boost the "hehe" culture and the "knowledge sharing" view. I propose a framework regarding how such groups are to be formed. Through nearly two years of research done in this respect, I have developed some concrete methodology and implemental suggestions by summarizing and generalizing from my research results. I will show that provision of a knowledge sharing platform, and teaching and research reform, are effective means of forming a "hehe" teachers'group, and that development of a school culture provides guarantee for successful formation of such a group.