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MOONSHOT ACADEMY

MOONSHOT ACADEMY

Sharon Liao

Grade 4 Homeroom Teacher

Educational Background

Graduated from the International Chinese Education program at Beijing Foreign Studies University

Previously, she worked at BFSU Foreign Languages School and Keystone Academy.

With many years of experience in English teaching and class management.

Roles and Responsibilities at Moonshot

Use personalized learning activities as a scaffold to establish learners' sense of gain and self-efficacy, gradually forming a positive cycle.

Balance academic learning with emotional and social guidance to provide support for fourth-grade learners to smoothly transition to higher grades.

She hopes to integrate knowledge from various disciplines, build and design interdisciplinary theme projects, help learners deeply understand knowledge from various disciplines, and cultivate their comprehensive quality and ability to solve complex problems.

“Just as Dewey stated in "Democracy and Education" that "education is life", education is a continuous growth of the soul and a continuous inspiration for life. During this journey at the Lunar School, I am committed to guiding learners to acquire various basic skills, and allowing learners to continuously experience and explore theme projects and activities that match their characteristics, internalizing them as personal understanding and generation.”

—— Sharon

Projects2

The Engineer in the Kitchen

Disciplines/Subjects: Science, Engineering Design, Mathematics Key Themes:Problem Solving, Engineering Design, Creative Thinking, Team Collaboration In the "Engineers in the Kitchen" project, third-grade learners transform into young engineers. By observing and researching real problems in the kitchen, they design and create time-saving and labor-saving kitchen tools. From data collection to prototype design, and through testing and improvement, they experience the entire engineering design process. They showcase their creative outcomes at a final product launch. The project emphasizes interdisciplinary integration and cultivates learners' abilities to solve real-world problems and their spirit of teamwork.

Biomimetic Design

Disciplines/Subjects: Science、Language、Engineer Key Themes: Creativity, Design, Biomimetics Biomimetics is a discipline that involves understanding the principles and mechanisms of biology and applying this knowledge to fields such as engineering, technology, and design. It aims to imitate the structures, functions, and behaviors of living organisms in nature to develop products and systems that are more efficient, energy-saving, environmentally friendly, and intelligent. The applications of biomimetics are extremely broad, including robotics, aircraft, automobiles, architecture, materials science, medicine, and more. Common examples of biomimetic design in our daily lives range from large-scale items like airplanes and eco-friendly buildings to smaller ones like medical bandages and swimsuits. All these are inspired by nature, which provides endless inspiration to designers willing to change reality. In this project, third-grade learners will observe the different characteristics of plants and animals, identify real-life problems that need to be solved, establish connections between the two, and attempt to design a biomimetic product to address these practical issues. Even more excitingly, they will have the opportunity to embark on an entrepreneurial journey. They will hold a formal product launch with their own design. If they receive support from more judges, they may even have the chance to initiate the production of their entrepreneurial product! Throughout this process, they will act as product designers, understanding what a product is, who it aims to solve problems for, what unique design it should have, and how to transform a design into a tangible prototype. They will also be entrepreneurs, needing to deliver a presentation to showcase their achievements and growth. Of course, we also encourage them to fulfill their roles and contribute within their teams. If they can manage budgeting and design, it may offer even greater assistance to their entrepreneurship.