Professor Lai Mingci, U.S. expert in special education, gives a speech

On November 15, the Guangdong training class for teachers in special education was kicked off in Lingnan Normal University (LNU). Oriented at business leaders and backbone teachers in special schools of Guangdong, the two-week class will be taught by special education experts from the United States and Taiwan, as well as professors and doctors from LNU Special Education Department.

Lai Mingci, American Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, Ohio Licensed Specialist in Clinical Psychology, and Clinical Psychology Consultant of the Center for Prader-Willi Syndrome in Cleveland, Professor Wu Liyun, Information Services Director and Special Education Consultant of TORP-n-LQ, Dean Fan Zhaoxiong and Deputy Dean Zheng Jianhong of LNU School of Educational Science, and Associate Professor Liou Jia-huei and Associate Professor Wu Dao-yu from Taiwan attended the opening ceremony, together with teachers from the Special Education Department of LNU School of Educational Science and the backbone teachers from special schools of the Guangdong Province.

It is learnt that the training from November 15 to November 27 will be divided into practice class of rehabilitation for autistic children and evaluation class of mental health education for special children. Experts and professors in special education including Lai Mingci, Wu Wudian and Yang Guangxue are invited to offer guidance and consultation to trainees in forms of lectures, follow-up studies, presentations, etc., in the 14-day training.

At the opening ceremony, Fan Zhaoxiong explained the training implementation plan to trainees in terms of training objectives, training content and curriculum design. He said that teachers need to master special skills and methods in teaching special children. He hoped that the trainees will follow the predecessors’ ambitions and attend the class with questions in mind and professional attitude. When the training ends, they will learn something, and be able to combine exchange learning with self-study, classroom theory with operational practice.

Professor Lai Mingci as the teacher representative gave the trainees pre-class guidance from perspectives of tasks, teaching concepts and professional qualities of the teachers in special education. He believes that it is a practical task to engage in special education, which requires the teachers to grasp the nature of work and develop professional subject knowledge. He encouraged the trainees to ask questions and consult proactively while facing difference cases. He also reminded the students in earnest that they should be actively involved in discussions while listening to the lessons with a thoughtful and critical attitude. Only by exchanging the opinions comprehensively can they make progress and create new knowledge. For autistic students, teachers should in particular have enough love and patience to support their families’ care and wait for their progress while exploring best approaches to educate them.

Dean Fan Zhaoxiong of School of Educational Science gives a speech

Opening ceremony

The trainees are listening carefully