Mora Jiang

Earth Science & Environmental Science Teacher

Graduated with a Master's degree in Education from Beijing Normal University. She is a geography teacher for the Youth Group of the Chinese National Geographic Exploration Team and a National Geographic Certified Geography Teacher in the United States.

Mora teaches courses in Earth Science, Advanced Environmental Science, and the On-boarding Project: Finding the Right Location with GIS. As the school's competition coach, Mora leads her students in the China Thinks Big Global Youth Research Innovation Forum, where they have achieved a national second-place award (Top 10-30%) and two national first-place awards (Top 10%). Her team was also invited to the Global Innovation Forum at Harvard University, where they earned a third-place global award (Top 10-30%). Additionally, she coaches for the SDG Sustainable Innovation Marathon Challenge, where her students have earned national second-place awards twice (Top 10-30%).

Mora believes that rather than simply memorizing academic content, students need to develop higher-order cognitive skills such as problem-solving, exploration, and discovery in the face of the unknown. In her courses, she encourages curiosity by asking questions that prompt students to observe phenomena, formulate hypotheses, and use various methods to collect empirical evidence. This approach challenges students to continually refine their reasoning and data analysis skills. Mora is passionate about Project-Based Learning (PBL) and, while she offers well-established projects for students to work on in her Ascend Project course, she also gives students the freedom to choose whether to tackle a teacher-prepared project or identify their problem to solve. This approach provides students with more autonomy, opportunities to make mistakes, and a space for continuous improvement through feedback.

Curriculums2

EASC3001: Earth Science

Hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, and other natural hazards happen every day. Where is it safe to live? How has the global climate changed since the Ice Age? Why is London warmer than Heilongjiang, even though London is closer to the North Pole than Heilongjiang? How do earth processes influence our lives? What stories do landscapes tell? If you are interested in exploring these questions, you're welcome to join this introductory course, which provides you with a basic knowledge of Earth's natural features that affect them. Understanding how earth, an integrated system, functions and how it varies over space and time is crucial for making informed decisions about the use and preservation of Earth's natural environments and resources. Focusing on the four components of the earth system — land, water, air, and life — and their interactions, this course identifies physical phenomena and natural processes and stresses their characteristics, relationships, and distributions. GIS, geographic data, maps, satellite images, and numerous landscape photographs are offered for learners to study and analyze the physical environments around us.


This course is suitable for learners who are attracted and amazed by the beauty of nature and wonder how and why this rich and colorful world is created. Perhaps you may not study earth science or a relevant major in the future, considering that such fields are often financially unfavorable. However, it equips you with the ability to read the signals of nature. In the summer meadows, when a cloud drifts by, you can speculate that there might be a lake below. When walking through a mountain valley at noon, you know that climbing up the hillside will bring a refreshing breeze blowing from behind... These are the romantic experiences unique to those who study Earth science.


This course is also suitable for learners who plan to study Earth science, environmental science, geography, geophysics, ecology, urban planning and other related fields in the future. One of the highlights of this course is the use of GIS (Geographic Information System) which is rarely taught in high schools in China, but it is a recommended skill when applying for earth science-related majors such as geography, environmental science, animal protection, urban planning, and others.

Projects2

Finding the Right Location with GIS

Discipline/ Subject:GIS, Design Key Themes: GIS Campus Map, Sign Design This was initially a "boarding project" course, where the teacher designed the research questions, project outcomes, and all the acceptance criteria in advance. However, the teacher, Mora, found this approach uninteresting. So, after analyzing examples of how GIS can impact everyday life, she would always ask the learners, "Do you have any issues you want to vent about, or projects you'd like to tackle, or problems you think can be solved using geographical thinking? Let's work on them together. If not, you can work on the project I've prepared. Your choice." In the fall semester of the 2024-2025 school year, a group of 9th-grade freshmen who wanted to create their projects found an area of interest: modifying the school's map and wayfinding system (landmarks and signage). As freshmen, they often found themselves lost on campus, unable to navigate properly. After some complaints in class, they decided to tackle the school's map and wayfinding system. Mora suggested they consult other members of the community to determine if this was indeed a real issue. They interviewed students, teachers, school administrators, and parents, and distributed surveys to all students, teachers, and parents. "Have you ever had difficulty finding a classroom on campus?" In the 175 valid surveys, 90% answered "Yes." "What do you think is the biggest problem with the school's map, landmarks, and signage system?" Missing or incorrect information on the map; the inner circle signage system provides no information. Based on the survey and interview results, they corrected errors in the school's map, added a more user-friendly "current location" feature, and focused on improving the inner circle wayfinding system. They thought this would solve the problem, but as the project progressed, an obstacle appeared: the school's classroom numbering was chaotic and irregular. To quickly locate classrooms, the room numbers needed to be rearranged. Without this, adding more maps and signage would still result in people getting lost. Reordering the room numbers for the entire school was far beyond their capability.

Treasure Hunting-A Grave with No Shadow

Discipline/ Subject:Earth Science  Key Themes: The Earth revolution around sun In a Guangzhou graveyard, a secret tale is untold. Once a year, at a moment's hold, Shadow vanishes at a precious cue, For a fleeting few minutes, a chance so true. Where a treasure's rumored, beneath a tomb's clay, But this fleeting moment, a blink of fate, Is the only time to unlock its gate. People gather, filled with eager delight, But among so many graves they stand, Lost and confused in a sea of stones. To seek the riches, you must advance, At the right day, the right minute, don't be late, For the shadows disappear, and you must navigate. With shovels and maps, and hearts so bold, Assemble your team to seek the hidden gold, In those fleeting minutes, do your best. Find the treasure hidden if you dare. You need to: Find out where the treasure is. Please provide its rough coordinate (GPS 坐标,精确到分即可) and point it out in a map. Explain why you think it's there with a clear model and solid evidence using model and CER template enclosed in this page. Explanation = Claim (What you know) + Evidence (How you know it) + Reasoning (Your thought process) Create a STEM experimental exploration report with maps to show your findings.