Promoting active and interactive learning in curriculum re-structuring: Constraints facing teachers

Promoting active and interactive learning in curriculum re-structuring: Constraints facing teachers

• Chan, Kam Wing Paul The Hong Kong Institute of Education

2004

International Council on Education for Teaching (ICET) World Assembly 2004: Teachers as learners: Building communities for professional development (2004: Hong Kong)

• M Teachers & Education for Teachers
  • MG Identities, Attitudes & Opinion of Educational Workers
• R Educational Policy & Administration
  • RG Education Reforms

Primary Education Theory and Practice of Teaching and Learning

• Hong Kong

• 1997.7 onwards

• Unknown or Unspecified

In the current curriculum reform of Hong Kong, the Curriculum Development Council (2002) recommends that teachers make use of co-operative learning to cater for their students' individual differences. A common feature of co-operative learning is that students help each other to learn in small groups towards a common goal (Cohen, 1994; Johnson & Johnson, 1999). For such kind of co-operative learning, the success of members of a group is interdependent to one another (Kagan, 1994; Slavin, 1995). The concept of co-operative learning is radically different from competitive learning in which a student's success builds on the failure of others. This paper aims to investigate the factors influencing teachers when they consider using co-operative learning in their classrooms. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of teachers (n = 179) from five primary schools conveniently chosen. Descriptive statistical analysis as well as factor analysis was performed on the data collected. The results suggested that the respondents agreed, to different extent, to all the twenty items of constraints as listed in the questionnaire. Four categories of factors that influenced teachers' decision to use co-operative learning were extracted. They represented the school and system levels, teachers' conceptions of teaching, pupils' ability and discipline, and classroom level. The study concluded that, in view of the various constraints, it would be difficult for teachers to implement co-operative learning to meet the curriculum re-structuring. Based on the findings, some recommendations were made.

Paper presented at the International Council on Education for Teaching (ICET) World Assembly 2004: Teachers as learners: Building communities for professional development.

• English

Conference Papers

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/bibs/b348d11e

2015-01-23