The authors report that the 30 schools, 5 Government and 25 aided, involved in a pilot scheme started its implementation in September 1982 and about 21 schools run their computer studies courses on their own budgets. The authors further report the findings of a survey that the estimated total number of students taking computer studies at the F. 4 level in 1982-83 was around 2,295; MICROSOFT BASIC was used in all the 35 schools; originally, the Education Department did not allocate any supporting staff or clerical staff to the pilot schools; 41% of the schools used textbooks published in Hong Kong, and 24% used textbooks published in the UK; the government had spent a sum of HK$1,700,000 to purchase the standard sets of equipment; and the ratio of expenditure/student was estimated by proportioning the student numbers of 929 for 22 schools to 1,267 for 30 schools, any extra equipment purchased by these schools on their own budgets

The author argues that there was an urgent need for planned and co-ordinated development of microelectronics in the school curriculum, that a new high level Microelectronics Education Committee should be established in the Education Department, and that it was essential to select staff with expertise and with a commitment to innovation across the curriculum.

The authors report that, in October 1979, the Computer Studies Working Party was invited to prepare a Computer Studies syllabus suitable for examination of a two year F4/5 course: a spiral approach was used; a pilot scheme would be introduced in September 1981; teachers who had practical experience of using BASIC was required; the University of Hong Kong would introduce a Computer Studies Minor course for in-service students as part of the certificate programs, starting in October 1980.

作者從不同角度探討邁向21世紀電腦教育取向如下：一、在校內增加電腦輔助學習實驗室以作跨學科用之教室；二、以中學電腦認知課程模式，延展至小學電腦認知課程及改為應用電腦學習取向，並將初中電腦課程屬性從數理組更改為實用科目組；三、學習模式為以學生為本，按其能力選取合適材料學習，每星期應增至兩個課節；四、將現時會考課程，編寫程式部分／考試形式改用教師連續性審核；五、將AL電腦課程列入讀電腦學系的必要條件/獲優先考慮取錄；和六、將全港學校「智慧化」，應設專人管理電腦系統，包括軟、硬件，協助電腦輔助學習運作等。

The author reports that a scheme was announced to incorporate Computer Studies in the local secondary schools, especially Mathematics curriculum. To the author, it seemed more preferable to introduce Computer Studies as the F. 6/7 level and to expand to F. 4/5 curriculum. Besides BASIC, such other language as ALGOL, FORTRAN, COBOL, PASCAL could be considered alternatives to BASIC. Also, teacher education for instructional computing should take place at both the in-service and pre-service levels.

作者指出，自1982年9月始，電腦科首先在中四、五推行，1987年伸展至中一至中三，而預科課程則受經費不足與政府不定政策影響而幾經波折，終在1992年9月才在中六推行。綜觀10年電腦課程發展，政府的大力支持（尤指財政上），實與之有密切的關係。

The author reports that the section "computer operation" in the Computer Studies Curriculum was split into four topics: the organization of the central processing unit (CPU); machine code; program execution; and languages. The author then suggests that the logical organization of a computer system should be demonstrated in an "information flow" method. But the practical details for implementing this "information flow" method, such as teaching tools and design of assignments, were not discussed.

This paper reviews the outcomes of a pilot course prior to the Computer Studies Pilot Scheme carried out in September 1982. It also introduces the Hong Kong Association for Computer Education, and stresses on teaching training on computer studies. At the end, the author expresses some positive expectations for computer education in Hong Kong.

A study investigated peer collaboration among high school students when solving qualitative physics problems. Participants were 18 students in a year 12 physics class in a Hong Kong school, who worked both individually and in groups to solve physics problems. Findings revealed the positive impact of engaging students in peer collaboration to solve physics problems. Peer collaboration enhanced participants' understanding and problem-solving skills, encouraged them to reflect on the objects of learning and their approach to learning physics, and provided them with a new perspective on problem solving. Other findings of the study are discussed, and recommendations for future research are provided.
[Copyright of International Journal of Science Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500690110038602]

According to the aims of the current junior science curriculum for Hong Kong, students are expected to master inquiry skills for problem?solving, understand the nature of scientific knowledge, and appreciate the limitations of science. These aims are, however, difficult to achieve because available science textbooks focus mainly on the transmission of scientific facts and concepts and most science teachers do not have a good understanding of the nature of science. In order to improve this situation, the Integrated Science course of the Postgraduate Diploma in Education Program of the Faculty of Education, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, has in recent years incorporated a unit that aims at facilitating teachers to construct understanding of the nature of science. This article reports a small-scale study of the effect of this unit on a group of in?service science teachers. The unit consists of a number of historical vignettes that illustrate the process of development of scientific ideas, through which teachers were guided to construct the key steps of the scientific methods and appreciate the nature of scientific knowledge. A pre-test was administered to the subjects to identify their alternative conceptions on the nature of science. Comparison of the scores of the pre?test and post?test indicates that the subjects were found to demonstrate substantial improvement in their understanding of the nature of science after intervention, but some alternative conceptions were still persistent in most subjects. Implications were made for ways to integrate the historical approach into science teaching in schools.
[Copyright of Teaching Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10476210600680382]