This article describes the development and research process to support Hong Kong primary school pupils in constructing understanding of the motion of the Earth with integration of information technology in teaching and learning. The design of the research mainly addresses the call for further integration of information technology into the learning and teaching process as enshrined in the second Information Technology in Education strategy in Hong Kong, as well as to support teachers in the design of inquiry learning for the new General Studies lessons. A web-based learning unit is developed with consideration of inquiry learning and integrating IT in teaching and learning. Analysis of different ways of teaching with the web-based learning unit in primary classrooms is reported, and comparison of pre-lesson test and post-lesson test are conducted to study pupils' learning outcome.

The Primary English Language Curriculum Guide (CDI, 2004) promotes 'the use of a range of language arts materials such as songs, rhymes, poems, tongue twisters and plays' to provide opportunities for learners to 'give expression to real and imaginative experiences' (p. 178), develop 'cultural awareness and generic skills, in particular, critical thinking skills and creativity' and 'interest and a positive attitude towards learning a second language.' (p. 179). However, it is a long-established practice for the majority primary language teachers of Hong Kong to adopt the 'teaching the textbook' approach, which does not allow for a lot of creative or innovative teaching and hence it does not facilitate the implementation of the proposed curriculum innovations. Teachers who wish to support the innovations often find it difficult to change their existing beliefs and practices due to their lack of conceptual understanding and appropriate instructional strategies of language arts. This practical session presents the application of a few relatively 'new' and 'challenging' language arts activities such as reader's theatre and drama to develop the language competence and the instructional strategies of practicing teachers who undertook a Language Arts module of a professional development programme. Recorded performances will also be shown to supplement discussion.

Lesson Study' is an approach to improving teaching, with very good effects on learning outcomes in Japan. This systematic process, as implemented in Hong Kong, draws on Ference Marton's theory of variation in teaching/learning, and involves teacher collaboration in a cycle of 'research lessons' to continuously refine one lesson on a selected topic. The approach is potentially empowering for all participants, not only teachers, and is more 'bottom-up' than most other processes of curriculum change. This paper is a report of one Lesson Study across one year, in the English department of one English-medium secondary school. The paper describes the successes and failures of this process, with video evidence where appropriate. The paper then evaluates learning outcomes at several participant levels. Specifically, student outcomes were positive to a large extent, with one surprising deficit; and teacher/teacher educator outcomes exhibited considerable variation, posited as involving personal, cognitive and affective factors. The paper finally evaluates the suitability of the lesson study approach to language teaching, raising issues concerning alternative models of pedagogical grammar, for example, which might facilitate this potentially powerful tool for change.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Government (HKSAR) has been encouraging the teaching professionals at all levels to apply Information Technology (IT) in education. The general public usually connects IT in education with computer-assisted instruction (CAI), computer-assisted learning (CAL), and information search in the internet. In fact, IT can bring in other advantages such as developing a continuous and dynamic approach to educational testing. At present, the common practice of paper-and-pencil testing (P&P) is that all examinees are arranged to receive the same set of test questions at the same time-slot. One of the major shortcomings of this arrangement is that competent examinees may waste time to answer simple questions while low ability examinees may face challenging questions that could destroy their confidence in the subject. This practice is actually against a very basic educational principle: catering for individual needs. With the availability of powerful personal computers and the advancement of psychometric measurement, tailoring tests to individual's ability becomes much easily realized. A system that delivers tailor-made tests for individuals using computer with certain item selection program is called Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT). As CAT has many advantages over the traditional P&P, it is becoming prevalent in many advanced countries. However, CAT also has shortcomings. For example, it cannot measure certain kinds of mathematics abilities. This paper will describe the general background and the current development of CAT and particularly will discuss in more details the potentials and limits of using CAT for Mathematics assessment.

In Hong Kong, teachers usually use highly complicated software packages to do simple tasks. This phenomenon is largely due to the habitual use of pirated software and the lack of suitable software for teachers. This article investigates the proper strategies fro producing simple computer tools for local teachers, in order to make daily teaching tasks easier and student demonstrations more effective.

Teaching English as a second language in Hong Kong has been undergoing considerable change in the last two decades, from the Oral-structural Approach to the Communicative Approach, and more recently the Task-based teaching and learning. Hong Kong ESL teachers are having to rethink classroom strategies. This poses a particular problem for student teachers who have limited understanding of what this involves. Moreover, the only experience they can rely on is their own as pupils, and this has been rendered largely irrelevant at a time when the standard of English in schools in Hong Kong is said to have been declining. The speaker explores how eight student teachers who consider themselves linguistically deficient develop their professional knowledge in learning to teach ESL. Results show that the thinking, knowledge and practices of these student teachers who entered teacher education with an 'empty disk' did change critically on the course. Implications are drawn for developing TESL programmes for teaching candidates who are less competent in English.

Hong Kong children nowadays are undergoing rapid changes in their development. What they experience and encounter in their childhood has profound influence on the development of their behaviours and psychological state of the minds. In this critical period of development, school years, primary school education in particular, form a prominent portion of their childhood. According to Dewey, schools provide the formal environment for learning and for children to assimilate the ways adults think and behave. Research has shown that the school is an important agent of socialization of children (Lau, S., Siu, K.K. and Chik, P.Y., 1988). What children experience and enjoy in schools should henceforth deserve great attention in the community – the policy makers and administrators, curriculum developers, parents, school principals and teachers. Given this, the paper outlines the experience and reflection of the writer on her two week of teaching junior primary pupils. The arrangements are part of the Lecturers' Attachment Scheme jointly organized by the Hong Kong Institute of Education and its partner schools. The aim is to enhance lecturers' understanding of primary classroom teaching contexts and children learning needs. The writer attempted to find out how theory and practice work in the learning of primary children in school environment. A short questionnaire administered to the pupils she taught examines the kind of learning environment children like most. The information collected was useful to substantiate the qualitative interpretive reflection of the writer herself. Implications will also be discussed.
[Copyright © 2000 The Save the Children Fund (Hong Kong).]