Today, Information Technology (IT) continues to bring tremendous changes in society. One of the challenges facing educational institutions worldwide is that the student body has dramatically changed, thus enlarging the range of individual differences in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to design an effective teaching and learning environment to accommodate individual differences in order to produce high-quality learning outcomes. The present study, undertaken in Hong Kong, analyzed student population diversity to identify its characteristics in terms of background, experiences, and subject knowledge, and designed instructional activities using IT (Blackboard) as a platform to cohere these diversities into a source of knowledge. Tow steps were taken in this study. First, specific instructional activities to guide students’ collaborative experiences were designed. Second, the Blackboard platform was employed to conduct collaborative interactions between instructor and students, and between students to accommodate diversity. A Blackboard-based course design was utilized as an example to demonstrate the executing procedures. The present study illustrates an innovative instructional structure that uses IT to establish a multiple-way communication network which transforms teacher-centered educational activities into student-centered collaborative learning activities. Through this innovative approach, students’ diverse experiences, physical and mental characteristics, attitudes, and perspectives are converted into a collaborative learning environment that transforms diversity into a positive source of knowledge.
[Copyright © 2008 The Chinese University Press, Hong Kong Institute of Educational Research.]

This paper presents a teaching/learning model that utilizes information technology to facilitate critical thinking and collaboration skills in two physical education modules, Adapted Physical Education (28 students), and Motor Learning (27 students), taught at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. The aim of the project was to examine whether three types of asynchronous online activities embedded within the Blackboard Learning Management System enhanced student learning. The effectiveness of these activities was assessed through the number of online interactions, a survey, and selected interviews. Results showed greater online interactions than face-to-face interactions (ranging from 37 to 132 interactions per topic), improved ability to integrate theory with practical settings, and high level of student satisfaction with the online mode of delivery. The study indicated that the creation of alternative learning spaces in the Blackboard Learning Management System is an effective platform to enhance learning through interactive student-centered learning activities beyond the physical education classroom.
[Copyright © 2008 ACESS, Asian Council of Exercise & Sports Science.]

In many parts of the world, dance and arts education are now recognized as school subjects. In fact, primary and secondary physical education curricula in Hong Kong include dance education. Furthermore, education reform urges teacher education programs to promote innovative teaching approaches which will enhance lifelong learning skills. Despite the wishes of Education Reform, traditional teacher-centered pedagogy continues to dominate dance education teacher preparation. A radical change must be initiated in order to redress this philosophical dilemma. The purpose of this research was to investigate a teacher education model that would implement the shift from teacher-centered to student-centered pedagogy, thus from replication learning to learning by critical thinking. This presentation highlights critical thinking theory (Ennis, 1991) as an alternative teacher education perspective and how it can be utilized to promote higher-order thinking skills in dance education. The model includes three components: content (what is taught), method (how it is taught), and outcome (what is learned). The proposed dance education content emphasizes the three essential arts appreciation elements of performance, choreography, and assessment. The method stresses a dynamic learning environment which capitalizes on critical thinking via creative and collaborative problem-solving learning tasks. It is argued that the model's content and method result in the learning of not only motor skills, but also higher-order thinking strategies that will be used across the life span. In addition to revalidating dance education, this dynamic model offers future teachers a tool to provide all learners with meaningful lifelong holistic experiences. Finally, three recommendations are made for teacher training institutions to successfully apply the dynamic teacher education model to foster higher-order thinking skills in dance education.