Purpose: This study aimed to identify the professional development needs of academics in Hong Kong higher education for the use of educational technology. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was conducted in 2017, which involved 374 academics from Hong Kong higher education institutions. The survey covered their perception and use of educational technology for professional activities and their relevant professional development needs. Findings: The results showed an overall positive perception by the academics of the usefulness of online learning with the aid of technology, which was regarded as an effective complement to face-to-face learning. However, their use of educational technology focused only on general online applications, such as document and video-sharing tools, and e-learning platforms. Among various professional development needs, those related to the use of specific educational software with sharing of practical examples were considered to be most highly desired by the academics. In addition, the academics working in lecturer positions tended to use more online applications and had a higher need for professional development, than those with more teaching experience. Originality/value: The findings contribute to identifying the current status of the use of educational technology and the professional development needs among academics in Hong Kong, as well as the differences between academics in different job positions and with different amounts of teaching experience. The results help in designing suitable professional development activities which address the specific needs of academics.
[Copyright of Interactive Technology and Smart Education is the property of Emerald Publishing Limited.]

Effective teaching and learning strategy is one of the most important topics in the field of teachers' professional development. Teachers' education and pre-service teachers' training programmes provide necessary coursework, field experience, and student teaching internship experience to pre-service, potential, and second career teachers who are seeking initial license status. Due to the rapid developments in Hong Kong, China, school teachers face challenges, difficulties, and social problems due to excess enrolment of teachers from different backgrounds. The regular curriculum and material also fail to cover all these issues. The current study applied the seminar technique as recommended in Polya's "Four-Step Problem-Solving Model" with targeted discussion topics and engaged 12 STEM pre-service teachers at one of the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) programmes. The results indicated that beyond regular coursework, field experience, and internship experiences embedded in the curriculum, additional seminars allowed the participants to establish inter-disciplinary teaching strategies and critical thinking skills. The results of this study serve as a blueprint for teachers' education programme leaders and school administrators to establish similar seminars and conduct such sessions for their pre-service and in-service teachers to refresh and advance their teaching and learning strategies.
[Copyright of International Journal of Education and Practice is the property of Pak Publishing Group.]

Gifted students usually require much less time spent in practising and revising basic skills; instead, they benefit greatly from opportunities to work through the curriculum at a faster pace (acceleration). Teachers currently working with mixed-ability classes do not always find it easy to differentiate their teaching approach in this way, so there is a need to facilitate in-service professional development to provide teachers with practical strategies for implementing effective differentiation for gifted learners. In response, a project for primary school teachers was organized by a university in Hong Kong. The purposes of the project were (a) to "enhance the confidence of teachers" in planning and delivering differentiated lessons in specific key learning areas (KLAs) with particular reference to gifted students; (b) to "empower teachers with knowledge and strategies" necessary for designing and implementing a differentiated curriculum in KLA domains and (c) to establish a "professional development practice" that connects local academics with schools and teachers. The project was implemented by inviting curriculum leaders, panel chairpersons and subject teachers from primary schools to attend a 3-hour lecture and a 6-hour workshop in which differentiation practices were explored. The project was later evaluated based on feedback from participants and university consultants. Overall, the feedback was positive, but suggestions are provided here for enhancing future projects of a similar nature.
[Copyright of Gifted Education International is the property of SAGE Publications]

Social diversity is now commonplace in many communities in today's globalised world. This diversity can be seen in any classroom of learners, and international studies have shown the complex ways in which disabilities, race, ethnicity, gender and social class can determine a child's opportunity to succeed or fail in the education system. In Hong Kong, like in many educational contexts around the world, teachers are grappling with increasing diversity amongst their students, including teaching students with special educational needs (SEN) and non-Chinese speaking students (NCS) living in Hong Kong. This paper examines how three primary TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) teachers are constructing identities as inclusive practitioners as they grapple with enacting the inclusive education policy recently introduced into Hong Kong schools. The data are drawn from a small-scale collaborative reflective inquiry for teacher professional development. Drawing upon a sociocultural and critical framing of identity theory, we trace the three teachers' identity construction as EFL teachers and inclusive education practitioners. We view the role of discourse, self-positioning and social context as key processes in teacher identity formation. Implications for furthering the development of inclusive education in EFL classrooms are offered.

This study investigates how genre can be used as an organisational principle to interweave teaching and assessment in the L2 school context. Relying on data from interviews and lesson observations gathered from two Secondary 1 (that is, Grade 7) Hong Kong classrooms, the study sought to discover how teachers implemented genre-based teaching and assessment in traditional product- and exam-oriented writing classrooms, students' and teachers' evaluation of the approach, as well as the factors that might facilitate or restrain the genre innovation. The findings show that teachers worked collaboratively and shared a common vision in implementing genre-based teaching and assessment, making sure that they integrated teaching and assessment through a focus on genre. Although the limitations of the genre approach were noted, the innovation was generally well received by students and teachers, who felt that the innovation had enabled students to improve their writing and helped teachers enhance their practice. A few facilitative and inhibitory factors are discussed. The findings suggest that the implementation of genre-based teaching and assessment has to be considered within the ecology of teachers' work.
[Copyright of English Teaching: Practice & Critique is the property of Universidad del Zulia.
Access via Directory of Open Access Journals: http://edlinked.soe.waikato.ac.nz/research/journal/index.php?id=1]

This study explores how adapted action research could act as a catalyst for change in curriculum development and be used as an instructional strategy in a music teacher education programme to enhance the reflective practice of student-teachers. Two cases of in-service, part-time student-teachers of a music teacher programme who conducted an individually adapted action research project are documented. Qualitative data was collected. Triangulation and discussion with participants were used to verify the findings. The findings indicate that teachers valued the enhanced opportunity for them not only to reflect and improve professional practice in teaching, but also to help their students to learn better. Teachers experienced positive classroom changes and developed ownership of their professional growth. Constraints noted include the lack of experience in action research at the beginning, and the lack of time for teachers to prepare curriculum materials, given their heavy workload of teaching.
[Copyright of Music Education Research is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2011.553280 ]