This article reports on a project which involved enabling teachers in Hong Kong primary schools to use an online integrated learning environment (ILE) to design lesson plans to cater for students with different learning abilities. Teachers explored ways of using technology to enhance student learning. A case-study approach was used to collect data on individual teacher developments and document evolving classroom teaching strategies. The findings revealed that when using the ILE teachers were able to: 1. effectively design and create lessons which catered for different ability groups within the class; 2. employ varied teaching strategies to cater for different learning needs of students in the class; 3. shift from more traditional pedagogical approaches to embracing learner-centred principles which achieve a higher degree of classroom interaction; and 4. collaborate with others, discuss their feelings more honestly, evaluate and reflect on their own practice.
[Copyright of Technology, Pedagogy and Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14759390500200212 ]

The design of the problems that are used in problem-based learning plays an important part in achieving the intended learning objectives set by teaching staff. To a large extent, the learning issues generated by students during tutorials determine their learning activities and form the framework for the direction of self-directed study. The relevance of these learning issues will drive and stimulate students to become more competent self-directed learners. The work described in this paper explores the match between students' learning issues and the learning objectives that have been set by teaching staff. The findings indicate that students recognize (on average) 79.9% of the learning objectives with a significant improvement as the semester progresses (p < 0.01). There is also evidence to suggest that students move towards independent learning as a result of problem-based learning.
[Copyright of Innovations in Education & Teaching International is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1470329032000103762]

A total of 712 students of the Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK) - sampled from high achievers and low achievers, as defined by their performances in their overall course scores in four consecutive semesters--participated in the study. An instrument, the Survey of Students' Study Preferences and Habits, developed and validated for the study was also used to collect data from the students who participated. The data collected through this instrument were complemented with in-depth telephone interviews using a sub-set of 32 from the main study sample.The analysis of the data, using both qualitative and quantitative methods which included descriptive and inferential statistics, showed very interesting patterns of differences in locus of control and the use of mctacognitivc strategics by low achievers and high achievers. For instance, high achievers rated themselves significantly higher than low achievers (p<. 01) in a number of scales such as confidence with studies, ability to cope well with studying in distance learning mode, and motivation by the need to avoid failure. High achievers indicated a significantly higher use of effective learning strategies than did low achievers (p <.01).
[Copyright of Distance Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0158791990200206]

Many institutions producing distance education courses employ teaching-learning specialists, who are most commonly known as instructional designers. The suitability of instructional design as a framework for educational development is questioned, since it is a prescriptive science and course design is an ill-defined problem. The designer-client relationship also implies a deficit assumption about academic staff. Action research is advanced as an alternative approach to educational development. It is argued that an important feature of course teams has been the critical discourse which is an integral part of action research. The Action Learning Project is used as an example of how the action research framework can be put into practice. The multi-faceted role of the 'critical friend' in supporting projects is described.
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The study that we report in this paper, named as learning study, is a hybrid between a design experiment as characterized by Brown and Collins, and a Japanese lesson study as characterized by Yoshida, and Stigler and Hiebert. This paper aims at tracing the development of the learning study and examining its impact on teacher professional learning, through the example of an empirical study conducted in Hong Kong. First, the notion of learning study is explicated, together with the related ideas of the lesson study approach, the teaching research group and design experiments. Second, an empirical study is reported, which documents how a group of economics teachers in Hong Kong worked collaboratively within the learning study model to improve student learning, and in doing so enhanced their own professional learning. Finally, the implication of learning study for teacher professional learning is discussed.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10476210500527915]

In Hong Kong and Canada, indeed globally, slogans about learning to learn and teaching for 21st-century knowledge and skills are common. However, there are few examples of how teacher education courses or programs are responding to these new demands. In this paper, we propose a framework for designing teacher education premised on the theoretical perspective of knowledge building. We describe two courses, a pre-service teacher education in course Hong Kong teachers and a joint graduate course for Hong Kong and Canadian teachers. In both cases, participants engaged in knowledge-building discourse mediated by a computer-supported learning environment. We present the design and illustrate how the teachers were able to work as collaborative inquirers and knowledge creators in a knowledge-building community. Implications of knowledge building for teacher development as related to socio-cultural contexts are discussed.
[Copyright of Teaching Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10476210500527907]

This paper shares with readers the findings of a study that was set in the context of a school curriculum initiative on task-based instruction. The study examined 1) the understanding and decision-making of teachers teaching English as a second language about language learning and classroom task preparation, 2) the difference in task interpretation among elementary and secondary teachers, and 3) the factors influencing interpretations. A total of 114 secondary and primary teachers of English attending an in-service teacher education program on the new curriculum were surveyed and interviewed. Findings indicate that the teachers had a tacit understanding of how to develop and adapt a task description for classroom instructional use.