The field experience component in the four year Bachelor of Education programme (Primary) at The Hong Kong Institute of Education offers a number of opportunities for students to observe or teach in a school. The aim of this article is to analyse the learning of the studentVteachers and the supporting teachers during the field experience period in the second and the final years of the programme and to explain this learning using a sociocultural view of learning. StudentVteachers and their supporting teachers in their second year of study in 1999-2000 as well as those in their final year of study in 2001-02 were interviewed. The findings describe the professional development of the studentVteachers and the construction of knowledge in teaching. The article analyses the role of supporting teachers as social agents, and describes their use of mediational means, including teaching resources, and information about pupils abilities and habits, in facilitating the learning of the studentVteachers. The findings also compare the sharing of aims between the lecturers and the supporting teachers. Finally, the paper summarizes suggestions on how professional development of the student-teachers during the field experience may be analysed by adopting a sociocultural view of learning.
[Copyright of Teacher Development is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13664530500200259 ]

In a survey of student teachers and supervisors at two Hong Kong universities a number of areas that are difficult to discuss in supervisory conferences were identified. Broadly speaking, these difficult areas were characterised by being concerned with 'personal aspects'. Subsequently, a sample of these student teachers and supervisors were interviewed in depth to ascertain their views on how such difficult areas should be tackled. In this paper we analyse the perceptions of both parties with respect to a selection of these difficult topics including presence, enthusiasm, commitment and general attitude, and consider the extent to which these perceptions differ or coincide. Finally, we discuss the implications for the supervisory process and attempt to identify the most important features for successfully dealing with such issues.
[Copyright of Journal of Education for Teaching is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02607470120067909]

Problem-based learning (PBL) has been widely adopted in many university programs. Evaluations of PBL in medicine, dentistry, nursing and social work reveal positive outcomes from both tutors and learners. However, few evaluations have been published about using PBL in teacher education programs. This article reports how the 13 student-teachers in the Integrated Humanities Major Method course at the Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong evaluated the use of three different modes of PBL delivery, namely: the classical PBL; an alternate pattern of PBL and teacher-led deductive workshops; and a modified PBL using problem-based scenario inductive inquiry workshops. The learning experiences of the student-teachers were captured via an open-ended questionnaire to discuss the feasibility and receptivity of endorsing full or partial use of PBL in the teacher education program. The outcome shows strong preference for the use of the modified PBL approach while the majority agreed the classical PBL style is the most challenging among the three modes.
[Copyright of Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13598660802375933 ]

Short-term international experiences (STIE) are becoming a regular, sometimes required, feature of pre-service language teacher education programmes. Often inappropriately termed 'immersion programmes', they aim to give teachers the opportunity to improve their language proficiency in the language they will teach, to develop their pedagogical knowledge and to engage with an international sociocultural environment with which they are not familiar. In this article we report on a study which investigated pre-service English second language teachers' perceptions of a six-week international experience in Auckland, New Zealand. The student teachers, who were enrolled in a postgraduate diploma in teaching at a Hong Kong university, participated in an academic programme as well as a series of social events and school visits. They were encouraged to reflect on their expectations and experiences and to write about these in a pre-programme questionnaire, reflective journals and a summative programme evaluation. The teachers' articulations reveal that their expectations and experiences interrelate in complex, sometimes unexpected, ways. The findings have important implications for the coordinators of the programme at the host institution and also for those further afield who are involved in planning and managing similar STIE programmes.
[Copyright of Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13598660500479904]