This paper focuses on reconfiguring assessment processes so that they support a learning function, in addition to the more traditional measurement function. In the first half of the paper we discuss a framework for 'learning‐oriented assessment' derived from a project carried out in Hong Kong. We conceptualize learning‐oriented assessment as containing three key components: assessment tasks as learning tasks; student involvement in assessment; and explicitly forward‐looking feedback. The second half of the paper presents an action research case in which the first author implemented some of the principles of learning‐oriented assessment within a module in a teacher education context. The module, focusing on multimedia and web authoring, was taught through blended learning with an emphasis on peer learning and project‐based learning. A particular feature was the interplay between students' learning experiences and the module assessments.
[Copyright of Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09695940600703944]

This paper presents a study that shows the use of professional standards in field experience assessment in initial teacher education. A Professional Development Progress Map was developed in field experience assessment in a teacher education institution in Hong Kong. The study enriches our understanding of the holistic nature of assessing professional competence in teaching, problems of using the Progress Map in summative assessment, and the enhancement of professional learning in field experience assessment. While the discussion cautions the limitations of professional standards, it advocates the empowerment of the assessors and the assessed to be agents striving for good assessments. Suggestions on engaging supervisors and student teachers in 'assessment dialogue' are proposed for this empowerment - making explicit judgments on professional competence in teaching and sharing supervisory practices among supervisors, engaging student teachers with the assessment criteria, and reframing supervisory practices to empower student teachers to take an active role in supervision.
[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/10.1080/02607470701773416]

The author points out that Hong Kong is a metropolitan city where Chinese culture meets the West. However, the music curriculum does not reflect a perfect blending of music cultures from both China and the West. In the official general music curriculums set forth by the Curriculum Development Committee, Western music dominates what is currently taught in Hong Kong schools. Chinese music is given far less prominence than Western music in all years of schooling. The author discusses this issue, as well as other factors in the training of the teachers that will help build a more fuller understanding and healthier attitude toward the teaching of Chinese music and Chinese culture.

The implementation of an Internet-based multimedia teaching package for initial teacher education is presented in the paper. Included is a list of essential software tools to create tailer-made homepage.