This article explores the dynamics of power-sharing between teacher and students in learning and teaching situations, and describes the theoretical bases, implementation, and results of an empirical study in three elementary schools in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. Findings from 58 class observations and interviews with 50 students, 25 teachers, and three school principals suggest that teachers can empower students by acknowledging their right to and responsibility for learning and by sharing power with students. Power-sharing classroom practice requires the dual efforts of teachers and students, and can be facilitated by the teachers’ interactive teaching mode, students’ cooperation and willingness to engage in learning, and school policy and culture, etc. In the power-sharing classrooms, teachers played the role of facilitators and students played as collaborators. In this article, theoretical implications for understanding power-sharing and critical pedagogy are discussed. The empirical evidence from this Hong Kong study contributes to an understanding of teacher-initiated power-sharing in the Chinese context, and the practice of critical pedagogy in classrooms.
[Copyright © 2014 Higher Education Press.]

This colloquium addresses the issue of the effectiveness of content teaching and learning through English in Hong Kong secondary schools in the context of the current moves to change the eligibility of schools to adopt English as their medium of instruction. It brings together some recent classroom-based research and development on teaching and learning through English in Hong Kong secondary schools in order to promote debate as to how this can be improved. Cummins will present an overview of the value of integrating second language and content learning. Kong and Hoare will focus on the use of English by teachers and students in the local English medium classrooms, based on data drawn from two studies on teacher explanations and student writing. Man will discuss some adaption issues of Secondary 1 English medium students switching from Chinese medium primary schools and will examine some support measures for their content learning. Walker will report on some of the difficulties students face using English for content learning in S4 and the role of an enrichment programme in supporting them. The colloquium will include an extended time for discussion on ways forward in English medium teaching and learning.

Many Hong Kong schools are concerned about how diverse learning needs of ethnic minority students could be better fulfilled. This study examines local teachers’ constructs of assessment classroom environments. Using qualitative data collected from semi-structured interviews with 32 teachers from three secondary schools, this study shows ways in which summative assessment influences teachers’ formative assessment practices. Cultural responsiveness in this study is not limited to the notion of multiculturalism. It can be constructed under the ethos of respect, care and equality. The culturally responsive approach to assessment described in this study foregrounds considerations of cultural influence in teachers’ beliefs regarding assessment. Principles of culturally responsive assessment identified include: (i) integrating the ‘part’ of assessment with the ‘whole’ of teaching, (ii) managing the diverse learning needs of students, (iii) removing language barriers from the assessment process and (iv) examining the influence of the public examination on teachers’ classroom assessment practice.
[Copyright © 2014 Taylor & Francis.]

All of us, who visit schools, or who have worked as teachers, at one time or another have become aware of the significant effect the physical environment can have on learning. As learners, we all try to construct learning and working environment, that contain both artefacts and psychological features that emancipate us, and thus support our learning and study. Pupils and teachers alike frequently complain about the noise, temperature, lighting, space, furniture, seating arrangements and materials that constitute the physical aspects of a classroom environment. There are also complaints, often by principals, but increasingly by teachers and parents, about psycho-social elements of classrooms. That is, the amount and nature of classroom talk, the use of groups, the role expectations of teachers and pupils. The appropriateness of the psycho-social and physical objects and conditions inherent in classrooms affect the teacher's and pupil's ability to concentrate, to think and/or attend to classroom activities. Classroom environment, language acquisition and teacher thinking research reinforces the role teacher's play in creating effective learning environments. Close-up examinations of 'life in classrooms,' beginning with Jackson (1968), indicate how teachers can arrange the physical and psycho-social environment in ways that make them more effective scaffolds for pupil learning. Consequently, the nature of the physical environment is viewed as one determinant of a teacher's effectiveness, i.e., their ability to facilitate pupil learning. In addition, research has also shown that the content and nature of the physical classroom environment -the learning facilities, the instructional materials, the equipment used, and the displays of pupil work- amount to a public statement of the beliefs about teaching and learning that each respective teacher holds (Sipco, 1996; Tessmer & Harris, 1992). This presentation will report findings of a study that explored 70 primary classrooms

The Hong Kong Education Reform, which calls for a realignment of assessment practices, addresses the assessment theories of the early 21st century and tries to move Hong Kong from an educational culture of “Assessment of Learning (AoL)” to a culture of “Assessment for Learning (AfL)”. This paradigmatic shift of culture, addresses the assessment theories formulated during the past decade that call for assessment practices which should drive both teaching and learning (Biggs and Watkins, 1999). However, most Hong Kong classrooms currently still use assessment as a tool for measuring learning instead of a mean for facilitating learning (Berry 2005). In view of this, an investigation was initiated in the purpose of achieving a better understanding of the assessment actions in the classroom. The investigation included twenty-seven teachers from nine secondary and primary Hong Kong schools which focused on assessment used in the classroom as seen from lesson observations of the participating teachers. The data collected was analyzed by using Torrance & Prior’s divergent (AfL) and convergent assessment (AoL) framework (1998). It was found that there were key tensions and important opportunities in the assessment and learning processes in the classrooms. The paper will first give some background information about the paradigm shift of assessment culture, followed by a presentation of the findings of the investigation and a discussion on the key tensions and important opportunities in the assessment and learning processes in the classroom.

Cooperative learning is only a small component of a core module in the pre-service programmes and an elective module in the in-service programmes of the biggest teacher education institute in Hong Kong. Schools attempting to implement cooperative learning have to rely mainly on the help of external staff developers. Most of the school-based staff development programmes provided by the staff developers start with some introductory talks and workshops, followed by lesson planning, lesson observation and post-lesson sharing by the teachers, and end with a concluding session by the staff developers. Many of these school-based staff development programmes are not effective in attempting to add cooperative learning to the repertoire of the teachers largely because of the weakness of these programmes and the overlooking of the diversified aspects of cooperative learning. This paper suggests a six-phase model of school-based staff development in cooperative learning to enhance the effectiveness of the programmes. These phases are described as setting objectives, participation in workshops, collaborative lesson preparation, peer observation, post-lesson conference and reflection. The model is effective in that it gives ownership to teachers in working in collaboration with their peers as well as staff developers in planning and implementing an innovation.

Classroom experience is shaped by a number of factors. In this paper, we report a classroom observation study in China, illustrating regional variation in students' classroom learning experiences. Through comparing and contrasting observed classroom practices in three different regions in China (Chongqing, Hong Kong and Shanghai), the paper provides an analysis of the variation in classroom learning experiences of primary school students in China. Our empirical classroom observation data illustrates some key differences in the pedagogy, the use of classroom activities, and the implementation of the curriculum between individual schools. More substantial differences in classroom practices are found when comparing schools from different regions than those within a given city, leading us to conclude that regional impacts on student experience appear to be more important than within-city factors such as the location of a school or its level of facilities.
[Copyright of Asia Pacific Journal of Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2013.860005]