Educating Teachers for the Information Era

Abstract

This paper seeks to summarize efforts made by the Faculty of Education of the University of Macau to inculcate computer literacy in teachers in Macau in preparation for the information era. Based on one programme of study proposed by the National Research Center for Computers in Education in Primary and Secondary Schools, the paper summarizes the course objectives, as well as the concepts and skills required to ensure sustainable development of information technology in China. To educate teachers throughinformation technology, it is envisaged that two kinds of activities are required: (1) construction of web‐based learning environments, (2) multimedia courseware authoring.     

The Challenges of Attracting Asian Students to Study Higher Education in Hong Kong

This article reports a commissioned research project on exploring the emerging issues and challenges of attracting Asian students to study in Hong Kong's higher education institutions. Findings reveal the rapidly growing demand for quality transnational education in Asia and the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of exporting Hong Kong's higher education. The challenges include the need to arrive at a consensus on the aims of internationalisation of Hong Kong's higher education, issues related to promotion strategies overseas, as well as problems of social and multi‐cultural inclusion of non‐local students. Drawing on the research findings, the author suggests going beyond the notion of profit‐oriented vision and exploring the real mission of promoting higher education services overseas that contributes to the enhancement of higher education receivers' learning experiences and preparing students to be future leaders in a humane environment.     

The object of learning in action research and learning study

ABSTRACT

The Learning study and the Educational Action Research approaches to educational research are compared, not from a third, neutral point of view, but from the perspective of the former. Hence, the comparison is carried out in terms of how the main point of departure of the Learning study (LS), the question of ‘What is to be learned?’, is addressed in the two approaches. Both represent critical stances to Educational objectives, the frequently taken-for-granted answer to the question. Educational objectives communicate, however, what the students are expected to become able to do, but not what they need to learn in order to get there. Hence, what is to be learned cannot be stated in advance, prior to the teacher learning what her students need to learn. The two approaches to educational research agree on the principle that what is to be learned has to be found in the interaction between students and teachers; however, there is an important difference between the two concerning the very point of departure. Educational objectives are too wide and imprecise according to LS, the teachers have to find the critical aspects (necessary to appropriate, but not appropriated as yet by the students) of the object of learning. According to Action research, as formulated by Lawrence Stenhouse, educational objectives are too narrow, too limited and limiting. We shall start looking for what is to be learned amongst inherent aspects of the content itself.     

Mother and teacher ratings of maladaptive behaviour in children with special needs

ABSTRACT

Parents and teachers of 109 children selected from the Special Needs Register and living in a multiethnic urban health district participated in the study. Their perceptions of children's behaviour at home and at school were measured by the Aberrant Behavior Checklist(ABC). About two‐thirds of the subjects presented with at least one type of maladaptive behaviour of at least moderate severity within their family, and 50 per cent had similar difficulties at school. The dimensions of hyperactivity and irritability were the main causes for concern by both sources. Contrary to previous studies, high rates of parent‐teacher agreement were found. This significant association was not affected by factors such as age, ethnicity or type of school. The implications for the provision of services for children in special education are discussed.     

Effects of hierarchical versus sequential structuring of teaching content on creativity in Chinese writing

This research employed the Learning Study approach which refers to a blend of Japanese “lesson study” and design-based research to provide support to teachers to teach creatively in Chinese writing. It reports a serendipity finding that remarkable differences in the creativity scores among these classes were noted even though they had the same learning objectives with the same lesson plan. Examining how teachers structure writing activities in a unit is essential to the understanding of how creativity works in the context of classroom instruction. We suggested that these differences were associated with the effects of hierarchical and sequential structuring of teaching content on creativity in Chinese writing. Possible ways of understanding creativity in a domain-specific training and disseminations of the findings are suggested.     

Leading,managing and participating in inter-university teaching grant collaborations

In this paper we examine the leadership and management of multi-university collaborations funded by national teaching grants. The paper commences with a review of literature relating to stages of project development, key operational issues, impediments to collaboration and the leadership and management of teaching grant collaborations. Finally, we explore critical success factors in teaching grant collaborations from three perspectives – those of leader, manager and team member.     

An Empirical Study of Geahigan's Inquiry Model in Learning Art at Senior Secondary School Level

The philosophical foundation for teaching art criticism in schools has been dominated by formalist and expressionist aesthetics, while from a practical point of view it has been influenced by art criticism models that emphasise observation and linguistic practices. Instead of asking students to observe an artwork and make verbal or written statements, George Geahigan proposed an inquiry‐based art criticism learning model that engages students in personal response, research, and aesthetic concept and perceptual skill acquisition activities. Using inquiry‐based art criticism as a foundation for curriculum development and connecting the model to authentic situations in schools, the present study investigated the effectiveness of the model on student learning. Fifteen secondary school teachers were invited to participate. Eight teachers taught the experimental group (n=85) with inquiry‐based curriculum plans and the other seven teachers taught the control group (n=82) with their own school curriculum plans. Students of both groups were asked to write an art criticism essay before and after the implementation of the curriculum plans. The results demonstrated that the overall improvement of the experimental group after one academic year was significantly greater than that of the control group. This article reports on the theoretical framework, methodology and results of the study. It was found that the inquiry‐based approach was a successful strategy in improving students’ skills in analysing, judging and using aesthetic and contextual knowledge in art criticism writing. The discussion focuses on the improvements that were made in the art criticism essays of the experimental group.     

Harnessing collective intelligence of Web 2.0: group adoption and use of Internet-based collaboration technologies

Along with the advent of Web 2.0, mass collaboration is of paramount importance in knowledge exploration and diffusion. However, the extent to which Internet-based collaboration technologies can be used to develop new knowledge and to leverage the wisdom of crowds heavily depends on the collective willingness to adopt such tools together. In this study, the adoption and use of instant messaging has been conceptualized as a group-referent intentional social action. The concept of ‘we-intention’, which refers to one's perception of the group acting as a unit, is the focus of our interest. The cognitive, affective and social dimensions that contribute to ‘we-intention’ to adopt and use instant messaging were investigated. A survey was conducted and the findings provided empirical evidence supporting the idea that cognitive, affective and social factors jointly lead to the development of we-intention. This study is expected to provide some useful insights to both researchers and practitioners.