Teachers’ views of a new general education program in Hong Kong: a qualitative study

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel T.L. Shek ◽  
Lu Yu ◽  
Florence K.Y. Wu ◽  
Wen Y. Chai
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
General Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Curriculum ◽  
First Year ◽  
Implementation Quality ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
New Education ◽  
Academic Year

Abstract Under the new education reform in Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has expanded its undergraduate education from 3 to 4 years since the 2012–2013 academic year. Along with the transition, the General University Requirements (GUR) has been developed as an integral part on general education of the new 4-year undergraduate curriculum of PolyU. The present study examined the implementation quality and effectiveness of the GUR in the 2012–2013 academic year based on focus group interviews with teachers. Twenty teachers who taught GUR subjects were interviewed for their perceptions and experiences about the GUR. Results revealed that the teachers generally had positive perceptions of the GUR in terms of its rationales, teaching and learning modes, and implementation quality. GUR subjects were also considered effective in helping students to develop in a holistic manner. The findings suggest that the first-year implementation of the GUR at PolyU was basically successful.

Focus group evaluation of teachers’ views on a new general education program in Hong Kong

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-74
Author(s):  
Daniel T.L. Shek ◽  
Lu Yu ◽  
Xinli Chi
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
General Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Difficulty Level ◽  
Freshman Seminar ◽  
Group Evaluation ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Using teachers’ focus group interviews (n=40), this study examined the impact of the General University Requirements (GUR) implemented at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). Results showed that teachers were generally satisfied with the GUR subjects and its implementation in its second year. Teachers regarded the design of GUR subjects was good and the students generally welcomed the subjects. Interactive teaching and learning methods adopted in GUR subjects such as fieldwork, hands-on projects, and team debates were highly appreciated by the respondents. Teachers also reflected that the GUR had promoted the intrapersonal and interpersonal development of the students. However, several challenges were also reported by teachers, including the difficulty level of Freshman Seminar subjects and lack of interaction in some GUR subjects, which suggested directions for further improvements.

scholarly journals General education program in a new 4-year university curriculum in Hong Kong: findings based on multiple evaluation strategies

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel T.L. Shek ◽  
Lu Yu ◽  
Florence K.Y. Wu ◽  
Catalina S.M. Ng
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
General Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Qualitative Evaluation ◽  
Outcome Evaluation ◽  
University Curriculum ◽  
Evaluation Strategies ◽  
Undergraduate Programs ◽  
Academic Year ◽  
Objective Outcome

AbstractSince the 2012−2013 academic year, undergraduate programs in Hong Kong have been changed from 3 years to 4 years, with the additional year focusing primarily on general education. A new general education framework entitled General University Requirements (GUR) implemented at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) was examined in a 5-year longitudinal project. Based on different evaluation strategies, including objective outcome evaluation, subjective outcome evaluation and qualitative evaluation (focus groups, case studies, and document analyses), findings consistently showed that students had positive perceptions of the subject content, teachers as well as teaching and learning methods in GUR subjects. A large majority of students perceived that the GUR subjects were effective in promoting the five desirable graduate attributes defined by PolyU (i.e. problem solving, critical thinking ability, effective communication, ethical leadership, and lifelong learning).

Evaluation of the general university requirements: what did students say?

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel T.L. Shek ◽  
Lu Yu ◽  
Wen Yu Chai
Keyword(s):  
General Education ◽  
Ethical Leadership ◽  
Undergraduate Curriculum ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Perceived Effectiveness ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Major Objective ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Academic Year

Abstract The General University Requirements (GUR) is the core general education component of the new 4-year undergraduate curriculum at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) commencing from the 2012/2013 academic year. The major objective of the GUR is to widen students’ horizons and promote their holistic development in their undergraduate years. To evaluate the perceived effectiveness of the GUR in its second year implementation, 18 focus group interviews (n=74 students) were conducted in the 2013/2014 academic year. Findings showed that subjects under the GUR framework were overall welcomed by students for the well-designed subject contents, dedicated teaching staff, and collaborative and experiential learning methods. Students perceived that the GUR was beneficial to their development in effective communication, critical thinking, problem solving, lifelong learning, and ethical leadership. Some challenges encountered by students were noted to further revamp the GUR curriculum in the future.

PEER FEEDBACK TECHNIQUE IN IMPROVING THE STUDENTS’ WRITING ABILITY OF THE FIRST GRADE STUDENTS IN SMA NEGERI BALIKPAPAN

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-131
Author(s):  
Dayang Suriani
Keyword(s):  
Learning Process ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Peer Feedback ◽  
First Grade ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Writing Ability ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
Academic Year ◽  
Writing Practice

This study is directed to obtain information how peer feedback can improve students’ ability in writing. Specifically, it is directed to investigate whether peer feedback works and can improve students’ writing ability in writing sentences and narrative paragraphs, at the first year students of SMA Negeri 1 Balikpapan. The study was conducted based on the result of preliminary study at the school. It is found that the students’ ability in the language skills especially in writing is still insufficient. In the teaching and learning process the teacher provides fewer portions in writing activities for the students in class. In addition, the strategies used in the teaching and learning process are uninteresting because the students have to do the writing activities in under pressure. To answer the problems, a classroom action research is conducted. The teacher as a researcher works in planning the action, implementing the action, observing, and analyzing and reflecting the action. The subjects of the study are the second year students (X-IPA-1) of 2019/2020 academic year consisting of 40 students. The results shows that peer feedback obviously can improve the students’ ability in writing sentences and narrative paragraphs at the first year students of SMA Negeri 1 Balikpapan. It has been observed that the improvements are caused by the regular writing practice done by the students and the teacher’s response given to their writing. It becomes a sort of on going dialogue.

Qualitative evaluation of general university requirements in a new 4-year university curriculum: findings based on experiences of students

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel T.L. Shek ◽  
Lu Yu ◽  
Florence K.Y. Wu ◽  
Catalina S.M. Ng ◽  
Wen Yu Chai
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
General Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Qualitative Evaluation ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
The North ◽  
University Curriculum ◽  
American Model ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Following the North American model, the length of undergraduate program in Hong Kong has been extended from 3 to 4 years since 2012. To maximize the impact of the additional year, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has implemented a new general education framework entitled “General University Requirements (GUR)” aiming to cultivate students in a holistic manner. This study explored students’ impressions of the GUR subjects using a survey collecting primarily qualitative data. Results from 163 students of eight faculties showed that students perceived the GUR subjects favorably. Having opportunities to make new friends from other departments and the teaching and learning methods, particularly experiential learning stimulated students’ interest and enriched their learning experiences which were reportedly are unforgettable. Some of the obstacles encountered by students in several subjects were identified. The beneficial effects of the GUR subjects in different domains were voiced by the students.

scholarly journals Developing the Inner Scientist: Book Club Participation and The Nature of Science

2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phyllis Baudoin Griffard ◽  
Tayseer Mosleh ◽  
Saad Kubba
Keyword(s):  
Nature Of Science ◽  
Book Club ◽  
First Year ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
History Of ◽  
Questionnaire Form ◽  
Culturally Influenced ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Academic Year

The leap from science student to scientist involves recognizing that science is a tentative, evolving body of knowledge that is socially constructed and culturally influenced; this is known as The Nature of Science (NOS). The aim of this study was to document NOS growth in first-year premedical students who participated in a science book club as a curricular option. The club read three acclaimed nonfiction works that connect biology to medicine via the history of scientific ideas. Students’ NOS status was assessed as informed, transitional, or naïve at the beginning and end of the academic year using the Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire–Form C (VNOS-C). Focus group interviews and document analysis of assignments and exams provided qualitative evidence. VNOS-C scores improved over the academic year regardless of book club participation. Students who participated in book club had marginally better NOS status at the end of the year but also at the beginning, suggesting that book club may have attracted rather than produced students with higher NOS status. It is notable that an improvement in NOS understanding could be detected at all, as there have been few reports of NOS growth in the literature in which NOS was not an explicit topic of instruction.

scholarly journals Connection of the New Education Reform and the 2002 Physical Education Immersion Program (Jiangsu - China) of The Hong Kong Institute of Education: Reflections and Suggestions

2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 8-18
Author(s):  
Ming Kai CHIN
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Physical Education ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Teaching Strategies ◽  
Physical Education Teachers ◽  
Immersion Program ◽  
Life Long Learning ◽  
Physical Education Students ◽  
Sports Skills ◽  
New Education

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.Primary and secondary physical education teachers play an important role in the education reform, which emphasizes on the holistic development and life-long learning. The 2002 Physical Education Immersion Program (Jiangsu-China), organized by The Hong Kong Institute of Education, provided an opportunity for physical education students to improve their teaching and sports skills through interaction with staff and students from Inland China. This paper describes the objectives, contents, and assessments of the outcomes of the program. By examining and comparing the current curriculum structures and teaching strategies in physical education between Hong Kong and Inland China through this experience, the author looks forward to the change of the future of physical education in Hong Kong with reflections and suggestions. The aim of these changes is to improve the physical education curriculum and teaching strategies in order to better meet the needs of the current education reform that is occurring in Hong Kong, Inland China and world-wide.中、小學體育敎師在全面實施素質敎育，培養具有創新精神和實踐能力的新型人材中扮演著重要的角色。高等師範院校體育敎育專業則是培養和訓練這支跨世紀新型體育師資隊伍的搖籃。如何在體育敎育專業的敎學大綱和課程設置中體現實踐的重要性，創造機會讓學生走出課堂，通過觀摩、交流和實踐的手段來提高其敎學能力，是關係到能否培養出適應未來挑戰的中小學體育師資的關鍵。本文介紹了香港敎育學院體育及運動科學系舉辦的首次體育沉浸課程(Immersion Program)(中國-江蘇)2002交流活動，並就該課程的目標、內容、效果進行了分析，及在對香港中、小學體育敎學的現狀與內地的體育敎學進行了比較後，作者探討了香港體育敎育專業敎學改革的方向，並提出了一些可行的建議，以供香港體育工作者參考。

The impact of 3-year and 4-year undergraduate programs on university students: the case of Hong Kong

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel T.L. Shek ◽  
Lu Yu
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
General Education ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Undergraduate Curriculum ◽  
Degree Program ◽  
Control Group ◽  
School Year ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Better Than

Abstract The undergraduate curriculum structure in Hong Kong was changed from 3 years to 4 years starting from the 2012–2013 school year, with the extra year of study primarily devoted to general education study. At The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), the General University Requirements (GUR) has been designed in response to this change. In this study, the question of whether the development of students in the 4-year program was better than that of the 3-year program was examined via a static group comparison design. The treatment group was Year 3 students of the 4-year undergraduate degree program (n=566) whereas the control group comprised Year 3 students of the 3-year degree program (n=290). Measures on empathy, positive youth development, and student engagement were used as indicators of student holistic development. While the mean age of students in the 3-year program was higher than that of the 4-year program, students in the 4-year program performed better than the students of the 3-year program on several indicators of desired graduate attributes. Bearing in mind the limitations of the static comparison group design, the present study provides support for the positive impact of GUR at PolyU on students of the 4-year undergraduate curriculum.

Some Thoughts on Curriculum and Change

1996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leon Botstein
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
General Education ◽  
Core Curriculum ◽  
Body Politic ◽  
Undergraduate Curriculum ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Radical Reform ◽  
The Great Depression ◽  
Political Purpose

It should go without saying that in the twentieth-century history of American higher education, each significant curricular reform movement has had a distinct political agenda. This is particularly true for initiatives designed to create decisive changes in the shape of the undergraduate curriculum. In those circumstances in which a political movement and an institutional initiative have coincided, a distinct political purpose can be discerned in what the institution required of its students and how the program was articulated. The historical moment was certainly at issue in the case of the reforms of the 1930s. Men such as Robert Hutchins, Stringfellow Barr, and Scott Buchanan saw in the idea of a core curriculum a way to realize their ideal construct of democracy. The Great Books concept and the variants of the core at Chicago had at their root a notion of natural rights and the social contract. Inherent in that framing of the body politic were concepts of freedom and civic responsibility. The objective was clear: one needed to educate young Americans—the elite of the nation—to steer the country away from the extremes of fascism and communism. Radical reform was imperative, since during the Great Depression both of these alternatives appeared politically viable. In the post-World War II era, the Cold War framed most of the discussion about the curriculum. This claim may seem odd, but on closer inspection, beginning with Harvard's general education reform from the early 1950s, the concept of the university, until the late 1980s, was substantially defined by a consciousness of how much the United States constituted an alternative to political unfreedom. The elective-course system in its new Harvard form, combined with distribution requirements and an enormous premium on undergraduate specialization, was a kind of metaphorical mirror of the idealized free marketplace of ideas. We were convinced that we were training young people to cherish the advantages of free choice and liberty in a world in which the grim alternative of totalitarianism was not a mirage but a present danger.

How Does Globalization Shape the Interdisciplinary Curriculum Development in Hong Kong’s Education Reform?

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-51
Author(s):  
Eric KM Chong
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Curriculum Development ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Liberal Studies ◽  
Interdisciplinary Curriculum ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Transferable Skills ◽  
Interdisciplinary Knowledge ◽  
Group Interviews

There has been a worldwide interdisciplinary curriculum development. By examining several official interdisciplinary curriculum in Hong Kong, this paper argues that curriculum integration which incorporates learning about globalization and global citizenship has gradually developed since the late 1990s. By using cross-sectional focus group interviews with experienced teachers and a sample of students, the author identified benefits such as enhancing students’ interdisciplinary knowledge and applying critical thinking. But limitations can be found in having a weak disciplinary knowledge and difficult to develop transferrable skills, which necessitates teacher training. This paper also discusses the recent Liberal Studies controversy and youth protests. KEYWORDSInterdisciplinary curriculum, competencies-based, knowledge transferable skills, Liberal Studies, globalization, Hong Kong

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