Relevance of a consultation document titled: "Learning to learn: the way forward in curriculum development" to Information Society Education
(web link to consultation document: http://cd.ed.gov.hk/cdc/learn/ctenpg_e.htm)
The following is my response to a consultation document issued by the Curriculum Development Council (CDC) of the Hong Kong SAR in November 2000 titled: "Learning to learn: the way forward in curriculum development".
General Education Philosophies
First of all, I am glad to give our full support to CDC's general education philosophies, and in particular:
- "...it is not enough to impart them (younger generation) with mere 'knowledge'. Instead, we have to help them develop a global outlook, equip them with a repertoire of skills and the positive attitudes to respect knowledge and to learn how to learn" (p.1)
- generic skills and values and attitudes are essential to students' whole person development
- learning experiences are important and there are different ways to learn
- specialisation in basic education is not appropriate
- life-wide learning and learner-focused learning are the right directions
Teaching and learning approaches
I appreciate CDC's adoption of the following approaches:
- reviewing the curriculum holistically (p.4) and regularly, making reference to international experiences
- considering balanced views, rather than adopting a 'simple and one-size-fits-all solution' (p. 11-14)
- facilitating interconnections among the eight Key Learning Areas (KLA) and adopting an integrated approach within each KLA
- practising teaching and learning through a coherent and flexible curriculum framework which could be adaptable to changes and different needs of students and schools
- integrating different generic skills (p. 35) and values and attitudes (p. 41-45) into various KLAs, not as separate subjects
-making changes in phases, so that, for example, KLAs can gradually absorb/eliminate existing subjects and cater for new subjects (p. 26-27)
-involving the participation and collaboration of government, parents and all community sectors
- changes in assessment have to be viewed in tandem with teachers' perception, school management, parental expectations and societal expectations (P. 55).
I very much look forward to seeing a matching design of public examinations. Although it might be considered less important by some education philosophers, it will nevertheless be the main concern of students, parents, teachers, publishers, etc. and therefore a key driving force.
CEWG's teaching package (refer to homepage of this web site)
I take this opportunity to emphasise that the teaching package titled: "The role of telecommunications services played in an information society" designed by the Consumer Education Working Group (CEWG) has already matched well with CDC's educational philosophies and approaches. As also mentioned in CEWG's letter to Education Commission in July 2000, it has applied creative, critical and holistic thinking, integrated learning, web-based learning, life-wide learning, learning beyond classroom and textbooks, linking theories to real-life situations, moral and civic education, etc. The teaching package will also undergo regular updating and we are pleased to inform that Version 2 of the web-based package will be launched soon.
To be continued ….Part 2 of this letter will appear at a separate page of this website:
http://www.kamching.com/clam