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Chapter 3 Curriculum Planning

3.4 Curriculum Management

they are performing through continuous feedback from teachers and in some circumstances from their peers.

Curriculum planning with the constraints of time

Adopting an open curriculum framework, the modules in Liberal Studies may give an impression of having a rather broad coverage. The limited lesson time is a challenge for many teachers in helping students to master the important issues and develop understanding of the module. The case is similar to that of teachers of IH (S4–5), which was implemented in 2003 and adopted a similar approach to curriculum design.

An IH (S4–5) teacher from T.W.G.Hs. Mr. & Mrs. Kwong Sik Kwan College, shared how he handled the seemingly broad modules within the limited time in a way that suited the needs of his students.

1. School-based planning of the modules

In planning for the learning and teaching of the modules, he considered the needs, interests and level of ability of his students, and reorganised the curriculum content accordingly. Noted below are the steps he took:

a. Sorting out the interrelationship among the suggested questions for enquiry b. Identifying the concepts relevant to the module

c. Integrating and reorganising the enquiry questions into a simpler flow

d. Choosing a range of suitable issues that would engage students with the enquiry questions

The result was more clarity in the learning objectives, a smoother flow in the enquiry process, and more effective use of lesson time.

2. Building on students‘ prior knowledge

Before discussing a new issue with the students, he found it very useful to design some short activities to check their prior knowledge. With a better understanding of what the students knew about an issue beforehand, he could start the discussion with a better focus and avoid spending time on things that students already knew. Students learnt with better motivation, enhanced confidence and more interest since they could link the learning experience with their prior knowledge.

3. Strengthening students‘ skills

Good mastery of generic skills enables students to learn efficiently and effectively. The teacher purposefully embedded the teaching of generic skills into the discussion of the issues, so that students really learnt how to learn as they went through the modules.

When students are equipped with more skills, they learn faster and more effectively.

3.4.2 Organisation and structure

A curriculum planning committee should be set up for planning the school-based implementation of the Senior Secondary Liberal Studies curriculum. Membership should include the subject coordinator, Liberal Studies teachers, and if necessary, teachers of other subjects for better coordination of cross-curricular learning.

The role of the school principal in the introduction of a new subject

IH (S4–5), S&T (S4–5), and Liberal Studies share many features in common, and they are new to many teachers. School heads can help the IH / S&T / Liberal Studies panel to plan effectively. Please refer to Appendix 6 on p. 164 to see how a school principal reflected on his role in introducing IH (S4–5) in his school.

3.4.3 Planning the curriculum

The curriculum framework of the subject allows considerable flexibility in the sequence and organisation of the different components of the curriculum. In the overall planning of the curriculum, teachers make decisions on the scope and focus of each module in accordance with the aims of the subject and the needs and interests of the students. Teachers also make decisions on a wide range of other issues: the arrangement of learning activities, assessment strategies, the choice and design of learning materials to support enquiry learning,

55 minutes vs. 35 minutes

In order to enhance the quality of learning and teaching, CCC Ming Kei College has been implementing a ―new timetable‖ since 2002. The changes are as follows:

The number of lessons has been reduced from 9 to 6 per day.

The duration of each lesson has been lengthened from 40 minutes to 55 minutes for the Standard Timetable (and 35 minutes to 50 minutes for the Summer Timetable).

The 6-day cycle has been changed to a 7-day cycle in order to increase the total number of periods available for teaching.

The advantages for the adoption of a ―new timetable‖ are:

to save students‘ time in travelling between special rooms and classrooms during the change of lessons. The total time for lessons each day does not change, but the available time for teaching is increased;

to enhance the quality and quantity of teaching  the 15-minute longer lesson time allows teachers to adopt different strategies including the application of IT, debates, group discussions, and various kinds of interactive activities so as to enhance students‘ learning interests, and it also allows time for teachers to consolidate the learning of students at the end of each lesson;

to allow students to concentrate more on their learning as fewer subjects are allotted for lessons daily; and

to give more room for teachers to prepare for lessons  as teachers teach fewer lessons and classes each day, they have more time to prepare and design lessons with different teaching strategies, and thus students benefit from the changes.

3.4.4 Building capacity

Liberal Studies, as a core subject comprises three Areas of Study and IES. It will involve a significant proportion of the school‘s teaching force and will be taught by teachers with varying levels of expertise. In considering the deployment of teachers to the appropriate areas of study or IES, reference should be made to their expertise and interests. In view of the great diversity in academic background in the Liberal Studies panel, it is necessary to promote the sharing of views among them. Also, priorities have to be set for teachers‘

professional development in areas such as teachers‘ roles and assignments in Liberal Studies.

A positive culture in teacher learning and team-building can be cultivated by arranging collaborative lesson preparation periods and encouraging peer observation. The formation of a Liberal Studies Learning Group or in-house staff development workshops will be helpful for enhancing professional sharing among Liberal Studies and non-Liberal Studies teachers.

Experience sharing of a Liberal Studies panel chairperson

The challenges facing a Liberal Studies panel chairperson are quite different from those facing other subject panel chairs. Most Liberal Studies teachers are not Liberal Studies experts – they have their own single discipline subject expertise. Liberal Studies teachers therefore need to work together more and undertake more professional development than teachers of other subjects. Some of them might not have chosen to teach Liberal Studies at the outset.

The experience of a Liberal Studies / IH (S4–5) panel chairperson may shed some light on this issue. Please refer to Appendix 7 on p. 165 to read about this.

3.4.5 Developing learning and teaching resources

Success in learning and teaching Liberal Studies hinges on the availability of a variety of suitable and updated resources. A collaborative effort among teachers is needed in building up a resource bank for the subject. The resource bank can also include materials for students‘ self-directed learning. An online resource bank which provides learning resources with a wide coverage and a variety of forms and styles, representing different viewpoints, would be very helpful in learning and teaching the subject. Useful sources for supporting Liberal Studies can be gathered from the EDB‘s Web-based Resource Platform for Liberal Studies, and from other organisations such as higher education institutions, NGOs, and social services and commercial organisations, and from academics and professionals.

Role of the teacher librarian in developing resources

While the implementation of Senior Secondary Liberal Studies is some time away, the teacher librarian of Henrietta Secondary School has started gathering resources to

so she took part in some Liberal Studies seminars and workshops. Then, having secured financial support from the school, she started to build up the resources collection for the subject in the following ways:

1. She searched for and reviewed learning and teaching resources developed by different institutions, and classified them into teachers‘ and students‘ references.

2. She understood that Liberal Studies connects knowledge and perspectives from different subjects, and thus resources for other subjects might also be appropriate references for it. In this light she reviewed the library collection and re-categorised its subject headings.

3. She expanded the periodical and magazine collection to provide more updated articles and commentaries for studying issues relevant to Liberal Studies.

4. She drew up the acquisition list of learning and teaching resources in consultation with teachers who were going to teach the subject. She also encouraged these teachers to make recommendations, should they discover suitable materials in the market.

5. Apart from subscribing to online resources such as online newspapers, she also searched for relevant websites and categorised them to facilitate easy access to and retrieval of information.

She expects that a basic collection will be ready by 2008. This will be the foundation for further expansion when the curriculum is implemented.

3.4.6 Managing change

In order to sustain the Liberal Studies curriculum over time, it is important to monitor progress and evaluate the effectiveness of learning and teaching. The Liberal Studies panel can undertake action research, or self-evaluation for periodic reviews on the learning and teaching of the subject. Such activities give teachers valuable data on how to refine and enhance their practices for developing the Liberal Studies curriculum.