Knowledge and Learning

The place of content knowledge

Liberal Studies does not involve rejecting the importance of disciplinary knowledge and facts. ―Content‖ knowledge from subject disciplines provides facts, concepts and perspectives that enhance an understanding of the complex issues covered in Liberal Studies, and serves as an anchor for acquiring more information and constructing new knowledge.

Therefore, the knowledge learnt by acquisition becomes meaningfully connected to the knowledge construction process of issue-enquiry learning, and of other modes of learning in Liberal Studies.

An insightful lecture

A student of ASL Liberal Studies shares her happy experience of attending a lecture:

―Thanks to the recommendation of my Chinese Language and Culture teacher, I attended a talk by a renowned scholar on the topic of filial piety in the context of modern China. Contrary to my expectation that it would be a boring session, I enjoyed the lecture very much. The resourceful and knowledgeable speaker gave me a lot of insights. I got some important concepts and perspectives from the lecture that could link up my learning experience with the module on human relationships.‖

Each of the Liberal Studies modules involves a number of key concepts – some of them from different disciplines, others inter-disciplinary. They provide useful ―scaffolds‖ (see Section 4.4.1 on p. 103) to support students‘ enquiry and to refer to in debriefings after enquiry activities (see Section 4.4.2 on p. 105).

Teachers‘ direct instruction, students‘ literature search and reading, are effective and efficient means to acquire knowledge and facts, while personal construction and interpersonal interaction help to deepen understanding and build up a holistic view of the issues concerned.

Different means to gain knowledge

Below are some views of ASL Liberal Studies students collected from interviews:

Searching for more information

● ―If we only listen to lectures, it is a kind of passive learning … but if we are asked to do a project, we are motivated to search for more information … In the process of searching and organising the information, we‘ve already got to know more about the topic.‖

Two-way communication

● ―When the teacher talks about a current issue, I am interested in finding out more about it. So, I check it up in the newspapers and browse on the Internet to find more information and views on the topic. Then I can have a two-way communication with the teacher, not just passively accepting everything I‘m told.‖

The original interview can be accessed in the Web-based Resource Platform for Liberal Studies. Please refer to the link http://ls.edb.hkedcity.net, select the language, choose ―Learning and Teaching‖, and then ―Exemplar‖.

The place of generic skills and thinking tools

Students develop higher-order thinking skills through the eight KLAs and holistic learning experiences in basic education. Liberal Studies continues to provide the context for integrative application of generic skills to help build knowledge through the learning and teaching process.

A variety of approaches should be adopted for the development of generic skills, depending on the students‘ stage of development and the objectives of a specific lesson. Teachers may choose to make use of mental tools (e.g. mind maps, thinking models) to promote students‘

thinking; or they may develop students‘ abilities through applying generic skills to tasks (e.g.

problem-solving tasks, creative processes). In some cases, teachers can help students to

Different approaches to developing generic skills

An ASL Liberal Studies teacher gives some examples of how students‘ generic skills can be fostered in Liberal Studies.

● IT skills: Students have many chances to search for materials from the Internet, exchange ideas on a web forum and present ideas using presentation software.

● Study skills: In exploring an issue, students learn to search for materials from various sources, and then digest and organise them. The students need to monitor their own progress and make decisions regarding their own study.

● Collaboration and communication skills: Students participate in various activities such as group discussion, debate and role-play.

● Creativity: Liberal Studies can accommodate different ideas and viewpoints and this can help to foster students‘ creativity.

● Problem-solving skills: Students are asked to write responses to different government consultation documents. To do this they have to understand the issues involved and then offer some practical and feasible suggestions.

The place of values and values education

Liberal Studies contributes to achieving the educational goal of whole person development and the nurturing of informed and responsible citizens. The curriculum helps students to develop understanding of important human concerns by choosing content which is relevant to their lives but which may also involve diverse and conflicting values. Students have to discern and appreciate the views and values held by others and to develop their own system of values for guiding their reflections, judgments and decisions.

Imparting values directly to students often fails to achieve its purpose. A more desirable method is to help students to tease out the values behind particular perspectives and enable them to make their own choices based on a clarification and reflection of their own values.

Controversy about teacher neutrality

Whether the teachers should exert a controlling influence on students‘ value judgments is a highly debatable issue. Some consider that teachers should remain neutral during class discussion of controversial issues – that is, they should abstain from disclosing their personal stance on issues, to avoid influencing students by giving an

―authoritative‖ view. Others argue against complete teacher neutrality. They suggest that the teacher, at some point in the discussion, should make his or her own position explicit and open for students to challenge.

Nobody, however, questions the potential positive impact on students of teachers‘ good role-modelling of positive values and attitudes. When a teacher demonstrates respect for diversity and tolerance of differences, the students may see this as the appropriate way to respect others, and may then internalise the value. Teachers could also demonstrate the positive attitude in contributing to the well-being of society by sharing how their own experiences, such as how community service in school days have shaped their attitude towards life and career.