Over the past decade, schools have used the four key tasks as the entry point to promote student learning in the curriculum reform, the common practice being connecting individual key tasks with particular subjects or projects.
Schools can further enhance the connection between the four key tasks to enhance the effectiveness of learning and teaching.
Please refer to Table 1.4 to map out the future direction of your school by planning tasks for
“Focusing on development”, “Deepening development” and “Sustaining development” addressing the six recommendations mentioned above.
Table 1.4 Table for Mapping out the Future Direction of Your School
Based on the above recommendations, I will map out the future direction of my school in the following ways:
(School-based projects can be added) Focusing on
development
Deepening development
Sustaining development
For Reflection and Action
To what extent do you agree with the direction for the development of the school curriculum presented above?
How will the above direction be progressively implemented in your school’s curriculum development?
1.11 Setting Goals and Direction for School Curriculum Development
1.11.1 Achieving the Seven Learning Goals
1. Select tasks listed in 1.10 and select items in accordance with your school context for
“focusing”, “deepening”, and “sustaining” development (Table 1.4). For example, continue using the four key tasks as the entry point or strategy to achieve the learning aims and learning targets of the eight Key Learning Areas.
2. Develop students’ generic skills and cultivate their values and attitudes
Integrate the prioritised generic skills into the learning and teaching of key learning areas/subjects to enhance students’ independent learning capabilities for acquiring and constructing knowledge. In addition, in order to meet the developmental needs of primary school students, schools may first focus on developing students’ self-management skills and collaboration skills.
Building on their strengths and experiences, schools can continue to make “perseverance”,
“respecting others”, “responsibility”, “national identity” and “commitment” as the priority values to be nurtured. In addition, they can also include the values of “integrity” and “love” to meet the developmental needs of students and social changes, and to further enrich the content of this domain. Through the implementation of moral and civic education (one of the four key tasks), cross-subject or project-based learning activities and appropriate learning and teaching strategies, students will be able to identify the values embedded in different life events and issues, uphold those values and make appropriate judgements. Please refer to Appendix I for suggestions on “A Proposed Set of Values and Attitudes for Incorporation into the School Curriculum”.
3. Help students to develop a healthy lifestyle to ensure a balanced development in growth and learning.
4. In accordance with the above three recommendations, schools can develop their overall curriculum plan (e.g. a three-year school plan) by making reference to this Guide, the Curriculum Guides for different KLAs as well as the General Studies for Primary Schools Curriculum Guide.
1.11.2 Further Focusing and Deepening Curriculum Development
1. Continue to review the effectiveness of the development of the school curriculum with the use of data and feedback obtained from different channels (e.g. reports of students’ performance and curriculum evaluation) and devise enhancement or improvement plans on specific areas.
2. Continue to adopt an open curriculum framework following the recommendations of the curriculum guides and develop a school-based curriculum that is in line with the schools’
mission and culture, and meets students’ developmental and learning needs.
3. Continue to enhance learning and teaching and further strengthen students’ independent learning capabilities to facilitate life-long learning.
1.12 Strategies to Support Curriculum Reform in Schools
The Education Bureau will continue to provide support to schools in the development of their school curriculum through measures listed below. It will also seek to join forces with the community to achieve the goals of “focusing, deepening and sustaining” development.
Providing curriculum frameworks and support to schools, including curriculum guides, teacher and principal training programmes, school-based support and other support measures
Providing professional feedback to schools through school inspections and visits to help schools to continue to improve curriculum planning, implementation and evaluation
Trying out different learning and teaching resources and strategies with schools through collaborative projects, reviewing their effectiveness and promoting successful examples and experience
Encouraging schools to organise and participate in professional exchange networks to share practical experience in implementing the curriculum reform, and promoting good curriculum measures or teaching strategies
For Reflection & Action
Criticism on a New Teacher
A new General Studies teacher was very enthusiastic about teaching. . As he taught General Studies to all classes in Primary 3, he was responsible for preparing and setting examination papers. In class, students were engaged in learning and they read a lot of books related to the subject. However, the teacher was criticised for the students’ performance in the examination.
Students’ scores and passing rates in General Studies in the recent examination were lower than those of the same subject in past examinations and other subjects in this examination. The teacher was considered incompetent by the School Head and other teachers. The teacher faced a lot of pressure and was puzzled about what had gone wrong.
Which of the following reasons do you think is the main cause of the above problem?
1. Although the teacher was enthusiastic about teaching, he was not a capable teacher.
2. Other teachers had a misconception about the relationship between test scores and learning.
Their assessment literacy needs to be enhanced.
3. The teacher was incompetent in setting questions and marking papers. He needs improvement in this area.
4. The students were not truly interested in General Studies and did not prepare well for the examination.
Choose one option only. Your answer is ...
Hint: What assumptions were made in comparing the scores for General Studies and the scores for other subjects in the recent examination and in comparing the scores for General Studies in the recent examination and the scores for the subject in past examinations?
What are the implications of the scores?