Gifted Education Fund: Off-school Advanced Learning Programmes Programme No. 2020-04 (For primary students)
Title of Programme A Programme to Develop Gifted Students’ Ability to Conduct Interdisciplinary Inquiry Related to Education, Environment and/ or Science
Programme Provider Department of Science and Environmental Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong
Theme Humanities and Social Science Research Programme
Maximum No. of Participants and Class Level in the 2020/21 School Year
40 students (Primary 4-5)
Pre-requisite No special background knowledge or skills are required.
Programme Duration About 11 months
Medium of Instruction Course Material: Chinese supplemented with English
Class teaching/ Discussion: Cantonese supplemented with Putonghua and English
Objectives To broaden the gifted students’ knowledge and enhance their skills in inquiry-based learning;
To equip the students with the knowledge necessary to carry out the educational, environmental and/ or science inquiry studies;
To strengthen their ability to apply qualitative and quantitative approaches in formulating and implementing inquiry studies;
To develop the gifted students’ ability to critically and creatively apply knowledge to make recommendations on social policies and innovative approaches to tackle daily life issues; and
To nurture the values and attitudes of students such as perseverance, care for the natural environment and ethical use of science and technology.
Programme Outline* This programme aims to enhance the gifted students’ knowledge and skills through quality and challenging interdisciplinary inquiry of issues related to Education, Environment and Science. It also nurtures relevant values and attitudes essential for the personal growth of the gifted students. The programme consists of four phases.
Phase I: General Inquiry Learning (10 hours in total)
• 5 core lessons for all students (face-to-face/ online) (2 hours each);
• Students will acquire the knowledge and skills related to the processes of inquiry-based learning through hands-on and minds-on challenging learning activities.
Phase II: Area Study (8 hours in total)
• 4 biweekly workshops (face-to-face/ online) (2 hours each);
• Students will participate in activities to inquire authentic issues across disciplines on a chosen area of study, i.e. education, environment or science.
Phase III: Guided Enquiry (8 hours in total)
• In groups of 3 to 4, students will take part in a guided inquiry.
Through exploration, discovery and invention, they will make innovative suggestions on the inquiry topics chosen;
• Students will have a 1-hour biweekly meeting with their mentors to seek advice on their projects (face-to-face/ online) (around 8 sessions in total).
Phase IV: Presentation (14 hours in total)
• 3 lessons on communication/ presentation skills (face-to-face/
online) (2 hours each);
• 2 lessons for practices on presentation (face-to-face/online) (2 hours each);
• Students will present the results of their inquiry and demonstrate their talents to the audience in a 4-hour (face-to-face/ online) academic conference to be held at the Education University of Hong Kong.
* In view of the COVID-19 epidemic, some sessions of the programme may be conducted online.
Application Method Application form can be downloaded from the following webpage:
Please complete the application form and send it by post on or before 15 April 2021 (now extended to 30 April) to the following address:
D3 - G/F - 08
The Education University of Hong Kong 10 Lo Ping Road Tai Po
(Attn: Prof. Winnie SO Wing-mui)
Documents to be Submitted along with the Application
Please include the following in Part IV Student’s Self-introduction of the application form:
self-introduction;
expectations of the programme; and
area(s) of interest (i.e. Education/ Environment/ Science)#in guided enquiry
https://www.edb.gov.hk/en/curriculum-developme nt/curriculum-area/gifted/ge_fund/gef/osalp.html
Enquiry Miss Vivian YUNG Wai-yan, The Education University of Hong Kong
Tel No.: 2948 8680
Email: vyung@eduhk.hk
Date of
Announcement of Result
By May 2021 (tentative)
# Preliminary Inquiry Topics on the 3 Areas of Study:
Areas of Study Preliminary Inquiry Topics
Education School students’ interests in STEM careers
Metacognitive understanding of peer’s inquiry work Environment A study of the natural environment in Hong Kong
Public perception and support on waste reduction strategies
A survey on sustainable lifestyles
Geology and built environment
Science Dialogue between science and religion
The philosophy of science
The ethics of artificial intelligence (AI)
