Outstanding School Awards OSA

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Outstanding School Awards(OSA)

• Domain 2
• Teaching and Learning

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Outstanding School Awards De-briefing for the
School Sector Domain 2

• Content Presenter
• 1.Introduction Mrs Sylvia
  Cheung
• 2.Curriculum Mrs Sylvia
  Cheung
• 3.Class teaching learning Mrs Judy Chua
• 
  Mr Yeung Veng Meng
• 4.Assessment
  Mr Koo Chao Ming
• 5.Other Observations
  Dr Chong Lap Chun
• Mrs Grace Yung
• 6.Strengths and Areas for Further Development
  Professor John Lee
• 7.Question and Answer Session

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• Introduction
• 25 grade descriptors
• Curriculum management, planning and organisation
  Class teaching and learning.

Curriculum
Class Teaching and Learning
Assessment
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• An outstanding school
• (a) a curriculum that is well-structured and
  balanced, with continuity and cross-subject
  co-ordination
• (b) an effective curriculum monitoring and review
  system under which all teachers are involved in
  developing realistic performance goals and
  associated targets in teaching and learning

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• (c) teaching that is effective in developing
  students knowledge, higher order thinking (such
  as critical thinking), creativity, self-learning
  skills and positive learning attitudes
• (d) a mechanism which enables the sharing of good
  teaching practices among teachers and provides
  prompt and supportive feedback on their
  performance

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• (e) clear policy and support for teachers to set
  consistent and attainable expectations for
  students, cater for individual differences, and
  create a liberal and open learning atmosphere
  and
• (f) assessment policy and system that cater for
  the different needs and abilities of students and
  provide feedback effectively to students, parents
  and teachers for improvement of teaching.

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• Curriculum
• Generally speaking, many nominated schools had
  put a lot of efforts into curriculum planning and
  implementation, particularly in taking forward
  new curriculum reform initiatives, sometimes in
  partnership with outside experts from tertiary
  institutions.

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• A special school for the mild-grade mentally
  handicapped children had a focused mission of
  equipping students with the necessary skills and
  abilities so as to prepare them for future
  employment and independent living. Relevant
  subject teachers developed curriculum goals in
  alignment with the school mission and practices.

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• In a primary school, a 3P approach (Purpose,
  Process and Product) was adopted to provide an
  overall framework for curriculum management and
  implementation.

10

• Another primary school offered a variety of
  programmes and initiatives, e.g. environmental
  education, cross-curricular activities, gifted
  education programmes, creative teaching
  activities, IT education, etc. to provide
  balanced and continuous opportunities for
  students all-round development.

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• A kindergarten tried new concepts and introduced
  new elements to its curriculum. Instead of using
  textbooks, the kindergarten designed its own
  teaching materials and developed its own
  school-based curriculum. Class-based textbooks
  using teachers and students as actors in the
  books were used.

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• Schools tended to pay more attention to the
  delivery of academic knowledge than to the
  all-round development of students. More
  attention should be paid to setting curriculum
  goals that are well defined and articulated.

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• The Adjudication Panel found that teachers
  generally supported new reform initiatives and
  were willing to experiment with new ideas and
  methods. However, they seem to have difficulties
  in putting the curriculum ideas into full
  practice with sufficient focus on the academic
  and professional aspects.

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• The Adjudication Panel recommends that, in
  carrying out curriculum innovations, school
  management should involve teachers in the
  developmental stage, familiarize them with the
  initiatives and gain their support at the outset.

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• Class Teaching and Learning
• The Adjudication Panel found that the
  award-winning schools had put a lot of efforts
  into developing students knowledge, higher order
  thinking, creativity, and self-learning skills.

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• For example, a primary school employed a dual
  strategy (walking by two legs approach) which
  put equal emphasis on developing students basic
  skills and core competencies through traditional
  methods on one hand, and developing their higher
  order thinking skills through innovative teaching
  approach like project work on the other.

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• Another primary school offered programmes on
  multiple intelligences for all students and
  remedial classes for the low achievers.
• In another primary school, an interactive
  approach was adopted for teaching, with IT being
  an integral part of the curriculum.

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• Students learned to apply their IT knowledge to
  doing their class work and gathering information
  through the Internet. Innovative IT projects
  funded by the Quality Education Fund were
  implemented. Outside experts were invited to
  conduct workshops on creative teaching for
  teachers.

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• The Adjudication Panel observed that in many
  nominated schools, teachers collaborated in
  developing teaching strategies for lessons. This
  approach has the advantage of pooling ideas
  together through collaboration.
• Many teachers used project work to encourage
  students to search for information themselves and
  be more actively engaged in learning.

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• The Adjudication Panel noted a common reliance on
  textbooks. More adaptations or modifications
  would be needed for schools to take care of
  students who excelled or those who needed extra
  help.
• Not enough emphasis on cross-subject
  co-ordination in teaching and learning.

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• Teachers generally worked diligently, made
  adequate preparation for lesson and carried out
  their teaching plan with dedication and
  enthusiasm. However, students were observed to
  play a rather passive role in class, whereas they
  were expected to be actively engaged in the
  learning process.

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• Many nominated schools had begun to develop a
  culture of learning and sharing. Collaborative
  lesson planning, group teaching and peer lesson
  observation had taken place. Such practices
  improved communication among teachers and
  facilitated the sharing of skills and ideas. In
  some schools, experienced teachers acted as
  mentor and provided guidance for new teachers.

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• In many nominated schools, lesson observation was
  mostly conducted by the school head.
• The classroom climate was generally orderly and
  harmonious. Students were well behaved. Some of
  the classes were impressive, with lively
  atmosphere and active student learning observed
  by the adjudicators.

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• Some schools regularly published compendiums of
  exemplary work of students as a means to
  encourage students and enhance peer learning.
  Students in some schools acted as little
  teachers to help their schoolmates, thereby
  contributing to a supportive peer learning
  environment.

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• In one primary school, students were free to
  engage in learning activities during recess.
  They could use the central library or multi-media
  learning centre. In one kindergarten, students
  were allowed forty-five minutes of free time to
  explore and play in any part of the kindergarten
  every morning before the start of lessons.

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• The Adjudication Panel noted that some of the
  school improvement projects were more geared to
  the upgrading of existing hardware than to
  enhancing teaching and learning effectiveness.
• Encouraged parents to get involved in students
  work at home and participated in schools
  activities.

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• Assessment
• Schools in general had a well-established
  assessment mechanism for providing feedback on
  students performance to parents and students.
  Such mechanism enabled objective reporting of
  students performance and conduct.

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• In some cases, particularly for kindergartens and
  primary schools, both teachers and parents would
  provide assessment of the performance of
  students, especially in non-academic aspects, on
  the same document, e.g. student handbook

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• The Adjudication Panel observed that some
  teachers had a tendency to focus on assessing
  students learning outcomes rather than
  evaluating the effectiveness of their teaching.

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• Evidence showed that measures for improvement
  were sometimes suggested during the meetings. In
  cases of poor performance, teachers would
  generally take appropriate actions, such as
  counseling the students and meeting with their
  parents. Some teachers even took the initiative
  to contact all parents early in the school term,
  asking for their co-operation and support for the
  benefit of their childrens learning.

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• In a special school, expectations of students
  performance were conveyed to parents and students
  through the Data Pac scheme.
• Some schools had made attempts to improve the
  format of the report cards
• Another primary school used a formative
  assessment report based on that of the
  Target-Oriented Curriculum

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• A kindergarten revised the format of its student
  assessment report to provide more detailed and
  comprehensive information on students
  performance in different aspects

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• The assessments carried out in most schools were
  geared towards ranking students by performance,
  whereas assessment should be conceptually treated
  as an integral part of teaching and learning and
  a means of diagnosing learning problems,
  providing feedback on the learning process to
  teachers and students, and helping to promote
  further learning.

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• Other Observations
• Strengths and Areas for Further Development
• Curriculum
• Strengths
• Efforts were demonstrated by schools in
  curriculum planning and implementation and in
  taking forward new initiatives with the support
  of teachers.

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• Efforts were shown in designing school-based
  curriculum catering for the needs of students.
• There was evidence of cross-subject co-ordination
  in curriculum planning and implementation.

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• Areas for Further Development
• Put more focus on the all-round development of
  students instead of the delivery of academic
  knowledge.
• Set curriculum goals that are well-defined and in
  line with the schools vision and mission.

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• Consider how the new curriculum initiatives could
  address school-based needs and fit into the
  overall curriculum framework.
• Carry out systematic and rigorous evaluation of
  the overall curriculum design, process and
  outcomes of implementation.

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• Class Teaching and Learning
• Strengths
• There was evidence of peer lesson observation and
  collaborative lesson preparation.
• Many schools made use of project approach and IT
  to facilitate learning.

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• Efforts were made in teaching higher order
  thinking and self-learning skills.
• Many schools made good use of physical
  environment to enhance student learning.
• Most schools provided a supportive learning
  environment for students through peer learning
  and involvement of parents in schools activities.

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• Areas for Further Development
• Introduce more flexibility and variety in
  teaching strategies.
• Focus more on addressing individual students
  needs.

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• Develop more school-based teaching materials
  instead of relying on textbooks.
• Adopt a student-centred approach to teaching,
  with more interaction between teacher and
  students.
• Put more focus on enhancing teaching and learning
  instead of upgrading facilities.

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• Conduct more in-depth discussions of issues and
  problems relating to teaching and learning among
  teachers.

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• Assessment
• Strengths
• Many schools had well-established mechanisms for
  providing feedback on students performance to
  parents and students.

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• Many schools made efforts to explain assessment
  policy to parents and involve them in assessing
  the performance of students, especially in
  non-academic aspects.
• Many schools made efforts to improve the format
  of students assessment reports to cover
  development in various domains of development.

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• Areas for Further Development
• Put more focus on exploring ways to enhance
  students learning based on assessment results.
• Use assessment as a means of diagnosing students
  learning problems instead of ranking students
  according to their performance.

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• Take follow-up actions to address learning
  problems identified.