Recent Activities
Learning by teaching through EdUHK’s Junior Teacher’s Classroom
CDF participants’ first taste of teaching
Supporting Organisation： 
The CDF joined hands with the Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) once again to conduct the Junior Teacher’s Classroom programme, giving about 50 CDF participants a great opportunity to play the role of junior teachers for half a day and experience the difficulties of teaching.
The programme comprises three sessions, namely the Guided Campus Tour, Junior Teacher’s Training Class and Junior Teacher’s Classroom. Under the guidance of EdUHK undergraduates, the participants learnt how to prepare for the lesson before playing the role of a teacher and teaching a class of participants.
Ms Chiu Kit-wa, a school principal cum Member of the Steering Committee on the CDF, was invited to share with the participants her thoughts about the attributes a teacher should possess. “Teaching is more than imparting knowledge. It inspires students. Therefore teachers have to listen to their students with their hearts.
Those who aspire to become a teacher should take the initiative to meet different people and learn to communicate with them,” said Ms Chiu.
Dr Yu Kar-ming, Dean of Students at the EdUHK, said, “As a supporting organisation of the project, we aim not only to show our students’ care for the community and readiness to contribute to society, but also to encourage the younger generation to learn more about the teaching profession and consider taking up a career as a teacher. And the activity offers a valued opportunity for our students to pursue holistic development and put the educational theories they have learnt into practice.”
The EdUHK students taking part in this year’s project were encouraged to set up their own organising committee to plan for the activities, design curricula, formulate teaching objectives and work out the details. This approach is helpful for students to develop organisation and leadership abilities.
In view of the positive response, the EdUHK has decided to conduct the project at least once a year on a regular basis to benefit more EdUHK undergraduates and CDF project participants.
Participants grouped under three subject areas, i.e. Science, Putonghua and English Language, to learn how to prepare for the lesson.
EdUHK undergraduates of the Science Group showing the participants how to use small tools such as plastic films to illustrate the concept of 3D images in the Junior Teacher’s Training Class session.
Junior teachers of the Putonghua Group explaining the differences between Cantonese and Putonghua quantifiers.
Junior teachers of the English Group using a recipe to teach English vocabulary.
The activity attracted the participation of six operators and schools, namely the Carmel Bunnan Tong Memorial Secondary School, Christian Action, Hong Kong Lutheran Social Service, Lutheran Church - Hong Kong Synod, Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College, Neighbourhood & Worker’s Education Centre Limited and Yan Chai Hospital. Most of the participants thought that the activity could help them better understand teaching as a profession. Some of them even identified their career goal as a teacher after the activity.
A group photo showing the participants and the EdUHK undergraduates.
Knowing more about …
As the only local university dedicated to teacher education, the Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) is committed to promoting teaching and learning through offering a variety of academic and research programmes on teacher education and complementary social sciences and humanities disciplines. Since its establishment in 1994, the EdUHK (formerly known as the Hong Kong Institute of Education) has nurtured a total of 92,000 graduates. At present, there are about 1,200 teaching staff. Of the 3,200 graduates of the EdUHK in 2015, over 90% joined the teaching profession. On average, their monthly salary was around HK$23,000.
What they say …
 Arisha Mahmond
Participant from the Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College “This activity helped me realise the amount of work involved in lesson planning and the difficulty in keeping students engaged. Moreover, a competent teacher needs to be hardworking, caring, patient, creative and smart. I now have even more respect for my teachers because they really have been doing a lot for me and my classmates. I am very blessed to have such caring and supportive teachers in my school.” |
 CHAN Tsz-chung
Participant from the Carmel Bunnan Tong Memorial Secondary School “The activity gave me the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of being a teacher and teaching in a classroom setting. In the group discussion, I proposed using a game called “The Scrap Dealer” to teach the use of Putonghua quantifiers. It gave me a great sense of satisfaction when my proposal was accepted by other group members. The activity also helped me reflect on the teachers’ job. More importantly, it made me realise that the time and efforts our teachers spent on preparing for the lesson, even for a relatively short lesson measured in terms of minutes rather than hours, were far greater than we could have imagined. From now on, I will stay focused in class and will not let my teachers down again.” |
 TSANG Kin-yi
Participant of the “Dreams Do Come True” Project organised by Yan Chai Hospital (Tsuen Wan and Kwai Tsing) “I learnt a lot from the activity. Students from the EdUHK were very friendly and shared with us the fun of campus life. Through the sharing session on educational theories hosted by Ms Chiu Kit-wa, an experienced educator, I understand that teaching is a truly meaningful job and what a teacher says and does would have a profound influence on students’ future development.” |