Each student is an independent individual, and during the learning process, their learning styles, needs, interests, and even potentials vary. Therefore, addressing the diversity of student learning is an important issue that schools and teachers need to confront. If teachers can adapt to students' learning differences, flexibly tailor their teaching methods, and provide appropriate teaching strategies, they can naturally facilitate more effective learning for students. The winning team of the third Innovative Teacher Award—the Hong Kong Sea School—has adjusted the learning environment and content through curriculum reform, providing diverse learning experiences for students. This not only helps enhance learning motivation but also promotes holistic development, achieving innovative future education.
Embracing Innovation and Reform to Meet Student Needs
Since 2018, the teaching team at the Hong Kong Sea School has been committed to reforming the curriculum. Tailored to the school's maritime specialties, they have designed suitable school-based courses in response to students' learning needs, allowing them to fully realize their potential and strengths. The team aims to create a diverse learning environment, guiding students as they navigate towards future development. In the spirit of innovation, Vice Principal Chiu Man Ho mentioned that the initial intention for reform stemmed from the observation that most students had weak learning motivation, particularly because the maritime subjects are theory-heavy and abstract, and the professional recognition for maritime studies was insufficient, leading to a lack of interest in learning. Therefore, enhancing student motivation and expanding future educational and employment options became the focus of the team's curriculum reform.
How can we effectively address students' needs and provide appropriate teaching? As a boys' school, most students are lively and active, showing greater interest in hands-on learning, such as mechanical studies and water activities. In response to students' learning characteristics, the school is dedicated to promoting experiential learning models, encouraging students to "learn by doing." At the same time, in the new school-based maritime curriculum, maritime studies have become a compulsory subject. Junior high students learn basic theory, while senior high students engage in practical training. Interested students can also pursue the " Competency examination for the grant of Coxswain Grade 3 Certificates " professional license to prepare them for future careers in the local shipping industry."
(Vice Principal (Chiu Man Ho leads students in experiencing maritime knowledge through practical activities on a boat.)
Making Good Use of Innovative Technology in Teaching
To further enhance students' learning effectiveness, the school has introduced interactive elements of innovative technology into the school-based maritime curriculum and added numerous advanced teaching facilities to enrich students' learning experiences. Since students under 16 cannot operate real vessels but still need to acquire knowledge, a ship simulation training system has been developed. The simulation incorporates real scenes from Victoria Harbour, allowing students to break free from real-world constraints and engage in learning to operate vessels in a virtual environment. Vice Principal Chiu also mentioned that many maritime concepts are difficult to practice in daily life, such as emergency rescue, firefighting, and abandoning ship drills. Therefore, the school has begun to develop an immersive virtual reality training system, using VR technology to assist in teaching and designing various learning scenarios to help students apply theoretical knowledge.
(Making good use of immersive VR technology in teaching allows students to master professional skills while enhancing interaction and participation.)
"At the same time, teaching needs to keep pace with the times, supported by information technology to engage students more actively in learning activities. Vice Principal Chiu believes that after enhancing students' interest in learning, feedback on teaching and learning is also very important. The school is attempting to use electronic learning platforms and e-books, which not only provide instant feedback on learning but also allow for the storage of learning data and the tracking of students' progress. This enables teachers to accurately identify students' learning challenges, thus improving teaching effectiveness.
The application of information technology in maritime studies has shown particularly positive results. The self-developed electronic learning materials further support students' learning, designed with a user-friendly approach to teaching materials. For instance, dynamic images are used to illustrate how flashing lights and frequencies from buoys assist in the navigation and positioning of vessels. Vice Principal Chiu mentioned that the next step for the school is to create a mobile application as a learning support tool and gradually promote the application of information technology to other subjects to enhance the effectiveness of electronic learning.
(Electronic textbooks present text and abstract concepts through videos and dynamic images, helping students understand topics more concretely.)
Diverse Learning Activities Create Experiential Learning
The school is also committed to establishing and fostering a learning atmosphere through diverse learning activities, aiming to enrich students' learning experiences. Each year, the school holds comprehensive learning activities, pausing regular classes for five days to set different themed interdisciplinary experiential activities for each grade. These include visits, field studies, adventure training camps, STEM experiences, and maritime experience days. By aligning with interdisciplinary curriculum design, these rich experiential activities enhance students' motivation to learn, develop various transferable skills, and make the learning process more enjoyable.
Vice Principal Chiu Man Ho described, 'Reform is a process of feeling our way across the river, relying entirely on the cooperation of the entire teaching team to gradually develop the entire curriculum.' Through experiential learning models, technology-assisted teaching, innovative interactive technology, and feedback from electronic learning platforms, the school can implement differentiated instruction based on students' abilities and learning needs, creating a comprehensive innovative teaching program.
Differentiated Instruction from Various Perspectives
Teaching strategies need to be adjusted according to students' needs. Mr Yam On Kit, a teacher from the Society of Boys' Centre Shing Tak Centre and another recipient of the third 'Innovative Teacher Award,' has designed appropriate and comprehensive STEAM activities within the school. He tailors the curriculum to different learning paces and needs, breaking down complex learning activities into various tasks. He also provides after-school support for students with weaker abilities, helping them regain their interest in learning and enhancing their collaborative, computational, and information technology skills, including applications of artificial intelligence.
Fortress Hill Methodist Secondary School is also an award-winning team of the Innovative Teacher Award. They implement the 'Positive Maker Program,' focusing on home repair as the theme of their learning area, offering tiered learning based on students' abilities and interests, allowing them to unleash their potential. This program integrates the concept of service learning, using experiential education and hands-on activities to develop students' creativity, imagination, and problem-solving skills.
To learn more about innovative teaching ideas and hear from the 'Innovative Teacher Award 2022' winners as they share their valuable practical experiences, join the three online seminars titled 'ITA Series: When Innovation Meets Teaching’ happening from March to April. The content will cover STEAM Curriculum Design, Differentiated Instruction Practices及Immersive and Gamified Learning Strategies, enabling educators to learn from each other and collaboratively shape the future of education.