Interpreting and Managing the

General Studies Curriculum

Mr. Lee Chun Yiu Simon

Ms. Foo Pai Man Christine

Our School

• Chief Principal – Mr LO Wai Shing, Vincent MH

• 7th Year

• Through-train Education (P1 � S6)

• Specialized teaching in all subjects

• An EMI Direct Subsidy School

Questions to ponder

before we start …

• What is the role of General Studies in primary school education?

• What do you think is the most effective way to foster students’ learning?

Our understanding of the

GS Curriculum – Subject Knowledge

• Health and Living

• People and

Environment

• Science and

Technology in

Everyday Life

• Community and

Citizenship

• National Identity and

Chinese Culture

• Global Understanding

and the Information

Era

• Personal

Development and

Interpersonal

Relationships

• Hong Kong Today

• Modern China

• Globalization

• Public Health

• Energy Technology

and the Environment

General Studies Liberal Studies

• Scientific

Investigation

• Life and Living

• The Material World

• Energy and Change

• The Earth and

Beyond

• Science, Technology

and Society

Science Education

Our understanding of the GS Curriculum –Skill building and cultivation of values and

attitude

General Studies

Liberal Studies

Science Education

- Critical Thinking

- Social Awareness

- Problem Solving

- Investigation Skill

- Collaboration skills

- Communication skills

- Creativity

- Critical thinking skills

- Information technology skills

- Problem-solving skills

- Self-management skills

- Study skills

Our understanding of the GS

Curriculum – Updated Curriculum

Updated G.S. Curriculum

Anti-drug education

Mass media

Sex education

Healthy lifestyle

High order thinking

Use of communication

networks

Scientific investigation

Understanding of our

motherland and

recognition of national

identity

The role of our principal

in developing the GS curriculum

• Overseeing the development of General Studies,

Liberal Studies and Integrated Science

• Setting goals and directions in G.S. curriculum

• Monitor – Feedback – Evaluation

• Appreciation and Recognition

Build your Lessons with LEGO

Blocks

The role of key stage coordinators

in managing the GS curriculum

• Curriculum management– Be clear about the framework of essential learning

targets within and across key stages.

– Plan cross-curricular activities to create diversified learning experiences for students.

– Teaching method • Catering Learning Diversity• 15 minutes by 15 minutes lesson design• High engagement, high motivation, high display and high

expectation• Table-tennis approach• POWNER model

The role of key stage coordinators in

managing the GS curriculum

• Leadership for team building– Seek to understand the school’s vision,

mission, corporate strategies and policies

– Work with form coordinators to foster teachers to put the expectation of the school into practice

– Assist the principal to conduct class observation, homework inspection and exam paper inspection

– Hold regular subject meetings for reaching a shared understanding in the development

Teacher Development• Collaborative lesson preparation

• Peer lesson observation

• Attend courses by EDB and other organizations and share with colleagues in meetings

• Sharing of good teaching approaches in term evaluation meetings

• Homework inspection

• Staff development days*

• Workshops for new teachers*

• Workshops for subject coordinators*

* Conducted by the Chief Principal

Knowledge Construction

• Make meaningful use of textbook• Hands on activities• Use of authentic learning materials• Firsthand learning• Use different sets of questions to guide students to construct

knowledge• Knowledge - What strengths and weaknesses do you have?

• Comprehension - Can you give examples of why you think you have the strengths and weaknesses?

• Analysis - Why do we need to know our strengths and weaknesses?

• Application - How can you improve your weaknesses?

• Synthesis - Can you suggest some ways how we can help people by using our strengths?

• Write down the key learning points of the lesson in their log book• Reflection

Character Building

• Cross-curricular theme based learning

• Case study – Students’ experience / story

• News sharing

Skill Building

Form Focus (1-2)

P1

P2

P3

P4

P5

P6

Project Learning

• One project learning in each form every term, three projects every year

• To widen the students’ learning experience and develop self learning ability

• Individual work in KS1

• Group work in KS2

• Cross KLA project

e.g. P.6 Informative booklet of animals

(G.S. + English + C.T.)

Project Learning

Term Topic

P1 1

2

3

P2 1

2

3

P3 1

2

3

Project Learning

Form Term Project Name Topic

P41

2

3

P5 1

2

3

P6 1

2

3

* Cross KLA project

Project Learning

• Exhibition board design

• Debate

News Sharing

• One piece of news sharing in each form every term, three pieces of news sharing every year

• Students present their news in class

• To develop the awareness on current issues and critical thinking.

• Peer assessment / Peer comment

• Teacher feedback

News Sharing

Marking criteria:�Eye Contact

�Clear and loud voice

�Detailed content (at least 4 lines)

�Speech work (pace and tone)

�Well-prepared (fluency)

�Body movement and gesture

�Language (easy to understand)

�Interacting with the audience

�Critical thinking

Questions:1. Write briefly what the article is about.

(When? Where? What happened?)

2. Why did you choose this newspaper article?

3. What did you learn from this article?

4. How do you feel after reading this newspaper article?

Self-learning Portfolios

• To develop students’ self-learning ability

• One portfolio in each form every term, three portfolios every year

• Content: mind map, note-taking, bank of knowledge and challenge questions etc.

Learning Outside Classroom

• One field trip in each form every year

• To widen the learning experience

Form Place of interest

P1

P2

P3

P4

P5

P6

Lesson Preparation

• One collaborative lesson preparation

meeting in each form every week

• Discuss on the Essential Learning Targets of

the week

• *Formulate key questions

• Prepare the teaching materials

• Share different teaching approaches

• Prepare tasks to cater for learner diversity

• Evaluation

Lesson Design (1) – Scientific

investigation

Form: Primary 5

Topic: Closed circuit

Essential Learning Target:

Design and make simple closed circuits

Skill Building:

Problem solving and communication

Scientific Investigation

Closed Circuit

Wires

Battery Holder

Batteries

Light Bulb

4 differentiated tasks

to cater for learner diversity

Level One

Use all the materials to light up the bulb.

Steps:

(1) Think and discuss in groups (5 minutes)

(2) Hands-on activities (5 minutes)

(3) Students present in groups (3 minutes)

(4) Teacher rounds up (2 minutes)

4 differentiated tasks

to cater for learner diversity

Level Two

Use the batteries, light bulb and the wires light up

the bulb. Do not use the battery holder.

Steps:

(1) Think and discuss in groups (5 minutes)

(2) Hands-on activities (5 minutes)

(3) Students present in groups (3 minutes)

(4) Teacher rounds up (2 minutes)

4 differentiated tasks

to cater for learner diversity

Level Three

Use all the materials to light up the bulb.

Leave a gap between the batteries.

Steps:

(1) Think and discuss in groups (5 minutes)

(2) Hands-on activities (5 minutes)

(3) Students present in groups (3 minutes)

(4) Teacher rounds up (2 minutes)

4 differentiated tasks

to cater for learner diversity

Level Four - Challenge level

Design and demonstrate how a switch works in a

closed circuit by using the materials provided.

*Hint – you may use additional materials

Steps:

(1) Think and discuss in groups (5 minutes)

(2) Hands-on activities (5 minutes)

(3) Students present in groups (3 minutes)

(4) Teacher rounds up (2 minutes)

Lesson Design (2)

Form: Primary 5

Topic: Mass Media

Essential Learning Target:

Learn about the influence of mass media

on us

Skill Building:

Communication and Critical Thinking

Lesson Design - Mass Media

Steps:

(1)Read the 3 articles provided and highlight the keywords of the articles (10 minutes)

(2)Group discussion (10 minutes)

(3)One student representing the group and present their thoughts to the class (5 minutes)

(4)Teacher wraps up (5 minutes)

Lesson Design – Critical Thinking

Discussion topics:

(1)After reading the 3 articles, can you compare the feelings you have from each article? Can you use examples from the articles to support your answer?

(2)What differences do you see in these three articles?

(3)Why do you think the teacher provides these three articles for this activity?

A Professional Teacher…

• Knows exactly what they are doing and why they are doing it.

• Willing to share and adopt different teaching approaches.

• Never stops evaluating and reviewing the curriculum.