Articals sharing:A short path for learning Chinese
Chinese version only
Artical sharing: Parent-child reading skill
Chinese version only
Parents' Concerns
1. How to carry out a set of educational belief that encourages children's active learning, as well as learning happily and healthily?
According to the early childhood psychologist Jean Piaget, children's development progresses in stages and each has its own characteristics. Children are not born as ‘blank slate' and they don't think in the same way as adults do. They constantly invent and reinvent their world by manipulating objects in their environment in order to develop new knowledge.
In addition, we believe that cooperation between school, home and society has a big impact on the children's learning and development. Therefore, when designing curriculum and activities for the children, providing the most current information and needs of the society is essential. All these are in conformity with ‘Education is to prepare children for the challenges that lied ahead'. In order to develop an appropriate curriculum as well as learning and teaching strategies, a ‘child-centred' approach has been adopted.
‘Health' is a topic of global concern. We understand that a healthy lifestyle should be cultivated from early age in order to establish an innovative healthy lifestyle. Since we joined the Hong Kong Healthy School Scheme, we often refer to the Practical Guide to the Health Promoting School published by the Chinese University of Hong Kong to created a school based curriculum and integrated health related elements in our themes, such as the ‘Water Theme'.
2. How do the children learn under the principle of ‘child-centred' approach?
Interest is the driving force for learning;
Play is happy learning experience;
Sensory activities are the media of learning.
Observation, exploration, thinking and imagination
are the essential learning approaches.
A sense of achievement reinforces further learning.
Quoted from Guide to the Pre-primary Curriculum, issued by the Curriculum Development Council, HK (page 12 - 1.4.2)
3. When implementing ‘child-centred' approach, what are the key factors to be considered?
Respecting each child as a unique individual, the teachers then provide different activities according to their ability, interests and needs allowing children to acquire knowledge, skills and attitude in a spiral form. Another key factor is to provide opportunity for them to reconstruct new knowledge based on their existing knowledge.
4. What strategy should the parents and teachers use in order to help children's learning and development in this post-modernization era?
It is important to use Positive Discipline (Jane Nelson 2006) and help children gain their self-discipline, responsibility, problem-solving skills and cooperation in developing mutual respect.
Sharing of Teaching & Learning Activities
Teaching & Learning Activities for World Environment Day on 5 June 2008
