Schools Visit

Today was an hectic day yet it was very fufilling for the team. We started off the day with a visit to the Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd). It currently has over 7000 students doing a wide range of courses ranging from PGDE to BEd to Masters & PhD levels. It has also established partnerships with 800 over local kindergatens, primary & secondary schools as well as 75 partner institutions in Hong Kong, Mainland China & overseas.

We were warmly received by Professor Lo Mun Ling, Director of School Partnership & Field Experience (SPEO), Dr Ko Po Yuk, Assistant Professor, Centre for Learning -Study & School Partnership as well as Assistant Professor, Dr Eric Cheng from SPEO.

Prof Lo walked us through the essence of Learning Study, which is basically a systematic process of enquiry into teaching & learning employing an Action Research Methodology.It is underpinned by the learning Theory of Variation & has the improvement of teaching & learning at its core.The Institute is currently partnering with a few schools in implementing Learning Study. The team immediately identified similarities bewteen Learning Study & LC. Najeeb then took the opportunity to run through the essence of LC with our hosts. Thomas, also gave an overview on our division's work.The team also fielded questions on teachers training at the pre-service level.

Our hosts then brought us for lunch at the Institute's Chinese restaurant before bidding farewell to us.

The second part of today's schedule was an eye-opener for us. We were driven to the Chung Sing Benevolent Society Mrs Aw Boon Haw Secondary School by our gracious host, Kelvin. This school is currently an LC school. There is one LC facilitator who has been trained in our LCB earlier in February this year. Denise,on the other hand went to Canossa Convent School (Hong Kong) for a seperate visit.

When we stepped out of the car, we could sense that the place was different. Students were busily preparing for an upcoming Halloween Party. The air was filled with excitement & anticipation. We were warmly received by the school's Senior Management & Exco members, we started the meeting with a sharing session where Mr Silva Wu, the Vice -Principal walked us through the history and programmes of the school. He also gave a short overview on how LC is carried out in the school. The team beamed when he mentioned the words "RPAOR".

Najeeb & Thomas had the honour of addressing 1500 students in the Multi-Purpose Hall at the request of the Principal. They were in the midst of electing a body of student leaders. The air was filled with excitement. Students from the floor fired questions on what the student leaders would do for their well-being if elected. The student leaders elect in turn would addressed their concerns and came out with relevant answers which reflected their maturity and patience in handling difficult questions. When the time came for the address, Najeeb spoke to the students on the essence of being a good Leader while Thomas , in his usual Cantonese tone , spoke to the students about "Servanthood & the courage to serve". After the speeches, the whole hall gave them a thundering applause.

We also had the opportunity to interact with Minority Races students. This school is special in the sense that they really take good care of their foreign students. They even enlisted the help of a Pakistani parent volunteer who would station himself in the school during his free time. He would look into the language & emotional needs of these students.What amazes us even more is that this parent volunteer speaks perfect Cantonese !

The Management had also arranged for us to observe an English lesson. We were very impressed by the high standard of English as spoken by the students. The last segment of the visit was a dialogue session with Senior Management and EXco members. We discussed a variety of issues ranging from PD of teachers to LC to Educational Policies.

The visit did not just stop there. The School Management brought us out for a good seafood dinner at Hong Kong's or Asia's best seafood restaurant( even Wall Street Journal featured this restaurant earlier this year)- Hoi Tin Garden Restaurant. We have tried the best goose restaurant, what's an appropriate way to end the visit on a high note- By sinking our fangs in the lobsters, la la, Scallop & Fish.

We bid farewell to our hosts after the dinner. We are determined to reciprocate their warm kindness & hospitality should they come to Singapore one day.

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The team will be presenting our reflection on 24th Oct during Branch Meeting. We would like to thank all of you for reading and also to Minnie, Robin, Sayang & Vim for your encouraging comments.

This blog is now close and will serve as an archive for our future colleagues going to the Hong Kong trip.

To view photos on the entire week's training, please visit out HKLC Photo Gallery at:

http://community.webshots.com/user/hongkonglc