Festival of Learning for Our Student Teachers!

By Vienne Lin

HKU’s Faculty of Education’s Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) Capstone Event for the 2017-18 full-time cohort was held on 10th of May, 2018. At this culmination of their year-long postgraduate programme, students, teachers, and external stakeholders joined to celebrate the joy and success of our students’ progress towards the PGDE vision of a “Concept of a Teacher”. The event attracted both our academic community and professional external stakeholders, including off-campus mentors for Experiential Learning (EL), School Experience (SE) and Professional Practicum (PP).

More than a hurdle requirement for graduation, the PGDE Capstone assessment provides students with the opportunity to synthesize their learning experiences across the programme. It solidifies pedagogical content knowledge; encourages integrated and collaborative inquiry; connects with experiential learning; and facilitates reflective practice. The “Concept of a Teacher” encapsulates eight dynamic qualities of the teaching profession. In reviewing their learning across the whole programme, students were advised to select the two or three dimensions in which they have made great strides and to identify one dimension that may have room for improvement. Students were required to take an evidence-based self-reflection approach through curation of evidence from course assignments, activities or exercises. This enables students to rigorously examine their professional growth and build a connection between theory and practice. Furthermore, the process of identifying their strengths and areas of improvement helps reinforce a key message that being a teacher is a continuous process of professional development, which does not end with the Capstone Event or on graduation from the PGDE.

EL has been one distinctive component in the PGDE programme. During their study, students were showered with a range of international and cultural learning opportunities. To develop a holistic understanding of formal schooling in local, national and global contexts, full-time students were offered six weeks of experiential placement in or outside Hong Kong. Chinese and English majors relished the opportunity to participate in immersion programmes in Mainland China and Australia respectively, for a combination of school experience, language study and cultural exchange. Within Hong Kong, non-language majors engaged in a variety of overseas and local opportunities such as working with local minorities to develop hands-on experience of managing teaching and learning diversity.

The PGDE Capstone provided a ‘festival of learning’ atmosphere and a platform for students to share the fruits of their learning. Students formed teams across majors based on their EL projects and presented posters in groups. The event was opened by Dr. Gary Harfitt, Associate Dean (Learning and Teaching), who reminded us that teaching is always a journey and that we never stop learning. Dr. Arthur Lee, PGDE Programme Director, moved on to invite all attendees to join the presentation groups and listen to students’ voice how they have developed their conceptualisation of the teaching profession. The event ended with award presentations as well as closing remarks by Dr. Susan Bridges, PGDE Deputy Programme Director and Assistant Dean (Curriculum Innovation). Prof. Ian Holliday, Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) also joined the event to learn of student’s challenges and insights. He offered his congratulations to our PGDE student teachers who have embarked on the exciting collective journey of teaching and learning.