Chalk It Up: FLASS Students Win Big at the Prospective Teachers Award

To practise their instructional skills and receive feedback from experienced professionals, FLASS students aspiring to join the teaching profession actively participate in various teacher competitions, and perform outstandingly. In the 13th Hong Kong Outstanding Prospective Teachers Award, held from January to March 2026, our students won a total of ten awards: three golds, one silver, two bronzes and four merits. The annual competition is jointly organised by the Hong Kong New Generation Cultural Association and the Hong Kong Prospective Teachers Association, and sponsored by the Tin Ka Ping Foundation. An award presentation ceremony was held on 22 March 2026.

Among the three gold winners from FLASS is Ms Wan Pui-chi, a final-year student of the Bachelor of Education (Honours) (Primary) – Mathematics (BEd(P)-MA) programme. “The competition asked me to share my views on current education issues. During the final presentation on 7 March, school principals on the judging panel reminded me that teachers nowadays need to take on substantial administrative tasks alongside their teaching duties. This helped me better understand the situations teachers face in a real school context, and was useful for my job hunt,” the mathematics major said. She noted that, with falling class numbers and school closures, competition among prospective teachers remains keen. “Winning the award serves as a credential and strengthens my resume,” Pui-chi added. 

Pui-chi credited the BEd(P)-MA programme for equipping her to become a teacher. She is especially drawn to the approach of “Teaching for Mathematising” (數學化教育) (Note 1)—a method that encourages learners to discover and construct mathematical concepts themselves, rather than memorising them as fixed rules and theories. “I discovered during my field experience that upper primary students found it challenging to understand operations involving fractions. Instead of asking them to memorise the steps, I spent time encouraging them to think about the real meaning of the basic arithmetic operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Once they understood the concepts behind the calculations, they knew how to work with fractions,” she said.

Mr Michael Ngai Chung-kit, who has long wanted to become a primary school science teacher, was another gold awardee. The final-year student of the Bachelor of Education (Honours) (Primary) - General Studies (BEd(P)-GS) programme taught a lesson on how animals survive in cold environments during his demonstration teaching in the final round. “Members of the judging panel identified my strengths and weaknesses in the demonstration and gave me very constructive, relevant comments,” said Michael.

The aspiring science teacher believes that effective learning happens when students are eager to answer questions, rather than passively waiting for answers from their teachers. “Teachers play a key role in building a scaffold of scientific knowledge, starting with simple ideas and using real-life examples and resources such as photos, videos, and simple experiments to inspire students to find answers for themselves,” Michael said. “During my field experience, I taught Primary 4 students about desertification—a challenging topic for their age. By using photos and videos to illustrate its causes, consequences, and ways to address it, I sparked their curiosity. In the end, they understood the concept rather than just memorising facts,” he said.

Gold awardee Ms Angel Ng Tsz-ching, a 2025 graduate of the Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours) in Global and Environmental Studies (BSocSc(GES)) programme (Note 2), is currently working as an assistant teacher at a secondary school. In the final round, she presented a lesson in Citizenship, Economics and Society, a compulsory subject for Secondary 1 and 2. “The judges appreciated my effort in integrating AI technology and values education into my teaching, and commended the inclusion of many interactive elements,” Angel recalled. 

Angel’s long-standing passion for geography and sustainability studies led her to the BSocSc(GES) programme at EdUHK. “I enjoy studying humanities subjects, and I am particularly keen on exploring the relationship between humanity and the environment. These topics are closely related to both the Citizenship, Economics and Society curriculum for junior secondary and the Citizenship and Social Development curriculum for senior secondary,” she said. After a year of teaching, she is determined to pursue it as a long-term career. “I plan to study for a PGDE and, after obtaining my teacher qualification, hope to move into a full teaching position in geography or a related society-focused subject at secondary level,” the young graduate said.

The Hong Kong Outstanding Prospective Teachers Award encourages aspiring teachers to equip themselves to achieve teaching excellence. Gold winners received HK$5,000, silver recipients HK$3,000, and bronze recipients HK$1,000, along with trophies and certificates.

Award list of the “13th Hong Kong Outstanding Prospective Teachers Award” (FLASS) in alphabetical order by surname:

Note 1: For a thorough explanation about “Teaching for Mathematising”, please read the contributing article “From cubes to concepts: a fun journey through mathematics” by Dr Daisy Wang Dichen in the Department of Mathematics and Information Technology (MIT).

Note 2: Angel belongs to the last cohort of graduates for the Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours) in Global and Environmental Studies (BSocSc(GES)) programme who completed their studies in the 2024/25 academic year.