A sharing corner for you
Community Voices is a corner where readers can share their thoughts with other members of the FLASS community. We welcome submissions on education-related topics, inspirational life experiences, heart-warming stories that took place at EdUHK, and whatever else you believe would be a meaningful contribution.
In this issue of FLASS FORWARD, a number of graduates from various masters and undergraduate programmes in the Department of Science and Environmental Studies share with us how their studies at FLASS have deepened their understanding about STEM, sustainability education, and science education. They also tell us how such knowledge helps them to develop their careers in the education field and in other sectors.
Jiang Wenrui; Wang Yingting; Chen Mingchang; Katy Tsui Ka-lai; Au Ka-man
Lectures in the STEM programme have a strong academic background in science and engineering. Meanwhile, this MA(STEM Ed) programme has a strong emphasis on linking theory to practice, and the assignments are practical and close to real-life teaching in primary and secondary schools, which has helped me to learn practical and useful teaching knowledge and skills. I was able to not only learn a lot about STEM Education theory during this academic year, but I was also able to apply the knowledge I learned to real work and make continuous progress.
I have learned a lot from studying MAEfS at The Education University of Hong Kong. After learning about education for sustainability, I found that the concept of sustainability is everywhere in our lives. When eating in the canteen, I would think of the sustainable development goal of eradicating hunger. When I take transportation, I might think about how carbon emissions affect climate change. Whenever this happens, I always feel that learning about education for sustainable development is very meaningful to our society and individuals.
In addition to gaining knowledge, I also gained the love of my classmates and teachers. Through this year's study, we have made a lot of friends through teamwork. Not only did we help each other in learning, but we also shared the joy in our free time and went on field trips together, adding fun to our lives in Hong Kong. What is more, our teachers come from different parts of the world, such as the UK, Australia and Hong Kong. They led us to learn about education for sustainability from a variety of perspectives in an inspiring and fun way, and taught us how to apply and practise sustainability in education. This has helped us to think more logically and critically, regardless of whether we will be engaged in education or social science work in the future.
Hello, I am a former MAEfS student. First of all, I would like to thank the college for giving me the Entrance Scholarship and the Dean’s Honour Award, I will always miss this wonderful time of study. What I’ve learned in The Education University of Hong Kong has given me a deeper understanding of environmental protection and a rich insight into education for sustainability.
I still remember in the first class, the teacher asked us to use divergent thinking to think about what is education for sustainability, which made me, who had received traditional education, think for a long time. I didn’t expect each student to write his or her own insights and perceptions, which made me more excited about open-ended learning!
In cooperative learning, I learned to coordinate and communicate, to understand and help each other, to absorb the good ideas of others, and to make the whole group’s work perfect!
Although we took a lot of online classes due to the epidemic, until today, I still feel it has been key to testing one’s self-awareness and self-discipline, and I still had a great learning experience in Hong Kong!
One of the most meaningful experiences in my workplace is working as a guidance teacher. At the beginning of the school academic year, when I was invited to be a member of the guidance committee, I was a little worried since I do not have any related experiences. However, at the same time, I felt fascinated, since this is a new challenge for me, out of the teaching area, and I am eager to accept new challenges in life.
I started to have monthly meetings with students, and I always let them share more about their ideas and feelings. How do they feel about the learning environment? How will they prepare for the coming test or exam? How can they improve and learn from previous mistakes? These are some of the general questions that I usually propose at each meeting.
After being a guidance teacher for nearly one academic year, I can understand more about the difficulties that my students are having. I also feel impassioned to be a guidance teacher, since I can take it as a chance to enhance my relationship with students, which can greatly benefit the learning atmosphere. At the same time, they have given me some ideas for planning a lesson, which is something that I did not expect.
During my five years studying at EdUHK, I met different friends and visited different places. These experiences also made me decide to become a teacher.
When I met them, they were group members of homework projects. But now they have become my lifelong friends. We used to take classes together; now, we help and support each other. Some of them even became my co-workers. Through school exchange activities, I also met friends from other parts of the world. We visited many places in Hong Kong, where I introduced to them local culture and delicacies. We played together. We also talked about differences in education systems and pedagogies in various places. These helped me reflect upon what education is and what kind of education is best for students. The sharing from these friends turned into my nutrients, shaping me to become a confident and open-minded teacher.
The five-year study at university gave us the opportunity to practise in local schools, to experience and understand the role of teachers. These practices taught me that in addition to teaching knowledge, the more important function of education is nurturing people. These experiences helped me to understand my enthusiasm for teaching, and to master the skills and ways of getting along with students. Apart from interning in local schools, I also worked as an intern at overseas organisations, including working outside the education field. Working in the non-education sector gave me novel and interesting experiences and enabled me to learn different work and social skills. It helped me grow and become more independent.
I am a primary school teacher now. I apply what I have learnt at EdUHK to my present work. Every day, students ask me different questions in class. When I see them grow up slowly every day, I think to myself that this may be the meaning of education!
