MIT holds a symposium for education experts from Hong Kong and Hangzhou to exchange views on primary school education
Guests of honours and keynote speakers, from left to right: Dr Alpha Ling Man-ho, Acting Head of MIT; Professor Kong Siu-cheung, Chair Professor of E-Learning and Digital Competency at EdUHK; Professor Cai Jinfa, Chair Professor at the University of Delaware, USA; Professor Li Wai-keung, Dean of FLASS; Ms Chan Mo-ngan from EDB; Professor Gong Zikun from Hangzhou Normal University; Mr Lee Chun-yue from EDB; Mr Tang Caibin, Principal of Qian Xuesen School and Shidai Primary School in Hangzhou, and Dr Zhang Qiaoping from MIT.
A group photo of guests of honours and keynote speakers.
On 6 June, the Department of Mathematics and Information Technology (MIT) organised a whole-day symposium where education experts from Hong Kong and Hangzhou exchanged their expertise and industry insights on primary school education. As a key celebratory event for EdUHK’s 30th anniversary, the symposium held at EdUHK’s Taipo campus attracted nearly 140 participants, including experts, scholars, and mathematics educators from primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong, Hangzhou, Liuzhou, and the Greater Bay Area.
Titled “Innovative Teaching for Future Education: The First Hangzhou-Hong Kong Primary School Mathematics Education Symposium”, the MIT-held symposium was co-organised by the Centre for Learning, Teaching and Technology (LTTC) of EdUHK, the Mathematics Education Section of the Curriculum Support Division of the Education Bureau of the HKSAR Government (EDB), and the Professional Committee on Primary School Mathematics Teaching of the Hangzhou Education Society.
In her pre-recorded welcome speech, Vice President (Academic) of EdUHK Professor May Cheng May-hung emphasised the critical role of educational innovation in nurturing future talents and highlighted EdUHK’s contributions to promoting educational innovation in research, teaching, and service. Professor Li Wai-keung, Dean of FLASS, stressed in his welcome speech the importance of regional collaboration among educators to address the challenges of future innovative teaching.
Professor Li Wai-keung, Dean of FLASS, gives a welcome speech for the seminar.
Dr Zhang Qiaoping from MIT gives a talk on “Innovative Mathematics Teaching Methods in Hong Kong and Mainland China: A Review of 20 Years of Research”.
Professor Li said as mathematics is a foundation of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics), the teaching of mathematics plays a key role in STEAM education. “Looking ahead, how can we teach students to not be intimidated by mathematics? How to cultivate positive attitudes and values towards mathematics in them, and even inspire them to continue to pursue mathematics and other science studies? I believe that today's seminar will shed some light on these issues,” said Professor Li.
The symposium also featured opening remarks from Ms Chan Mo-ngan, Deputy Secretary of the Curriculum and Quality Assurance Branch of EDB, and Professor Cai Jinfa, Chair Professor from the Department of Mathematical Sciences, and Kathleen and David Hollowell Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Delaware of the USA. Both guest speakers highly commended the significance of the seminar. They said the symposium provided a platform for the exchange of ideas between concerned parties from Hong Kong and Hangzhou, as well as an opportunity to forge closer regional cooperation and interaction.
In the morning session of the seminar, five scholars from Hangzhou and Hong Kong delivered keynote speeches on key topics such as artificial intelligence in mathematics education, and new mathematics curriculum reforms in Hong Kong and mainland China. The speakers included Professor Kong Siu-cheung, Chair Professor of E-Learning and Digital Competency at EdUHK, Professor Gong Zikun from the Jing Hengyi School of Education at Hangzhou Normal University, Mr Lee Chun-yue, Chief Curriculum Development Officer of the Mathematics Education Section of the Curriculum Support Division of EDB, Mr Tang Caibin, Principal of Qian Xuesen School and Secretary of the Shidai Primary School in Hangzhou, and Dr Zhang Qiaoping from the Department of Mathematics and Information Technology at EdUHK.
Participants of the symposium visit EdUHK Jockey Club Primary School. Located on the Taipo campus of EdUHK, the primary school serves as an affiliated school of EdUHK and provides an ideal environment for EdUHK graduates to practice learning and teaching, thereby enhancing the overall quality of local primary education.
Participants of the symposium visit the Centre for Learning, Teaching and Technology (LTTC) at EdUHK. The centre explores the full potential of digital competency and emerging technologies, such as AI and the metaverse, in raising the standards of learning and teaching at the University.
The afternoon session featured six group discussions where over twenty mathematics educators from Hong Kong and Hangzhou shared their innovative practices in mathematics teaching. Additionally, the symposium showcased posters designed by eleven undergraduate students majoring in mathematics education from Hangzhou Normal University and EdUHK, highlighting these future teachers’ innovative teaching concepts. The event also included two site visits to EdUHK’s Centre for Learning, Teaching and Technology (LTTC) and The Education University of Hong Kong Jockey Club Primary School. Through these visits, participants gained insights into how innovative technology, e-learning, and STEAM education are integrated with traditional classroom teaching to develop 21st-century skills in students.
This symposium not only successfully promoted innovation and development in mathematics education in Hong Kong and Hangzhou, but also opened a new chapter in exchange and cooperation between their educational sectors.
