56 HPE students present their Honours or Capstone Projects at the annual student conference

A total of 56 students taking either the Bachelor of Education (Honours) (Physical Education) (BEd(PE)) programme or Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Sports Science and Coaching (BSc(SPSC)) programme from the Department of Health and Physical Education (HPE) presented their Honours or Capstone Projects at the HPE Student Conference 2023/24 held on 12 April 2024 at Central Plaza of the Tai Po campus. Five participating students were awarded the Best Poster Presentation Award for the high quality and innovative ideas of their research and presentation work.

All final-year students of BEd(PE) and BSc(SPSC) programmes were required to work either on an Honours Project or a Capstone Project. Honours Projects are more academic and research focused that require the students to carry out a study in classical physical education such as kinematics, injury studies, performance and recovery analysis, biomechanics, sports psychology, and the like for their projects. For students who choose to work on a practical-oriented Capstone Projects, they need to use different sports science theories to design an innovative solution to a real-life problem related to physical and health education.

“HPE organises this signature event every year as a platform where final-year students of BEd(PE) and BSc(SPSC) programmes can share their experiences and achievements from their Honours or Capstone Projects. This event serves as an excellent opportunity for the students to exchange ideas among themselves and with staff members from HPE and other departments of the University, fellow students, or drop-by viewers who are interested in the topics,” said Dr Gary Chow Chi-ching, Associate Head of HPE. Dr Gary Chow, Dr Zheng Chen and Dr Bob Sun Fenghua form the convening committee for Honours Projects and Capstone Projects at HPE.

Presentations at the HPE Student Conference were conducted in an exhibition-like environment where students presented findings from their final-year research projects at their booths at the Central Plaza. This year, 30 Honours Projects and 26 Capstone Projects were exhibited. After listening to presentations by students, teacher assessors from HPE vote for their favourite projects according to its originality, methodological rigour, and significance. Five students who received the highest number of votes from the teacher assessors were given the Best Poster Presentation Awards. They are Mok Kwan-tung, Ip Wai-lam, Joe Wong Chun, and Mok Kai-ching from BEd(PE), and Hui Wing-yan from BSc(SPSC).

Ip Wai-lam, one of the winners, has been practising yoga for many years. She found that even though yoga can help secondary schoolers to reduce pressure and anxiety caused by their studies, there is a lack of teachers who possess the right knowledge to teach yoga. Because of this finding, Wai-lam decided to design a Capstone Project to promote the practice of yoga in secondary schools. “The main product of my project is a teaching kit which secondary school physical education teachers can use to teach yoga. To facilitate their teaching, the kit contains demonstration photos and corresponding descriptions of different yoga poses. QR codes for video demonstrations are also included. Yoga poses are divided into different levels according to their difficulties such that teachers can select the most appropriate set of yoga exercises for their students,” Wai-lam said.

Wai-lam made use of her internship as a secondary school PE teacher to collect feedback about promoting yoga amidst secondary schoolers. During her internship, she has shared with PE teachers the benefits of yoga for students. “As I persuaded them to teach yoga at the school, I learnt how to listen to concerns of teachers and students. The PE teachers told me they need to consider financial and personnel constraints when introducing a new sports to school. That made me aware of the practical issues I didn’t notice before. The Capstone Project taught me things that I could never learn from other university courses,” she said.

Strengthening students’ ability in conducting research, managing a project, and presenting their research findings are the three basic reasons behind requesting students to complete either an Honours Project or Capstone Project. Even for students who didn’t win the Best Poster Presentation title, they found the experiences of designing and managing a one-year project very valuable.

The Capstone Project of BSc (SPSC) student Lam Kin-man is about how to make basketball training more interesting among primary school students. He was grateful for the comprehensive experience he gained from his Capstone Project. “I’ve learnt how to write a proposal for my project, and how to seek and incorporate comments from my supervisor into the project. I’ve also learnt how to develop teaching plans to raise motivation of primary school kids in playing basketball. As a final activity, today’s conference gave me an opportunity to learn how to explain my ideas and answer questions about my project,” Kin-man said.

Cheng On-sum is a student taking the BEd(PE) programme. His Honours project is about how bilateral, unilateral and combined plyometric warm-up exercises can improve explosive strength of an athlete. On-sum was delighted to have the opportunity to participate in the conference. “The most valuable gain is that I got a chance to think through the whole process of designing, implementing, and explaining my project. Expressing my ideas clearly, listening to feedbacks, and answering questions with confidence are essential workplace skills. It is good that I can polish these skills before I enter society to work, whether I become a teacher or work in other fields.” he said.

“The student conference has become an annual highlight, receiving widespread recognition from both students and colleagues. By providing a platform for idea exchanges, the conference fosters a warm and conducive learning environment. What’s more, it serves as an excellent opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration and networking. With almost 60 students participating, this year’s conference was a great success. We extend our heartfelt appreciation to our dedicated academic and technical staff, and students who contributed to the success of the event. We are immensely proud of our students' remarkable achievements,” Dr Gary Chow concluded.