In the fast-paced globalised information era, knowledge is no longer static and acquired through rote memorisation in the classroom. To be professionals and leaders of the “learning future”, school teachers are expected to have a broad and integrated knowledge base, make connections with life situations and be able to think critically to make personal judgements and value considerations. The nurturance of such demanding qualities among teachers and in turn students is at the core of the 3-3-4 academic structure* to be implemented in higher education institutions in 2012.

At the Institute, the new undergraduate curriculum aims at advancing whole-person development through a total learning experience among our students. Under the 3-3-4 academic structure, students of our core Bachelor of Education (BEd) programme will experience a new five-year undergraduate curriculum, whereas those pursuing other Bachelor degree programmes will study for four years. In addition to the stream of teacher-education programmes, the Institute has launched another stream of non-Education programmes encompassing the areas of language studies, global and environmental studies and creative arts and culture, as well as programmes strongly linked and complimentary to education including music in education, health education, sports science, science and web technology, Greater China studies and liberal studies.

To facilitate synergy and cross fertilisation, the Education and non-Education programmes share a common curriculum framework featuring an enhanced General Education component providing a varied but balanced mix of individual courses across a range of subjects, a co-curricular learning component to integrate out-of-classroom experiential learning activities into the curriculum, a language enhancement component to ensure that students have a reasonably high level of English proficiency and a good command of Putonghua in addition to Cantonese, and enriched overseas experiences to widen our students’ horizons.

Our new BEd curriculum takes into account the increasing importance of professional ethics, commitment and values in teaching and special needs education. A new Education Studies learning framework aiming to guide students through exploration of the psychological, social, theoretical and practical perspectives of education, the basic theories of teaching and learning, and issues pertinent to education has been developed for a pilot run in 2011-12.

Emphasis on learning beyond the formal curriculum has been a major vision in our student development strategy. The strategy advocates student ownership of experiential learning through the provision of ample opportunities to take on responsible and leadership positions in co-curricular and service-learning activities.

The Total Learning Experience framework will ensure that students admitted under the new 3-3-4 academic structure experience a smooth transition to university learning. Because these students will be one year younger than previously admitted entrants, the Institute will fortify among them the depth of knowledge and connectivity of different areas of knowledge through General Education. In the course of four to five years, students will have to go through a Foundation Course, Breadth Courses and conclude with a Consolidation Course.

One of the unique features of the Foundation Course is a specially designed lecture series, to be given by Chair Professors and Professors, where the advanced scholarship of academic leaders will inform undergraduate teaching. Another innovative feature is the introduction of Co-curricular Learning courses, which incorporate carefully and well-planned activities mix, to extend students’ learning experience beyond the traditional classroom-based curriculum and broaden their minds and perspectives.

Keeping students’ best interests in mind, “Learning” shapes the Institute’s Teaching and Learning framework. By adopting an outcome-based learning approach, we seek to start with what students are expected to learn, then focus on the creation of a teaching and learning environment that is conducive to attaining the desired learning outcomes. The multiple-level outcomes include generic outcomes that are expected of all students, programme outcomes that are pertinent to the distinctive dispositions expected from degree graduates, and course outcomes that can be gauged from student achievements. Based on the expected learning outcomes, programmes are designed to encapsulate a broad conceptual framework that aims at nurturing all-rounded graduates who are professionally competent, intellectually active, morally responsible, functionally trilingual, socially caring and globally aware.

Academic pursuits alone cannot provide the all-rounded development that the Institute seeks to foster among its students. Upon admission, students are provided with ample opportunities to explore a wide array of alternative, diverse and exciting opportunities. Such exposure includes internship programmes, through which students can enhance general knowledge and workplace skills and identify personal strengths and weaknesses so they can formulate future development plans that best realise their potential. In 2010-11, around 110 students participated in an eight-week Summer Internship Challenge Programme where they had placements in different industries and organisations in Australia, Germany, Ireland, the UK, the USA, Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Students commended the Programme for having successfully inculcated among them an attitude of embracing cultural diversity and readiness to work with people of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

Our students are also encouraged to participate in and initiate projects to serve the mentally and physically handicapped, marginal youth, senior citizens, deprived students and ethnic minority children. To expand the service-learning concept, apart from involving local NGOs and schools as collaborative partners, overseas organisations have been covered under the Leadership Enhancement and Development Programme. Students who have gone through service projects have been observed to have transformed into more engaging young people, ready to think critically to identify solutions, more sensitive to community problems and willing to challenge social inequalities.

The real-life experience of handling people with varied needs, first-hand knowledge of community issues, appreciation of diverse cultures and differences, and the growing network of people developed during the service-learning process prepare our students to face and cope with dynamic work lives. These invaluable experiences groom today’s students to become tomorrow’s all-rounded teachers and professional leaders.

A vibrant campus and hostel life also have lasting impacts on the personal development of students. The Institute is keen to foster a dynamic hall culture underpinned by a great variety of hostel activities. In 2010-11, over 300 students volunteered their service to fellow students through taking up posts in the Student Residents’ Association, Tutorial Team and Floor Committee. The Embracing Diversity Project and Environmental Commentary Group were also organised during the year to promote a pluralistic outlook and civic engagement among students.

Further enhancing the Institute’s hardware for integrating information and communications technologies, the Learning Commons Phase II project was designed to provide flexibility in maximising space utilisation for diverse usage, facilitating student learning and activities, encouraging effective mobile communications and face-to-face exchanges and interaction between staff and students. A “Learning Technologies Corner” inside the Learning Commons, equipped with iMacs and interactive whiteboards and allowing free WIFI access, provides an excellent environment for staff and students in exploring the latest cutting-edge technologies for learning and teaching.

The “Mahara” e-portfolio system, an innovative technological device in teaching and learning, was set up during the year to help staff build their individual digital teaching platforms. The system can be extended to cover students’ learning portfolios. The use of Moodle was also piloted during the year as an alternative learning management system to the Institute’s current Blackboard 9 e-learning platform. Moreover, through Teaching Development Grant projects, staff are encouraged to explore the use of information technology and e-learning initiatives to enhance their teaching and learning.

* The official title of the 3-3-4 academic structure is the New Academic Structure for Senior Secondary Education and Higher Education in Hong Kong. Under this structure, students will receive six years of secondary education (three junior and three senior), and four years of university education.