Media

The Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong launched the “LIVE to LEARN, LOVE to SERVE” Campaign in late April 2020 to showcase its students’ meaningful contributions to the community amid the COVID-19 pandemic and what they have learnt through their participation in various activities in the Campaign. The Campaign was successfully concluded in late August with more than 170 Faculty student teachers participating, and approximately 1,400 people benefitting from the activities, and all coordinated by the Faculty’s School-University Partnerships (SUP) Office.

The pandemic has deeply affected schools and pre-service teachers, whose face-to-face teaching practicum could not be completed due to the suspension of schooling. In light of this, the SUP Office swiftly arranged an e-professional practicum to provide students with sufficient teaching opportunities. This was crucial for the student teachers to keep up their learning momentum and to adapt their online teaching to changing contexts.

In addition, a wide range of activities was conducted not only to cover the needs of as many groups as possible, but also to provide additional teaching opportunities to the Faculty’s students, equipping them with essential skills for their future career and creating a win-win situation for both schools and the pre-service teachers. The name of the Campaign reflects the students’ enthusiasm for lifelong learning and serving the community regardless of unprecedented challenges. Our Faculty’s students not only endeavour to learn, but also put love into their actions by serving others in the community. This shows that our student teachers are inquisitive, generous and caring at the same time. 

The Campaign was beneficial to many groups in the education community in Hong Kong, such as teachers from local and international schools, candidates for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) and primary school students. Ms Promail Leung, Director of the SUP Office and Senior Lecturer in the Faculty’s Academic Unit of Teacher Education and Learning Leadership, remarked, “We are happy to see that the student teachers’ work was widely adopted. For example, the Video Series ‘Stay Home Science Experiment: Primary School’ was originally developed to let primary students conduct safe and interesting experiments at home and to eventually sustain learning. Later, it was also adopted by teachers of General Studies to help senior primary students learn science at schools.” 

School principals are also well-aware of the Campaign and were impressed by the work of the Faculty’s student teachers. For instance, a local secondary school that participated in the Schools Online Teaching Support Programme received support from several student teachers in preparing online teaching materials. After seeing the extraordinary work done by the student teachers, the school has now said that it will welcome the Faculty’s pre-service teachers for their teaching practicum in the upcoming academic year, instead of only allowing the school’s own graduates who study Education at university to complete their teaching practicum there.

The Faculty’s student teachers have also found their participation in the activities to be rewarding and meaningful. Many reported that their teaching skills were strengthened and that they gained a sense of satisfaction from helping others. Many of the participating student teachers inspired the activity participants, and brought about a positive impact. To give an example, after joining the “Unleash Your Creativity at Home” workshop, a young student asked the student teachers how to join the Faculty and become a teacher himself when he grew up because he was so impressed by their performance. 

Professor A. Lin Goodwin, Dean of the Faculty of Education, remarked, “There is a saying: ‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going.’ This exemplifies our student teachers who have demonstrated their strength of character and dedication to the teaching profession by continuing to serve students and support mentor teachers despite the many challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. I know you will be as impressed as I am by their enthusiastic embrace of e-learning, and the many creative lessons, activities and materials they have developed to enrich the learning of children and youth in Hong Kong.”

About the SUP
The Faculty’s SUP Office aims to broaden and deepen its relationships with individual schools and school networks, through teaching practice for our student teachers, a variety of professional events and activities for mentor-teachers, and communication with different stakeholders. New partner schools are always welcome to join the SUP. For more details of the SUP and collaboration opportunities, please write to partnershipoffice@hku.hk. 

For media enquiries, please contact Ms Emily Cheung, Senior Manager (Development and Communications), Faculty of Education, HKU (Tel: 3917 4270 / email: emchy@hku.hk).