Letters | Teachers must get on board the Covid-induced innovative learning drive
- Readers discuss the evolving role of teachers in preparing students for a digital society, and the subtle racism local graduates face in seeking teaching jobs
At the Learning and Teaching Expo 2021 held in December last year, more than 270 programmes were presented by more than 400 speakers around the world. More than 200 schools and institutions reserved the expo as their staff development day. The expo attracted a record-high 14,610 visitors, revealing the eager demand for professional development programmes for teachers, especially on the topical issues of blended learning and mental health and well-being during the pandemic.
As mentioned at the expo by Professor Nancy Law from the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong, a teacher’s role is no longer merely that of an instructor but a learning designer who facilitates student learning and fosters 21st century competencies with diverse pedagogy.
Professor Diana Laurillard, who specialises in learning with digital technology at University College London, also advocated the use of online platforms to orchestrate exchange and collaboration in innovative blended learning, enabling teachers to learn from one another anytime anywhere.
In view of teachers’ different needs and learning pace, facilitating “just-in-time learning” is essential. For example, Hong Kong Education City’s Go eLearning is a one-stop teacher professional development platform, housing hundreds of videos covering diverse topics to support teachers’ self-learning. These professional development videos are mostly contributed by teachers; the Go eLearning platform facilitates teachers’ learning and collaboration.
While technology holds great promise in addressing many issues, the key to success still lies with teachers. Hong Kong has the advantage of being able to access the global community for the best practices in education.
Globally, attention is being paid not just to students’ academic knowledge but also their well-being and whole-person development. With the proper infrastructure, platforms and collaboration in place, teachers can speed up the development and adoption of new innovative pedagogy. This has been long awaited and is crucial to prepare our students for the future digital society.