History Department
Priorities for the Year
To heighten students’ wise use of resources in an efficient and effective way, we should maintain and strengthen the integration of greening and IT. As a responsible citizen, one should adopt the appropriate use of information technology in learning through the internet and emails whereby students share and exchange information among themselves which facilitate self-learning and self-assessment. The History Department has installed a checklist of reference materials including books on curriculum content, journals on History learning or teaching and internet resources recommended by EDB uploaded on school intranet as guideline for surfing on the internet. By so being, it also creates a more environmental friendly school premise as it ‘saves’ paper in this knowledge-based society i.e. the principle of greening and recycling. Encouraging students to use mind maps, concept maps and write on the ‘word document’ when they orally present their essays (instead of printing copies of the essays) do not only save paper ethically for public good, but also provide a clear overview of their thinking faculty. Moreover, good work done by History students are also kept in soft copies uploaded on the intranet for students’ easy reference as well. Student works like essay assignment, essay outline and concept map would be scanned and kept by teacher in soft copies instead of hard copies for easy reference and backup purpose. Lastly, plasma may also help to spread the latest information about the activities of the History Society e.g. Movie Week in a more environmentally friendly way than using big posters or circulars.
Innovation meant something newly introduced. In a broad sense it refers to the orientation of open-mindedness and optimistic attitude which matches closely with the aim of History learning in developing the students’ skill of critical thinking, making sound judgments and effective communication through exploring historical issues. As they broaden the knowledge of local, national and regional and world history in the 20th century, not only they can apply historical knowledge and skills in everyday life, but also demonstrate an appreciation of human achievements and aspirations, nurturing gratitude and hope for the future. As our students are trained to be self-directed learners, thoughtful, compassionate and cooperative, they are capable of adapting constructively and continuously to the rapidly changing political and socio-economic realities.
In line with the school theme “SMART CITIES (Cradle for Integrating Technology, Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability)” of 2023-2024, the History Department emphasizes on training transferable skills e.g. comprehension, synthesis, analysis, problem-solving, etc. by developing students' thinking and reasoning abilities (independent thinking) as well as to instill the sense of civic responsibility (empathy) so that they become responsible citizens and equipped with multiple skills to deal with challenges in 21st century world. Moreover, concerns for environmental and heritage conservation would enhance the moral values of concern for people and heritage i.e. the importance of past history. We should cultivate a positive attitude among students to cope with stress and failures/ setbacks in life and enhance their ethical values toward social issues, environmental problems, the use of internet, etc. Furthermore, they need to build and nourish their assets: physical, mental and moral health so as to live a happy and sustainable life. Indeed, through the equipment of knowledge (20th century world history), skill (critical thinking) and attitude (enhancement of civic responsibility and moral values), on one hand our students show respect for ethnic minority and appreciate history and cultures of different places whilst at the same time they will be prepared to cope with challenges of the present time as well as the future.
To address the main concern of our school: to sustain a diverse and innovative curriculum and assessment that offer multiple pathways to students so as to prepare them for successful entry into tertiary education either locally or abroad. History as a elective humanity subject from junior secondary 3 onward offers diversified curriculums, namely International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), International Advanced Level (IAL) and New Senior Secondary (NSS) Curriculums for students to enter local tertiary institutions or overseas. Teachers have to adopt a new orientation toward both the IAL and NSS History curriculums by acknowledging the key concepts that curriculum, pedagogy and assessment form a trinity. Panel head and subject teacher would also update curriculum knowledge on NSS History, IGCSE and IAL respectively by checking the EDB Training Calendar and Pearson Edexcel regularly for information on professional development programmes. All related reference materials obtained from these professional development programmes have also been uploaded on the intranet for sharing. Teachers concerned would also keep track of the standards-referenced approach for grading and reporting student performance. Sample paper, practice paper and live samples of HKDSE Examination 2012 have also been stored in soft and hard copies for sharing among the team.
Starting from September 2017, IGCSE History has changed to new 9 to 1 specifications and examination formats has also changed accordingly. Panel Head and team members teaching IGCSE level would attend face-to-face or on-line training to familiarize themselves with the new specifications. Both Panel Head and team members would exchange views about the new syllabus approaches, methodology and share experiences on IGCSE in-service courses, workshops and seminars attended on Friday afternoon (DIP lessons) or free periods and conduct collaborative lesson planning. Similarly, Panel Head would provide resource support and offer advice to teacher undertaking IAL curriculum. The subject teachers would update information by maintaining an open channel with the subject advisor of UK Edexcel and review question papers, mark schemes and examiners reports. New stocks of reference books and online teaching resources for IGCSE, IAL and NSS have been purchased to enrich knowledge on the subject matter.
For the second major concern: to prepare students for the fast changing technological world through STEM/STEAM: fostering collaborative learning through an interdisciplinary approach. We can further identify and develop areas of excellence and innovation in IT especially through the use of iPads, e-learning materials and apps (teaching software). Relevant to local heritage study in both junior and senior form History study, an AR app “History Trip Go Easy: Cheung Chau Jiao Festival”『歷史科考察易：長洲太平清醮』, which helps students experience the Cheung Chau Jiao Festival on non-festival days, creatively incorporates field trips into the learning and teaching of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) and enhances students of ICH. Students can conduct field study with the support of Google Map and gain experience of the Jiao Festival by using AR to visit the festival sites on ordinary days and view the composite-scene parade in the streets more comfortably.
Moreover, the History Department would explore topics which are relevant to the curriculum and interests of students and conduct research work using iPad and develop ebook. Students would develop learning materials with the support of historical resources accessible through information search in the internet. In classroom and at home, students can view YouTube videos on their iPads, which will support mobile learning as videos are much more interactive and interesting than just text. The iPad, with its large screen and touch screen interface, can also be used as an ebook viewer. Apart from reading and compiling resources, students are encouraged to do discussion, take notes, make summary and reflections during class using the Edmodo learning platform which is designed for tracking progress, enhancing communication, and extending learning beyond the classroom. With staff training programme on the use of Activpanel, an interactive whiteboard would also facilitate teaching and learning in junior forms. Moreover, useful apps such as Kahoot! and Plickers may be employed for teachers to set up a spelling quiz or timeline quiz for the junior secondary students and be used in pre- and post-lesson time. Also, Nearpod as a teaching software can serve for classroom activities like quizzes, matching, drawing, discussion, voting, mind map, etc.
The third concern to strengthen the implementation of the school theme by focusing more on the entrepreneurial aspect, we emphasize on citizenship and social responsibility and uphold intrinsic moral values like justice, equality, commitment, etc. By promoting club activities like visit of different heritage trail e.g. Sheung Wan Heritage Trail, museum visits to Dr. Sun Yat-sen Museum and Hong Kong Museum of History, heritage conservation like Tai Kwun, Supreme Court and Hong Kong News-Expo help students to have a better understanding of the heritage and development of Hong Kong in the past years. This can foster in students a stronger sense of belonging to the community, identity and sensitizing their awareness of their civic and cultural responsibilities.
For the fourth major concern: to strengthen Paulinians’ Christian and Chinese moral values through implementation of the Lion Rock Spirit. It is believed that ethical values like filial piety, respect for others, conscience, compassion are an intrinsic part embedded in History learning. Teachers should promote wider reading to students from a great variety of sources (print and non-print) to enhance their understanding of important historical events and prominent leaders, for instance, the revolutionary career of Dr. Sun Yat-sen and Mao Zedong. Students learn to appreciate their leadership qualities like integrity, resilience, persisting and strong will to succeed. To integrate with students’ prior experience or life experience would sustain their attention and interests to explore in-depth knowledge, conducting oral history by interviewing their grandparents or elderly in the family is an effective means to learn the Lion Rock Spirit, namely courage, perseverance and care for others. Last but not the least, project work on ‘Hong Kong’s Past and Present’ would also cultivate a sense of belonging as history is around them. Indeed, increasingly for the young people, they should learn collaboration and cooperation as they have to prepare for the ‘work environment’ in the distant future. Thus, in the classroom, they learn to share their experiences with their peers through presentation and discussion and show understanding, tolerance, respect and appreciation of other cultures.
Last but not the least, for the fifth major concern is to enhance Paulinians’ sense of national identity and law-abiding awareness through implementation of National Security Education in both the formal and informal curriculum. It is of paramount importance for the integration of National Security Education into the History curriculum framework. Relevant topics under study in junior Secondary 1 to 3 include Hong Kong history since early time to the 20th century and its close cultural bonding with China especially Hong Kong as part of China inherently so as to cultivate a sense of belonging and national identity. Moreover, in the formal senior Secondary curriculum ‘Modernization and transformation of China’ students should be aware of the origin of the rise of China in spite of all the challenges China faced and the efforts she made in modernization especially “Reform and Opening-up” to become a leading power among the world’s family of nations in the 20th century, resulting in various national security issues. Indeed, students should show appreciation of the national strength of PRC in the early 21st century especially her important role in the global community through her modernization process in the past years. Moreover, as Hong Kong is an inalienable part of China, the close link with mainland China in different aspects, namely geographically, economically, culturally and politically facilitate her to play the role as China’s most cosmopolitan city – a modern financial hub combining efficient infrastructure, well-regulated markets, simple tax structure, high literacy rate, free flow of information, capital and talents. With deep understanding of Chinese culture and nurture the spirit of tolerance and respect for other cultures, students would be conscious of the importance of upholding the law and security as a responsible citizen. Proposed extended learning activities include group discussion among F. 6 students in class on issue of national security with reference to September 18th Incident and action to be taken if any invasion repeat itself in the future. For extra-curricular activities, F. 1 virtual tour to HK Museum of History website - Recreating a classic: The Best Features of The Hong Kong Story to know about the origin of the Basic Law and the relationship between our nation and Hong Kong. Other joint club activities include Humanities Quiz, outdoor visits like Tung Wah Museum, Sheung Wan Heritage Trail and exhibitions on Chinese cultures.
