Social Issues for Thinking & Debating - Conducting Holistic & Coherent Curriculum Planning

1. Social Issues for Thinking & Debating- Conducting Holistic & Coherent Curriculum Planning Ms. Isabella MA & Mr. Edgar CHEUNG, Pui Ching Secondary School Ms. Irene CHENG, Ling Liang Church E Wun Secondary School Ms Anson CHEN, Shau Kei Wan Government Secondary School

2. Getting Involved in the Project • Shau Kei Wan Government Sec. School • Social issues in one unit at two levels • Pui Ching Middle School • Social issues in selected units • Integration with some language arts components Social Issues for Thinking & Debating • LLC E Wun Sec. School • Social issues in all units • Integration of non-language arts & language arts components

3. Getting Started Levels *S1 & S2 Entry point • Integrate social issues coherently into task-based modules in the whole-year plan to develop thinking and debating skills to enhance students’ writing and speaking skills

4. Develop a coherent & balanced school-based curriculum for junior secondary students Enhance teachers’ capacity as effective curriculum designers & leaders Objectives Develop students’ basic thinking skills for writing and debating skills for speaking

5.  Many students find social issues boring and not relevant to their lives  Only a very few outstanding students can benefit from learning basic thinking and debating skills for improving writing and speaking  Debating can only be conducted in a formal setting with rigid rules & outside class time Dispelling the Myths about Social Issues and Debating

6. Other Challenges for Teachers • How to integrate • social issues • coherently • into task-based • modules? How to cover thinking & debating skills to enhance students’ writing and speaking? How to carry out holistic curriculum planning to give students a taste of non-language arts components in S1-S3 ?

7. Expectations on Student Learning • Broadening of students’ knowledge of the world • More student autonomy and independent learning in • tasks and activities Highlights of students’ output • Enhancement of speaking and writing skills

8. Teachers’ Planning to Generate the Expected Outcome Holistic and coherent curriculum planning with systematic curriculum mapping • Mapping out components at one level / cross-levels and in modules 2. Mapping outthinking and debating skills to enhance students’ writing and speaking skills

9. Mapping Out Components at Different Levels for a Holistic and Coherent Plan Balance of components Wide exposure Input & activities to support learning Task-based framework Cross-levels / one-level holistic curriculum planning Planning of individual modules • School-based • development focus: • -Inclusion of social issues • Development of thinking • & debating skills

10. Cross-level Planning – Systematic Inclusion of Social Issues in Modules & Units

11. Whole-year Planning – Gradual Progression and Scaffolding to Prepare Students for the NSS

12. Mapping Out Thinking & Debating Skills as Input in the Unit Plan Input Knowledge Input Skills Scaffolding Output Application & knowledge construction • An overview • Vocabulary items • Thinking skills - facts Vs myths • McDonald’s TV commercials & • Teachers’ input & discussions • News reports on food contamination • Language items skills • Thinking skills - causes & consequences • Debating skills – persuasive skills • A mini-research project on a • restaurant /a food product

13. Strategic Planning of the Task (English Projects) • Application of thinking skills for writing • Enquiry learning • Use of good presentation skills

14. Strategic Planning of Tasks (whole class debating activity in the unit “Environmental Protection”) • Application of basic debating skills for speaking • Each debating circle with the same perspective and having mixed ability grouping Principals & teachers - Positive side vs Negative side Students – Positive side vs Negative side Parents and the public- Positive side vs Negative side

15. Building A Solid Foundation – Mapping Out Thinking & Debating Skills in A Unit for Enhancing Writing and Speaking • Application & • Integration • A court trial & • Writing of • news reports Input & scaffolding School-based example 1 Unit: Mass Media – Believe It or Not (S2) • Input:Thinking & debating • skills • Distinguish between facts • & opinions • Give reasons & evidence to • support one’s stand • Use good body language to • convince the audience • Give counter-arguments with • reasons

16. Explicit teaching of thinking & debating skills Strategic Planning of Input in Modules

17. Inclusion of language input and organisers to support students’ learning of thinking skills in the unit plan

18. Strategic Planning of Tasks (A Court Trial) • Meeting varied needs • Integrated use of writing and speaking • Same stand and perspective 4 Judges (facilitators) 4 Police Inspectors 12 Jurors 6 Lawyers & 6 defendants 4 Witnesses

19. Careful Planning of Input to Enable Students to Generate the Expected Output • Use of appropriate language features to express facts and opinions using appropriate language features

20. School-based example 2 • Mapping Out Different Thinking & Debating Skills to Enhance Students’ Writing & Speaking Skills in S1 Module Social issues Major thinking skills Major debating skills Text-types 1.Managing My life – At School & In My Free Time Planning Ahead for my life • Identify causal • relationships – causes • & consequences • Understand more • than one point of view • Fables 2. School Life - Joys & Tears School Bullying • Identify causes and • consequences • Adopt more than one point • of view • Use appropriate tone • of voice to present • points • Give counter-arguments • to show disagreement • Comics • News • articles 3.Shopping & Enjoying Life Money Things for Money - Is Money Everything To You? • Identify and analyse • causes and consequences • Use an assertive tone of • voice and other persuasion • devices • Give reasons for one’s • arguments • Short • Speeches • for a mini- • debate • News • articles

21. Scaffolding & Progression in Different Units Social issues Thinking skills Debating skills Text-types • Classify and analyse • causes and • consequences • Suggest creative • solutions • Use basic persua- • sive skills to • convince the • audience • Apply basic research • skills • Persuasive • texts • for • charitable • organisat • -ions) Love Vs Cruelty • View issues from different • points of view 5.Animals • Put forward • arguments • with confidence • Give reasons for one’s • stand • News • articles • poem 6.Eating out Food Commercials – Believe Them or Not • Distinguish between facts • & myths • Identify “obvious” fallacies • Apply persuasive • skills • Advertise • ments • Mini- • debates Module 4.Let’s Celebrate Together- Love & Charity Donating Money to Charitable Organisa- tion

22. Strategic Planning of Input in the Unit Plans • Giving of appropriate input to scaffold students’ knowledge • Explicit teaching of thinking & debating skills and related language features

23. Strategic Planning of Tasks (whole-class debating activity) • Mixed ability grouping • Each circle has the same stand but each member has a different perspective

24. Common Features of Planning Work Done at the Three Participating Schools • Early planning • Holistic whole-year planning • Enough input and scaffolding • Coherent integration • Variation and flexibility included

25. Impacts Created Teachers’ Reflections • Teachers’ professional • development • Curriculum design and leadership • Teaching strategies • Inter-school & within-school • learning • Readiness for the NSS Teachers’ observations of students’ learning • Integrated use of skills • Enhanced speaking and writing • Flexible task design to meet • students’ varied needs • Active learning

26. Students’ Feedback on the Modules with Social Issues The modules were useful. [They] helped me to write, think and learn more tenses…..I think English lessons are very funny…English is interesting…It is a happy thing to learn English……. …I’ve learnt how to collect and filter information, whether it’s a fact or a myth….But the most important thing is I’ve learnt how to analyse social issues in a greater depth…It makes me know more about issues surrounding me and care about them. …The lessons also make me know how to distinguish facts and myths…During the progress of my English learning, I am full of enjoyment…..

27. Parents’ Feedback …There are varieties of daily topics which are theme-oriented…They are informative and useful, not only enhancing students’ word power but also enrich their knowledge in the living reality…… …I noticed that some of the articles are interesting relating to the daily lives. This makes English subject an interesting and practical subject.

28. Students’ Reflections Students from Shau Kei Wan Secondary School I chose to be the lawyer of Helen Ho……I enjoyed the activity (court trial) very much. I found that the whole class enjoyed this activity very much. …..I hope Ms. Chen will organise more activities….We may learn a lot from this activity….

29. Students’ Reflections …it’s very meaningful and also can [increase] our courage & self-confidence….[This] year, I was very happy and I want to say “Thank you, Miss Cheng” • Debating is exciting! • Use more English! • More thinking; more perspectives; I can give more elaboration in writing by giving reasons • Give reasons to make people agree with me • Better eye-contact & body language

30. Some Considerations • Holistic & coherent planning to increase the chance of success Use the experience as the basis for identifying s kick-off point for designing the LA electives in the NSS • Building a solid foundation by supporting students’ language development Use of resources

31. Way Forward • Phase II developmentof the Project next year • Dissemination of school-based experiences for teachers’ reference in 2007-2008 • Development of the network formed in Nov last year with inter-school sharing and feedback from critical buddies • Exploring practical ways and developing more school-based examples to help teachers get prepared for the NSS electives