************************************************************
The following is issued on behalf of the Chief Executive's Award for Teaching Excellence Steering Committee:
Sixty-six accomplished teachers were commended by the Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, at the award presentation ceremony of the Chief Executive's Award for Teaching Excellence today (July 8). "The awardees this year do not only care about students' academic achievements, but also their whole-person development. They have won the trust and support of students and their parents," Mr Tsang said.
Physical Education (PE) at Primary and Secondary Levels and Physical Activities at Kindergarten Level and Special Educational Needs are the two key areas for this year's award. The Chief Executive presented the awards to 42 primary, secondary and special school teachers. Another 24 teachers were presented with the Certificate of Merit by the Secretary for Education, Mr Michael Suen.
Mr Tsang praised the awarded PE teachers for developing students' potential in sports and nurturing their perseverance and sportsmanship through motivational activities and effective teaching. Many of them have also taken the opportunity of the Beijing Olympics to carry out project learning and exploratory activities to help students better understand the Olympic Games and cultivate in them a sense of national identity.
"As regards the domain of Special Educational Needs, the awarded teachers pursue efficacious enhancement and remedial measures to cater for student diversity, thereby building on their strength and providing remediation to bring about student development. They have also fostered a culture of love and care in schools, which encourages teachers and students to adopt a harmonious and inclusive attitude towards learner diversity," Mr Tsang said.
Mr Tsang particularly referred to the case of an autistic primary student with normal intelligence. He got annoyed easily, for example, when he lost his handkerchief. With great love and effective teaching strategy, his teacher succeeded in making him understand the adverse effect of his behaviour and how his behaviour affected others. After two years' "re-engineering", this student has made significant improvement in controlling his temper and is now studying in a normal school with very impressive academic performance.
The Awards for Teaching Excellence (ATE) this year received 133 nominations of which 17 (42 teachers) were selected for the ATE while nine (24 teachers) were awarded the Certificate of Merit. The assessment criteria were "Professional Competence", "Student Development", "Professionalism and Commitment to the Community" and "School Development".
The Chairman of the Chief Executive's Award for Teaching Excellence Steering Committee, Mr Pang Yiu-kai, commended the achievements of the awarded teachers in developing students' potential and nurturing students' pro-active attitude towards life. "Not only are their teaching philosophy and teaching practices inspiring, they are also practicable and effective in enhancing teaching effectiveness. These teaching practices form a valuable vault of reference for fellow teachers," said Mr Pang.
Mr Pang also expressed his appreciation to the awarded teachers of the previous three ATEs for their active engagement in Continuing Professional Development and dissemination activities of all kinds, which stimulates colleagues to strive for excellence. "Education can be compared to farmers who sow and nurture saplings. With teachers' love and care, our students will surely grow up strong. Eventually, they will become the pillars of society," Mr Pang said.
Students of the awardees were invited at the ceremony to share their perceptions of how their teachers have developed their potential and affected their personal development.
The results of the ATE (2007-2008) are available on the ATE website (www.ate.gov.hk). "The Rainbow Classroom (2007-2008)" , a special ATV programme comprising two 30-minute episodes on exemplary teaching practices, will be broadcast on ATV-Home at 5.30pm on July 20 and 27.
Sharing activities on excellent teaching practices will be rolled out in November. Details will be announced on the ATE website later.
Nominations for the ATE (2008-2009) will be accepted from Monday (July 14) to October 10. It will cover the Technology Education Key Learning Area and Pre-primary Education. For details, please also check the ATE website.
Ends/Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Issued at HKT 16:08
NNNN
