FED NEWSLETTER
Mission To disseminate educational ideals and
academic and student activities of FED;
To provide an easy and user-friendly platform
for academic staff;
To promote a sharing culture and boost
teacher education and professional
development.
Editorial Board
Prof. Sylvia S.L.Ieong [email protected]
Cady [email protected]
Sophie [email protected]
Room J527 8397 8727
Issue 9 Contents
Staff Activities
FED- Winner of "Unit with Largest Number of
Participants" in "Walk for Millions 2009" 1
2009 Annual Meeting of the Panel Study on the Life World
of Teenagers in Macao
1
Curriculum Reform in Chinese Society: Issues and "Way
Out"
3
Workshop on Integrating Information Technology into
Secondary Mathematics Teaching
4
Seminar on "Gender and Education" 6
Projects
FED Teacher and Students on a Taiwan Exchange Trip 7
Seminar on "Sports and Physical Education in Germany" 9
Seminar on "Effect of Hydration on Changes of
Electrolytes and Related Hormones during Exercise under
High Temperature Environment"
11
FED welcomed an Indonesian delegation of teachers 12
Seminar on "Improving Students’ Learning in Classroom:
Some Insights from a Decade of Research"
13
Student Activities
FEDSA Christmas Party 14
FED provided free physical test for all UM students,
teachers and staff
17
Training Class for Promoting Reading 18
FED NEWSLETTER ((((University of Macau))))
Jan. 2010 — Feb. 2010 Issue 9
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FED- Winner of "Unit with Largest Number of Participants" in "Walk for Millions 2009"
FED won the award of “Unit with
Largest Number of Participants” in
2009’s “Walk for Millions" event with
28 participants in total.
Please refer to our following photo
gallery to get a quick review:
2009 Annual Meeting of the Panel Study on the Life World of Teenagers in Macao
2009 Annual Meeting of the Panel
Study on the Life World of Teenagers
in Macao, organized by the Faculty of
Education, was held at HG02 & HG03
on 18 December 2009. Twenty-four
UM internal researchers, one guest
speaker and 13 external researchers and
consultants from the USA, the
Mainland, Taiwan and Macao were
invited to share their experience and
expertise.
Staff Activities
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In 2009, the University of Macau began
to create Adolescent’s Psychological
Life World Database, targeting
secondary school students, including
both junior high schools and senior
high schools. The purpose of this
long-term project is to construct the
longitudinal database by tracing life
world of these students to be used as
reference for educational
policy-making and adolescent guidance
and counseling.
Prof. Cheng Chun Wai, Acting Dean of
FED, started by delivering a speech,
giving a general overview of the project,
and then Prof. Jin Shuh Ren gave a
detailed report on the longitudinal study.
Next, Prof. Yang Xiong, from Shanghai
Academy of Social Sciences, presented
his paper entitled "Overview of the
Development of and Research on Youth
in the Chinese Mainland", which
focused on the predicament and the
"way out" of the post- 80’s and post-
90’s generations. Prof. Wu Chi-In from
Institute of Sociology Academia Sinica
shared their experiences from
longitudinal Taiwan Youth Project. Dr.
Hung-Bin Sheu from Arizona State
University, U.S.A. introduced two
projects he participated in, namely,
Gates Millennium Scholars, GMS,
Tracking and Longitudinal Study, and
U.S. Department of
Education—Education Longitudinal
Studies. Dr. Yuk Fai Cheong from
Emory University gave some
recommendations for data analysis plan
for the University of Macau’s
Educational Panels: Teenagers’
Psychological Life World in Macau. In
the afternoon, the scholars presented
their papers at parallel sessions, i.e., the
sociology group and psychology group.
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At the meeting, experts compared
youth/teenagers studies in Europe,
America, the Chinese Mainland,
Taiwan and Macao. All researchers and
consultants tried their best to contribute
to the project by making various
recommendations and suggestions. It’s
reported that the major work is doing
literature review in the first year, and
then they will carry out surveys,
interviews, etc. in the following years.
They are confident that the project will
go smoothly and succeed in achieving
the objectives with the strong support
from all consultants and the good
management of the project leaders.
Seminar on "Mathematics Curriculum Reform in Chinese Society: Issues and Way Out"
On 8 December, six renowned scholars
from Chinese community were invited
by FED to give a seminar on
"Mathematics Curriculum Reform in
Chinese Society: Issues and Way Out",
that is, Dr. Sun Xuhua from University
of Macau, Prof Wong Ngai Ying from
The Chinese University of Hong Kong,
Prof. Lam Chi Chung from The Hong
Kong Institute of Education, Prof. Ma
Yun Peng and Prof. Han Jiwei from
Northeast Normal University, and Prof.
Kong Qi-ping from East China Normal
University.
The scholars shared their frontline
curriculum reform experiences with
vivid and close-to-life illustrations.
Mathematics is universally
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acknowledged as the most difficult
subject in school curriculum, not only
in the eyes of students but also teachers.
The quest for teaching subject
knowledge while maintaining lively
atmosphere in mathematic classroom
has been a tough job for both teachers
and researchers for a long time.
However, traditional mathematics
teaching is always perceived as
monotonous, especially in Chinese
society, thus, a call for curriculum
reform has been formed. Nevertheless,
the reform is just at its beginning stages,
and there are still a lot of issues to be
settled. The seminar aimed to bring
together math teachers to discuss and
share the "way out".
An innovative act of this seminar is
remarks from educational experts were
immediately offered after each speaker
finished his speech. This, for one thing,
speakers can get instant feedback from
insiders; for another, speakers, experts
and audiences can exchange their ideas
on the scene.
Workshop on Integrating Information Technology into Secondary Mathematics Teaching
A workshop on Integrating Information
Technology in Secondary Mathematics
Teaching was arranged by Faculty of
Education on Nov. 14, 2009 at Room
L105. Six renowned scholars in the
field from the Mainland and Taiwan
were invited. The speakers were Prof.
Zhang Jing Zhong, Fellow of Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China,
Prof. Chan Ming Jang, Chiao Tung
University, Taiwan, Prof. Jiao Jian Li
from South China Normal University,
Guangzhou, China, Mr. Wang Peng
Yuan from the Affiliated High School
of Peking University, Beijing, China,
Mr. Lee Cheng Feng from Chunan
Senior High School, Taiwan, and Mr.
Yen Yi Long from Experimental High
School at HsinChu Science Park,
Taiwan.
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There were intensive workshop
activities. Scholars and experts
explored into the cutting-edge theory in
the field of integrating information
technology into math teaching in the
morning, and several experienced
teachers from well-known schools gave
demo classes in the afternoon. Prof.
Zhang Jing Zhong gave a report
entitled "Reflection on the Practice of
Applying Dynamic Mathematical
Software into Math", Prof. Chan Ming
Jang reported "Integrating Information
Technology into Math Teaching in the
View of Directing Attention", and Prof.
Jiao Jian Li lectured on "Solving
Problem by Using Technology: Cases
and Resources on Integrating
Information Technology into Math
Teaching in Mainland". In the
afternoon, Mr. Wang Peng Yuan
demonstrated an interesting revision
lesson for College Entrance Exam
supported by Computer by using super
sketchpad, Mr. Lee Cheng Feng made a
presentation on "Statistics Combined
GeoGebra and Excel/VBA" for Senior
High School Students, and Mr. Yen Yi
Long showed a lively class on "Move!
Move! Interesting Geometry---
Integrated Information Technology into
Math Teaching".
During the Q&A section towards the
end of the workshop, many teachers
and students from primary and
secondary schools in Macao raised
questions and discussed matters of
common interest with the scholars,
experts present.
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Seminar on "Gender and Education" "You can always find the gender
consciousness from the views of and
the statements by male principals.
These views and statements reinforce
the inequality between male and female,
and also will affect their expectations
and job-sharing of male and female
teachers."
The above was the conclusion of Prof.
Chan Kit Wa, from the Hong Kong
Institute of Education, at the seminar
on Jan. 8. Recently, gender research has
become a heated debate topic, and
many focused on the male teachers in
primary schools, but few have studied
the gender of principals. Prof Chan has
studied twelve male principals’ "gender
statements" in Hong Kong, trying to
figure out how the male principals as
the "minority" get started as teachers
and promoted, whether there are any
differences between their expectations
of and comments about male and
female teachers, and whether their
gender consciousness affects school
policy and work arrangement, etc.
Prof Chan adopted the narrative inquiry
of qualitative research, and interviewed
twelve principals in Hong Kong. She
examined their gender consciousness
and related connotation by asking them
to state "career plan", "male and female
teachers’ abilities", and the “differences
between male and female principals".
Prof Chan found that the male
principals still have biases against
female teachers. Some powerful and
newly promoted principals seemed to
be dissatisfied with those female
teachers who are married or have a
strong sense of family responsibility.
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Meantime, Prof Chan mentioned that
the research was limited to the group of
twelve male principals, rather than all
male principals. She also said that she
would like to do a study on female
principals so as to get a complete
picture of "gender statement" by
principals.
FED Teacher and Students on a Taiwan Exchange Trip
Led by Dr. Walter King Yan HO from
FED, 23 student representatives from
our university went to Taiwan for an
exchange trip during Christmas
holidays. The exchange was organized
by the Committee on Youth Summit of
the UM Students’ Union, and lasted 6
days, 18-23 Dec. 2009.
Projects
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After more than three months’ planning
and preparation, the “Friendship” Ship
finally set sail on the night of 18th
December. The objective of this trip
was to encourage youths in Macao to
concern themselves with current affairs
and discover their potentials as future
leaders. Also, these students served as
the friendship ambassadors for
cross-straight dialogue and to enhance
the image of the University of Macau.
The trip consisted of three university
visits, and visits to companies and
government departments, and a cultural
visit. The group started their journey
with a visit to Xinyi Sports Center,
where they were warmly welcomed by
the manager. He briefed the group on
the important role the centre played in
Taipei sports field.
What’s more, three prestigious
universities in Taiwan received the
group, namely, National Taiwan
Normal University (NTNU), National
Taiwan University (NTU), and Fu Jen
Catholic University (FJCU). Some of
the group members were stunned by the
beautiful campus of NTU, while others
were attracted by historical
architectures of NTNU and FJCU.
After the visit, some said that they
would like to further their study in
these beautiful universities, and some
hoped that the new campus of the
University of Macau would take
reference for its design from these
universities.
The highlight of the trip was the visit to
International Trade Department of
Taiwan. The trade between Macao and
Taiwan has been lasting for centuries.
Being the "transit depot" for Mainland
and Taiwan for many years, Macao has
a strong connection with Taiwan
economically. Mr. Chen Weiqin,
representative of Taiwan, made a
presentation about the current status of
Taiwan’s international trade, which
impressed the group a lot, and many
in-depth and tentative questions were
raised to the Department.
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The trip improved Macao youths’
global awareness and broadened their
international horizon. Also, for many
mainland students, this trip was a
precious opportunity for them to know
Taiwan.
Seminar on "Sports and Physical Education in Germany"
"There is no education in the future
which can replace the development
of body and mind like education in
youth physical activities!”
--by Dr. Henning Budde
Organized by the Faculty of Education,
the seminar on "Sports and Physical
Education in Germany" was held on 16
December 2009. Dr. Martin Holzweg
and Dr. Henning Budde from
Humboldt Universitat zu Berlin were
invited to be the guest speakers. This
seminar aimed to help students and
professionals in Macao have a better
understanding of the latest development
of physical education and sports in
Germany.
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PE Status in Relation to Current
Physical Education Curricula
Dr. Budde briefed the audience on the
status and importance of PE in
Germany, PE curricula and curricular
changes, reasons for the importance of
PE at school, trends in PE research and
recommendations. He believed that PE
is very important for the development
of the youth both mentally and
physically, thus PE should be promoted
in school curriculum. Also, he reported
one obvious shift in German PE
curricular change: from movement
fields to theme fields because of the
need for a higher fitness level of the
students.
School Physical Education in
Germany: An Overview
Dr. Holzweg gave an overview of
school physical education. He first
briefed the audience on the German
school system and curricula. Then he
shared the results of the SPRINT
(Sportunterncht in Deutschland) study
in Germany. Finally, he briefly
presented the development and the
function of the German PE Teachers’
Association.
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Seminar on "Effect of Hydration on Changes of Electrolytes and Related Hormones during Exercise under High Temperature Environment"
On 15 Jan., Prof. Feng Wenping,
Associate Director of Science and
Technology Development Center,
China Institute of Sport Science (CISS)
was invited by the Faculty of Education
to be the speaker of the seminar at J322,
and made a report on "Effect of
Hydration on Changes of Electrolytes
and Related Hormones during Exercise
under High Temperature Environment",
sharing her rich experiences and
precious expertise with all. Dr. Kong
Zhao Wei from FED hosted the seminar.
And several undergraduates, master
students, athletes of UM and PE
teachers from primary and secondary
schools in Macao attended the seminar.
The project "Effect of Hydration on
Changes of Electrolytes and Related
Hormones during Exercise under High
Temperature Environment" was
conducted by Prof. Feng with the
background of summer Olympic
Games 2008 in Beijing, and aimed to
acquaint the changing characteristics of
water, electrolyte and related hormones
during exercise under a high
temperature environment, and analyze
the relationship between these elements
and the effect of hydration.
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The participants raised many questions
about the details of the project, such as
the definition about high temperature,
the time period and the amount of
water and beverage supply, the choices
of rats as experiment subject, etc.. They
also expressed several doubts about the
experiment results which need to be
further explained. Some athletes asked
whether it was good to turn down the
air conditioner during basketball games
in hot weather condition. PE teachers
inquired about how to control the
intensity of the exercise for secondary
and primary school students. And some
master students actively exchanged
with Prof. Feng on their ongoing thesis
experiments. They all benefited a lot
from Prof. Feng’s report and exchange.
FED welcomed an Indonesian delegation of teachers
On Jan. 15, Prof. Ieong Sao Leng,
Associate Dean of FED, and Prof. Vong
Sou Kuan, Director of Education
Research Centre, met with sixty-one
school principals and teachers from
Surabaya Indonesia, at Auditorium II,
University Library. Prof. Ieong and Prof.
Vong were invited to brief our guests on
our University, FED, and education in
general in Macao.
The delegation was first greeted with a
video presentation on UM (past and
present) and the new UM campus in
Hengqin. Then, Prof. Ieong made warm
welcome remarks on behalf of UM. She
said that our Indonesian guests were
very lucky to be able to witness the
present University of Macau, together
with its past, and to share a vision, a
"preview" of its future at this historic
moment. The UM is now striving to
become "a top-notch world university
with first-class facilities and teaching"
by taking advantage of the
unprecedented opportunity of the
beautiful new campus. She told the
guests that at present we have five
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fundamental academic units (FBA, FED,
FLL, FSH, and FST), six independent
academic units (HC, ICMS, ELC, CCE,
CPU, and CMS), five academic support
units, and four administrative units. In
particular, she expressed her wish that
the Indonesian principals and teachers
would recommend some of their best
graduates to study in the UM and FED.
Then, the delegation from Surabaya
raised four questions about Macao
education, such as the curriculum of
UM and of senior & junior high schools,
the distribution of the teaching
resources and funding. Prof. Vong
answered them in detail. After
presentation and exchange of souvenirs,
Prof. Ng Kee Lian from Hong Kong
Society of Asia & Pacific made a speech
themed on the relationship between
China and Indonesia, which was
followed by a campus tour.
The Indonesian delegation was very
interested in Macao’s education system
and eager to learn from Macao. And this
visit was a good opportunity for them.
Seminar on "Improving Students’ Learning in Classroom: Some Insights from a Decade of Research"
What is the ultimate goal of educational
research? There might be various
answers to this question, but as for Prof.
Cai Jinfa, a renowned scholar from the
Department of Mathematical Science of
the University of Delaware, the answer
is obvious: the main aim of educational
research is to improve students’
learning.
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Prof. Cai was invited by the Faculty of
Education, UM, to deliver a seminar to
Macao mathematic students, teachers,
and researchers on 16 January 2010.
The seminar, themed on "Improving
Students’ Learning in Classroom: Some
Insights from a Decade of Research",
attracted nearly 100 participants. There,
he shared his findings derived from
more than a decade’s research.
According to Cai, being skilled with
calculating and solving regular
problems is not equal to the ability to
solve irregular problems or solve
problems creatively. He also
maintained that practical experience
will not automatically bring about
generalizing ability and conceptual
understanding. What’s more, he
thought that problem-driven
mathematical teaching will have
positive influence on students’
academic results and learning attitude
to mathematics. Last but not least,
teachers are the key figures to improve
students’ learning, but sufficient
external supports must be provided, he
said.
Prof. Cai is an educator rather than
merely a researcher. He is one of the
earliest mathematics education experts
in the Chinese mainland. His research,
focusing on the problem why Chinese
students perform poorly in creative
problem-solving, provides in-depth
implications on current mathematics
education in Chinese community.
FEDSA Christmas Party
On Dec.12th, a grand Christmas party
organized by FED Students Association
was held at Hotel Rio. This was a
special party because all the guests
were dressed in red, black or white,
which was pre-decided by the lucky
draw when they registered. What’s
more, each guest came to the party with
Student Activities
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a lovely gift. A delightful atmosphere
prevailed, and the hall was full of
happy laughter. Guests exchanged
cards, presents with one another with
best wishes. And FEDSA also provided
abundant gifts as prizes. As a result, all
went home with armfuls of gifts.
Three distinguished guests were invited
to this party. They were Connie,
Treasurer General of UMSU; Miki,
former President of FEDSA; and
Cherry, President of FEDSA. With
Raven and Candy as MCs, they played
following games:
1. Pass the Christmas ball by carrying
the spoon in your mouth
The first game was a competition
among red, black and white groups.
Each group member put a spoon in
their mouth and passed the ping-pong
ball carefully from the first one to the
last. Any group, who spent the most
time or whose ball dropped on the way,
was to be published--- making various
poses while pulling each other’s ears.
2. Whisper a good message to your
next partner
The idea came from Christmas carol.
Group members whispered information
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from one to the next. Any group, who
succeeded in passing the correct
information to the last one and spent
the least time, would win the game.
3. Christmas dinner without turkey
It is a tradition that all families sit
together and share a big turkey on
Christmas Day. FEDSA also had a big
dinner that day, but without turkey. Yet
all enjoyed the food very much.
4. Christmas cards and best wishes
Sending Christmas card and giving best
wishes is also an old custom. FEDSA
distributed cards to each and then
everyone wrote down their best wishes
on the cards and exchanged them with
one another.
5. FEDSA Christmas drama: The Little
Match Girl
It was a boy who played the role of "the
little match girl" as a comedy instead of
the original tragedy. Everybody
enjoyed the fun of Christmas.
6. Tread the balloon and blow it up
while listening to the music
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With the exciting music, everyone
endeavored to tread each other’s
balloon and make it broken, and at the
same time protecting one’s own
balloon in front of them on the floor.
7. FEDSA Boxing Day
Inspired by the Boxing Day tradition,
everyone brought a small gift to the
party and exchanged the present with
one another at the end of the party.
Thus, all received gifts from others.
It’s worth mentioning that the party was
"over-welcomed" by students. It turned
out that there were many more students
eager to register than they expected. So,
FEDSA had to enlarge their planned
figure. In addition, Ho Ieng Chon gave
a guitar show at the party and was
applauded by all. Also, the prize
sponsored by Coca-Cola Company Ltd.,
say, cups, hats, tents, etc., were well
liked. The most exciting prize was a
FUJI Instant camera.
It was the last activity of FEDSA in
2009. And it was meaningful, colorful,
and full of excitement, creativity, and
culture. It was a special Christmas in
2009.
This activity was sponsored by UMSU,
DSEJ, Coco-cola Company Ltd, and
Ping-pong Association of UM
FED provided free physical test for all UM students, teachers and staff
"Do you want to know how fit you are?
We prepared a free physical test for
you! "
The free physical test, hosted by Dr.
Kong Zhao Wei, Coordinator of
Bachelor in Education (Music, Arts,
and PE) Programmes, was open to all
UM students, teachers and staff from
Oct. 26 to Nov.20 at UM Sports
Complex, and was extended to Nov.30
due to the large number of testees.
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More than 200 people signed in the test,
mainly measuring physical fitness,
which means the integrated ability of
the body to adapt to work and
environment. It is the operational
ability of the heart, vessels, lungs and
muscles. To be exact, it includes
following four aspects:
1. Body composition (BMI &
percentage of body fat)
2. Muscle strength and endurance
3. Cardiovascular activity
4. Flexibility
After the test, the testees would receive
a preliminary physical fitness indicator
report in a week.
Training Class for Promoting Reading
DSEJ initiated Reading Promotion
Program in 2007/2008 in Macao
schools, aiming to assist schools to
manage school reading rooms and
promote reading so as to enhance
students’ interests in reading. To
achieve this aim, DSEJ entrusted
Educational Research Centre of FED to
train related personnel. This program
has run into its second year, consisting
of a compulsory session (Unit 1-Unit 4)
and an elective session (Unit 5), a total
of 120 credit hours. There are about 30
students, who were awarded certificate
after completing the course.
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The Centre has invited Miss Sek from
Hong Kong, Prof. Chang Yuwen from
Taiwan, Prof. Vong Sou Kuan, Dr.
Chan Chi Fung, Dr. Wong Kwok
Keung, Mr. Lei Chin Pang, and Miss
Chiang Kuai Heng from Macao as the
instructors. Following are the details:
This training program has helped the
participants from Macao schools (both
part time and full time) to learn a lot of
experience, strategies and techniques to
promote reading activities in Macao.
We wish you all a very happy and prosperous Chinese New Year! ☺