Newsletter Issue 9 en - University of Macau Issue 9_en.pdfFED NEWSLETTER Mission ... Gates...

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

http://www.umac.mo/fed/newsletter/index_en.htm 1

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


Jan. 2010 — Feb. 2010 Issue 9


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.


Jan. 2010 — Feb. 2010 Issue 9


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


Jan. 2010 — Feb. 2010 Issue 9


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.


Jan. 2010 — Feb. 2010 Issue 9


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.


Jan. 2010 — Feb. 2010 Issue 9


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.


Jan. 2010 — Feb. 2010 Issue 9


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


Jan. 2010 — Feb. 2010 Issue 9


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.


Jan. 2010 — Feb. 2010 Issue 9


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.


Jan. 2010 — Feb. 2010 Issue 9


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.


Jan. 2010 — Feb. 2010 Issue 9


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.


Jan. 2010 — Feb. 2010 Issue 9


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


Jan. 2010 — Feb. 2010 Issue 9


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.


Jan. 2010 — Feb. 2010 Issue 9


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


Jan. 2010 — Feb. 2010 Issue 9


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


Jan. 2010 — Feb. 2010 Issue 9


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


Jan. 2010 — Feb. 2010 Issue 9


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.


Jan. 2010 — Feb. 2010 Issue 9


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.


Jan. 2010 — Feb. 2010 Issue 9


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! ☺

Newsletter Issue 9 en - University of Macau Issue 9_en.pdfFED NEWSLETTER Mission ... Gates...

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