Welcome to Active Classroom (AClass) (https://aclass.eduhk.hk/), an electronic platform for sharing scholarship of teaching and research to promote good practices in schools and higher education institutions.
AClass is hosted by the Education University of Hong Kong and managed by the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.
Our History. AClass was first set up in 2005 as a response to the huge demand for teachers to prepare themselves for the 21st century curriculum reform in Hong Kong. Back then, the project team was working with a local primary school on a school development project on questioning skills. With a small-scale special project grant, the team turned the output into an open-access, self-study platform to accommodate the increasing needs of developing new teaching skills in the school community. In 2008, AClass received a graphic overhaul, expanded its audience to include prospective teachers, and began to recruit schoolteachers and alumni as collaborators. During 2010 to 2013, AClass positioned itself with the world trend by echoing ‘excellence’ as the vision of the education profession, and started to recruit teachers of higher education institutions as contributors for creating synergies to promote high-quality education.
AClass has grown exponentially over the past decade or so because of the growing need for professional exchange amongst teachers and practitioners. In 2021, AClass has been updated once again with a modernised, dynamic look, reinvigorated with numerous courses, teaching and research items that set a distinct style for serving students and teachers of the EdUHK and the wider community.
Our Mission. The notion that learning is an active process is intrinsic to the “Active Classroom”. Learning as an active process places the learner at the center of the learning experience. Learners are expected to develop autonomy and self-directedness to regulate their own learning progress (self-regulated learning), actively engaging in meaningful learning (authentic learning), supporting each other in the pursuit of virtuous goals in life (broaden-and-build), and discover new knowledge (constructivist learning) throughout their lives. These are the attributes of learner-centred pedagogy promoted in education today. AClass also considers learning to be meaningful and endeavours to eliminate the struggles of learners through the power of teaching and knowledge.
Our Work. AClass intentionally selects representative theories from the learner-centered branch to guide good practice. The exemplary teaching materials, professional articles, and research reports contained in the site cover all levels from pre-school to university education. Prescriptions for practice are not given. Each example given in the site will hopefully add to the professional “toolbox” of teachers. We hope that teachers will think broadly and critically about their own teaching and consider all the contextual factors in order to recreate the materials for producing scholarship of teaching and research.
AClass is currently used by educators, undergraduate and post-graduate students, schoolteachers, principals and curriculum developers, government organizations, and non-government organizations. A site operated solely by voluntary efforts would not have been successful without the support of our colleagues from the Education University of Hong Kong and the contributions of a number of individuals. We would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to all contributors, users and viewers. We hope that you will also join us and use the platform as the home of your professional development.
The AClass project team would like to acknowledge the Faculty of Education and Human Development of The Education University of Hong Kong for the financial support through various project grants.
Although we have sought the assistance of many people in proofreading the materials in the site, errors, which are the responsibility of the authors, may still be present.
The Active Classroom
The Education University of Hong Kong
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