Hong Kong has reached a consensus on its advanced education, which is reflected not only in the quality of educational resources but also in advanced teaching methods and concepts. The "Flipped Classroom" is one such example. In primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong, students preview lessons by watching videos online before class, engage in interactions with articulate and agile robot "teachers" during class, and log into teaching management systems after class, allowing teachers to track learning progress in real-time. This disruptive approach to traditional teaching, facilitated by the internet, is bringing a "cool" breeze to Hong Kong through the "Flipped Classroom" (Flipped Classroom).
Disrupting Traditional Teaching Order
In traditional teaching models, knowledge transfer led by teachers primarily occurs in face-to-face classrooms, while students' understanding and absorption of knowledge often take place outside of class and at home. The "Flipped Classroom" disrupts this original teaching order, with teachers explaining classroom content to students in advance through online resources and self-made videos; class time is then used for discussions and collaborative thinking training.
Taking the practice of the "Flipped Classroom" at the Lok Sin Tong Yu Kan Hing Secondary School in Hong Kong as an example, teachers upload designated subject materials or short videos to the learning management system in advance. Students preview the content at home using smartphones, and if they cannot keep up with the pace of the explanation, they can utilize the "rewind" function to progress at their own pace. The next class directly enters the discussion and Q&A session, and if there are any questions, students can search online, effectively increasing student participation and interactivity. The system also records and analyzes each student's usage status, providing technical support for personalized education.
Engaging with Robot "Teachers"
With the rapid development of intelligent technology and the Hong Kong government's strong support for interdisciplinary applications in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education, educators in Hong Kong are thinking outside the box. Some secondary schools have introduced electronic platforms and robotics technology, making classroom teaching more engaging.
For example, many secondary schools in Hong Kong use the Schoology online learning platform, where students must log in to watch 3-4 minutes of videos and then complete exercises; otherwise, it is considered a missed assignment. Teachers can track students' login times, exercise completion, and scores, and improve teaching based on real-time feedback.
Some schools have also purchased multi-joint robots for use in English classes. The robots read articles based on pre-input data and ask students questions, to which students respond with "A, B, C, D". The robots then inform students whether their answers are correct. Students report that they can learn about robotics in class while practicing English through the voice system, and the robots' engaging nature greatly enhances the fun of learning, making them feel "proud to be in class."