LS Training Manual

CHAPTER 1: Introduction

Dr. Chim Ho Yeung, Hastings

(Project Investigator)
Department of Special Education and Counselling
The Education University of Hong Kong

Dr. Hastings Chim has been a registered primary and secondary school teacher for more than 22 years. He served as an English panel head in a secondary school and is currently a senior lecturer at EdUHK, taking up the roles of Field Experience Coordinator for the SEC Department and previously
Co-Coordinator of the BAT program. He accomplished his Doctorate specializing in Inclusive Teacher Training at the University of Bristol.

Dr. Ho Fuk Chuen
(Consultant, Adjunct Assistant Professor)
Department of Special Education and Counselling
The Education University of Hong Kong

Dr. Ho was previously the Programme Coordinator of the Professional Development Course (Catering for Children with Learning Needs) and Programme Coordinator of the Basic, Advanced and Thematic Courses for Teachers of Students with Special Educational Needs. He was formerly an inspector in the Special Education Inspectorate of the Hong Kong Education Bureau. Dr. Ho was the project leader of several external funded projects in the areas of dyslexia, Theory of Mind and collaborative mode of professional development for teachers.

Dr. Leung Sheung Kwan, Sharon
(Senior Lecturer II)
Department of Special Education and Counselling
The Education University of Hong Kong

Dr. Sharon Leung is a senior lecturer in teacher education. Her teaching areas include managing student diversity, differentiated instruction, curriculum adaptation and assessment. With teaching experiences in mainstream schools, special schools and tertiary institutions, she is interested in promoting collaborative action research for enhancing student learning as well as teaching practice in the context of today’s school environment.

Dr. Siu F Lin, PhD AFBPsS
Chartered Psychologist
(School Case Manager)
Senior Lecturer II
Department of Special Education and Counselling
The Education University of Hong Kong

Dr. SF Lin is a chartered psychologist and an associate fellow of the British Psychological Society. She obtained her PhD at The University of Birmingham in the UK. Dr Lin has been supporting children with special needs & conducting teacher & parent consultations for decades. Dr Lin has published in both English & Chinese languages for encyclopedias, journals & books. Subjects include art education, youth suicide, dating behaviour & sexual education, children’s learning, parenting & emotional needs of children & adolescents.

Mr. Chan Wai Man, Avstin (Guest Lecturer)
Department of Special Education and Counselling
The Education University of Hong Kong

Mr. Chan has been a registered secondary school teacher for more than 34 years. Being the vice principal in school, he has rich experience in planning, implementing and monitoring programmes related to students’ growth and development. He would like to devote his time in education
after retirement because of his great passion in education..

Ms. Ching Sau Man (Guest Lecturer)
Department of Special Education and Counselling
The Education University of Hong Kong

Ms. Ching Sau Man has served in special schools and mainstream schools for more than 30 years. She has also held management positions such as principal of education center, vice principal of primary school, and executive director of charity organisation. She has extensive experience in the implementation of inclusive education, gifted education, community service and parental support. Ms. Ching Sau Man is currently an instructor of the University for the Special Education and Gifted Education In-service Teachers Professional Training Programme.

Ms. Jessie Fung Kwei Yi, Jessie
(Guest Lecturer)
Department of Special Education and Counselling
The Education University of Hong Kong

Ms. Jessie Fung is presently the Project leader of Launching an Education and Research Base for Early Intervention in the Greater Bay Area. She formerly was a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Special Education and Counselling and the Department of Early Childhood Education and later acted as Project Manager of the Centre for Special Educational Needs and Inclusive Education
at The Education University of Hong Kong. She has over 20 years of teacher training experience in early childhood education, developmental psychology, parent counselling, and special and integrated education. She has also extensive working experience in education project consultancy for school based and NGOs.

Dr. Ho Pik Ying (Guest Lecturer)
Department of Special Education and Counselling
The Education University of Hong Kong

Dr. Ho has been a registered primary and kindergarten teacher. Dr. Ho’s research interests include early intervention and electronic IEP System. She has been working in different fields of education and has extensive professional experience in frontline teaching, teacher training and parent education. Dr. Ho has been teaching undergraduate and postgraduate education programmes for various universities and higher education institutions. She also provides parent education, in-service training and consultation services to schools, as well as centres for children residential services.

Mr. So Kin Kwan, Kennith (Guest Lecturer)
Department of Special Education and Counselling
The Education University of Hong Kong

Mr. So has almost 40 years’ experience in the field of education, and he is especially knowledgeable about special education. He had been a school principal in special schools and an inspector of the Quality Assurance Division of Education Bureau, Hong Kong, which enabled him to gain a lot of experience in assessing the quality of school performance, including the support for SEN under the policy of integrated education. Mr. So has coordinated a few school support projects while he is working at EdUHK. Currently, he is also a guest lecturer at the University.

Mr. Lau Hor Keung
(Guest Lecturer)
Department of Special Education and Counselling
The Education University of Hong Kong

Mr. Lau is a retired secondary school principal. He is currently the practicum supervisor for the Advanced and Thematic Courses for in-service training on catering for learning diversities. Mr. Lau coordinated and taught the Service- based Learning in Afterschool Service to SEN Students Course for the undergraduate students of the EdUHK. He is participating in a number of professional development courses and school support projects of the University.

Dr. Lee Lai Mui, Frances
(Guest Lecturer)
Department of Special Education and Counselling
The Education University of Hong Kong

Frances was a secondary school teacher, counselling mistress and curriculum development office for over 20 years. Her research has centered on how self-concept, motivation and other socio-cultural practices can influence and enhance children’s psychological development. Frances has published several papers exploring these topics from different perspectives and am currently working on consolidating this work and developing it into a book project.

Because of her expertise, Frances has been invited to provide consultation and
training for a number of groups and schools, worked with the community to
advocate the needs of children.

Mr. WONG Chun Man Vincent
(Guest Lecturer)
Department of Special Education and Counselling
The Education University of Hong Kong

Mr. Wong, a retired secondary school principal, now serves as the School Supervisor of an aided secondary school that attracts students from 20 different countries, many of whom have diverse learning needs. Additionally, he also serves as the school manager of three other aided secondary schools. In addition to his voluntary community work, Mr. Wong holds two positions: (i) practicum supervisor in both the advanced course on Catering for Diverse Learning Needs and the Thematic Course on Supporting Students with SEN – Cognition and Learning Needs (Facilitating English Language Learning – Focusing on the needs of students with Specific Learning Difficulties) at the Education University of Hong Kong, and (ii) guest speaker and instructional associate in the “Preparation for Principalship Course for Aspiring Principals (PFP) at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.”

Ms. Tam Gee May (Assistant Project Manager)
Department of Special Education and Counselling
The Education University of Hong Kong

Ms. Gee May Tam is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst and a registered Psychologist with the New Zealand Psychologists Board. She has over 10 years’ experience in providing behavioural therapy for children and adults with developmental and/or intellectual disabilities in homes and schools. She has also provided supporting services for schools and families of children with special educational needs in Hong Kong.

Miss Ng Lok Yiu, Yoyo (Project Assistant)
Department of Special Education and Counselling
The Education University of Hong Kong

Miss Ng Lok Yiu, Yoyo is a Social Science graduate from The Education University of Hong Kong. She previously worked in the Environmental field in cooperation with the AFCD. Yoyo has faith in that students with diverse learning needs could be helped based on cohesive partnership between their home and school to a great extent.

Miss Hui Cheuk Lam (Project Assistant)
Department of Special Education and Counselling
The Education University of Hong Kong

Miss Hui Cheuk Lam is a Humanities and Social Science graduate from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). She starts her career at the Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) in 2023 and believes that students with different developmental levels can grow and flourish through different educational methods and curriculum designs.

Learning Support Introduction

The Jockey Club “Diversity at Schools” Project which is funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust is a joint collaboration among the Faculty of Education from The University of Hong Kong, the Department of Computing from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and the Department of Special Education and Counselling from The Education University of Hong Kong.

This project will continue to consolidate the “School-based Diversified Management Framework” (DM Infrastructure) through the three project initiatives
of “Student Data”, “Differentiated Instruction” and “Learning Support”, as well as the establishment of a support mode and nurturement of teachers’ self-directed learning to further enhance the capacity of schools and teachers to cater for students’ learning diversity, so that each student can learn in an active and meaningful way.

In this project, the Learning Support (LS) Team provides professional training, customized school visits and regular review services to the participating schools based on the team’s professional advices on how these participating schools cater for learning diversities.

Based on the five student cases selected from each school, the LS Team assists all participating schools to support and evaluate these five cases in terms of five domains: Inclusion Management, Learning and Teaching, eIEP (electronic Individualized Education Plan), Afterschool Support and Parents’ Engagement
across tutorials and school visits, and in consideration of the roles played by three distinctive members: SENCOs (Special Educational Needs Coordinator), SENSTs (Special Educational Needs Support Teachers) and LSAs (Learning Support Assistants).

ONE THEME

FIVE DOMAINS

3-Tier Model

LEARNING SUPPORT MODEL

The Learning Support model is designed in a way to comply with Hargreaves & O’Connor’s ten tenets of collaborative professionalism (Hargreaves &
O’Connor, 2017) in which the team will work closely with the participating schools in high-level project planning and execution. We will work together to
develop a course blueprint which will be a piece of thoughtful work that involves dialogue and action. In the customized school visits, the team and
the observed will enter into a genuine dialogue or engage in a heated debate about the best way to help the diverse learners.

Hargreaves, A., & O’Connor, M. T. (2017). Collaborative professionalism. World Innovation Summit for Education. An Initiative of Qatar Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.wise-qatar.org/2017-wise-research-collaborative-professionalism.

THE OUTPUT OF THIS PROJECT

(A) What we offer

Resource Sharing

– Build a cross-school learning community

– Optimize the electronic database

5 School Visits

– Assist schools to implement the “Learning Diversity Support” strategy

10 Training Sessions

– Inspire/assist schools to implement school-based “Learning Diversity Support”

Summary Report

– Evaluation of Learning Diversity Support Development

– Summary of Five Domains

(B) (What we will collect from your schools to build the school-based platform’)

5 eIEP Cases

– New/Old Cases

(Revised version)

5 Lesson Plans

– Selected from 12 lesson plans

from the DI* team or

– Existing lesson plans

5 Afterschool Support Plans

– Tier 2/3/Interest/Service/

Counselling Group

– Catering to students’ behavioural and emotional needs

CHAPTER 2 Domain 1: Inclusion Management

In this chapter, we will focus on how the three distinctive roles (SENCOs, SENST, LSTs) could collaborate to assist the student cases in each school in terms of their manpower allocation and positioning.

Domain 1: Inclusion Management

TUTORIAL

Aim of our EdUHK’s LS team: facilitate school’s LS team by developing a model to enhance catering for learner diversity in school

Our vision and mission

Workshop structure – across sessions and within sessions

What to expect in our sessions: sharing, reflection, discussions, role play, videos….

About our EdUHK’s team: who to contact

Introduction

What are the three roles in the five student cases?
How do these roles function to support student cases?

Roles

SENCO

Alignment with different stakeholders

School’s vision and mission
- Similarities and differences
- Conclusion all schools and within schools are different.
Redefining the role of SENCO
Current effective strategies for collaboration and coordinating in terms of soft skills eg communication, administrative skills (e.g., planning and organization) and hard skills eg IT
Limitations
Future suggestions

SENST

Redefining the role of SENST in inclusion management
Current effective strategies for working with SENCO, teachers, LSA and parents, etc
Limitations
Future suggestions

LSA

Redefining the role of LSA in inclusion management
Current effective strategies for working with SENCO, teachers, SENST and parents, etc
Limitations
Future suggestions

Highlights of the discussion (School management examples)

Video Highlight on tutorial

Domain 1: Inclusion Management

SCHOOL VISIT

Introduction

Discussion of School-Based Learning Management & Measures
Preparation before lesson observation
Tour of the school to view its facilities, etc.

Roles

SENCO

Alignment with different stakeholders

Communication and hard skills e.g. IT
Resources allocation
Manpower allocation
Effective communication

Arrangement of School Visit 1

School-based planning day

1. Understand the school facilities (SENCO)

1.1 Poster to praise outstanding students at each level: It is recommended to include sharing of students’ problem-solving experiences so that students can see the successful cases of their peers.

2. Interview with the two vice-principals and a group photo

3. Prepare meetings with teachers

3.1 Set the goal of visiting the school: (PSMCD)

-Using five student cases as cases to create a “school-based support strategy” for teacher professional development

-Determine students’ primary school entrance and promotion “transfer plan”

-The eIEP system installation is progressing smoothly

3.2 Introduce the key points of filling in the student and parent consent form and the class observing teacher consent form, which need to be filled in before observing the class (SENCO)

3.3 Organizing student personal folders: It is recommended to add separate pages to facilitate future archiving and review:

-Student profile

-Evaluation information

-Support plan

-Others (other pages can be added according to school-based needs in the future)

4. Discussion on student cases:

-Student Case 1

(Student support team teachers, SENCO, Chinese subject teacher, English subject teacher, Mathematics subject teacher)

Domain 2 (L&T), 3 (B&E), 4 (AS): LSA Mentorship

SCHOOL VISIT

Introduction

SENCO

Two hours customized LSA mentorship Or
Any concern SENCO like to address

Arrangement of School Visit 2

LSA Training

LSA Mentorship Professional Workshop

1.1 Planning for development of the highlights of students
1.2 Instructions for contacting parents
1.3 Number of people: 2
2. <Learning Support Assistant Manual> Preparation:

2.1 Complete the first draft (refer to the hyperlink in “Learning Support Assistant Training Notes”)
2.2 Please indicate the teacher’s name on the cover to avoid losing it.
2.3 Scope of work: List the different scopes of work of the five teachers.
2.4 Loose-leaf folders can be used to store various forms and documents in the manual for easy updating.
2.5 You can add a summary description of the students the teacher is responsible for to facilitate immediate understanding when joining the job.
2.6 Add the lecture notes for contacting parents (see pages 144 – 145 of the notes)

2.7 Crisis management can be added to school-based information paths and leaflets, such as handling epileptic seizures, identifying, supporting and referring students with suicidal behavior (see WhatsApp document for teacher)
3. Student case discussion: Cases 1, 3, and 4

CHAPTER 3: Inclusive Learning & Teaching

In this chapter, we will discuss how the three distinctive roles (SENCOs, SENST, LSTs) could collaborate to assist the five selected cases in each school in terms of the inclusive teaching strategies and their adoption in tier 2 withdrawal classes.

Domain 2: Inclusive L&T

TUTORIAL

Introduction

What are the three roles in supporting the L&T for five cases?
What are effective teaching strategies in small class setting for these five cases?
How do we assess the effectiveness?

Roles

SENCO

Coordination with Teachers, LS Team, Parents
Understanding the child’s learning needs, eg Learning Style and Ability Level and communicating with class teacher and LS team
Effective and efficient methods of learning assessments
Sharing of effective teaching strategies to class teacher and LS team
Bring effective teaching strategies to classroom and home

SENST

Working with class teacher, SENCO and LSA
Understanding the child’s learning needs, eg Learning Style and Ability Level
Effective and efficient methods of learning assessments
Case sharing of effective teaching strategies previously used

LSA

Working with class teacher, SENCO, SENST
Understanding the child’s learning needs, eg Learning Style and Ability Level
Effective and efficient methods of learning assessments
Learning of effective teaching strategies
Recap of last session

Highlights of the discussion

L & T – Principal Ching

Discussed lesson plan samples

Secondary schools

S1 English lesson plan

S2 Chinese lesson plan

S3 Science lesson plan

Discussed lesson plan samples

Primary schools

P4 English lesson plan

Video Highlight on tutorial

Year 2 Class A2 Tutorial 2

CHAPTER 4: Behavorial and Emotional Support for student cases

In this chapter, we will discuss how the three distinctive roles (SENCOs, SENST, LSTs) could collaborate to assist the five selected cases in each school in terms of the electronic Individualized Educational Plan (eIEP) in tier 3 setting.

Domain 3: Inclusive B&E

TUTORIAL

Introduction

Briefing of the eIEPs
5 cases introduction
Needs analysis

Roles

SENCO

Coordinate with Teacher, LS team, Student, Parent, Professionals
Effective and efficient methods of identifying behavioural and emotional needs
Sharing of effective B&E management strategies to class teacher and LS team
Bring effective B&E management strategies to classroom and home

SENST

Working with Teacher, SENCO, LSA, Student, Parent, Professionals
Effective and efficient methods of identifying behavioural and emotional needs
Applying learnt strategies to withdrawal classes or small group skills training (T2)
Case sharing of effective B&E management strategies

LSA

Working with Teacher, SENST, SENCO, Student, Parent, Professionals
Effective and efficient methods of identifying behavioural and emotional needs
Learning of effective B&E management strategies to use in the classroom or 1:1 training

Video Highlight on tutorial

Year 2 Class A2 Tutorial 3

Highlights of the discussion

Support for emotional and behavioral issues – Principal Ching

Domain 3: Inclusive B&E

SCHOOL VISIT

Introduction

Lesson observation
Post observation meeting
Preparation before Afterschool Support observation

SENCO

Assessments and learning measures OR
Skills transfer from T2 to T1 class x 5 lesson samples OR
Any concern they like to address

CHAPTER 5

Domain 4: Afterschool Support

In this chapter, we will discuss how the three distinctive roles (SENCOs, SENST, LSTs) could collaborate to assist the five selected cases in each school in terms of the Behavioral and Emotional Management and Support in tier 2 withdrawal classes.

Domain 4：T2 Support

TUTORIAL

Introduction

What are the three roles in supporting the B&E for five cases?
What are the effective small group settings for these five cases?
How do we assess the effectiveness?

Roles

SENCO

Coordinate with instructors, professionals, LS team, teachers, parents
Sharing of student’s acquired skills to LS team, class teachers, parents
Determining how acquired skills can be applied in classroom and home
Facilitation of skills transfer from small group to classroom and home
Developing anti-bullying mechanism

SENST

Working with SENCO, LSA, teachers
Maintenance and transfer of acquired skills in classroom
Case sharing of maintenance and generalisation of acquired skills in the classroom
Skills of anti-bullying

LSA

Working with SENCO, SENST, teachers
Maintenance of acquired skills in classroom
Learning to support maintenance and generalisation of students’ acquired skills in the classroom
Support of anti-bullying

Highlights of the discussion

Afterschool support groups – Principal Ching

Discussed Afterschool Support/small class plans

Secondary schools

Discussed Afterschool Support/small class plans

Primary schools

P2 AS plan

Domain 4: T2 support

SCHOOL VISIT

Introduction

Afterschool Support observation
Post observation meeting
Preparation for the three interviews

SENCO

New teacher training
OR Addressing difficult cases’ behaviour and emotion x 5 small group/1:1 sample
OR Any concern they like to address

Chapter 6

Domain 5: Parent Engagement

In this chapter, we will discuss how the three distinctive roles (SENCOs, SENST, LSTs) could collaborate to assist the five selected cases in each school in terms of the collaboration with the parents of the cases.

Domain 5: Parent Engagement

TUTORIAL

Introduction

What are the roles of parents in supporting the five cases?
How can their involvements be more effective in supporting the five cases?
How can we assess their involvement?

Roles

SENCO

Coordination between parents, teachers, LS team and professionals
Sharing of effective practices and strategies for parents to support child’s learning and development
Sharing of effective ways to increase effective communication with parents
Sharing of effective ways to increase parents’ support to the school

SENST

Communication with parents
Developing/suggesting suitable activities for parents to do with children to help their learning and development
Demonstrating and sharing of effective strategies to parents for use at home

LSA

Communication with parents
Assist SENST in developing/suggesting suitable activities for parents to do with their children
Demonstrating and sharing of effective strategies to parents for use at home

Highlights of the discussion

Parent engagement – Principal Ching

Domain 5: Parent Engagement

SCHOOL VISIT

Introduction

Discussion with the school’s LS team about their communication with parents for School-based Diversified Learning

SENCO

Effective practices for parents to support child’s learning and development
Effective communication with parents
increase parents’ support to the school
Assessment mechanism about parents’ engagement

Photo taken with the parent

CHAPTER 7
Real case support exemplifications

Video Highlight on tutorial

Year 2 Class A2 Tutorial 7

Year 2 Class A2 Tutorial 8

Highlight of discussion

Achievements Sharing Student Cases – Principal Ching

Student case (Primary school)

P2 Student case

P3 Student case

P5 Student case

P6 Student case

Student case (Secondary school)

S3 student case

CHAPTER 8
Summary and Participant Feedback

Way forward (future directions in promoting the sustainability of catering for diverse learning needs in schools).

Schools’ expectations upon the LS team’s assistance and expertise:

Asbury Methodist Primary School

Improve teachers’ mastery and application of adaptive teaching strategies to cope with students’ diverse learning needs
Strengthen parents’ understanding and support for SPLD students

Hong Kong Red Swastika Society Tai Po Secondary School

Training and guidance for teaching assistants
Produce teaching assistant work guidelines to optimize inheritance

Tseung Kwan O Methodist Primary School

Incorporating cooperative learning and multi-sensory teaching strategies, T2-T1
Embrace diversity: develop and accept, expand potential
Mental health: teacher training, I-message admission

Methodist College

T1 teaching planning, parent MI Workshop, whole school teacher workshop, Learning Support Team communicates with teachers from other groups

Baptist (Sha Tin Wai) Lui Ming Choi Primary School

Strengthen classroom design to allow teachers to take care of learning diversity in the classroom and strengthen the culture of whole-school participation and support

Chong Gene Hang College

1. Hope to improve the teaching effectiveness of new teachers
2. ⁠Improve classroom management strategies to increase students’ trust in teachers
3. ⁠Strategies for building relationships with students
4. ⁠Help students improve their learning motivation (some students resist learning)
5. Taking care of students with big differences in three levels, high school, high school and low level, focused development

Caritas Lok Yi School

1. Constructing Cantonese Opera Arts Curriculum (Music Subject)
2. ⁠Continue the implementation of IEP in the classroom

Carmel Alison Lam Primary School

1. SENST enrollment collaboration
2. ⁠TA admission support
3. ⁠SEN student information management

China Holiness College

1. Parent work
– Provide workshops/lectures based on parents’ needs and observe difficulties encountered
– Improve teachers’ skills in dealing with parents
2. Enrollment support
– Optimized guidelines for entry support staff
– Establish guidelines for teaching colleagues
– Test the effectiveness of classroom support

PLK Lee Shing Pik College
My team and I would love to benefit from the expertise and insights of the experience that supervisors and fellow teachers to enhance our team’s ability to cater to learner diversity . We would like to focus on developing in house materials that are still friendly and stimulating for students, various English abilities.

What might be the best Learning Support Model in your school?

1. Resources Management

2. Learning and Teaching Issues

3. Behavorial and Emotional Issues

4. After School Support

5. Parent Support OR

6. Anything you think important

SKH Kowloon Bay Kei Lok Primary School

Cross-team collaboration enables SEN children to make diverse progress.
Learning different strategies to care for SEN students.
Providing SEN children with space and time.

Asbury Methodist Primary School

This year, we initiated parent workshops, where Dr. Ho engaged in heartfelt conversations with SEN students’ parents. During these sessions, she provided them with practical parenting information and offered tangible support. Additionally, Dr. Ho introduced the DMGT Model to us, focusing on developing students’ potential and playing a positive role in their growth.

Lutheran Tsang Shing Siu Leun School

Dr. Leung provided training to teachers and teaching assistants in accordance with our school curriculum this year. The professional development greatly benefited our team of educators. With a keen understanding of the school’s needs, Dr. Leung invested effort and utilized resources to enhance our school.

During collaborative lesson planning, Dr. Leung passionately assisted us in designing classroom activities, shaping our teaching methods, and inspiring reflective thinking among our teachers.

Ma On Shan Methodist Primary School

LS Team can help the school examine the implementation of inclusive education and suggest improvements.

Caritas Lok Yi School

Identifying the challenges, collaborating with the school curriculum and experts to provide targeted support. This can include optimizing curriculum design, instructional strategies, and offering professional training to enhance the overall teaching and learning experience.

SKH St. Michael’s Primary School

Thank you, Dr. Lee, for helping the school.

1. Our school offers after-school support (providing valuable advice and understanding students’ needs).

2. Parent training (providing significant support to parents).

Catholic Ming Yuen Secondary School

The project helps the school examine the current state of teaching and learning for students with needs, support parents in understanding their children, and assess the effectiveness and improvement directions of the SST team.

Fung Kai Innovative School

1. Gain a deeper understanding of students’ learning needs and develop targeted support strategies.

2. Visualize classroom content to aid student learning.

3. Provide training for teaching assistants to enhance the effectiveness of in-class support.

Christian Pui Yan Primary School

L&T: Several three-tiered structure seminars were conducted, providing training for teaching assistants and offering opportunities for school-wide participation. This included case studies of individual students.

Parent Education: Two parent education seminars were held, including sessions specifically for non-Chinese-speaking students’ parents.

HKMLC Queen Maud Secondary School

At the teaching and learning level, more resources are provided, particularly during collaborative lesson planning, where the manager offers appropriate input, including worksheet design and instructional strategies, to cater to diverse learning needs. Through classroom observations and post-lesson reviews, teachers gain a better understanding of their students’ characteristics.

In small group settings, counselors can provide tailored group training, such as social skills training and executive functioning training, for different types of students. The case manager plays a significant role in the professional growth of counselors.

Baptist (Sha Tin Wai) Lui Ming Choi Primary School

Effectively using questioning techniques in the classroom to engage students of different abilities. Analyzing students’ abilities and needs during lesson planning and designing differentiated questions in advance.

L&T support
With professional sharing among teachers and facilitators, teachers include skills in both tier one and two support for students

IEP case support
Through corporation amount, support team, teachers and parents, students, behavioural, and social skills are catered.

Tseung Kwan O Methodist Primary School

Resource management assets base VS problem-solving base

Game-based interventions (executive functioning or teaching and learning)
Creative movement x service learning
Parent x professional training (motivational interviewing approach)

Chi Yun School

It is of great help in student assessment and support, understanding how teaching and learning can be aligned with students’ abilities to engage in activities, and adapting classroom goals in accordance with individualized instruction for students.

Chong Gene Hang College

1. Utilizing VARK to help teachers understand students’ learning styles, providing focused and appropriate instructional content for students.

2. Collaborative lesson planning among teachers to enhance teaching quality.

3. Integrating information technology into teaching to effectively enhance student motivation to learn.

Carmel Alison Lam Primary School

Learning Support Assistant Teacher Handbook
To ensure comprehensive and consistent support for students, a Learning Support Assistant Teacher Handbook has been developed to address the high mobility of assistant teachers. Through professional training for assistant teachers, they are guided in stages to enhance their understanding of their support roles while providing guidance in constructing the Learning Support Assistant Teacher Handbook.

Special thanks to Principal Ching for her patient guidance and valuable input in various aspects!

Hong Kong Red Swastika Society Tai Po Secondary School

Resource Allocation:
Actively introducing external resources and collaborating with external organizations to provide curriculum and activities support.
Teaching and Learning:
Further enhancing the effectiveness of language instruction, optimizing classroom equipment and resources, such as triple-screen teaching, to cater to diverse learning needs.
After-School Support:
Providing professional support to the CLA team during after-school activities.

Methodist College

Individual Support:

Meeting with students and parents (e.g., IEP cases).
Positive parental cooperation with the school.
Students making significant efforts to change.
Ultimately, students show significant improvement.

Behavior and Emotional Support:

Allocating more time for personalized follow-up on student progress.
Managing unexpected situations during free periods.

External Resources:

Jockey Club “Diversity at Schools” Project (Learning Support Team).
AIM Project.

After-School Support:

Enrichment classes (academic improvement).
Interest-based classes (building peer networks, stress relief).

Caritas Lok Jun School

Addressing school-specific challenges and providing appropriate support. For example, making adjustments to address significant learning differences in the classroom and enhancing learning effectiveness while considering practical classroom instruction and assessment.

S.K.H. Holy Trinity Church Secondary School

Although our participation was relatively brief, we have gained insights into the essence of our school’s future development.

Pun U Association Wah Yan Primary School

We appreciate Principal Ching’s effective analysis of individual students’ learning needs and the collaboration with language teachers to guide them on providing professional and individualized support in the classroom or within the IEP. This includes in-class support, adapting worksheets, and more.

Furthermore, an effective consolidation of existing after-school support or student support summaries in written form would facilitate the transfer of support knowledge to other teachers efficiently.

What is the planning of a good Learning Support Model for your school in the future?

1. Resources Management

2. Learning and Teaching Issues

3. Behavorial and Emotional Issues

4. After School Support

5. Parent Support OR

6. Anything you think important

Christian Pui Yan Primary School

Mentor: Pairing up colleagues within the school.
Inter-school pairing/networking.
SWOT analysis of the school’s internal situation.
Resource management: Handbooks (highlighting work priorities) with a focus on TA training.
Teaching and Learning: Lectures, resource sharing, transitioning from tier 2 or 3 to tier 1.

For L&T support
Formation of learning circle
Some new teachers who receive support in this year would be facilitators for new teachers, such that the strategies and experience could be passed on.

Stewards Pooi Kei College

Continue inviting teachers to become seed teachers and have external experts or senior colleagues within the school lead them in classroom research. Continue experimenting with different methods and encourage teachers to bring their experiences back to the subject groups.

Externally, utilize school communication channels or parent seminars to make parents aware of the school’s philosophy and work.

Caritas Lok Yi School

1. Enhancing teaching methodologies.
2. Providing feedback on the curriculum.
3. Optimizing classroom elements such as learning methods, subject components, and facilitating student learning.
4. Transferring subject knowledge acquired through learning to other disciplines and continuing to enhance the platform.
5. Centralizing all subject materials on the platform and exchanging knowledge with different schools for sharing, promotion, and optimization of the entire curriculum.

Chong Gene Hang College

– Implementing VARK model throughout the school and enhancing differentiated instructional support.
– Engaging in academic exchanges with other schools.
– Strengthening teacher training for improving teaching quality.

CCC Rotary Secondary School

Pre-class instructional lesson planning.
Classroom teaching and appropriate scheduling with differentiated assignments.
Follow-up and feedback on challenging topics after class, arranging self-learning resources for knowledge consolidation.

Baptist (Sha Tin Wai) Lui Ming Choi Primary School

In the collaborative lesson preparation, textbook, and presentation for teachers, incorporate questions at different levels to allow students with varying learning abilities to attempt answering and engage in the classroom.

Teachers participating in the program can also share their teaching experiences with other teachers during subject meetings or at the end of the semester, allowing other teachers to learn about the content of the program.

HKMLC Queen Maud Secondary School

– more workshops regarding inclusive teaching practices
– ⁠ create quiet zones and collaborative spaces
– ⁠ integrate mental health education into curriculum, such as religious study
– ⁠ establish programs to recognise positive behaviour and academic achievements
– ⁠ conduct workshops on supporting children’s emotional and academic needs

Tseung Kwan O Methodist Primary School

Game-based interventions (executing functions or teaching and learning).
Creative movement and service learning (emphasizing strengths).
Teacher/parent professional training (motivational interviewing approach).

Methodist College

Whole-school support (process arrangement).
Remedial classes (targeting designed SEN curriculum).
Collaboration with various subjects for after-school support programs.

Po Leung Kuk Lee Shing Pik College
Learning and teaching in curriculum development

1. More support for Newly joined teachers to cater for learning diversity: (a) material development (b) how to adapt in-house materials for use in their classrooms (c) supportive lesson, observations to facilitate discussion within the department.

2. Continued professional development to stay abreast of the latest pedagogies and EDB initiatives.

Hong Kong Red Swastika Society Tai Po Secondary School

Continue utilizing and improving the CLA handbook to support current and new CLAs.
Maintain the dedicated CLA professional exchange time on Fridays, allowing them to share success stories (student support, instructional assistance) with each other. The school will provide more opportunities for CLAs to share, such as SDD, to enhance the effectiveness of professional exchanges and elevate the professional image of the CLA team.