Introduction

        Extra-curricular activities (ECA) have taken on a significant role in student development and school education with three major initiatives. The implementation of 3-3-4 curriculum reform along with the emphasis on Life Wide Learning (LWL) and Other Learning Experience (OLE) in primary and secondary curriculum all promote the role of extra-curricular activities in students' whole personal development. The "Extra-curricular Activities" course, organized by the Faculty of Education as the core elective course for teacher training programs, aims to enable students to understand the educational function and value of extra-curricular activities in schools. The course also grants opportunities for students to develop the theoretical understandings and skills related to extra-curricular activities.

        Outcomes-Based Approach (OBA) is a recurring student-centered education approach advocated in current university education in Hong Kong. It focuses on mapping students' outcomes in the learning process. The project adopts OBA as a guideline and embeds the OBA concept in curriculum of "Extra-curricular Activities" course with the application of Moodle e-Learning platform. A series of learning activities are designed and organized to explore the effectiveness of implementation of OBA and the application of e-Learning platform.

Aims

        The project aims to integrate different e-Learning components into ECA courses, so as to facilitate the promotion of the OBA for teaching and learning in a teacher education context. The project will build up a multi-media learning resource database with different formats of learning materials including students' assignments, official documents, media files, reference readings and newspaper clips, so as to extend students' learning experiences beyond classroom teaching. Moreover, with the integration of different teaching designs and the learning tools available from the Moodle e-learning platform, the project also proposes to facilitate students in constructing their own learning outcomes and understanding their personal learning progress.

Content Abstract

        The project has been developed in two stages. In stage one (January to August 2009), the main tasks were to design the e-Learning platform layout, construct a learning resource database, and develop teaching and learning activities for the establishment of personal learning portfolios.  

        In stage two (September to December 2009), the project focuses on the implementation of the e-Learning platform. The effective use of the e-Learning platform will be based on the data collected by the teaching and learning activities in the course. Questionnaires and focus group interviews will be arranged to investigate students' attitudes and opinions toward the design of the e-Learning platform and the relevant teaching activities. A sharing session will be organized for colleagues on integrating OBA concepts in the design of learning activities on e-Learning platform.