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Lifelong Learning‘Parent Education Programme 08-09’

Feature Articles:

‘Critical Thinking’ Dr Irene T. F. Ho

‘Parenting of Nobel Prize Winners’ Dr Echo H. Y. Wu

Consultation Centre

The Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education (HKAGE) understands and recognises the critical role that parents play. Therefore the Consultation Centre has been established to provide parents with information and advice to meet their gifted children’s needs. The services include:

· a phone and email enquiry service manned by a trained Education Advisor who provides information and advice to parents· face-to-face consultation with parents or gifted children whose needs are complex

Contact Details

Hotline : (852) 3698 3947Email : consultation@hkage.org.hkOperating Hours:

Monday to Friday:11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.(Closed on public holidays)

Index

Editorial

NewsBites

ResearchCorner

BookReview

OtherEvents

Foreword

FeatureArticles

ParentVoice

ParentZone

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Gifted children have their unique traits and developmental needs that are different from other children. Parents are often at

the end of their tether when faced with the challenges of parenting and developing their gifted children. How can parents nurture happy and healthy

gifted children and at the same time stretch their gifted children’s potential?

Our new publication, ‘Nurturing the Gifted’, is a magazine for parents of gifted children. This biannual publication contains information on gifted education, parenting skills, home-

school collaboration, and news about the Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education’s Parent Education Programmes. We hope that the magazine with its feature articles and informative

sharing by educators and experienced parents will give parents insights into parenting the gifted young, as well as encouragement in their journey as parents.

The theme of our first issue is ‘Lifelong Learning for Parents’. It is our belief that parents, as role models for their children, should be continuously learning to improve their parenting knowledge and skills. Through reflection and continuous learning, parents demonstrate a strong commitment as well as a firm belief to fulfil their parenting role in the value of learning.

In this inaugural issue, two famous scholars have been invited to contribute articles: ‘Nurturing Children’s Critical Thinking’ and ‘The Impact and Influence of the Parents of Nobel Laureates’. In addition, Ms Veon Cheng, the recent former Chairman of the Parent Association for the Exceptionally Gifted,

shares her experience as the parent of a gifted child and her continuous learning insights. There is also a piece on research into the effectiveness of parent education as well as a recommended

book written by a Taiwanese mother about the Finnish education system. We hope to present the core theme ‘Lifelong Learning for Parents’ through different types of information and

different perspectives.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our editorial staff and all the writers. Without their contributions and efforts, our magazine would not be possible.

I hope you will enjoy ‘Nurturing the Gifted’ and find it informative and useful. Please do not hesitate to share this with

other parents!

Nurturing the Gifted – The Gifted Education Magazine for Parents

1E d i t o r i a l

Foreword

Dear Parents

Welcome to the first edition of the HKAGE Parent Newsletter! We hope that you find it informative, useful and interesting, with an appropriate balance between information relating to facts and

information relating to judgments.

The role of parenting is never easy but when there is the added dimension of having a gifted child the tasks can seem ever more daunting. There are no absolutes in being a parent and what works for one child may be entirely inappropriate for another. That is why it is so difficult to generalise about what most suits the needs of gifted children.

One of the four frontline divisions of the HKAGE is Parent Support and we aim to ensure that no matter what issue you are facing we can offer information, advice and support to help you see your way through the problem or issue. This Newsletter is part of the overall service provision from the Academy and we hope that it will prove to be a useful addition to the growing armoury of tools for effective parenting.

This is a Newsletter for you! We want you to feel that it serves your needs well because it addresses the issues that are important to you. To do this properly requires responses from you so that we can be more confident that we are meeting your needs, so please

• letusknowwhattopicsyouwouldliketoseecoveredinfutureadditions• emailuswithyourexperienceswhereyouhavefoundsomethingthatworkswithyourgiftedchild• emailuswithyourquestionsandwewillprovideanswersinsubsequent“Q&As”(ps@hkage.org.hk)

The research evidence is very clear. Good parenting can make a significant difference. Parents do matter! And Parent Voice is important – so we hope this Magazine goes some way to making your role a little easier.

Dr Stephen TommisExecutive Director, HKAGE

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‘My son is really smart and he learns fast. I really want to know more about how to nurture his talents by taking part in some parent seminars from the Academy. But it’s so far away,’ a mother living in Yuen Long says to her neighbour.

In North Point, a teacher keeps complaining to a mother about her hyperactive gifted child who often plays around in class. The mother feels miserable and helpless. She really wants to help her son but doesn’t know what to do.

Dear parents, do you share similar experiences and feelings? Please check out our Project Twice Exceptional and tell us how you feel and what you need. You can also chat with ‘the two mothers from Yuen Long and North Point’ in our online e-forum to share your experience in parenting your gifted child.

Project Twice Exceptional

Twice exceptionality refers to children who are gifted

and who are diagnosed with other special educational

needs (e.g. Autism /Asperger, Special Learning

DifficultiesandADHD,etc.). Theunderstandingof

and support given to this special group of children

in Hong Kong is scarce. This project will focus on

identifying the needs of twice exceptional children and

their families and develop research-based evidence

and supporting services for them. If your child is

twice exceptional, please do not hesitate to join us.

Website:www.hkage.org.hk/b5/pz_te/

A Date with Us!

e-Forum for Parents

This is an interactive platform for parents to share

their experiences in parenting a gifted child. You

are welcome to voice your opinion on the various

parenting topics and we shall respond to some

comments. For more information, please check

out the Parent Zone on our website.

Website:www.hkage.org.hk/b5/pz_forum/

3N e w s B i t e s

’Which school is better for my child?’ ’Should I use

Chinese or Western medicine?’ ’How can I prepare

myself to survive the financial tsunami?’

You have to make choices every day. But how do you

know if you are making a good decision? Critical thinking

is crucial when you have to analyse a situation in which

there are different contributing factors. We need critical

thinking skills to establish our views and stands on issues

such as same-sex marriage, euthanasia or the

implementation of universal suffrage

for the Chief Executive and the

Legislative Council.

Three essential factors for critical thinking

The quality of critical

thinking is affected by

one’s thinking skills,

attitude and knowledge

in the area which one is

reasoning about. The set

of thinking skills represent the

ability to analyse an issue based on

facts, logic and different perspectives.

Highly intelligent people usually

have strong thinking ability;

however, without sound

values, positive attitude

and common sense,

their analytical reasoning

would be affected.

A thinker with sound values and a good attitude will tend to

be more selfless, open, just and careful. Also, a competent

critical thinker can only analyse and reason having solid

knowledge related to the issue being analysed. For example,

if a person is ignorant about the local political scene or does

not have adequate knowledge of the Hong Kong legal system

and history, his views on the universal suffrage for the Chief

Executive will be questionable.

Nurturing critical thinking in children

A child’s habit of information use

and interpretation as well as

his / her problem solving

approachreflectshis/her

critical thinking ability. To

nurture a critical thinker,

parents have to provide

children the opportunities

to practice critical

thinking. Parents

should discuss

with their children

issues with no

definite answers,

encourage them to

ask ‘why’ questions and

develop their ideas with

reason and evidence. Allowing

children to make decisions

and teaching them how to

evaluate different positions can also

develop the children’s critical thinking skills.

ThinkingCritical

Dr. Irene Ho

Lifelong learning for parents ─ Parent education Programme 08-09

In this issue, we have invited two speakers from our ‘Parent Education Programme 08-09’ to share their knowledge with us. If you have participated in our seminars this year, let us review and reflect on what we have learnt. For those of us who were too busy to attend, let us begin our learning journey together now.

4 F e a t u r e A r t i c l e s

In addition, activities that can broaden a child’s horizon

are beneficial to widening the child’s perspectives and

deepeninghis/herunderstandingofcertainissuesortopics.

Children should be encouraged to read widely, participate

in community services and go on outings to gain more

general knowledge. Finally, it is important that parents

are role models for their children in critical thinking. As a

parent, you can share with your child the process you have

taken in making a stand or arriving at a certain decision,

instilling in them the importance of making good decisions,

with careful deliberation and supported by good reasons.

Becoming a reasonable gifted child

Gifted children possess a strong ability to analyse and reason.

Their critical thinking abilities are usually better than their

peers’. They are inquisitive and some can also demonstrate

perfectionism. However, due to their lack of life experiences

and knowledge, they might not have developed a set of

sound values to guide them in reasoning. Hence they could

seem to be unreasonable or overly critical in presenting an

argument. Sometimes, they might bluntly point out others'

mistakes without considering the possible negative effects.

Parents have to remind their children that even if they may

reason well and have logical viewpoints they still have to

learn how to express their views in an appropriate manner.

Should your child disagree with you, it is important that you

show understanding and make allowances for them, bearing

in mind that children need time and space to grow. Always

remain calm even if there are disagreements. Effective

parenting is always based on good parent-child relationship.

Dr. Irene Ho is an Assistant Professor teaching the

Educational Psychology Programme at the Department of Psychology, HKU. She is

also a Registered Psychologist with the Hong Kong Psychological Society and is currently the

Chairperson of the Division of Educational Psychology of the Society. Dr. Ho has extensive experience in psycho-educational services for children with special needs. Thinking skills development is one of her research areas and she has been co-leading the recent development of a critical thinking teaching package

for senior secondary school students with other local and international scholars. This project

was commissioned by the Education Bureau and Dr. Ho has participated in

related teacher training.

Profileof Dr. Ho

Tips for Parents★ In addition to having critical thinking skills, a good

critical thinker is knowledgeable and open-minded.

★ To nurture children’s critical thinking, parents shouldrolemodelcriticalthinkingbehavior(makewise decisions, think well before acting and use soundreasoning).

★ To nurture logical and critical gifted children, in addition to cognitive development, parents should emphasise affective education as well.

★ Hold regular family meetings involving the children, and allow them to air their opinions in issues affecting the whole family. It is a good way for them to practice perspective-taking and critical thinking.

5F e a t u r e A r t i c l e s

Parenting and Achievement: Interviews with Nobel Laureates

Dr. Echo Wu

Background︱Researches have

shown that parents’ high expectation is one of the factors

which could lead children to subsequent success. Other

contributing factors include the involvement of parents and

the effort they invest in nurturing their children, family’s social

economical background, and the parent-child relationship.

The Western philosophy about success has its roots

in ancient Greek which emphasises nature instead of

nurture. Many researchers have found that westerners

tend to attribute success to innate abilities and failure

to uncontrollable factors such as adversity or a lack of

opportunity. In some Asian cultures, people usually

attribute success to hard work and failure to indolence.

My research aimed to probe into the reasons the Nobel

Laureates had attributed their achievements to through

interviews with them.

Overview︱The Nobel Prize has been the highest honour for outstanding achievements in both the academic and non-academic disciplines since its inception in 1901. Many of us may be familiar with the works of these outstanding men and women but few would have knowledge about their family background and the roles of their parents in their growing years. My research aims to unfold the Nobel Laureates’ belief about family and the main factors that had contributed to their achievements through interviews. I hope the results of my research could inform parents, researchers and other professionals and have an impact on early childhood education. My study attempts to answer the following questions: (1) What do the Nobel Laureates understand by the relationship between parenting and achievement?(2) How did their experience being brought up by their parents impacted their later success?(3) What are the learning points for parents and educators?

Methods︱This qualitative research aims to

study the unique environment in which the Nobel Laureates

grew up in with a focus on their parents’ parenting approach

in their early childhood. The first laureate was Dr. Bill Phillips,

a physicist. The second laureate was Dr. Norman Ramsey, a

professor of physics at Harvard University. The third laureate

was Dr. Paul Samuelson, a professor of economics at M.I.T.

He was 92 when I interviewed him but he was still active

as an academic and working as a government economics

consultant. The fourth laureate was Dr. Ted Haensch, a

professor of physics at the University of Munich, Germany.

The main questions asked during the interviews were

related to the characteristics of their family and upbringing

during their early childhood, their cultural background,

daily habits and activities, and the impact of their parents

on their academic study.

6 F e a t u r e A r t i c l e s

Results and Analysis︱From the interviews, I found several common factors including the laureates’ passion for learning, enormous support from their parents, freedom of choice, reading habit, luck and mentors.

Firstly, all the four laureates mentioned their passion for mathematics and natural science. This had not only intrinsically motivated them to indulge in topics or activities they enjoyed but also led them to the career path which suited them most. Secondly, though not all the families of the laureates had an academic background, their parents provided them with tremendous and flexible support in their study, sporting and even social-emotional development. Thirdly, their parents encouraged them and gave them the freedom to choose instead of imposing their preferences. As parents, they were not excessively demanding. Despite the fact that their parents had different expectations on their choice of career, they allowed their children to choose their own areas of study. It was this freedom of choice which maintained their interest in the subjects they had selected and further cultivated their creativity and ability to solve problems independently. Fourthly, all of them loved books and had good reading habit. This habit enabled them to explore the world at a very young age through books, which had not only widened their horizon in terms of out-of-school knowledge but also fueled their interest in particular areas. Fifthly, one of the words which appeared most frequently in the interviews was ‘luck’. Although the link of ‘opportunities’ and ‘luck’ to achievement was debatable, it was considered a key factor by all four laureates. Pasteur had once said that ’chance favors the prepared mind’. These laureates’ hard work and diligence over the years had prepared them well for subsequent extraordinary achievement. However, their attribution of success to luck showed their humility. Lastly, the positive influence of mentors was identified as one of the most important factors for their success. To them, a good teacher or mentor could arouse students’ interest and motivate them to pursue excellence in certain fields. Appropriate and positive guidance was essential in developing gifts.

Implication︱The interviews with the four Nobel Laureates constituted only a small part of myresearchwhichinvolved20laureates(andtwoparents).The initial results had pointed to the importance of family in the development of children’s potential. It is hoped that the study will inspire parents, educators, professionals or even other readers.

In general, parents’ encouragement and home support are the most crucial factors in determining how their children could excel in future. In addition to their support, parents should allow a certain degree of freedom and flexibility for their children to choose and discover their interests and passions, and to do what they really enjoy. Good reading habits, diligence and mentors could also positively contribute to their future success.

Tips for Parents★ Attributing success and failure to factors that can

becontrolled(e.g.effortandstrategies)canbettermotivate children to learn.

★ To enhance intrinsic motivation, parents should allow children the freedom to choose.

★ Establishing the habit of reading is more important than reading certain genre of books. Parents should give children the choice to pick their reading material in order to establish a good reading habit. Once they have this habit, the quantity and genre will naturally increase.

Dr. Echo Wu is an Assistant

Professor at the HKIEd. Her research interests include gifted

education and parenting. Dr Wu has tremendous experiences in teaching and

conducting research. She possesses international perspectives in gifted and talented education as

she has been teaching and studying in mainland China, Australia, Hong Kong and the USA. Dr Wu has presented papers at international educational conferences and her research outcomes have been published in various leading academic journals. She

is a member of various professional organizations in gifted education such as National Association

for Gifted Children, American Educational Research Association, and World

Council for Gifted and Talented Children.

Profileof

Dr. Wu

7F e a t u r e A r t i c l e s

A Chinese leader once said that ‘validation is the only way to test the truth’ which implies the

importance of validating facts. In terms of science, the understanding of the world through testing

is called experimental research. We place a lot of trust on what the university professors present

in their papers as these are often regarded as knowledge and theories. These knowledge and

theories are validated by research evidence. In this magazine, we hope to share with you different

types of research and their findings which we hope will enhance your knowledge in parenting.

Foreword

There are many types of courses for parents each year.

Sometimes we wonder if these programmes are really

helpful to parents. Similarly, when you send your children to

playgroups, tutorial classes or any extra-curricular activities,

you would be wondering if your kids really benefit from these.

Dr Daniel Hoard from the University of Texas at Austin, U.S.A

was also interested in this issue. Therefore he conducted

ameta-analysis in2005 toscrutinise theeffectivenessof

parent education programmes in America.

Defining ' Parent Education’

In order to examine the effectiveness of parent education,

itisnecessarytoclarifythisterm.DrHoard(2005)defined

parent education as the systematic presentation of information

to parents in order to support their efforts and abilities to

promote their children's development. It is expected that

after having participated in such learning activities, there

would be a positive change in the behavior of both parent

and child and also improved quality in their interaction

with one another.

However, Dr Hoard also stated that the term 'parent education'

implieda teacher-centredapproach (with the speakers

dominatingthecourse)andprovidedlittleopportunities

for interactions between speakers and parents. Terms like

'family support programmes' are better received nowadays.

It emphasises the provision of family services and resources

that improve parenting.

Regardless of the terms used, Dr Hoard thought that it was

important to evaluate the effectiveness of parent education

programmes.

Parent education: a brief history

Parent education can be traced back to the early 1800s when

mothers met in small groups to discuss child rearing practices.

In 1918, the United States Public Health Service coordinated

the first health-related programmes to educate parents.

Unfortunately, interest in parent education programmes

declined in the 30's as increased responsibility was given

toinstitutionssuchasschoolstoteachchildren(Isn’titthe

sameinHongKong?). Asaresponsetochangingfamily

dynamics, several large-scale parent education programmes

were developed in the 1970s and 80s including ‘Head Start’

and the publication of the ‘Parent Effectiveness Training’

(P.E.T.)programme.Theseprogrammeswereimplemented

at a national level and had educated thousands of parents

on techniques to relate positively with their children.

Analysis of parent education studies

MethodIn2005,DrHoardconductedameta-analysisof16studies

on parent education in the United States over the past

Parent Education Programme - Are you ready for that?— An Analysis of the Effectiveness of Parent Education

8 R e s e a r c h C o r n e r

Tips for Parents★ Self-concept consists of self understanding, evaluation

and acceptance. Parents should have reasonable

expectations for their children and embrace their merits

and demerits for a healthy self-concept development.

★ There are different types of gifted programmes for

children. When you choose a gifted course for your

child,check tosee if it candevelophis /herproblem

solving and higher order thinking skills. Attention

should also be given to whether the programmes

also address the affective needs of gifted children.

Make sure the course provides interaction between

your child and other gifted children of similar abilities

(regardlessofthechronologicalage).

Participating in any parent education programme is one of the routes in your lifelong learning

journey. If you encounter any problems in selecting a course, our Education Advisor is more

than happy to help you.

two decades. The analysis focused on the feasibility and

effectiveness of the education for parents with children in

primary or secondary schools and also aimed at investigating

different approaches to parenting.

Studies which were included in the meta-analysis if:

1) Theprogrammesmetthedefinitionof‘parenteducation’

as afore-mentioned; and

2) Childrenoftheseprogrammes'participantwereprimary

or secondary school students.

ResultsDr Hoard made useful suggestions and provided directions

for assessing parent education programmes. He also made

the following observations and conclusions concerning

the effectiveness of parent education:

1. Parents who had received the parent education programmes demonstrated a more positive attitude when managing

their children's behavioral problems. In one of the parent

education programmes that was targeted at enhancing

parents support for their children, research revealed

that participating parents were able to provide more

guidance and handled their children’s emotions better.

This benefit was also seen in a follow-up study after one

year.

2. Children benefit from parent education. The same study

also showed that students whose parents had received

relevant programme displayed significant improvements in self-

concept and at the same time a decrease in negative behaviors.

Conclusion

From the research, it is evident that parents who made the effort

to learn to be better parents would impact more positively on

their children. Participation in parent education we believe will

not only improve parents’ parenting skills and knowledge, it

will also set the parents as good role models for their children.

Reference:Hoard,H.&Shepard,K.N.(2005).Parent Education as Parent-Centered Prevention: A Review of School-Related Outcomes. School PsychologyQuarterly.20(4),434-454.

9R e s e a r c h C o r n e r

W e are pleased to have invited Ms Cheng Siu Mui, Veon, former Chairman of

the Parent Association for the Exceptionally Gifted, to share with us her experience in lifelong learning and nurturing her gifted child.

Parenting the gifted child — growing together

I： Can you share with us your learning journey as

a parent?

V： Yes, sure. Every parent wants their children to succeed

and hopes to maintain a good parent-child relationship.

I’m no exception. Before getting married, I was a

childcare worker. After I got pregnant, I started to

learn how to cater for the psychological and physical

needs of children, such as enhancing their learning

motivation, understanding the uniqueness of boys

and girls and their needs, etc

I： You’re already a professional. People migh ask why

you needed to further your studies.

V： I gave up my job when my daughter turned nine

months old. Although I already had professional

qualification in childcare, there was still a need

to pursue further education in this area. I then

joined several parent seminars and consulted the

experienced parents around me. I even learned

foot massage after recognising that it would help

my daughter to grow healthily.

I： There are many ways to learn. I know that you

have participated in a lot of voluntary work.

V： Yes, I have. I started volunteering to do community

services when my daughter was two. I also learned

how to use the internet and computer. I kept learning

until she completed her primary education.

I： Generally speaking, the changes in children will be

more apparent when they approach adolescence.

Was it a great challenge to you as a parent of an

adolescent? How did you prepare for that?

V： I was told to look for a job when my daughter started

her secondary education. But I didn’t because I knew

adolescents needed their families to care and support

them. I wanted my daughter to know that I was always

there for her. I enrolled in a mediation course and

volunteered at a mediation centre so as to learn the

skills in building a harmonious relationship with my

family.

1 0 P a r e n t V o i c e

I： You will understand the need of an adolescent

better if you try to behis / her friend. Do you

agree?

V： I agree. When I was preparing to teach a childcare

course, my daughter helped me prepare the handouts

and gave me many ideas on the format and teaching

materials for the course. Since then my relationship

with her has improved a lot and we became good

friends.

Later, I also took a course in acupuncture. Each

time I administered acupuncture treatment to my

daughter, we would talk a lot and this deepened

my understanding of her. Her gratitude for my

treatment makes all my hard work and sacrifices

worthwhile.

I also explore and engage in modern activity and

popular culture such as golf and pop songs. All

these have contributed a lot to our meaningful

parent-child relationship.

Ms Veon Cheng, the former Chairman of

the Parent Association for the Exceptionally Gifted, has worked as a

registered childcare worker / supervisor and a registered community mediator. She

is learning continuously and has even taken courses on acupuncture. She has conducted childcare courses for adults and volunteered at reading rooms, elderly centres, mediation centres, etc.

Profile of Ms. Veon

Cheng Siu Mui

Tips for Parents★ Research has revealed that the participation of

parents in the school activities of their children positively correlates with the learning outcome of their children.

★ Parents have to regard their adolescent children’s self-esteem. Learn to befriend them and your communication with them will improve.

★ Encourage your children to participate in extra-curricular activities such as scouting and community services. These activities can enhance your children’s social-emotional development and help them better adjust to any new environments such as when they are promoted to secondary schools.

I： You are a good lifelong learner. Can you offer

other parents some tips on how to start their own

journey of lifelong learning?

V： They have to know their own personality and

interests before they choose suitable programmes

to attend. Gradually, they can even learn other

topics in addition to those they are interested in.

Sometimes, lifelong learning also means sharing

with others or giving of yourself through voluntary

work. We could all contribute to make the world

a better place.

We thank Veon for her sharing and sincerely hope that you can also experience the joy of lifelong learning. Starting from today, select one mode of learning activity that suits you and grow happily with your gifted child!

1 1P a r e n t V o i c e

Which of the following would be your first reaction if you find out that your child is gifted?

a)He/ShewillneedanIQassessment.b)KeepprayingtoGodthatitisnottrue.c)Nowonderwhyhe’ssoinattentiveinclass!d)Great!Hecanbringglorytoourfamily!e)Shouldwelethimskipagrade?

If you have selected any of the above, you could have overreacted. As

people are more informed and pay closer attention to gifted education,

many parents would clamour for any programmes that claims to be for

gifted children. At this juncture, you might want to consider what kind

of world you would like your child to live in: one which is highly elitist

or one that provides equal opportunities for all? The book ‘Finland – a

country without gifted classes’ will give you some insights. This book

by Chen Zhihua analysed the Finnish education system. Zhihua was

a Taiwanese mother who migrated with her family to Finland and

interviewed different schools and teachers there.

In this book, she mentioned that the Finns developed the talents and

potentials of every child with special emphasis on the development of

their lifelong learning skills as well as their understanding and exploration

of knowledge. Instead of focusing on academic results, children were

encouraged to raise questions on different issues. Children in Hong Kong

can be very inquisitive too, but sometimes their parents just dismiss

them with replies like ’Shut up!’ ’You’ll know when you grow up’. As

time goes by, children will no longer ask questions.

A book to recommend:

'Finland— a country without gifted classes' Author: Chen Zhihua Publisher: ECUS Publishing Ltd., Taiwan Year: 2008

1 2 B o o k R e v i e w

The Finnish education system encourages children to learn things as

a whole before going into the fine details. Without repetitions which

hinder children from positive and creative learning, the progressive

and diversified education methods of Finland aim to broaden

children’s horizons from the preliminary stage of cognition to the

advanced phase of lifelong learning. This is carried out under the

guidance of teachers who cultivate the children’s positive learning

and inspire them to explore the values of life.

Repetitive drills can sometimes block the children’s learning and

discourage them from having motivation and interest in learning.

If your child is inquisitive and asks lots of questions, you should

treasure and nurture this quality. Only with this quality would they

aspire to be true lifelong learners!

The book also states that the aim of almost all nations irrespective

of their culture and educational policies is to develop their children’s

sense of responsibility and global citizenship. Without school

uniforms, fixed schedule or even designated activities, the Finnish

children are educated to be self-sufficient and independent from a

young age. You might have reservations about such an approach and

probably doubt if the children’s abilities could be well developed. In

fact, what they considered as core skills are the practice to cultivate

independent thinking and planning their own lives. Such attitude

and abilities to learn autonomously, to evaluate and to manage

one’s life are in fact their lifelong ‘talents’.

Each child is unique. If we take education seriously

and understand the unique traits of each and

every one of them, does it matter whether there

are ‘gifted classes’ or not?

Tips for Parents★ Affective education should be an integral part of

gifted education. A scholarship holder might not have the true quality of a scholar. Similarly a highly intelligent CEO can be selfish and make unethical decisions that harm the community. When nurturing the cognitive ability of their children, parents have to bear in mind the equally important affective and moral education as well.

1 3B o o k R e v i e w

The Educational Psychologist of the Academy, Ms Jessie

Chow, clarified some common misconceptions about

giftedness. In particular, she addressed the parents’ concern

abouttheneedforIQtesting.DrEchoWu,anAssistant

Professor at the Hong Kong Institute of Education, then

shared her research on the experiences of several Nobel

laureates, the influence and impact of their parents’ parenting

approach on them. The research recommended that parents

should provide parental support with choices given to

their children to pursue their passion. This was crucial to

their development and subsequent achievement. Having

good mentors and a good reading habit from young were

also some common factors shared by the Nobel laureates.

The Educational Psychologist of the Academy, Ms Jessie

Chow, talked about the social and emotional development

and the affective characteristics of gifted children. She

explained to the parents the heightened sensitivity and

perfectionist traits of many gifted children. Dr Iris Chau,

a registered psychologist and play therapist, shared

with the participants some emotion management skills

and how to respond to children’s positive and negative

emotions. Dr Chau also introduced some strategies to

manage children’s rebellious behaviour.

Parent Education Programme 08-09

The ABCs of Giftednes10 January 2009

The Social and Emotional Needs of Gifted Children21 February 2009

1 4 P a r e n t Z o n e

Creativity is like our body’s ability to absorb calcium – the

older you grow, the harder it is absorbed. The Educational

Psychologist of the Academy, Ms Jessie Chow, explained

creativity to the parent participants through games. In

particular, she demonstrated the use of creativity in our

daily lives. She also shared with the participants the ways

to develop their children’s creativity by using various

interesting strategies.

With the introduction of the new academic structure in

Hong Kong, critical thinking has become a hot topic. Dr.

Irene Ho, an Assistant Professor teaching the Educational

Psychology Programme at the Department of Psychology,

the University of Hong Kong, expounded critical thinking

and its various forms through daily life examples. In

addition, she showed the participants how to encourage

their children to practice critical thinking skills.

Critical Thinking7 March 2009

Creativity28 March 2009

1 5P a r e n t Z o n e

Student Programmesand Services

Open Courses（Student Applicants must

be nominated by schools）

★ Pre-OlympiadContest/Workshops

★ International Mathematical Olympiad Preliminary

Selection Contest – Hong Kong 2009

★ Pre-Olympiad Workshops for Hong Kong

Physics Olympiad

The upcoming events from the Student Programmes and Services and Teacher Professional Development divisions

Leadership

★ Leaders for the New Generation

★ Leadership Enhancement and Social

Services Projects

★ Introductory Workshop on Debating

Skills Science

★ MarineScience(University- basedcredit-bearingcourse)

Humanities★ Future Curator Course★ An Introduction to

Linguistics

Mathematics★ Mathematics in 24 lessons 2009★ International Mathematical Olympiad(IMO)Training2009-2010(PhaseI)

1 6 O t h e r E v e n t s

Teacher Professional Development

Course / Activity Title Target Group Date

Thematic Courses

'Performance-based Assessment' Primary & secondary school teachers June 2009

'Understanding Students with Gifted Learning Disability & Strategies to Help Them'

Primary & secondary school teachers, student guidance teachers and school social workers

July 2009

Structured Courses

Introductory Course: 'Gifted Education' Primary school teachers August 2009

Foundation Course (I):'Nurturing the Gifted Learners'(36 hrs with practicum)

Primary & secondary school teachers

June 2009 - March 2010

Foundation Course (II):‘Nurturing the Gifted Learners’(10 Modules)

Primary & secondary school teachers July 2009

Intermediate Course:‘Nurturing Gifted Learners on Leadership, Creativity and Critical Thinking’(34 hrs with practicum)

Secondary school teachers

July - December 2009

The upcoming events from the Student Programmes and Services and Teacher Professional Development divisions

(For details, please visit the 'Student Zone' and 'Teacher Zone' of our website)

1 7O t h e r E v e n t s

Contact UsIf you have any query or feedback, please do not

hesitate to contact us.

Website: www.hkage.org.hkEmail:ps@hkage.org.hk

Consultation Centre

Hotline: 3698 3947

Email:consultation@hkage.org.hk

UpcomingThe second issue

will feature articles and information related to the

social and emotional needs of gifted children. Please write to us if you have any suggestion

or if you want to share your story. (ps@hkage.org.hk)