Abstract:

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the global teaching model and created a new trend in virtual teaching and learning. This shift has prompted student-teachers at the Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) to adapt and modify traditional face-to-face teaching methods. In order to assist these student-teachers in mastering virtual teaching methods, it is crucial for our institution, which specializes in pedagogy, to expeditiously update our teaching strategies.

Transitioning the pedagogy curriculum from face-to-face to virtual and online teaching modes requires significant software and hardware resources, as well as support. The objectives of this project are to provide both student-teachers and frontline educators with virtual teaching and learning exemplars for visual arts and STEAM teaching. Moreover, it seeks to foster the growth of virtual teaching and learning within Hong Kong's educational landscape, enabling educators to tackle both immediate and long-term teaching challenges.

Between 2021 and 2023, the project successfully developed six online teaching packages tailored to visual arts and STEAM education to meet the needs of the new normal era of virtual teaching. It is our hope that these teaching packages will facilitate student-teachers and frontline educators in comprehending and implementing virtual interactive teaching methods suitable for online and flipped classrooms, thereby enhancing their virtual and online teaching practices.

Following trial teaching sessions conducted in one primary school and two secondary schools during June and July 2022, we gathered feedback from both student-teachers and frontline educators. Subsequently, adjustments were made to the teaching packages based on the received feedback. After two public seminars held via Zoom for student-teachers and frontline educators on May 13, 2023, questionnaires were distributed and collected. The seminars attracted 305 student-teachers and visual arts educators. Among them, 172 questionnaires were collected, with a response rate of 56%.

The feedback received from participants clearly indicated their agreement with the six teaching packages was excellent. In particular, most participants agreed that "the shared STEAM teaching materials can respond to the needs of the online/virtual education era", and "the provided STEAM teaching resources (such as Power-Points, worksheets, notes, demonstration videos, and teaching aids) are very useful for learning and teaching." The respondents also conveyed their highest appreciation for "Unit 3: Changes of Light, Color, and Shadow," which accounted for 29.1% of the responses. They provided positive comments, describing the unit as innovative, highly engaging, and incorporating fresh concepts.

In the poster presentation, I will share the comprehensive results of the questionnaires and showcase this highly acclaimed online STEAM teaching material with the participants.

Keywords:

Virtual and online teaching, visual arts and STEAM education.