Press Release

(Hong Kong – 17 May 2012) The Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education (HKAGE) and the Education Bureau (EDB) co-organised the 2012 Hong Kong Biennial Gifted Education Conference, entitled “Nurturing Gifts: How Schools can Support Gifted Learners” today at the HKAGE. The Conference invited over 50 overseas and local experts in gifted education as guest speakers to deliver two keynote addresses and to host 35 groups of discussion in concurrent sessions. All these aimed at bringing academics and educators to consider and discuss issues concerning gifted education. More than 300 educators including teachers, school administrative staff, social workers and educational psychologists who support gifted students participated in the Conference.

Enhancing Teachers’ Professional Development

The HKAGE and EDB have jointly established a new professional development framework in gifted education early this year, providing clear and comprehensive professional development pathways for teachers to implement gifted education in schools. This Conference is intended to be part of the provision under the new framework to facilitate the further development of gifted education in Hong Kong.

Mrs Tse Ling Kit-ching Cherry, JP, Permanent Secretary for Education of EDB and Dr Stephen Tommis, Executive Director of the HKAGE delivered welcome addresses and kicked off the Conference. Two keynote speakers, Dr Joyce Van Tassel-Baska, an experienced consultant in gifted education and founding director of the Center for Gifted Education at the College of William and Mary, and Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, SBS, JP, Chairman of Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority were invited to deliver keynote addresses. Besides, it was also for the first time that gifted students were invited to the Conference to share their emotional and learning needs with the participants.

Gifted Students’ Sharing

To provide gifted students  with  appropriate  programmes,  it  is  vital  to  understand  their  real needs. “Gifted students will not automatically become successful or do well on their own without putting in effort and support from others”, said two student members of the HKAGE who shared their learning journeys in the Conference. It was an opportunity for the educators to hear the gifted students’ real needs and understand their challenges. Matthew Fung, a Form Seven student studying at Sing Yin Secondary School, is a gifted student in the leadership domain. Emilia Wong, a Form Four student at Diocesan Girls’ School, is gifted in both humanities and leadership. Both of them shared the “joy and pain” in their learning journeys. They also shared their expectations of schools and teachers and how they could further help gifted students to bring out their potential to the full.

Keynote Addresses by Well-known Overseas and Local Experts

Dr Joyce Van Tassel-Baska discussed the trends of gifted education. She believed that the trends to be illuminated included the emphasis on talent development, the role of out of school opportunities, the focus on low income learners and the importance of rigor and challenge in curriculum. Dr Van Tassel-Baska has been invited to serve as a consultant internationally in the United States, Europe, Asia, the Pan-Pacific region and Middle East countries. She was the president of the National Association for Gifted (NAGC).

At the Conference, Mr Eddie Ng pointed out that countries and cities in the region employ different strategies to nurture the gifted in order to increase their competitiveness. From these strategies, he shared the insights on the important categories and characteristics of leadership for this generation to steer towards the future. He said the types of work and requirements are changing in the 21st century and the new generation should seize the opportunities to develop their strengths. Mr Ng is committed in promoting professional development and education of human resources practitioners and he is also active in public services.

Concurrent Sessions Covering Numerous Topics

The concurrent sessions covered a wide variety of topics, including the learning needs of gifted students and teaching methodologies on various subjects like Chinese, English, Mathematics, Science, General Studies, Music and Technology; enhancing creativity, critical thinking and leadership skills of the gifted; gifted policies in schools; collaborations between schools and parents. Speakers for these sessions included representatives from the HKAGE and EDB, academics from universities, school principals, Panel Heads of various subjects and representatives from schools, educational psychologists and a well-known film director cum veteran media professional etc. The participants have learnt from the speakers about different perspectives which would benefit their work in gifted education.

More than 300 educators participated in the 2012 Hong Kong Biennial Gifted Education Conference.

Mrs Cherry Tse, JP, Permanent Secretary for Education of EDB, delivered a welcome address and kicked off the Conference.

Dr Tommis, Executive Director of the HKAGE, also delivered a welcome address at the Conference.

Mrs Cherry Tse, JP, Permanent Secretary for Education of EDB, presented the token of appreciation to Mr Eddie Ng, SBS, JP, Chairman of Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, one of the keynote speakers at the Conference.

Two gifted students from the HKAGE shared their “joy and pain” in their learning journeys.

The book exhibition showcased books related to gifted education was open to participants during breaks.

Dr Joyce Van Tassel-Baska, another keynote speaker, shared her insights into the trends of gifted education.

The concurrent sessions covered a wide variety of topics, which enhanced the knowledge of teachers in gifted education.

Speakers for concurrent sessions included representatives from different institutes and a famous film director.