Brand ESF - What is it?

[HappyV]

I don't think you'll find such detailed curriculum documents on any school site. (I couldn't find them on any international/private school site in HK that I looked at).

I think it's a mistake to look at the ESF as anything other than an umbrella organisation. The schools offer the same curriculum (although I believe KGV is still offering A-levels as well as IB???) and have the same general set up. But, of course they will differ, because they have different student populations and different teaching staff.

I'm not familiar enough with the PYP curriculum to know if there are specific learning targets (I think what you cann 'standards')for each learning area. I know that when the schools were offering the UK National Ciurriculum, there were such targets,m and I assume that even if the PYP is not as specific, that schools set their own goals, which should be available to parents.

Shri - can you give an example of a school which does offer all the information you require? CIS? CDNIS? HKIS?

 

[spockey]

HappyV, I don't know about the other schools as I'm only interested in AIS or ESF. I know that the AIS follows the NSW Board of Education Curriculum guidelines. So, I know for sure, my child will be getting an education that would be similar to any child studying at any NSW public/private school.

Curriculum outcomes/guidelines are generally very vague - specific details can be found in Schemes of Work (which are only accessible to the educators involved). Do parents have access to this information? A skeleton is usually displayed somewhere or other though. I'd be curious to know how they plan for an academic year at ESF.

 

[HappyV]

I would imagine that they plan the same way as any other school - they identify learning objectives, and work out how best to get there, based on the student cohort, and the particular skills of the teacher. For example, if you have a class where the students learn best through visual means, then a teacher may craft a power point presentation as an introduction to a learning area, which leads to activities which teach students how to perform certain skills. Or, which helps students to understand some new 'knowledge'.

Any parent of a child at the school is going to have access to these documents upon request. Shri's point was that parents from outside HK looking at HK may have trouble working out what/how the kids will do. My counterpoint was that this is no different from any other school. What we can do is source assessment docs from the baord involved - whether it be HKCE, HSC, GSCE IB etc. That is your end goal. How the kids get there is more individual - as it should be. There is no 'one-sized fits all' approach to teaching or learning.

 

[testuser]

Sample curriculum for year 2 requirements in Math from Singapore.

Whole numbers

*
Number notation and place values
o count to 1000
+ Include counting in tens and hundreds
o read and write numbers up to 1000 in numerals and in words
+ Include the use of zero as a place holder
o recognise the place values of numbers (hundreds, tens, ones)
+ Include completing number sequences
o compare and order numbers up to 1000
+ Include finding the difference
*
Addition and subtraction
o add and subtract two numbers up to 3 digits
+ Include formal algorithm
+ Include use of abacus
o carry out addition and subtraction mentally involving
+ 3-digit number and ones
+ 3-digit number and tens
+ 3-digit number and hundreds
*
Multiplication and division within the 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 times tables
o count in steps of 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10
+ Include completing number sequences leading to multiplication tables
o build up the multiplication tables of 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 and commit to memory
+ Include activities to help pupils see that multiplication is commutative
o multiply numbers within the multiplication tables
o write mathematical statements for given situations involving division
+ Include use of division symbol
o divide numbers within the multiplication tables
+ Exclude division with remainder
o carry out multiplication and division within multiplication tables mentally
*
Word problems
o solve 1-step word problems involving the four operations

Money and measures

*
Measurement of length, mass and volume
o estimate and measure
+ length in metres/centimetres
+ mass in kilograms/grams
+ volume in litres
# Include the use of appropriate instruments for measuring
# Include use of the appropriate measure and their abbreviations: cm, m, g, kg and l
# Exclude compound units
# Include concept of conservation of volume of liquid
# Exclude volume of solids
*
Addition and subtraction of length, mass and volume
o compare
+ lengths
+ masses
+ volumes
# Include finding the difference
o add and subtract
+ lengths
+ masses
+ volumes
# Exclude conversion of units
*
Time
o tell and write time from the clock face
+ Exclude cases where the minute hand is between two numbers
+ Include reading time, e.g. read �9.15� as �nine fifteen�; �9.50� as �nine fifty�
+ Include use of �a.m.� and �p.m.�
+ Include drawing hands on the clock face to show time� Include use of abbreviations: h and min
+ Include the concept of duration of time when reading time
*
Addition and subtraction of money
o read and write money using decimal notation
o add and subtract money in compound units
+ Include making �change�
+ Include cases such as $2.50 + 60� and $5.75 - $3
+ Exclude cases such as $2.50 + $3.20 and $5.75 - $2.55
*
Word problems
o solve 1-step word problems involving length, mass, volume and money

Statistics

*
Picture graphs with scales
o make picture graphs using a scale representation
+ Include both horizontal and vertical representations
o read and interpret picture graphs with scales
o solve problems using information presented in picture graphs
+ Include scales such as "Each (complete circle) represents 6 bags."
+ Exclude cases involving the use of an incomplete symbolic representation such as (half circle)

Fractions

*
Equal parts of a whole
o recognise and name unit fractions up to 1/12
+ Exclude set of objects
+ Include the use of symbols: 1/2 ,1/3, 1/4, . . . . 1/12
*
Idea of simple fractions
o recognise and name a fraction of a whole
+ Exclude the use of mathematical statements such as 1 - 1/4 = 3/4
*
Comparing and ordering fractions
o compare and order unit fractions and like fractions

Geometry

*
Shapes and patterns
o identify and name
+ a semicircle (half circle)
+ a quarter circle
o identify the following shapes that make up a given figure:
+ square
+ rectangle
+ triangle
+ circle
+ semicircle
+ quarter circle
# Include tracing the outlines of figures formed and talking about the shapes used to form the figures
o complete patterns according to
+ shape
+ size
+ orientation
+ two of the above attributes
*
Lines, curves and surfaces
o identify straight lines and curves
+ Include forming figures with straight lines and curves and describing how they form the figures
o draw a straight line of given length
o identify flat and curved faces of a 3-D object

Is there something similar with the ESF or perhaps the Education department in Hong Kong which specifies the minimum requirements for various subjects?

English:

Develop the following skills, strategies and attitudes:

*
Read and respond to a variety of texts and demonstrate a positive attitude towards reading and language
o Recall, talk and write about books read
o Enjoy the creative use of language in e.g. similes, poems and jokes
o Respond creatively and imaginatively e.g. act out a story
*
Listen for information from a variety of sources
o Listen for a sustained period of time: when a teacher is reading a book aloud
o Demonstrate understanding that audio cues (tone, volume) convey meaning
*
Speak fluently and expressively on a range of topics
o Use the stress patterns and rhythm of English appropriately
o Pronounce words clearly
o Speak to convey meaning using intonation: rising tone for question
*
Present and develop ideas effectively in speech / writing for a variety of purposes and audiences
o Do a show-and-tell; recite rhymes; retell stories
o Select a central idea with teacher guidance
o Monitor peers� oral presentation / recitation to ensure audibility and visibility
*
Write legibly, coherently and cohesively for different purposes and audiences
o Use print script
o Space letters, words and sentences appropriately
o Apply knowledge of spelling conventions and strategies to their own writing
o Write paragraphs that develop a central idea
o Use grammar, punctuation and vocabulary appropriately
o Draft, revise and edit a text with their teacher
*
Demonstrate knowledge about language and text types from print / non-print / electronic sources
o Understand concepts about print: print is written from left to right and top to bottom, capitalisation, spacing between words, differences between letters, words and sentences
o Understand and use appropriately terms relating to:
+ books: cover, title, author, illustrator, page number
+ text types e.g. fairy tale: hero, character, beginning / ending of a story
+ electronic books: arrows, icons
o Understand and use grammatical items and structures
*
Use reading strategies to construct meaning
o Use phonological awareness strategies:
+ Blend sounds of consonants and vowels to make words
+ Identify and produce rhyming words
+ Separate spoken words into beginning and ending sounds
+ Distinguish long and short vowels in words
+ Match spoken words to printed words
+ Understand that as letters of words change, so do the sounds
+ Read common, irregular sight words e.g. the, have, said
+ Read aloud to check pronunciation and understanding
o Use meaning-based strategies:
+ Relate words to pictures
+ Use knowledge of cohesive devices: connectors to do with time, sequence
+ Use contextual clues: pictures, title
+ Use prior knowledge: familiar words, word association
+ Recognise text types
+ Ask questions about the texts studied

Based on this, we now know what levels a kid in expected to perform and can then judge all four components of a kid's education - the kid, the teachers, the schools and the parents.

Any parent of a child at the school is going to have access to these documents upon request.

I am going to request this from our son's teacher and then the school if I fail to get this from the teacher and see if we get a response from them.

 

[HappyV]

Fair enough. I don't have kids at the ESF so I don't know how they would deal with these kinds of questions.
Shri - those documents were from Singapore - I still haven't some across any documentation like that on websites for Hong Kong Schools.

Was that document from the Singapore Education Bureau? Or from a specific school?

 

[testuser]

>> But, of course they will differ, because they have different student populations and different teaching staff.

Again, no problems as long as common ground is established and parents are then informed about the differences, so they can make choices about where their kids can go, depending on backgrounds.

It is like buying a Sony TV, you know you can expect certain things because of the Sony brand, but can we then expect certain differences between product lines, some of them will have some features and the others will not.

This leads me back to Brand ESF - what can one expect, educationally from an ESF school.

 

[testuser]

Shri - those documents were from Singapore - I still haven't some across any documentation like that on websites for Hong Kong Schools.

Yes, I'm struggling with that too. Does not mean that we use that as an excuse for not putting them up on the ESF site.

I've come up with a number of people to question, including the Education department, the ESF and the schools about this issue... why arent the basics documented as well as the extra curricular fluff?

Was that document from the Singapore Education Bureau? Or from a specific school?

Education Department / Ministry.. let me go back and dig up the links.

 

[HappyV]

The ESF schools are arranged by catchment zone - so I suspect the 'choice' is more curtailed than we would like to believe. The ESF PIS schools (Renaissance and Discovery) are a little different: inherently and blatently selective and therefore (one would assume) more academically oriented.

Brand ESF - a liberal education in english, based on the GSCE and IB curriculum for matriulation, PYP for Primary. Then you look at their tertiary history....

 

[HappyV]

Shri - Still looking - can;t find the kind of documentation you're loking for from ANY school in Hong Kong: I've looked at local, PIS, Independent, ESF - simply canot find wat it is you are looking for. So that would lead to the point that a parent looking at any school in HK would have the problem you are talking about.

I think it is a parent's responsiility to familiarise themsel;ves with the curriculum of the school: and general curriculum documents (most with year by year Targets, although not as specific as the document you posted) can be found on the net.

Besides which, since when is it the responsibility fo any school to cater to the needs of those outside the community? By which I mean, if you're in HK, you can go and see the school and ask questions. If you're outside HK and wanting to shift children here, then you'd research in other ways: word of mouth, forums like this, telephoning the school.

You seem to have the attitude that sports/drama/music etc have taken over the academic curriculum. If this was the case, would the ESF have so high a % of their students go onto tertiary studies? (over 95%)

I also notice that the Primary area of their 'Curriculum' section is still under construction. If you have a child in the ESF system, why don;t you contact them and ask for such documentation to be posted. However, if you have a child in the system you woud have access to these anyway.

 

[testuser]

Ok, so far nothing from the ESF. Will be chasing our class teacher to see if there are some similar standards.

One new gem that we've found out this week - Bradbury has apparently stopped or severely reduced the amount of home work as parents were concerned about the amount of "Quality time" with kids.

One would have thought that helping kids with home work was / and will remain quality time.