– Developing Logical Skills & Enhancing Problem Solving Skills
Curriculum Features
To develop students’logical thinking.
To understand the use of mathematics and acquire the ability to analyze and solve problems in order to contribute to society in different areas.
▪ Through classroom learning, extra-curricular practice and after-school support, students can develop confidence in pre-course preparation and a positive attitude towards learning mathematics.
Learning and Teaching Features
Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) and Flipped Classroom
Our school has been implementing “Self-directed Learning” in junior secondary section for more than 10 years. We have been working with the Curriculum Development Unit of the Education Bureau and our partner schools to review the teaching materials and optimize the teaching. We understand that students’ learning of Mathematics starts at a different point in time, and in order to encourage them to be more active in preparing for the lessons, we have added the element of “Flipped Lessons”. The provision of Cantonese and English versions to facilitate students’ self-study at home further enhances their preparation before class and makes classroom learning smoother. In addition, in order to facilitate learning for students with different abilities, enhance students’ability to self-examine the effectiveness of their learning, and then develop their own learning strategies, the teaching materials have incorporated the element of “Tiered Learning”, so that students can have a clear understanding of the learning process, learn according to their own starting points, and follow the guidelines for further enhancement.
‘Enhancing Students’Ability to Learn Mathematics in English
We provide Chinese and English classes to meet the needs of our students. Maths teachers teach in English according to students needs and topics to increase students’opportunities to learn Maths in English: the teaching materials for each level are available in both English and Chinese versions, so that students can learn relevant English vocabulary and get used to learning Maths in English, thus enhancing their ability to learn Maths in English.
e-Learning
In order to enhance learning effectiveness and support self-directed learning, e-learning has been adopted to diversify classroom activities and elevate interactivity, so as to increase students’ interest in learning and create a pleasant learning environment. In recent years, we have followed closely the development of |T and introduced electronic tools to assist students in learning Mathematics, using electronic teaching materials such as GeoGebra, Graphmatica, Kahoot, Quizizz, Youtube, Socrative, Sketchometry, Edpuzzle …, which not only presents abstract mathematics topics in a more concrete manner, but also collects data effectively to follow up students’ learning progress, accelerates the review of learning effectiveness, and facilitates the arrangement of follow-up work to enhance the effectiveness of teaching and learning.
Nurturing Mathematical Talents
To arrange after-school mathematics competitions for students of all grades and M2 programme is offered in senior secondary section to pave the way for students to study mathematics.
Intensive Training and Support
We recognise that every student has a different learning process and the Mathematics Section is fully committed to supporting the different learning needs of our students. Some of the measures are as follows.
School-wide Support
The Maths Room is open every day after school hours and our Maths teachers are on duty to answer students’homework and mathematical questions. The Maths Room is equipped with a large number of workshop exercises, practice papers, internal and external exams for students’ self-study. There is also an after-school homework support programme in the Primary Section to help students resolve their learning difficulties.
Intensive Mathematics classes of different levels and topics are arranged during the summer holidays for all students to consolidate what they have learnt and to prepare for the coming year’s curriculum.
Senoir Secondary Public Eamination Class Support
Annual “Mathematics Preparation Strategies and Exam Seminar” for fresh candidates, explaining to students the cut-off scores of each level of Mathematics, preparation strategies, examination paper analysis, question trends, MC strategies, common mistakes, computer usage and other points of attention, so as to enable them to keep abreast of the latest developments in the DSE and to understand the requirements of the Public Examination. In addition to in-school tests, we also conduct regular graded mock tests in Secondary 6, which are marked by experienced teachers who have participated in public examination marking, and allow students to sit for territory-wide mock tests, so that they are aware of the territory-wide standards and are well prepared for the DSE.
There is also a Mathematics Advanced Placement Class for Secondary 5 and Secondary 6 students to better prepare them for DSE.
Gifted Education Programmes
Ho Yu believes that every student has his/her own unique potentials and attributes, and that formal curriculum is not able to fully develop the potentials of individual students. In order to cater for the needs of our top students in Mathematics, apart from the in-school gifted training, we also nominate students to enroll in the gifted education programmes organized by the Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education and various tertiary institutions, and arrange for them to participate in Mathematics seminars organized by local tertiary institutions, as well as Mathematics and Information Technology (IT) tours outside Hong Kong … .These programmes aim to enable them to explore a wider range of mathematical disciplines to meet their learning and development needs.
Life-wide Learning
Integrating Mathematics into Daily Life”: Students can apply what they have learnt and appreciate mathematics in their daily lives.
Commendation Scheme: Ho Yu Market and Mathematical Bank provide students with reasonable financial and commendation elements.
Encouragement is given to students at an early age so that they are more motivated to learn. Teachers give out “Ho Yu Appreciation Vouchers” according to students’performance in lessons and tests, and after promotion to Secondary School, teachers give out HoYucoins, which are e-awards that allow students to choose their favourite gifts in the Variable Market or on the Internet, and to deposit money in Mathematics Bank to earn interest, so that they are taught to develop a habit of saving money at an early age. In addition, students can also make donations through the school’s Care Programme. The school converts the donations into stationery gifts and donate them to charitable organizations on behalf of the students, so that they can understand the principle that it is more blessed to give than to receive.
Mathematics Fun: Secondary School Mathematics Room
Opens regularly at lunchtime, contains a lot of historical information on mathematics, teaching aids, mathematical models, interesting mathematical games and books, etc. Students can go to the Room at lunchtime for chess activities, quiz games and mathematical challenges. They can also go to the Room for lunch to play chess activities, quiz games and mathematical challenges. Our school has purchased a large number of board games, and students can always find their favourite ones to train their logical thinking by playing “Mathematics for Fun”.
Mathematics Reading: Mathematics Express, Mathematics Arena and Reading Scheme
Publication of “Mathematics Express” and “Mathematics Arena” and implementation of extra-curricular reading scheme in Mathematics. It is hoped that students can learn from reading and enhance their interest in learning mathematics: to understand the world of mathematics beyond the curriculum, and to improve their problem-solving skills by recognizing the application of mathematics in real-life and natural environments. There are more than a hundred mathematics-related books in the secondary school library respectively, and the Mathematics and Science Book Exhibition is held during the Reading Week in collaboration with the library. Maths books contain ideas, techniques, history of mathematics, fun problems and other materials that inspire students to think further.
Mathematical Atmosphere
Mathematics is integrated into the school campus, and posters or stories of mathematicians are posted in different corners of the school, so that students can learn more about mathematics and increase their extracurricular knowledge and interests.
Mathematics competitions outside school
In order to broaden students’ horizons and bring them in line with the standards outside school, we encourage students to try more and arrange for them at all levels to participate in different types of competitions so as to broaden their horizons and build up their confidence (the list of winners is shown below).
STEM Topic-based Activities
In order to develop students’ attitude and ability of self-directed learning, and to enhance students’ knowledge and skills in interdisciplinary application, the following activities are designed for Secondary1-Secondary 3 Mathematics to enable students to develop creative thinking and independent learning skills through the processes of conjecture, conceptualisation, design, actualisation, experimentation, modification, improvement, reflection, etc., so that they can become people who have an interest in and an appreciation of arts activities, and who can be critical and reflective, and who can think independently. The students can become critical, reflective and independent thinkers with an interest in and appreciation of art activities.
Parachute Making (Shapes)
Putting the knowledge learnt in the classroom into practice by making parachutes of different shapes from rubbish bags, this group activity not only deepens students the application of subject knowledge, but also strengthens them the co-operation among peers.
Eco-car production (area, speed)
Students use environmentally friendly materials to make a power car. From conceptualising and designing the car, students make, test and modify the car that their creativity is thus stimulated and their ideas can be realised. In the process of making the car, students can learn problem solving skills through repeated trial and error, as well as increase their understanding of area and speed, which stimulate their curiosity and spirit of enquiry about their surroundings.
Awards and Achievements
We encourage students to participate in different kinds of mathematical activities to broaden their horizons and expose them to different aspects of mathematics in their daily lives, thereby enhancing their interest and confidence in mathematics.
In-School Maths Competition
Rummikub Competition
This annual event is an honourary battle of wits between teachers and students, and the subject has been promoting Rummikub for more than 10 years. Every year, we also organize an inter-class Rummikub card game competition. Through playing the game, it not only enhances the students’ sense of numbers, but also trains their decision-making ability. Besides, through the competition, it enhances the co-operation spirit of the students in the same team, and improves their strategic ability and interest in playing the Rummikub game, and the students express that they will practice hard and hope to stand out in the next competition and compete for the Champion.
Mathematics Competition Outside School
In addition to the enrich campus activities, Ho Yu students also actively participate in mathematics competitions held outside the school. Last year alone, more than 100 students participated in these competitions, and they won numerous prizes and awards. The competitions that our students had participated in the past include: Hong Kong Mathematics Olympiad (HKMO), MathConceptition, Hong Kong Mathematical Creative Problem Solving Competition, Hong Kong Mathematical High Achievers Selection Contest, The Hong Kong Youth Mathematical Challenge, Joint Junior Secondary School Mathematics Competition, and the Greater Bay Area Gifted Math Competition, etc.
