Cover; Half Title; Title Page; Copyright Page; Table of Contents; List of figures; List of tables; Preface; Part I Background: principles of small class teaching; 1 Small class teaching: the East Asian context; Background; Education reforms in East Asia; Demographic changes and class-size reduction in East Asia; Mainland China; Hong Kong; Singapore; Macau; Taiwan; Learners from Confucian heritage cultures; Alternative perspectives; Teaching and learning in the changing context of small class teaching; Research into small class teaching: the Hong Kong context; Challenges.
2 Learning for teaching and teaching for learningWays of knowing; A framework for learning?; Learning as information processing; Learning as constructing and reconstructing knowledge; Socio-cultural contexts in learning; Teachers constructing their own learning of small class teaching; Learning as developing expertise; Linking learning with teaching; Teaching as transmission; Teaching for understanding; Cultivating thoughtful discourse; Dialogic teaching; The use of suitable wait times; Explaining why as well as how; A teaching framework for developing understanding.
Part II Application of six principles to small class practice3 Setting objectives, asking and answering questions; The importance of identifying learning goals; Setting objectives in the affective domain; Asking pupils questions; Categorising types of questions; Extending questioning; Wait times; The architecture of classroom seating as an aid to discussion; Scaffolding questioning; Helping pupils to ask questions; 4 Sustaining successful group and pair work; Small class teaching and group work; Elements of co-operative learning; Composition of grouping; Issues arising from group work.
Procedures for assessing group productivityPart III Implications for small class teaching in an East Asian context; 6 Bringing it all together and sustaining effective practice; Active participation and active learning: what do they mean?; Social and emotional learning; Creating a positive classroom climate; Changing classroom practice; Communities of practice; The Hong Kong experience: learning circles; The role of the school principal; Collecting evidence on which to judge classroom action; 7 Some questions, answers and a little bit of encouragement; Questions about the six principles.
Training students for group workConclusion; 5 The use of feedback and assessment for developing independence in learning; Learning to learn; The importance of feedback; Assessment practice in Hong Kong primary classrooms; The meanings of assessment for learning; Assessment for learning and the key principles of small class teaching; Setting effective objectives is essential to assessment for learning; Assessing group work: a special case; What aspects of group work should be assessed?; Assessing individual contributions to group work; Assessing the group's contribution.