As a result ITS is now offering a range of support for students and parents for the HKDSE.  Specifically ITS has one to one support for students for the Liberal Studies course.  Tutors are available to help with the general syllabus and exam preparation.  Tutors are also available to provide help and support for the SBA component the Independent Enquiry Study (IES) project.

ITS will also be offering small classes to support students undertaking Liberal Studies.  Parents or students may arrange their own classes if they wish.  This means if students wish to have help they may come with their friends for a class.  This provides great value for money for many people.  ITS fees can be found here: Service fees

LIBERAL STUDIES - What is involved

The assessment of this subject is based on the Curriculum and Assessment Guide (Secondary 4-6) for Liberal Studies (LS) jointly prepared by the Curriculum Development Council and the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority. Candidates have to refer to the Guide for the knowledge, understanding and skills that they are required to demonstrate in the assessment.

ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this assessment are to evaluate candidates’ abilities:

• to demonstrate a sound understanding of the key ideas, concepts and terminologies of the subject;

• to make conceptual observations from information resulting from enquiry into issues;

• to apply relevant knowledge and concepts to contemporary issues;

• to identify and analyse the interconnectedness and interdependence amongst personal, local, national, global and environmental contexts;

• to recognise the influence of personal and social values in analysing contemporary issues of human concern;

• to draw critically upon their own experience and their encounters within the community, and with the environment and technology;

• to discern views, attitudes and values stated or implied in any given factual information; to analyse issues (including their moral and social implications), solve problems, make sound judgments and conclusions and provide suggestions, using multiple perspectives, creativity and appropriate thinking skills;

• to interpret information from different perspectives;

• to consider and comment on different viewpoints in their handling of different issues;

• to self-manage and reflect upon the implementation of successive stages of the enquiry learning process in terms of time, resources and attainment of the objectives of the enquiry;

• to communicate clearly and accurately in a concise, logical, systematic and relevant way;

• to gather, handle and analyse data and draw conclusions in ways that facilitate the attainment of the objectives of the enquiry;

• to demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of different cultures and universal values; and

• to demonstrate empathy in the handling of different issues.   

Source:http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/DocLibrary/HKDSE/Subject_Information/lib_st/2012hkdse-e-ls.pdf

The design of this subject is very different from how subjects have been previously  taught and delivered in both the HKCEE and the HKAL.  This subject is both is more like the UK AS/A2 Level or the IB (International Baccalaureate).  The point being that teachers in many Hong Kong local schools have little or no experience in teaching students how to cope with and excel at with this type of assessment.  This can be illustrated from the following extract from 

Source: http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/DocLibrary/HKDSE/Subject_Information/lib_st/2012hkdse-e-ls.pdf

“The design of the examination is intended to emphasise the need for an enquiry approach in teaching and studying the subject. The question format is not meant to imply that candidates should aim to identify certain correct answers. On the contrary, the approach used should stress that most contemporary issues are much too complex to allow of simplistic solutions. In order to understand an issue to the point where judgments can be made about it, it is necessary to have knowledge of a body of relevant facts. However, in this examination the emphasis is not intended to be on accumulating factual knowledge and great care will be taken in the examination papers to avoid questions which call for detailed factual recall. Instead, the emphasis will be on understanding and assessing the extent to which candidates can demonstrate possession of the appropriate thinking skills learnt in the subject.”

Our tutors have vast experience of teaching students how to excel at these types of exams.  Often just giving a student some tips on the appropriate way to answer analysis and evaluation questions can see a significant improvement in their ability to do well at these exams.  This subject is to important for a student to not know how to answer a question being asked. As emphasized by the following assessment outlines. Candidates will be awarded in the examination if they are able to: demonstrate a sound understanding of the key ideas, concepts and terminologies required to give an informed response to the question;  identify concepts from and/or apply concepts to contemporary issues appropriately, and in the latter case provide examples/evidence to support arguments whenever appropriate; demonstrate an understanding of how certain themes/concepts are relevant to or manifested across the domains of self, society, nation, the world and the physical environment;

• provide reasons to justify the values they hold in analysing issues;


• identify the values underlying different views on contemporary issues, and differentiate among facts, opinions and value judgments;


• provide reasonable suggestions and appropriate solutions for problems;


• show openness and tolerance towards views, especially non-mainstream views that are supported by argument;


• respond in a way that reflects a proper understanding of the requirements of the questions in the examination paper;


• communicate clearly and accurately in a concise, logical and systematic manner;


• make effective use of data to describe, explain and deduce; and


• make judgments based on a sound rationale.


Source: http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/DocLibrary/HKDSE/Subject_Information/lib_st/2012hkdse-e-ls.pdf

Do not let your child enter this exam unprepared or underprepared.  ITS can help ensure your child has the chance to achieve the grade that they deserve.  A lower grade that is the result of inexperience in this type of assessment is not desirable for you child.

The School Based Assessment (SBA) is extremely important to a students grade for this subject.  This project is equivalent to a student receiving a take home exam.  It is very important a student receives a top grade for this work.  This one piece of work makes up 20% of the students overall grade for this subject.  The specifics of what is involved in the Liberal Studies IES is given below:

SCHOOL-BASED ASSESSMENT (SBA) - Liberal Studies

SBA is compulsory for all school candidates.

The Independent Enquiry Study (IES) is adopted as the mode of SBA in Liberal Studies. The IES is an enquiry study in which candidates are required to demonstrate various skills such as problem-solving, data gathering and analysis, and communication. Each IES project should include a certain amount of subject matter based on candidates’ reading, research and personal experiences. Candidates can carry out an enquiry-based projects, and the main body of the project can be in written or non-written form.

The latter should be accompanied by a short written text explaining the main idea of the project, and showing the candidate’s reflections on it.

The IES provides a valuable opportunity for candidates to carry out a focused enquiry into a

contemporary issue of interest with increased independence, and to present their views, ideas, findings, evaluations and personal reflections in a report. Candidates should document their investigations in a learning portfolio which illustrates the process of enquiry, the stages in its development, and their ongoing interpretations, analyses and reflections on the knowledge and understanding gained.

In carrying out the IES, candidates are expected to demonstrate they can:

 

• set goals and make plans, implement the plans and solve problems;
• develop a sense of exploration and discovery, and an ability to think independently;

• demonstrate knowledge and understanding of an issue affecting our society, the nation and/or the world;

• understand how social, national and global changes occur in response to competing demands;

• use analytical skills to investigate a contemporary issue from multiple perspectives;

• act in an informed way to suggest possible solutions and outcomes;

• understand how hypotheses and focusing questions are used to guide the investigation of an issue;

• reflect on and evaluate learning progress;

• present views and ideas; and

• show self-initiative.
source :http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/DocLibrary/HKDSE/Subject_Information/lib_st/2012hkdse-e-ls.pdf

 

ITS can help your student successfully complete the above criteria.  ITS tutors can help students with the following three stages of the IES project:

To ensure that candidates are able to carry out their projects systematically, there is a work schedule divided into three stages. The first is a preparatory stage during which a candidate formulates the project title, specifies the objectives, considers suitable method(s), decides on the mode of presentation, plans for the enquiry and collects feedback from his/her classmates on the project plan.

The second stage mainly involves data collection and organisation. The third stage is the completion of the product which includes analysis and evaluation of data, conclusions on the results of the enquiry and a reflection on the enquiry process.

The third stage is the completion of the product which includes analysis and evaluation of data, conclusions on the results of the enquiry and a reflection on the enquiry process.