All activities are designed with Social Constructivism principles: collaborative knowledge-building, peer negotiation, and contextual comparison.
Visual Prompt: Two contrasting images are shown:
Question: "Which one looks more professional? Why?"
Format:
Class aggregate results (anonymized) are displayed. Instructor highlights the most common misconception (e.g., "Professionalism is the same everywhere").
Discussion prompt: In pairs, propose why that misconception exists.
News headline: "Teachers in Country X strike for professional autonomy"
Reflection: "How does your understanding of professionalism influence your view on this strike?"
No answer needed yet – just to spark curiosity.
Divide class into 5 mixed groups (5 students each). Each group becomes expert on one aspect of teacher professionalism:
Source: Hargreaves & Fullan - Professional Capital
Focus: What constitutes professional knowledge? How are standards defined?
Task: Create a Google Jamboard slide summarizing key points, one example, and one question for other groups.
Source: Finland/USA article
Focus: How do different systems balance teacher autonomy with accountability?
Task: Compare contrasting approaches and create Jamboard summary.
Source: Local context (Hong Kong or Singapore code of practice)
Focus: What ethical principles guide professional conduct?
Task: Identify key ethical standards and cultural influences.
Source: OECD TALIS data
Focus: How do teachers develop professionally across their careers?
Task: Map career pathways in different systems.
Source: Comparative (Japan vs. Australia)
Focus: How is teacher status constructed socially and culturally?
Task: Analyze factors influencing teacher identity.
Groups rotate to view other Jamboards (2 minutes per stop). Use sticky notes (physical or digital) to add:
Return to home group: Share findings and integrate across topics.
Whole-class debrief (5 min): "What patterns emerged? Where did you see contradictions?"
Ms. Lam's Dilemma:
Ms. Lam, a new teacher in an international school in Hong Kong, is asked by her principal to adopt a scripted curriculum to ensure standardisation across grade levels. However, she feels it undermines her professional judgment and reduces her ability to respond to students' diverse needs.
Meanwhile, a colleague from Finland says that in their home country, teachers have almost complete autonomy over pedagogy.
Task (in pairs): Use the conceptual map you have built to analyze the dilemma. Discuss:
Synthesis: Each pair writes a one-paragraph recommendation. Three volunteers read theirs aloud; class votes on the most context-sensitive advice.
Using a large shared whiteboard (Miro or physical whiteboard), the whole class constructs a master concept map capturing the dimensions of teacher professionalism in local and international contexts.
Starting point: Central node = "Teacher Professionalism"
Branch out to:
Task: Students add specific examples from their expert groups and case discussion.
Complete the same 5 MCQ as the pre-test, plus two open-ended reflection questions. This is available in the Assessment section.
In groups of 3: Each student explains one key insight from the lesson to their peers.
Group task: Select the most "powerful" insight to share with the whole class.
"Next time we will apply these frameworks to design a mini professional development workshop."
Preparation: Please bring your own teaching/learning autobiography (brief notes on your educational experiences and aspirations).