In order to further build a teaching and research environment that shares resources and complements each other's strengths, strengthen the exchange of basic education between Guangdong and Hong Kong, and promote the coordinated development of education in the Greater Bay Area, on 3 November 2023, the Affiliated School of Fujian Middle School in Hong Kong visited the Affiliated School of JNU for Hong Kong and Macao Students (Guangzhou) and carried out teaching activities on the same topic but with different teaching methods.

The Hong Kong Fujian Middle School Affiliated School delegation was led by Principal Xu Qu Yihua. Key guests included Vice Principals Guo Jianji and Liao Xiaoping, as well as Assistant Principals DELBOS Nicolas, Zeng Minfa, Li Jiehua, Zhao Junming, and other school leaders and subject heads. In addition, a number of teachers and students who participated in the same-topic, different-teaching-methods class activities were also present.

Tan Rixu, Principal of Affiliated School of JNU for Hong Kong and Macao Students (Guangzhou), Lai Yongchun, Chief Inspector of Affiliated School of JNU for Hong Kong and Macao Students, Feng Yan, Executive Principal of Affiliated School of JNU for Hong Kong and Macao Students (Guangzhou), Yang Lihong, Director of Teaching, Huang Yuting, Director of School Office, and Yang Meimei, Director of Primary School, accompanied the visit.

The delegation from Hong Kong Fujian Middle School visited the campus under the introduction of Feng Yan, Executive Principal of Affiliated School of JNU for Hong Kong and Macao Students (Guangzhou), to learn about ASJ's unique teaching culture and experience the campus atmosphere.

At the symposium, Tan Rixu, Principal of the Affiliated School of JNU for Hong Kong and Macao Students (Guangzhou), expressed his sincere gratitude to the guests on behalf of the school. He said that this exchange class was a new experience and hoped that both sides could strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the future to create more opportunities for exchanges and activities for students.

Executive Principal Feng Yan played the ASJ promotional video and introduced the guests to the basic situation of ASJ, as well as the school's practical explorations and achievements in development, curriculum teaching, and student activities since its establishment.

Xu Qu Yihua, Principal of Hong Kong Fujian Middle School Affiliated School, stated that this exchange activity was the school's first external teaching exchange activity after the pandemic and held significant importance. During the meeting, Principal Xu also provided an overview of the school's campus facilities, specialised courses, and other aspects through visual presentations, and extended an invitation to our school's faculty and students to visit Hong Kong next year to participate in further exchange activities.

After the symposium, our school and Hong Kong Fujian Middle School Affiliated School launched a ‘same topic, different teaching’ activity with the theme of ‘The Consequences and Impact of Smoking.’ ‘Same topic, different teaching’ refers to different expressions of teaching research on the same theme. That is, teachers are given the same text or theme and asked to design lessons based on their own strengths and the actual situation of their students, presenting different forms of classroom teaching.

Teachers Mo Xiwén and Chen Jiaying from the Affiliated School of Fujian Middle School in Hong Kong set classroom objectives based on students' existing knowledge, dividing the lesson content into four main sections. They guided students to gradually reflect on the harms of smoking, learn from one another through discussion, and ultimately summarise the impacts of smoking. This approach enabled students to develop their critical thinking skills through interaction and sharing, while gaining a deeper understanding of the consequences of smoking.

Our teacher Mbali closely follows the IB learning objectives and incorporates multiple inquiry and interactive activities into her lessons, encouraging students to actively explore, exchange ideas, and continuously reflect on the impact of smoking on themselves and society. She also expands students' knowledge of the consequences of smoking by having them create posters on the spot.

After the class, Yang Lihong, ASJ's teaching director, hosted a lesson evaluation meeting, where both sides discussed and exchanged views on this activity of teaching the same topic in different ways. Teaching Director Yang Lihong highly praised the two classes, saying that from the lesson design to the teacher-student interaction, they demonstrated the thorough preparation and solid teaching skills of both teachers.

Liao Xiaoping, Vice Principal of Hong Kong Fujian Middle School Affiliated School, said that this was a successful classroom activity and praised both sets of teachers for using clear teaching steps to help students quickly understand the teaching content. The classroom activities were closely linked, starting from the basics and moving on to more advanced topics, allowing students to think beyond the classroom and themselves and extend their thinking to the social level. After recognising the harm of smoking, students were encouraged to think about how to take action.

Finally, Principal Tan Rixu concluded that this event was a valuable experiment and learning experience. During the event, both parties discovered the strengths of each other's classrooms, learned from one another, and made progress together. He expressed the hope that the two schools would maintain contact in the future, promote mutual learning and progress in education between Guangdong and Hong Kong through exchanges, learn from outstanding educational experiences and innovative practices, and inject new vitality into the high-quality development of education in the Greater Bay Area!