Introduction to Liberal Studies
(Form1)
Liberal Studies Department
St. Paul’s Secondary School
Pre-lesson Warm up
(Pair work)
1. Talk to your neighbor about:
a. what do you know about Liberal Studies
b. what do you expect to learn in the lesson
c. how can you do well in this subject
What is Liberal Studies
The content of Liberal Studies:
 Extensive knowledge of contemporary issues;
 Skills for knowledge acquisition, analysis,
evaluation and presentation;
 The key to link knowledge from different
subjects together;
 Theories, concepts and analytical framework
from a wide-range of academic traditions,
especially the social sciences and humanities.
 Students will learn to critically evaluate
information, phenomena and ideas presented in
the media, so that they can distinguish between
fact and opinion and sense objectivity versus
bias.
 Through discussion of issues in these resources,
students will learn to base their conclusions on
sound evidence and relevant sources of
information, rather than on ignorance and
prejudice.
Curriculum Framework
 3 Areas of Study
 Self & Personal Development
Module 1 : Personal Development & Interpersonal
Relationships
 Society & Culture
Module 2 : Hong Kong Today
Module 3 : Modern China
Module 4 : Globalization
 Science, Technology & the Environment
Module 5 : Public Health
Module 6 : Energy Technology & the Environment
 Liberal Studies will be one of the four CORE
subjects besides Chinese, English and
Mathematics in your university entrance
examination.
 From F. 1 – F. 3, we will walk through 2-3
current issues on each module so that you will
have a brief ideas of how to study this subject.
 Form 1
1st Term : Hong Kong Today
2nd Term : Personal Development & Interpersonal
Relationship
Liberal Studies in SPSS
1. There will be no textbook. Different learning
resources, such as newspaper, cartoon and
documentary, will be used in the lesson.
2. Some memorization is needed, but the more
important things are critical thinking skills
and your own opinions.
Liberal Studies in SPSS
4. How are marks calculated at the end of the
term?
a. Continuous assessment
: 20%
b. Individual/Group Project
: 10%
c. Examination
: 70%
Liberal Studies in SPSS
5. What is continuous assessment (C.A.)?
 You may say that it is the work that you
do throughout the term before the actual
exam. The work includes
 Class participation (3%)
 Individual or group worksheets, class-work and
assignments (9%)
 Newspaper quiz (8%)
Liberal Studies in SPSS
6. What is newspaper quiz?
 A hot current topic will be given and you
need to understand what it is about.
 Your own opinion and reasoning is also
very important.
 e.g. drug abuse in Hong Kong
 Online resources will be provided
Liberal Studies in SPSS
6. What is newspaper quiz? (cont’d)
 Format
 Data-response questions : text, statistical data or
cartoons will be given for a certain social issue.
Student should analyse the issue and give their own
opinions with reference to the information given and
their own knowledge.
 We will show you samples later.
7. What is Project or IES ?
 It is a self-directed learning experience.
 20% of the public exam score in Hong
Kong Diploma of Secondary Education
(HKDSE) are evaluated based on
individual project (named as IES,
Independent Enquiry Study).
 More information will be given when you
go to Form 4.
Project
 1st Term
Content Analysis
Reports – to be submitted in December
Details to be advised in October
 2nd Term
In-depth interview
Find a person and understanding his/her career
and related social issue(s)
Details to be announced later
Liberal Studies in SPSS
8. Since there is no textbook, is Liberal Studies
just about bluffing?
NO. In fact, you need to develop a habit of
extensive reading and thinking about the
arguments or discussion of different social
issues around you, which is much more
difficult than revising books.
Liberal Studies in SPSS
9. Expectation in the class
 Be active in sharing your ideas
 There could be more than one correct
answer. There is no such thing as “model
answer” in LS.
 However, your opinions may only be right
when it is well-supported by logical
explanations.
 Listen to other classmates’ ideas and learn
from them.
Follow the class instructions as
worksheets may be collected right
after the classes for marking!!
Liberal Studies in SPSS
9. Why do we need to study this subject?
 Because learning new things is so full of fun!
 Because the real world is so complicated. It is
difficult for one to make sense of things
accurately without knowing how to connect
practical knowledge from different subjects
together.
 Because we need to be a dutiful citizen and care
about what is happening in the society.
Stationery
A F4 Ring File (FLE file) was ordered for
you.
Attach all readings and worksheets as
regular checking and marking will be
collected..
Q&A