Andy Li says, "A spark in the education sector was followed by the Club’s foresight in launching the (CoolThink@JC) project."
Returning to Hong Kong inspired, he designed a coding course for his students, teaching it himself. What he did not expect was that The Hong Kong Jockey Club had also zoned in on the importance of computational thinking and coding education.
Since 2016, the CoolThink@JC has been rolled out in selected upper primary schools across Hong Kong. Initiated by the Club, the project was co-created by The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and City University of Hong Kong (CityU). EdUHK and MIT worked together to create a computational thinking education framework, while CityU ran workshops for teaching assistants and parents.
Mr Li was invited to join the project’s organising committee and helped design the curriculum. Soon he was promoting the project in his school. "A spark in the education sector was followed by the Club’s foresight in launching the project," Mr Li says. "An idea from the sector was taken to the next level to produce a very successful project. Without it, Hong Kong’s own talents would not be as competitive as they can be." To date, CoolThink@JC has reached 131 network schools in Hong Kong.*
Mr Li explains that computational thinking is not just about learning to code – it is also about cultivating a "systematic and scientific approach to problem-solving" and inspiring digital creativity. He is delighted to see the progress that both students and teachers have made in the past few years. "Students no longer make directionless attempts when they run into a problem. Instead, they would map out the problem on paper, or even use algorithms to solve it."
He has also observed similar changes in teachers. For instance, when face-to-face classes were suspended because of the pandemic, teachers in his school got together to list all the issues they faced, before reviewing how work processes could be streamlined and finding solutions systematically.
"Not everyone will become an inventor in future, but computational thinking is useful in all walks of life."
These seemingly small changes are the result of computational thinking. "Through CoolThink@JC, the Club has brought about a change in culture in how we view and solve problems. Not everyone will become an inventor in future, but computational thinking is useful in all walks of life," says Mr Li.
*Information updated to June 2022
Did you know?
CoolThink@JC promotes computational training by supporting students, teachers and schools. While mainstreaming the curriculum at primary schools, teachers’ professional development is also a core component of the project. Since 2016, the project has provided training to more than 810 in-service teachers and 200 pre-service teachers. In addition, experienced teachers from CoolThink@JC resource schools lead and assist other schools in implementing computational thinking education. They also open their CoolThink@JC lessons for other schools to observe and make progress together.
Information updated to June 2022
Learn more about CoolThink@JC.
Ng Chi-on says, "Now even the warm-ups are fun. It’s been truly eye-opening."