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� “Seminar Series by Renowned Scholars in
Education” No.5
� CESHK Annual Conference 2009:
Post-Colonial Education Development
In this issue we have…
� FED Students as Volunteer Teachers
in Rural Area of Northern Guangdong
� Photo Taking Day 2009 for FED Graduates
� FED Professors Guested Talk Show
---“Chasing Your Future”
� The Third Annual Symposium of CCUEI
� Chinese Arts and Cultural Creativity Activities
Faculty of Education
NEWSLETTER
March-April, 2009
((((Issue 3))))
http://www.umac.mo/fed/newsletter/index_en.htm
1
Issue 3 Contents
Student Activities
FED Students as Volunteer Teachers, in Rural Area of
Northern Guangdong
1
Photo Taking Day 2009 for FED Graduates 5
Lunch Seminar Ⅳ “All about Love” 6
DSEJ Officials/Teachers are to Sit in Master Program
Classes of FED
7
Staff Activities
Dr. Sze & Dr. Vong from FED Guested Talk Show
---“Chasing Your Future”
8
Release of Dr. Zhang Zexun’s New Book 9
Dr. Liu Naihua as Guest-speaker at “Parents’ Day”
Gathering of Pui Va Middle School
10
The Third Annual Symposium of CCUEI 11
FED was invited to give a UM admission briefing to
Tong Nam School
12
Academic Exchanges
Chinese Arts and Cultural Creativity Activities 13
Seminar on "Teaching with Variation in Mathematics --
From Theories to Practice"
15
FED NEWSLETTER
Mission
To disseminate educational ideals and
academic and student activities of
FED;
To provide an easy and user-friendly
platform for academic staff;
To promote a sharing culture and boost
teacher education and professional
development.
Editorial Board
Prof. Sylvia S.L.Ieong SLIeong@umac.mo
Cady Ma85928@umac.mo
Sophie Ma85940@umac.mo
Room J527 8397 8727
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SSttuuddeenntt AAccttiivviittiieess
FED Students as Volunteer
Teachers, in Rural Area of
Northern Guangdong
During Easter holidays, 10-12 April, the
Youth Committee of the Chinese
Educators’ Association of Macau and
FED Students’ Association of University
of Macau co-organized a voluntary
teaching activity in a village school in
northern Guangdong Province. 12 local
Macao teachers and 34 FED students led
by Prof. Sylvia S. L. Ieong went to
Xinggong Macao Primary School in
Gongshui Village, Jintan Town,
Qingyuan County in the north of
Guangdong Province as volunteer
teachers teaching Chinese, English,
Mathematics, Arts and Handicrafts to
children in the remote village school.
Prof. Sylvia S.L.Ieong served as the
consultant of this event, and Ms Cheang
Ka Sit, President of FED Students’
Association of University of Macau was
the deputy team leader. On 8 April before
the departure, the organizers gave a brief
press conference and held a donation
ceremony in the auditorium of Chinese
Educators’ Association Macau. During
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the ceremony, Ng Sio Lan, Director of
The Youth Committee of Chinese
Educators Association of Macau,
expressed her expectation that, through
this event, Macao teachers and students
would have a better understanding of
basic education in the Chinese mainland
and experience the environment and
living conditions of mainland students in
remote poor regions so that they could
reflect on their own life and learning
attitude and strengthen their will to face
up to the future. Chan Iok Wai, Section
Chief of DSEJ, Wong Cheng U,
Associate Sales Manager of Longman
HK and Loi Man I, Market Sales
Manager of Educational Publishing
House Ltd., presented their donations of
cash, books and stationery, to support this
activity. Prof. Ieong stressed that this is
not only a teaching opportunity but also a
meaningful learning opportunity and the
student teachers learn to treasure what
they have and to care for others.
The teachers and students were engaged
in three activities: teaching, presenting
donations, books and stationery and
visiting some poor families. FED
students showed great enthusiasm during
these activities. They not only brought
lovely gifts to the children in the poor
region, but also brought into the
classrooms interesting and useful
knowledge and information. For many
freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, this
was the very first time they stood in the
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classroom as “real teachers”, therefore,
they made full preparation for the lessons
and brought a great deal of teaching aids,
such as photos, cards, story books, as
well as enlivening and enriching games
into the class. They tried their best to
make children experience different
instructional methods and contents. Their
passion for teaching and love for children
were witnessed by all.
This activity enabled all participating
FED students have a real contact with
children in poor regions of the Chinese
mainland and feel their desire and passion
for knowledge, which motivated FED
students to study hard and dedicate to
teaching. Meanwhile, they also felt
strongly about the unbalanced
distribution of educational resources in
the mainland.
Following is a brief report on FED
volunteer teachers' visit to Xinggong
Macao School, a village school in a poor
mountainous region in the north of
Guangdong province:
1. 34 of our FED students, together with
the other volunteer teachers of Macao,
started the journey in high spirits on the
morning of 10 April 2009, the beginning
of the 4-day Easter holidays. The first
part of the bus ride was quite smooth and
students enjoyed the beautiful scenery of
our country. However, when the bus
bumped along the narrow rugged
mountain paths, they became excited,
which was quite a new experience to
them. We also felt grateful that there was
a new road extending into the remote
mountains.
2. We got up early the next morning so
that we could manage two hours of
teaching. As soon as we arrived at the
village school, named 清新縣浸潭鎮拱
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水村星拱澳門小學, our students, (in 7
groups led by experienced Macao
schoolteachers) entered the classrooms
(P1-P6 and a pre-primary class) and gave
their lessons in Chinese, English and
Math to roomfuls of quietly and eagerly
waiting children (there are a total of 265
pupils and 14 teachers in the school). Our
students showed great enthusiasm and
love for these children. They had brought
with them meticulously prepared teaching
aids such as word cards, pictures, wall
charts and paper caps with various
animals. The presentation of the
knowledge items was followed by a
variety of activities to help the children
use the knowledge in life. Then some
teachers took their children onto the
school ground (there is no playground) to
play games, to sing the songs they had
just learned, to play on the "farm"
wearing the animal caps. It was amazing
that all the children were involved and
obviously they enjoyed every bit of the
activities. I felt touched watching our
students so absorbed in teaching and
playing with these children. Soon it was
lunch time and we found it hard to say
good bye to the children. We had a
"feast" with the school principal, Mr.
Huang, and all the other teachers of the
school. There was a simple ceremony,
with singing and dancing prepared by
teachers and pupils. The principal gave a
touching speech of welcome and thanks,
and we presented some books, stationery,
etc.
3. We visited three poor families. It is a
good lesson for us to learn about our
country, the uneven development, the
disparities and differences between the
rich and poor, etc.
4. We bid good bye to the school in the
afternoon and returned to Qingyuan
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County. We also had a boat cruise on our
way back home. We returned to Macao
late on 12 April, safe and sound.
In short, this visit is a great learning
experience for our students and for me. I
find great potential in our FED students
and it is up to us to mobilize them,
develop their abilities, guide them and
encourage them, so that their minds and
visions will be broadened, and they'll
learn to care for others and become future
pillars of a caring society and of a caring
world. (Sylvia Ieong)
Photo Taking Day 2009 for FED Photo Taking Day 2009 for FED Photo Taking Day 2009 for FED Photo Taking Day 2009 for FED
GraduatesGraduatesGraduatesGraduates
Again, it is the time of the year, with
sweet sorrow pervading the campus. It is
the most joyful time of the year--- finally
the graduates have completed their
studies, striding towards the society,
ready to realize their ambitions along
with their dreams, aspirations, ideals and
knowledge; however, it is the most
sorrowful time of the year--- four years’
friendship with fellow students, affection
with their alma mater, in the twinkling of
an eye, they have to say goodbye. Just
like the lyrics of a song named “In
Blossom, Gardenia”:
In blossom, gardenia,
To leave, this is the time,
Loath to part from you
My blushing girl
Leaving slight fragrance lingering in my
heart
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In blossom, gardenia,
Lovely as it is
Weaving to farewell to rejoice
And cannot arrest
Running water, the time to
Irrigate our golden time day and night
Like sparking and crystal-clear weaves
Showering
In the sea of my heart
Ah, in blossom, gardenia
Ah, in blossom, gardenia
Plain youthfulness
Pure love
Wishing all FED graduates splendid
prospects and a glorious future! (Sophie) LunchLunchLunchLunch Seminar Seminar Seminar Seminar ⅣⅣⅣⅣ “All about “All about “All about “All about
Love”Love”Love”Love”
“Is love all about feelings? Or is love
blind? If you consider yourselves
brimming over with love, then do you
believe that love is all about feeling or is
blind? What is love on earth? This is a
good question really worth pondering,
because love is important, and if you
don’t know what love is, you won’t
understand life, and you will live a
meaningless life...”
Dr. Ng Mei Lin from the Chinese
University of Hong Kong started her
speech with these questions that
interested all present at Lunch Seminar
Ⅳ “All about Love”, which was
organized by Educational Research
Centre of FED on 25 March, 2009. Then
she tried to further explore the concept of
love, concluding that love makes people
fragile; love causes sentimentality; love
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renders people blind; love is momentary
impulsive action; love makes people stay
away from the rational; and, thus, people
shouldn’t believe in love. However, Dr.
Ng Mei Lin dismissed the seemingly
correct conclusion by drawing examples
from real life and showing video clips to
all participants present. In contrast, love
makes people strong; love makes people
calm; love makes people bear the pains,
constrains, desires and compulsions for
the beloved; love is superior to the
rational. At the end of the seminar, Dr.
Ng Mei Lin closed her speech with the
following advice:
“Love is all of life. The significance of
life is to love yourself, to love others, and
to love the world. Learning how to love is
one of the most important responsibilities
of life, and learning how to appreciate
love is the most valuable in life. Please
do enjoy your life of love.”
Prof. Vong Sou Kuan, Director of the
Educational Research Centre chaired this
seminar, and more than 70 UM students
participated. All were very interested in
this topic and totally involved. The
seminar was a great success.
DSEJ Officials / Teachers are
to Sit in Master Program
Classes of FED
In accordance with the protocol signed by
DSEJ and UM in 2007, about 50 DSEJ
officials/teachers are going to sit in 20
classes in 4 FED master programs in the
coming semester.
This is the second year that FED offers
opportunities for DSEJ staff to update
and enhance their professional
knowledge. Also past experiences have
proved that the practical experience and
wisdom they brought into the class have
benefited both FED faculty members and
master program students. In return, DSEJ
supports FED with funding to organize
conferences and do research. DSEJ also
offers FED faculty members
opportunities to join in the academic
visits out of Macao, not to mention the
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SSttaaffff AAccttiivviittiieess
other cooperative efforts in helping FED
implement better pre-service and
in-service teacher training programs.
It is believed that the win-win situation
will facilitate the betterment of Macao
education. And most important, FED
faculty members feel more confident that
they are approaching the goal of “Serving
Macao and caring for education with
whole-hearted dedication.” With this
confidence, they will try harder to
achieve the mission of FED:
The Faculty of Education strives to
become a leading centre for teacher
training, teacher development and
educational research in Macau, China,
Asia and even the world by continuously
improving teaching and research quality
and emphasizing academic excellence
and international standards.
Dr. Sze & Dr. Vong from
FED Guested Talk Show
“Chasing Your Future”
On the afternoon of 21, April, Dr. Sze Tat
Ming and Dr. Vong Sou Kuan, FED,
guested on the talk show---“Chasing
Your Future” organized by the students’
Affairs Section of UM, sharing their
experiences of study and growing up in
the past and offering some ideas to the
students who are going to further their
study or look for jobs soon.
Dr. Vong -- “Cultural understanding is
the most important”
Dr. Vong shared her study experiences in
Portugal, and concluded that one needed
to dispel the misgivings and endeavored
to find the way to deal with the cultural
shock, which is, in fact, a process of
growing up. Meanwhile, she emphasized
the importance of “engagement” and
“commitment” during the course of study
abroad.
Dr. Sze --“Try to find one’s model/idol
to follow”
Dr. Sze pointed out that one should read
as much as possible, and there is no end
to reading, and that one should try to find
one’s model/idol to follow. Dr. Sze also
responded to the question that it is hard
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for a student holding a doctoral degree to
find a job now.
At the end of the talk show, Dr. Tse & Dr.
Vong answered more questions raised by
the students present on further study and
gave them many useful suggestions.
Release of Dr. Zhang Zexun’s
New Book
On 8 April, FED Assistant Professor
Zhang Zexun released her new book
Study on the Statues & Inscriptions of
Taoist Philosophy in Beiwei
Dynasty—Appendix with Photos of
Statues & Inscriptions, which was a part
of the consecutive activities of
“Literature and Culture Festival in the
Spring of 2009” co-organized by the
Macao Publications Association &
Macau Polytechnic Institute and
coordinated by Starlight Bookshop. Dr.
Zhang Zexun shared her research
experiences and findings on the statues &
inscriptions of Taoist Philosophy in
Beiwei Dynasty with the readers present,
and briefly introduced the main features
of her new book.
It is reported that Dr. Zhang has studied
this project for five years. And she has
travelled to Shanxi Province, which was
called “Guanzhong” in Beiwei Dynasty,
and to America and Europe where many
libraries and museums are housing the
documents and antiquities of the statues
& inscriptions of Beiwei Dynasty. She
took photos and read literature there,
trying to explore the religious culture in
“Guanzhong” area. It is different from
her past research, because in this study
she focuses not only on the statues but
also on the inscriptions of the statues. In
this way, she found many statues were
combinations of Taoism and Buddhism.
Studies have shown that Taoism, as the
main-stream culture in Beiwei Dynasty,
doesn’t exclude Buddhism from the
society, instead, it tolerates and
influences Buddhism. The two religions
together play an important role in the
construction of social culture at that time.
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Liu Naihua as Guest-speaker
at “Parents’ Day” Gathering
of Pui Va Middle School
On 28 March, Dr. Liu Naihua of FED
University of Macau was invited to
deliver a speech entitled “Beautiful Mind
Project---Brief Talk on the Meaning of
Life Education” to all parents present at
Pui Va Middle School’s “Parents’ Day”
gathering , which was warmly received.
This was the third “Parents’ Day”of Pui
Va Middle School, and over 500 parents
attended this gathering. Dr. Liu first
asked all parents to think about the
meaning of life education, what life is,
and what the value of life is. All these
questions received enthusiastic responses
from the parents. During the seminar, Dr.
Liu emphasized the significance of life
education, and she pointed out three
necessary elements that construct
harmonious life: Love, Care and Respect.
Also, man and life relationships, so we
must learn to treasure ourselves, love
others as ourselves, make a clear
distinction between right and wrong,
handle interpersonal relationships with
care, appreciate nature and protect
environment. Furthermore, drawing on
her own experience of educating her own
children, Dr. Liu maintained that all
parents could accompany their children,
especially adolescents, to tide over the
hardest time of their life, so that they can
believe in their dreams, become “brave
little fighters” in their life, and learn to
appreciate their lives. She also suggested
that parents should play a significant role
in children’s life, build up a reading
environment, listen and try to understand
their conversations, and promote life-long
learning and development. Finally, Dr.
Liu shared a life story with all the
participants.
Dr. Liu’s speech was applauded by the
parents and by Un Yu Wah, principal of
Pui Va Middle School, and the seminar
enabled the parents to have a better
understanding of life education. They all
said that they had benefited a great deal
from it.
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The Third Annual
Symposium of CCUEI
"The Annual Symposium of English
Immersion Program on Curriculum and
Teaching (CCUEI, 2009)", co-organized
by Tong Nam School, the University of
Macau, and South China Normal
University, was held on 23-24 March
2009. More than 120 well-known
scholars, professionals, researchers, and
teachers around the world gathered in
Macao, sharing their findings and
experiences in English Immersion
Program (EIP). ”A grand opening
ceremony was held in Tong Nam School.
It started with a lively performance by
kindergarten children from Tong Nam
School. And then a ribbon-cutting
ceremony was hosted by Prof. Wei Zhao,
Rector of University of Macau, Dr.
Alexis Tam, representative of the
Secretary of Social Affairs and Culture of
Macao S.A.R. and Mr. Liu Xiaohang, the
head of the Culture and Education
Department of Liaison Office of the
Central Government in Macao, etc.. At
last, EIP demonstration lessons, given by
Tong Nam School, Xiguan Experimental
Primary School from Guangzhou City
and HSKAMA International School from
Donguan City, showed EIP achievements
both in Macao and the mainland.
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In the afternoon, a plenary session of the
conference was held in the library of
University of Macau. Prof. Sylvia S. L.
Ieong and Dr. Wong Ping-Cheng from
the Faculty of Education of University of
Macau chaired the meeting. During this
session, scholars and professionals from
all around the world shared their research
findings. Particularly, Prof. Qiang Haiyan
gave a report entitled “Reviewing the
Fundamental Principles and Effects of
EIP in the Mainland ”. And Prof. Linda
Siegel from the Faculty of Education of
UBC in Canada presented the theoretical
rationale, achievements, development and
challenges of EIP for the children whose
native language is Chinese. Ms. Lao Sin
Peng, vice-principal of Macao Chinese
Educators Association, reported EIP
achievements in tong Nam School with a
presentation entitled “Promoting Chinese
& English Language Competence and
Intellectual Development
Simultaneously”.
On March 24, parallel sessions started.
There were five sessions in total: EIP in
pre-primary and low grades of primary
school, EIP in middle and high grades of
primary school, EIP in high school, EIP
school management, and theoretical
research on EIP. Prof. Ieong from FED of
UM emphasized the sustainability of
English education and Dr. Matilda Wong,
also from FED of UM, summarized the
experiences and reflections of FED New
Zealand Immersion Program of the past
three summers. The presentation aroused
great interest of the participants, and they
had a lot of inquires and discussion about
this experience.
During the closing ceremony of the
CCUEI, a brief conclusion about the
annual symposium was made. And Prof.
Shan Wen Jing, Dean of FED of UM,
delivered a closing speech and he
informed the audience that FED would
offer an ELT master program in near
future to promote English Education in
Macao.
FED was invited to give a
UM admission briefing to
Tong Nam School
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AAccaaddeemmiicc EExxcchhaannggeess
20 Feb. Associate Professor Sylvia S L
Ieong of FED, together with Ms. Lei Kit
Man from Registry of UM, Xiang
Chunping and Qin Yuan, did a UM
school briefing at Tong Nam School.
They were warmly welcomed by Ms.
Chu Kam Fong, the Principal of Tong
Nam School, Mr. Ieong Chan Kei, Vice
Principal, and 126 Senior Secondary 3
students who are to graduate from high
school in June 2009.
Ms. Lei first briefed the students on the
admission process and other matters of
importance with special emphasis on
scholarship policy of UM. Then Prof.
Ieong introduced all the five faculties of
UM: FBA, FLA, FED, FSH and FST,
with their respective visions and missions.
Prof. Ieong demonstrated the strengths of
UM and of all faculties, stressing the
international status of the University,
academic staff members from all parts of
the world, a diversity of quality
programmes and the rich and varied
student exchange programs.
When Prof. Ieong asked the students
which university they rate first in Macao
S. A. R., with one accord all the students
said, "University of Macau!", from which
we can see the popularity of UM. Also,
when it came to the Q & A section, Tong
Nam students showed great interests in
UM by raising related questions. The
briefing not only provided necessary
information for all Senior Secondary 3
students in Tong Nam, but also a good
opportunity to help the public know our
university better.
Chinese Arts and Cultural
Creativity Activities
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Organized by the Faculty of Education
University of Macau, a series of activities
on Chinese arts and cultural creativity
were held on 2 April, 2009. Prof. Huang
Kuang Nam, an artist and administrator
and Rector of Taiwan University of Arts,
was invited as the honored guest speaker.
Prof. Shan Wenjing, Dean of FED, and
Dr. Zhang Zexun from the University of
Macau, were also present at this seminar.
There were three consecutive activities.
First was a short but grand ribbon-cutting
ceremony, hosted by Prof. Huang Kuang
Nam, Prof. Shan Wen Jing and Dr. Zhang
Zexun, which signaled the official
opening of Prof. Huang’s book exhibition
on artwork. The exhibition will last till 10
April. The ceremony and the exhibition
attracted many students, and some of
them raised their curiosity about Prof.
Huang’s bold use of red, black, and white.
Prof. Huang explained that these three
colors were very traditional Chinese
colors, which represent special features of
oriental painting. He tried to use Chinese
traditional colors to convey the sense of
modernism and postmodernism.
After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, a
seminar on “Chinese Arts and Activity of
Cultural Creativity” was held. Focusing
on the theme “Contemporary Taiwan
Art” Prof. Huang gave a detailed
introduction to Taiwan contemporary art
history along with Taiwan history and
customs: from “scholar painting”, which
was flourishing before 1895, to
“Southern School” in 1930s’and
“Nanjing School”, then to modernization
of Taiwan fine art after 1940s, and to
“Localism”, “Futurism”,
“Postmodernism”, which became very
popular in 1970s and 1980s due to social
transition and international culture
exchanges, finally to instant digital era,
and reflections on life and environmental
conservation. Prof. Huang then concluded
that it’s easy to reach physical value, but
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mental and artistic value is never ending,
so, he called on all audience to immerse
themselves in art atmosphere even though
they’re not majoring in art.
The third activity is artwork
demonstration by Prof. Huang. He
demonstrated his Chinese calligraphy by
inscribing four Chinese characters “Qie
Er Bu She”, which means “work with
perseverance” in English. The
calligraphic masterpiece was then
presented to the University Library as a
gift.
All participating students felt enhanced
by the art seminar. Prof. Huang’s rich
experience, knowledge, talents, and his
passion for Taiwan and unique outlook
on Chinese culture deeply impressed all
the students present and enabled them to
have a better understanding of Chinese
painting, especially customs, history, and
fine art history of Taiwan.
Seminar on "Teaching with
Variation in Mathematics –
“From Theories to Practice”
Organized by FED of UM, a seminar on
“Teaching with Variation in Mathematics:
From Theories to Practice" was held at
L105 on 18, March, 2009. Prof. WONG
Ngai Ying from The Chinese University
of Hong Kong was invited to speak at the
seminar, with Dr. SUN Xuhua from FED
chairing it. UM undergraduates and
postgraduates, directors and mathematic
teachers from Macao schools and
members from Macau Mathematics
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Teaching and Research Association also
participated.
Prof. WONG Ngai Ying presented
teaching with variation in mathematics
from three perspectives: world
mathematics curriculum trends,
mathematics variation instructional
design and practice. He maintained that
during social transition era, in addition to
a solid ground and skills, students must
improve their intellectual competence on
high-level thinking from sensibility to
rationality, from the concrete to the
abstract, and from induction to deduction.
Also, they must grasp the rules of
searching “constant” from “variation” in
mathematic study so that they can handle
the “apparent changes” in exams. For
example, when talking about speed rate
in a mathematic course, teachers can also
mention clicking rate, birth rate and
audience rate etc., which can help
students understand the concept better.
Meanwhile, using his own research
project as an example, Prof. Wong
pointed out that, through variation
instruction, students had their mathematic
performance improved, but there was no
obvious increase in their study interest,
which can be further researched. In
variation instruction, it is not the more
varied, the better---when to vary, and
how often to vary is an art.
At the end of the seminar, a Macao
middle school director expressed his
wishes to apply teaching with variation in
mathematics to all middle and elementary
schools in Macao, and he also hoped that
Prof. Wong and Macau Mathematics
Teaching and Research Association can
work together to promote the
development of Macao mathematic
education.
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