The teaching enrichment cluster is an ‘innovation powerhouse’ comprised of teaching support colleagues from multiple units, including colleagues from Technology-Enriched Learning Initiative (TELI) and 4 colleagues from the Faculty of Education, Architecture and Law. The cluster support teachers in revamping teaching and learning with innovative strategies and technologies, and offer services including instructional design, technology adoption, system development and big data analytics. To be specific, we provide responsive pedagogical and technical consultancies as well as development services to the Faculties and teachers in developing and implementing e-learning, presence learning and blended learning. Colleagues strive to create quality-time (e.g. learning support beyond classroom) and quality-space (e.g. engaging in-class activities) for teachers and students with the help of technology.
In this blog post series, we will introduce colleagues’ key initiatives in the 2018-2019 academic year in terms of pedagogical development and system development.
We Aim to Establish Strong Links to Stakeholders
We see the high value of partnerships in driving teaching innovations. We aim to facilitate inter-disciplinary and cross-Faculty collaboration on education development which can make a greater impact on student learning. We worked side-by-side with teachers from different disciplines, thereby spreading the enthusiasm, discovering new perspectives in teaching development, and cultivating a new T&L culture.
Facilitating Sharing of Contents and School Credits across Universities
In the past, there were limited chances to experiment with the cross-institutional credit transfer mechanism. Yet, colleagues in the cluster have worked hard in overcoming this challenge and initiated a UGC-funded cross-institutional project titled “The Responsive University: Appreciating Content Sharing in General Education” in collaboration with PolyU, CUHK and HKUST. In particular, colleagues have engaged teachers and stakeholders to develop cross-institutional General Education/Common Core courses with innovative blended curriculum. In the 2018-19 academic year, a total of 10 shared courses from four different Hong Kong institutions were offered, and a total of 127 students joined the project. In this joint project, the four universities have also entered into an Agreement for Collaboration, under which eligible students in the participating institutions can enrol in one of the selected courses offered by other partner institutions respectively.
Teaching-Development Partnership for Introducing Mobile-Friendly Learning and Community Outreach
More often than not, teachers are not familiar with technical specifications of the process of developing educational solutions that bring about unsuitable learning strategies. During the academic year 2018-2019, we have worked collaboratively with colleagues from the School of Nursing to share the innovative pedagogical and technological solutions and seek out the potentials for immersive learning and community outreach.
The use of virtual reality (VR) and extended reality (XR) technologies can create experiences that educate, engage, and excite learners. A VR-based app on dementia care was developed to cultivate nursing students’ clinical reasoning and clinical judgement in flipped classes in the University, such that students can experience situations that simulate the actual environments for medical training. Instead of advising disciplinary knowledge, we focus on creating a learner-relevant, effective and immersive learning experience, leveraging our expertise on user experience (UX), media design, system architecture and technical development.
Besides teaching and learning inside the classroom, we worked together to develop technologies for promoting tobacco control, HPV vaccination, and alcohol control. For example, we worked with teachers to develop mobile apps, AI-enabled chatbots and ecological momentary assessments supporting smoking cessation through different interventions. We also developed a simulation game to promote HPV vaccination for secondary school students.
We Aim to Show Great Enthusiasm for Continuous Improvements
Talents are important resources for a sustainable cluster development. Cultivating talents is crucial to stay responsive to the fast-changing needs of the University. Colleagues in the cluster are of diverse backgrounds coming from different countries/cities (including Uzbekistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Mainland China and Hong Kong), and with different expertise (e.g. psychology, language, information technology, etc.). Therefore, we often organize activities to provide opportunities for colleagues to learn from each other, as well as to build up trust and team spirit for a more cohesive cluster. We continuously help colleagues to expand their capabilities and adopt data-informed/closed-loop development for delivering wider and better educational development services.
Cross-Disciplinary Hackathon
Colleagues from different fields teamed up and attended a half-day internal Hackathon. The event was for brainstorming proof-of-concept solutions to existing issues in e-learning within higher education (e.g. AI-powered teaching-student interaction app). At the end of the Hackathon, colleagues were required to give a presentation with a mock-up. Colleagues, coming from different fields and have not had worked together, now have the opportunity to collaborate closely and come up with effective solutions (e.g. EdTech apps).
Internal and External Professional Development Events
Colleagues are encouraged to attend technical and pedagogical training for mastering their skills that will accelerate their professional growth. For example, one of our colleagues had attended a one-week professional training at Harvard University, which aims to train educators in developing a design thinking mindset. She applied what she has learned in a mobile game app project for a Common Core course to further enhance the pedagogical value of the project. A couple of other colleagues have also been given the chance to attend an internal training course on teaching and learning in higher education. They have successfully completed the course and have a deeper understanding of in-class teaching and learning activities in the University. Besides attending external and internal training, there are also cross-disciplinary seminars. For example, multimedia colleagues were invited to introduce cutting-edge computer graphics and interactive technologies, and external researchers were also welcomed to talk about teaching development and evaluation practices. These seminars help to broaden colleagues’ horizons and inspire new ways of implementing teaching and learning.
Adopting Data-Informed/Closed-Loop Development
We constantly review and revamp our solution and development process through conducting stakeholder surveys and focus group interviews in projects. In particular, the cluster evaluated the quality of various technology-enriched pedagogies used in on-campus blended courses and generated insights to develop better pedagogical practices. Based on the findings, colleagues provide continuous assistance to teachers on creating new educational videos, collaborative classwork and assessment as well as revamping the existing ones for more effective teaching. Besides redesigning pedagogical practices, we have studied students’ motivations and expectations in participating in a cross-institutional teaching and learning initiative through qualitative and quantitative means. The findings of the study highlight some of the concerns and needs of students, and based on these, we have designed new posters and videos addressing their needs and concerns to promote this initiative. As a result, more students are aware of the initiative and more than 100 students are joining it now.
The pedagogical development cluster is an ‘innovation powerhouse’ comprised of teaching support colleagues from multiple units, including colleagues from Technology-Enriched Learning Initiative (TELI) and 4 colleagues from the Faculty of Education, Architecture and Law. The cluster support teachers in revamping teaching and learning with innovative strategies and technologies, and offer services including instructional design, technology adoption, system development and big data analytics. To be specific, we provide responsive pedagogical and technical consultancies as well as development services to the Faculties and teachers in developing and implementing e-learning, presence learning and blended learning. Colleagues strive to create quality-time (e.g. learning support beyond classroom) and quality-space (e.g. engaging in-class activities) for teachers and students with the help of technology.
In this blog post series, we will introduce colleagues’ key initiatives in the 2018-2019 academic year in terms of pedagogical development and system development.
We Aim to Use Resources in a Better Way to Benefit the University
The cluster deploy and invent cutting-edge development practices for a more effective education solution development. This enables us to support teachers and units to teach more efficiently by minimizing learning and administrative hurdles encountered by teachers and students.
Introducing Easy-To-Use Learning Tools for Collaborative Teaching and Learning Activities
To maximise quality class time, the cluster has been actively exploring pedagogical tools that best suit teaching and learning. The cluster has subscribed to online product services and shared the subscribed services with teachers who are interested in using them for lessons. Tools include Mentimeter (anonymous in-class polling), Flipgrid (video-based formative assessment), SurveyMonkey (class feedback surveying), G Suite (collaborative writing/presentation), GradeMark (rubric-based essay marking), Camtasia (screen-capturing and video editing), and Zoom (synchronous online discussion). These tools empower teachers to better engage students in class with significantly minimized logistics. For a more effective adoption, we also provide pedagogical advice on adopting appropriate e-learning tools and designing relevant face-to-face activities.
Developing Management Systems for Reducing Institutional-Level Administrative Efforts
The cluster also supports the University Teaching and Learning Quality Committee (TLQC) to develop technological solutions for achieving teaching-learning missions. For instance, the cluster has developed the teaching development grant (TDG) submission system (https://tdg.hku.hk/) and a TDG Resources Hub (https://tdg.hku.hk/hub/#/) for the University’s Teaching Development Grant Scheme. The TDG submission system provides a standardized interface for submitting, endorsing and reporting applications. Meanwhile, the Resources Hub serves as a repository of TDG resources which facilitates the sharing of information and deliverables of TDG as well as the collaborations among teachers for cross-displicine teaching development. These two systems can significantly minimize the administrative burden for teachers, administrators, and Faculty-/Institutional-level management teams.
Introducing Asynchronous Video Screening Mechanism for Streamlining Admission Process
Previously, the admission process for the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE – English Teaching) by the Faculty of Education involved face-to-face interviews with applicants. However, it is a challenging task to arrange face-to-face interviews for large numbers of applicants within a short admission period. Colleagues have worked with teachers to streamline the initial stage of the admission process. Applicants can upload a 3-minute video to illustrate their perspective on teaching and learning. Then the admission board could review the videos and shortlist applicants for the face-to-face interview.
We Aim to Meet Challenges Head on
Colleagues in the cluster supported teachers in experimenting with innovative pedagogical practices and learning technologies. These allow teachers to free up valuable class time for more interactive classroom activities where students can develop higher-order thinking skills more effectively under the teacher’s in-class mentoring.
Optimising Learning through Gamifying a Large-size Flipped Classroom
Colleagues have worked with teachers to address the most critical and long-lasting problem in large-class teaching: the one-way delivery of information in lectures and the passive learning style created by such delivery. Low attendance rate, lack of participation and interaction, and distracted students are often observed in such lectures. Most critically, the passive learning style hinders the development of critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity and collaboration – the most essential 21st-century skills for today’s students.
Colleagues introduced a systematic design of a gamified flipped classroom series in “Electronic Technologies in Everyday Life” (CCST9015), replacing one-way lecture delivery with high energy, high bandwidth information transaction, and peer-supported knowledge co-creation. Specifically, students follow a “hybrid learning pattern” repeatedly throughout the course: online lectures – online knowledge check quizzes – small-class tutorials – large-class group work – online roundup video summary. In each repetition, students acquire, practice, apply, analyze and evaluate what they have learned, and co-create new knowledge with their peers. Colleagues also support the teacher to “spice up” face-to-face time with group-based gamified activities. Moreover, a course-based board game has been developed to connect the course content with daily scenarios that students often encounter, such that students can apply knowledge in solving real-life problems. Students become more vocal in asking questions, increasing their interactions with teachers. This pedagogical practice is unique with the first-of-its-kind board game ever produced. The project has also been shortlisted for QS Reimagine Education Award 2019, a global education competition with more than 1500 applicants. This indicates the gamification pedagogy has been endorsed by professional parties.
Developing Authority-Endorsed Educational Tools for Supporting Interactive Pedagogies
We continue to support teachers exploring and implementing innovative educational tools. In order to support video-intensive blended learning pedagogies and enhance the student learning experience, we have adopted the Open edX system (https://learning.hku.hk/), first developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, with modifications for HKU. Using this system, teachers can design courses and update the content while interacting with learners. They can easily transfer and manage content across platforms, and adopt third-party tools for enriching the learning process. During the 2018-2019 academic year, 25 courses were hosted on this platform, reaching over 6000 users in total. Based on the experience gained, we partnered with Professor Michael Botelho on developing the “Video Vox” platform (https://vox.hku.hk) to inspire more meaningful peer feedback. Vox allows new interaction possibilities with video content, which facilitates students or teachers to start an asynchronous expert-student dialogue in a discussion thread format.
We Aim to Implement New Ways of Working
Colleagues make unremitting efforts to adopt a systematic, disciplined and quantifiable approach for the better development and delivery of educational solutions as a well-designed solution can benefit thousands of staff and students. We hope the developed solutions can be easily replicated and scaled, as well as respond to the dynamic nature of teaching and learning needs.
Improving the Quality of Solutions Holistically through Adopting Technical and Pedagogical Development Guidelines
The objective of the evaluation approach is to increase the educational value of the developed solutions while minimizing technical hurdles. With this in mind, we analyse the adoption of learning tools pedagogically (through Chickering and Gamson’s learning design framework) and technically (through agile learning design framework). We have also adopted a rapid iterative approach, “Agile Learning Development”, in the context of learning which allows the developers to modify each iteration based on teachers’ feedback (a “sprint” concept). The adoption of all these practices help the developed solutions to be more learner-relevant. In addition, a case study based on this approach has been presented to and appreciated by professionals in an international meeting which indicates its potential in the development process.
Introducing Emerging Development and DevOps Methodologies for Automating System Development Process
We aim to increase developers’ productivity and improve their efficacy as well as minimize development errors. To achieve all these, the cluster has recently deployed a cutting-edge DevOps methodology “Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery” (CI/CD) for developing learning management systems (e.g. Vox https://vox.hku.hk/). CI/CD automates testing and deployment processes. Automated testing results and logs are accessible to all developers in the team. This greatly improves team communication while reduces the time spent on running and logging tests manually.
Instead of using conventional virtual machines, colleagues have also adopted a lightweight “Docker” container technology for deploying systems for staff and students (e.g. Vox https://vox.hku.hk/, TDG Resource Hub https://tdg.hku.hk/hub/, HKCPD Hub https://hkcpdhub.hku.hk/). This technology allows more flexibility for developing systems that cater a versatile learning environment with different learning and administrative needs. For instance, it allows an application to be deployed in almost any operating systems. This technology also increases the effectiveness of system testing on the production server, and creates a more responsive system deployment. It has been proven that the overall capability and scalability of the services have increased compared with the traditional deployment approach.
The cluster has also adopted other contemporary technologies (e.g. VueJS) for productive development. All these have resulted in: increased development speed and more software release iterations, fewer bugs, reduced overhead spending and hence more time to innovate, happier users and developers.
Thank you for working with us to transition to online teaching and learning for these final weeks of Semester 1, 2019-20. I am writing to you now about assessment.
Our core principle for all course assessment is fairness to each and every member of the class, whether in Hong Kong or outside. To deliver on this principle in the current circumstances, we believe we need to offer you an array of choices for each course you are taking. Just occasionally this is not possible because of professional requirements. For the vast majority of our courses, however, it is possible and we intend to make it happen.
Full-year courses
As final examinations are scheduled for May 2020, these courses will continue without amendment.
Single-semester courses: teachers
We are giving teachers the flexibility to make changes to their assessment arrangements and inform their students through Moodle and/or by email by Friday 29 November 2019:
– Scope of course assessment: This may be adjusted in some cases.
– Summative/final assessments: Most proctored final examinations will be converted to alternative tasks submitted via Moodle or HKU email with Turnitin reports.
Single-semester courses: students
We are giving students the flexibility to choose one of the following for each of their courses by completing a simple form and submitting it to their Faculty Office:
– Continue with Letter grading for the entire course (contributing to GPA).
– Change to Pass/Fail grading for the entire course (not contributing to GPA).
– Opt out of the course entirely through a new Late Drop option.
When thinking through these options, students should bear in mind several issues (if you are in doubt about any of them, please seek academic advice from your teachers, course coordinators, programme leader or academic adviser):
– Some of the above options cannot be made available for some courses, mostly for reasons of professional accreditation.
– Core or compulsory courses have to be completed by all students taking a programme, so the Late Drop option should be exercised with extreme caution.
– Courses that are prerequisite for subsequent courses within a programme affect academic progression, so again the Late Drop option should be exercised with extreme caution.
– The Common Core Special Proviso for GPA calculation operates only when there are six graded courses (https://commoncore.hku.hk/special-proviso/).
To process your course choices, we will ask you to complete and submit a simple form by 5:00pm, Friday 6 December 2019. Your Faculty will contact you soon about online submission arrangements. No late submissions will be accepted. Any student who does not submit a completed form by the deadline will have unchanged course assessment arrangements for all courses taken in Semester 1, 2019-20.
I appreciate your understanding as we seek to fulfil our teaching commitments and facilitate your learning in the closing weeks of the semester. As ever, please feel free to contact me with any queries.
Best wishes, Ian
Professor Ian Holliday
Vice-President (Teaching and Learning)
The University of Hong Kong
Organised by Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning
Seminar Series: Learning as Boundary Crossing
In this complex world, teaching and learning has been expanding rapidly from classroom study to various learning opportunities in the real world and the virtual space. Many precious learning opportunities exist in the process of crossing boundaries. It becomes important for educators to identify and create such opportunities that will enable our students to learn as they cross boundaries between classroom learning and real-world experiences, the physical world and virtual community, theory and practice, and local and global engagement. In this series, we have included six seminars that will introduce a number of approaches to creating learning opportunities for our students in various boundary-crossing processes.
Seminar 1: Crossing the cultural boundaries: Designing meaningful intercultural interactions
Details of the workshop:
Date : November 2019 (Friday) Time : 12:45 pm – 2:00 pm Venue : RR321, Run Run Shaw Building, Main Campus Speaker : Mr. Kevin Sites and Dr. Jason Pun Facilitator : Dr. Tracy Zou, Assistant Professor, Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, HKU
Abstract
Our classroom is becoming increasingly diverse with students from different countries and cultural backgrounds. Leveraging the cultural diversity will help create many precious learning opportunities among students. Mr. Kevin Sites and Dr. Jason Pun will share with us their approaches to encouraging meaningful intercultural interactions in journalism and science disciplines respectively. Examples include designing intercultural and interdisciplinary projects, facilitating in-class discussions and peer critiques, and organising group work. These approaches are also included in a guidebook on ‘Meaningful Intercultural Interactions’, as a deliverable of a completed Teaching Development Project. We will share the softcopy with all participants and prepare a few hard copies for interested colleagues.
About the Speaker
Award-winning backpack journalist and author Kevin Sites traded a high profile career as a network news producer and correspondent (ABC, NBC and CNN) to become the first Internet correspondent for Yahoo! News. In his groundbreaking Hot Zone project, he covered nearly every war in the world in one year earning the 2006 Daniel Pearl Award for Courage and Integrity in Journalism.
He’s the author of three books on war, all published by Harper Collins imprint, Harper Perennial. The latest, Swimming with Warlords: A Dozen-Year Journey Across the Afghan War, was released October 2014. He’s also the author of, In the Hot Zone: One Man, One Year, Twenty Wars and The Things They Cannot Say: Stories Soldiers Won’t Tell You About What They’ve Seen, Done or Failed to Do in War.
In 2010, Kevin was chosen as a Nieman Journalism Fellow at Harvard University and in 2012, he was selected as a Dart Fellow in Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University. He’s a contributor to many print and online publications, including Vice, Aeon, Men’s Health, Parade, and Salon.
Dr. Chun Shing Jason Pun is currently Principal Lecturer at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). Since 2012, Dr Pun has served as the course coordinator for Fundamentals of Modern Science, a core science course required for all HKU science students which adopts an interdisciplinary and integrated approach to introduce the students to the broad landscape of science. Dr Pun has also been involved in multiple Teaching Development Grants, ranging from developing observational astronomy, promoting public interest in science through experimental science videos, developing first-year experience and initiating a peer-learning system for science students. He is also the recipient of the Teaching Exchange Fellowship 2017-18 to visit Yale-NUS College, Singapore.
Seminar 2: Creating a cross-city and inter-disciplinary student-based learning environment for Urban development-related disciplines
Details of the workshop:
Date : 7 November 2019 (Thursday) Time : 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Venue : RR321, Run Run Shaw Building, Main Campus Speaker : Ms. Alice Lee and Dr. L.H. Li Facilitator : Dr. Tracy Zou, Assistant Professor, Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, HKU
Abstract
Conventional teaching in professional courses such as real estate development and legal studies requires classroom teaching or small group tutorial discussions where the teaching staff can interact with students directly to convey the necessary knowledge and to understand how students are absorbing the latest changes in professional practices. In order to maximize learning experience in these professional curricula in an ever-changing society, it is necessary to draw on different international resources of knowledge to add value to the programme, but this is usually constrained by timetabling and availability of students, guest speakers and staff. In this presentation, we will illustrate how teaching technology helps to create an online collaborative and interactive discussion platform that enhances the learning outcomes of students in different faculties within HKU as well as students in another city in Mainland China. Our experiment shows that with the help of the innovative online discussion system, constraints such as physical contacts can be circumvented which leads to more opportunities in cross-city and cross-discipline collaborations in teaching and learning. Our experience shows that technology-supported online teaching and discussion platform allows students to understand academic and professional knowledge in other curricula as well as other cities in a more time-effective way. This teaching mode also enriches their learning experience in an internationalized and interdisciplinary environment via a virtual platform. Applying technology in building up an interactive discussion platform makes inter-institution and inter-discipline collaboration easier and more efficient.
About the Speaker
Ms. Alice Lee is an Associate Professor and Associate Dean (Academic Affairs) of the Faculty of Law, a member of the University Teaching and Learning Quality Committee and other teaching-related committees, and chairman of the HKU Teaching Exchange Fellowship Sub-group as well as the Law Faculty Outstanding Teaching Award panel. She specializes in real property and intellectual property (“IP”) education, and co-launched the IP Ambassador Programme with the HKSAR Intellectual Property Department for students to connect with the industry and reach out to the public. She has received two University-level teaching awards and a student-led Teaching Feedback Award, and has been practising and promoting the core values of the UK Higher Education Academy (“HEA”) since she became an HEA Senior Fellow in 2017.
Dr. L. H. Li is currently an Associate Professor and the Programme Director of the BSc in Surveying in the Department of Real Estate and Construction, the University of Hong Kong. Dr. Li was the Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning) in the Faculty of Architecture, the University of Hong Kong between 2016-2018. A Fulbright Hong Kong Scholar in 2006, Dr. Li has a wide range of research interests in social and economic aspects of land use policy, more specifically in the areas of urban land regeneration; impact of the built environment and urban development. Dr. Li has written over 50 refereed journal papers in these areas, in addition to a number of academic books. Dr. Li has extensive teaching experiences in undergraduate, taught postgraduate and RPG levels both locally in Hong Kong and in Mainland China including Shanghai, Chongqing and Guangzhou. In September, 2018, Dr. Li was awarded Senior Fellow status by the Higher Education Academy.
Seminar 3: Connecting the classroom and the community through authentic assessment and learning activities
Details of the workshop:
Date : 20 November 2019 (Wednesday) Time : 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm Venue : RR321, Run Run Shaw Building, Main Campus Speaker : Prof. Rick Glofcheski, Ms. Alice Lee, Mr. Kelvin Kwok Facilitator : Dr. Tracy Zou, Assistant Professor, Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, HKU
Abstract
Conventional legal education emphasises on textbook reading and lecturing, with written examinations as the major means of assessment. However, law is supposed to be a practical subject. A student who knows what the law is and how to analyse hypothetical legal questions does not necessarily know how to apply legal principles to everyday life. In order to equip law students with the skill of solving real life problems, legal education has to break boundaries and connect students with the real world. In this seminar, the speakers will show how student-driven and interactive learning and assessing activities can increase students’ engagement in learning and encourage them to apply their legal knowledge.
About the Speaker
Prof. Rick Glofcheski’s primary areas of teaching and research are tort law, labour law and higher education. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Hong Kong Law Journal. He is the author of Tort Law in Hong Kong (Hong Kong: Sweet and Maxwell Asia, 4th edn, 2017, 850 pp), co-editor and co-author of Employment Law and Practice in Hong Kong (Sweet & Maxwell Asia, 2nd edn, 2016, 950 pp), and co-editor and co-author of Scaling Up Assessment for Learning in Higher Education (Springer, 2017). After teaching tort law for many years to a large cohort (250+) of students, Rick identified some failings in conventional law teaching. To address these, he designed and introduced over a period of years a series of measures oriented toward a more learner-centered, more authentic and more sustainable learning in which students play an active role in the construction of their learning. His work is the subject of analysis in D. Carless, Excellence in University Assessment (Routledge, 2015). In recognition of his achievements, Rick was awarded the inaugural HKU University Outstanding Teaching Award (2009), the inaugural HKU University Distinguished Teaching Award (2010), the inaugural sector-wide University Grants Committee Teaching Award (2011), and the HKU University Distinguished Teaching Award (2015). Rick has presented his work at conferences, workshops and seminars at universities around the world.
Ms. Alice Lee is an Associate Professor and Associate Dean (Academic Affairs) of the Faculty of Law, a member of the University Teaching and Learning Quality Committee and other teaching-related committees, and chairman of the HKU Teaching Exchange Fellowship Sub-group as well as the Law Faculty Outstanding Teaching Award panel. She specializes in real property and intellectual property (“IP”) education, and co-launched the IP Ambassador Programme with the HKSAR Intellectual Property Department for students to connect with the industry and reach out to the public. She has received two University-level teaching awards and a student-led Teaching Feedback Award, and has been practising and promoting the core values of the UK Higher Education Academy (“HEA”) since she became an HEA Senior Fellow in 2017.
Mr. Kelvin Kwok is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Law at The University of Hong Kong. His research and teaching interests lie in competition law, business/commercial law and the interdisciplinary areas of law and technology, law and economics, and law and philosophy. In recognition of his teaching excellence and leadership as BBA(Law)&LLB Programme Co-Director and International Mooting Director, he was awarded the Faculty Outstanding Teaching Award 2016 and the University Early Career Teaching Award 2017. He has been a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy since 2019. He has successfully coached HKU student teams for international mooting competitions, winning championship on three occasions. He is active in knowledge exchange through his media appearances and involvement in the work of the International Competition Network and the Consumer Council.
Seminar 4: Join-the-Conversation: Nurturing Global Citizens: How Far Have We Gone?
Details of the workshop:
Date : 25 November 2019 (Monday) Time : 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm Venue : RR321, Run Run Shaw Building, Main Campus Speaker : Ms. Jessie Chow, Mr Paul Myers, Prof. Davis Bookhart Facilitator : Dr. Tracy Zou (HKU), Dr. Lisa Law (HKBU), Dr. Beatrice Chu (HKUST) Organiser : Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, HKU Co-organisers : Center for Education Innovation, HKUST; Centre for Holistic Teaching and Learning, HKBU
Abstract
Being globally minded, culturally competent and socially responsible are some essential attributes for students to thrive in an increasingly interconnected world. While developing global citizenship is often placed high on the agenda for many higher education institutions around the world, there are still questions and issues worth exploring. For example, what makes a global citizen? How do we define global citizenship in our contexts? Can global citizenship be developed through a significant experiential learning experience? Or do we need a pathway to guide students steadily toward such a goal? In this Join-the-Conversation event, our three speakers from different institutions will share their approaches and practices while engaging the participants in further discussion.
About the Speaker
Ms. Jessie M.L. Chow is a lecturer (experiential learning) in the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong where she has been instrumental in the establishment of local and overseas experiential learning projects across undergraduate and postgraduate teacher education programmes. She is a trained teacher and educational psychologist with extensive experience in working with schools and NGOs, and organising service-learning projects. She has published an online guidebook for facilitators in EL with her research team (http://bit.ly/HKU_EL_guidebook). Miss Chow is also a recipient of the Faculty’s and University’s Outstanding Teaching Awards (team award).
Mr. Paul Myers has been a lecturer in the Hong Kong Baptist University Language Centre since 2013. Prior to his time there he taught English as a foreign language in several international locations. Just to name a few: Universities in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, English language tutorial centres in Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong and Non-profit organisations in Seattle, Washington where he worked closely with newly arrived refugees to the United States. He also regularly runs training sessions for new teachers (English as a second language) in Vietnam and Thailand. Paul also is a registered speaking test examiner for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). During his time teaching, Paul has met and worked with thousands of students from ‘all walks of life’. Therefore, he has a unique perspective on ‘cultural sensitivity’ and how being aware of this phenomenon develops a more internationalised classroom. With this understanding, the ideology of the ‘global citizen’ can be further understood and expounded on in educational contexts.
Prof. Davis Bookhart joined HKUST in 2013 to develop the university’s first comprehensive sustainability master plan (the HKUST 2020 Sustainability Challenge). After adoption by University Council, Bookhart now serves as the steward of the Plan’s implementation, and has an academic appointment in the Division of Environment and Sustainability. Bookhart came to HKUST after eight years as the founding director of the Office of Sustainability at Johns Hopkins University, following six years as Senior Research Director at the Consumer Energy Council of America. He is Chair of the Task Force on Sustainability Progress of the HK Sustainable Campus Consortium, and serves as Advisory Board member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).
Seminar 5: A connected virtual community for learning
Details of the workshop:
Date : 29 November 2019 (Friday) Time : 12:45 pm – 2:00 pm Venue : RR321, Run Run Shaw Building, Main Campus Speaker : Dr. Pauline Luk, Mr. Francis Tsoi, Dr. Sarah Chan Facilitator : Dr. Tracy Zou, Assistant Professor, Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, HKU
Abstract
Beginning in 2018-19, all third year medical students at the LKS Faculty of Medicine of The University of Hong Kong embark on a mandatory, credit-bearing enrichment year of their own choosing. This novel initiative allows students opportunities for substantive engagement in their personal areas of interest related to research, service or humanitarian work, pursuit of higher degrees, or university exchange anywhere in the world. A commercially developed online virtual community of learning is engaged to provide learning and social support to students and to help them link their diverse experiences with the common goal of being a doctor. This serves as a platform to connect students, mentors, and the Faculty. In this seminar, the experience of using social media for cross-boundary learning would be shared by examining the nature, pattern and content of online interactions and identifying features which support learning and personal growth, from project management, technical and mentorship perspectives.
About the Speaker
Dr. Pauline Luk received her PhD in Communications and New Media from the National University of Singapore. She is currently a Project Manager at the Bau Institute of Medical and Health Sciences Education (BIMHSE) of The University of Hong Kong. She coordinates a cross-institutional project, connect*ed, which aims at connecting and engaging undergraduate medical and educational students in a virtual environment. She is mainly responsible for the overall management and administrative work of the project, with development of educational initiatives and research as the key components.
Mr. Francis Tsoi is a Project Officer of connect*ed project. He obtained his BA and MSc (Information technology in Education) from The University of Hong Kong. He has rich experience in eLearning projects and involved in various e-Learning research and evaluation projects in The University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Institute of Education (now The Education University of Hong Kong). He is a Microsoft Certified Professional and Certified Microsoft Innovative Educator.
Dr. Sarah Chan is a specialist in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. She is a part-time lecturer at the Bau Institute of Medical and Health Sciences Education (BIMHSE) of The University of Hong Kong. To broaden her knowledge and skills, she has completed diploma courses in Dermatology, Child Health and Family Medicine after graduation from medical school. Since June 2018, she has been a mentor in the connect*ed project. Moreover, she is currently a member of the Enrichment Year Sub-Committee (Service/ Humanitarian Work).
Seminar 6: Bored by sitting in rows? Explore new learning spaces at HKU (Details to be confirmed)
Organised by Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning
Details of the workshop:
Date : 22 October 2019 (Tuesday) Time : 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Venue : RR321, Run Run Shaw Building, Main Campus Speaker : Dr. Susan Bridges, Ms. Tanya Kempston, Prof. Samson Tse Facilitator : Dr. Tracy Zou, Assistant Professor, Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, HKU
Abstract
Learning nowadays is not confined to the classroom. Using flexible approaches and adopting some easy technology solutions can enable students to learn everywhere and anytime. This is particularly useful in uncertain circumstances (e.g. unstable weather conditions, transportation delays) when students and teachers may not be able to gather together physically. In this seminar, the three speakers will share with us their approaches to facilitating flexible learning. Participants will be able to explore in what ways these approaches might be relevant to their own teaching.
About the Speaker
Dr. Susan Bridges is Associate Professor and Assistant Dean (Teaching & Learning) with the Faculty of Education and the Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL) and Adjunct Professor with the Australian Catholic University. She supports curriculum re-design, innovation and staff development at HKU with a particular focus on professional programmes (health professions and teacher education). Her research explores the ‘how’ of effective pedagogy and health communication through interactional and ethnographic approaches. She is the principal investigator of 4 HKSAR General Research Fund (GRF) grants and was awarded teaching excellence awards in Hong Kong in 2012 (Team Award) and at the QS Wharton Re-Imagine Education Awards in 2016 (Bronze Asia; Health Sciences). She currently serves on the Steering Group of the Universitas21 (U21) Educational Innovation Cluster which supports excellence and innovation in higher education across this international network. Her latest co-edited volume, Interactional Research into Problem-based Learning will be published with Purdue University Press in 2020.
Ms. Tanya Kempston is a Lecturer in the Unit of Teacher Education and Leadership Learning, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong. She has worked as a front-line teacher of English Language and Literature in secondary schools in Northern Ireland, Japan and Hong Kong and was a Curriculum Development Officer in the Hong Kong Education Bureau before joining the University of Hong Kong. Tanya was awarded an Master of Arts with Distinction in Drama and Theatre Education from the University of Warwick, UK and is a recipient of her Faculty and University’s Outstanding Teacher Awards (2016-17 and 2017-18) She works in pre- and in-service education and teaches on undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. She believes passionately in access to the arts for all and taking learning outside the university environment.
Prof. Samson Tse has taught in New Zealand and Hong Kong for over 25 years; the pedagogy adopted in his teaching includes the adult learning model, promotion of critical thinking skills, and role modeling. Samson presents to groups around the globe about issues about: Living beyond mental disability and improving service users’ experience. Samson has served in governmental, and non-governmental organization advisory committees in New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong. He is passionate about putting recovery approach into practice cross-culturally. Jointly with his community partners and colleagues, he has contributed to the development and implementation of strengths model of case management and peer support services in Hong Kong and the region.
Organised by Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning
Details of the workshop:
Date : 17 October 2019 (Thursday) Time : 1:10 pm – 2:00 pm Venue : RR321, Run Run Shaw Building, Main Campus Speaker : Prof. Gina Marchetti, Prof. Mike Botelho, Dr. Caroline Dingle Facilitator : Dr. Tracy Zou, Assistant Professor, Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, HKU
Abstract
Learning nowadays is not confined to the classroom. Using flexible approaches and adopting some easy technology solutions can enable students to learn everywhere and anytime. This is particularly useful in uncertain circumstances (e.g. unstable weather conditions, transportation delays) when students and teachers may not be able to gather together physically. In this seminar, the three speakers will share with us their approaches to facilitating flexible learning. Participants will be able to explore in what ways these approaches might be relevant to their own teaching.
About the Speaker
Prof. Gina Marchetti teaches courses in film, gender and sexuality, critical theory and cultural studies at the University of Hong Kong. She is the author of Romance and the “Yellow Peril”: Race, Sex and Discursive Strategies in Hollywood Fiction (Berkeley: University of California, 1993), From Tian’anmen to Times Square: Transnational China and the Chinese Diaspora on Global Screens (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2006), and The Chinese Diaspora on American Screens: Race, Sex, and Cinema (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2012), Andrew Lau and Alan Mak’s INFERNAL AFFAIRS—The Trilogy (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2007), and Citing China: Politics, Postmodernism, and World Cinema (Hawai’i, 2018), among other publications. Her most recent book is The Palgrave Handbook of Asian Cinema, co-edited with Aaron Han Joon Magnan-Park and See Kam Tan (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2018). Visit the website https://hkwomenfilmmakers.wordpress.com/ for more information about her work on Hong Kong women filmmakers since 1997. To register for her Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Hong Kong cinema, go to https://www.edx.org/course/hong-kong-cinema-through-global-lens-hkux-hku06-1x .
Prof. Michael Botelho been actively involved in the design, development and implementation of a range of curriculum innovations and reforms in: PBL, e-learning and competency assessments. He has a particular interest in video and has used these for a number of learning scenarios and needs. In particular he created additional video learning content for students who were absent from class during a previous social unrest movement. These videos were watched at a greater rate than just the students who were missing from class showing students consumption and hunger for learning content.
Dr. Caroline Dingle serves as the Coordinator for the Environmental Science major at HKU and teaches courses in Environmental Science and Ecology & Biodiversity. She also teaches a Common Core course on Women in Science. She actively seeks to find ways to engage students both in and outside the formal classroom setting and maintains an open door policy for student consultations. Dr Dingle has used various social media tools in classrooms to encouragement student engagement with course material outside formal classroom hours, and has been involved in efforts to create online materials for enhancing student learning.
Congratulations! HKU’s Common Core Teaching Team wins the University Grants Committee Teaching Award 2019! Here, receiving the award at the UGC office are (left to right) Mr Matthew Pryor, Professor Gina Marchetti, Director of Common Core Professor Gray Kochhar-Lindgren, Dr Xiao Hu, and Dr Julian Tanner. Learn more about #HKU Common Core courses and the team’s outstanding achievements at http://www.hku.hk/press/news_detail_20033.html
Organised by Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL)
Details of the workshop:
Date : 15 October 2019 (Tuesday) Time : 12:45pm – 2:00pm Venue : RR321, Run Run Shaw Building, Main Campus Speaker : Dr. Naomi Winstone, Head of the Department of Higher Education, The University of Surrey, UK Discussant : Prof. David Carless, Faculty of Education, HKU Facilitator : Dr. Tracy Zou, Assistant Professor, Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, HKU
Abstract
In the domain of assessment and feedback, technology has the potential to streamline the process or facilitate practices not possible without the use of technology. Technology is less effective, however, if it replicates transmission-focused feedback modes through a different medium, and it is important to consider how the use of technology adds further educational value. In this talk, I argue that technology can facilitate effective feedback processes, if built upon a strong pedagogic rationale. I draw upon a systematic review of the literature (Winstone et al., 2017) and student perceptions of educational technology (Parker & Winstone, 2017) to evaluate different approaches to technology-enabled feedback processes. I then discuss examples of practice as presented in Winstone and Carless (2019) that demonstrate the affordance of technology in feedback processes. The main aim of the talk is to stimulate the adoption of effective ways of using technology to enable productive feedback processes.
About the Speaker
Dr Naomi Winstone is a cognitive psychologist specialising in learning behaviour and engagement with education, particularly the processing and implementation of feedback. Naomi is a Reader in Higher Education, and Head of the Department of Higher Education at the University of Surrey, UK. Naomi is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and a National Teaching Fellow. Her recently published book, co-authored with David Carless, is entitled Designing effective feedback processes in higher education.
HKU staff and invited guests only.
Contact Information
For information, please contact:
Mr. Thomas Lau , CETL
Phone: 3917 4807; Email: kanclau@hku.hk
Organised by Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL)
Details of the workshop:
Date : 4 October 2019 (Friday) Time : 12:45pm – 2:00pm pm Venue : RR321, Run Run Shaw Building, Main Campus Speaker : Dr. Chris Deneen, Senior Lecturer in Higher Education Curriculum and Assessment, University of Melbourne Facilitator : Dr. Tracy Zou, Assistant Professor, Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, HKU
Abstract
Partnering with students positions them as change agents in their own learning. This approach has potential to produce significant benefits at subject, degree program and institutional levels. Partnering with students, however requires careful planning and consideration. How ready are students to act as change agents? How should we set the scope and focus of the partnership? How can we understand and evaluate the outcomes of our partnerships?
This seminar aims to address these questions through exploring two case studies in student partnership. The first case involves Singaporean PGDE students’ deep engagement with the redevelopment and running of a school leadership subject. The second case examines an ongoing project in University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Business and Economics involving students’ development of rubrics and video exemplars for subject assessment tasks.
The seminar will focus on lessons learned and adoptable approaches. How students as partners approaches integrate within University of Melbourne’s large-scale development initiative, FlexAP will also be discussed.
About the Speaker
Chris is a senior lecturer in higher education curriculum and assessment with The Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education at University of Melbourne. His work focuses on the understanding and provision of effective learning engagements in universities. Chris has held several higher education positions in the culturally diverse contexts of New York, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia. He is the recipient of multiple awards for innovation and excellence in teaching practice.
Chris’ research focuses on innovative approaches to higher education assessment. He is especially interested in assessment change management and assessment-enabling technologies. He has authored 37 publications on assessment-related topics and has received over 2.5 million AUD in external research funding. His latest, upcoming publication in Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education examines how undergraduates use self- and peer feedback in developing teamwork competencies.
HKU staff and invited guests only.
Contact Information
For information, please contact:
Mr. Thomas Lau , CETL
Phone: 3917 4807; Email: kanclau@hku.hk
Organised by Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL)
Details of the workshop:
Date : 17 October, 2019 (Thursday) Time : 12:00nn – 1:00pm Venue : Room 321, 3/F, Run Run Shaw Building (Main Campus), HKU Chairman : Ms Alice Lee, Associate Professor, Department of Law, HKU Facilitator : Dr. Luke Fryer, Associate Professor, CETL, HKU
Abstract
Grants for overseas reciprocal visits through ‘Teaching Exchange Fellowship Scheme’
To promote HKU staff to bring in new ideas and teaching methods to improve teaching through interaction with overseas university teachers, HKU will award up to $50,000 for reciprocal staff visits. This funding is provided through the “Teaching Exchange Fellowship Scheme”. The seminar provides an overview of this funding scheme and information on the application process. Staff will be guided on how to go about planning exchange visits to enhance the scholarship of teaching at HKU, which is the aim of the scheme. It will explain, and also showcase examples, on how this funding opportunity can be used by HKU teaching staff to share experience and to collaborate on teaching and curriculum development initiatives with overseas reputable universities through reciprocal visits.
The seminar is open to all teaching staff interested in finding out more about this Teaching Exchange Fellowship Scheme. Staff will be provided an overview of the scheme, how to lodge an application, the key objectives, amounts they can apply for, eligibility and advice in preparing an application. Staff who are thinking about applying are strongly encouraged to attend. Staff who attended the last seminar but found they had insufficient time to make overseas contacts, or who are thinking of planning ahead, in time for the next round (having a November 15th, 2019 closing date), would also find the seminar useful. If you are not sure whether this scheme would be relevant to teaching innovations you have in mind, or would simply like to know more about the scheme, you are welcome. The Circular on this scheme can be found at https://intraweb.hku.hk/reserved_2/cdqa/doc/TEFS/TEFS_2019-20.pdf.
HKU staff and invited guests only.
Contact Information
For information, please contact:
Mr. Thomas Lau , CETL
Phone: 3917 4807; Email: kanclau@hku.hk
