You are warmly invited to an informal Open House with Gray Kochhar-Lindgren, the Director of the Common Core. Details are as follows:
Date: April 10, 2015 (Friday)
Time: 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Venue: Common Core Lounge (Room 150, Main Building)
Come learn more about how and why the whole process works; bring praise, lamentations, or suggestions for improvement; learn more about the new CC Student Ambassadors and all the great work being done in different classes.
HKU Visitor Centre & Common Core Lounge MB150
12 March – 2 April 2015
10.00 – 17.00
A Finale to the Myanmar Month
Political reform started to sweep Myanmar in 2011, when a long-standing military junta handed power to an elected civilian government. While many big issues still need to be confronted, the country is visibly changing as people become more free. This exhibition provides one set of perspectives on Myanmar in reform by presenting paintings by about twenty artists. Together, they help generate a fuller understanding of a nation that for decades has had only limited contact with the wider world.
The Common Core @ HKU
HKU Museum and Art Gallery, the HKU Black Box Theatre
in affiliation with
Papay Gyro Nights Arts Festival Hong Kong
March 17, 2015
Inventing the TransDisciplinary University is a playful jam session sponsored by the Common Core@HKU, the HKU Museum and Art Gallery, the HKU Black Box Theatre (HKUBB), and affiliated with the Papay Gyro Nights Arts Festival Hong Kong. Since the Common Core aims to catalyze learning across disciplines, questions, methodologies, and boundaries, we thought we would co-organize an experiment to explore what qualities might emerge that gesture towards the “TransDisciplinary University” to come.
The event will have two parts. In the first, at the HKU Museum and Art Gallery, Dr. Rick Dolphijn will talk about “What Matters in 21st Century Thought? Speculating the Transdisciplinary University with Deleuze and Serres.” We will then migrate over to the HKUBB on the Centennial Campus, where Florian Knothe, Page Richards, Benoit Guénard, and Aarti Hemnani will each turn a word or two around, sideways, and upside down in order to see how each catches the transdisciplinary light. Participants in the audience will then concoct some next steps and then Dr. Dolphijn will wrap up the evening’s play with a few concluding remarks.
Part 1
4-5pm HKU Museum and Art Gallery (The Drake Gallery)
What Matters in 21st Century Thought? Speculating the Transdisciplinary University with Deleuze and Serres, Rick Dolphijn (Philosophy, Media, and Cultural Studies, University of Utrecht)
Abstract:
What has happened to the “body of knowledge” we call the University over the past fifty years? How is the University mattering in contemporary society? Starting from the Spinozist paradigm that all ideas are ideas from and to its body, we will rethink the idea of the university from a materialist point of view. Taking into account the shift from disciplinary societies to control societies—as Deleuze foresaw—and the shift from metrical space to topological space—as Serres discusses—another “type” of body is now being realized, another “type” of knowledge is now being actualized. This will have great and unforeseen consequences for the University as an institution and for University learning.
About the Speaker:
Rick Dolphijn holds an assistant professorship at the Faculty of Humanities and is Senior Fellow at the Centre for the Humanities, both at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. In 2014/15 he is serving as a fellow at the Descartes Centre for the History and Philosophy of the Sciences and the Humanities doing research on “the history of matter”. His latest book (edited with Rosi Braidotti) is This Deleuzian Century: Art, Activism and Life (Rodopi 2014). In Hong Kong, he is also serving as the Philosopher-in-Residence for the Papay Gyro Nights Arts Festival.
Inventing the TransDisciplinary University: Traversing Words
Facilitator: Gray Kochhar-Lindgren (Professor & Director, HKU Common Core)
Catalysts:
Page Richards (HKUBB & Creative Writing Director, Poet, Associate Professor of English)
Benoit Guénard (HKU Tropical Ecologist, Ant Biologist, Nature Photographer, and Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences)
Florian Knothe (Director, HKU Museum & Art Gallery)
Aarti Hemnani (HKUBB Manager)
Audience Exercise: Next Steps
What Matters? Rick Dolphijn (Philosopher-in-Residence, Papay Gyro Nights)
All are welcome. Space is limited, so sign up early if you’d like to jam.
Date : 16 February 2015 (Monday) Time : 12:30pm – 1:30pm Venue : Room 6-12B (Conference Room), Haking Wong Building, The University of Hong Kong
About the seminar
Experiential learning and project-based learning share their pedagogic foundation, while there is insu cient research on exploring their integration for enhancing student learning in real-life projects. This gap in knowledge is coupled with a paucity of sustainability pedagogy in higher education. While project-based learning and experiential learning are sometimes found to be used interchangeably both in literature as well as in practice, there are di erences between the two, particularly in the areas of construction and sustainability.
This seminar reports on a HKU Teaching Development Grants (TDG) project in which Project-Based Learning (PjBL) and Experiential Learning (EL) are integrated to enhance learning in sustainability embedded higher education. PjBL may involve real-life projects, with examples like case studies, eld trips and site visits. EL may include in-class demonstrations, eld trips, site visits and other forms of hands-on student participation as part of the learning process but may not necessarily be based on real-life projects. The project team and supporters will share the research ndings as well as the latest thinking and practice of project-based experiential learning for sustainability education across the University.
Registration of seminar
Attending this seminar is FREE, but advanced online registration is required on the first come, first served basis via https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?guest=Y&ueid=35322, where further information is also available. For enquiry on this seminar, please contact Dr Kelwin Wong (kelwin.wong@connect.hku.hk), or Dr. Wei Pan (wpan@hku.hk, +852 2859 2671) of the Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong.
Deadline of registration: Thursday 12 February 2015.
Seminar rundown
12:15 – 12:30noon
Registration
12:30 – 12:35
Welcome Remarks
Prof S C Wong, Head of Department of Civil Engineering, HKU
12:35 – 12:40
Introduction
Dr Wei Pan, Department of Civil Engineering, HKU
12:40 – 12:45
Overview of Project-Based Experiential Learning in The Common Core Courses at HKU
Prof Gray Kochhar-Lindgren, Director of The Common Core Course Programme, HKU
12:45 – 12:50
Project-Based Experiential Learning for Sustainability Embedded Higher Education: The Perspective of CETL
Dr Cecilia Chan, Head of Professional Development, Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL), HKU
12:50 – 1:10pm
Project-Based Experiential Learning for Sustainability Embedded Higher Education
Dr Wei Pan and Dr Kelwin Wong, Department of Civil Engineering, HKU
1:10 – 1:25
Q & A
All participants
1:25 – 1:30pm
Closing Remarks
Dr Wei Pan, Department of Civil Engineering, HKU
Project team members and supporters
The project underlying this seminar is carried out and supported by a
University-wide team including:
Faculty of Engineering
Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning
Please come join us for an informal student-centred discussion of “Women and Activism” in the Common Core Lounge…
Date : 29 January, 2015 (Thu) Time : 1:00pm – 2:00pm Venue : Common Core Lounge, Room 150, Main Building Moderator: Professor Gina Marchetti Panelists: Associate Professor Puja Kapai, Ms. Yvonne Kwok, Assistant Professor Mirana Szeto, Ms. Vivian Yan
Coffee, tea, and good conversation!
All best,
Gray
Gray Kochhar-Lindgren, PhD
Professor and Director
Common Core
The Common Core (CC) Lounge is located in Room 150 on 1/F of the Main Building. The facility is a common space for students and teachers to gather before and after their CC tutorials or other lectures for further discussion. The space is also used for showcasing students’ exemplary projects and assignments in CC courses.
Opening Hours
The opening hours of the CC Lounge are as follows:
Monday – Friday: 09:00 – 17:30
Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays: Closed
User Rules and Guidelines
The CC Lounge is a common space for students and teachers. It is NOT open to the public.
Users may be required to show their university cards for identification purpose. Inside the CC Lounge, users must exhibit respectable behavior, and must not jeopardize the rights of other users of the facility. While interactions and group discussions are encouraged, such activities should be carried out in a manner so as not to cause undue disturbance to other users. The following is a list of Rules and Guidelines which users of the CC Lounge must observe:
Animals
Animals and pets, except service animals assisting disabled persons, are not allowed in the CC Lounge.
Cell phone
Keep your voice down when using cell phones.
Closing time
Users are expected to leave the CC Lounge when the closing time is reached.
Clothing
Users must wear appropriate attire at all times when inside the CC Lounge.
Food and Beverages
Please help us to ensure a clean and safe environment for users, and to aid in preservation and care of the exhibits in the CC Lounge by observing the following policies:
Only small packaged snacks and beverages may be consumed in the CC Lounge.
Alcoholic beverages must NOT be brought into the CC Lounge.
Users who fail to adhere to the above will result in the offender being asked to leave the CC Lounge.
Gambling
Gambling is strictly prohibited at all times in the CC Lounge.
Lost and Found
Lost and Found items will be passed to the University’s Security Office.
Personal Property
Users are responsible for their personal property at all times and should never leave personal belongings unattended. Thefts of laptops, purses, phones, backpacks, jackets, etc. may occur.
Posters
Posting of posters inside the CC Lounge is forbidden unless prior approval has been given by the CC Curriculum Office.
Sleeping
Sleeping is not allowed in the CC Lounge.
Smoking
Smoking is prohibited in the University campus.
Soliciting
In order to respect the privacy, security and comfort of all CC Lounge users, soliciting is not permitted unless prior approval from the CC Curriculum Office has been obtained. This applies to requesting of money, services, favors, goods, opinions and signatures; petitioning; interviewing; and selling of any products or services.
Safety
Evacuation Procedures
When you hear a fire alarm or voice announcement, follow the following –
Stop what you are doing immediately.
Leave the Main Building quickly and calmly by the nearest emergency exit.
Do not use the lift.
Stay away from the building, and do not re-enter the building until the “all-clear” has been announced.
First Aid
If there is an accident in the CC Lounge, please call 3917 2882 (24-hour hotline of the Security Office) or 999 (Police emergence call centre) as appropriate.
As the Common Core expands its seminars, events, and exhibits for students and the campus as a whole, we are pleased to announce a seminar by Professor Jeffrey Wasserstrom (University of California, Irvine) entitled “China under Xi Jinping: A Culture Historian’s Assessment of His First Two Years.”
Speaker: Professor Jeffrey Wasserstrom (University of California, Irvine)
Date: Thur, Nov 6, 2014
Time: 4:00 – 5:30 pm
Venue: T5, Meng Wah Complex (Main Campus)
Abstract
In mid-November of 2014, Xi Jinping will have completed two years as head of the Chinese Communist Party. Which past leader or leaders is he most like? Should he be thought of largely continuing the policies of his predecessor Hu Jintao – or as having shifted in dramatic new directions? What are the most significant trends of the last two years when it comes to domestic and international relations? This illustrated talk will explore these questions, bringing into the picture not only parallels between Xi’s policies and style and those of previous Communist Party leaders but also ways that some of his moves bring to mind those of other Chinese leaders of the past, from emperors to Chiang Kai-shek.
About the Speaker
Professor Jeffrey Wasserstrom is Chancellor’s Professor of History at the University of California, Irvine, where he also holds a courtesy position in the Law School. He is the author of four books, including China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know (2010 and 2013), and the editor or co-editor of several others, including Chinese Characters: Profiles of Fast-Changing Lives in a Fast-Changing Land (2012). He has contributed to a range of scholarly periodicals and written commentaries and reviews for newspapers as well as a wide variety of magazines. Before returning to his native California, he taught at the University of Kentucky and at Indiana University, where he spent a decade-and-a-half as a member of the History Department and served for a time as the Director of the East Asian Studies Center.
Open for all to attend
(especially Year 1 students)
What is it about?
This playful and interactive workshop will provide students with an introduction to assessment methods in the Common Core and focus on practical advice on how best to actively participate in class and tutorials. The Director of Common Core Curriculum will demonstrate a typical learning environment and request audience participation. AAO will highlight key academic resources and explain how to find academic support.
Who will speak?
Prof. Gray Kochhar-Lindgren, Director of Common Core Curriculum
Dr. Amy Lewis, Academic Adviser, Academic Advising Office
Organized by Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL) and Common Core Curriculum Office (CC)
Speakers: Dr Todd Zakrajsek,
Executive Director, Academy of Educators in the School of Medicine and
Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA. Date : 26th September, 2014 (Friday) Time : 12:30pm – 2:00pm Venue : Room 321, Run Run Shaw Building
Abstract:
Having the opportunity to mould future generations is an amazing opportunity and a daunting responsibility. Teaching well can be very challenging. There is a great deal of research demonstrating the effectiveness of student-centered and engaged learning. In this session we will explore teaching as a “profession,” and look at why teaching is exceptionally important to everyone and how research on teaching and learning can help us to be better at educating others. This session is designed to encourage participants to think about assessment, the roles of teachers and students, teaching, and learning in new and fundamentally different ways.
About the Speakers:
Dr Todd Zakrajsek is the Executive Director of the Academy of Educators in the School of Medicine and an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is the immediate past Executive Director of the Center for Faculty Excellence at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to that, he was the Inaugural Director of the Faculty Center for Innovative Teaching at Central Michigan University and the founding Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Southern Oregon University, where he also taught in the psychology department as a tenured associate professor.
Dr Zakrajsek currently directs three National Lilly Conferences on College and University Teaching and Learning and one International Teaching Conference and also sits on two educationally related boards: Education Research Initiative for Lenovo Computer and Technology Enhanced Instruction for Microsoft.
For information on registration, please contact:
Ms Ivy Lai , CETL
Phone: 3917 8996; Email: laichun2@hku.hk.
