The Symposium, hosted by HKU on the first of March 2010, took place at Rayson Huang Theatre, the University of Hong Kong.
Vice-Chancellor Lap-Chee Tsui gave a warm welcome to over 300 attendees from local tertiary institutions, UGC, Education Bureau, and other organizations, noting the significance of Standards Based Assessment and Honours Classification in the implementation of the new 334 academic reform.
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Assessment is a dynamic and evolving component of the undergraduate learning experience. Recognizing that conventional assessment practices may not adequately serve the changing needs of students and the changing expectations of university graduates, the Steering Committee on 4-Year Undergraduate Curriculum has put forward eight recommendations for consultation with Faculties, students and other stakeholders. Consultation is anticipated to complete in January and the Steering Committee plans to present its recommendations to Senate for consideration at its meeting in March 2010. The recommendations focus on the following areas:
On January 20, 2010 Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) Professor Amy B.M. Tsui and Dean of Student Affairs Dr. Albert Chau met with over 20 students representing Faculty Societies, Students’ Associations of residence halls, the Independent Clubs Association and the Central Executive Committee of the HKU Students’ Union. Students shared their views on the recommendations put forward by the Steering Committee and had an open discussion with Professor Tsui and Dr. Chau on issues ranging from workload concern driven by diverse forms of assessment to provision of feedback from teachers. Input from students, as well as those from Faculties, will be considered by the Steering Committee when it finalizes its recommendations to Senate.
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University Life Trio is an annual event organized by the Centre of Development and Resources for Students (CEDARS) in which Year One students and their parents are invited to join a campus tour, a main program, and a tea reception. This year the event took place on January 17, 2010 and over 700 parents participated with much enthusiasm. The objective of the program is to help parents, students and the University work effectively together to facilitate students’ learning and growth.
It is the University’s conviction that parents, students and the University are collaborators in university education. At the Trio, Vice-Chancellor Professor Lap-Chee Tsui, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) Professor Amy B.M. Tsui, and Dean of Student Affairs Dr. Albert Chau addressed the audience on university teaching and learning and student life. There was also a panel discussion session and the Trio provided a good opportunity for parents to find out how students, other parents, and university staff address certain mutual concerns.
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| Speaker | Professor Michael Worton Vice-Provost (Academic and International) University College London (UCL) |
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| Date | 10 December, 2009 (Thur) |
| Time | 12:30 – 2:00 pm |
| Venue | Theatre 5, 1/F, Meng Wah Complex, The University of Hong Kong |
In this seminar, Professor Worton spoke about the challenges faced by UCL as a research-intensive university in promoting and recognizing teaching excellence. He outlined the strategies undertaken by UCL to meet these challenges and gave a vivid account of how teaching awards at UCL started many years ago with less than satisfactory responses but eventually emerged as a successful way to promote teaching excellence. Professor Worton also talked about UCL’s revision of promotion criteria for academic staff in order to emphasize the importance of teaching contribution. The seminar concluded with Professor Worton speaking on UCL’s vision for internationalizing the university, with particular reference to the challenges involved in internationalizing the curriculum.
Professor Worton is Vice-Provost of UCL, who oversees the implementation of UCL’s Learning and Teaching strategy and is responsible for matters relating to quality assurance and T&L. He contributes significantly to the development of higher education in the UK and Europe and holds various important national and international appointments outside UCL. He was Chair of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)/Arts and Humanities Research Council Expert Group on Research Metrics, and is a member of the joint Steering Group of Universities UK, Standing Conference of Principals and HEFCE on Measuring and Recording Student Achievement. He has spoken widely in the UK and continental Europe on the internationalization of higher education. He has just undertaken a personal review for HEFCE and the UK Government of language provision in UK higher education. His research focuses on 20th and 21st century literature and on aspects of critical theory, feminism, gender politics, and painting and photography. He has published 9 books and more than 70 articles and chapters in books.
Service learning is a pedagogical approach under which students learn through active participation in structured community service programs. It will be an important element in HKU’s new 4-year undergraduate curriculum which, among other educational aims, emphasizes the advocacy for the improvement of the human condition.
On 15 September, 2009 the Gallant Ho Service Learning Scheme – Family Values was formally introduced by the Vice Chancellor and President, Professor Lap-Chee Tsui, at the launching ceremony held at Rayson Huang Theatre. Following the Vice Chancellor’s address, a group of students who took part in the first project under the Gallant Ho Service Learning Scheme during the summer shared their experiences with the audience.
To enrich the audience’s understanding of service learning, five guest speakers were invited to have a dialogue on the topic. During the dialogue, Professor Amy BM Tsui, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President, explained that the concept of service learning had actually taken off in the United States when the National and Community Service Act was introduced in 1990. Professor Tsui also pointed out service learning is tearing down the barrier between learning in the classroom and learning in the community. It is designed from a specific learning theory stressing active participation and it has a high emphasis on moral and civic values.
To find out more about how participating HKU students performed meaningful community service related to their academic studies in the first project under the Gallant Ho Service Learning Scheme, please view their presentation here.
| Date | 15 September, 2009 (Tue) |
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| Time | 5:30 p.m. – 6:45 p.m. |
| Venue | Rayson Huang Theatre, The University of Hong Kong |
| Officiating Guests | Dr. Gallant Ho (BA 1965) Prof. Lap-Chee Tsui, Vice-Chancellor, HKU |
| Moderator | Dr. Sandra Tsang, Head, Department of Social Work and Social Administration, HKU |
| Guest Speakers | Prof. Amy Tsui, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, HKU Dr. Leong Chi Hung, GBS, JP, Chairman, Elderly Commission and Member of Family Council Ms Christine Fang, JP, Chief Executive, The Hong Kong Council of Social Service Ms Lilian Law, Executive Director, The Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong Mr. Andy Hui, (LLB 3), HKU Student Representative |
The Steering Committee on 4-year Undergraduate Curriculum held its 4th Curriculum Reform Retreat on June 22-23, 2009 at the Aberdeen Marina Club. The theme of this retreat is “Student Learning Experience and Assessment”. Faculties responded enthusiastically and about 180 participants joined the Retreat, consisting of Deans, Heads of Departments and mostly staff members who are key players in the implementation of teaching and learning matters, teaching award winners, and members of the subcommittees of the Steering Committee. Of the retreat participants, over 30 are office bearers of student organizations and student representatives from Faculties.
The first session was devoted to the interpretation of the preliminary findings of the HKUSLEQ 08-09 whereas the two sessions on the next day were focused on assessment issues, particularly the move to standards-referenced assessment and First Year Experience (FYE). Students collectively made three impressive presentations to express their views on student learning experience, assessment and FYE.
Responses from the participants were very positive and encouraging. Please see below for the Feedback Report, programme rundown and the presentation files.
(Presentations with icons require HKU Portal login to access.)
| From | To | Programme |
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| Please click the PDF/VIDEO button to download the presentation files in PDF/WMV format | ||
| 2:00pm | 2:15pm | Opening Address Professor Lap-Chee Tsui (VC & President) |
| 2:15pm | 2:40pm | Curriculum Reform Progress Report and Student Learning Experience Session Facilitator: Mr Benny T.Y. Tai (Retreat Organizing Committee Chair) (I) CR Progress Report (Plenary Session)
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| 2:40pm | 3:45pm | (II) Student Learning Experience (Plenary Session)
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| 3:45pm | 4:00pm | Tea Break (Marina Suite, 2/F) |
| 4:00pm | 5:00pm | (III) Student Learning Experience (Break-out Session)
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| 5:00pm | 6:00pm | (IV) Student Learning Experience (Interactive Session)
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| From | To | Programme |
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| Please click the PDF/VIDEO button to download the presentation files in PDF/WMV format | ||
| 8:45am | 9:15am | Assessment
(I) Assessment: Current Practices at HKU, Issues and Implications – An Overview (Plenary Session)
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| 9:15am | 10:30am | (II) Panel Discussion (Plenary Session) Part A – Comments from panelists on key issues Panelists: Member(s) of SC Subcom, Faculty academic staff and student(s)
Part B – Comments from the floor |
| 10:30am | 11:00am | Tea Break (Marina Suite, 2/F) |
| 11:00am | 11:45am | (III) Standardizing Assessment Practices and Assessment Policy (Break-out Session) |
| 11:45am | 12:30pm | (IV) Interactive Session
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| 12:30pm | 1:30pm | Lunch (Balcony & Board Room, 1/F) |
| 1:30pm | 2:15pm | First Year Experience (FYE) Session Facilitator: Professor L.C. Chan (Retreat Organizing Committee Member) (I) Transition from School to University Education: Problems and Issues (Plenary Session)
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| 2:15pm | 3:00pm | (II) FYE Findings & Proposed and Implemented Courses of Action (Break-out Session cum Tea Break) |
| 3:00pm | 4:00pm | (III) Interactive Session
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| 4:00pm | 4:15pm | Wrap Up and Look Ahead Professor Amy B.M. Tsui (Chair of SC; PVC(T&L) & VP) |
| 4:15pm | 4:25pm | Closing Remarks Professor Richard Y.C. Wong (DVC & Provost) |
| 4:25pm | 4:30pm | Filling out Feedback Form |
| Speaker | Professor Harry Lewis Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Harvard University |
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| Date | 14 May, 2009 (Thu) |
| Time | 11:30am – 12:30pm |
| Venue | LG-06, Hui Oi Chow Science Building, The University of Hong Kong |
A central challenge in teaching science to non-science students is deciding what to count as success. Set the bar too low and success is achievable but unsatisfying to the teacher; set it too high and success is frustrating to all concerned; set it at the right level but in the wrong place and students may succeed but wind up both unsatisfied and frustrated. Most teaching in this genre aims at one or more of three goals: aesthetic (e.g. so students understand Newton’s Laws as a human intellectual creation like a great work of literature), or trust-building (e.g. so students understand that medical research can be expected to produce useful results in the future as it has in the past), or pragmatic (e.g. so students can make rational choices about installing solar panels). The speaker will argue for another justification: to enable students to fulfill their civic responsibilities, by understanding the moral and ethical implications of advances in science and engineering. A decision to pursue that goal has consequences: it biases the subjects taught toward applied science, and forces the teacher to grapple with normative and moral issues in which most scientists have no professional training. He will draw on teaching going on at Harvard to illustrate his argument.
Harry Lewis is Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences of Harvard University. His undergraduate and PhD degrees are from Harvard, and he has taught there since 1974. He is the senior member of the Undergraduate Admissions Committee, and from 1995 to 2003 he served as Dean of Harvard College. In addition to his special field of theoretical computer science, he also teaches an innovative general education course about principles of digital information technology and the societal dilemmas it is creating. His recent writings include two acclaimed books, Excellence Without a Soul: Does Liberal Education Have a Future?, which has been translated into Chinese, and Blown to Bits: Your Life, Liberty, and Happiness After the Digital Explosion.
| Speaker | Professor Harry Lewis Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Harvard University |
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| Date | 13 May, 2009 (Wed) |
| Time | 5:30pm – 7:00pm |
| Venue | Wang Gungwu Theatre, Graduate House, The University of Hong Kong |
Wherever we go … whatever we say, write, photograph, or buy … whatever prescriptions we take, or ATM withdrawals we make … we are generating information. That information can be captured, digitized, retrieved, and copied – anywhere on earth, instantly. Sophisticated computers can increasingly uncover meaning in those digital traces – understanding, anticipating, and influencing us as never before. Social networking seduces us into giving up yet more information, and phones with global positioning systems can help anyone we call a "friend" to track our every movement.
Digital technologies enable unprecedented social interconnection and dissemination of learning. But technologies are morally neutral: Google Earth, for example, has been used both to discover new rain forests in Mozambique and to plan terrorist attacks in Mumbai. We review instances in which social institutions have responded inappropriately to perceived technological threats, and ask whether the liberating force of the technology can withstand the fears it arouses.
Harry Lewis is Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences of Harvard University. His undergraduate and PhD degrees are from Harvard, and he has taught there since 1974. He is the senior member of the Undergraduate Admissions Committee, and from 1995 to 2003 he served as Dean of Harvard College. In addition to his special field of theoretical computer science, he also teaches an innovative general education course about principles of digital information technology and the societal dilemmas it is creating. His recent writings include two acclaimed books, Excellence Without a Soul: Does Liberal Education Have a Future?, which has been translated into Chinese, and Blown to Bits: Your Life, Liberty, and Happiness After the Digital Explosion.
Mr. Gwyn Edwards, Co-ordinator of HKU’s CCC, gave a presentation on the New Senior Secondary Liberal Studies curriculum, highlighting its rationale, framework and main features.
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Opening Address by VC and President Where are we in Curriculum Reform? Professor Amy BM Tsui (Chairman of SC; PVC & VP) |
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First Year Experience and Academic Induction: Plenary Session Chairman: Professor Joseph Chan (Deputy Chairman of Common Core Curriculum Subcommittee, SC; Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences) |
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First Year Experience and Academic Induction (Cont’d) : Break-out Session Facilitator: Professor Ian Holliday (Dean of Social Sciences) |
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Academic Advising: Plenary Session, Break-out Session, Sum-up Session Chairman: Professor YS Chan (Member of Staff Engagement and Staff Development Subcommitte, SC; Professor, LKS, Faculty of Medicine) |
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Learning Spaces and the Space of Learning: Plenary Session, Interactive Session, Plenary Discussions Chairman: Professor John Malpas (Member of SC; PVC&VP; Chairman of Project Group for Centenial Campus and Main Campus Redevelopment) |
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Wrap up and Look Ahead Professor Amy BM Tsui (Chairman of SC, PVC & VP) |
