Organised by Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL) and Technology-Enriched Learning Initiative (TELI)

Designing courses is a creative process. At HKU, the majority of our courses are face-to-face (f2f) with a blended or technology-enhanced approach. As we move into the 2020-21 academic year, how can we learn from last year’s ‘emergency remote teaching’ and online learning models to re-design our courses to accommodate the variety of scenarios that may arise?

This Sandbox Series is designed to help Course Coordinators to work on rethinking course outlines and sharing ideas for ‘pandemic-proofing’ course re-designs. The goal is to share work-in-progress on course-level re-designs to support:

a. achieving Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs);
b. students’ cognitive and social engagement in online and flexible designs; and
c. reducing Course Coordinator stress and teacher workloads.

Four hands-on sessions will be offered to allow space for creative thinking and expert feedback and time to workshop your iterative re-designs. In each session, after a brief (20minute) presentation of a range of approaches to course design, Course Coordinators will join discipline-based breakout rooms to workshop their planned redesigns with a creative learning community of peers including fellow Coordinators, CETL academics, TELi instructional designers, and disciplinary experts.

We strongly encourage participants to join all four sessions. Coordinators are required to bring their current course templates and ideas for planning for 2020-21!

(HKU Staff and invited guests only.
The Zoom link and password will be sent to registrants prior to the event.)
Registration

For information, please contact:
Mr. Thomas Lau , CETL
Phone: 3917 4807; Email: kanclau@hku.hk​

Abstract
Based on HKU’s OBASL approach to course design, how do we keep our assessment aligned with CLOs when we have to move courses online? How could we ensure students’ assessment experience are equitable when experiencing the course through different modes of delivery? This first session of CETL’s Summer Sandbox Series aims at helping the participants achieve two learning outcomes: 1) apply Backward Design to the revision of the assessment for the flexible delivery of a course under unexpected circumstances; and 2) identify different options for online assessment, their features, challenges involved, and potential adaptions that could help overcome the challenges while staying aligned with CLOs.

About the speaker and facilitator

Dr. Lily Zeng is currently the Programme Leader of Professional Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and is responsible for the Senior Fellow Scheme of the HKU Advance HE Fellowship Scheme at HKU. In addition to these roles, she also provides pedagogical consultations for colleagues in various areas and teaches in the Certificate of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. She has worked in higher education for more than 20 years and worked on various fields of teaching and learning during her 12-year experience in the central teaching and learning units. She is now particularly focusing on adaptive learning, student engagement, assessment, and conceptual change. She had published in high-impact journals and been invited to give talks on learning and teaching to universities in Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia, Macau, and Mainland China.

Abstract

Course designs often follow a pattern of presentation of content followed by active learning approaches. In this session, we will explore two inquiry-based alternatives. First, I will share my teaching team’s experience of adopting design principles from problem-based learning to devise and deliver a fully online asynchronous Certificate course with the LKS Faculty of Medicine. Second, I will share my 2019-21 Masters level course in the Faculty of Education designed using the principles of case-based learning and workshop my ideas for re-designing this as a fully online course.

About the speaker and facilitator

Dr. Susan Bridges is the Director the Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL) and former Assistant Dean (Learning and Teaching/ Curriculum Innovation) in the Faculties of Education and Dentistry at The University of Hong Kong (HKU). Her higher education initiatives focus on curriculum and faculty development projects in professional education most recently chairing the reform of the HKU Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Bridges et al, 2018). She is particularly interested in integrated curriculum designs and inquiry-based learning and how educational technologies can support and enhance these (see QS Wharton Awards). In 2016, she was invited to join the Universitas21 (U21) Steering Group for the Educational Innovation Cluster to support network-wide initiatives (Bridges, Armour et al, 2019). Her HKSAR RGC and internationally-funded research demonstrates a core interest in human interactions exploring the ‘how’ of effective pedagogies and designs through ethnographic approaches. She serves on the Editorial Board for the Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning. Since 2017, she has served as a finalist judge for the QS Wharton Reimagine Education Awards. In 2020, she was elected as Chair of the Problem-based Education SIG of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and will publish her next co-edited volume (with Rintaro Imafuku) on “Interactional Research into Problem-based Learning” with Purdue University Press.

Abstract

In May 2020, more that 4,500 members of staff at 1,500 higher education institutions in the US were surveyed about their experience of making the shift from face-to-face to online teaching[1]. According to this survey, two of the biggest challenges encountered by academics were maintaining students’ motivation and designing effective collaborative tasks online. This workshop will explore strategies for enhancing students’ cognitive as well as social online presence with the aim of maintaining students’ motivation throughout your course.
[1] Delivering High-Quality Instruction Online in Response to COVID-19
https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/tools/delivering-high-quality-instruction-in-response-to-covid-19-faculty-playbook/

About the speaker and facilitator

Dr Jannie Roed is a Senior Lecturer in the Centre for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching. For more than 20 years, she has supported academics in designing and developing courses. Jannie worked as an academic (Scandinavian Language and Literature) at University College London before moving into academic development. She has worked at University of Sussex, Coventry University and University of West London. She has been leading the development of several courses for academics new to teaching in higher education as well as institutional fellowship schemes, including the HKU Advance HE Fellowship Scheme.

Abstract

In challenging times like now, inclusivity and compassion are becoming more important than ever. It is essential to acknowledge that our learners are from diverse backgrounds with different needs and degrees of access to the Internet and learning resources. In Sandbox 4 of the series, we will introduce Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a course design strategy that supports maximum accessibility and benefits all students. In this session, course coordinators will firstly view the UDL framework and then discuss and evaluate how some of the principles have been used to enhance equity, inclusivity, and compassion in their courses. Discussions will also be held around how to (re)design our courses that incorporate UDL in order to provide inclusive and compassionate online learning experiences for all students.

About the speaker and facilitator

Dr. Tracy Zou is an Assistant Professor in the Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). She has been actively engaged in identifying, collecting, and promoting exemplary teaching and learning practices in HKU and beyond through a community of practice approach. Tracy is leading a number of teaching and learning initiatives targeting at promoting internationalisation, intercultural learning, and inclusivity. One of such initiatives is a UGC-funded, cross-institutional project involving four institutions and 112 members (https://www.cetl.hku.hk/cop-itl/).

TELi instructional designers and disciplinary experts for the breakout room discussions:
(To be updated)

Registration (For HKU staff only)

In the past decade, course assessment has been digitized extensively. Apart from multiple-choice question banks, different technology solutions have been introduced in online learning. With some classes being shifted online, there is a pressing need for teachers to evaluate students’ performance within and beyond the campus. However, teachers may worry that conducting online assessment requires high digital literacy skills while some are concerned about the risk of academic misconduct behaviour in online assessment. This seminar will cover some good practices and design considerations in conducting online assessment.

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Understand the potential and affordances of online assessment
• Understand tactics that can promote academic integrity
• Design low-stakes and high-stakes online assessment
• Design open book examination questions
• Design assessment on Moodle

For enquiries, please contact us at enquiry@teli.hku.hk.

Watch the video

While peer-learning and collaborative activities have become an essential part of university education, the new classroom and social distancing arrangements may require teachers to rethink how they can deliver and manage group-based learning tasks through blended or online means. This workshop will cover:

• Examples of group-based learning in HKU undergraduate courses
• Technology that facilitates peer-learning and collaboration 
• Tips on monitoring student learning in group settings

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Identify the challenges and opportunities of conducting group work through blended and online means
• Be familiarized with the learning designs and technology that will support peer-learning and collaboration
• Identify possible ways to keep track of student learning in group work through online means

For enquiries, please contact us at enquiry@teli.hku.hk.

Registration

Conducting synchronous online teaching on Zoom and keeping students engaged in online classes are major challenges shared by many HKU teachers in the past few months. In this online workshop, we will give an overview of the challenges experienced by HKU teachers in the 2019/20 Second Semester during the current switch to online teaching and learning. We will also share good practices on how some teachers leverage the online environment to keep students engaged and even create more exciting learning opportunities. Examples of tools that can help to facilitate online discussions will also be shared in this workshop.

We will introduce:

• good practices of restructuring your lesson to a virtual flipped classroom
• tips on breaking the ice with your students virtually and keeping them engage online; and
• examples of tools that promote online discussions.

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Identify the strategies and techniques in conducting synchronous online teaching on Zoom
• Select and integrate appropriate tools in online lessons for keeping students engaged and facilitating their discussions online;
• Reflect on practices and considerations in conducting online classes.

For enquiries, please contact us at enquiry@teli.hku.hk.

Watch video

In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, teaching and learning have shifted online and students often learn through lecture videos now. One of the challenges for educators is understanding and exploring how best we may produce instructional videos. Video production may seem a daunting task to some teachers. However, producing instructional videos at home can be a reality with the right tools and training.

This workshop will give a brief introduction to the potential and affordances of videos in teaching and assessments. We will introduce:

• examples of how videos have been used in HKU courses for teaching and assessments;
• multimedia production support resources in HKU; and
• tips on DIY video production.

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Identify the challenges and opportunities of using instructional videos
• Familiarize the required equipment, techniques, and workflows of producing instructional videos at home;
• Identify the support of producing instructional videos at the campus; and
• Reflect on practices and considerations in incorporating videos in their learning design.

For enquiries, please contact us at enquiry@teli.hku.hk.