Teaching Vivid and Academically-Challenging General Education Courses in Chemistry

Teaching Vivid and Academically-Challenging General Education Courses in Chemistry

Speaker: Dr. Wong Fai George (Department of Chemistry)
Date: 26 November 2018 (Monday)
Time: 12:30 – 2:00 pm
Venue: Rm 701, Hui Yeung Sing Building
Language: Cantonese

Chemistry is the study of molecule manipulation.  It is about the study of matter and its properties. Matter around us is all related to chemistry. For instance, although cosmetics, plastics and pesticides look apparently different, they are all made from petroleum. Despite the importance of chemistry in life, the subject itself is regarded by most students as difficult.   It is because we cannot visualize atoms by the naked eyes and definitely we cannot appreciate chemical reactions which shape the environment around us. In this GE lunch seminar, the speaker would like to share his teaching methodology, with emphasis on how to make chemistry touchable and appreciable by the students.

Speaker’s Bio

Dr. Wong Fai George is a lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Dr. Wong teaches several general education courses including UGEB2380 Chemistry of Life, UGEB2410 Chemistry in Action and GECC1131 Idea of a University: Student-oriented Teaching. Dr. Wong is good at expressing abstract ideas. In his courses, he makes great effort to link chemistry knowledge with everyday life experiences. He also uses different teaching aids, such as animations, videos, experiment models and games which aim at engaging students and stimulating their appreciation towards Chemistry. Besides teaching, Dr. Wong takes an active role in developing teaching materials. He is the principle investigator of several teaching-related projects receiving grants. His recent project is the development of an interactive laboratory safety e-Learning platform called LabSafe. It employs virtual reality, narrated lectures, animations and quizzes to teach laboratory safety.