A Series of Awardees of Exemplary Teaching Award in GE-
Environmental Education: Moving from Understanding to Action

Speaker: Dr. Chui Pui Yi Apple (School of Life Sciences)
Date: 23 April 2019
Time: 12:30 – 2:00 pm
Venue: Rm 701, Hui Yeung Sing Building
Language: Cantonese

Environmental education is more than providing information about the environments. It should also have the component of increasing students’ awareness and knowledge of environmental issues, enhancing individuals’ critical-thinking, changing attitudes and developing a sense of responsibility to take action to conserve nature by living a sustainable life.

In this GE lunch seminar, the speaker would share with us how to go deeper with environmental education in General Education Programme. The speaker would share with us her course design in UGEB3630 Exploring the Enigmatic Oceans, in consolidating students’ understanding of ideas about marine science, extending curiosity, and finally, allowing students to appreciate the value of our marine environment and to take action beyond lectures.

Speaker’s Bio

Dr. Chui Pui Yi Apple is a marine biologist, conservationist, underwater photographer, and ocean lover. Dr. Chui obtained her M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees in Environmental Science and Biology programs from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), and has been a lecturer in CUHK since 2016. Her research interests include coral larval ecology, coral recruitment dynamics and reef restoration using sexually reared corals. As a committed scientific communicator and devoted conservationist, Dr. Chui has been actively engaged in community outreach and education activities in Hong Kong. Throughout the years, Dr. Chui has been invited to speak in over 40 public seminars on marine and coral conservation for various organizations, including schools, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), World Wildlife Fund Hong Kong (WWFHK), Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), and Hong Kong Science Museum. With practice and experience in public speaking, she has learnt to become a storyteller of science, making science easier to understand. In 2018, Dr. Chui officially launched an outreach program “Coral Academy”, to raise students and public’s awareness and inspire action in marine conservation through various workshop activities. Dr. Chui serves as a bridge between marine environmental education in the tertiary sector and secondary schools, and consistently conveying a positive image of marine environmental education to her students as well as to the wider public.

Her learner-centered teaching approach in marine biology and conservation courses has earned her the Faculty Exemplary Teaching Award 2018, Outstanding Teaching Performance for College General Education Course 2017-18 of Shaw College, the Vice-Chancellor's Exemplary Teaching Award 2017 and Exemplary Teaching Award in General Education 2017. It is Dr. Chui’s first-hand experiences as a marine scientist and her passion on coral and conservation research that arouse students’ interest and curiosity, so that the students not only learn intellectually but, connect emotionally and take responsibility to conserve nature.

What is the Best Students can Expect from a General Education Course?

Speaker: Dr. Chen Ju-chen (Department of Anthropology)
Date: 1 March 2019
Time: 12:30 – 2:00 pm
Venue: Rm 701, Hui Yeung Sing Building
Language: English

Like many of her colleagues, Dr. Chen Ju-chen believes that general education is critical in the university’s undergraduate curriculum. General education (like anthropology) broadens students’ perspectives, trains their critical thinking skills, and facilitates whole-person development. However, one thing Dr. Chen learned about teaching general education at CUHK is that some students believe that general education, especially courses in Area A “Chinese Cultural Heritage”, are boring and irrelevant in nature. They only take these courses to fulfill the university requirement for graduation, and they come with “no expectation.” To teach students with little motivation, Dr. Chen often starts from asking them: “What do you think is the best you can expect from a general education course?

In this GE lunch seminar, Dr. Chen would like to explore what her students and she have figured out in answering this question. This discussion is about fixing a shared goal with general education students; and how that can help maximize the benefits of general education.    

Speaker’s Bio

Dr. Chen Ju-chen is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Anthropology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her scholarly interests cover a number of topics and geographic locations: female migrant workers in China and their efforts to obtain better houses for their sons; Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong and the wishes they realize through participating in beauty pageants; and independent musicians and music event organizers in Hong Kong and Taiwan with a focus on their non-accumulative lifestyles. Dr. Chen is interested in the relationship between gender and migration, and she uses aspiration as the keyword to analyze the pursuits of her various research subjects. Dr. Chen has been teaching in the Department of Anthropology since 2009. Over these years Dr. Chen has taught the following general education courses: UGEA2180 Chinese Culture and Society, UGEA2334 China Today, UGEC2653 Gender and Culture, and GENA2192 Women, Men, and Culture.

Promoting Effective Peer Learning:
Experience Sharing of Implementing Peer Assisted Study Session (PASS) in General Education Foundation Programme

Speakers:

Dr Szeto Wai Man(General Education Foundation Programme)
Dr Li Ming Kenneth (General Education Foundation Programme)
Dr Wu Jun Vivian (General Education Foundation Programme)
Dr Yip Lo Ming Amber (General Education Foundation Programme)

Date: 28 January 2019
Time: 12:30 – 2:00 pm
Venue: Rm 701, Hui Yeung Sing Building
Language: Cantonese

Peer Assisted Study Session (PASS) is a widely adopted peer learning model with proved effectiveness in enhancing student learning. For the implementation in the two required courses under the General Education Foundation Programme (GEFP) at CUHK, PASS consists of weekly one-hour, voluntary group study sessions led by “PASS Leaders” who excelled in the specific course in the past and also understand the struggles typically faced by students enrolled in the course. In PASS, students work together in a relaxed and supportive learning environment to consolidate understanding, reinforce key concepts and develop effective study strategies.

In this GE lunch seminar, the speakers will share their experience of implementing PASS in the GEFP since its pilot stage in 2010, with the illustrations from its regular evaluation. The speakers will explain how PASS has been developed in GEFP, including the expansion of the PASS Leader team and the PASS Supervisor team, the involvement of “Senior PASS Leaders”, the implementation of PASS in the form of reading workshops, and the application of the Socratic method by PASS Leaders. Invited PASS Leaders will also share their first-hand experience of leading PASS sessions and facilitating students’ learning. This seminar will also illustrate how the general PASS model can be adapted to target courses to promote effective peer learning.

Speakers' Bio

Dr Szeto Wai Man, Dr Li Ming Kenneth, Dr Wu Jun Vivian and Dr Yip Lo Ming Amber are Lecturers of the General Education Foundation Programme (GEFP). After completing the accredited PASS Supervisor Training held by The Australasian National Centre for PASS, they formed the PASS Working Group to implement PASS in GEFP and to collaborate with other units to promote PASS in CUHK.

Proposing or Revising a University General Education Course

Speaker: Dr. Chiu Chu Lee Julie (Associate Director, Office of University General Education)
Date: 18 December 2018
Time: 12:30 – 2:00 pm
Venue: Rm 701, Hui Yeung Sing Building
Language: English

Starting from 2004, all University General Education (UGE) courses have been categorized into 4 Areas:  Area A Chinese Cultural Heritage, Area B Nature, Science and Technology, Area C Society and Culture, and Area D Self and Humanity. With the support from over 40 teaching units, more than 250 UGE courses are offered by the University of General Education. In the 2017/18 academic year, 324 classes of UGE courses were conducted, and about 15,000 students enrolled.
 
This seminar targets at departments and teachers interested in proposing new UGE courses or in revising existing ones in 2019/20 academic year. We will 1) introduce the design of the UGE programme as a whole, 2) go through the procedures and criteria of UGE course approval, 3) introduce the GE Course Proposal and Inventory System (GECPI), which is a web system for the submission of UGE Course Proposals and the inventory of UGE course materials, and 4) briefly discuss the UGE course review and archive arrangements.

*For more information of submission of proposals for introduction and revision of UGE courses in 2019-20, please visit our website: http://www5.cuhk.edu.hk/oge/index.php/en/teaching-a-learning/2011-07-04-07-54-58/proposing-new-courses-ge-course-proposal-a-inventory

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.