More on Offer

Implementation Plan

Please refer to the CUHK eLearning platform for the latest information about this course.

Course Organization

Units and hours

Over the 13-week term, there will be 9 weeks of lectures, interspersed with 4 weeks of tutorials; each occasion will be 3 hours.

Class size

The class size will be ~75 for lectures.

Tutorial organization

The whole class will be divided into 7 to 8 tutorial sections (A-H) of about 12 students each with different languages (English, Putonghua, Cantonese) to be used in the tutorials.

Each section will attend only two out of the four tutorials.

To enhance opportunities for discussion, and to promote teamwork, each tutorial section (12 students) will be further divided into 6 teams of 2 students each. Each team will organize its own small-group break-out discussion outside scheduled class hours before the tutorial session. A designated member of the team (chosen in rotation, so that each student will be chosen at least once) will make a short presentation at the tutorial session, to be followed by general discussion.

This arrangement follows the format often used in strategic planning workshops and retreats, and is chosen to allow more time for discussions, the opportunity to engage in team work and more organized and better prepared presentations (which may be necessary when presenting in a second language).

Reading

The required reading will be of modest quantity (say 20–30 pages per week). The contents will be covered in the quizzes. A list of suggested reading will be provided, and it is hoped that students will read a selection, possibly in relation to the preparation of the term paper.

Term paper

A term paper is required, relatively short because this may be the first term paper that the students have ever written: 1,500 words in English or 2,000 words in Chinese. In addition to the final product, there will be a series of intermediate tasks (e.g., outlines, section and subsection headings, topic sentences, sample paragraphs or sections) correlated to modules on academic writing embedded into the course.

Examination/ quizzes

There will be a short quiz at the end of each topical lecture (8 in all), covering the lecture and the pre-assigned reading. There will be no final examination.

Assessment scheme

Tutorial participation	20%
Term paper [1]	40%
Quizzes	40%

Notes

[1]	Including any intermediate tasks.

Language

The vision of CW Chu College includes internationality, and the College expects to enroll more than the average percentage of students from outside Hong Kong. This first College course should have the function of integrating students from different backgrounds into a single community, through a shared learning experience.

With this in mind, the lectures will be conducted in English. In order to promote more lively discussions, tutorials will be divided into different language sections.

As far as possible, bilingual versions (or choices) will be made available in the reading lists. Term papers and examinations may be written in either English or Chinese.

Learning Outcomes and Learning Activities

Goals and learning outcome

GECW1010, normally taken in Y1T1; is a key component of the first-year experience introducing students to university learning. The expected learning outcomes are

an understanding of the origin, purposes and values of universities (K)
an appreciation of the diversity of higher-education systems around the world, and of the changing higher-education scene in China (K)
an understanding of the higher-education system in Hong Kong and of CUHK in particular, including values, constraints, debates (K)
the attitude of reflecting upon university values, university life and the student’s own role in university (V)
the ability to consider and debate various options and choices facing the higher-education system in Hong Kong and facing CUHK in particular, and through this example, the habit of engaging in policy discussions on the basis of evidence and in the knowledge of constraints (V)
awareness of the wider arena in which this university and its members play their parts, at the crossroads between tradition and modernity, and at the interface between China and the west (K, V)
an appreciation of some of the wider issues in society, and the habit of engagement with these issues (K, V)
an appreciation of plurality of values, and tolerance and respect for different values, gained through engagement with some of these issues (V)
the skills important to university education, especially the ability to construct and present cogent arguments in a written form, and in oral presentations (S)
the skills of working together in a team (S)

K = knowledge; S = skill; V = value

Learning activities

About 2/3 of the time will be spent in lectures, and 1/3 in interactive tutorials; the latter will be preceded by small-group break-out discussions outside scheduled class hours. The lectures will include modules on academic study skills, with an emphasis on academic writing and synchronized with writing assignments leading to the term paper.

Content

Theme 1 Idea of a University

In order to provide background to new university students facing choices and uncertainties, an introduction will be given on: the origin and development of universities; the different and changing values and purposes; debates about university and higher education; and the different types of universities in the modern world.

Theme 2 Idea of This University

To prepare students as thoughtful and articulate members of this academic community, an introduction will first be given to the higher-education system in Hong Kong and the rest of Asia, and students will be invited to debate options and choices. Students will then learn about: the history and development of CUHK; its vision, mission and values; its plans and future. Choices are then discussed: policy choices for the sector and for the University; choices for the individual student. These issues will be discussed in the recognition of plural values, changing historical contexts, external constraints and the consequences accompanying any choice, and in relation to students’ own need to exercise choice and set priorities in the coming years.

Theme 3 Tradition and Modernity

Themes 3 and 4 are hinged on the University motto, and open students’ vistas onto wider issues, making them aware of and encouraging them to think about the connections between the University’s values and their own studies on the one hand, and the world at large on the other.

The first half of the University motto is ‘To combine tradition with modernity’. This module is intended to introduce the concept of modernity; the key transitions to modernity in Western civilization; the process and pain of the modernization of China from the mid-Qing dynasty to the present; tensions between tradition and modernity. Optional topics can include exploration of modernization in Japanese civilization (Meiji) and its comparison with China; the Islamic world in the transformation between tradition and modernity and the attendant choices and tensions.

Theme 4 China and the West

The second half of the University motto is ‘To bring together China and the West’. In this module, students will be given the opportunity to explore and become more conscious of different cultural traditions; their roots in diverse historical traditions; the development of historical contacts and cultural interactions between China and the West; the needs and opportunities for bringing them together in the age of globalization; and the challenges therein. The objective is to explore and critically assess how and to what extent cross-cultural perception and judgment can be affected by normative values and value formations.

Theme 5 Academic Study Skills

This theme on academic skills for university study will be dispersed as short modules throughout the 13 weeks. In addition to skills such as reading, library use, and searching for information, as well as concepts such as academic honesty, the main emphasis will be on academic writing, in order to help students develop the ability to marshal an argument with cogency and present ideas in a written form. Students will be introduced to the techniques of organization, focus, attention to audience, referencing, and style. The theme will be correlated with the term paper required in the course (including the related intermediate tasks; see Section 5). The skills developed are intended not only for the term paper in this course, but for academic writing throughout university life, and indeed for formal writing in a variety of careers and tasks.

Course Description for GECW1010

(1) Idea of a university: origin, values, purposes; debates about higher education; universities in the modern world. (2) Idea of This University: higher education in Asia and Hong Kong; history and mission of this university; policy and individual choice. (3) Tradition and Modernity: concept of modernity; modernization in Western civilization and in China (mid-Qing to the present); tensions between tradition and modernity. (4) China and the West: different cultural traditions; historical roots, contacts and interactions, globalization and challenges. (5) Academic Study Skills (interwoven into the course). The course includes both lectures (2/3) and tutorials (1/3).