Teaching and Learning Experience Sharing (TALES) Seminar Series (2021/22 Semester 2)

Facilitator(s):

CHTL Colleagues

Abstract:

This online workshop will provide participants with an overview of useful functions in ZOOM for conducting interactive online/mixed-mode classes in the University. In addition, digital devices/settings available inside the classroom and other electronic devices for facilitating mixed-mode teaching will also be demonstrated.

By the end of this workshop, you should be able to:

• identify useful ZOOM functions for conducting interactive online/mixed-mode classes;
• apply useful e-learning tools and strategies to engage/motivate students in mixed-mode classes;
• describe the functions of the plugin “Class” in ZOOM.

Facilitator(s):

Dr Rocky CHEN (MKT)
Dr Simon WANG (LC)
Dr Daniel YOUNG (SOWK)

Abstract:

The University provides different funding opportunities to encourage adoption of innovative pedagogical approach(es) and staff/overseas partner collaboration(s) to enhance the quality of teaching and learning. Spearheading the three aspects of support are respectively the Teaching Development Grants (TDG), the Communities of Practice (CoPs) and the Small Private Online Course (SPOC) Funding.

In this workshop, three successful applicants of the aforementioned grants are invited to share their projects of diverse foci and scales – Dr Rocky Chen’s TDG Seed Funding project on developing students’ learning about research; Dr Simon Wang’s TDG project on teaching spoken English with natural language processing technologies and his SPOC project on facilitating students’ writing skills for professional development; and Dr Daniel Young’s CoP project about the development of an online counseling platform to enhance students’ learning and practice.

Specifically, the facilitators will share their decision-making and things-to-note throughout the proposal writing and project implementation process. They will also showcase methods of evaluating students’ learning outcomes through the projects. It is hoped that by the end of the workshop, colleagues will be able to propose their teaching and learning initiatives and learn the practical tips to succeed in the application process.

Facilitator(s):

Dr. James Mead (University of West Florida)
Dr. James Mead is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of West Florida. His research interests include emotion, memory, pricing, satiation, and consumer well-being. James has published his research in such outlets as the Journal of Retailing, Journal of Business Research, and Psychology & Marketing. James also served as a guest Editor of Marketing Education Review. Before returning to school to complete his PhD, James spent four years in corporate marketing research.

Dr. Stephen LeMay (University of West Florida)
Dr. Stephen A. LeMay is Associate Professor of Marketing and Logistics at the University of West Florida, and Professor Emeritus of Marketing and Logistics at Mississippi State University. He holds a doctorate in transportation and logistics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, an MBA in operations management from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University. Dr. LeMay’s published work includes more than 100 academic journal articles and proceedings. His research interests include supply chain ethics, logistics system design, security, logistics information systems, logistics human resources issues, and business pedagogy. He has taught a wide range of business courses including logistics, marketing, operations management, and management classes. He served six years in the United States Air Force as a Russian linguist and Soviet specialist.

Professor Kara Chan, SFHEA (Hong Kong Baptist University)
Dr. Kara Chan (PhD in psychology; City University of Hong Kong) is Associate Dean and Professor at School of Communication and Film, Hong Kong Baptist University. She worked in the advertising profession and as a statistician for the Hong Kong Government before she joined the academia. She received Outstanding Performance in Scholarly Work at Hong Kong Baptist University in 2006 and 2014 and a Knowledge Transfer Award in 2016. She was the recipient of President’s Award of Outstanding Performance in Research Supervision in 2018, General Education Teaching Award 2020/21, the Finalist for the 2020 University Grants Committee Teaching Award, and the Grand Prize of the 2021 International Context on Blended Teaching and Learning.

Abstract:

As part of the research-teaching nexus workshop series, three invited speakers, Dr. James Mead and Dr. Stephen LeMay from the University of West Florida, USA and Professor Kara Chan from the School of Communication and Film, HKBU will share their respective teaching experience on how to enhance students’ research experience inside and outside the classroom.

Talk 1:
Speakers: Dr. James Mead and Dr. Stephen LeMay, University of West Florida, USA
The “U Choose Awards” is an experiential learning project conducted by members of the University of West Florida’s (UWF) American Marketing Association. At its core, the “U Choose Awards” is a marketing research project designed to measure the brand equity of local businesses and organizations based on surveys of UWF students. However, it also offers students the opportunity to create related-brand collateral such as name, logo, award graphics, and website. Therefore, it is designed to provide students with a range of options to apply marketing concepts and engage with the local community.

Talk 2:
Speaker: Professor Kara Chan, School of Communication and Film, HKBU
Professor Chan taught a course on audience measurement and engagement with Malaysian students. For the course content on celebrity engagement, students need to complete the course materials about the effectiveness of advertisement with celebrity endorsement among adolescents. HKBU students were required to conduct an interview with a student from Sunday University, Malaysia on their perception of advertisements with celebrities. This research activity was conducted in the online context. Challenges in implementing course-based research will be discussed.

Facilitator(s):

Mr Leslie WEE (Class Technologies Inc.)

Abstract:

Teachers’ and students’ expectations of the synchronous online class have evolved lately. The available e-tools in a virtual classroom needs to be able to bring the experience closer to that of in-person classes. Beyond Covid, video conferencing (VC) platforms need to support both fully online and hybrid classes. Faculty using CLASS, “a platform built on Zoom”, can uncover opportunities to better engage their students, whilst maintaining efficiency. CLASS is designed to support flexible instructional strategies and exploit available content and activities from multiple sources. With CLASS, in-person engagement skills that faculty have honed through the years can be better utilized in the synchronous online classroom due to its unique capabilities. CLASS brings together Zoom’s highly scalable and reliable conferencing architecture, and CLASS’s innovative teaching and learning tools, resulting in a combined value to institutions and their stakeholders that no other platform can provide.

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to identify useful features available in CLASS for conducting interactive online classes.

Facilitator(s):

Ms FONG Yuen Shan, Michelle
Assistant Lecturer, Language Centre, HKBU
Dr LAU Chaak Ming
Assistant Professor, Department of Linguistics and Modern Language Studies, EdUHK

Abstract:

Now that most of the assessments are submitted online, the need to seamlessly grade online is even more pressing. How did some of our colleagues figure out ways to do their grading more easily? In this session, two Academic/Teaching colleagues from HKBU and EdUHK will share their respective experience of designing assignments that are both fit-for-purpose and can be digitally graded painlessly. 

Facilitator(s):

Professor Jeremiah ALBERG
Director, Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), International Christian University (ICU), Tokyo, Japan

Abstract:

“Students as Partners” (SaP) becomes prevalent in contemporary higher education, creating space for students and staff to work together toward shared educational goals. This pedagogy has been applied in various teaching and learning programmes, and proven effective in innovating instruction and assessment as well as enhancing students’ agency in their academic studies.

In this workshop, Professor Alberg will introduce a student-run advising system, namely International Christian University Brothers and Sisters (IBS), which demonstrates an institutional-wide practice of SaP underpinning the Multi-pattern Major System as a part of ICU’s liberal arts essence. The pedagogical rationale of setting up IBS, and the roles of CTL in executing relevant activities to enhance the effectiveness of academic advising at the ICU will be covered. In addition, two students will share their observations and reflections on the effectiveness of adopting IBS at ICU.

By the end of this workshop, you should be able to:

• Explain some key features of SaP in the Asian higher education context; and
• Identify some practices of SaP worth trying in your course or programme.

Facilitator(s):

Professor Mark SHUTTLEWORTH
Associate Head & Professor, Department of Translation, Interpreting and Intercultural Studies, HKBU
Dr FONG Wai Tsz, Ricci
Assistant Professor of Teaching, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, EdUHK

Abstract:

Authentic or alternative assessments can be challenging to students. In many cases, the course instructors use a variety of ways to create room for students to receive and make sense of feedback. What are the keys to keep this give-and-take process efficient, especially in the online learning and teaching context? In this session, two Academic/ Teaching colleagues from HKBU and EdUHK will share their experience of designing authentic assessment and feedback for their students. 

Facilitator(s):

Dr Iulia GHEOGHIU (SOC)
Professor Gina LAI (SOC)

Abstract:

Conducting authentic research studies that integrate with the subject contents empower students in both knowledge generation and in taking responsibility for learning (Harland and Wald, 2018). Students benefit life-long from the meta-cognitive skills that they have acquired as research skills that are highly transferrable to other situations and careers. A course-based research project embedded in the course content enables every student to learn and experience how existing knowledge has been generated.

This is Research-Teaching Nexus Workshop Series 4. Linking research with teaching is practiced in many universities as a pedagogy to enhance students’ learning. Actual practices, however, take various forms. The two speakers will share their experience in building two forms of research-teaching nexus in the physical and virtual settings, namely research-oriented teaching and research-based teaching (Weller 2016). Research-oriented teaching involves teaching and learning activities designed to develop students’ understanding and application of research methodologies and skills whereas research-based teaching engages students in small-scale research assignments to enable them to acquire authentic enquiry experiences with the course contents. Opportunities and challenges for building the two forms of research-teaching nexus will be discussed in the talk.

This workshop series is fully funded by UGC’s Special Grant for Strategic Development of Virtual Teaching and Learning. The project title is “Building the Capacity of Research-Informed Teaching and Learning in the Virtual T&L Context”.Project team: Professor Kara Chan (Leader), Professor Noel Siu, Professor Gina Lai. Mr Chak Hee Lo served as the project assistant.

Facilitator(s):

Dr Joshua NAN (SOWK)

2 Students (TBC)

Abstract:

Art therapy is a new but fast-growing profession in the developed regions. Despite that the professional training of art therapy starts at the master’s degree level, Hong Kong Baptist University has organized the first course of art therapy for undergraduate students for a few years to let them comprehend the different facets of art therapy. This course allows students to be immersed in artmaking to cultivate personal growth; reflective artmaking is thus a criterion to assess performance of learning as outcome-based learning. As a close link to artmaking, the students have chances to be acquainted to the professional art therapists who use art as a major means to serve different population groups in Hong Kong. As a closure of the course, the students share their artistic and reflective learning via an art exhibition. The art exhibition is an essential way to promote art therapy services in Hong Kong.

The course transits from typical lectures to artistic, reflective artmaking, community interview, and public art exhibition as service-learning.

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

• Describe unconventional learning via artistic and reflective processes of artmaking and creative writing.
• Generate insight into the process of cultivating reflective learning via art and the criteria of assessing students’ creative outputs.

Facilitator(s):

Professor Ben CHAN
Director, Center for Engineering Education Innovation, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)
Dr Lisa DENG
Assistant Professor, Department of Education Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU)
Ms Shally FAN
Director of Academic Links, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)
Dr LI Bin
Associate Professor, Department of Linguistics and Translation, City University of Hong Kong (CityU)

Abstract:

Development of students’ global and cross-cultural perspectives has become increasingly important in today’s highly globalised world. Most universities nowadays offer a variety of overseas learning and exchange programmes to pursue this end, through which students can experience an array of different cultural and community perspectives, gain additional knowledge, enhance language abilities and pursue self-development.

The COVID-19 pandemic has simultaneously brought about unprecedented challenge and create opportunities to revamp approaches for developing overseas study and exchange programmes. On one hand, physical travel was restricted and traditional mobility programmes were largely suspended. On the other hand, universities worldwide are accelerating and innovating efforts to offer student exchange programs online based on powerful technologies.

This workshop arises from an IICAs (Inter-institutional Collaborative Activities) Project under the VTL Grant led by CUHK – “Establishing Effective Virtual Teaching Strategies to Support Learning beyond Classroom”, in which one initiative about creation of new collaborative chances for students’ interdisciplinary, inter-cultural and exchange learning is led by HKBU. In this workshop, four experts from CityU, CUHK, HKBU, HKUST are invited to share their respective experiences at course, project and institutional level, which are all innovative and outside-the-box practices.

Dr LI Bin from CityU will share an innovative and structured approach to incorporating virtual communication to increase language and culture exchange between students in two international cities – Hong Kong, China and Turin, Italy.

The CUHK is leading a virtual student exchange program under the auspices of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities with 60 member universities. Ms Shally FAN will present the key features, opportunities and challenges of the Program, and how virtual exchanges can be positioned as an element of international education in the future based on the development experience of this Programme.

In his Project – E2I, Professor Ben CHAN from HKUST will share how he collaborated with Sungkyunkwan University Hub Center for Innovative Engineering Education (SKKU Hub Center), to organize a one-week Intercultural Peer Learning Program for the selected undergraduate students from HKUST and eight top universities in South Korea, under a very innovative and interactive Metaverse platform “Gather Town”. This platform enables students to “move” freely between different places and interact with multiple participant groups at will.

Last but not least, Dr Lisa DENG from HKBU will share her experience with facilitating cross-cultural group collaboration between students of HKBU and students at the United States. She will introduce pedagogical design, the use of technological tools, and the challenges and benefits of cross-cultural group collaboration.

All facilitators will share their rationales for designing the innovative approach and project implementation process. They will also share the lessons they learned from the initiatives. It is hoped that by the end of the workshop, participants will be able to gain more insights of proposing and designing learning and teaching initiatives to promote interdisciplinary, cross-cultural and exchange learning under virtual mode.

Facilitator(s):

Professor Hubiao CHEN (CMTR), Dr Qilei CHEN (PhD graduate)
Dr Jason S POLLEY (ENG)
Professor Ken YUNG (GS/BIOL)

Abstract:

The handful of years postgraduate (RPg) students are trained in the University and affiliated off-campus spaces are of vital importance. This sharing session endeavours to ensure that HKBU RPg students can make the most of these vital career-forming years.

In this workshop, three winners of HKBU’s President’s Award for Outstanding Performance in Research Supervision share their RPg supervision good practices. These instructors will talk through the useful and practicable strategies they’ve adopted so as to personalize (and ideally maximize) the RPg experience, an immersive experience that integrates teaching & learning, research, conferencing, publishing, overseas exchange, thesis defense, and career-planning.

By the end of this workshop, participants should be able to:

• Identify key aspects necessary to a student’s successful navigation (and completion) of an RPg programme;
• Appraise effective approaches by which to supervise these students so they achieve their learning goals.

Facilitator(s):

Prof Sandy LI
Associate Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences
Dr. Elvan COBB
Assistant Professor of Department of History
Dr. Daphne MAH Ngar-yin
Director of Asian Energy Studies Centre, Associate Professor of Department of Geography
Dr. Bonnie MAK Kwun Ling
Post-doctoral research fellow in David C. Lam Institute for East-West Studies
Ms. Kiki CHEUNG Wing Kei
PhD candidate of Department of Geography

Abstract:

Implementing technologies to enhance student’s learning has become increasingly important in nowadays university teaching and learning (T&L). It is essential to explore the implementation and implications for the teaching and learning of subject-specific university disciplines so as to establish effective teaching and learning strategies to support Virtual Teaching and Learning (VTL) inside and outside the classroom. Under the project “Virtual Teaching and Learning Pedagogical Development for Interfacing Student Learning and Social Realities”, 10 innovative VTL projects from 5 Departments within the Faculty of Social Sciences. In this workshop, two projects’ investigators are invited to share their respective experiences for the VTL implementation in their courses.

Merging Historic and Contemporary Immersive Experiences in the Classroom
Dr. Elvin COBB will share her experience of incorporating virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies into history classes to provide students an immersive learning environment where they are deeply engaged in historical places and processes. She will conclude that when combined with research-oriented assignments, virtual reality has the potential not only to improve students’ spatial awareness but also enable them to present their work to alternative audiences through varied interpretations.

Experience sharing on developing, implementing, and evaluating the effectiveness of Initiative for Virtual Teaching & Learning (VTL) project on three service-learning energy courses
Dr. Daphne MAH Ngar-yin, Dr. Bonnie MAK Kwun Ling and Ms. Kiki CHEUNG Wing Kei will share their team’s experience on developing, implementing, and evaluating the effectiveness of a VTL project which aims to optimise the use of blended learning in sustainable energy courses with resources from extensive research and practitioner networks. Ten innovative learning strategies for modern pedagogy were applied in this project, and both quantitative and qualitative data have been collected and analysed to understand participating students’ changes in knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours. It was found that the students showed positive changes in these domains after the project.

“Virtual Teaching and Learning Pedagogical Development for Interfacing Student Learning and Social Realities” is one of the funded projects by the UGC’s Special Grant for Strategic Development of Virtual Teaching and Learning. The project is led by Prof Danial LAI (SSCD), Prof Sandy LI (EDUC), Dr Benjamin MOORHOUSE (EDUC) and Mr. Sebastian PAHS (GIS). Dr Jackie CHAN, Mr Elwyn CHOY, Mr Baiwen PENG and Miss Rachel ZHOU served as project team members.