Abstract
The name of this project, “Cultivating the College as a community of learners in dialogue” suggests its two ultimate goals, (1) to build a community of learners in dialogue and (2) to cultivate the College as a community.
Addressing themes:
A. Engagement of students in their learning
B. Addressing student learning needs
C. Helping first year students to overcome challenges in their transition from secondary to university education
D. Engagement of Students as Partners in Curriculum and Teaching and Learning Development
E. Internationalization at Home
To build a community of learners in dialogue:
by recruiting senior year students as GESH1010 teaching assistants (a compulsory CGE induction course for all freshmen)
• Student teaching assistants could stimulate students’ active learning by designing and facilitating in-class activities (themes A, D)
• Student teaching assistants can provide after-class peer support (themes B, C)
• Student teaching assistants can share their genuine personal experiences of college life (theme C)
To cultivate the College as a community:
by enhancing students’ College experience by online activities
• live streaming of campus tours and Zoom peer support sessions (theme C)
• teambuilding activities e.g. online Cantonese workshops for non-local students (themes C, E)
Brief write-up
Project objectives
The name of this project, “Cultivating the College as a community of learners in dialogue” suggests its two ultimate goals, 1) to build a community of learners in dialogue, 2) to cultivate the College as a community.
Activities, process and outcomes
In Term 1 2020-21, 16 senior student teaching assistants were recruited for GESH1010 “Orientation and Outreach” course. These assistants worked on enhancing the interactivity of an online classroom. They designed warm-up exercises, led in-class discussion, and offered after-class support to address students’ learning needs.
The project also supported College students to hold online activities, which facilitated the adaptation of year 1 students and built their belongings to the College. Activities included virtual communal dining, CGE workshop and Cantonese class. Evaluation survey showed students were satisfied with the course delivered online and other online activities.
Deliverables and evaluation
Feedback from Course and Teaching Evaluation (CTE) Survey proved the participation of teaching assistants helped the lessons more “relatable” and “interactive”. Students were more engaged in the lessons and more adapted to the College. In particular, 94% of CTE questions scored over 5 on a 6-point scale and course satisfaction scored 5.42. From observation, over 80% students turned on their camera in class.
Other online activities were also welcomed by the students. In the post-activity questionnaires, the teambuilding workshop scored 4.25, Cantonese elementary class (Term 1) scored 4.83 and Cantonese intermediate class (Term 2) scored 5 on overall satisfaction on a 5-point scale.
Dissemination, diffusion, impact and sharing of good practices
The project experience was shared to other colleagues in a lunch seminar on 14 April 2021, organized by Baldwin Cheng Research Centre for General Education, CUHK. Theme of the lunch seminar is “Building College Life under the New Normal: Challenges to Colleges and Their Responses” with attendance of 40.
A video summarizing the project is also created for future sharing:
https://youtu.be/XOHTgvm2tL8
Impact on teaching and learning
From the project results, it can be concluded that engagement of students as partners in curriculum development is an effective way to:
• integrate innovative teaching activities in transition to online teaching
• make learning more relevant to students
Increased interactivity and relevance of lesson can motivate students’ active learning and hence enhance their academic performance.
