CELT Newsletter, Fall 2002

Abstract

[evdate 2002-09-15] Hong Kong University of Science and Technology CELT Center for Enhanced Learning & Teaching Fall 2002 Assessment for Learning http.//celt.ust.hk/ideas/afl What and how students learn depends to a major extent on how they think they will be assessed. Assessment practices must send the right signals. Assessment for Learning (AFL) is the sixth and latest addition to the IDEAS portal; existing topics cover Online Learning & Teaching, Problem-Based Learning, Action Research, Cooperative & Collaborative Learning and the Persona/-Response System to facilitate peer learning. The AFL portal aims to assist faculty and teaching staff in investigating various assessment methods to improve student learning. Sections within the site include an introduction, a startup kit, models and examples, and experience sharing. As with other IDEAS portals, the emphasis here is on the practical side of implementation, namely implementing assessments that facilitate learning. At HKUST, students should be engaged in assessment activity that encourages student learning and participation; provides feedback; is flexible: is manageable: is fair and considerate of diverse needs; is reliable; is valid and meaningful; and encourages student integration of learning. This list is based on a benchmark statement from the American Association for Higher Education Assessment Forum, specifically the “Nine Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student Learning” which can be found at: http:/%vww.aahe.org/ptincipl.htm But what does this mean in terms of course assessment practices for faculty and teaching staff? In an online presentation based on an HKUST workshop, Dr Peter Knight, a leading expert in student assessment, talks about how we

And finally, Assessment is a key focus of the upcoming second round of the Teaching and Learning Quality Process Review (TLQPR) due in January 2003 in HKUST. Information related to this is linked from the AFL front page. The TLQPR panel is likely to be looking for answers to the following questions in terms of assessment: a. b. C. How do staff, departments, schools, and the institution monitor student outcomes and link outcomes assessments to the improvement of teaching and learning processes? To what extent do academic units use traditional types of assessment methods (for example, normed examinations, external examiners) to evaluate the performance of teaching and learning programmes? To what extent do academic units use non- traditional assessment methods (for example, Biggs, J. (1999) Teaching for Quality Learning at University Milton Keynes: OU Press p. 141 can use assessment to improve student learning. He focuses on the functions and types of assessment and introduces some alternative assessment methods. He ends the presentation by providing practical ways to assess student achievement using these alternative methods, taking into account large class sizes and the time constraints busy faculty work under. About TLQPR 2 Continued on next page... 6 2002 CELT Hong Kong University of Science and Technology CELT Fall 2002 Progress Report Fall 2001 - Summer 2002 An on-line version is available at http:o://celt.ust.hk/ecelt/03/ecelt01.htm The academic year 2001-02 denotes another prolific year for CELT in working towards our mission in advancing the quality of learning and teaching at HKUST. Highlights of our accomplishments include: For Faculty and Other Teaching Staff The First HKUST Teaching and Learning Symposium, organized by the Senate Committee on Teaching and Learning and CELT, was held on 12 Dee 2001, with the objective to assure the continuous improvement of the quality of teaching and learning in the university. Apart from a teaching and learning exhibition, there were over 30 paper presentations by the UST teaching community and a keynote speech given by Prof Eric Mazur of Harvard University. Teaching innovation Awards were also presented to recognize and encourage faculty members who have made a sustained effort to improve students’ learning by introducing innovative practices or technologies. Proceedings of the Symposium were published in March and an on-line version is available via the Symposium website. Two new IDEAS sub-portals were launched: “Cooperative & Collaborative Learning”, which supports instructors incorporating structured group-based learning; “Assessment for Learning” which aims to help the UST teaching community incorporate alternative approaches to assessment. A number of seminars and workshops by overseas and internal speakers were held in Fall 2001 and Spring 2002. “Design of Multidisciplinary Problem-Based Science Materials and Curricula” by Dr Stephen Pompea, University of Arizona; “Challenges of Education Reform for Universities” by Prof TK Ng, Department of Physics, HKUST; “University Education in the 21st Century” by Prof Eric Mazur, scientist and educator, University of Harvard; “Global Learning Networks; Past, Present and Futures” by Prof Richard Larson, Director, Center for Advanced Educational Services, MIT; “Problem-based Cooperative Learning”, by Prof Karl Smith, University of Minnesota. In preparation for the second TLQPR, a seminar on “Improving Student Assessment Methods: A Special Priority for 2nd TLQPR” was presented by Dr Mavis Kelly, head of the Instructional Development Unit of the former Educational Technology Center, HKUST. It was received by over 20 faculty members who are designated as TLQPR coordinators of their respective departments. The Teaching and Development Grant (TDG) project “University-wide Web-based Course Delivery Platform” which aims to promote the use of the Web to enhance teaching and learning has come to a successful conclusion. Data collected in an end-of-project survey showed that adoption of the Web for teaching purposes has increased significantly in the last two years. CELT will continue to support faculty and instructors to use the Web to enhance the quality of student learning. Instructional Development Projects were carried out as collaborations with different schools and departments - and Management (FINA221, FINA342, MARK329); The School of Science (BICH172/182, BICHl22 in Spring and Fall 02, BISC002, BISC532, BISC224, ESCE500); School of Engineering (COMP101, COMP102); School of Business Language Center (Self Learning Kit for Simplified Chinese Characters, Cantonese Talk, LANG011, LANG016, LANG201); The Library (Information Literacy Tutorial). -continued from previous page. student satisfaction as expressed in exit conferences, feedback from past students and their employers, statistical measures of success in the job market)? d. Do academic units feel responsible for promptly making changes identified by assessment as needed? Comprehensive information about the upcoming TLQPR can be found on the Teaching and Learning Quality at HKUST web site, produced by the Office of the Vice- President for Academic Affairs at: http://publish.ust.hk/vpaao/tlq/index. html For the TLQRP panel, exemplary practices that would illustrate a culture of quality in terms of student assessment include: Quality programme Framework External advisory councils at school, department and programme levels Formal quality Programme Activities Tracer studies of graduates Organized discussions with employers Quality Programme Support Research projects dealing with student outcomes Expert advice on outcomes assessments Values and Incentives Intrinsic desires to learn about one’s former students @ 2002 CELT Hong Kong University of Science and Technology CELT Fall 2002

New Teaching Tools were developed. These include D-Code for students to conduct online discussions; OSSPE, an online system for Student Peer Evaluation. For Teaching Assistants The Teaching Assistant Program has facilitated over 260 TAs during the academic year 2001-02. The majority of them were satisfied with the program structure and the 2-tier support system, in which CELT supports the Teaching Assistant Coordinators (TAC) who in turn support their peers - the TAs. TA induction workshops are now delivered via a mixed mode of on-line and face-to-face modules. New workshops on presentation skills will be introduced in Spring 2003. For Students A new general education course (GNED001) which focuses on students’ learning and thinking skills was introduced. PEAKS (Portfolio of Essential Attributes, Knowledge and Skills), an online personal development planner, was launched and was piloted with 50 GNEDOOI students in Spring 2002. CELT’s Advisory Committee for GNED programs on Creativity and Lifelong Learning, made up of the following committee, was set up and had its first meeting in June 2002. CELT’s Advisory Committee for GNED programs on Creativity and Lifelong Learning Chairperson Mrs Diana WONG, School Liaison Consultant, University of Hong Kong Ex-headmistress of St Paul’s Secondary school Members : Mr Selwyn CHAN Managing Director of Masterunion Educational Council Member of Massachusetts Institute of Technology Mr Tin-Lung KO Artistic Director of Chung Ying Theatre Co. Prof Helen SHEN Associate Dean, School of Engineering, HKUST Miss Olivia LEE Partner of White & Case Solicitors School Board Director of Canadian International School of Hong Kong Mr Nicholas LI Academic Secretary of Students’ Union, HKUST

For the Wider Education Community A number of School Training Workshops have been organized: The Creative Thinking and Expression 3-Day Camp was held for 104 primary 6 students of Diocesan Girls Junior School. A series of IT training workshops were offered to schoolteachers of Shanghai Alumni Primary School. IT Training workshops were also provided for schoolteachers from Mar to Apr 02. Ail these were well received by the participants and got positive feedback. The Professional Certificate in eLearning for Schools Program, jointly offered by HKUST College of Lifelong Learning (CL3) and CELT, was launched this summer with 15 participants including school principals, teachers and professional trainers from the educational sector. The program is accepting applications for the second intake to be offered in late Ott to Dec. MathVenture, a Quality Education Fund (QEF) project to build an online mathematics portal for Form 1 to 3 students, is now in its last phase of development. With the completion of content development, the portal was launched to the 12 partner schools for a pilot run during March and April. A series of training workshops on instructional design and software skills were conducted in June and July for school teachers and students. Mr David Warlick an internationally known US educational technology consultant, presented workshops on the “Use of Technology in Teaching and Learning in a School Setting” and an open seminar on “Preparing our children for the 21st century” in June. A summer day camp was also organized for school students in mid-July. Much appreciation goes to Prof Shiu Yuen Cheng and his team for running a Math game session in the morning and MS Teresa Kan (former Science teacher from Diocesan Girls’ School and St Paul’s Secondary School) for giving an informal lecture on “Mathematics and Daily Life”. UGC interface 2000 project: interactive Online Media Art Gallery (IMAG) is also well underway. The project’s main objective is to enhance university and school students’ creativity through media art composition and encourage collaboration and community formation amongst universities and the wider education community through participation in creative art activities and critiques. Training for 360 teachers and 375 students from primary and secondary partner schools have almost been completed. Open competitions for students will be launched by the end of August with the Education Department and the Hong Kong Art Center as our co-organizers. Attractive awards, including internships, multimedia software and scholarships are offered by award sponsors including Cathay Pacific, Macromedia and Oxford University Press. 2002 CELT Hong Kong University of Science and Technology CELT Fall 2002

Strategies for Energizing Your Large Class With the aim to improve the quality of learning in large classes at UST, a lunch discussion session was held by CELT on 31 May 2002 for some faculty members and instructors to share experiences and exchange ideas on their approaches to teaching large classes. Participants included Prof SY Cheng (MATH), Prof Mansinghka (FINA), Prof M Wong (PHYS), Prof D Rossiter (COMP) and Mr E Li (LC). For the context of the discussion, Large Class Teaching was referred to as situations where 1. an experienced faculty member takes up the main responsibility of teaching with the help of a group of TAs, IAs or demonstrators, with a mixed format of lecture (faculty) and tutorial (TAs). 2. a group of faculty or instructors perform team teaching in sessions, where the teaching responsibility is shared equally among the team members, for both lectures and tutorials. “Language teaching has to be conducted in small classes. In our case, instructors play the role of facilitator and coordination among them is vital. “(Mr E Li) “The choice is not whether we should or should not have large classes, but which subjects are better suited for large classes.“(Prof S Mansinghka) The results of the discussion have reflected that large classes are necessary in the university due to limited resources and administrative constraints, despite certain subjects can achieve effective teaching and learning results only in small group teaching mode. Concerned units have to allocate resources strategically to overcome the constraints. I use PRS and insist on counting ah appropriate amount of marks on the activities done with the too/ to motivate my students. It works for me.” (Prof M Wong) “I have used PRS and it helps in various aspects of my teaching. ” (Prof D Rossiter) Given that large classes are a need, certain technologies can be employed to maximize teaching effectiveness, e.g. PRS (Personal Response System), online learning and teaching platforms such as WebCT. Ground rules have to be set to ensure students behave properly when learning with the help of these technologies. Apart from this, the use of tutorial sessions led by teaching teams (TAs) to enhance the lectures is important for students to seek help in their studies. In all aspects in a large class: administration, assessment, learning enhancement, I cannot do without the TAs.” (Prof S Mansinghka) “I appreciate the help of TAs and IAs in my basic courses in particular.” (Prof SY Cheng) The support of a teaching team can also help to minimize the administration load. Faculty members could try to hire TAs on a full-time basis so as to strengthen their sense of commitment and to avoid having to train new groups of TA every semester. With regard to working with these teaching teams, the participants have raised several vital points: defining TAs’ roles in the beginning, providing on-going training, communicating their expectations via regular meetings, encouraging mutual respect both between faculty and TAs, and between faculty and students. A more in-depth report and series of interviews on this topic with faculty and students can be accessed from the CELT home page under “What’s new?” on Large Class Teaching. For Experience Sharing on Large Class Teaching, please visit: http~/ctms01.ust.hk/experience/largeclass/ Calendar of Events (2002) Date AND Time Event Venue Introduction to WebCT TA Fall 2002 Orientation and Training Program Teaching & Learning at HKUST TEE Party (Technology –Enhanced Education) Introduction to WebCT Public GNED Seminar: To learn is to play-if this was only true! Speaker: Ms Christine Loh, Founder & CEO of Civic Exchange Advanced WebCT eLearning Certificate – 2nd intake (For Wider Education Community) This is a professional certificate designed for schoolteachers, principals, administrators and educators who would like to gain a comprehensive overview of the latest knowledge and skills in eLearning strategies, technologies and applications in school Various locations

@ 2002 CELT Hong Kong University of Science and Technology GELT Fall 2002