Winter Sandbox Series: Creative Online and Hybrid Course Designing

Date : 11 December 2020 (Fri)
Time : 12:30pm - 2:30pm
Venue : Zoom
Speaker : Dr Tracy Zou, Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, The University of Hong Kong


(HKU Portal login required)

Abstract
Following the Backward Course Design model and the constructive alignment principle, the first Sandbox will walk through with participants key stages of course designing: (1) Identifying desired results; (2) Determining evidence that demonstrates the achievement of the desired results; and (3) Planning learning experiences and instruction. In particular, we will explore several important issues pertaining to online and hybrid course designs, including striking a balance between direct instruction and guided inquiry, making a good use of synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities, and adapting conventional face-to-face instructions to different modalities for a better learning quality. Participants will also be provided with guiding questions, templates, and authentic examples to facilitate their course designing and re-designing.

About the Speaker
Dr. Tracy Zou is an Assistant Professor in the Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning at the University of Hong Kong. She identifies, collects, and promotes exemplary teaching and learning practices in HKU and beyond through a community of practice approach. She has generated rich resources through editing CETL’s e-newsletter (https://prog.talic.hku.hk/teaching-learning-cop/), compiling briefings, and publishing in reputable journals such as Higher Education and Studies in Higher Education. With a keen interest in university teaching and learning, Tracy is devoted to supporting colleagues at HKU in various aspects of their professional development, including curriculum and course designs, teaching portfolio development, and Advance HE Fellowship application.

Date : 16 December 2020 (Wed)
Time : 12:30pm - 2:30pm
Venue : Zoom
Speaker : Ms. Vandana Rajwani, Principal Lecturer, Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong


(HKU Portal login required)

Abstract
“If a child can’t learn the way we teach then maybe we should teach the way they learn.” -Ignacio Estrada

When was the last time you were a Student?

In February 2020 Vandana was in the Maternity Ward in hospital having delivered her baby daughter. A few days later she discovered that the Criminal Advocacy Course which she had designed and developed as an interactive course had to be conducted online. She had been training both Student Advocates and their Trainers for over twenty years employing face-to-face teaching on this and the Trial Advocacy Course.

As both Assessments and Mock Trials had been held in the High Court how would she recreate that online? How would Professional standards be raised and not lowered if online teaching was to be adopted?

Her first step was to move out of her Comfort Zone and become a student once more.

A few weeks later the plan for the conduct of some 800 oral assessments, which had normally taken place in the High Court, was in place.

How?

What Happened ?

Was it Effective?

How were they second marked and reviewed?

What Tips, Tools and Techniques can be shared?

With over 20 years of teaching and training Law Students, Barristers, Solicitors, members of the Judiciary as well as having developed interactive LGSs, E-learning and Student Forums since 2001 there is a wealth of experience to share.

Some of the techniques were developed by experimentation and through trial and error with some surprising results.

Vandana will also share (time permitting):
Topics :-

• Effective Feedback techniques – Delivering Live and Digital Feedback
• How to conduct a Workshop on Giving & Receiving Feedback for Students & Trainers;
• The design and use of Feedback & Assessments Skills Guide (and share her guides from her course);
• Tips & Tools on designing effective e-resources and preparing Students for their assessments online;
• Handy Zoom & Webinar tools to engage zoomed-out Students.
• Digital Reviews and how to train Students to conduct Peer Review and Self Review;
• Inculcating the discipline in students to Develop their own Practice File and Tool Kit;
• Ensuring students comply with the Code of Conduct

Time permitting, she will provide some live or recorded demonstrations of some of the techniques.

Prior to the workshop you will be required to complete the following: http://www.educationplanner.org/students/self-assessments/learning-styles-quiz.shtml

About the Speaker
Vandana Rajwani 羅穎彤(女士) Barrister-at-law, STC- has enjoyed everything from performing belly dancing, mime shows, being a professional clown and a children’s entertainer, from assisting in a sanctuary for orphaned Orangutans and teaching dance classes to children with disabilities. She has practised at the Bar in Hong Kong for over 22 years. She qualified in the UK and is a member of Lincoln’s Inn as well has taught on the Professional Legal Education and Training Course in Australia. She has led human rights NGOs, campaigned for equality and successfully lobbied for anti-race discrimination legislation. She has been a member of many Government and Non-Government Committees contributing to their efforts to effect social change. She has made representations in LegCo and at the United Nations. Pre 1997, Vandana along with other campaigners lobbied the international community and the British Government to honour their commitments to Stateless ethnic minorities.

Vandana has received several awards from the Chief Executive, the HK Government and from the University of Hong Kong. She believes in equipping others to develop skills to help themselves and has advocated and trained NGOs and migrant groups to effectively represent themselves. Vandana has worked on issues affecting migrant workers, women and children. In her earlier days she taught in the Vietnamese refugee camps, and at a school for the visually-impaired. She has been featured in local and international documentaries, news features and current affairs programmes as well as in the film ‘Invisible Women’. Her other involvement ranges between volunteering for the protection of Dolphins and training with the HK Olympic rowing team.

Vandana obtained her LLM (Human Rights) in 2002 and has taught as a Senior Teaching Consultant in the Department of PLE for twenty years. She has trained with ‘NITA’ – National Institute for Trial Advocacy, The Middle Temple, the Advocacy Training Council and The Australian Advocacy Institute (‘AAI’). She has been invited to teach with NITA and the AAI. She was the Course director for the Law Society ‘Structured Advocacy Workshop’. She has taught many Legal subjects including Constitutional Law, Tort, Civil and Criminal Procedure, Land Law, Contract, Matrimonial and Family Law, Trusts, Professional Conduct, Broadening Courses on a variety of subjects and was a guest teacher with the Department of Social Work & Social Administration amongst other subjects. She has been awarded TDG with Dr Eva Ng and assisted in training the Court Interpreters students.

She is passionate about teaching strongly believes that all teachers can be trained to be outstanding. She has led and conducted over fifty Train-the Trainers workshops to that end.

Date : 7 January 2021 (Thu)
Time : 12:30pm - 2:30pm
Venue : Zoom
Speaker : Mr. Donn Gonda, Instructional Designer, Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, The University of Hong Kong


(HKU Portal login required)

Abstract
In the past 12 months, we swiftly move from face-to-face to entirely online, and some of us had a taste of what it feels like to teach in dual-mode/ hybrid mode. Even though our teaching modality changed, the need for connection and engagement becomes more evident. Technology provides bits and pieces of solutions; however, it is up to the teachers to connect these dots to give their students meaningful experiences. This session will explore easy-to-use apps and some of its basic features to improve collaboration and communication among teachers and students. We will look into practical tips to provide active learning experiences for your students and retain as much human connection as possible.

About the Speaker
Donn Gonda is an instructional designer at the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning and a part-time lecturer at the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong. His areas of expertise are developing and evaluating higher education courses, teaching and training instructional design skills, and leveraging analytics and research to innovate teaching and learning. He has led several e-learning projects, including MOOC, SPOC, blended learning, and flipped classroom.

Date : 12 January 2021 (Tue)
Time : 12:30pm - 2:30pm
Venue : Zoom
Speaker : Dr. Janet Chan, Lecturer, Faculty of Science, The University of Hong Kong


(HKU Portal login required)

Abstract
Virtual teaching and learning has become a mainstream instructional delivery system during the pandemic nowadays. Without physical face-to-face presence, students may feel isolated or disconnected from their peers and teachers. This may discourage students from learning. When designing online/hybrid/hyflex courses, how can the teachers help students to engage? In this session, I will share my teaching experience of building learners’ sense of community and providing learning support through various components embedded in the course design, including assessment and in-class or out-of-class activities.

About the Speaker
Dr. Janet Chan is a Lecturer of School of Biological Sciences and the Programme Coordinator of Master of Science in Environmental Management at HKU. She is the recipient of the 2020 University’s Teaching Award and the Award for Teaching Excellence 2019-20 of Faculty of Science. Her teaching approach seeks to enhance student learning by using a holistic approach for science education and ensuring teaching and learning are truly international. Being a professional in higher education and environmental industry, she is a Fellow of HEA (Advance HE) and a Professional Member of the Hong Kong Institute of Qualified Environmental Professionals. Her teaching and course design, therefore, embed the attributes of an environmental professional. She has been teaching in HKU for over 10 years, coordinating and teaching over seven Master’s courses and one UG biostatistics course consisting of more than 300 students. Apart from teaching, she supervises more than 10 students’ research or action projects a year and mentors RPGs. She also coaches colleagues in teaching and learning.

Date : 18 January 2020 (Mon)
Time : 12:30pm - 1:30pm
Venue : Zoom
Speaker : Prof. Nancy Law, Professor, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong


(HKU Portal login required)

Abstract
Teachers care about the pedagogical integrity of their course designs. Decisions on whether and how technology should be used are generally made on the basis of appropriateness regarding the content goals and pedagogy used. However, due to the pandemic, teachers are faced with the challenge of customizing their course/unit designs at short notice due to the different severity levels of social distancing to cater for diverse student needs and contexts. In this sandbox, we share with participants a multilevel pedagogical framework that helps us to identify the different levels of pedagogy that underpin our course designs so that we can more easily identify the specific aspects of customization that need to be catered while retaining the course design integrity. We also introduce a technology tool—the Learning Design Studio—that can help learning designers in the process of analysis and customization.

About the Speaker
Prof. Nancy Law is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong. She served as the Founding Director for the Centre for Information Technology in Education (CITE) for 15 years from 1998. She also led the Science of Learning Strategic Research Theme at the University of Hong Kong. She is a Fellow of the International Society of the Learning Sciences, and is known globally for her strong record and expertise in the integration of digital technology in learning and teaching to promote student-centred pedagogical innovations. Professor Law received a Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship Scheme Award by the HKSAR Research Grants Council in 2014 in recognition of her research in scalability of technology-enhanced learning innovations. She is currently spearheading large projects in two related areas: implementation and refinement of multilevel network models of innovation as sociotechnical co-evolution, and investigation of students’ development as digital citizens from childhood to early adulthood. She has served on a number of policy advisory boards/working groups related to ICT in education for the University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong SAR government and other community, government groups and institutions. She has also been contributing as expert consultant to the European Commission, UNESCO and OECD on various aspects of technology-enhanced learning.

Date : 28 January 2021 (Thu)
Time : 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. (HK time) / 8:00 - 9:00 am (GMT)
Venue : Zoom
Speaker : Dr Alison Gilmour, Lecturer in HE Learning and Teaching, University of Greenwich


Abstract
University student wellbeing has been of growing concern to the higher education sector; heightened in the last year in the context of a global pandemic and widespread adoption of blended and online models of teaching by campus-based universities. Over the last six years or so, international and UK-based literature has increasingly directed attention to ‘whole-university’ approaches to student wellbeing, and the need for us to consider the relationship between wellbeing and learning, teaching and assessment. This approach is supported in the UK-based University Mental Health Charter (Hughes and Spanner, 2019).

But what does this mean for those of us teaching university students in blended and online environments? How can our teaching practice positively shape student wellbeing? This Winter Sandbox will: explore ways of thinking about embedding wellbeing in the curriculum; the relationship between wellbeing and academic practice; and provide the space to explore practical ways in which we can embed wellbeing in our curriculum, having taken a wellbeing lens on our academic practice.

About the Speaker

Dr Alison Gilmour is a Lecturer in HE Learning and Teaching at the University of Greenwich with specific expertise in enhancing teaching practice in online and blended contexts and supporting student engagement at a distance and in dispersed learning communities. Based in Greenwich Learning and Teaching, Alison works with staff across the university to enhance teaching practice, teaches on a PGCert in HE Learning and Teaching, and leads a cross-institutional project: Embedding Wellbeing in the Curriculum including research on introducing compassion focused pedagogy. During 2020, Alison co-ordinated the university’s Adjusting to Blended Learning Environment self-paced online CPD. She previously worked at Queen Mary University of London and as a Learning Enhancement Manager at The Open University in Scotland, including leading cross-sector enhancement projects commissioned as part of Quality Assurance Agency Scotland Enhancement Theme work: Staff: enhancing teaching, Student perceptions of ‘good’ feedback and The use of data and evidence in retention and progression.