On Oct 30, CTLE hosted a professional development seminar with a focus on the challenges and opportunities within General Education (GE). About 70 UM academic staff attended the event, which featured one external speaker and one UM speaker.

Prof. Thomas Lee, the Director of the Office of University General Education at Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), delivered a seminar on fostering critical thinking in GE amongst the challenges posed by generative AI (GenAI). He emphasized that nurturing critical thinking is essential to GE and highlighted the significance of reading and writing in this context. Prof. Lee explored the complex processes involved in effective reading and writing. Urging educators to stay alert to the implications of GenAI on students’ learning experiences in GE, He cautioned that students who rely on GenAI to replace any key component of these skills risk missing out on mastering the complex operations necessary for proficient reading and writing. During his seminar, Prof. Lee also introduced to the audience the design of the foundational courses in CUHK’s GE curriculum.

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Following this, Prof. Garry Wong, the Head of General Education Programme at UM, presented an overview of the GE courses offered at the University. He shared information about course offerings, sections and enrollments. Prof. Wong highlighted some of the popular GE courses from different disciplines such as performing arts, humanities, business and sciences. Additionally, he outlined the process for developing new GE courses at UM and engaged in discussions with colleagues about the future direction of GE offerings at UM.

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On 23 Oct, CTLE held a professional development seminar on universal design for learning. About 50 UM members joined the seminar.

The seminar was given by Dr. Carolyn Aslan and Ms. Julie Rummings from Cornell University. They introduced the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework, one that aims to make education accessible for all students regardless of their abilities or backgrounds by emphasizing flexibility in learning materials and assignments. The speakers identified common barriers to student success, such as lack of motivation, inability to access content and time management issues. They also shared effective teaching strategies, including offering assignment choices, incorporating diverse assessment formats and maintaining flexibility in course schedules to better meet student needs and interests. Colleagues engaged with the speakers on various aspects of the practice .

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On Sep 25, CTLE concluded the 2024 edition of Online TA Training with a well-received, engaging online salon, which attracted over 560 postgraduate students.

The Online TA Training programme was designed by Prof. Katrine Wong (DCTLE/FAH), Prof. Rose Lai (FBA), Prof. Garry Wong (FHS), Dr. Alice Lee (FAH-ELC), Ms. Miranda Ma (FAH-ELC) and Dr. Chris Fulton (CTLE). Together, they developed insightful video materials and thoughtfully-designed online assignments.

During the online salon, participants had the opportunity to interact with UM’s distinguished teachers. The 90-minute event featured panel discussions and poll activities. The panelists were delighted by the interaction and discussion they shared with the participants and each other. Experienced teaching assistants, Ms. Nikky Qu (FST) and Ms. Caymen Zhou (FBA), also contributed to the panel discussion, which dealt with questions related to preparation, interactions, academic integrity and tools for teaching assistants.

The organizers would like to congratulate all postgraduate students who have successfully completed the training.

To learn more about CTLE’s professional development opportunities and events, please visit our website at ctle.um.edu.mo.

On 11 Sep, CTLE held a half day professional development event with a focus on strategies of interactive lecturing. Nearly 70 UM academic staff attended the event and exchanged ideas on how interactive lecturing could benefit student engagement and learning.

In her opening remarks, Prof. Katrine Wong, Director of CTLE, spoke of the importance of interactive teaching for enhancing student engagement and learning experience. Highlighting some of the findings in a recent study on student motivation, she emphasized the need for active, meaningful participation in lectures.

Dr. Deborah Breen, Director of Center for Teaching and Learning at Boston University, delivered a keynote presentation on interactive lecturing for inclusive learning. By discussing her experiences in integrating active learning into traditional lectures, she emphasized the importance of aligning activities with class goals and adapting to the physical classroom space. Effective key strategies for promoting student engagement including gallery walk, concept mapping and physical responses were introduced.

Dr. Breen also addressed the need for interactive lecturing to support diverse learning needs, suggesting that providing time for students to think and using technology for feedback can enhance comprehension. She also highlighted strategies for creative and inclusive classroom such as welcoming students before the semester starts, learning their names and fostering a sense of community. Through several interactive tasks, she exchanged ideas with participants. The main takeaway is that interactive lecturing gives teachers the opportunity to share content and check on student understanding, while students can also benefit by demonstrating what they know. Interactive lecturing gives both teachers and students the space to operate in an inclusive and supportive learning environment. (Download Slides) (Watch Presentation)

The event continued with faculty sharing moderated by Prof. Katrine Wong. Colleagues from different faculties shared tasks and strategies that provided opportunities for students to interact actively and directly with the material in their respective fields. Below are the main messages from  he invited faculty members:

• Hongyu Wang (FSS): Prof. Wang reflected on her own learning experiences and highlights that engaging student with relatable examples, like aspects related to socialization, fosters stronger attention and more in-depth thinking, ultimately improving their ability to remember course material. ‘We learn when we think’: asking thought-provoking questions can help enhance students’ retention of knowledge. (Watch Presentation)
• Leo Tsz On Lee (FHS): Prof. Lee showcased two strategies for interactive lectures: in his lectures, he makes use of videos created by students in Physiology and Pathophysiology and PPT slides created by students in Advanced Nutrition and Food Safety. By replacing traditional oral presentations with multimedia materials, he aims to enhance class engagement and effective learning through critical discussions. (Download Slides) (Watch Presentation)
• Nick Groom (FAH): Prof. Groom outlines strategies for interactive lectures in children’s literature, pointing out the multifaceted nature of texts. By engaging students through material, verbal, communal, somatic and physical experiences —such as reading aloud and using props — active participation enhances memory and understanding, leading to more effective learning (Download Slides) (Watch Presentation)

Lastly, in the technology session, Mr. Miguel Costa from FST, who also serves as CTLE Academic Staff Advisor (Technology), spoke about using UMMoodle functions to enhance student engagement through active learning activities. He also shared with participants examples of leveraging AI, such as chatbots, to generate ideas for innovative, adaptable activities. He encouraged experimentation with various approaches to improve active learning outcomes and better align activities with student learning needs. (Download Slides)    (Watch Presentation)

CTLE held an interactive professional development event for new UM faculty members

On 21 August, CTLE held an interactive professional development event for new UM faculty members, offering a general introduction to teaching and learning in UM context and an overview of supportede-learning tools. Nearly 60 new colleagues attended the training.

Prof. Katrine Wong, Director of CTLE, expressed a warm welcome to colleagues and wished everyone a successful journey at UM. She began by looking at UM’s Vision and Mission Statements. She then spoke about student-centered education and discussed with participants ideas surrounding outcome-based education, UMMoodle (learning management system in UM) and faculty development opportunities. She highlighted the importance of student feedback, academic honesty and recent guidelines on using generative AI (GenAI) tools in teaching and learning.

Prof. Wong also emphasized the importance of effective course design by referring to the alignment of intended learning outcomes with assessments and teaching strategies. Information of various support services available to faculty members was shared. (Download Slides) (Watch Video)

In the second part of the event, new colleagues were introduced to e-learning tools essential for teaching and learning at UM. Mr. Miguel Costa, a CTLE Academic Staff Advisor for Technology, and Dr. Chris Fulton, E-Learning Technology Officer at CTLE, provided an overview of the most frequently asked questions about the university’s e-learning systems. Their session covered essential topics such as accessing services through the MyUM portal, viewing course information via the Student Information (SI) Web, and utilizing UMMoodle, the university’s learning management system, to create paperless classrooms. Miguel and Chris also facilitated a discussion on the use of AI in academic work, including the implementation of Turnitin for plagiarism detection and AI checking. Additionally, they highlighted the support offered by CTLE, including collaborative professional development events, a Teaching and Learning blog, and consultation services.  (Download Slides) (Watch Video)

Colleagues can find more resources for teaching and learning and register for upcoming events on CTLE’s website at ctle.um.edu.mo.

On 20 Mar, CTLE organized a hands-on workshop on creating instructional videos. The workshop, led by Mr. Fernando Wong, provided UM colleagues with an opportunity to explore various styles of instructional videos and receive guidance on the fundamentals of filming. In this 3-hours workshop, participants learned about crucial aspects such as lighting, sound, script drafting, and utilizing teleprompters for delivering their lines effectively.

Moreover, the workshop introduced Camtasia, an all-in-one software for screen recording and editing. This powerful tool has been installed on all computers in CTLE studios, and colleagues are encouraged to take advantage of it for their future video projects.

To further support faculty members in creating instructional videos, CTLE has developed an instructor’s guide. If faculty members want to learn more about making instructional videos, please contact CTLE.

In March, CTLE had the pleasure of inviting Prof. Robert K. Kamei from Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore to give a professional development workshop as well as a student lecture.

The first event, ‘Applying the Science of Learning for Educators’ was held on13 March and attracted about 40 academic staff. Prof. Kamei shared his insights on applying the science of learning to become a strategic teacher. Citing various research findings, he emphasized that, contrary to common assumptions, learning does not come naturally to individuals and that the most effective learning strategies are often unintuitive. He also advocated a holistic perspective that considers individual goals, motivation and mindsets, not just isolated techniques.

In the workshop, Prof. Kamei stressed that effective learning is often not easily recognizable and suggested that teachers would need to prepare their students to learn from their lectures and that teachers should help students learn from recalling but not recognition.  (Watch Video)

The second event, held on 14 March, was a lecture for students and attracted about 70 UM students. Prof. Kamei provided students with holistic insights into strategic learning.

He engaged with students with various memory activities such as ‘Animal Farm’ (a series of animal photos), two-second advantage and a gorilla video challenge. Prof. Kamei explained that every learner is different and needs a personalized approach to learn effectively. He explored the science of metacognition and self-regulation, emphasized the importance of lifestyle factors like health, well-being and sleep, and offered specific evidence-based strategies that students could directly apply, such as chunking, mnemonics and encoding specificity.

 (Watch Video)

On March 6, CTLE held a professional development event, “Engaging students with instructional videos: Blended Learning @UM”. About 40 UM academic staff attended the event.

In the opening session, Prof. Katrine Wong, director of CTLE, provided an overview of blended learning principles and practices. She discussed how instructional videos can be deployed strategically to enhance flexibility, comprehension and engagement in the blended learning model. (Download Slides) (Watch Video)

Mr. Fernando Wong from CTLE then gave attendees a demonstration on creating basic instructional videos using software such as Camtasia and introduced other useful tools. He highlighted tips for effective presentation, scripting content and editing video files. (Watch Video)

Dr. Chris Fulton, an E-Learning Technology Officer at CTLE, introduced YuJa, UM’s secure video management platform for blended learning courses. Practical advice on how instructors can get started with Yuja was provided, for example, the steps to link a Yuja video channel to an individual Moodle courseso that students can access course videos. Dr. Fulton also highlighted advanced features of YuJa that streamline or enhance video production. These features include the auto-generation of captions and the provision of detailed analytics on viewing behavior. (Download Slides) (Watch Video)

In the faculty sharing session, Mr. Miguel Costa from FST shared how he designed self-paced introductory videos in his course to prepare over 1,000 students for class activities, and Prof. Henry Kwok from FHS discussed using bite-sized videos in his blended-mode teaching to supplement course lectures and reduce consultation time. (Watch Video)

CTLE has created an instructor’s guide to making instructional video and related practical blog posts focusing on blended learning. If faculty members wish to learn more about blended learning or receive guidance on implementing blended learning strategies in your courses, please contact us and we will walk you through the process.