Bulletin Vol. 3 No. 6 Jan 1967

TEACH I NG METHODS CONFERENCE T h e Un i v e r s i t y held a one-day Conference on Te a c h i ng Me t h o ds on January 27 ， 1967, at C h u ng Chi College. Some 24 0 teaching staff members of the Un i v e r s i ty took part. T h e purpose of the Conference was to review the existing practice of h o l d i ng tutorials and seminars as a me d i um of teaching and to discuss h ow far th e proposals on teaching methods as approved by the Senate had been implemented. T h e Conference was opened by D r . C . M . L i , the Vice-Chancellor, who summarize d the objectives of the teaching methods instituted at the Un i v e r s i ty in 1965. He the n introduced M r . K e n n e th Robinson, Vice-Chancellor of the Un i v e r s i ty of H o n g K o n g, to address the Conference on some fundamental aspects of the t u t o r i a l system. A f t er a coffee break, the Conference was divide d into three faculty groups. T h e y discussed suc h problems as inter-collegiate teaching, small grou p teaching, i n c l u d i ng tutorials and seminars, reduction of lecturing hours, re-examination of course content, the i n t r o d u c t i on of new syllabuses, streamlining of all college curricula and de-emphasis of examinations. I n the afternoo n session, the Vice-Chancellor took the chair and i n t r odu c ed M r . Brian Y u of the Shell O i l Comp a n y, H o n g K o n g, to speak on the t u t o r i al system in Cambridg e as he had experienced it as an undergraduate in Pembroke College between 1946 and 1949. M r . Y u also answered questions f r om the floor. T h e Vice-Chancellor then w o u nd u p the Conference w i t h brief closin g remarks. A f t er t h a n k i ng th e speaker and the Deans of the three Faculties, D r . L i remarked that this was the first university-wide conference. He expressed the hope of f i n d i ng a Te a c h i ng M e t h od that w o u ld be u n i q ue in itself . I t should not be a me t h od copied f r om a western country, b ut it should emb o dy the best points i n different systems. D r . L i was quite impressed by M r . Y u 's observation that t h r o u g h o ut his experience in H o n g K o n g and China, the teachin g methods in the universities were not dissimilar to those in secondary schools. D r . L i endorsed Prof. Robinson's idea that the essential f u n c t i on of university education is not so mu ch the transmission of knowledge or skills as the communication of the t h i n k i n g experience in a certain discipline. D r . L i agreed that the essence of the t u t o r i al system was equality and mu t u al respect. T o the question whether the respect wo u ld be ma r r ed wh en a lecturer admitted that he did not know the answer to a question, D r . L i 's answer was emphatically “ N o ” ： academic respect is alway s paid to those who inspire respect. I n tutorials, b o th the instructor and the students are seeking for t r u t h together. As teachers we should inspire th e students’ respect t h r o u gh research and publications. We shoul d not demand respect. D r . L i also agreed w i t h Prof. Robinson that topics for tutorials should be sizable and argumentary. We should encourage students to express their own ideas, not j u st f o l l ow i ng the instructor's ideas. Students should t r y t o search for the source materials they required. T h ey shoul d also be encouraged to w r i te more papers, an d participate in discussion. H ow to encourage students to ask more questions m i g ht be a local problem. T h r o u gh small group teaching, students w o u ld b e accustomed to discussion. D r . L i stressed the idea that tutorials are not meant to be f o l l ow - up meetings of lectures, nor are they additional lectures . T h ey are not meant to clarify or to solve problems in regular exercises. T h ey are to study th e problems of a field and develop ways of t h i n k i ng about them . F r om the Deans’ reports, D r . L i was gratified to find that they all support inter-collegiate teaching w i t h enthusiasm. Inter-collegiate teaching is not meant for Freshmen or Sophomores, but for Juniors and Seniors. Several lecturers m i g ht co-operate to give an inter-collegiate course, and this wo u ld also promote small group teaching. Inter-collegiate teaching is the only way to pool the h uman resources of the Colleges together for the benefit of all the students. Inter-collegiate teaching w i l l reduce teaching hours for each staf f member so that some lecturers may be released for research and tutorials. D r. L i pointed out that some difficulty arise f r om the difference in college calendars, wh i ch should be made the same. He also suggested that it m i g ht feasible to schedule most courses of study on three days of the week, 一 fo r instance , Mo n d a y, Wednesday and Friday, so that the other week days m i g ht be used for staff research, students' research and tutorials. Finally, D r . L i t h o u g ht that further consideration should be give n to questions regarding the Intermediate Ex am i n a t i on w h i ch w i l l be held for the first time this year. D r . L i expressed his thanks to C h u ng Chi, for arrangements, and to all the academic staff who attended the conference. He invited the staff members to visit the I n t e r - Un i v e r s i ty H a ll before going home. THE S I XTH GENERAL CONFERENCE OF “ASA IHL” D r . C . M . L i , the Vice-Chancellor, left for Bangkok on December 11 to attend the sixth General Conference of the Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of H i g h er L e a r n i ng ( A S A I H L ) . M r . H . T . W u , the Register , flew to Bangkok for the same purpose on the same day by a later flight. D r . L i attended the Conference in t wo capacities, as a Memb er o f the Adm i n i s t r a t i ve Board of A S A I H L , and as a representative of the Association of 4