Bulletin Vol. 3 No. 8 Mar 1967

VISITOR FROM THE CENTRE FOR CURRICULUM RENEWAL AND EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT OVERSEAS Mr. R. W. Morris, Director of the Centre for Curriculum Renewal and Educational Development Overseas (CREDO) of Britain, visited the University's School of Education on February 28, 1967. He was accompanied by Mr. Robert Bruce, Representative of the British Council in Hong Kong. The Centre was established in October 1966, with funds provided by the Nuffield Foundation and the Overseas Ministry Development to give advice and assistance to countries overseas in the revision of syllabuses in the light of recent developments, particularly in the teaching of Science, Mathematics, and English as a second language. The purpose of the Director's tour was mainly an exploratory one to find out what opportunities there might be for co-operation with overseas governments. At the School of Education, Mr. Morris was received by the staff. An informal discussion took place, and opinions were exchanged concerning the School and aspects of secondary education in Hong Kong. UNIVERSITY PUBLIC LECTURES A series of three Chemistry lectures on “Recently Discovered Amino Acids from Plants” were given by Professor Leslie Fowden on successive Mondays beginning from February 27,under the sponsorship of this University. Professor L. Fowden, Royal Society Visiting Professor to the University of Hong Kong, is the Professor of the Department of Botany, University College, London, His lectures were delivered at the University's three Colleges on “Structural Chemistry of the New Compounds”, “Occurence and Biosynthesis of Selected Compounds" and "Amino Acid Analogue Behavior of Particular Compounds, especially in relation to Protein Biosynthesis”. The lectures were well attended and received by students as well as staff of the University's Chemistry and Biology Departments. * * * Professor L.A. Reid, Visiting Professor of Education to The Chinese University, gave a public lecture on March 6 at the Local Branch of the British Council. The lecture, “From entitled Teacher Training to Professional Education”, was co-sponsored by the University's School of Education and the Department of Education of the University of Hong Kong. Professor Reid, a former Professor Emeritus of Philosophy of Education at the London University, came to Hong Kong in late December 1966. His lecture was in two parts. In the first part, he traced the progress made in England from a period approximately before 1946,a development from “Teacher-Training”to the present “Professional Teacher Education”. The second part of the lecture offered a brief analysis of such terms as “training”, “education”,and “professional education”. The lecture concluded with a discussion of the problem how an amalgam of so many new subjects in a teacher's course could be vitally related to the student—teacher's own practical teaching experience, and so become professional education in a true sense. * * * Professor A.L. Cullen,Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Head of the Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering at the University of Sheffield, arrived in Hong Kong on March 20 to advise Vice- Chancellor C.M. L i on the studies of Electronics, a course that was recently established at United College. Professor Cullen is also Chairman of the Electronics Divisional Board of the Institute of Electrical Engineering in Britain. He has just been appointed to succeed Professor H.M. Barrow, F.R.S., as Gender Professor of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at the University College, London. He will take over the Chair some time this year. On March 28, Professor Cullen delivered a lecture on “Waves and Rays” at the City Hall under the auspices of the University. The lecture was attended by students and staff of the University as well as by members of the Public. Professor Cullen will also deliver two public lectures on March 30 and April 5 ， the former under the sponsorship of the Hong Kong Joint Group of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Mechanical Engineers and Institution of Electrical Engineerers, and the other under that of the Physical Society. AMPL IFIED TELEPHONE SYSTEM FOR INTERCOLLEGIATE TEACHING The University, through its School of Education, recently conducted the first of a series of experiments to try out a way of simplifying intercollegiate teaching. Until all the University's constituent Colleges, which are fairly scattered over Hong Kong, are moved to Shatin, intercollegiate teaching will involve a lot of travelling time for both the teachers and the students. Timetable planning also poses a host of problems for the College Registries. An effort, therefore, is being made to solve these problems by using electronic means of communication. The obvious solution is of course close-circuit television, but, as a studio would have to be set up, this would involve rather heavy expenditure. As an interim measure, the University Registrar, who is concurrently Director of the School of Education, hopes to find a substitute in the amplified telephone system. This system has been used in certain areas of the United States for some time, and good results seem to have been achieved by Stephens College, Columbia, Missouri. On March 7, 1967, the first experiment was conducted in United College between the College main building in Bonham Road and the Science Building in Caine 3