Newsletter No. 123

2 No. 123 19th March 1998 CUHK Newsletter Faculty of Medicine Sets up Eye Care Centre in Bei j ing The University signed a bilateral agreement with Beijing Medical University to set up an advanced Joint Eye Care Centre in Beijing to provide better eye care for the visually impaired in China and to conduct research and training in the visual sciences. The University was represented by dean of medicine Prof. Joseph C.K. Lee and, Be i j i ng Med i cal University, by president Prof. Wang De Bing, at the signing ceremony which took place on 26th February at the Prince of Wales Hospital. Prof. Mark Tso, chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, introduced the facilities to be installed at the new centre, and gave an account of the eye disease situation in China as well as an outline of collaborative research conducted by the two universities. According to Prof. Tso, there are currently nine million people with visual impairments in China, four million of whom are blind, and 400,000 new cases each year. FUNDING FOR EIGHT RESEARCH PROJECTS The following research projects conducted by staff of the University recently received funding from various local sources: Developing Equivalent, Reliable and Valid Chinese Measures of Variables That May Predict Exercise in Young Chinese People: A Pilot Investigation Sponsor: Health Care and Promotion Fund Amount awarded: HK$74,785 Investigators: Prof. Patrick Callaghan, Prof. Darius K.S. Chan Discovery of Traditional Chinese Medicine ( TCM )- Derived Saponins with Anti-Tumour and Cardiotonic Activities for Use as Health Food Supplements or Therapeutics Sponsor: Industrial Support Fund Amount awarded: HK$ 1,958,000 Investigators: Prof. Fung Kwok-pui, Prof. Henry N.C. Wong, Dr. Chang Yen Development of Porcine Growth Hormone Immunoassays Sponsor: Industrial Support Fund Amount awarded: HK$50,000 Investigator: Dr. Wong Chun-cheung Survey on Public Attitudes Towards Sex as a Genuine Occupational Qualification Sponsor: Equal Opportunities Commission Amount awarded: HK$639,500 Investigators: Prof. Catherine S.K. Tang, Prof. Au Wing-tung, Dr. Pun Shuk-han, Prof. Ngo Hang-yue A I CAMS (Artificial Intelligence Crime Analysis and Management System) Prototype Development Sponsor: Hong Kong Police Force Amount awarded: HK$244,000 Investigator: Prof. Lam Kai-pui A Study on Factors Affecting Drug Abuse Trends in Hong Kong Sponsor: Action Committee Against Narcotics Amount awarded: HK$478,569 Investigators: Prof. Lee Tak-shing, Prof. Lau Tai-shing, Prof. Albert Lee, Prof. Nelson L.S. Tang A Pilot Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Group Cognitive-Behavioural and Peer Support/Counselling in Symptomatic H I V Patients Sponsor: AIDS Trust Fund Amount awarded: HK$304,200 Investigators: Dr. Alexander Molassiotis, Dr. Sheila Twinn, Prof. Patrick Callaghan Social Costs of Drug Abuse in Hong Kong Sponsor: Action Committee Against Narcotics Amount awarded: HK$453,636 Investigators: Prof. Albert Lee, Prof. Cheung Yuet-wah, Prof. James M.N. Chin, Prof. Lee Shiu-hung Some Tips for Those Eager to Improve Their Teaching Three talks, one in December, one in January and one in February, were organized and hosted by the Teaching Development Unit and given by Dr. Andy Curtis from the English Language Teaching Unit The workshops were attended by a total of 40 to 50 staff from more than a dozen departments. The first talk was entitled 'Reflections on Practice', the second 'Teaching in the M i r r o r ' and the third 'Learners at the Heart of Teaching', but all three were linked by the theme of 'Practical Approaches to Teacher Development.' In the article below, Dr. Curtis summarizes the three talks. Reflections on Practice In the first workshop we considered three approaches: v i deo r eco r d i ng, peer observation and co- or team-teaching. Video Recording Seeing ourselves on video can be quite a shock! 1 have sat with teachers who have seen themselves for the first time on video, and often the reaction is one of surprise, embarrassment and even disbelief: 'Do 1 really look/sound like that?!' And often something along the lines of That's not me !' However, once we get over all of those emotional reactions, which are normal and natural, we can see how much the video tells us about what is going on in our classrooms. The camera records in great, almost painful, detail all that is said and done in front of it, without 'caring' or 'knowing' what is 'good' or 'bad', 'right' or 'wrong'. Those judgments are left up to us, and those to whom we choose to show our recordings. Peer Observation One of the limitations of video, apart f r om the technical requirements and resources required, is that you cannot have a discussion with an image on a screen. For that you need another person, which is where peer observation comes in. Yet some teachers, sometimes even very experienced teachers, feel quite nervous about having a colleague in their classroom. There does need to be, as with all collaborative approaches to teacher development, a high degree of trust. Also, giving feedback on a lesson that did not go well requires tact and sensitivity. Any criticism given has to be constructive and it is important that peer observations are reciprocal, so that any teacher who is observed by a peer has the opportunity to observe their observer and reverse the roles. Under such an arrangement, it is possible to give and receive a great deal of useful feedback. Co/Team-Teaching A n approach which is even more collaborative than peer observation is co- teaching (or team-teaching), in which two (or more) teachers plan, teach and evaluate a lesson together, so that they are both in the classroom at the same time. This is, of course, more labour-intensive than some of the other approaches, since the time and energy of two teachers is being taken up and only one lesson is being taught, which is perhaps one of the reasons why this approach is relatively rarely used. The unique aspect of this approach is that you are observing and being observed, giving and receiving feedback, simultaneously. In no other approach that I know of are you able to 'put yourself in someone else's shoes' and have them in your shoes at the same time. Teaching in the Mirror In the second workshop we considered four more approaches: teaching portfolios, teachers' journals, coaching, and mentoring. The first two are related as they are both based on documentary records, and the second two, as with peer observation and co-teaching, are collaborative. Teaching Portfolios As teachers, we do much more than prepare lessons, teach, set exams, and mark papers. We are, of course, involved with many other teaching-related, administrative, managerial, research and development-oriented tasks, duties and responsibilities, and portfolios are an attempt to represent the many facets of who we are and what we do. A portfolio can contain examples of students' work, preferably work on which the teacher has given written comments/grades, and more and less formal student feedback, such as