Newsletter No. 357

2 No. 357, 4.5.2010 (接上頁 Continued ) 學生怎樣看通識基礎課程 How do students view the GE Foundation Programme 「以前上過一些通識課，討論變了問問題 • ─看完文章然後舉手問問題。很少好像這科，真的有討論效果。」 ‘I’ve taken GE courses before. In those courses, students would raise questions after reading an article, turning discussion sessions into Q&A. But this course did achieve the intended goal of generating discussions.’ 「文科生與理科生一起上課，聯想會多一點。有時候不一定要習慣對方的思考模式，但一定要感受一下。」 • ‘Bringing arts and science students to the same class can stimulate thought. You may not be used to each other’s mentality. But it’s a necessary experience.’ 「文章講的你不一定要接受，但首先要代入當中論點，再看看是否同意。換句話說，第二步才是你自己的 • 角度。」 ‘You don’t have to accept what the articles say. You put yourself in the shoes of the authors. Then you choose to agree or disagree with their views, in other words, making your own judgment.’ 與自然對話：宇宙和生命的探索 通識教育基礎課程副主任王永雄博士形容這是一個「由探 問『我是誰』開始的旅程，學生研讀中西方文化中的科學 發展，並加以比較，從而探索人類如何透視、了解和改變大 自然與生命，並反思人類在大自然的定位，然後再檢視自 己的理解。」 這個單元帶領學生涉獵阿里士多德、伽利略至牛頓等經典 著作的精采選段，思索甚麽是真理？如何表述科學真理？ 生命的定律、生命的編碼、科學的局限、人類思想的本質 等課題，了解數理生化演算以外的意義。 與人文對話：追尋美麗人生與美好社會 怎樣的人生才美？怎樣的社會才好？要怎樣做才可達致？ 通識教育基礎課程副主任趙茱莉博士說：「這三個是最根 本也最棘手的問題，古往今來，中外文人哲人、學者作家都 曾苦思。我們邀請學生檢視這些古老智慧是否在現世代仍 有適用之處，從而更加理解當下個人生活和社會的狀況， 對自己所欲建構的理想社會有更清晰的遠象。」 學生徜徉於文、史、哲、宗教、政治的浩瀚書海裏，追隨荷 馬、柏拉圖、阿里士多德、孔子、莊子、黃宗羲、盧梭、史密 斯、馬克思的腳蹤，或尋找身分、經歷悟化和自我實現，或 掙扎於血氣的羈絆與順服的自由，或認識本相本性，建構 社會制度，識別自身利益與共同利益 ─委實是多姿多采 的挑戰 。 全方位學習支援 然而，在習慣了給短小密集的多媒體資訊衝擊的二十一世 紀，要求學生埋首古籍，含英咀華，又是何其艱鉅的工程。 怎樣才可克服語言的時空隔離？怎樣客觀地批判反思？ 教師在每星期一小時的講授課裏會介紹該周閱讀內容的 背景和主題。課後，學生參考教師擬備的導讀資料，包括 歷史背景、作者生平及作品、內容摘要／大綱、地圖、中譯 本推薦、參考網站連接等，隨着提示，一邊閱讀，一邊思索 問題。周內隨即有約兩小時的討論，讓師生暢所欲言。 所有的教材均已上載網站，方便查閱；自學中心特別為學 生安排批判閱讀／討論時段，更有寫作諮詢服務，指導他 們撰寫讀後隨筆、學術論文的大綱或初稿。資訊科技服務 處則特為基礎課程開闢了Moodle網上學習平台，促進這 個學習社群的互動交流。 學生回應 「與人文對話」和「與自然對話」在課後評鑑的十五個關 於課程及教學素質的項目當中，分別有十三和十五項獲評 五分以上，顯示課程能幫助學生達到大學通識教育要求的 學習成果，學生的高度參與也令人滿意。兩課程學生人數 同為十五人，各有十三人表示會向其他同學推薦課程。 到了2010學年，所有中六入學學生必須於一年級下學期開 始修讀這兩科的通識教育基礎課程，2012年將全面推廣 至所有一年級生。屆時每年要建構的是三千三百人的共同 學習經驗。無論唸的是甚麼本科，這六十多個課時帶來的 思想衝擊，將是日後所有中大生共同擁有的，也將是香港 中文大學的印記。 In Search of Ideal Life and Society What makes a life desirable? What makes a society ideal? How can we realize such life and society? Dr. Chiu Chu-lee Julie, associate programme director of the GEF programme, says, ‘These three questions are the most fundamental and puzzling ones. Philosophers, scholars, thinkers past and present have contemplated them. This course invites students to think about whether ancient wisdom still holds water in the modern world. By doing so, they will have a better understanding of how their personal life and society stand at the moment, and develop a clear vision of the kind of society they wish to work towards.’ After the lecture, students are required to read the introductory materials given by teachers, which include historical backgrounds of the texts, lives and works of the authors, synopses and outlines, maps, recommended Chinese translations. As they read, students will meditate on certain issues. Then, they will exchange their views with the teachers in the two-hour discussion session that follows. All materials are available online for students’ viewing. The Independent Learning Centre organizes critical reading/discussion sessions, and offers writing con- sultation service for students to help them write reading 王永雄博士（左）及趙茱莉博士 Dr. Wong Wing-hung (left) and Dr. Chiu Chu-lee Julie Students of the course are expected to read classical texts in literature, philosophy, religion and political philosophy, familiarizing themselves with Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Confucius, Zhuangzi, Huang Zongxi, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Adam Smith, and Karl Marx. These texts will help them to trace the paths of the greats and embark on a pursuit of self-identity, transformation and self- actualization. They will experience the struggle between mortal limitations and freedom through submission, explore the realms of no-self, emptiness and inter-being. They will also analyse the underlying principles for the construction of social institutions, and the conflicts of self- and common interest. Comprehensive Learning Support Students of the multimedia age are used to being bombarded by multimedia information fragments. It is not easy to ask them to read ancient texts and mull over their meaning. How can we help them to overcome the obstacles of language, time and space? How can we make them think objectively and critically? In the one-hour lecture, teachers will introduce the backgrounds and themes of reading for that week. reports, outlines and dissertation drafts. The Information Technology Services Centre has launched the Moodle online learning platform to facilitate the interaction of this learning community. Student Feedback Among the 15 items on course and teaching quality in the course evaluation for ‘Exploring the Universe and Life’ and ‘In Search of Good Life and Good Society’, they were rated five points or above in 13 and 15 items respectively. This shows that the courses can achieve the learning outcomes expected of University GE. Students’ active involvement was also encouraging. For each course, among the 15 students enrolled, 13 said they would recommend it to their fellow students. All Secondary 6 entrants will be required to take these two GEF courses in the second semester of their freshman year in 2010. From 2012, all freshmen will be required to take the courses, making them a common learning experience of 3,300 students every year. By then, the intellectual stimulation involved in the 60 or so hours of the courses will be the common experience of all CUHK students, regardless of majors.