The General Education programme for all undergraduates will consist of four domains: General Education Foundation Course, General Education Breadth Courses, Experiential Learning, and University ePortfolio.
A set of General Education Learning Outcomes (GELOs) has been developed. The GELOs are as follows:
By the end of their studies in General Education, students will be able to:
GELO 1 Knowledge:
Demonstrate an understanding of how knowledge is acquired within and across different disciplinary domains, and how it applies to aspects of their own lives and experiences as a future professional and citizen;
GELO 2 Application:
Apply a broad range of attitudes and skills, including those relating to the seven GILOs, different kinds of thinking and communication, to inquire into various academic and practical issues;
GELO 3 Judgements:
Make good judgements and ethical decisions, based on values and standards which are sensible and reasonable;
GELO 4 Expression:
Express their own ideas clearly and confidently after critically inquiring into and reflecting on various theories, perspectives, stances and experiences;
GELO 5 Awareness:
Show that they are aware of local, regional and global issues, and construct informed and thoughtful responses to these issues;
GELO 6 Engagement:
Demonstrate intellectual and civic engagement through active participation in and reflection on various co-curricular, service, and experiential learning activities.
General Education Foundation Course (GEFC) is a 4-cp course that will run for the whole academic year, and be taken by all first-year students at EdUHK. This course will equip students with the diverse knowledge-bases and skills for their intellectual and professional developments in local, national and global contexts. In Semester 1, there will be a series of lectures and/or workshops on selected themes and topics (e.g. University life planning, research and inquiry, Basic Law, national security, professionalism, ethics etc.,). In Semester 2, students will be introduced to a wide variety of themes and issues in general education (e.g. language, well-being, entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, conservation, etc.) by taking part in the lectures delivered by Chair Professors / Professors and external Guest Lecturers. These lectures are substantiated by small class tutorials for building communities of dialogue and inquiry that foster the intellectual growth of students as reflective thinkers deliberating issues of importance to their own lives, society and the world as a whole.
Course Intended Learning Outcomes for the General Foundation Course (CILOs)
By the end of the General Education Foundation Course, students will be able to:
CILO 1:
Demonstrate appropriate levels of understanding and knowledge in a range of disciplines and subject areas;
CILO 2:
Demonstrate an understanding of what knowledge is, and how knowledge is learned and communicated, across different disciplines and subject areas;
CILO 3:
Demonstrate a commitment to thinking, speaking and writing critically about a range of views and ideas;
CILO 4:
Reflect critically on and make meaningful connections between the course content and their own beliefs, values and goals, based on moral and reasoned judgements.
Under the new curriculum (from 2019/20 onwards), the General Education Breadth Courses (GEBCs) (9 cps) are composed of General Education Breadth Learning Strands (1-3) (GELS) (Level 1-2), Positive and Values Education (PAVE) Course and General Education Interdisciplinary Course (GEIC) (Level 4). Students have to take one from each of the components in order to fulfill the GEBCs (9 cps) requirement.
These courses aim to equip students better for the study of the ontological, epistemological and/or methodological issues in a wide variety of disciplines. In addition, a new 3-cp GEIC (Level 4) will be offered on cross-faculty basis for students from Year 2 Semester 2 to Year 3 Semester 1, in order to enable them to appreciate the complexity of issues and problems that transcend disciplinary boundaries and to make sense of them through dialogues across disciplines.
Students are allowed to take GELS and/ or PAVE Course(s) after the completion of GEFC or concurrently with GEFC in Year 1 Semester 2 if they are interested and their curriculum schedules allow. After the completion of any GELS/ PAVE Course, students are allowed to take the GEIC from Year 2 Semester 2 to Year 3 Semester 1.
Experiential Learning (6 credit points)
Experiential Learning consists of Co-curricular and Service Learning Courses and Experiential Learning Courses. Co-curricular and Service Learning Courses provide students with an opportunity to engage in learning in action and through action in real-life or work-place context while complementing, connecting with, and mirroring their learning experiences derived from formal curriculum. On the other hand, Experiential Learning Courses encourage students to learn through experimentation, observation, reflection and (re-)conceptualization while undertaking a wide variety of activities, such as creative work, student-initiated enterprises/projects, thematic overseas trips, outward-bound training, etc.
Students will have to take one Co-curricular and Service Learning Course (Course code: GEM) and one Experiential Learning Course (Course code: GEL) (3 credit points each). For BEd students, they are allowed to take the EL courses starting from Year 1 and should complete them before Year 5 Semester 2. Students are suggested to complete the EL courses before Semester 1 of the final year as they will be engaged in BP II and data collection/ fieldwork of FYP in this Semester. Careful academic planning on a personal basis is needed. Non-BEd students would have to take one Co-curricular and Service Learning Course (Course code: GEM) starting from Year 1. The course should be completed before the final year. On the other hand, they are required to take the compulsory Experiential Learning Course on “Entrepreneurship and Innovation (E&I)” (3 credit points) (the study semester will be assigned by GEO).
UePortfolio is a 3-credit point “capstone” course which requires students approaching the end of their undergraduate studies to reflect critically on the knowledge and skills acquired in their studies – within General Education (GE), in their disciplinary and professional courses, international exchanges, and block practices or internships and in their lives beyond the classroom – and to develop an integrated view of how and where they position themselves in relation to their future goals, plans, and aspirations. Students will be required to submit annotated University ePortfolios (UePortfolios) based on their experiences, reflections and artefacts gathered from their undergraduate studies. The course will enable students to articulate their learning experiences in both formal and non-formal learning, by reflecting critically on the value and significance of what they have learned, making connections to their lives, and imagining or charting their own futures.
Students are not allowed to take UePortfolio together with any exchange programmes, block practices, field experiences or internship programmes. Also, they have to take the University ePortfolio course in the study semester assigned by individual programmes.
Course Intended Learning Outcomes for University ePortfolio Course (CILOs)
By the end of the University ePortfolio Course, students will be able to:
CILO 1:
Communicate (orally and in writing) personally, reflectively and critically about their undergraduate experiences (including, but not restricted to, GE), utilizing the University structures of the Learning Framework drawing on Graduate Attributes, i.e. PEER & I, and GILOs, in particular Critical Thinking and Communication Skills, the GE Learning Outcomes (GELOs);
CILO 2:
Make, and reflect critically on, connections between what they have learned in their undergraduate studies and specific aspects of their own lives and experiences beyond the classroom;
CILO 3:
Articulate their own beliefs, values and goals in line with directions of developing into a person who can display professional excellence, think critically to make moral judgements, learn and engage in lifelong learning and live a worthwhile life.
For detailed information and the course synopsis about General Education courses, please visit the website at www.eduhk.hk/geo