President Lionel M. NI: Exploring a New Vision for Teaching and Learning in the Age of AI
At the beginning of the Year of the Dragon, the Department of Teaching Development (DTD) of the Institute of Educational Innovation and Practice (IEIP) at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou) successfully organized the second New Faculty Teaching Program (NFTP). Prof. Lionel M. NI, President of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), was invited to be the guest speaker. Focusing on the theme of "Overview of Teaching and Learning at HKUST(GZ) I: Ideas and Visions", the NFTP provided new faculty members with a forward-looking discussion on the changes in education in the era of AI.
During the training, President Lionel M. NI emphasized that the essence of education lies not only in the transmission of knowledge, but also in the cultivation of skills and abilities. He motivated faculty members to utilize information technology tools in smart classrooms, such as amplification devices that do not require hand-held and smooth screen casting functions, to enhance classroom interaction and student participation, and to value the fun of interacting with students and enjoying teaching.
President NI then discussed how generative AI enables educational customization and interactivity, looking ahead to the possibilities of educational applications of multimodal generative AI. He emphasized that HKUST(GZ) maintains a pioneering stance in the application of AI technologies, encouraging faculty members and students to adapt to and learn from these new technologies, guiding faculty members in the audience to think about the shifting roles of teaching and learning, and pointing out that the mission of education is to create effective interventions for the challenges of the future.
In discussing innovation in education, President NI demonstrated different ways to innovate in education including encouraging creative thinking, experiential learning and interdisciplinary learning through his own experience as well as case studies from other universities, such as Olin College of Engineering, Singapore University of Technology and Design and Minerva University, and emphasized the value of hands-on experience in education.
President NI emphasized the importance of integrating advanced technologies and innovative teaching strategies in higher education to enhance the quality and efficiency of teaching and learning. He pointed out that the existing education system suffers from the limitation of over-reliance on test scores and memorization, ignoring the industry's urgent need for interdisciplinary talents who can use advanced technologies to enhance productivity and efficiency. To address this challenge, there is an urgent need for the education system to reform the curriculum to develop students' interdisciplinary thinking, problem identification and solving skills, instantaneous learning abilities, and practical implementation skills to cope with the development of new quality productivity. At the same time, he emphasized the importance of integrating professional knowledge with broad knowledge and skills, and referred to HKUST(GZ)'s teaching philosophy of creating a project-based, personalized and interactive learning environment for students, and providing a modular design for the foundation curriculum, with an emphasis on academic supervision and the key role of project mentors in education.
In addition, Principal Lionel M. NI pointed out the diversity of teaching innovations by focusing on the contents, strategies, resources and tools of teaching and assessment methods, and encouraged faculty members to explore diversified and multimodal means of teaching innovations according to the characteristics of the subject knowledge while maintaining the teaching objectives and precipitating their own teaching styles.
In order to deepen the effect of the training, the Institute of Educational Innovation and Practice also invited five experienced faculty members to share their teaching experience.
Mr. Dawid, from the Pillar of Language Education of the College of Education Sciences, described the active learning approach he uses in his undergraduate language courses. Before class, students are required to pre-study and participate in discussions online in order to enter the classroom with an initial understanding of the material and potential questions; during class, interaction and communication are facilitated through group discussions; and at the end of the class, learning is consolidated through assignments.Mr. Dawid singled out this model as one that not only enhances the students' sense of engagement and motivation to learn, but also enhances their sense of self-worth. More importantly, it makes learning an enjoyable process for both students and faculty members.
Prof. Juan DU from the Thrust of Smart Manufacturing of the Systems Hub shared the course structure and teaching methodology of Model-Based Systems Design, a general education course for graduate students in all subject areas. The course uses inquiry-based active learning methods such as group discussions and role rotation to develop students' leadership, teamwork, and presentation skills. Professor DU emphasized that this instructional design allows students to master technical skills while enhancing non-technical skills to prepare them for the future workplace.
Ms. Linxiao WANG from the College of Future Technology shared the upcoming master's program course, Project-Driven Collaborative Design Thinking. The course aims to equip students with the principles of design thinking and apply problem-solving skills to real-world projects through interdisciplinary collaboration. The course is closely aligned with the Red Bird MPhil's program of study, which uses design thinking to help students explore and solve problems at different stages of their studies, emphasizing a student growth-centered teaching philosophy.
Prof. Jinguo LIU from the Thrust of Advanced Materials of the Function Hub shared his experience of running a successful reading club. Prof. LIU pointed out that the success of the reading club relies on giving students the right amount of pressure to learn and a way to release the pressure. The learning pressure comes from the mechanism of randomly selecting students to give lectures in the reading club, and the way to release the pressure is to understand the difficult points and research frontiers through the lecturers' guidance in the discussion. reading clubs not only help graduate students gain deep expertise, but also serve as an efficient teaching supplement.
Based on three teaching cases, Ms. Qingqing XING from the Pillar of Language Education of the College of Education Sciences demonstrated the possibilities and limitations of using AI big model tools to enhance students' communication and creative thinking skills in different lesson types.
The speech of President Lionel M. NI and the sharing of faculty members not only provided practical teaching strategies for new faculty members, but also demonstrated the in-depth thinking and practical achievements of HKUST(GZ) in the field of education innovation. The training was an important career enhancement for the new faculty members and epitomized HKUST(GZ)'s efforts in promoting educational innovation.
In the wave of the AI era, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou) is leading the trend of educational change, reshaping the university's talent cultivation function and co-creating a transformative educational environment, which will produce talents who can adapt to and lead the future development of society.
