The EdUHK’s General Education programme prepares students to be active agents of change, by broadening their intellectual horizons, helping them make connections among different areas of knowledge and between their formal studies and life outside the classroom, and strengthening their capacity for sound thinking and good judgement. It offers a varied but balanced mix of individual courses across a range of subject areas and disciplines, set within an integrated structure of (i) General Education Foundation Course, (ii) Experiential Learning, (iii) General Education Breadth Courses, and (iv) University ePortfolio with a total of 22 credit points (cps).
i. General Education Foundation Course (4 cps)
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, globalization 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.
In addition to the face-to-face lectures, video lectures will be arranged as appropriate to allow students to learn flexibly at their own paces. As a unique feature of the course, e-Learning assessments and a reflective entry of their learning experiences will be submitted by students after lectures and become an important part of the e-Portfolio. The online learning activities and tasks will encourage students to reflect and think critically on various themes and issues based on learning artefacts and experiences, thereby, charting the paths for their personal, intellectual and professional developments.
ii. General Education Breadth Courses (9 cps)
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.
iii. Experiential Learning (6 cps)
Experiential Learning (EL) consists of Co-curricular and Service Learning Course (CSLC) and Experiential Learning Course (ELC). CSLC provides 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, ELC encourages students to learn through experimentation, observation, reflection and (re-)conceptualization while undertaking a wide variety of activities, such as creative work, student-initiated enterprise/projects, thematic overseas trips, outward-bound training, etc.
Students are required to take at least one CSLC and one ELC starting from Year 1 (3 cps each). Courses in EL domain can be taken in parallel with Block Practice I and II (i.e. Field Experience and Experiential Learning Semesters). If that is the case, students need to ensure the course schedule does not clash with Block Practice (students should check the information listed under the course outline and explore the feasibility with course tutors at the beginning of the semester). Students are encouraged to complete courses in EL domain before Semester 1 of final year as they will be engaged in Block Practice II and data collection/field work of Final Year Project in this Semester. Careful academic planning on personal basis is needed.
iv. University ePortfolio (3 cps)
University ePortfolio is a 3-cp “capstone” course which requires students, when they are approaching the end of their undergraduate studies, to reflect critically on their learning experience within General Education in their disciplinary, professional and co-curricular studies, as well as in their lives beyond graduation, and, to develop an integrated view of how and where they position themselves with respect to their future goals, plans, and aspirations. Students will prepare and submit an annotated University ePortfolio based on their experiences, reflections and stored artefacts from their undergraduate studies. Students are encouraged to keep electronic (soft) copies of all their coursework material starting with the completion of the GEFC for potential inclusion in the University ePortfolio.
The course will enable students to synthesise their learning experiences, by reflecting critically on the value and significance of what they have learned, making connections to their lives, and imagining their own futures.
Students are allowed to take the University ePortfolio course after completion of all the GEBCs required (i.e. GELS, PAVE, GEIC). Also, they have to take the course in the semester of study assigned by individual programmes.
For detailed information and the course synopsis about General Education courses, please visit the website at www.eduhk.hk/geo.