HKU Bulletin May 2009 (Vol. 10 No. 2)

18 19 Mr Richard Anthony Glofcheski Department of Law Dean of the Faculty of Law, Professor Johannes Chan describes Mr Glofcheski as ‘one of our best teachers’ and adds, “I don’t recall any other colleague who has achieved such highly positive ratings from students consistently for so many consecutive years. It is fair to say he is one of the most sought after teachers in the Department. Many students regard him as a teacher, a mentor, a counsellor and a friend.” Mr Glofcheski says he attempt to achieve deep and reflective learning through careful course design, a diversity of teaching and assessment methods selected to ensure that student interest is maintained and that students engage with the subject matter in a meaningful way. “I strive for this goal in both my large (265 students) and small group (12 students) teaching, despite the inherent obstacles,” he says. Student Maria Li says: “If you think law is boring, go and attend Mr Glofcheski’s tort lectures! His stimulating style of delivery has made law fascinating to the many legal minds he has cultivated throughout his years of teaching. He is very passionate about law and his astounding expertise has won him respect both from his fellow colleagues and the student body.” Dr Julia Christine Kuehn School of English Dr Kuehn is described as a popular teacher. According to the Head of the School of English, Dr Tong Qing Sheng, students’ responses to her teaching are nothing less than enthusiastic. “Her courses attract large numbers, her teaching evaluations are consistently at the top of the School’s SET scores.” Dr Kuehn says the three educational goals at the heart of her teaching are firstly, to make her students enthusiastic and good readers; secondly, to help them read cultures different from their own; and, thirdly, for them to become lifelong readers in, and with an understanding of, a multi-cultural world. “In today’s increasingly complex globalized world, we need to equip students with tools to read this world: read information, read people, read people from another culture, read traditions, familiar and foreign, read relationships. We need students to become good readers.” Master of Philosophy candidate Mary Lo Ying Wa adds: “I do not believe there is a ‘perfect’ teacher on earth and indeed ‘perfection’ is not necessarily what we want from a teacher. But our teacher, Dr Kuehn, certainly comes close! Professional, responsible, knowledgeable, patient, helpful, kind – these are perhaps the adjectives commonly used to describe what a good teacher should be.” Dr Becky Loo Pui Ying Department of Geography Dr Loo brings a synthesis of teaching and research to her classrooms and has applied that in her contributions to curriculum development and design at HKU. “My teaching philosophy is this: research informs teaching, teaching inspires research,” she says. “University teaching is more than knowledge transfer. It is also the transfer of a researcher’s quest for new knowledge, scientific and logical thinking, and passion. In teaching, I find talking about interesting research problems and the latest research developments to be the most effective means of reaching out to my students. The crux is not how well I am as a researcher but how much the students are getting from me as a teacher.” Her former student, Francis Chan Cheong Fai, says Dr Loo inspires students to think deeply and encourages them to discuss what they were learning. “We had to spend quite some time in research and discussion before we could reach a conclusion. This created much interaction among classmates before class. I found that sitting in Dr Loo’s class was not merely a transfer of knowledge, it was really fun and there was active learning in every class.” Dr Stephen Brian Pointing School of Biological Sciences Dr Pointing has made continued efforts to improve his teaching and ignite students’ interest, including obtaining an MBA in Education Management. “He is highly regarded by his students for his effective and innovative teaching and learning methods, and he is one of the pioneers in the Faculty in using an outcome- based learning approach,” the Dean of Science, Professor Kwok Sun, says. Dr Pointing believes in enabling students to learn how to learn and being willing to adapt his courses in light of student feedback. “My overal l phi losophy is summar ized by the word ‘enthusiasm’ and this is a recurrent theme in feedback comments from students. I have always strived to project and communicate my own enthusiasm for learning to students and am convinced that this has a positive reinforcement on their attitude towards science subjects (which can appear a little ‘dry’ if not taught well) and the overall learning process and experience in higher education,” he says. Student Christine Lo concurrs. “He actively seeks opinions from students about the curriculum, and is always willing to push forward sensible changes to make the major more attractive. Additionally, he answers every question intensely and passionately, and that kind of enthusiasm has really inspired me and increased my interest in microbiology.” TEACHING AND RESEARCH Mr Richard Anthony Glofcheski Dr Julia Christine Kuehn Dr Becky Loo Pui Ying Dr Stephen Brian Pointing