HKU Bulletin August 2010 (Vol. 11 No. 3)

26 The University of Hong Kong Bulletin 27 August 2010 The Common Core is an innovative new programme introduced from this September to achieve two aims: phase in changes in preparation for the launch of the four-year curriculum in 2012, and prepare students to deal with the complex issues faced by humanity in the 21st century. All new undergraduate students will be required to take courses outside their major selected from four Areas of Inquiry: scientific and technological literacy, humanities, global issues, and China: culture, state and society. The Common Core is unusual in that it focuses on issues, rather than strictly knowledge, and aims to show the interconnectedness of human experiences. “A university education today needs to equip students with the ability to cope with an increasingly complex world where there are fewer moral certainties and more moral dilemmas,” says Professor Amy Tsui, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor overseeing the curriculum reform and a keen advocate of the Common Core. Eight courses were tested out in 2009-10 and their subjects give a flavour of the issues being addressed. One course, for example, was titled Feeding the World and looked at the economic, technological and political issues involved in getting food to tables. Another was Sexuality and Gender Diversity: Diversity in Society, which looked at the legal, social and identity implications of sexuality and gender. Student feedback on the courses was highly positive. Lucy Arthur, a first-year Journalism student and Australian native, studied Feeding the World. “This course has definitely changed how I look at food. Before, I would shop for food that was cheap and didn’t have nasty things in it. But now I think about where the food comes from, what government rules there and if I’m supporting an undesirable system,” she says, adding: “We weren’t preached to in class. The professors were very, very objective and they were getting us to think critically about the issues.” Derek Kenneth Ko, a third-year student doing a BSc in Exercise and Health, took the Sexual and Gender Diversity course. “The things you learn in this course are applicable to your daily life and you see things in a new light. It’s a knock on the door to stop judging people. Being homosexual or transgender or into BDSM [bondage- domination-sado-masochism] doesn’t define who a person is, it’s just part of who they are. You learn to look at the whole person rather than one aspect of them,” he says. The Common Core courses are to replace the more general broadening courses that have been offered to students to date. They have a much higher intellectual and workload demand as reflected in the credits assigned – six for Common Core, three for broadening courses. From this September, all new undergraduate students have to take two Common Core courses from a choice of 67, while current students can continue to take broadening courses or, if they wish, take Common Core courses in lieu to fulfil university requirements. When the four-year curriculum rolls out in September 2012, new students will take six Common Core courses from a choice of 150, with at least one from each of the four Areas of Inquiry. This is to ensure students get the broadest possible education beyond their subject majors. Derek Kenneth Ko “We want our students to be global citizens who are capable of dealing with ill-defined problems, and who are able to be leaders and advocates in improving the human condition,” says Professor Tsui. These are lofty goals indeed, but the expectation is that HKU will be a leader, globally, in establishing a modern curriculum to meet today’s challenges. Professor Amy Tsui Lucy Arthur LAUNCHING THE common core A curriculum innovation at HKU will equip students with global perspectives and increase their understanding of their place and responsibilities in the world. Teaching and Learning