The Review 2013

The Common Core The Common Core is an innovative programme developed at HKU to get students thinking about issues of profound significance to humankind in the 21 st century. These issues cover a huge span - everything from genetics and human nature, to the rise of China, to the environment in a globalised world, to sexuality, gender and diversity, and many more. One strand running through all the courses is that they are interdisciplinary and do not require specialised knowledge. The goal is to encourage students in all disciplines to think critically and creatively about shared matters of importance. The Common Core is organised into four Areas of Inquiry - Scientific and Technological Literacy, Humanities, Global Issues, and China: Culture, State and Society. It expanded from six pilot courses offered in 2009-10 to more than 150 courses in September 2012. Students have largely been enthusiastic, submitting written feedback that the Common Core has enabled them to see things from different perspectives, understand people better and even changed their life expectations. Some have worried they lacked background knowledge for certain courses, for example, wrongly thinking they needed a science or maths background to take courses in Scientific and Technological Literacy. Some also expect these courses to be less demanding than their disciplinary courses. Much effort has been made by faculties and the University to raise students' awareness of the aim and goals of the Common Core, and to emphasise its importance in inducting students into ways of thinking and methods of enquiry that are essential for their university education. With the Common Core now well-established, the focus in future will be on maintaining and further enhancing the quality of the offerings. The four-year cohort will be the first to take the full requirement of six Common Core courses. The University will monitor their progress to assess if the Common Core is achieving its aims. We also plan to review the programme in future to ensure it serves the needs of the overall curriculum. Out of the Classroom and into the Field Vincci Mak, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture, teaches a Common Core course in which students explore the human relationship with the environment through art. They learn about theories of landscapes, then visit a natural site - in 2012-13 this was the abandoned Lei Yue Mun quarry. There, they created artwork using grass, rubbish, rocks and other found materials, kept logbooks, took photos and produced short videos, then staged an exhibition of their output. Ms Mak said the process mattered more than the end product. "The beauty of this course is that we are saying: give the art creation process a try. The core idea is that they understand and critique the environment, and the art is a way to express that." "We made a video and it was not as easy as we thought. From designing to editing, there were lots of problems. For example, the weather was bad on the day we arrived at the quarry and we couldn't do what we planned. Nonetheless, with the help of our tutor and collaboration with teammates, we overcame these troubles and created our video, The Track. [This experience made me think] team work is important whatever we do and wherever we are.” - Kathy Ma Shuk-ha, first year BNurs and student of the ‘Shaping the Landscape’ Common Core course "We decided to create a contrasting boulder out of plastic bottles and sand and place it among the real boulders. We wanted to remind people of the history of Lei Yue Mun as a quarry site which was once flooded with Hakka workers. Urbanisation then took place, drawing residents away from the coastal area. Finally, trash was left behind. One day, these clusters of trash might form big trash balls that look like boulders spreading across the coastal line." - Wong Shun-yi, first year BEcon and student of the ‘Shaping the Landscape’ Common Core course THE REVIEW 2013 ⎜ Teaching and Learning The University of Hong Kong ⎜ 15 Teamwork Keeps Project on Track Trash Talk