 |
|
|
Senior Faculty and GE Course Area Coordinators gathered for a special Forum on 6 December to review the progress of UM's new General Education Programme, which was successfully launched at the beginning of this semester. Featured speakers include visiting Fulbright Scholar Professor Bill Shaw, San Jose State University, California and Professor Simon Ho, Vice-Rector of Academic Affairs.
The Forum held on at the Pousada Beach hotel in Coloane provided an ideal opportunity for exchange and reflection on the evolving role of Course Area Coordinators and engage in meaningful discussion on how to meet the goals and high standards required by the GE Programme.
Representatives from the thirteen different GE Programme areas explained the wide range of courses which were introduced this semester and the challenges faced by both faculty and students in adapting to the new GE course requirements. These include a shift towards more whole person teaching and a change to more collaborative learning methods which encourage a high degree of student participation, the difficulties in recruiting teachers for some GE courses, the co-ordination of different units when implementing cross-disciplinary courses, and the problems that students with lower English language proficiencies face. The need for more experienced and creative teachers to deliver GE courses and the development of support mechanisms to ensure quality and consistency across the programme were also discussed.
One outcome of the forum is a more unified vision of the nature and scale of the transformation which is required to fully implement the ambitious goals of UM's GE Programme. In addition participants now share a greater awareness of the many needs and challenges faced by each faculty and department and understand the importance of continued dialogue and cooperation. The forum also helped us to appreciate the great pool of talent, wisdom and experience UM has to draw upon as our GE Programme evolves.
Should you have any query, please feel free to contact Ms. Albee Lei at（853）8397 4325 or albeelei@um.edu.mo or visit UM webpage www.umac.mo.
