Service learning embodies the spirit of applying the knowledge learned to serve others and contribute to society. Committed to nurturing well-rounded citizens with knowledge and proactivity, the University of Macau (UM) encourages its students to engage in community service projects outside the classroom to make a positive impact on society. In this issue of My UM, we explore the service learning opportunities UM provides for undergraduate students through community and peer education, experiential teaching, and student organisations. We also feature interviews with three students who participated in different service activities. They have shared the experiences and insights they gained through community service.
Building a platform for service learning
UM actively promotes whole-person development in undergraduate education. Since its relocation to the new campus in 2014, the university has implemented a residential college system that serves as an experiential learning platform, nurturing students’ sense of civic responsibility and other important abilities. The platform features a service learning model which provides students with opportunities to apply their knowledge and contribute to the community through the planning and organisation of various activities. The ten residential colleges at UM organise a wide range of service-learning programmes regularly. This approach, which incorporates observation, reflection, and hands-on experiences, enable students to fulfil their social responsibilities while enhancing their learning experience.
As each college brings together students from various disciplines and cultural backgrounds, they can leverage their strengths to organise different community service activities. After years of exploration, the ten colleges have developed distinct characteristics in their community service initiatives and established mechanisms that encourage students’ voluntary participation. Students are proactive in taking actions to tackle social issues, including promoting environmentally friendly lifestyles, improving education in remote areas, and addressing the mental well-being of the elderly. Their care for the community, especially disadvantaged groups, is evident through their provision of community services in mainland China, Macao and overseas over the years.
Diverse and sustainable community services
UM’s residential colleges have become effective platforms for service learning. They support students to connect with the community and expand sustainable community services. For example, members of Henry Fok Pearl Jubilee College (HFPJC) travel to remote areas in mainland China every year to conduct educational activities. They have provided teaching services for more than 400 classes in 13 schools in different provinces—Hainan, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Hunan, and Guangxi—benefiting more than 20,000 primary and secondary school students. HFPJC members also collaborate with international social enterprises to integrate knowledge of health, hygiene, and environmental protection into their teaching.
Similarly, Chao Kuang Piu College organises a series of activities every year for children with Down syndrome, providing warmth and companionship to these children and their families. Cheng Yu Tung College, in response to the country’s call, has held fundraising events for the rural revitalisation programme in Xiusui county, Jiangxi province. Choi Kai Yau College (CKYC) also has organised members to visit nursing homes to talk to the elderly and keep them company. As CKYC College Master Prof Janny Leung said, learning is never limited to the classroom; community service can also provide students with a rich learning experience.
Exploring oneself through service
Serving as a learning platform for practicing community and peer education as well as knowledge integration, UM’s residential colleges aim to develop students into well-rounded citizens with knowledge and proactivity through experiential learning outside the classroom. The colleges consider service learning crucial for students’ personal growth. They offer various community service programmes that allow students to explore areas of interest aligned with their individual traits and strengths.
This commitment to service learning is driven by the ultimate goal of guiding to explore and reflect on themselves. For example, Dr Chan U Wai, residential fellow of the Stanley Ho East Asia College (SHEAC), regularly organises community tours to expose students to the diverse facets of people’s lives. Jasmin Kam, a second-year student in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature and a member of SHEAC’s volunteer team, shared that participating in the tours helped her understand the composition, cultural context, and history of Macao’s communities. She also gained a first-hand understanding of the needs of different communities, which would allow her to organise volunteer activities that are more relevant to people’s daily lives. ‘The tours also taught me to approach social issues from multiple perspectives and mobilise the resources around me to improve the community,’ shared Kam.
Fulfilling social responsibility
In addition to the residential colleges, UM faculties also put emphasis on social responsibility when designing curriculums. The university’s curriculums focus on developing students’ ability to identify and solve community issues, making teaching more practical and honing the skills students have acquired. For example, the Faculty of Education (FED) has established a STEAM Education Service Team to train students as seed teachers and promote STEAM education at the community level in alignment with the government’s ‘Education for Macao’ policy.
The service team conducts STEAM workshops at the Macao Science Center every month for children aged 6 to 9 to ignite their interest in science. Richard Goh, a third-year student in FED and a member of Ma Man Kei and Lo Pak Sam College, is the founding leader of the service team. He has served at the science center for more than a year. Through his observations during the workshops, he noticed that children typically have an attention span of only 8 minutes. Despite the short attention span, he is not frustrated, as he firmly believes, ‘There is no boring knowledge. It all depends on how we teach.’
To ensure the quality of STEAM education, the service team’s teaching plans undergo reviews by FED professors. Goh emphasised that lesson preparation is a time-consuming process. To effectively convey a concept to children, multiple repetitions in various engaging ways are necessary to stimulate their curiosity in science. Goh explained, ‘Preparing for a 40-minute workshop usually takes more than ten times that amount of time. Our focus is on nurturing children’s observation skills and encouraging them to actively explore problems with interest. We hope to stimulate their scientific thinking.’
Strengthening community cohesion
UM currently has more than 100 student organisations and university teams at UM, allowing students to demonstrate their strengths beyond their majors, develop their potential, independently organise social service activities and participate in these activities, thereby increasing the positive energy in the community. For example, the UM National Flag Team, as the first student national flag team among all public higher education institutions in Macao, takes promoting the national flag culture to the community as its mission. The team pay frequent visits to primary and secondary schools to give presentations on the national flag culture and provide training on flag-raising ceremonies. These initiatives can enhance the national identity of young people in Macao.
Kou Nga Iao, a third-year student in the Department of Communication and a member of Ma Man Kei and Lo Pak Sam College, is the deputy team leader of the UM National Flag Team. She goes to the Affiliated School of the University of Macau every week to provide professional flag-raising training for primary school students. Kou acknowledged the challenge of capturing the attention of energetic and playful young students, but after spending six months together, she witnessed their transformation. ‘They can now stand in a military posture, march with precision, and hold the flag with respect,’ Kou shared.
Kou continued, ‘In addition to teaching students how to properly raise, lower, fold and display the national flag, we explain to them the protocol, etiquette, and the significance behind each movement. The protocol and etiquette embody respect for the national flag and reverence for the country. Flag-raising training helps cultivate students’ self-discipline and deepens their love for the country and Macao, which, in turn, contributes to the establishment of stable community cohesion.’
Developing students’ leadership skills
After years of implementing service learning education, UM’s residential colleges stress that while the primary goal of service learning is not necessarily to cultivate leaders, it undeniably enhances students’ leadership abilities. These enhanced skills include self-confidence, effective communication, interpersonal relationships, teamwork, and problem-solving. Dr Jiang Yi, associate master of Henry Fok Pearl Jubilee College, highlighted that service learning, which combines community service and civic education, plays a crucial role in fostering students’ sense of social responsibility.
Dr Jiang continued, ‘The process of reflection and discussion initiated by service learning serve as effective means of relearning. It enables students to translate their compassion into action and develop their leadership potential. Many students who have participated in volunteer teaching services in mainland China have later become actively involved in college student unions and other student organisations. They have become outstanding student leaders.’
Text: Kelvin U, Trainee UM Reporter Qiu Zichen, Hu JingweiEnglish translation: Bess Che
Photos: Editorial Board, with some provided by the interviewees
Source: My UM Issue 129
