Creating a Mind-Opening Learning Experience for Science Students

By Michael Yu

Every teacher has his or her own teaching philosophy. To Prof. King-lau Chow, our CoP – ITL’s HKUST-affiliated member, embracing open-mindedness and flexibility are indispensable in his class. He believes that this teaching philosophy contributes much to internationalisation by providing students with a wide range of inputs and perspectives.

Different Stakeholders, Different Perspectives
Prof. Chow introduced his students to various controversial issues in science and public health, one of which was whether placebo-prescribing is ethical or unethical. Playing the roles of different stakeholders, such as pharmaceutical companies, families of rare disease patients and governments, students were able to defend and develop their views and counter-arguments which involved skills in critical thinking and perspective taking.

Adopting a Non-Judgmental Approach in Discussion
Is it worthwhile for the government to allocate excessive public resources to cure patients with rare diseases? In response to this debate, Prof. Chow assured students that there were no right or wrong answers. Students were invited to freely share what they valued most – be it the well-being of the whole society or all individual lives. In Prof. Chow’s view, science itself is neutral and scientists do not intend to create Frankensteins. It is only the matter of how we use technology and what regulations should be applied.

Drawing on Worldwide Examples
Prof. Chow capitalised on international contents and examples to develop student intercultural competence and broaden their international horizons. In class, students were asked to compare and contrast the standards and approaches adopted by different countries, as well as the possible considerations behind such differences. For example, students were guided to examine the vaccine experiment standards adopted by Thailand and some African countries. Prof. Chow also invited students to compare the international and local public health standards of Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong during the 1970s.

Learning Online
One of Prof. Chow’s courses, Global Health Ethics Case Studies, was conducted on a virtual platform which involved students of diverse cultural backgrounds. Prof. Chow considered this as an excellent opportunity for students to learn to respect each other even when there are different noises and views. He further remarked, “I believe every student has their own talents that need to be explored by teachers. And there is often more than one way to explore.” With this in mind, he has been dedicated to creating multiple opportunities for student exposure and talent development.

Acknowledgments
The Editor’s Pick draws on an interview with Prof. King-lau Chow who generously shared with us his experiences and insights, and we hope we have done justice to the wisdom of his practice in the internationalisation of teaching and learning.