Editorial – Learning together through communities of practice – Ronnel King
Welcome to the 15th issue of Teaching and Learning Connections! This issue was carefully compiled by the outgoing editor Dr. Tracy Zou. I would like to thank her for her wonderful work not only for this issue but for the past issues as well. I have big shoes to fill, and I wish her all the best with her new journey.
This issue contains five articles that highlight the value of a community of practice. The five articles are:
1. Adapting an international EL research project-based course for an age without travel – In this article, Peter Cobb, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Education and Arts at HKU, and Agnes Sung, HKU undergraduate student at HKU, introduce how an experiential learning course was adapted to an online mode with the collective effort by a group of students, graduates, and colleagues. In the article, you will find out how the adaptation of the course evolved with contributions from everyone involved in the community. Though they were not able to do fieldwork in Armenia, they became creative and maximized what they could do with the online mode.
2. Mentoring the mentors: Supporting HKU undergraduate students in self-led research projects – In this article, Lily Leung from CETL at HKU, illustrates the critical role of peer mentors and coaches in staff-student partnerships. The author also shares several ways to overcome challenges in supporting undergraduates on their research projects.
3. Enhancement of learning experiences and outcomes during the crisis – An opportunity for curriculum modernisation – In this article, Abraham Wai from HKU’s Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, tells the story of curriculum modernisation with innovations in content, pedagogies and assessment. He also highlighted the importance of learner empowerment and collaboration among colleagues from different academic fields.
4. Transforming teaching and learning through a discipline-based community of practice – In this article, Kara, Felicia, and Vincent present an exciting dialogue between the authors about how a discipline-based community of practice supports colleagues in developing innovative teaching approaches. The authors also include details of the design and coordination of the community of practice.
5. Service Leadership Education: Teaching non-Journalism major to interview para-athletes – In this article, Bonnie Chiu presents the design and implementation of a general education capstone course that engages students from various backgrounds in interviewing para-athletes. The author emphasized the importance of working closely with community partners and offering specific support to non-Journalism major students in this challenging yet fruitful learning experience.
