Students as Partners: Community of Practice Seminar #2

• Ms. Promail Leung, Senior Lecturer, Director of School-University Partnership, Faculty of Education, HKU
• Mr. Michael Lo, Student, Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Science, Faculty of Education, HKU
• Dr. Match Ko, Lecturer and Director of MSc Studies, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, HKU
• Mr. Alex Chiu, Student, BEng in ME, Faculty of Engineering, HKU
• Ms. Teenie Wong, Student, MBBS Class of 2024, LKS Faculty of Medicine, HKU
• Ms. Helen Xiao, Student, MBBS Class of 2025, LKS Faculty of Medicine, HKU

Facilitator : Prof. Michael Botelho, Clinical Professor, Faculty of Dentistry, HKU

Students as Partners beyond the classroom: Practice to promote employability and community engagement

Abstract
Prospective teachers in Teacher Training Programmes often doubt themselves and feel their best isn’t good enough. What should University teachers do to uplift their students’ teaching confidence, especially in the context of schools’ suspension from the recent pandemic? What are the students’ worries? How could we enhance their workplace understanding and promote their readiness? The presentation will outline our partnership journey as a community engagement process. Students worked alongside Faculty members and in-service teachers to upscale their teaching ideas to deliver innovative teaching packages suitable for online and f2f teaching. From such engagement, this partnership empowered Prospective Teachers and Faculty staff as active collaborators in planning, decision-making, and implementing learning content that synergistically contributed to the project.

Speakers
Ms. Promail Leung, Senior Lecturer, Director of School-University Partnership, Faculty of Education, HKU
Mr. Michael Lo, Student, Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Science, Faculty of Education, HKU

Students as Learning Co-Instructors – Engage and empower Student-Educator Partnership

Abstract
Instructors engaging students as partners in typical classrooms to work together to design and enhance teaching practices is a growing pedagogical approach. Can we go a bit beyond this? Can we engage and empower the students to become Co-Instructors as well? How can we do this? Is it really work? This presentation will share some tried-and-tested practices and frameworks adopted in partnering with engineering students to design pedagogy and curriculum for STEM education. Multiple perspective reflections on Student as Learning Co-Instructors effectiveness will also be discussed.

Speaker
Dr. Match Ko, Lecturer and Director of MSc Studies, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, HKU
Mr. Alex Chiu, Student, BEng in ME, Faculty of Engineering, HKU

Near-Peer Teaching – Supporting students’ clinical transition

Abstract
This student reported presentation discusses a Near-Peer Teaching (NPT) Program that was spearheaded by four MBBS Medical students. Over a 2 year period students offered interactive zoom sessions to junior medical students with the aim to provide extra support to near peers with minimal clinical exposure due to the COVID pandemic.

This was achieved by an exchange of biomedical and clinical knowledge, from senior teachers clarifying concepts to going through clinical thinking and exam tips. This tutoring helped bridge the gap between textbook and clinical situations for pre-clinical students, and in doing so prepared them better for clinical exposure.

During 2021-22, 45 sessions were hosted, benefitting more than 150 year 1-2 medical students. Positive feedback was received from most participants in the post-activity evaluation.

This presentation by MBBS students will showcase how to create a win-win situation for both peer teachers and learners and how to carry NPT forwards to continue to have positive impacts on medical students across different cohorts.

Speakers
Ms. Teenie Wong, Student, MBBS Class of 2024, LKS Faculty of Medicine, HKU
Ms. Helen Xiao, Student, MBBS Class of 2025, LKS Faculty of Medicine, HKU