Departmental L2L Strategy
Background
Learning to learn is integral to lifelong learning, crucial for university study, and essential for surviving in a rapidly changing world. In the Strategic Plan for 2019/20-2024/25, PolyU commits to ‘instil in students the desire to learn and strengthen their ability to learn to learn’ and to ‘strengthen the learn to learn element in the curriculum’ (Strategic Priority 1a under of the domain of ‘Quality of the Student Experience of Teaching and Learning’). In pursuit of this strategic objective, departments are advised to develop and implement a departmental strategy for facilitating learning to learn (L2L) in undergraduate studies. This document sets out the guidelines for developing and implementing this strategy.
L2L elements in the curriculum: What does it mean?
L2L is a multidimensional ability to engage consciously in a sustained process to become a better learner (e.g., more autonomous, effective, adaptive). To help students learn to learn is to engage them in reviewing and improving how they learn. To have L2L elements in the curriculum means that L2L is an intentional rather than an incidental aspect of the curriculum, i.e., elements of L2L should be self-evident in the subject learning outcomes, teaching an assessment.
The totality of the L2L elements in the programme curriculum and co-curricular experience should enable students to achieve the institutional learning outcome of lifelong learning: “be able to recognise the need for continual learning and self-improvement, and be able to plan, manage and evaluate their own learning in pursuit of self-determined goals”.
Departmental L2L strategy: What is required?
Scope
The departmental L2L strategy should cover all undergraduate degree schemes/programmes, including articulation programmes leading to Bachelor Degrees, except those that are being phased out (with no further intake from 2022/23 onwards). Departments can, but are not required to, include Higher Diploma programmes and Minor programmes in their strategies.
Documentation
The departmental L2L strategy should describe (1) the overall approach adopted by the department to integrating L2L elements into the curricular and co-curricular experience of undergraduate students, (2) the specific elements in chosen subjects and activities for facilitating L2L development (e.g. outcomes, teaching and assessment), and (3) the implementation plan for putting the strategy into action (e.g., to develop materials and prepare teachers). Departments should use the standard template to document the strategy.