Pre-conference Workshops
Pre-conference Workshop 1
Prof Anthony Man-Cho SO (The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management)
Writing in the Mathematical Sciences: Some Do’s and Don’ts
Mathematical writing aims to use mathematics as a primary means for expression, deduction, and communication of ideas. Naturally, it calls for an effective blending of two languages: one natural (in our case, English), the other mathematical. In this workshop, we will discuss some essential elements of mathematical writing. Anyone who is interested in the effective presentation of mathematics in his/her discipline is welcome.
Bio: Professor Anthony Man-Cho SO is currently Dean of the Graduate School, Deputy Master of Morningside College, and Professor of the Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Professor So has been a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) since 2023 and an Outstanding Fellow of the Faculty of Engineering at CUHK since 2019. He serves on the editorial boards of several journals in the field of mathematical optimization, including Mathematical Programming, Mathematics of Operations Research, and SIAM Journal on Optimization. Professor So has received a number of research and teaching awards, including the 2016-17 CUHK Research Excellence Award, the 2010 CUHK Young Researcher Award, the 2022 University Grants Committee (UGC) Teaching Award (General Faculty Members Category), and the 2022 CUHK University Education Award.
Time: 10.00 - 12.00 (HKT), 2 December 2024
Pre-conference Workshop 2
Dr Nora HUSSIN, Ms Jessie LAM & Dr Elza TSANG (The Centre for Language Education, HKUST)
Empowering Self-Directed Learning in Academic English: Designing AI-Guided Micro Learning Units
In the rapidly evolving digital age, the integration of English Across the Curriculum (EAC) in various undergraduate curricula has become increasingly important. This workshop aims to explore innovative approaches to enhance students' English academic literacy in the disciplines through a center-wide project in the Center for Language Education, HKUST.
The workshop focuses on the development of Self-Directed Learning (SDL) project, aiming to design and produce both core and specific micro-learning units, leveraging on AI, to empower university students and the wider community in learning academic English. These micro-learning units will be accessible through an SDL learning platform, where users are encouraged to reflect on their individual learning paths, moving beyond acquiring specific skills to fostering intrinsic motivation.
During the workshop, we will explore the pedagogical principles underlying the SDL learning materials and their design. Participants will have hands-on opportunities to experience these micro learning units firsthand and actively participate in evaluating the materials. By engaging in practical exercises, we hope attendees will gain insights into the effectiveness and potential of AI-guided micro learning in fostering self-directed language learning in an academic context.
This workshop invites educators, language teaching professionals, and scholars in EAC, WAC, and CLIL to join us to explore the opportunities and challenges of creating, implementing and evaluating SDL micro learning units. Together, we will reflect on innovative pedagogical practices and collaboratively investigate how AI can support and enhance students' English literacy development within the disciplines.
Bio:
Dr Nora A. HUSSIN is an Associate Director and Senior Lecturer at the Center for Language Education, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Her research interests are situated in exploring connections between leadership, GenAI and language education, particularly in driving innovative approaches to foster future-oriented learning environments in higher education.
Ms Jessie LAM is a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Language Education, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. She is the lead in curriculum development and is currently managing the revamp of the university’s undergraduate English language curriculum. Her research interests focus on GenAI and language curriculum, the integration of formal and extended language curricula, and methods of language course delivery.
Dr Elza TSANG is a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Language Education (CLE) at HKUST and has actively participated in funded projects related to English teaching and English Across the Curriculum (EAC), including projects sponsored by the UGC and TLIP. Her research interests include EAP/ESP genre analysis, eLearning and reflective teaching.
Time: 10.00 - 12.00 (HKT), 2 December 2024
Prof Yuen Yi LO (The University of Hong Kong, Language and Literacy Education (LALE) Unit of the Faculty of Education)
Implementing CLIL/LAC in the digital age
There has been a global spread of bilingual education, particularly in the form of English Medium Instruction (EMI) and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), at different education levels. It is assumed that students on these programmes can learn content subjects and the target language (very often English) simultaneously. However, the challenges encountered by both teachers and students have been well documented. Some of these challenges can be alleviated with recent technological advancements, including abundant multimodal resources and AI tools. In this workshop, the speaker will illustrate how CLIL teachers can use multimodal resources to facilitate teaching and learning. As these resources are available online, the teaching and learning space can be extended beyond classroom, which not only deals with the time issue when integrating content and language learning in lessons, but also facilitates students’ self-directed learning. The speaker will also share some preliminary ideas and examples of using GenAI tools to design and differentiate assessment tasks, design assessment rubrics and scaffold students for assessment.
Bio: Prof Yuen Yi LO is an Associate Professor at the Teacher Education and Learning Leadership (TELL) Unit of the Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong. Her research interests include bilingual education, Medium of Instruction policy and classroom interaction. In recent years, she has been investigating the professional development of teachers in content and language integrated learning (CLIL) and issues related to CLIL assessments. Her research has been published in Review of Educational Research, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism and Teaching and Teacher Education, and her work has been collated in her monograph “Professional Development of CLIL Teachers”.
Time: 14.00 - 16.00 (HKT), 2 December 2024
Dr TONG, Ka-man Esther (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Principal Lecturer and Head of Division of Languages and Communication at College of Professional and Continuing Education)
Unleashing the Power of Generative-AI for Disciplinary Writing Empowerment
This workshop provides practical insights for educators seeking to leverage generative-AI in support of students’ disciplinary writing development. The speaker will introduce an innovative AI-assisted academic English writing platform, purpose-built to facilitate provision of teacher-AI collaborative writing feedback on a disciplinary writing assessment within an applied social sciences undergraduate degree programme. This generative-AI assisted writing feedback platform aligns with principles of assessment for learning and dynamic assessment that have guided the implementation of a genre-based approach to assessment design. Drawing from the personal experience, the speaker will share insights gained during the platform’s design process and practical implementation in refining AI-generated writing feedback and integrating technology-enhanced language pedagogy in a social sciences-specific English subject. She will also present students’ perspectives on the quality of feedback and their level of engagement with the writing feedback and other scaffolding disciplinary language support on the writing platform. Participants in this workshop will assume dual roles of both teachers and students. They will experience the intersection of human expertise, machine assistance and learner engagement -- a technology-enhanced English-across-the-curriculum pedagogy designed to foster engagement with texts and other multimodal scaffolding support through dialogic inquiry processes. This technology-assisted approach aims to empower students in their disciplinary writing practices. As participants reflect on their hand-on experiences, they will engage in discussions about the potential benefits, challenges and limitations of generative-AI-assisted language pedagogy. By fostering a critical dialogue, this workshop encourages language educators to envision new possibilities for enhancing language-across-the-curriculum instruction.
Bio: Dr Esther TONG is a dedicated teacher-scholar. She holds the position of Principal Lecturer and Head of Division of Languages and Communication at College of Professional and Continuing Education, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Since March 2021, she has been the Director of the CPCE Centre for Pedagogic Research, where she spearheads efforts to promote collaboration across academic divisions and institutions, fostering interdisciplinary synergy for pedagogical research. Dr. Tong is a coordinator of a 3-year government-funded project titled “AI-assisted academic English writing platform: An interactive cross-disciplinary English feedback system”. Additionally, she is the lead researcher for a research and development project supported by a grant from the Language Fund of the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR), exploring an adjunct English-across-the curriculum instructional model. In another government-funded teaching and learning quality enhancement project, she collaborates with mathematics faculty members to develop a bilingual digital application on mathematics literacy to support students’ learning in an English-medium mathematics subject. Her current work includes a metaverse-based social learning project that investigates multimodal approaches to professional English language learning. Her research interests lie in the areas of multimodal pedagogy, technology-enhanced language learning, English-across-the-curriculum, and content and language integrated learning. Her commitment to advancing language educational practices has earned her prestigious teaching awards, including the CPCE Dean’s Award for Outstanding Teaching Performance/Achievement 2014/15, the FSTE General Education Outstanding Teaching Award 2017 and the HKCC Outstanding Teaching Awards 2003/04 and 2006/07.
Time: 14.00 - 16.00 (HKT), 2 December 2024
