Campus Digest

Over 170 secondary school principals and teachers explore creativity and A-STEM education at HKBU

18 Jan 2017

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(Left) Vice-President (Teaching and Learning) Dr Albert Chau, facilitator of the discussion session, together with respondent speakers (from second left to right) Ms Ada Wong; Associate Professor of the Department of Humanities and Creative Writing Dr Wong Kwok-kui; and Associate Head of the Department of Biology Professor Ken Yung, discuss how A-STEM education could unleash the potential of students
Secondary school principals and teachers attend seminar arranged by the School of Communication

 

The University organised the 15th HKBU Secondary School Principals’ Day yesterday (18 January) with the theme “JUMP Out of the Box – Creativity and A-STEM Education”. This year, around 170 principals and teachers from 92 secondary schools were invited to the annual event which provided a platform for guests and University members to exchange views on the development of A-STEM education in Hong Kong and how it could help unleash students’ potential.



In his welcoming remarks, President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Roland Chin explained that “A (Arts)” was added to “STEM” in the discussion. By integrating arts and science through interactive learning it is hoped that it would be able to encourage students to apply interdisciplinary knowledge and to think out of the box.



Professor Chin introduced to the audience the three important abilities which he encouraged students to develop in their four years of study. The first is to learn beyond the knowledge that is “googleable” in order to join the ranks of thinkers and innovators. Secondly, they should prepare to be employable for careers which may not yet be known through acquiring broad-based and diverse knowledge. Thirdly, they should prepare to be globally able and capable of working in different environments and solving global problems.


   
Ms Ada Wong, Founder of the Make A Difference Institute and Supervisor of the HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity, was invited to deliver the keynote speech on the topic “Creative education for the future”. She highlighted some examples around the world that effectively integrate arts, technology and creativity in school education, such as the Haja School in Seoul, The Studio in Liverpool, and the Design for Extreme Affordability programme offered at the Stanford d. school.



Ms Wong also shared her experiences in facilitating creative education and cultural development over the years. She said that creativity, humanism and innovation are the three key elements in the future era of artificial intelligence whereas creativity education is essential for a more empathetic and humanistic next generation.



Following the plenary session, secondary school principals and teachers attended parallel seminars arranged by individual faculties/schools/academy and toured around campus facilities.