Course Organization
| Units and hours | ||||||||||
| The first week is about Getting to Know the College: Extended Orientation. In the remaining weeks, there will be 8 weeks of lectures, interspersed with 4 weeks of tutorials, writing workshops and writing consultation sessions; each occasion will be 3 class hours. | ||||||||||
| Class size | ||||||||||
| The class size will be ~75 for lectures. | ||||||||||
| Tutorial, writing workshop and writing consultation session organisation | ||||||||||
| The whole class will be divided into ~7 tutorial sections (A1, A2, …; B1, B2, B3, …) of around 12-14 students each. Each section attends only half the tutorials. See Appendix A for details of tutorial arrangements. (This may be updated at the start of the term, depending on enrolment patterns.)
On the days when not attending a tutorial, depending on the assigned tutorial section, students will join a writing workshop conducted by ELTU and an optional consultation on term paper writing. To enhance opportunities for discussion, and to promote teamwork, each tutorial section (about 12 students) will be further divided into teams of 2 students each. Each team will organize its own break-out discussion outside scheduled class hours before the tutorial session. A designated member of the team (chosen in rotation by the team, so that each student will be chosen at least once) will make a short presentation of 5 to 10 minutes at the tutorial session, to be followed by general discussion. This arrangement follows the format often used in strategic planning workshops and retreats, and is chosen to allow more time for discussions, the opportunity to engage in teamwork and more organized and better prepared presentations. More detailed instructions and tutorial questions will be put on Blackboard. |
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| Reading | ||||||||||
| The required reading will be of modest quantity (say 20–30 pages per week). A list of suggested reading will be provided, and it is hoped that students will read a selection, possibly in relation to the preparation of the term paper.
The required reading for each lecture will be available on Blackboard. To help students who may initially have difficulties with English, Chinese translations of parts of some of the lectures will also be placed on Blackboard. The purpose is not to avoid English texts, but to help students in the process of transition in reading lengthier and more difficult text in English. The content of the required reading will be the subject of a quiz at the end of the relevant lecture. In addition to the Lecture Notes, which constitute the required reading, a Manual on academic skills will also be available on Blackboard, to supplement the short lectures on these topics. |
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| Term paper | ||||||||||
| A term paper is required, relatively short because this may be the first academic term paper that the students have ever written: 1,500 words in English or 2,000 words in Chinese. In addition to the final product, there will be a series of intermediate tasks correlated to modules on academic writing embedded into the course.
More detailed instructions will be put on Blackboard. |
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| Quizzes | ||||||||||
| There will be a short quiz at the end of each topical lecture L1, … , L8. Each quiz will cover the pre-assigned reading and the lecture just delivered. There will be no examination at the end of term. The quizzes will consist of multiple-choice questions and/ or questions requiring short answers; in the latter case, the questions may be answered in either English or Chinese. One purpose of the quizzes is to promote the habit of close reading.
Only the best 7 out of 8 quizzes will be counted, i.e., the lowest score will be discarded. Students may be approved for absence of two types. (a) If there are medical or other unavoidable reasons (with suitable documentary proof), then, upon approval, the scores of the remaining quizzes will be scaled up. For example, if one quiz is missed, then the best 6 out of 7 (instead of 7 out of 8) will be counted, and the total score scaled up by a factor of 7/6. (b) If there is absence for other approved reasons (including, for example, attending a graduation ceremony back at high school), the missed quiz will be scored as zero. In other words, it will be the one that is discarded, and the remaining quizzes will be counted as 7 out of 7. |
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| Assessment scheme | ||||||||||
Notes
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| Language | ||||||||||
| The vision of CW Chu College includes internationality, and the College expects to enroll more than the average percentage of students from outside Hong Kong. This first College course should have the function of integrating students from different backgrounds into a single community, through a shared learning experience. With this in mind, the lectures will be conducted in English. The College would also encourage tutorials to be conducted in English, in order that ideas can be shared among students with different backgrounds. However, students who may initially have difficulties will be assigned to tutorials with special arrangements.
Bilingual versions (or choices) may be available for some items in the suggested reading lists. Term papers and short answers quizzes may be written in either English or Chinese. |
College Office
G/F, CW Chu College
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR
