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No cliché… Something innovative from global teaching practices

18 Mar 2022 | Deen Ding He “A quality education is powered by excellence in teaching and learning.” Assistant Editor of Innovative Teaching and Learning journal, Deen Ding He, shares his thoughts on the development of humanity’s teaching and learning activities, and exchange of innovative practices.

Teaching and learning activities have been observed and innovated ever since the existence of humanity. When talking about innovative teaching and learning in higher education we often discuss new curriculum designs, a refined syllabus, different organisation of a class, instructions and interactions, and maybe, a strange idea from your dean. 

We used to be more philosophy oriented, but clearly technology is a big boost. We now hear about flipped classrooms, online remote classes, and smart education. No matter how “smart” it is, an effective pedagogical model always revolves around the teachers, the students, and a conducive environment.

Much complicated as human societies are, pedagogical models vary. You can find a long list of big names of educators in history: Aristotle, Confucius, John Amos Comenius, Herbert Spencer, John Dewey, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, etc. Those eminent educators, and numerous dedicated teachers in the world, uphold their own education philosophy, trying to create perfect lecture setup and exercise.

It makes us so proud how a sophisticated teacher can influence many students. But when you look out and see the world, no teachers dare to say they have done perfect teaching for their students. We are also aware that many students from different backgrounds are still looking for the right education model.

Here’s something you might have never heard of, an international journal exactly on this topic. As its title suggests, scholars share their insights into Innovative Teaching and Learning through empirical and review studies as well as practices.

The editors are delighted to present this Innovative Teaching and Learning (ITL) journal, which was founded by Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University United International College (UIC) in 2019 and published semi-annually by Global Science Press in Hong Kong SAR.

Take its latest issue (Volume 3, Number 2) as an example. The articles address a diverse range of significant topics in higher education from the perspective of interdisciplinary approaches ranging from the foundations of liberal arts education and its practices at a Hong Kong university, the necessity of an East-West educational and cultural exchange, to the role of online learning during Covid-19 in global higher education.

From a less general angle other topics also focus on action research in linguistics, teaching-learning methodology related to accounting education, as well as the field of translation studies and English acquisition.

The authors come from diverse backgrounds and disciplines across the United States, Australia, the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong SAR. Their affiliated institutions include Temple University, Kennesaw State University, the University of New South Wales, Hong Kong Baptist University and Lingnan University.

The journal employs double-blind peer review. The average review time is around three months due to rigorous assessment. External reviewers take up 64% (9 out of 14) of the total number in addition to those from UIC. Their institutions cover elite universities and centres, as well as higher education-oriented governmental organisations including Duke University, Fordham University, Temple University, Loyola University Chicago, University of West Florida and more.

Professor Zhi Chen, an internationally acclaimed scholar, researcher in Chinese Studies, and Provost of UIC, serves as the Editor-in-Chief of ITL. Dr Yi-Lung Kuo, an Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for Teaching and Learning at UIC, is the Managing Editor. Advisory Editorial Board members include Professor Jianhua Lin (Peking University), Dr Xin Lu (China’s Ministry of Education), and Professor Tao Tang (President of UIC).

“A quality education is powered by excellence in teaching and learning,” writes Professor Tao Tang. ITL welcomes academics and scholars from all over the world to submit their research papers to future issues of the journal. (Submit your manuscripts here)

Before concluding this blogpost, I would like to introduce the college a little bit as it’s fewer than two decades old. UIC is the first modern liberal arts college in the Chinese mainland and is the first full-scale cooperation in higher education between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong. It is situated in the beautiful coastal city of Zhuhai in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area. Since its first enrolment in 2005, UIC has grown into an international institution with innovative educational approaches.

We try our best to promote the innovation of pedagogical practices and active exchange on scholarship in teaching and learning. Your suggestions and advice regarding this journal would be invaluable to us.

Deen Ding He is an Assistant Editor of Innovative Teaching and Learning journal, and Assistant Director of Media and Public Relations at Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University United International College (UIC). Contact: deenhe@uic.edu.cn.

Find out more about the Advance HE's Teaching and Learning Conference 2022: Teaching in the spotlight: Where next for enhancing student success? which took place 5-7 July at Northumbria University in Newcastle, UK. 

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