HKBU Graduate Attributes:
Consultation Session
Prof. Tony Hung
Language Centre HKBU
22 May 2008
Some Important Questions
for the Institution
‘What student learning outcomes are we
trying to achieve? What kind of
graduates are we trying to produce,
and why? How do our desired learning
outcomes relate to our mission and to the
role agreed with the UGC? Are our
desired learning outcomes reflected in
all programmes?’
[from the QAC Audit Manual: 5.4]
From UGC’s 2002 TLQPR Report on HKBU
3.1.6 ‘…The Panel could not identify clear evidence
that the goal of Whole Person Education pervades
departmental thinking (apart from the departments
with a specific mandate in this respect) to the
extent that could be expected, or indeed the Panel
was led to expect. Similarly, the Panel could not
identify clear evidence for any translation or
progression from the broad aim, to objectives, to
explicit learning outcomes, or how the University
assures itself that this aim of providing Whole
Person Education is in fact being achieved.’
(John Powers)
Proposed HKBU Graduate Attributes
An undergraduate education at HKBU aims at
fostering the following attributes in its
graduates, who should:
1.Have up-to-date, in-depth knowledge of an
academic specialty as well as a broad range
of general knowledge;
2.Have trilingual and biliterate competence in
English and Chinese (including
Putonghua);
3.Be able to think logically, critically and
creatively;
4.Have the necessary numeracy skills to
function effectively in work and everyday
life;
5.Be an independent, lifelong learner with
an inquiring spirit;
6.Be well-developed as a ‘whole person’ –
intellectually, morally, spiritually,
culturally, socially and physically;
7.Be a responsible citizen with an
international outlook and a willingness to
serve and lead.
What is the relationship between
WPE and GA?
Both GA and WPE conceptualize the goal
of education as developing all aspects of
the whole person (intellectual, moral,
social, cultural, physical, etc.)
They differ mainly with respect to
perspective and emphasis.
Differences in Perspective
 WPE adopts a more taxonomic perspective, in
classifying and finding a proper place for all
aspects of the ‘whole person’, without giving any
one aspect particular prominence.
 GA has a more outcomes-oriented perspective,
focusing on the qualities or attributes that we
hope our graduates will have attained by the
time they graduate; and since this is a university,
the majority of these outcomes tend (naturally)
to be associated with knowledge and
cognitive/intellectual skills.
Why we need both WPE & GA
 We need WPE to give us a general ‘credo’ or
‘ethos’ that shapes what we do as educators.
 We need GA to provide us with more concrete
and specific institutional outcomes to aim at,
and to align our course/programme objectives
with.
 WPE and GA will need to be consistent with
each other, but we need not be unduly worried
about ‘overlaps’ – in fact, if they are consistent
with each other, they should (indeed) overlap to
some extent (cf. HKBU’s Mission and Role
Statement).
Inculcating Graduate Attributes
1. Up-to-date, in-depth knowledge of an academic
specialty as well as a broad range of general
knowledge:
 Our undergraduate curriculum -- with its major
requirements, and provisions for ‘complementary’
and ‘distribution’ subjects -- is designed to help
students acquire reasonably in-depth knowledge of
an academic specialty as well as broad general
knowledge.
2. Trilingual and biliterate competence in English
and Chinese (including Putonghua):
 HKBU has (adequate?) provisions for core
language courses in English and Chinese -including Putonghua (with the recently introduced
Putonghua requirement for all undergraduates);
 What we need more of are language courses
designed to develop higher-level communicative
skills – such as public-speaking, creative writing (in
a broad sense), and language for specific purposes.
3. Ability to think logically, critically and creatively:
 This demands more attention and effort from all
academic programmes, where there is (generally)
too much reliance on traditional modes of teaching
as ‘knowledge transmission’ -- to the neglect of
getting students to think critically and creatively
about what they are learning.
 Critical and creative thinking cannot be taught
successfully in isolation – it needs to be inculcated
by all teachers in the teaching of all subjects.
4. Basic numeracy skills in work and everyday life:
 The proposed introduction of a core course on
‘Mathematics’ (tentative title) in the 4-year
curriculum may go some way towards meeting this
need;
 Like critical and creative thinking, numeracy needs to
be taken on board by every academic programme (in
whatever shape or form is appropriate).
5. An independent, lifelong learner with an inquiring
spirit:
 Students are unlikely to develop into ‘lifelong learners’
if we teach them mainly by transmitting ready-made
knowledge to them and getting them to regurgitate it at
the end of the course;
 If we really want them to become lifelong learners, we
will have to foster a spirit of inquiry and help them
discover knowledge for themselves instead of ‘spoonfeeding’ them.
 This involves a lot of re-thinking of our ways of
teaching, but it can (and should) be done in all
disciplines.
The independent learner
‘I mastered the material, but was usually a
little too independent to do precisely what
the teacher wanted, and so was never
considered among the very best students.
Usually the worse the teacher (at least
according to me), the lower was my
standing.’
[Carl Wieman, Nobel laureate in Physics]
6. ‘Whole Person’ development – intellectual,
moral, spiritual, cultural, social & physical:
 ‘Whole Person’ education cannot be left to any
single unit or programme alone (like
Complementary Studies – though they can
obviously contribute a great deal);
 The desirable attributes of the ‘Whole Person’ can
be inculcated (to a greater or lesser extent)
through the teaching of any subject, by trying to
‘humanize’ it and relate it to real-life concerns.
7. A responsible citizen with an international
outlook and a willingness to serve and lead:
There are co-curricular and extra-curricular
programmes aimed at fostering these attributes,
but all teachers can contribute to them in one
way or another through their teaching.
Graduate Attributes & the Teacher
 ‘Good teaching cannot be reduced to technique;
good teaching comes from the identity and
integrity of the teacher.’
 ‘Good teachers share one trait: a strong sense
of personal identity infuses their work…. Bad
teachers distance themselves from the subject
they are teaching, and from their students.
Good teachers join self and subject and students
in the fabric of life.’
[P.J.Palmer, The Courage to Teach (Wiley 2007),
pp.10-11]
Integrating Graduate Attributes with Course
Learning Outcomes: Further Illustrations
Example 1: LANG2220 English through
Current Events
Intended Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the course, students should be
able to:
1. Use English effectively in speaking and
writing about current events;
2. Understand spoken and written news
reports in English accurately;
3. Analyse and discuss news reports and
commentaries critically and in an informed
manner;
4. Develop a broad acquaintance with current
local and international events and issues,
in various spheres (political, economic,
social, cultural, moral, educational, etc.);
5. Develop a personal and rational point of
view on current events and issues.
Sample materials
‘April plan to save mansion was ignored’
[from SCMP, Sept. 2007]
The government could have saved the
King Yin Lei mansion from the wreckers
five months ago, it has emerged. But it
ignored a letter in which a leading architect
acting for the then owner proposed to
preserve the historic building in MidLevels.
Mr Liao [the architect] said it appeared the
developer knew how to destroy the
building without infringing laws.
"This is a strategy. Deface it first and
redevelop," he said.
‘Why non-violence has failed in Myanmar’
[from SCMP, Sept. 2007]
Empty monasteries, severed telecommunications
and a sullen, beaten silence; it doesn't just feel
like a defeat for the Myanmese people - it feels
like the end of an era. It was an era that began at
the other end of Southeast Asia two decades ago,
with the non-violent overthrow in 1986 of the
Marcos regime in the Philippines by "people
power"….
The emotion that non-violence works on is
shame. Most people feel that murdering large
numbers of their fellow citizens is a shameful
action. And, even if those at the top of a
regime can smother that emotion, their
soldiers, who do the actual killing, may not be
able to.
Student Feedback on the Course
This subject lets me know more about the
current events in different parts of the world
and it also trains me to have critical
thinking in looking at the current issues.
[The lecturer] can motivate us to study by
ourselves.
I feel able to get my horizon broader, with
focus not merely on local news items.
[The lecturer] encourages us to speak up
and speak freely.
It helped enhance my ability of critical
and independent thinking.
It inspired us to think critically and to be
more aware about things happening
around us. It also encouraged us to use
English more in our daily lives.
It provides student with a chance to pay
more attention on current affairs, no matter
in Hong Kong or in other parts of the
world.
Example 2: LANG 7550 English as a World
Language
Intended Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the course, the students should be
able to:
1.
Describe the history and development of
English from its beginnings in the 5th century to
the present day;
2.
Explain the spread of English to other parts of
the world through colonization and other
processes;
3.
Account for the rise of English as a ‘world
language’ in the 20th-21st centuries;
4. Understand and apply the conceptual and
methodological tools of ‘World Englishes’ to the
analysis of the linguistic features of ‘New
Englishes’, as well as their social, cultural,
educational and political roles in their respective
societies.
5. Analyse and compare the linguistic and sociocultural features of some well-known modern
varieties of English, including British, American,
Australian, Indian, Singapore, Hong Kong and
China English;
6. Discuss the linguistic, social, political, cultural and
educational issues arising from the emergence of
English as a world language, in a logical and
informed manner.
Sample Assignment
 In the last few decades, a colloquial, non-standard form of
English known as ‘Singlish’ has evolved in Singapore. [For
descriptions of the linguistic and social features of Singlish,
refer to the relevant readings, and also the website of SPAS
(‘Society for the Preservation of Authentic Singlish’) and its
‘Coxford Singlish Dictionary’ at:
http://www.talkingcock.com/html/index.php, and to Dr Anthea
Gupta’s Singlish website:
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/english/staff/afg/singeh2.html]
 Nowadays, Singlish is widely spoken among Singaporeans of
all ages (both educated and uneducated), and has become a
serious concern to the Singaporean authorities, who see it as
the enemy of ‘good English’, and who have banned the use of
Singlish on TV and radio (including commercials and sitcoms)
and conducted campaigns to discourage the use of Singlish in
favour of ‘Good English’ (see the ‘Speak Good English’
website at http://www.goodenglish.org.sg/site/).
 The following comments by Singapore’s leaders
are indicative:
 (Former) Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew: ‘Singlish
is a handicap we do not wish on Singaporeans’
 (Former) Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong: (i)
‘Singlish is poor English that reflects badly on us
and makes us seem less intelligent or
competent’. (ii) ‘Singlish is not English. It is
English corrupted by Singaporeans and has
become a Singapore dialect’
 While some Singaporeans support the above
point of view, there are also dissenting voices,
e.g. in this quote from the SPAS website:
 ‘And what's wrong with Singlish anyway? It's
how Singaporeans speak in casual company. If
Londoners can speak Cockney or Liverpudlians
can speak Scouse, why can't we speak
Singlish? We're not asking schools to start
teaching Singlish as a subject… But surely we
Singaporeans are not so stupid that we cannot
tell the difference between the kind of language
acceptable in casual settings and the kind
expected in business or official correspondence.’
In your essay, you should discuss the following:
(i) What do you think of the two opposing views
on Singlish cited above? Who do you agree
with and why, or, if you have a different point of
view from either, what is it?
(ii) What do you think of the Singaporean
authorities’ efforts to suppress Singlish? Is it
justified, and is it likely to succeed? How
would you deal with the Singlish situation if you
had the authority?
(iii) How do you think a dialect like ‘Singlish’ has
evolved in Singapore in the first place? Do you
think something equivalent to Singlish would
ever evolve in Hong Kong or China in the
future, and play a similar role in the
sociolinguistic situation here?
Student Feedback on the Course
 [The lecturer] always motivates students to be
active learners.
 The subject broadens the horizons of my view
point of English
 The contents are inspiring and interesting,
stimulating learners to think critically about the
current issue of English as a global language.
 Give us new knowledge about Englishes in
different parts of the world. I knew nothing about
this before taking this course, and have not
considered some controversial issues before,
like what is Standard English
The content of the lectures is inspiring and
thought-provoking on the subject.
[The lecturer’s] enthusiasm and
professional knowledge in the teaching
subject could definitely stimulate and
enhance students' interest and
motivation for an effective learning
Cultivate analytic thinking of students
[The lecturer] always tries his best to
stimulate our thinking in a critical way.
He has been an inspiring teacher in the
course.
Appendix 1: Some Useful Websites
(i)
HKBU QAC Audit Website:
http://net3.hkbu.edu.hk/~qacaudit/
(ii)
Introduction & Workshops on OBTL:
http://lc.hkbu.edu.hk/te/doc/preworkshop_reference.doc
http://lc.hkbu.edu.hk/te/doc/preworkshop01.ppt
http://lc.hkbu.edu.hk/te/doc/preworkshop02.ppt
http://lc.hkbu.edu.hk/te/doc/preworkshop03.ppt
(iii) OBTL Websites in other Universities:
CityU: http://tfq.cityu.edu.hk/obtl/
CUHK: http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/v6/en/teaching/quality.html
HKU: http://www.hku.hk/caut/new1/outcome/outcome_based.htm
PolyU: http://www.polyu.edu.hk/obe/index.php
UST: http://celt.ust.hk/obe/index.htm
Appendix 2: Graduate Profiles/Attributes
in other HK universities
 CityU: (i) http://tfq.cityu.edu.hk/obtl/idealGraduate.php, (ii)
http://www.cityu.edu.hk/edo/mylearning/ideal_graduate/
 CUHK: (i)
http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/v6/en/cuhk/strategicplan/ourtenyearvisio
n.html (ii)
http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/v6/en/cuhk/strategicplan/images/strat_pl
an_eng2.pdf
 HKIEd: http://www.ied.edu.hk/strategicplan/index_eng.htm
 HKU: http://www.hku.hk/about/vision.html
 HKUST: http://www.ust.hk/eng/about/mission_vision.htm
 Lingnan:
http://www.ln.edu.hk/info/about/lingnan/liberal_arts.shtml
 PolyU:
http://www.polyu.edu.hk/cpa/polyu/the_university/motto_e.php