Assistant Professor
Department of Building and Construction
Video Format: wmv | Duration: 00:05:10 | Link to Video
My teaching philosophy
Before I joined the Department of Building and Construction (BC) at CityU, I thought that excellent teaching simply involved the production of a set of comprehensive notes and a series of interesting lectures. After three years at CityU, I recognise that excellent teaching is much more than that. Lectures are just one element of a course, and a course is just one part of a programme. To produce ideal graduates and train professional engineers, teaching must mean the development and implementation of an educational framework that consists of at least three components:
An appropriate programme curriculum that considers both the intended outcomes and quality of the student intake,
A suite of supporting tools that aid teaching and learning, and
The application of teaching methods that encourage students to learn.
In line with these components and to achieve my goal of teaching excellence I have taken up three roles in the department:
Programme designer: I have actively participated in the design and implementation of the BEng(Hons) in Building Engineering (Structural and Geotechnical Engineering) programme. I also have two other related leader and coodinator positions.
Developer of teaching and learning tools: I secured several teaching grants totalling HK$722,000 to allow me to develop many web-applications for the teachers and students in the structural analysis and design area (e.g., http://bccw.cityu.edu.hk/rc.design). Furthermore, I collaborated with a group of German researchers in developing the Instant Structural Analysis (iSA) software package for the teaching and learning of structural analysis. This software package is now marketed by CityU Research Limited and many universities and even consultant firms are our clients.
Teacher: From time to time, I hear complaints about the quality of our students. It is a matter of fact that our entry requirements are not as high as those of HKU and HKUST, but this is the very reason why I feel proud to be a part of CityU when at the graduation ceremony I see my students on the podium. Many of them only attained one C grade in their A Level examinations, but after three years of hard work they have graduated and are ready to serve society as engineers. I see the outcome of my own hard work and the value that I have given to my students, who perhaps needed more support than students at other universities.
A few months ago, a graduate invited me to lunch. He is now working for Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited, one of the best developers in Hong Kong. When the bill came, he insisted on paying as thanks for helping him to get where he is today. The satisfaction that I felt at that moment can scarcely be described by words, and it is this feeling that motivates me to teach and improve.
