Objectives

We plan to achieve the following objectives through this CoP:

1. Recruit more faculty members and students to join this CoP;
2. Gain buy-in to develop students’ ability of learning to learn to help them become better learners; 
3. Enhance faculty members’ and students’ understanding of the learning to learn principles and concepts;
4. Build faculty members’ capacity of incorporating the learning to learn principles and concepts into the curriculum and pedagogical designs for creating a learning environment conducive to effective learning;
5. Conduct activities for faculty members and students to share experience, difficulties, tips, opinions, ideas and information related to the topic;
6. Provide opportunities and channels (e.g. symposium and exhibition) for faculty members to disseminate and showcase their experience and outcomes of their practice in developing students’ ability to learn to learn and for students to demonstrate their learning achievements; and
7. Set up a repertoire of experience and good practice cases of developing the ability to learn to learn.

Expected Outcomes

It is expected this CoP can generate the following outcomes:

• Enhancement in the learning environment for implementing effective approaches and strategies underpinned by the learning to learn principles and concepts to develop students to become better learners;
• Enhancement in teachers’ and students’ reception of developing better learning through the learning to learn element;
• Enhancement in teachers’ practice in developing students to become better learners through the learning to learn element;
• Continuous enhancement in teachers’ practice in developing better learners through action research, discussion, sharing and dissemination;
• Eventually, enhancement in students’ approaches to learning, experiences and outcomes through engaging students in activities underpinned by the learning to learn principles and concepts; and
• Contribution to PolyU’s teaching and learning development, particularly in the areas of 1) knowledge transfer, 2) evidence-based practice, 3) scholarship of teaching and learning, and 4) continuous professional development.

Work plan and activities

Regarding our work plan, facilitator and co-facilitators will steer the progress to make sure the objectives will be achieved within the given period of time and budget, handle administration with the assistance of the Central CoP administrator, lead discussions at the meetings and facilitate workshops, etc. Colleagues from EDC and other units (e.g. Centre STARS, SLLO and Library) will be invited to facilitate some of the discussions at the workshops and meetings. Everyone in our CoP can contribute. Facilitator and co-facilitators will work together with the members to plan and organize our activities, such as, workshops, the L2L Campaign and the L2L Symposium and Exhibition.

Regarding the activities of our CoP, please find the details below: 

Promotion of this CoP will be done in multiple ways. The traditional publicity activities include website, posters, banners, face-to-face promotion at standard training programmes (e.g. IUT, CUT, BETA) and workshops, FLTC/SLTC/DLTC meetings, etc. We also plan to draw more members through a membership system in which the faculty members who have already shown interests, efforts and commitment in developing students’ ability to learn to learn (e.g. project leaders of L2L projects and faculty members with expertise in specific learning to learn focus areas) will form the first group of core members. The experience and knowledge of these core members will be the focus of our CoP activities, and hopefully they will draw other faculty members to join our CoP, and inspire them to try out some strategies to empower their students’ learning capacity through the learning to learn element. Then, the experience and knowledge of these new members will hopefully draw other faculty members to join our CoP. Such member-get-member process will go on and on to maintain a continuous expansion of membership.

Our main target members are faculty members who have already shown interests, efforts and commitment in developing students’ ability to learn to learn and faculty members already identified in the Learning to Learn framework, that is, academic advisors, teachers involved in the subjects designated for developing students’ learning to learn ability, such as, Freshman Seminars and Capstone/Final Year Projects.

Topics for open-for-all activities include: Basic Principles of Learning to Learn, Pedagogical Designs to Develop and Assess Students’ Learning to Learn Ability, Use of Technologies to Make Learning to Learn Activities More Interactive and Flexible and Sustainable, Learning Better for Your Study and Future, etc. They are open for all staff and students.

Topics for members-exclusive activities include discussion on ideas for activity planning, discussion on ideas to be proposed on the policies related to learning to learn; sponsorship to conduct small projects on activities to develop students’ learning to learn ability, conference attendance sponsorship scheme.

The innovativeness of the proposed activities lies on the involvement of students as members and the action research element in the activities. The core value of learning to learn is to help and support students to develop themselves as effective independent lifelong learners for achieving their personal aspirations and goals. In other words, the drive of learning comes from students themselves. If we can engage students and listen to what they want to pursue and how they want to achieve them, that would help us design more suitable learning activities and environment to nourish students’ learning motivation and determination to proceed and achieve.

Incentives for active participation include small funds to support small projects and conference attendance, priority to participate members-exclusive activities and use of the resources in the Learning to Learn Library, etc.