CoP at PolyU

Encouraging the development of Communities of Practice (CoP) was one of the strategies of the University Grants Committee (UGC) in 2010 to revitalise teaching and learning at both the system and institutional levels. By bringing together a network of educators within and across institutions, PolyU established five thematic CoPs in 2012 based on a consultation with faculties and departments, and expanded to six themes in 2016 to further enhance the quality of learning and teaching in the university.

To date, the CoPs have attracted more than 350 affiliated faculty members, and over 160 professional development activities have been organised. A range of scholarly output has been produced, including survey reports, conference papers, e-Learning courses and videos, which serve as useful resources for staff development. The achievements are showcased on the CoP websites 2012-2016 and 2016-2019. 

To sustain the impact brought by the CoPs, the CoP Steering Committee adopted a bottom-up approach, and called for proposals with a view to establishing more thematic CoPs for the triennium 2019-2022 that are related to PolyU's Strategic Plan and UGC’s strategic themes for teaching and learning development. The thematic CoPs for 2020-2022 are:

• Conducting Learning Analytics to Inform Teaching and Learning
• Digital Literacy
• English for Professional Development
• Learning to Learn
• Online Learning and Teaching
• Problem-Based Learning
• Service-Learning

With continuous dedication to fostering a culture of peer support and collaborative professional development and to nourishing a scholarly and collegial approach to enhancing the quality of learning and teaching, the CoPs look forward to furthering innovative and sustainable improvements in teaching and learning that will be of benefit to our teachers and students.

Goal and Objectives

With the ultimate goal to enhance teaching and learning across the University, our objectives are:

• To bring together and connect our colleagues who share a common interest in enhancing teaching and learning at PolyU, and to facilitate their experience sharing and collaborative professional and teaching development;
• To develop and promote innovative and effective teaching practices in support of the University’s strategic teaching development targets;
• To foster the culture of peer support and collaborative professional development in learning and teaching; and
• To nourish a scholarly and collegial approach to continuing teaching improvement and the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Expected Outcomes

The CoPs are expected to achieve the following outcomes:

• Building of linkages and relationships between academics and other stakeholders at PolyU to sustain exchange of knowledge, resources and expertise for collaborative improvement of teaching and learning;
• Development, dissemination and implementation of innovations, products and tools for advancing teaching and learning practices with an impact on student learning;
• Enhancement of CoP members’ capabilities in teaching and learning through peer learning and professional development supported by the CoPs;
• Enhancement of the University’s policies on teaching and learning based on good experience synthesised from the CoPs;
• Conducting Learning Analytics to Inform Teaching and Learning; and
• Further development of the culture of continuing professional and teaching development at PolyU, and the University’s capability as a learning organisation.