The document discusses excellence in teaching, learning, and assessment at the University of Hong Kong. It provides an overview of the university, including its world rankings, student population across 10 faculties, and the role of Professor David Carless in quality enhancement. It then focuses on key aspects of ensuring quality, including having high expectations for students, clear learning goals, developing students' learning strategies, collaborative and flexible learning environments, and productive assessment design that engages students with feedback. The university emphasizes teacher development through its Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence, which facilitates seminars, grants, and peer observation programs to continuously improve pedagogy.

1. Excellence in University
Assessment
Professor David Carless
University of Hong Kong
April 27, 2017
Kyoto University
The University of Hong Kong

2. Overview
• Striving for excellence
• Quality teaching & learning
• Quality assessment
• Teacher development
The University of Hong Kong

3. INTRODUCTION
The University of Hong Kong

4. University of Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong

5. World University Rankings
QS World University Rankings:
• World Number 27 (2017)
Times Higher Education Rankings:
• Asia University: Number 5 (2017)
English medium University
The University of Hong Kong

6. Quick Stats
The University of Hong Kong
Student population
(2015-2016):
• 28,396
– 16,579
(undergraduates
)
– 8,920 (taught
postgraduates)
– 2,897 (research
postgraduates)
• 9,614 non-local
students
10 faculties
• Faculty of Architecture
• Faculty of Arts
• Faculty of Business & Economics
• Faculty of Dentistry
• Faculty of Education
• Faculty of Engineering
• Faculty of Law
• Faculty of Medicine
• Faculty of Science
• Faculty of Social Sciences

7. Faculty of Education
Among the world’s best Education Schools
QS University Subject Ranking:
• World Number 7 (2017)
Examples of postgraduate programs:
• MPhil, PhD, Ed D
• MA(TESOL)
The University of Hong Kong

8. Professor David Carless
• Associate Dean (Learning and Teaching)
• Key role: quality enhancement in relation
to teaching
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9. Accountability
• Appraisal action
• Review follow-up
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10. Accountability in Japan?
Teaching at Japanese universities is “not
really serious” (Dean, Ritsumeikan
University, Kyoto, Times Higher
30/3/2017)
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11. QUALITY TEACHING &
LEARNING
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12. Quality Teaching
• High expectations for students
• Clear learning goals
• Enhancing students’ learning strategies
• Collaborative learning environments
• Positive relationships & interaction
• Flexible modes of learning
The University of Hong Kong

13. High Expectations for Students
Learning outcomes clearly stated and
aligned with learning activities &
assessment
The University of Hong Kong

14. Clear goals
• Learning goals:
• Where am I going?
• How to get there?
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15. Learning Strategies
• Learning how to learn in increasingly
sophisticated ways
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16. Collaborative Learning
• You can learn more together than individually
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17. Positive Relationships
• Dialogue
• Interaction
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18. Flexible Modes of Learning
• Learning beyond time and place
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19. QUALITY ASSESSMENT
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20. Competing assessment functions
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21. The University of Hong Kong
Productive assessment
task design
Developing student self-
evaluative capacities
Student engagement
with feedback
Learning-oriented assessment framework

22. The University of Hong Kong

23. Assessment Tasks
• Exams + other tasks:
- Essays
- Presentations
- Projects
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24. Assessment Designs (1)
• Relationship with real-life
• Authentic assessment
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25. Assessment Designs (2)
• Spreading student effort over a period of
study
• Not just final exam
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26. Encourage deep approaches to learning
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27. Understanding quality
• Student need to understand what quality
university work looks
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28. Rubrics of Academic Standards
Clear & transparent expectations
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29. Exemplars
• Carefully chosen samples illustrating
dimensions of quality
• Usually assignments from a previous
cohort
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30. Support students in appreciating quality
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31. Feedback is more than comments
Feedback &
assessment design
Feedback &
pedagogy
Feedback as a
relational issue
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32. Composing peer feedback
Providing feedback more cognitively engaging
than receiving feedback (Nicol et al., 2014)
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33. Closing feedback loops
It’s only feedback
if students take
some action
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34. Recap
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35. TEACHER DEVELOPMENT &
PEER OBSERVATION
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36. Sharing Practice
Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching
and Learning (CETL)
Mission:
• to enhance the quality of the student
learning experience
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37. CETL
• Lunch time seminars
• Teaching Development Grants
(TDG)
• Teaching Excellence Awards
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38. Peer Observation
• Aim: teaching enhancement
• Mutual observations, sharing & coaching
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39. Buddying
Focused, supportive and offering food for
thought on pedagogy
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40. Targeted development
Negotiating one or two focused targets for
improvement
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41. Conclusion
• Accountability
• Sharing good practice
• Striving for excellence in teaching,
learning and assessment
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42. THANK YOU
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