Quality assurance of the 334 ELTU curriculum – First Year English

Principal Supervisor

Dr. Jose Lai, English Language Teaching Unit
Duration

2 years & 8 months
Approved Budget

HK $201,000
 
  • Project Objectives
  • Key deliverables expected
  • Evaluation of deliverables/outcomes
  • Dissemination of deliverables/outcomes

Project Objectives

Goals
  • To determine the relevance of the first-year courses to the language needs of the new intake with the aim of course review and refinement; and
  • To explore the extent to which the first-year courses can yield the expected learning outcomes as specified in the course document.


    • Objectives
  • To identify the language needs of the new intake as exemplified in students’ output of works such as graded assignments and assessment tasks;
  • To determine the effectiveness of the courses in question; and
  • To identify aspects of possible improvement in course design and delivery both from the students as well as the teachers’ perspectives.

    • Key deliverables expected and timelines for completion

    Project period: February 2013 – September 2015
  • Survey results of course-based questionnaires of ELTU1001 and ELTU1002
  • Statistical analysis of the pre- and post-course writing assessments (t-test)
  • Qualitative data on students’ writing needs (based on student works)
  • Qualitative data on students’ speaking needs (based on student works)
  • Analysis on HKDSE results/attainment level of other qualifications and the grades of ELTU1001 and ELTU1002
  • Qualitative feedback from students through focus group interviews
  • Portfolio of student progress
  • Qualitative feedback from teachers

    • Arrangements for evaluation of project deliverables/outcomes

  • Systematic documentation of deliverables
  • Systematic analyses of deliverables that generate insights for course/curriculum development and refinement

    • Means for disseminating project deliverables/outcomes

  • In-house professional development retreats/sessions
  • Academic conferences
  • TDG mid-triennium seminar

    • Special Remarks
    This small-scale project is meant to be a pilot study for a full-scale QA project which aims at covering the entire 9-credit ELTU curriculum, as well as establishing a monitoring mechanism to track student progress over time when CEPAS fades out in 2013-14, to be funded by the ELTU reserve. In view of the magnitude of the project which covers courses for eight faculties and nearly 10,000 students over three years, the ELTU will set aside 2.5 to 3 million for this purpose, to be supervised by the Director and collaboratively manned by the QA Committee of the Unit.