Dr Sam Leong - Faculty of Arts

'Excellence in Teaching - what is it?'

I see the teacher's role to be more of an educator-facilitator-mentor. No idea, interpretation, or position is 'sacred'; students are encouraged to identify and critique underlying assumptions. While students' prior learning experiences and skills are valued and considered, students are challenged and stretched to move out of their comfort zones. Although I have often met resistance from some students, I discovered that most students see the light after a period of persevering. I do not aim for popularity but believe that teachers should be persistent, sensitive, long-suffering, caring and visionary. Every course I teach is reviewed at the end of each year through SPOT, informally, student reflections and course summaries. Opinions and suggestions from mentor teachers in the school sector as well as guest lecturers are also considered.