BLENDED LEARNING & MOOC
Call for Proposals - Fall 2023
Definitions
Blended Learning or MOOC projects involve significant curriculum or course reform.
Blended Learning
Blended Learning (BL) at HKUST is defined as a blend of online and face-to-face teaching aimed at enhancing student learning. Typically, students acquire fundamental, conceptual knowledge online and then apply, analyze, or evaluate this through classroom activities to achieve higher levels of learning outcomes. The online component of a blended course is usually delivered through a Learning Management System, which includes video lectures, online activities, and online assessments. The face-to-face component on campus includes interactive exercises, group tasks, projects, and discussions. We recommend replacing 30-50% of contact hours with the online component for self-study and keeping the remaining 50-70% of contact hours for course instructors’ face-to-face teaching.
MOOC
A MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) is a self-paced online course that HKUST offers to the public in strategic partnership with MOOC platforms, such as Coursera and edX. The online courses are open to global learners from various academic backgrounds, cultures, languages, and age groups. All course activities, including lectures, practice sessions, discussions, projects, and assessments are primarily conducted online.
Funding
For Blended Learning
Up to HK$250,000. Clear justifications must be provided for the amount requested. If funding is intended to support teaching relief, a strong and convincing justification is necessary for it to be considered.
For MOOC
Up to HK$250,000 with 50% matching from School. Clear justifications must be provided for the amount requested. If funding is intended to support teaching relief, a strong and convincing justification is necessary for it to be considered.
Funds awarded can be used for the purposes such as:
- hiring support staff (for example, project / instructional assistant); and
- with Department Head’s agreement, hiring temporary staff to partially release the project leader from regular commitments to work on the project.
The following expenses are NOT normally covered by the funding:
- equipment and teaching material expenses, which should be covered by the relevant School/Department
- conference attendance, publications in journals, and traveling outside Hong Kong; and
- refreshment for functions/events; and provision of incentives to students (for example, coupons or allowance) for taking part in the study.
Funding Committee
The Teaching and Learning Innovation Projects Sub-committee (TLIP) is a part of the Committee on Teaching and Learning Innovation (CTLI), chaired by the Director of the Center for Education Innovation (CEI). TLIP consists of members from PRVST, SHSS, SENG, SBM, AIS, and CEI. Its primary role is to evaluate project proposals that promote active and online learning courses and make funding decisions.
Eligibility for Application
All full-time faculty members of the University with the responsibility of teaching and learning are eligible for application.
Important Dates
FRI, 1 Sep 2023
FRI, 29 Sep 2023
End of NOV 2023
Key Assessment Criteria
For Blended Learning
- Outcome-based: The proposal should demonstrate strong alignment among the course’s intended learning outcomes, assessments, and learning activities.
- Effective Use of Online Learning: The proposal should scaffold learners with fundamental and conceptual knowledge through guided learning sequences. Online activities should prepare students well for face-to-face activities.
- Effective Use of Face-to-Face Learning: The proposal should develop learners’ higher-order thinking skills through a series of collaborative activities that focus on knowledge application, analysis, or evaluation. The face-to-face activities should prepare learners well for the assessments.
- Learner Readiness: The proposal should articulate a clear mechanism to provide feedback to learners on their self-study and ensure that learners are prepared for the development of higher-order thinking skills in class.
- Criterion Referencing: The proposal should demonstrate that assessments are designed to evaluate learners’ performance based on their attainment of the course's intended learning outcomes.
- Project Management: The proposal should provide a clear and systematic design, development, and implementation plan that demonstrates how each milestone can be achieved and the final target can be met.
For MOOC
- Content in high demand: According to our MOOC partners, there is a high demand among global learners for content areas such as AI Literacy and Data Analytics.
Click to see other in-demand topics - Outcome-based: The proposal should demonstrate strong alignment among the course’s intended learning outcomes, assessments, and learning activities.
- Learning Effectiveness: The proposal should scaffold learners with fundamental and conceptual knowledge and develop their higher-order thinking skills through guided sequences of learning activities to achieve the course’s intended learning outcomes.
- Learner Readiness: The proposal should articulate a clear mechanism to provide feedback to learners on their self-study and ensure that learners are prepared to progress to the next stage of learning.
- Reusable for Campus courses: The proposal should ensure that all developed materials will be used for campus courses through Blended Learning or Online Self-paced formats.
- Project Management: The proposal should provide a clear and systematic design, development, and implementation plan that demonstrates how each milestone can be achieved and the final target can be met.
Application Procedures
1 | Download the relevant project proposal template below. It will guide you to complete your proposal with the key information needed.
Blended Learning (BL) Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)
2 | Preliminary proposal: Email to June Chan by the specified deadline. CEI will provide feedback and suggestions to help shape the proposal.
3 | Final proposal: CEI will only accept the final proposal when mutually agreed refinements have been made. Email the softcopy to ctjune@ust.hk by the specified deadline. Once the softcopy is accepted, seek endorsement, and send us the endorsed copy.
4 | Pitch your ideas: Submit a short video or slide deck with your final proposal.
The presentation should cover the following:
For Blended Learning
- Significance of pedagogical implications for adopting BL in your course design
- Problems or opportunities to be addressed
- Target audience and number of beneficiaries
- Feasibility of the project timeline
- Plans for maintaining and sustaining the developed course(s)
- Knowledge transfer of lessons learned within/across departments
For MOOC
- Content in demand by global learners
- Problems or opportunities to be addressed
- Target audience
- Feasibility of the project timeline
- Plans for maintaining and sustaining the developed course(s)
- Knowledge transfer of lessons learned within/across departments
Frequently Asked Questions
A: The key difference between BL and technology-enhanced teaching development projects is that BL projects involve curriculum and course restructuring by designing or redesigning 30-50% of fundamental content materials for online delivery and reconfiguring 50-70% classroom time with interactive activities, exercises or discussions. If your project idea is to integrate information and communication technologies with classroom learning activities without restructuring the curriculum and course as mentioned above, it would be categorized as an innovative learning project.
A: Laboratory equipment and permanent equipment for Schools/Departments, such as computers will not be funded.
A: Expenses related to attending conference are not supported. However since project teams are always encouraged to disseminate their projects, you may further discuss the dissemination and resources needed with CEI that may suggest other funding sources or alternatives.
A: The purpose for submitting a preliminary proposal is to help shape up your project ideas. After receiving your preliminary proposal, CEI staff will contact you to discuss your project ideas; and only those final proposals that includes mutually agreed refinements would be accepted and channeled to the funding committee for vetting.
Inquiries
Contact June Chan (By email or call x8917) of CEI if you have any questions on the above.