This qualitative case study investigated the teaching practices I adopted in a general education course at a Hong Kong community college during the 2013/14 academic year. I took on the active role of participant observer to examine how a combination of Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory and Integrated Thematic Instruction (ITI) supported the goals of general education. Interview protocol with open-ended questions was the instrument to collect the students’ voices about their learning experiences in an MI-inspired general education course. Three research questions were posed. First, how does a course instructor design and teach a general education course at a community college in Hong Kong? Second, how do community college students experience learning in such a course? Third, how do community college students evaluate their learning outcomes in such a course? The interview data clearly revealed that the students’ learning experiences in the MI-inspired general education course included making connections to lived experience; applying the course content to real-life situations; learning to synthesise information, find relationships, think critically and solve problems; and creating knowledge through group projects. The students’ learning experiences corresponded to four dimensions of MI theory in terms of instructional design. These dimensions included designing broad-based knowledge and reality-based curriculum, using multimedia sources as teaching materials, developing cognitive skills in students and empowering students to learn. The interview data reflecting the students’ learning experiences as they relate to pedagogical MI dimensions were examined through my observations of students’ interactions in practice in addition to the students’ written self-reflections on group projects. The results of a college-wide teaching evaluation survey also indicated that the students gave higher ratings to their learning experiences in the MI-inspired general education course. As such, the incorporation of MI theory into ITI was a pedagogical initiative to support the goals of general education and strengthen learning opportunities for community college students with multiple intelligences. In addition, I explored the research implications of MI theory. The findings of this study provide community college policymakers, faculties and administrators with practical advice on curriculum development and the instructional design of general education at community colleges in the Hong Kong context. / 是項質性個案學術研究乃探討一所香港社區學院通識教育課程的教學實踐。此研究個案涵蓋了研究者在有關的「多元智能」(Multiple Intelligences)啟迪下的通識教育的教學設計與教學策略。 研究者扮演成積極參予觀察者，來檢視「多元智能」和「主題教學法」(Integrated Thematic Instruction)兩者之間的組合如何實踐和通識教育有關的各樣教育目標。 此研究個案於2013至2014學年期間，在有關的一所香港社區學院內進行。訪問形式是採用開放式問題，務使收集學生在這「多元智能」通識教育科目的學習體驗。 此研究針對以下三個問題﹕一) 課程導師如何在該香港社區學院設計及教授通識教育課程? 二) 該社區學院的學生在堂上有何學習經驗? 三) 學生如何衡量該課程的學習成果? 訪問數據資料顯示，學生在「多元智能」的學習體驗中，包括﹕緊扣日常生活、學以致用、融會貫通、學會批判思考、解決疑難和在小組工作中均學有所用。 明顯地，學生們的學習經驗對應了在「多元智能」理論的教學設計中的四個層面，即廣泛知識和建基現實的課程、多媒體教材、培養認知技巧和促使學生學習。 學院的教學評分結果顯示，學生能於「多元智能」啟迪下的通識教育學習中的得益，評分較前高。研究發現「多元智能」和「主題教學支援」的組合能清晰帶出通識教育的教學目標。此學術研究可為有關政策決策者和大學學系的策劃人提供實用兼可行的參照。 此外，此研究也同時為日後學者於有關「多元智能」教育理論和實踐在社區學院的研究和探究，提供了寶貴的資料和啟示。 / Kong, Siu Ping. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2015. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 135-146). / Abstracts also in Chinese; appendix 2 includes Chinese. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on 09, September, 2016). / Detailed summary in vernacular field only.

Research on the development of K-12 teachers’ beliefs about and approaches to teaching and learning suggests that exposure to professional development programs can lead to the use of conceptual change strategies that engage students as active participants in the learning process rather than on teacher-centered strategies focused on information transfer. However, within the existing literature on the development of teacher beliefs and approaches to teaching and learning there exists a void of information pertaining to the development of community college instructors’ beliefs and approaches. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between pre-tenure community college instructors’ beliefs about teaching and learning, their approaches to the learning process, and the training they receive via a professional development program specifically established to provide training in teaching methods, pedagogy, curriculum, and/ or instruction. Forty community college instructors going through an established three-year tenure process completed a revised version of the Approaches to Teaching Inventory (ATI-R) created by Trigwell and Prosser (1998). Data analysis revealed that there was no difference in the scores of instructors who had participated in the professional development program on teaching and learning and those instructors who had no exposure to courses that focused on teaching and learning. Further, findings suggest that instructors’ participation in the courses is not related to their beliefs or teaching approaches. iii The findings of this study warrant a closer examination of programs designed to provide higher education instructors with training in pedagogy and instruction. Additionally, the findings present an opportunity for professional development programs to improve current practice.

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