SES team launches three more “Mini Theatre” video series about General Studies
The “GS Mini Theatre” project team, from left to right: Dr Sarah Lee Hoi-man, Professor Winnie So Wing-mui, Miss Agnes Man Mei-sum and Dr Li Wai-chin.
The first “GS Mini Theatre” video series about the pandemic was launched two years ago in 2021. Following the success of the first series, SES has launched another three video series in June under the themes “Climate Change”, “Quality Living in the STEM Era” and “Smart City”.
The then EdUHK President Professor Stephen Cheung Yan-leung calls the series a positive online learning resource.
About 100 people, including educators from different primary schools, government officials and professionals from education sector, attend the launch ceremony-cum-seminar held on 1 June.
There are numerous occasions where people come across problems in their everyday life that a general knowledge in science, technology and society can help solve. To bring general studies (GS) to people, the Department of Science and Environmental Studies (SES) has produced a series of videos, through which people can acquire more knowledge about the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, quality living in the STEM era and smart cities. Viewers can also learn how to use scientific reasoning to understand and solve a problem.
The first “GS Mini Theatre” video series about the pandemic was launched two years ago in 2021. Following the success of the first series, SES has released three more video series in June for the following topics: “Climate Change”, “Quality Living in the STEM Era” and “Smart City”. The team hopes these lively and interesting short videos will help viewers unravel the myths that surround these topics, stimulate their interest in science, technology and society, and help them gain a greater knowledge and skills in General Studies. The University held a ceremony-cum-seminar on 1 June to launch the series of new videos, attracting an audience of nearly 100 educators.
The videos were jointly designed and developed by a team of SES scholars, EdUHK students, awardees of the Chief Executive’s Award for Teaching Excellence (CEATE), and professionals from different sectors. Each of the four series consists of six episodes of animation. In each episode, CEATE awardees and EdUHK students interact with “Leafy”—a cartoon character who plays different roles in different series: “Detective Leafy”, “Future Leafy”, “Captain Leafy” and “AI Leafy”—to explain relevant scientific concepts. Together with related teaching guides and online assessments, the 24 episodes are a rich resource that can supplement the General Studies curriculum at primary schools.
The then EdUHK President Professor Stephen Cheung Yan-leung said in the ceremony: “EdUHK is committed to developing quality teaching materials. We are pleased to see the launch of the ‘GS Mini Theatre’ video series, which provides the education sector with professional and practical online learning resources to make learning pleasurable with interesting and vivid pedagogical approaches.”
Professor So says through scientific reasoning, we can analyse how true certain myths are. By disproving such myths, we can acquire new knowledge.
Dr Li Wai-chin explains how the “GS Mini Theatre” video series follows the learning needs outlined in the six learning areas of general studies. The six areas are “Health and Living”, “People and Environment”, “Science and Technology in Everyday Life”, “Community and Citizenship”, “National Identity and Chinese Culture”, and “Global Understanding and the information Era”.
Dr Sarah Lee Hoi-man says one of the episodes in the “COVID-19” series discusses the treatment of faeces in Hong Kong one century ago. This episode covers the development of Hong Kong’s public health management.
Ms Agnes Man Mei-sum says one episode of the “Climate Change” series is about history of pearl farming in Hong Kong. Waters of the city was once clean enough to grow a large amount of oysters. Because of the rich harvest of pearls, Hong Kong justifiably earned its name, the “Pearl of the Orient”.
Professor Winnie So Wing-mui led Dr Li Wai-chin, Dr Sarah Lee Hoi-man and Miss Man Mei-sum, all from SES, to coordinate and supervise the “GS Mini Theatre” project. Professor So said, “The theme of the seminar is ‘Myths and New Knowledge’. Our team found that people believe in many myths or have misconceptions about things they come across in their daily lives. They learn such myths from their parents or superstitions. These myths seem true on the surface, but actually, they are wrong.”
Professor So went on to explain: “Through scientific reasoning, we can analyse how true these myths are. And by disproving the myths, we can then acquire new knowledge. By asking questions, such as whether lights can be used for disinfection, whether we should stop using electricity to help reduce carbon emissions, and whether or not e-payment is safe, the ‘GS Mini Theatre’ videos aim to encourage viewers to approach everyday problems through the lens of science and technology.”
The videos also provide up-to-date insights on things including the use of technology to recycle food waste, the history and recent development of pearl cultivation in Hong Kong, and the concept of “15-minute neighbourhoods”. The full animated video series, along with extended learning resources, such as teaching guides and online assessments, are freely available for the general public: click here.
