Events
[GE Seminars] The Art and Science of Learning: To Chat, or Not to Chat
5 Dec 2023
17:30-19:00
LT4 (UG/F), Esther Lee Building, CUHK
Professor Rocky S. Tuan (Vice-Chancellor and President, Lee Quo Wei and Lee Yick Hoi Lun Professor of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, CUHK)
https://webapp.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk/ras/restricted/event?id=81747 (For CUHK staff and students)
The main theme of GE Seminars for the year 2023-2024 is “The Pursuit of Knowledge”. Confucius once remarked, “Is it not a pleasure, having learned something, to try it out at due intervals?” The quote is about learning methods and attitudes towards the pursuit of knowledge. If students can grasp effective methods and cultivate positive attitudes towards learning, their learning would not only be effective but also a source of joy. However, for most people, these methods and attitudes are not innate, but need to be learned from teachers. Esteemed scholars will share their profound ideas and personal experiences in their pursuit of knowledge in this year’s GE Seminars.
Professor Rocky S. Tuan, Vice-Chancellor and President of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, will deliver the first speech for the GE Seminars this year. All teachers and students are welcome to attend.
Learning is a life-long process that begins from the day we are born. It is the mechanism that enables us to sense, interpret, and react to what is happening around us. Throughout the ages, humanity have endeavored to understand how learning is done and how it is affected by biological and environmental factors. This overview outlines some of the current thoughts on the art and science of learning. The art of learning refers to a more personal approach, namely a continuous journey that takes in patterns, themes, ideas and performance psychology. On the other hand, the science of learning deals primarily with memory, namely the mechanism of how information is acquired, and how memory is formed, retained, and retrieved. Currently, how sensory and short-term memory is transformed to long-term memory is actively being investigated. In other words, we are still “learning” about learning.
While much of what is being studied about learning may be accessed online from multiple sources, and it may even be assumed that application of generative AI will eventually solve the mystery of the brain and the learning process, for example by neural network modeling, Prof. Tuan will present examples to illustrate that “analogue” thinking by great minds will continue to inspire our learning process. In the final analysis, learning is about igniting and keeping alight the “inner light” in each person, namely the process of “learning how to learn”.
Language: English
Organized by the Office of University General Education, CUHK
