老生長談: 改善教學與研究的品質

老生長談: 改善教學與研究的品質

改善教研質素提升排名

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適中字型 較大字型

■港大校長徐立之（右）任期至明年2月底，將安排與馬斐森交接工作。

【本報訊】馬斐森獲委任港大新校長前兩天，港大國際排名急跌八位。馬昨日講述治校理念，強調港大的校務政策不能被排名牽着走，但承認排名高有助吸引全球優 秀學生和學者，「我對排名下跌確實失望，當大學改善教研質素，成果就會在排名反映」。

需在研究領域取更高成就

對於有學生指港大未能培育出諾貝爾獎得主，馬指布里斯托大學也沒有，不過現時有兩名有潛力得獎的學者，其中一人來自醫學院。他認為港大可循兩個方向提升研 究質素，首先是透過財政上的獎勵、升職及認同去培養港大本身有潛力的學者，避免人才流失，「過去12個月，我的工作就是不斷從別的大學偷走人才，同時防備 其他大學偷走我校的人才。我最期待上任後在港大到處走，尋覓新星」。
另一途徑是從全球招攬有潛質的年輕學者和具成就的資深學者，「有國際星級學者坐鎮，對港大非常重要。港大在研究領域已取得成就，但我認為需要更多」。
馬斐森又指好教師也是優秀研究員，教學與研究互相依賴，「教學和研究，分別是賺錢和贏取名聲的最好方法」。




Some of the News Fit to Print
ABOUT K-12
REPORT: COMMON MATH STANDARDS ‘LOWER THE BAR’
A new paper argues that the common standards in math do not demand a level of skill that is sufficient for selective colleges, or for students planning careers in math or science. In a white paper released yesterday, the Boston-based Pioneer Institute, one of the most vocal critics of the common core, seeks to back up its argument with comments made by one of the math standards' lead writers, Jason Zimba. The post is from Education Week’s Curriculum K-12 blog.
SUPERINTENDENT’S ROLE SHIFTS TO ‘INSTIGATOR OF CHANGE’
As a result of the shifting educational landscape—in large part because of technological changes—what it means to be a superintendent today is far different from what it was just a few years ago, David Britten, the superintendent of the 1,800-student Godfrey-Lee school district in Wyoming, Mich., and others say. “In the past, the superintendent was more of a keeper of the status quo,” said Mr. Britten. “Most communities were quite proud of their school districts and happy with them, and what they wanted was somebody to come in and make sure it operates smoothly for as long as they’re there.” That’s no longer true, he said. “The superintendent’s role is having to change to become more of an instigator of change,” he said. “And technology plays a big role in that.”The article is in Education Week.
EDUCATION REFORM ADVOCATE JOHN WHITE: WE’RE IN DANGER OF BECOMING THE ENEMY
Advocates for charter schools, teacher evaluations and other changes to public education that have become mainstream in recent years are at risk of turning into the establishment they once railed against, warned the man at the center of Louisiana’s schools upheaval. Louisiana State Education Superintendent John White told a crowd Tuesday at the American Enterprise Institute that he and others pushing for new ways of educating children have grown in stature and impact. The article is in The Washington Post.
ABOUT HIGHER ED
COMMUNITY COLLEGE TRUSTEES HEAR ABOUT RISKS OF PERFORMANCE-BASED SUPPORT
As more and more states tie their higher-education support to student performance, college leaders need to watch out for unintended effects that could hurt the very students they are trying to serve, a gathering of community-college trustees was told here on Tuesday. "We want to improve outcomes, and putting money behind it is one way, but at the same time, you have to push back against the distortions and unintended consequences," Thomas R. Bailey, director of the Community College Research Center at Columbia University's Teachers College, said during a symposium sponsored by the Association of Community College Trustees. The article is in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
LESS CHOICE, MORE MAINSTREAMING
WASHINGTON -- Latino students are the fastest growing population on college campuses, but higher education has not changed quickly enough to help them complete degrees, particularly in science, math, technology and engineering fields, Colorado’s lieutenant governor said Tuesday. Lt. Gov. Joseph Garcia, executive director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education, advocated for remedial education reform and spoke about Colorado’s efforts to better serve its Latino students at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund’s Summit. The article is in Inside Higher Ed.
SURVEY FINDS MOOC OPTIMISM
Institutions that have so far experimented with massive open online courses have done so to improve the quality of education both in face-to-face courses and distance learning, even though many faculty members remain unconvinced that students taking MOOCs should be able to earn credits, a new survey by the American Council on Education and InsideTrack suggests. The survey claims "the level of alignment it uncovered between administrators and faculty on the motivations and considerations for pursuing MOOCs" as one of its highlights, but all of the 108 faculty respondents were actively involved in teaching MOOCs. The article is in Inside Higher Ed.