UIC held a seminar on the theory and practice of Whole Person Education on the occasion of its 15th anniversary on 12 December. Scholars, teachers and students jointly conducted in-depth discussions on Whole Person Education.
Whole Person Education is one of UIC's core educational concepts. Liberal arts education at UIC aims at cultivating students with a broad understanding of multiple fronts and ways of knowing, and its Whole Person Education is to nurture the inner-self of students so that they can achieve sustained excellence in life and contribute to the betterment of society and the world.
UIC's innovative Whole Person Education
The ethos of Whole Person Education is embedded in the formal and co-curricular learning activities at UIC and realised by students' attainment of seven Graduate Attributes (GAs): Citizenship, Knowledge, Learning, Skills, Creativity, Communication and Teamwork. The college focuses on the enhancement of students' learning opportunities and experiences via the continual enrichment of its Whole Person Education delivery.
There are several sections of experiential courses provided by the UIC Whole person Education Office. These include experiential development, emotional intelligence, sports culture, experiential arts, environmental awareness, voluntary service and adversity management. These courses focus on the cultivation of the inner self, as well as the relationships between human, society and nature.
The UIC whole person education curriculum also focuses on experiential learning of Chinese traditional culture. For example, Tai Chi class in emotional intelligence, dragon and lion dance, dragon boat and Shedao in sports culture, Guqin and Yayue Court music in experiential arts. These classes all allow students to have a better understanding of traditional Chinese culture while developing an all-round and vivid experience.
Promoting Whole Person Education to society
UIC and the Adream Foundation have carried out multi-level cooperation in the field of Whole Person Education. For more than ten years, the Diverse Intelligence Course developed by the UIC Whole Person Education Office (WPEO) has been widely acclaimed in many colleges served by the foundation.
In November 2019, UIC signed a cooperation agreement with Adream Foundation
In 2019, UIC also cooperated with Adream Foundation to develop a whole person education university curriculum. As a result, they established the Adream Whole person Education Base. The two parties jointly carry out theoretical research on the construction of Whole Person Education and teachers' literacy. They also develop courses for college students, cultivate and encourage more outstanding college students to join the teaching team, and train teachers for the promotion of Whole Person Education.
Teachers and students participate in the Adream Coach Plan
Seminar: All aspects of Whole Person Education
In the opening speech of the seminar, UIC Provost Prof Chen Zhi pointed out that Whole Person Education is the embodiment of UIC's goal of educating people, and it is also the direction of education practice that the college has adhered to for the past 15 years. UIC hopes to provide a platform for communication and discussion, deepen understanding of Whole Person Education, promote new ideas and practices, and jointly promote the development of Whole Person Education.
UIC Provost Prof Chen Zhi
In his opening speech, Executive Dean of the Future Education Research Institute of Shanghai Adream Foundation Wang Bo mentioned how UIC's approach is in line with the concept of cultivating a confident, calm, and dignified future generation. He looks forward to broader and deeper cooperation with UIC in the field of Whole Person Education.
Wang Bo, Executive Dean of the Future Education Research Institute of Shanghai Adream Foundation
Ontario Institute of Education, Prof John Miller, is a senior scholar in the field of Whole Person Education. At the seminar, he shared his theoretical research results via video streaming. He pointed out that the formation of a whole person can be summarised as the three dimensions of "body, mind, and self". In the practice of Whole Person Education, teaching methods, curriculum, learning environment, and the overall development of teachers are all indispensable elements.
Prof John Miller, Ontario Institute of Education, Canada
Director of Peking University Future Education and Management Research Centre, Prof Lin Jianhua, believes that education should open boundaries, including subject limits, environmental limitations, and knowledge boundaries. He pointed out that the core meaning of a university is to liberate people's minds, release their inner potential, and make them a complete person. The implementation of the Whole Person Education concept is full of challenges.
Prof Lin Jianhua, Director of Peking University Future Education and Management Research Centre
Associate Vice President (Student Development) of UIC, Prof Stella Cho, introduced UIC's practical achievements in Whole Person Education. She pointed out that a complete and operable system supports UIC's Whole Person Education concept. She explains further how the system combines the general education concept with the traditional Chinese Confucian "six arts" and other education modes, allowing students to experience four years of subtle influence.
Prof Stella Cho, UIC Associate Vice President (Student Development)
Director of UIC's Whole Person Education Office, Prof Guo Haipeng said that the model of Whole Person Education practised by UIC includes the potential development of moral, physical, intellectual, aesthetic, group, labour, emotional and spiritual education. Also, he said that the relationship between the four levels of nature, place, group and self-education, which are near related to the development of the whole person.
Prof Guo Haipeng, Director of UIC's Whole Person Education Office
Scholars and teachers from inside and outside the school shared their research results and practical experience in the meeting places on topics such as art and beauty, body and heart, group and self, knowledge and practice. They also discussed the application of Whole Person Education approach and teaching methods in China's higher education environment from the perspective of teachers, teaching and educational ecology.
A photo of the participants
From MPRO
Editors: Samuel Burgess, Deen He, Zhang Fan
