Student experiences in China

Your name: Sam Huang

Field or discipline: Tourism
Program: BA (Tourism Management)
Course: China Hotel and Tourism
Year level: 3
Class size: 20
Activity type: Tutorial

Description: This is a very engaging tutorial session I was involved in when teaching at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. We asked students to talk about their own travel experience in China and their perception of China as a tourism destination to the whole class. Then they need to compare the experiences of the Hong Kong students with those European exchange students. The group then has to note any interesting points raised in relation to the course content for example environment, infrastructure in China. The main benefit was that students can learn from each other's experiences. Problems were that some students had not visited China before and some may not want to share their experiences. As a teacher you need to encourage students to reflect on their post-travel experience. Resources required include an easy classroom atmosphere with round table seating arrangements.

Application: You can engage students in the concepts and principles of any discipline by starting with the student's current knowledge base and linking this to the new learning in the course.