Dr Zhong Zhang

Teaching Philosophy

I believe learning is most effective when students are highly motivated and interested in a subject. Students in higher education should be in the driving seat and take ownership of their own learning. Teachers are a facilitator in the process of student learning. Like a tour guide, one important job of teachers is to show and explain the beauty of a teaching topic. To achieve this, teachers have responsibility to ask stimulating questions, challenge conventional wisdom and expose theories. Teachers shall also make a teaching topic relevant to students’ personal experience and relate it to events and debates in the real world.

I believe knowledge acquisition is not the whole of higher education learning and development of skills is imperative. Critical thinking, logical reasoning and clear articulating are important skills; being innovative and able to contrive solutions are invaluable. Research skill is not just reserved for academics; being able to identify core questions and find enough information efficiently to reach an answer are critical to success in all professions. Essay and thesis writing is beneficial for developing these skills and a good essay or thesis is an embodiment of these skills. Lastly, I believe higher education is a process of development for students as a person, a person that is sociable, mature in character, intellectually sophisticated and with established values but open-minded.