ABOUT US
​TUTORS AND THE COMMON CORE
This tutor blog is constructed for our Common Core tutors and TAs. The idea was to create an attractive, dynamic and hopefully fun online social space for the tutors to meet each other and share experiences and stories about teaching and more. Why do we care? Psychology 101: humans are social animals and we all share the same basic need to belong. In other words, our need to relate to each other is hard wired in our brain and bodies. This is why the larger groups both affect and is affected by the individuals.
The modern way of life, work conditions and ever shrinking spaces, however, make our physical social interactions feel confined and restrictive. Everyone of us has a hectic and sporadic daily schedule, teaching, working and roaming around. A blog with the forum space serves as a quick stop for social interaction, as well as a quiet personal reading corner when you are burning the midnight oil preparing for your next tutorial. But you and I know that technology is not the magic solution, it is each one of us who makes a difference to our own and others' life. Hope to see you here more often.
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DIRECTORS
Professor Gray Kochhar-Lindgren
DIRECTOR
Professor Gray Kochhar-Lindgren has been Director of Common Core Curriculum since June 2014. Prior to joining HKU, he served as Associate Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Learning and the inaugural Director of the First Year and Pre-Major Programs at the University of Washington Bothell. With a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies, Gray’s current scholarship focuses on cross-disciplinary learning in the global university and how philosophy, literature, social theory, and the arts intersect with urban space. He spent 2009-10 as a Fulbright Scholar in General Education, based at HKU, and assisted in the development of the HKU Common Core Curriculum.
Dr. Nicol Pan
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Dr. Nicol F.C. Pan has been teaching the Common Core course on Virtual Reality (VR) prior to taking up the Associate Directorship of the Common Core Curriculum. She has worked in the field of education with a particular focus on eLearning and its pedagogical applications for many years. In her capacity as an educational researcher and instructional designer, Nicol has worked across academic disciplines at HKU. She has also worked extensively with non-academic institutions and commercial companies in developing VR training programs, including Cathay Pacific and the Police Academy. Nicol is happy to join the Common Core team, and hopes to continue to work with talented people from across the faculties and departments to create innovative and stimulating courses and projects that bring about a positive impact on students’ lives.