The theme of this workshop is “Learning Sciences”. For the workshop, we have invited Professors Robert K. Kamei and Fun Man Fung of National University of Singapore, to give us a preview of what learning sciences are saying about teaching and learning.

So how can we learn better? Whether it is the instructors or the learners, everyone has to put their instructional or learning preferences aside once they join this workshop. Everyone has to rebuilt a “cognitive cycle” – i.e., planning, implementing, and reflecting. To attain a full cognitive cycle, each will also have to have sufficient basic knowledge and life habits. For example, experts pointed out that learning performance is highly correlated with life habits such as sleep and exercise.

And the most difficult part of changing one’s habits would be the start. People dislike change. But for various reasons ranging from practical needs in life, work, money, to our own personal wellbeing, we would still want to learn. Middle to high level learners would continuously change their approach in their cognitive cycle, to learn through repeated planning, implementation, and reflection. It is ever more so important for low performing learners to do the same, but guidance must be provided when they come across difficulties so that they will not give up and continue to try.

Research based universities are no longer as closed as before. Emerging interdisciplinary learning, work-oriented pursuit of higher degree are just a few new foci universities have been reorienting to, and getting to know better the science on how people learn is just one of the “new” old thing we must pay attention to in this new age.