Dr. Tu Feng is a highly respected teacher with a genuine passion for nurturing young talents in orthopedics and traumatology of Chinese Medicine. He owns a good teaching group, which has emerged as the leading figure in the teaching and clinical practice through curriculum integration in these fields in the School of Chinese Medicine (SCM).
Even before joining the SCM in 2003, Dr. Tu had made a name for himself as a renowned physician and academic, and since coming on board he has made tremendous contributions to the School’s curricula. Dr. Tu used multiple assessment methods to explore student learning and development inside and outside of the classroom, and introduced and emphasized the “Objective Structured Clinical Examination” for his courses, with assessment criteria referencing the seven University graduate attributes.
Although well-versed in Chinese classics, Dr. Tu is by no means a teacher steeped in old-school teaching methodologies. In fact he has developed a thoroughly modern take on the Confucian Analects, from which he often draws inspiration for his teaching. A staunch supporter of whole person education, Dr. Tu adopts learner-centred, case- and outcome-based approaches to enhance teaching and facilitate learning effectiveness. He believes that it is through constant revision and practice that students grasp how they can put the knowledge and skills they have acquired to good use in today’s world. He has played an instrumental role in integrating service learning into the curriculum to give students first-hand experience in clinical practice and raise their sense of social responsibility.
Dr. Tu considers it crucial to motivate students and stimulate their interest in learning. Fully realising that the study of Chinese medicine history, theories and practices can be complex and assiduous, he employs up-to-date multimedia teaching aids to explain complicated anatomical structures. He also shares with students the cases he has experienced in his clinical practice and engages them in group discussions.
Dr. Tu’s own work is by no means confined to the classroom and the laboratory. He is proactive in leading his students to participate in off-campus outreach activities and community service. In collaboration with charitable organisations, he accompanies a group of students two to three times a year to provide on-site medical services for the elderly and the physically challenged. These activities are as warmly received by the students as they by people obtaining treatment. In 2015-16, Dr. Tu’s teaching group organised the first study tour to Foshan, Guangdong province, to allow students to learn from reputable scholars and Chinese medicine practitioners. Following the success of this venture, Dr. Tu is seeking funding to make the tour an annual outing.
In view of Dr. Tu’s untiring efforts and successes in bringing out the best in the SCM’s students through his inspirational teaching as well as advancing the academic development of the SCM, the Selection Committee finds him a worthy recipient of the President’s Award for Outstanding Performance in Teaching.
