RC DEVELOPMENT • 書院發展 2023 UMAGAZINE 27 • 澳大新語 73 Martin Luther King Jr said: ‘Intelligence plus character, that is the goal of true education.’ In its residential colleges, the University of Macau (UM) created a platform for knowledge integration based on experiential learning, which strives to cultivate in students seven competencies to inspire them to attain academic excellence as well as high moral character and integrity. Experiential learning is not a slogan, but a process of reflection, self-improvement, and self-discovery through practice. By exploring different possibilities in a controlled environment of risk assessment and management that meets international standards, students can effectively integrate what they have learned into their lives and transform it into valuable experience. If students value their experience and cherish the learning opportunities they receive through reflection, they may gain a different perspective on life. Exploring the Connection between Life and Experiential Learning The ‘Me to We’ (MTW) outdoor leadership programme is a highlight of the residential college education at Chao Kuang Piu College (CKPC). With an emphasis on outdoor education based on experiential learning, the MTW programme aims to encourage students to explore nature and life and serve others. Through guided reflection, students learn to use the experiential learning model to solve problems and challenges and transform their experiences into practical knowledge in their daily lives. A departure from the traditional education model, outdoor experiential education can effectively help students explore their connection to nature as they participate in different outdoor sports activities. In nature, plants and animals develop different habits to adapt to their environment. By observing nature and discovering its vivid stories, students learn to evaluate the environment based on details and apply their creativity and innovative ideas to tackle challenges in different circumstances. They can also develop leadership skills, interpersonal skills, and problem-solving skills; build their resilience, willpower, and grit; examine their self-efficacy; and enhance their self-confidence as well as self-worth. By exploring nature, students also acquire risk assessment and management skills. For example, in a rope challenge, students have to form a system using equipment to effectively and safely tackle various problems. The process involves high-level risk management skills and proper usage of the system and is analogous to how we achieve goals in life: combining skills of time management, emotional management, and social leadership with the need for achievement, self-confidence, and proactivity into a functional system that can maximise our performance under controlled risk conditions. While building a team to encourage students to challenge themselves, the MTW programme also emphasises ‘serving others and becoming global citizens’ to bring about greater awareness among students of national and social needs. The college attaches great importance to the essence of education and hopes to show students that ‘human beings are precious and valuable’. Leaving the Comfort Zone and Facing Life Challenges The MTW programme also emphasises life planning for students and encourages them to summon the courage to leave their comfort zones and overcome various life challenges. ‘I feel that rock climbing and life are similar in some way,’ says a member of the MTW programme after a rock-climbing session ‘Our future is like a climbing wall or equipment that we have never met before, full of excitement and mysteries. There are different routes and different levels of difficulty, and we may encounter different weather conditions. Before climbing the wall, we must get ourselves ready, find the right tools (friends), and pick a route that suits us.’ 曹光彪書院院長劉潤東和導師鄭智明帶領學生走進大自然 CKPC College Master Lau Yun Tung and Resident Fellow Cheang Chi Meng lead students to explore nature
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