Awardee of 2025 UGC Teaching Award – Professor Jeffrey LEUNG

My teaching philosophy is driven by the conviction that exceptional optometric care in today’s complex healthcare landscape demands more than technical proficiency. It requires practitioners who are creative, empathetic, and adaptable thinkers. While foundational knowledge and protocols are critical, research supports that cultivating creative thinking and advanced interpersonal skills is essential for advancing our profession. Studies such as that by Epstein and Hundert (2002)¹ highlight that competence in healthcare involves not only technical skills; soft skills such as adaptability, innovative thinking, and effective communication are equally crucial, especially in the age of GenAI. To cultivate these essential attributes, I design learning activities informed by educational theories like Kolb’s experiential learning theory.² As both a practising optometrist and an educator, my aim is, therefore, to transform students from mere protocol-followers into visionary practitioners equipped to navigate healthcare’s increasing complexity, a need emphasised by literature on adaptive expertise in medical education.³ The following sections detail the specific initiatives designed to achieve this.

My teaching philosophy evolved from clinical practice, where complex cases demanded more than technical skill. Optometrists must also think creatively, connect authentically with patients, and confidently manage healthcare’s inherent uncertainties. This synthesis of technical expertise and interpersonal skills is vital for effective patient care.⁴ Later sections detail how these skills are developed: creative problem-solving is central to “Cultivating Creative Mindsets: Transforming Students from Users to Innovators,” while navigating complex interactions and ambiguity features in “Cross-Disciplinary Learning: Cultivating Empathy in Paediatric Eyecare.” This integrated approach fosters truly patient-centred practice, cultivating deeper understanding and connection.

My Journey: From Clinical Insights to Educational Vision

After completing my PhD, my dual role at PolyU’s Optometry Clinic as both a clinical optometrist and a researcher focusing on vision training for amblyopia became a catalyst for shaping my educational perspective. This journey moved my teaching beyond simply applying my knowledge; it involved critically examining patient care and pedagogical approaches through the lens of contemporary educational theories.

One pivotal case involved a 7-year-old with severe amblyopia, whose vision impairment hindered his academic performance and caused significant frustration. While conventional wisdom suggested limited hope due to his age, our research team implemented an innovative training regimen. Despite initial resistance, our persistence, embodying the principles of Dweck’s “growth mindset”,⁵ led to remarkable improvements in his vision and academic performance. This experience underscored the importance of moving beyond standardised protocols towards tailored, persistent, and innovative approaches.

This transformative clinical insight directly informed my teaching when I transitioned to academia in 2020. I recognised a critical gap: while optometry students often excelled in procedures, many struggled when faced with clinical uncertainties and atypical cases⁶ that demand true adaptive expertise. Bridging this gap became a priority. Informed by Mezirow’s transformative learning theory,⁶ I began developing learning activities designed to challenge students beyond protocol-following. These activities intentionally promote critical reflection on experiences and encourage the transformation of personal perspectives, fostering the adaptive problem-solving and interdisciplinary thinking essential for navigating the evolving healthcare challenges.

Cultivating Creative Mindsets: Transforming Students from Users to Innovators

Central to my teaching philosophy is the cultivation of creative mindsets, essential for advancing optometry within today’s dynamic healthcare landscape. While mastering established protocols is necessary, traditional education can inadvertently stifle the creativity and innovation crucial for advancing the profession. My approach, aligning with the principles of “design thinking”,⁷ encourages iterative problem-solving grounded in empathy, ideation, and experimentation.

Reflecting on my own education, I underwent a curricular emphasis on theoretical memorisation over practical application. Determined to bridge this gap, I challenge students to design and create their own vision training tools, transforming their role from passive users into active inventors. This process leverages “connectivism”,⁸ prompting students to utilise diverse networks – including peers, online resources, and clinical insights – for collaborative, real-world problem-solving.

By addressing real clinical challenges, such as the monotony of traditional vision therapy, I empower students to develop engaging and innovative vision training tools. This hands-on process yields dual benefits: it has the potential to enhance patient compliance and outcomes, but more fundamentally, it instils a creative and critical mindset valuable throughout students’ careers. Students learn to question established practices, identify opportunities for improvement, and develop innovative solutions, preparing them to adapt and thrive in an ever-changing healthcare environment. Crucially, they begin to see themselves not merely as practitioners applying existing knowledge but as potential innovators capable of advancing the profession. This critical reflection on practice and the subsequent shift in perspective align with transformative learning theories,⁸ fostering deep learning, personal growth, and empowering students to approach challenges with a renewed sense of agency and innovation.

Transforming Concepts into Creations

This initiative began simply: a quiz question asking students to design a vision training tool. The originality displayed by my students unveiled a reservoir of innovative potential often untapped in traditional coursework. Building on this observation, I initiated informal discussions with former students, who eagerly shared their excitement, concerns, and ideas. Simultaneously, I consulted practising paediatric optometrists – the clinical end-users – to gain insights into real-world needs. This synthesised feedback directly led to reimagining the assignment: students would now develop tangible prototypes rather than theoretical concepts.

A key concern raised by former students was their lack of technical fabrication skills. Rather than simplifying the challenge, I proactively established a partnership with the PolyU Industrial Centre (IC). Their staff introduced students to advanced manufacturing technologies (e.g., 3D printing and laser cutting) and provided support throughout the prototyping process. This collaboration not only dismantled technical barriers but also immersed students in interdisciplinary resources rarely encountered in traditional optometry curricula.

Throughout the project, I embraced a student-centred learning approach, carefully balancing guidance with autonomy. Students independently researched, designed, and constructed their prototypes, honing essential self-directed learning skills. Recognising their limited clinical exposure, I arranged mid-semester consultation sessions with practising paediatric optometrists, ensuring that their innovations addressed genuine clinical needs while preserving their creative ownership. This process taught them to integrate theoretical principles with practical constraints – a fundamental skill for future healthcare innovators.

Instead of traditional assignment submissions, the project culminated in a mini-exhibition. This format provided students an authentic platform to present their prototypes to clinical and academic staff – the potential end-users and experts in their field. The students exceeded my expectations, proudly demonstrating their creations and actively engaging with peers’ innovations. As a powerful testament to the project’s impact, two student groups have continued developing their prototypes with potential for clinical implementation, extending the impact into actual patient care possibilities.

This activity has sparked enthusiastic feedback from both students and staff, creating a dynamic and inspiring learning environment (see “Evidence of Impact on Student Learning Outcomes”).

Cross-Disciplinary Learning: Cultivating Empathy in Paediatric Eyecare

My teaching philosophy emphasises developing well-rounded optometrists who excel in interpersonal skills – particularly empathy and cross-disciplinary collaboration – alongside crucial technical proficiency. My experience as a clinical supervisor highlighted the real-world consequences of gaps in these areas: I observed first-hand how vision problems in children with SEN often went unnoticed due to communication barriers and fragmented interprofessional partnerships. As one clinical colleague aptly noted, “the current optometry curriculum often overlooks the importance of interpersonal skills in patient care”. These experiences provided valuable insights: our students must cultivate communication skills and collaborative mindsets to effectively serve vulnerable populations like children with SEN.

Breaking Traditional Boundaries in Collaboration

My approach intentionally challenges conventional interdisciplinary models in healthcare education. Instead of partnering solely with other health professions, I initiated a pioneering collaboration with SEN educators – a partnership rarely seen in optometry education. This innovation is rooted in a fundamental recognition: teachers, through their daily interactions, develop deep relationships with children, positioning them to notice subtle changes in visual function that might escape even parents or healthcare providers.

Despite their frontline role, schoolteachers rarely receive training in paediatric vision care, while optometrists often lack an understanding of the behavioural and emotional needs of children with SEN. This mutual educational gap inspired my vision for a synergistic partnership designed to transform how both professions approach children with SEN, ultimately creating a more integrated and holistic eyecare model.

From Concept to Implementation

My research on dyslexia provided the impetus for a pivotal collaboration with faculty members at the Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK). This partnership inspired the creation of a cross-disciplinary initiative aimed at addressing significant educational gaps impacting both optometry and education, ultimately enhancing eyecare for children with SEN. A significant milestone was securing a HKD1.3 million Interinstitutional Collaborative Activities grant in 2023, which provided resources to develop this unique educational programme for both optometry and EdUHK students.

The programme fosters reciprocal learning:

·        For Optometry Students: EdUHK educators conduct workshops on SEN conditions, including intellectual disabilities, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, and specific learning disorders. These interactive sessions provide our students (approximately 120) with practical communication strategies informed by educators’ frontline experiences, enhancing their ability to connect with diverse paediatric patients.

·        For Special Education Students: Our optometry team, including myself and paediatric specialists, delivers lectures and hands-on demonstrations in paediatric vision assessment to over 100 EdUHK students. The goal is to empower these future teachers to better recognise potential visual issues in their students and understand the importance of timely optometric care.

Learning Through Service

Recognising that traditional lectures alone are insufficient for cultivating the nuanced skills essential for effectively serving children with SEN, I embedded situated learning theory⁹ by incorporating real-world service experiences into the programme through vision screenings. Bringing together students from PolyU and EdUHK, we served approximately 450 children. Optometry students conducted vision assessments tailored to each child’s needs, while education students used their expertise to facilitate interactions during the examinations. This hands-on, interdisciplinary approach in an authentic context fostered empathy and provided invaluable experience in collaborative care.

Post-screening surveys revealed that students from both disciplines had gained practical experience, enhanced their communication skills, and developed a deeper appreciation for interdisciplinary teamwork (see “Evidence of Impact on Student Learning Outcomes”).

Advancing Optometry Education Through Technology Innovation

My commitment to educational excellence extends beyond current practices as I pioneer technology-enhanced teaching methods. Two innovative pilot projects exemplify this forward-looking commitment:

·        Perceptual Learning for Early Diagnostic Skills: Challenging the conventional sequence of theory-before-practice, I applied perceptual learning principles¹⁰ to junior students learning ocular pathology. Through structured, repetitive exposure to clinical images, students without a prior theoretical foundation achieved diagnostic accuracy comparable to their senior peers. This approach fundamentally questions the assumption that disease recognition must follow theoretical mastery and potentially creates pathways for earlier clinical competency development.

·        AI-Enhanced Clinical Skills Tutor: To address the challenge of insufficient instructors, my colleague and I developed an AI system that analyses students’ procedural movements in real-time. This innovation offers immediate, objective feedback when instructors are unavailable, transforming the traditional supervision model towards more personalised guidance.

These initiatives not only enhance the learning experience but also prepare students for the complexities of modern optometry practice.

Conclusion

Reflecting on my teaching journey, I am profoundly grateful for the wisdom shared by colleagues and the invaluable feedback from my students. Their support was crucial to my receiving the Faculty Awards in Teaching and the School of Optometry Teaching Excellence Award in 2023. Our collaborative spirit has also propelled our cross-disciplinary project to be shortlisted for the QS Reimagine Education Awards and the Times Higher Education Awards Asia.

I view this as the start of a lifelong educational journey, dedicated to nurturing the creative mindsets and interpersonal skills that define my teaching philosophy. By fostering creativity, I empower students to devise innovative solutions to complex clinical challenges beyond textbook approaches. My emphasis on interpersonal skills equips them to connect meaningfully with diverse patients. The guidance of senior faculty has been instrumental in shaping my path, offering a wealth of experience from which to learn.

¹ Epstein, R. M., & Hundert, E. M. (2002). Defining and assessing professional competence. Journal of the American Medical Association, 287(2), 226-235. doi:10.1001/jama.287.2.226
² Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Prentice Hall.
³ Mylopoulos, M., & Regehr, G. (2009). How student models of expertise and innovation impact the development of adaptive expertise in medicine. Medical Education, 43(2), 127-132. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2923.2008.03264.x
⁴ Benbassat, J., & Baumal, R. (2005). Enhancing self-awareness in medical students: An overview of teaching approaches. Academic Medicine, 80(2), 156-161.
⁵ Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House.
⁶ Dunlop, M. & Schwartzstein, R. M. (2020). Reducing diagnostic error in the intensive care unit. Engaging uncertainty when teaching clinical reasoning. ATS Scholar, 1, 364-371.
⁶ Mezirow, J. (1991). Transformative Dimensions of Adult Learning. Jossey-Bass.
⁷ Panke, S. Design Thinking in Education: Perspectives, Opportunities and Challenges. Open Education Studies, 1, 281-306 (2019)
⁸ Goldie, J. G. S. (2016). Connectivism: A knowledge learning theory for the digital age? Medical Teacher, 38(10), 1064-1069. weck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House.
⁹ Birden, H. et al. (2013). Teaching professionalism in medical education: Best Evidence Medical Education (BEME) systematic review. BEME Guide No. 25. Medical Teacher, 35, e1252-e1266.
¹⁰ Kellman, P. J. & Massey, C. M. (2013). Perceptual learning, cognition, and expertise. Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 58, 117-165.

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Cultivating Creative Mindsets: Transforming Students from Users to Innovators

Contrasting sharply with conventional curricula focused on protocol application, my vision training tool initiative challenged students to become creators, designing novel solutions for authentic clinical challenges. This experiential approach moved beyond theoretical knowledge, requiring students to actively connect conceptual understanding with practical, real-world application – a shift confirmed by subsequent feedback.

The project culminated in 16 distinct, high-quality prototypes. Demonstrating exceptional real-world impact and potential, one prototype from the 2023–24 cohort has been developed into a clinical product for potential wider adoption. This tangible outcome – student work directly influencing clinical practice – represents a significant departure from traditional educational paradigms. The overall quality and innovative nature of the prototypes also impressed the paediatric clinical team, who expressed keen interest in potentially integrating several designs into their practice.

Formal evaluation via a 5-point Likert-scale survey confirmed the students’ positive perception of this innovative activity. The results were unanimous and affirming: 100% of the students agreed or strongly agreed that the project had significantly deepened their understanding of core course material through practical application. Concurrently, 100% reported that it had substantially enhanced their engagement with the learning process. Qualitative comments further corroborated the activity’s practical impact on student learning (see figure below).

Academic and clinical staff were highly impressed by the students’ creative problem-solving. As one judge commented: “I was impressed by the students’ ability to think outside conventional boundaries. Their prototypes weren’t just technically sound but showed remarkable creativity in addressing patients’ needs in ways we hadn’t considered before.”

The initiative’s impact extended beyond the initial cohort, achieving unprecedented external validation. Two student groups from the subsequent 2024–25 cohort were shortlisted for the 2025 3D Printing Competition, claiming 25% of finalist spots (2 of 8 teams from 26 entries). This recognition is particularly significant given the competition’s traditional engineering focus. Under the supervision of IC staff, these students are actively refining their prototypes. Furthermore, one group presented their work at the IC’s university-wide “IE Fair”, showcasing student innovation from our programme to the broader PolyU community. Competition results are anticipated in July 2025.

Cross-Disciplinary Learning: Building Empathy Through Experiential Education

This innovative collaboration between optometry and education students demonstrated the profound effectiveness of interdisciplinary experiential learning. Pre- and post-activity surveys revealed statistically significant improvements (p < 0.006; see figure on the right) in students’ understanding of SEN, confidence in handling children with SEN, and grasp of interprofessional roles. These measurable gains highlight direct benefits for both student learning and, ultimately, the quality of care for this underserved population.

Beyond knowledge gains, this project intentionally cultivated empathy, interpersonal skills, and social responsibility – attributes often underdeveloped in conventional technical training. Student reflections vividly captured these meaningful transformations:

·        Optometry Student: “Before the event, I lacked confidence in conducting visual screenings for these children. Through the workshop, I learned that effective communication is vital to alleviate their stress during check-ups.”

·        Education Student: “I seldom do eye checks as I think that it is not that important. However, after taking the course and doing the service, I understand that it is crucial to protect our eyes well in our young age.”

These quotes exemplify the shift towards greater confidence, interprofessional understanding, and recognition of shared responsibility for paediatric eyecare.

Recognising the exceptional educational and societal impact, PolyU and EdUHK are now actively pursuing a Memorandum of Understanding. This formal agreement aims to continue and expand the project beyond its initial timeframe, validating its success and establishing it as a sustainable model for impactful cross-disciplinary health and education training.

Generalising the Initiatives to Other Disciplines

Leveraging technology for educational innovation, our team has explored enhancing learning pathways and addressing resource constraints. The perceptual learning pilot significantly improved junior students’ diagnostic accuracy (by 13%) before theoretical instruction, demonstrating that perceptual skills can develop before formal coursework. Concurrently, our AI-powered clinical skills tutor overcomes instructor limitations with immediate, objective feedback, proving more effective than traditional methods for student engagement and personalised guidance based on questionnaire evaluations.

Building on these promising pilot results, our focus now includes generalising their impact. We are actively collaborating with the Computer Science department to enhance the tools’ core functionality and pedagogical design. Significantly, we are also exploring their transferability by engaging with colleagues in other allied health fields. For example, physiotherapy, reliant on precise motion-specific skills, exemplifies a prime area where the AI tutor framework offers significant potential benefit through adaptation. This ongoing, cross-disciplinary effort showcases how optometry-led educational innovation can be scaled and positively transform clinical skill acquisition across diverse healthcare disciplines.

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