[40th Anniversary Seminar Series]
“Nurturing Successful Intellectual Styles for Creativity” by Professor Li-fang Zhang

The captioned seminar, delivered by Professor Li-fang Zhang of the Faculty’s Academic Unit of Human Communication, Learning, and Development, was held on February 11, 2025. The event was part of the 40^th Anniversary Seminar Series, which celebrates the Faculty’s academic excellence, research innovation, and the community impact achieved over the past decades.

The seminar began with welcoming remarks by Professor Yang Rui, Dean of Education. He emphasised the Faculty’s pride in celebrating its 40^th anniversary, while acknowledging that its history extends well beyond these four decades, with roots spanning over a century of contributions to teacher training and academic excellence. Professor Yang also encouraged young academics and researchers to strive for excellence in their fields, make a meaningful impact on global education, and learn from distinguished scholars to develop their own perspectives.

Professor Zhang opened her talk by reaffirming the Facultys’ commitment to nurturing creativity in education. She highlighted several historically significant achievements while introducing both traditional and contemporary perspectives on creativity. She emphasised that cultivating diverse intellectual styles – especially creativity-generating styles – is vital for fostering creativity.

To substantiate her argument, she introduced the concept of intellectual styles – individuals’ preferred ways of utilising their abilities. Addressing ongoing debates, she presented her groundbreaking theoretical model and compelling evidence demonstrating that intellectual styles are adaptable. Notably, she discussed the paradox that creativity-generating styles often fall short in improving institutional metrics such as academic grades and career advancement, despite their crucial role in personal growth and other positive outcomes.

Professor Zhang proposed that these findings hold important implications for students, educators, and educational leaders. She concluded by emphasising that, in the face of emerging artificial intelligence challenges, human creativity is essential, and fostering successful intellectual styles is crucial for enhancing it.

Professor Hugo Horta, Associate Professor of the Faculty’s Academic Unit of Social Contexts and Policies of Education, chaired and moderated the discussion session following the presentation. Participants engaged in a thoughtful discussion on the definitions of intellectual styles and their implications across various fields. The speakers shared insights into the complexities of the three types of styles, highlighting that these styles represent preferred ways of applying one’s abilities rather than the abilities themselves. The speakers also emphasised the need for a broader understanding of intellectual approaches and their relevance in different disciplines.

The video recording of this seminar is now available on our website: https://web.edu.hku.hk/event/detail-page/seminar-series-Feb2025.