News

Dr Vincent Wong, Senior Lecturer in the Faculty’s Academic Unit of Social Contexts and Policies of Education, has been appointed by invitation to two significant positions by the HKSAR and Finnish Governments.

The first position is as a member of the newly-established Steering Committee on Promotion of Vocational and Professional Education and Training (VPET) and Qualifications Framework (QF) of the HKSAR Government, appointed by the Secretary for Education (SED). Some of the Committee’s duties are to advise the SED on the overall strategy to promote VPET, ways of fostering closer industrial partnerships as part of the Government’s VPET promotion measures, and the promotion of VPET and related programmes in secondary schools. The members of the Steering Committee are appointed by the Secretary for Education for a period of two years, from September 1, 2020, to August 31, 2022.

The second role is Special Researcher (Human Resources Management) on strategic leadership, administration and policy, appointed by the Ministry of Finance in Finland, one of most influential ministries in managing the civil administrative and economic affairs of the country. The role is to advise the Finnish Government on the cutting-edge policy, innovation, education and outstanding practices in strategic leadership and human resources management; policy and practice on enhancing the competence of government officials in various Ministries, including the Ministry of Education; designated innovative government agendas; and international links between the Finnish Government and Asian countries. Dr Wong is one of a small number of international policy experts invited and appointed by the Finnish Government, and the only Asian serving in this role.

Prior to this appointment as Special Researcher, Dr Wong has been invited to share his professional expertise by various governments and agencies, namely the National Human Resources Development Institute (South Korea), the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (Japan); the Queensland State Government (Australia); the Chinese Academy of Personnel Sciences (Mainland China); the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (Russia) and the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (Belgium).

For details of the Steering Committee on Promotion of VPET and QF, please refer to the Government’s press release: https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202009/01/P2020090100288.htm.

The Faculty launched the “LIVE to LEARN, LOVE to SERVE” Campaign in late April 2020 to showcase its students’ meaningful contributions to the community amid the COVID-19 pandemic and what they have learnt through their participation in various activities in the Campaign. The Campaign was successfully concluded in late August with more than 170 Faculty student teachers participating, and approximately 1,400 people benefitting from the activities, and all coordinated by the Faculty’s School-University Partnerships Office.

A wide range of activities was conducted not only to cover the needs of as many groups as possible, but also to provide additional teaching opportunities to the Faculty’s students, equipping them with essential skills for their future career and creating a win-win situation for both schools and the pre-service teachers. The name of the Campaign reflects the students’ enthusiasm for lifelong learning and serving the community regardless of unprecedented challenges. Our Faculty’s students not only endeavour to learn, but also put love into their actions by serving others in the community. This shows that our student teachers are inquisitive, generous and caring at the same time.

The Campaign was beneficial to many groups in the education community in Hong Kong, such as teachers from local and international schools, candidates for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination and primary school students. School principals are also well-aware of the Campaign and were impressed by the work of the Faculty’s student teachers.

The Faculty’s student teachers have also found their participation in the activities to be rewarding and meaningful. Many reported that their teaching skills were strengthened and that they gained a sense of satisfaction from helping others. Many of the participating student teachers inspired the activity participants, and brought about a positive impact.

To review the e-version of the press release and download photos, please visit http://web.edu.hku.hk/press.

We are delighted to announce that Ms Lee Ka Wing, Katherine, a third-year PhD student from our Faculty is the 1^st runner-up in this year’s VYT Competition and has won the Viewers’ Choice Award. The VYT competition is an annual event organised by the Knowledge Exchange Office, HKU, with support from the Graduate School.

The VYT Competition challenges graduate researchers to present their research in a 60-second, eye-catching digital display. Using a pre-supplied template, research postgraduate students are tasked with developing a striking looped presentation to encapsulate their research projects in short, engaging, digital narratives. It is open to all HKU MPhil and PhD students whose candidature has been confirmed.

Katherine’s video is titled “Exploring University Students’ Self-efficacy in Leadership Skills”. In her study, she explores how university students develop their self-efficacy beliefs with regards to leadership skills. She looks at the nature and impact of different experiences that influence students' perceptions and confidence in their own leadership abilities.  

The champion, 1^st runner-up and 2^nd runner-up are determined by the judging panel, while the Viewers’ Choice Award goes to the candidate receiving the most “likes” on YouTube by the deadline of August 25, 2020. Katherine’s video has gathered over 3,000 views and 900 likes. Please visit https://youtu.be/E8dRglYkSpA to watch her video.

Katherine is supervised by Dr Cecilia Chan, Associate Professor in the Faculty’s Academic Unit of Teacher Education and Learning Leadership. “This is an exciting piece of news for both of us! I am very proud of Katherine’s achievement,” remarked Dr Chan.

Congratulations to Katherine on her achievement!

Dr Susan Bridges, Associate Professor from the Faculty’s Academic Unit of Social Contexts and Policies of Education, and Director of the Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, HKU, was invited to give a keynote speech on August 31, 2020 for the general staff meeting of the Delia Group of Schools. The topic was effective tools for online/e-learning with effective e-assessments.

As part of the keynote speech, Dr Bridges modelled the use of technologies to support active, inquiry-based approaches by including a ZOOM breakout activity on problem-based learning. The activity included digital case discussion using Jamboard, a digital interactive whiteboard developed by Google. The online meeting was attended by more than 130 teachers across the group’s six school campuses. The breakout activity was met with enthusiasm from the teachers, who thoughtfully engaged with the case analysis and discussion.

A virtual press conference on the second batch of research findings from “eCitizen Education 360” was held on August 25, 2020. The latest discovery includes a multi-level model on how schools’ e-learning policy and implementation affects their IT/e-learning coordination teams’ size, composition and performance, which in terms affect teachers’ support and ultimately students’ learning. The press conference was well-attended by around 120 participants.

From the key findings, it was concluded that teachers’ preparedness for online teaching were positively correlated with students’ online learning experience and outcomes. E-learning implementation strategy was also influential on teachers’ preparation and student experiences and outcomes on several dimensions. Altogether, school’s online teaching preparedness was pivotal to students with lower socioeconomic status.

The study calls for a composite, robust e-learning coordination team for student-centred decision-making and action alignment, strengthening the learning management system for all stakeholders and provision of more teaching- and assessment-related teacher professional development.

The research team was led by Professor Nancy Law, Deputy Director of the Centre of Information Technology in Education of the Faculty, and Dr Tan Cheng Yong, Associate Professor, the Faculty’s Academic Unit of Social Contexts and Policies of Education.

For more details of the “eCitizen Education 360” Project and the bulletin, please visit https://ecitizen.hk/360. To review the e-version of the press release, and download photos, presentation file and further reference materials, please visit http://web.edu.hku.hk/press.

We are pleased to announce that Dr Gaowei Chen, Assistant Professor, Academic Unit of Human Communication, Development, and Information Sciences was awarded this year’s Faculty Early Career Research Output Award.

His publication is titled A visual learning analytics (VLA) approach to video-based teacher professional development: Impact on teachers’ beliefs, self-efficacy, and classroom talk practice.

The award accords recognition to and honours the publication or creation of outstanding research output by early career researchers. Assistant Professors, Research Assistant Professors and Post-doctoral Fellows are eligible for the award.

Many congratulations to Dr Chen!

Professor Frederick Koon Shing Leung, Dean of the Graduate School, Chair Professor and Kintoy Professor in Mathematics Education, Faculty of Education, the University of Hong Kong (HKU), has been elected President of the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) for the term 2021-2024. Professor Leung is the second President of Asian origin and the first of Chinese origin in the ICMI’s history of more than 110 years.

The ICMI, founded in 1908, is a worldwide organisation devoted to research and development in mathematical education at all levels. The Commission promotes international programmes of activities and publications that improve the collaboration, exchange and dissemination of ideas and information on all aspects of the theory and practice of contemporary mathematical education. It also fosters efforts to improve the quality of mathematics teaching and learning worldwide.

The presidency serves as the highest recognition of Professor Leung’s status in the field of mathematics education, and his outstanding contributions to the Commission. Prior to the appointment, Professor Leung was a member-at-large of the ICMI Executive Committee between 2003 and 2009.

Professor Leung obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in 1977, majoring in Mathematics, and a Master of Education (Testing, Measurement and Evaluation) degree in 1984, both at HKU. He was also awarded a Doctor of Philosophy (Mathematics Education) degree from the University of London, Institute of Education in 1992. He joined the University of Hong Kong in 1982, dedicating 38 years of service to his alma mater. As well as mathematics education and research in general, he is particularly interested in the study of the influence of different cultures on mathematics teaching and learning.

Internationally, Professor Leung has worked as a consultant with the World Bank, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the United Nations Development Programme. He has published extensively and received numerous national and international awards for his research, including the prestigious Hans Freudenthal Medal, the highest international accolade in mathematics education, from the ICMI in 2013.

The ICMI executive committee elections took place between July 13 and 15, 2020 via an electronic voting system. Professor Leung will succeed Professor Jill Adler from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa to start a new term of office on January 1, 2021.

Professor Leung said: “I am very honoured to be elected as the President of the ICMI. I hope my election to the position will help enhance the image of HKU worldwide. I would like to thank HKU for its support of my research in mathematics education in the past years. If not for my alma mater, I would not be able to make this impact in the international scene of mathematics education.”

For details of the ICMI’s announcement, please visit https://www.mathunion.org/icmi/icmi-executive-committee-2021-2024

The Faculty held a virtual press conference on the initial findings from an ongoing study entitled “eCitizen Education 360” on July 20, 2020. The study aims to collate the experience and needs of schools, teachers, students and parents in the transition to a full-fledged online learning experience during school suspension and their needs thereafter, with a view to taking joint school and community actions to shape quality learning and teaching to prepare for the new normal of many uncertainties. The press conference was well-attended by around 80 participants from the press and the education community.

From the key findings, it was concluded that the effort jointly made by schools and parents to sustain learning was paid off, yet the cumulative negative effects due to socioeconomic and digital divides on disadvantaged students need attention. The study also calls for comprehensive measures to enhance online learning preparedness, which will be crucial to effective online learning transition.

Data were collected from over 1,200 teachers, 1,300 parents and 6,000 students from primary, secondary and special schools during school resumption from June to July 2020. The bulletin containing the findings was also published, which is the first of a series of six bulletins to be released.

The research team was led by Professor Nancy Law, Deputy Director of the Centre of Information Technology in Education of the Faculty, and Dr Tan Cheng Yong, the Faculty’s Academic Unit of Social Contexts and Policies of Education.

For more details of the “eCitizen Education 360” Project and the bulletin, please visit https://ecitizen.hk/360. To review the e-version of the press release, and download photos and presentation file, please visit http://web.edu.hku.hk/press.

The Research Grants Council (RGC) has announced the results for the GRF and ECS exercises for 2020/21. In the latest competition, the Faculty performed very well with an overall success rate of 39% (similar to the level achieved in 2019/20), with 10 out of 29 applications accepted for GRF and 3 out of 4 for ECS.

When the successful GRF application of a colleague from the Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL) is also taken into account, the success rate rises further to 41%. In the Education sub-panel specifically, even in the face of keen competition, HKU achieved the highest success rate for GRF (32%) and ECS (100%) among all UGC-funded institutions which have submitted applications.

The lists of successful GRF and ECS projects are as follows:

GRF

Dr Cecilia Chan, Associate Professor, Academic Unit of Teacher Education and Learning Leadership (TELL)

Assessing generic skills in a specific STEM discipline in higher education

Dr Kennedy Chan, Assistant Professor, TELL

Investigating the development of responsive teaching ability in pre-service science teachers: A video-based teaching intervention

Professor Jimmy de la Torre, Professor, Academic Unit of Human Communication, Development, and Information Sciences (CDIS)

Optimizing the Diagnostic Value and Practicability of a Cognitive Diagnosis Modeling Framework for Multiple-choice Tests: Model Extensions and Practical Implementations

Dr Dennis Fung, Associate Professor, TELL

The Impact of Small-Class Teaching in Hong Kong Primary Schools: An Exploration of Teaching Strategies to Effect a Paradigm Shift in the Chinese Classroom

Dr Timothy Hew, Associate Dean (Research Higher Degrees); Associate Professor, CDIS

Toward the effective use of gamification in higher education: Evaluating a theory-driven GAFCC framework using design-based research

Dr Liz Jackson, Associate Professor, Academic Unit of Social Contexts and Policies of Education (SCAPE)

Representation of ethnic and religious minorities in textbooks: Multicultural education in Mainland China, Macau, Taiwan, and Hong Kong

Dr Tai Chung Pui, Assistant Professor, SCAPE

Reconstructing the pronunciation of Tangut characters: on the basis of 12^th and 13^th centuries manuscripts

Dr Shelley Tong, Associate Professor, CDIS

Improving Autistic Children’s Mind and Text Reading through Executive Function and Pragmatic Language Comprehension: A Longitudinal, Randomized Controlled Trial

Dr Anita Wong, Associate Professor, CDIS

Effects of enhanced input in the learning of syntactic constructions in children with Developmental Language Disorder 

Dr Xiao Zhang, Associate Professor, CDIS

Pattern Understanding as Precursor and Outcome of Children’s Cognitive Development

Dr Tracy Zou, Assistant Professor, CETL

Investigating and enhancing undergraduate research experiences in the curriculum through teacher-student collaborative inquiries

ECS

Dr Cheong Choo Mui, Assistant Professor, TELL

The Effect of Literacy Skills, Task Representation and Strategy Use on Secondary School Students’ Integrated Writing Performance

Dr Peter Cobb, Assistant Professor, CDIS

Archaeology of the Ancient Near East: Investigating Past Human Activity and Mobility in Armenia with Fieldwork and Digital Methods

Dr Nutsa Kobakhidze, Assistant Professor, SCAPE

Local Anxieties, Global Ambitions: Social Class Impact on Parental Demand for Shadow Education in Hong Kong 

Congratulations to all our colleagues who have been successful in this year's exercises!

Professor Gerard Postiglione, Honorary Professor in the Academic Unit of Social Contexts and Policies of Education, has been made an emeritus professor. This is a life-time honour that the University can bestow on a notable staff member, and it is a mark of distinction that Professor Postiglione genuinely deserves for his remarkable achievements at the University.

Warmest congratulations to Professor Postiglione!