In Hong Kong, the Education Bureau stipulates in the curriculum document that schools should enrich English language learning and teaching through incorporating moral and civic education, and use of information technology for interactive learning. To prepare preservice teachers to meet these pressing demands, an experiential learning project was conducted to engage student teachers outside the formal curriculum to produce a series of digital stories that stress values education for primary school children. A total of 11 bachelor of education students and MATESOL students joined the project, in which they collaboratively developed 12 digital stories using online tools, such as Book Creator and Canva. Interactive learning activities were designed to accompany the digital stories to facilitate school learners to develop positive values and good character, including respect, responsibility, confidence building, problem solving, sportsmanship, friendship, caring, helpfulness, compassion, civic sense and service to others. Various evaluation methods were used to gauge the usefulness of the experiential learning project. These encompass school trials, post-lesson evaluation, student teachers’ self-reflections and interviews. The findings indicate that the experiential learning process not only enabled the participating student teachers to enrich their pedagogical knowledge and skills but also provided opportunities to enhance various generic skills, such as creativity and critical thinking. Evidence shows that experiential learning plays a valuable role in equipping student teachers with the necessary skills for the challenges in their future teaching careers. Copyright © 2023 ECLL.

Technostress is a phenomenon in which rapid technological advancement affects teachers’ psychological well-being. It is an emerging concern in English language education, which may be exacerbated by the advent of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools such as ChatGPT. This study explores the factors that influence technostress among English language teachers using GenAI tools and strategies that can alleviate it. Based on the analysis of qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with 16 instructors at higher education institutions in Hong Kong, the study identifies the rapid advancement of AI technology, inadequate training and lack of experience as contributors to technostress. It also names mitigating strategies including targeted professional development, online engagement and gradual integration. These techniques can foster Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) and reduce the challenges of incorporating GenAI into English teaching. The findings align with existing literature on the impact of technostress and the role of TPACK. The practical implications include the need for comprehensive training, supportive communities and a balanced approach to AI integration. This investigation also expands the theoretical understanding of technostress in English language teaching and the use of GenAI tools, providing empirical support for existing frameworks. It also suggests directions for future research, which could investigate teacher well-being, effective AI integration and the impact of TPACK. Copyright © 2024 Educational Technology & Society.

This study examined the direct and indirect relationships between playfulness (social and cognitive spontaneity), executive functions, convergent thinking, divergent thinking, and academic skills in Hong Kong Chinese kindergarten children. Participants were 181 second-year (4 to 5 years) kindergarten children (45.9% boys) and their parents. Parents reported demographic information and children's playfulness and executive functions through a questionnaire. Children were administered behavioral assessments of convergent thinking, divergent thinking, Chinese word reading, and number word comparison at their kindergarten. Results from a path analytic model revealed the mediating roles of convergent and divergent thinking in the relationship between playfulness and number word comparison. In contrast, convergent thinking mediated the link between playfulness and Chinese word reading. Executive functions were positively related to playfulness but unrelated to children's academic skills. The findings suggest that playful children might develop better creative thinking processes, supporting their academic skills. Practically, the findings underscore the importance of play-based learning in developing children's creativity and academic skills in the early years. Copyright © 2024 The Author(s).

This paper presents the results of an empirical study that aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of using robots to teach machine learning concepts to primary school students and consolidate their reflection on learning-to-learn skills. The pedagogical design of this study was based on the neuroscience-informed Attention-Engagement-Error-feedback-Reflection (AEER) framework. The study involved 87 Grade 5 students from Hong Kong. Data collection included pre- and post-tests on machine learning concepts, as well as pre- and post-questionnaires on learning-to-learn skills based on the AEER framework. The findings suggest that the use of purposely designed robots for understanding machine learning significantly enhanced primary school students’ understanding of machine learning concepts. Further, it can facilitate students’ reflection on their learning-to-learn skills, which have been nurtured over their years of study period, thereby effectively preparing them for the transition to secondary school education. The paper concludes with a discussion of the findings and provides potential directions for future research. Copyright © 2024 CSEDU.

While most lessons shifted to synchronous online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of asynchronous online learning materials is becoming essential to supplement regular classes. To improve teaching effectiveness through virtual teaching and learning, this study is determined to develop a new set of self-paced online learning materials that focus on developing postgraduate students’ essential generic research skills. It is hoped that the online materials can provide flexibility for research postgraduate students to direct their learning. Guided by situated cognition theory, the virtual materials are designed in a way to immerse learners in eLearning activities with content that mimics real-world situations. Interactive elements in each module, such as open-ended quiz questions, references to other online academic materials, and useful web materials, are integrated into the teaching packages. By clicking the H5P link, students will be diverted to Padlet, where they can start to post or review and respond to what others have posted. Academic staff and postgraduate students conducted pilot tests and provided valuable feedback to further enhance the training materials. The completed online modules have incorporated many interactive elements, including but not limited to videos, multiple-choice questions, audio notes, and audio tracks, which proved that these highly interactive materials stimulated students’ learning motivation. Qualitative focus group interviews will be carried out after the completion of all modules. Copyright © 2023 The Education University of Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Education Bureau (EDB)’s “Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)” has prompted primary and secondary schools to invest in iPads and Chromebooks in an effort to provide every student with a web-connected computing device. This scheme allows students to use their own mobile computing devices for personalized learning activities, with aim of developing knowledge understanding and generic skills required in the curriculum syllabus. However, the effective integration of pedagogy, e-learning tools, and the required learning objectives from syllabus has been the main issue in schools because of different factors from schools, teachers, students and parents. To address the issue, this study designed and implemented an inquiry-based virtual learning environment enabled by PhET platform supported by mobile technologies at a senior secondary school in Hong Kong. The HKDSE Physics topic "Gas Laws" was taught in this study in which 21 pupils conducted simulated experiments and engage in inquiry-based learning by summarizing their findings in graphs. Their understanding was measured by their ability to solve numerical problems based on Gas Laws with little or no guidance. The Simulated platforms, besides promoting students deeper conceptual understanding, also helps in the implementation of student-centered learning with hassle-free activities to explore the abstract topics of Physics understandably and enjoyably. As in real physics experiments, the students revel in determining cause-and-effect links and guide their learning through research. The goal is to improve their abilities rather than replace them so they can confidently and competently undertake physics experiments with real equipment. Copyright © 2023 The Education University of Hong Kong.

The potential impact of creative thinking and its contribution to successful arts practice has been argued over the last decade. Meanwhile, creative thinking has also been identified as making valuable contributions to arts and management. Cetinkaya (2014) and Kuo, Chen, and Hwang (2014) indicated that the application of creative thinking to management education is highly recommended, which needs to be developed through the learning process and still is a teaching challenge to date. This study implemented the project-based learning (PBL) approach as a treatment for tertiary arts education students over one academic year to examine its effect on their creative thinking disposition. Given this context, this study aimed to determine the improvement of creative thinking skills of art students through PBL in the arts management discipline. Consequently, the research question addressing the three dimensions is proposed and analyzed as to how they interact: creative thinking, project-based learning, and arts management education. Two theoretical frameworks were applied in this study: 1) the Creative Thinking Skills Development Framework from the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER, 2020) and 2) the Essential Project Design Elements of PBLWorks (2015). The subjects were 52 art students from the Cultural and Creative Arts department at the Education University of Hong Kong. A qualitative approach was employed, while the data on students’ creative thinking skills were obtained from observations, interviews, and reflective journals. The results indicated that the integration of creative thinking and project-based learning could significantly uplift students’ learning outcomes in arts management education as they are in a complementary relationship. It provided opportunities for students in art management learning engagement and several areas of thinking skills development in relation to the current curricula objectives. Copyright © 2023 Association of Arts Administration

Facing the immense pressure to catch up with the international trend, our city, Hong Kong’s education authority has pronounced creativity, play and ICT as the key aims in the kindergarten curriculum (Curriculum Development Council, 2017). However, it is not easy to promote changes in schools which usually ends with ostensible technology integration (Law et al., 2011). Identifying the quality of lessons and barriers to teachers’ profession on this topic is the initial step to developing strategies for improvement. This paper aims to explore the potential for combining these three aspects and ground uses for teaching Creativity with ICT-Play, as well as reforming a better Early Childhood Education (ECE) curriculum of the concept. This article defines creativity and ICT-Play in ECE and studies an integration model applicable to local kindergarten curricula with feasible pedagogies, followed by an evaluation of the current practices and problems in this issue based on interview data with the support from the i-CREATE model and Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice. The study shows how are the quality of teaching creativity with ICT-Play and the impacts of different capitals mentioned in Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice on teachers affect their implementation of ICT-Play pedagogies in local kindergartens. Copyright © 2023 EARLI.

There are always concerns about teaching quality worldwide. However, there has not been any systematic qualitative or quantitative study in the context of immersion education, as a form of content-based language teaching (CBLT), about the content-language teaching strategies from content-trained teachers with differing levels of L2 respectively. This qualitative study aims at providing rich descriptions about the content-language teaching strategies used by three content teachers with different L2 levels in Hong Kong. Hence, the study can provide insights into whether there is a need to adjust the current requirement for the immersion education teachers in Hong Kong; such teachers are only required to have achieved Band 6 from the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Also, with the traditional wisdom that good English means good content-language teaching, the study explored the possible relationships between Hong Kong’s immersion education teachers’ L2 levels and the content-language teaching strategies adopted by such teachers.The three teachers of the study had three different English proficiency levels: an advanced level, an upper intermediate level and an intermediate level respectively. The students of the three teachers were from the same high school class from a local secondary school in Hong Kong. The three teachers involved were from three different subjects but the teaches had similar backgrounds in terms of teaching experience, teacher training, specialised content subject training. The three teachers had not received any training about immersion education.As a constructivist grounded study, this research made use of lesson observation and also stimulated recall interviews. The lessons from the three teachers were not only observed but also recorded. There was lesson observation time equivalent to 5 single lessons (each lasting for 40 minutes) from each teacher; saturation was reached after the fifth lesson was observed from each teacher.

There is a global trend in the increased adoption of e-assessment in school classrooms to enhance learning. Teachers, as classroom-based assessment designers and implementers, play a vital role in such assessment change. However, little is known about school teachers' classroom-based e-assessment practices and the underlying reasons. To address this research gap, this study identified the factors influencing Hong Kong primary school teachers' e-assessment practices underpinned by the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). A large-scale survey was issued to 878 teachers via Qualtrics. Structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis shows that primary school teachers' intentions of using e-assessment and perceived behavioural control of it were the two strongest factors predicting their e-assessment practices in a general way. Specifically, teachers' intentions outweighed perceived behavioural control in determining their use of alternative e-assessment tasks and e-feedback, but this reversed for e-tests/exercises. The impact of perceived behavioural control was consistent across the three types of e-assessment practices. Furthermore, teachers' attitudes significantly influenced their intentions to use alternative e-assessment tasks, while subject norms primarily predicted their intentions to use e-feedback. The findings have implications for primary schools to take countermeasures to facilitate the successful implementation of e-assessment at the classroom level.Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic E-assessment has the potential to influence learning. E-assessment has often been used in a controlled environment with a relatively small sample size. The past 3 years have seen a surge in discussions and research around using e-assessment in classroom settings, mostly in higher education. What this paper adds Primary school teachers used more e-tests or exercises than alternative e-assessment tasks and e-feedback in their daily teaching. Teachers' intentions