This study explores how students in a joint process of knowledge construction through the use of multilingual and multimodal resources in groups promotes the learning of scientific concepts in the context of laboratory work. Inductive qualitative discourse analysis was conducted to examine how students’ translanguage in a group completing tasks in two Grade 10 secondary science labs (biology and chemistry) in a Hong Kong EMI secondary school and how such a joint process of knowledge construction promotes the learning of scientific concepts. Using translanguaging as a theoretical framework, the analysis shows that even though schools have imposed an English-only policy, students use their linguistic and semiotic resources to both co-construct their scientific knowledge and practise their science apprenticeship. Translanguaging plays a role in mediating the students’ understanding of science, facilitating peer work and creating an enjoyable learning environment in the lab. The result implies that translanguaging as a pedagogical tool may create a space for content subject learning in Hong Kong EMI school setting. Copyright © 2021 Taylor & Francis Ltd.

STEM education is an important approach for preparing students for a competitive workforce with essential skills in the 21st century. However, successfully implementing STEM education in primary and secondary schools presents a variety of challenges. The study suggests that a neglected challenge in the literature is how to sustain teachers’ positive emotions toward STEM educational work, which may cause teachers to be more engaged in, motived by, and committed to STEM education. Therefore, the study aims to contribute to the literature by investigating the mechanism of the construction and suitability of teachers’ emotions toward STEM educational work based on a single case study conducted in Hong Kong from the social constructionist perspective. The major findings of the study indicate that (1) positive emotions toward STEM educational work may be constructed by the teacher’s positive interpretation of the work, i.e., STEM educational work as the facilitator of students’ overall development and that (2) positive emotions toward STEM educational work may be sustained by enabling school institutions to have the elements of shared power, administrative support, and the value of a whole-person education. Copyright © 2021 MDPI AG

A curriculum that integrates Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (called STEM education) has been implemented in K-12 schools in the United States for several years. The purpose of this article is to explore the further integration of issues-based art education into STEM education (hereafter-called issues-based STEAM education) to expand the benefits of STEM education for school children. Adopting issues-based art education into STEM education provides students with a more authentic learning experience because its interdisciplinary pedagogy emphasizes inquiry-based, real-world learning, and critical thinking. In this article, we discuss the recent educational movement from STEM to STEAM, followed by an introduction to issues-based STEAM education. We then provide a relevant lesson implemented in a Hong Kong high school to shed light on the significance of issues-based STEAM education and as rationale for the importance of issues-based STEAM education that engages art students by exploring social issues. Copyright © 2021 Penn State Libraries Open Publishing.

This paper reports on the design, implementation, and results of a video-based study that focused on supporting an individualized viewing experience, keeping a record of what was noticed, providing a degree of guiding framework, and facilitating a combination of individual and collaborative reflections in noticing activities for STEM professional development. A cohort of 20 prospective mathematics teachers at a public university in Hong Kong participated in the study. The participants engaged in a series of blended learning activities with a feature that allowed them to leave comments while viewing of a lesson video, which focused on technology integration in mathematics classrooms. The designed activities were helpful for the participants to document and reflect on their observations, while viewing videos outside the classroom allowed them to meaningfully engage with the course materials. Moreover, the use of videos supported the participants' broad but crucial STEM classroom practices that would help them prepare for future lessons. Copyright © 2021 International Forum of Educational Technology & Society (IFETS).

Undergraduate courses on the nature of science (NOS) often involve teaching a set of core elements. Without extensive unpacking and reflection, the complexity of those NOS elements could be easily misinterpreted and oversimplified by the students. Our paper will explain how we teach our Hong Kong university students the NOS by introducing traditional Chinese science in a general education common core course. This course adopted a seminar method of teaching by introducing and discussing the cultural–historical context in its pedagogical design. There are indicators that this approach is effective as the conflict between students' own culture and what they are learning generated a deeper reflection and integration of the newly learned with their prior knowledge and personal beliefs. We believe our pilot study would be an invaluable case study for exploring ways to improve NOS teaching for other educators. Copyright © 2021 Springer.

The examination-oriented education, de-emphasis of hands-on practical work in science lessons and the lack of interdisciplinary curricula are some of the major constraints or obstacles for STEM education in China as reflected from their deficiency or ineffectiveness in nurturing gifted students or talents. In this presentation, we will report two different innovative ways to employ technology and field-based learning for effective STEM education as based on our prize-winning educational device (called mobile logger for science and environmental studies with a corresponding software/app called SESlogger). In the first case, a cartoon video was specifically developed for teaching the primary school students on how to use the device and then students were arranged to practice it for field-based learning in a Guangdong school campus. In the second case, the mobile logger was used to collect on-site environmental data for hiking through all the ten sections of the MacLehose Trail with a total distance of 100km and then the best section of the Trail was designed as a kind of technology-enhanced field trip for trial run by some university students in Hong Kong. To evaluate the educational effectiveness, students' attitudes and views towards the STEM lessons and activities have been collected using questionnaire survey (together with the pre-test and post-test scores on the students' cognitive understanding and level of practical performance) or interviews. For these two cases, we will also present the findings on students' learning difficulties and field-based implementation problems or issues together with reflections from the researchers themselves. Copyright © 2020 International Conference on Learning and Teaching.

In Hong Kong, STEM education has become timely only since 2016 when the government launched the related policy initiatives which impacted the education practices substantially. Particularly, learning in STEM domains has often consisted of memorization of facts devoid of deep connection, separated from life and often failing to integrate the STEM disciplines. Hence, STEM learning is urged to take place in an environment with more attention to different modes of communicating and meaning making. Individuals are required to make meaning and find ways to create personal connections to deeply internalize this knowledge. The investigations, sense-making, creativity, representation and communication of STEM-related ideas are all conducted and connected with human implications of meaningfulness. In this connection, this paper will report the study based on constructivist narrative approach (as cross-case studies) of 3 pre-service teachers majoring in STEM-based programme at teacher training institutes in Hong Kong and 3 in-service STEM teachers. The empirical study will purpose to address three research questions within STEM professional teacher identity perspective: (1) What STEM teacher should be look like and mean to them? (2) What are the factors which construct the STEM teacher identity? (3) What are the needs for professional training of STEM teachers and implications for teacher education? Empirical findings from this study will inform the implications on the context of STEM teacher identity, career and life planning education with STEM-related career aspirations and the professionalism growth of STEM teacher in Hong Kong. Copyright © 2020 International Conference on Learning and Teaching.