Background: Different instructional factors are related to students’ achievement in different cognitive domains. Most research studies on large-scale assessment focus on science achievement as an entire variable, without considering science achievement in different cognitive domains. Purpose: This study investigates the predictive effects of the frequency of teachers’ using practical work and clarity of instruction on students’ achievement in different cognitive domains. Sample: A regional representative sample of 3265 Hong Kong students who took part in Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019 was used in this study. Design and Method: In order to disentangle the interrelationships between science instructional factors, attitudes toward science and students’ achievement in different cognitive domains, we carried out structural equation modelling to explore the responses by 3265 Hong Kong students to TIMSS 2019 surveys. Results: Frequency of teachers’ use of practical work had a significant positive impact on students’ achievement in the domains of knowing, applying, and reasoning, while clarity of instruction had a significantly negative impact on students’ achievement in the domains of knowing and applying. Enjoyment of science mediates the relationship between the relationships between frequency of practical work and achievement in three cognitive domains. Conclusion: This informs how teachers use practical work to enhance students’ enjoyment of science, intrinsic motivation and self-concept, in order to improve their achievement in knowing, applying and reasoning science. Implications contribute to future research on how best to improve students’ achievement in all three cognitive domains are discussed. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

The rapid development of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools (e.g. ChatGPT) has elicited mixed reactions among English language instructors and learners. This study explores how first-year students in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course at a Hong Kong university perceive GenAI and traditional grammar-checking tools (e.g. Grammarly, MS Word). We employed a qualitative methodology grounded in the interpretivist paradigm, conducting semi-structured interviews with 14 students. The findings revealed the students perceived GenAI tools to be more comprehensive and authoritative, as they provide detailed explanations and contextual insights that enhance language proficiency. However, they also noted concerns about overreliance, data privacy and equitable access to premium features. The study examines the ethical and pedagogical implications of integrating GenAI tools into higher education, highlighting their potential and the necessity of institutional guidance. It contributes to the ongoing discourse on the role of GenAI in academic writing instruction. Copyright © 2024 The Author(s).

Recent studies identify Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) as a key factor in enhancing cognitive development, particularly within Computational Thinking (CT) literature. However, research gaps remain in understanding how SRL and CT interact from a developmental perspective. Our study designed a program with tailored animations and worksheets to specifically foster students' learning and cognitive development. Using a mixed-methods approach, we administered surveys among 1235 students from 29 Hong Kong primary schools to investigate a dynamic learning system comprising SRL and CT in a large-scale CT program. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 students to further probe insights. Quantitative findings revealed a mutually reinforcing relationship in the dynamic system, suggesting that higher SRL skills enhance cognitive CT abilities, and vice versa. Complementing these results, qualitative findings showed that integrating animations and worksheets into the CT program significantly boosted students' SRL and cognitive development. These findings have significant implications for educational practices and curriculum design. Schools should consider implementing SRL strategies, such as proactive goal setting and reflective evaluation, within their curricula to promote students’ cognitive development. Furthermore, strategic investments in educational technology, including collaborations with EdTech developers, are essential to create effective, pedagogically sound tools that enhance learning outcomes. These insights provide valuable guidance for creating a supportive SRL environment that fosters cognitive development in primary school education. Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

Many Southeast Asian countries have been promoting the use of EMI in non-language subjects, including science. Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is a notion which promotes students’ integration of both content and language. This chapter explores the use of a content analysis technique, an epistemic network analysis to explore how classroom interaction facilitates CLIL. We draw on Lin (2012)‘s ‘rainbow diagram’ to analyse how two Hong Kong science teachers used and expanded communicative resources to promote CLIL. These resources are L1 and L2 every day, oral and academic languages, as well as multimodal representations. A coding scheme is developed based on the ‘rainbow diagram’ from Lin (2012). Afterwards, we illustrate an innovative discourse analysis technique, epistemic network analysis, to characterise the frequency of connections between the codes generated. By qualitatively comparing the epistemic networks between teachers and students in a science practical work setting, we propose that epistemic network analysis can be used to compare the practice of CLIL of experienced and non-experienced teachers, as well as before and after professional development programmes. The strengths and weaknesses of this innovative method are then discussed. Copyright © 2023 selection and editorial matter, Samantha M. Curle and Jack K. H. Pun; individual chapters, the contributors.

Integrated group discussion (IGD) tasks represent a new type of integrated speaking task that requires students to communicate with their peers after comprehending and using provided source materials. With its potential to enhance effective communication and information literacy, IGD stands at the core of language education. Although the IGD task type has become increasingly popular, its construct is still unexplored. In this study, 124 Hong Kong undergraduate students completed an IGD task and a group discussion (GD) task (i.e., without source materials) in Putonghua. Four factors, speech and expression, content with source use, interaction, and language usage, were extracted to represent IGD performance. Two indicators of GD performance (linguistic expression and engagement in interaction) significantly predicted IGD performance, explaining 21.9 % of its total variance. The large proportion of unexplained IGD performance variance suggests that IGD tasks may be worth implementing. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed in details. Copyright © 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools have been argued to have transformative potential in education; yet existing literature suggests that language teachers generally lack the abilities to leverage these tools effectively and critically. Conducted in an initial language teacher education programme at a Hong Kong university, this mixed-method intervention study aims to explore the effects of explicit training for using GenAI tools for language teaching in rising pre-service language teachers’ professional GenAI competence (P-GenAI-C). 54 M.Ed students took part in an 11-week course intervention aiming to enhance the five aspects in the P-GenAI-C framework. Analysis of pre- and post-intervention questionnaires, which encompassed a mix of open and closed items to gather participants’ knowledge and perceptions of utilising GenAI tools, as well as the follow-up interviews, revealed that the intervention was effective in stretching all aspects of pre-service teachers’ P-GenAI-C. While there was greater evidence of improvement in participants’ pedagogical competence and critical awareness of GenAI tools deployment, there was less evidence of development in other aspects, such as teachers’ capacity to guide their students to use GenAI tools effectively and responsibly. This discrepancy might be attributed to the lack of such content in the course intervention. Implications for incorporating elements of P-GenAI-C into teacher preparation courses and programmes are discussed. Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

Negotiation of meaning (NoM) has played a facilitative role in second language acquisition. However, the existing studies have primarily focused on adult English language learners. This study investigated the impact of task type and task complexity on NoM strategies among young learners of Chinese as a second language, an underexplored group. The participants were 110 students in Hong Kong aged 10-12, mainly from Pakistan, India, Philippines, and Nepal. They were asked to perform four tasks with different task types and levels of task complexity in Cantonese (the primary Chinese dialect spoken in Hong Kong). In terms of task type, the study found that required information exchange tasks (i.e., information gap tasks) produced significantly more clarification requests, confirmation checks, self-repetitions, and other repetitions in terms of total numbers and numbers per 100 Chinese characters than the optional exchange tasks (i.e., decision-making tasks). Complex tasks, on the other hand, elicited significantly more confirmation checks than simple tasks. These findings provide useful insights for designing tasks that can promote greater use of NoM strategies in classroom practice. Copyright © 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.

Learning Management Systems (LMSs) are underutilized in universities despite them being standard components of higher education. Given this, there is a need to gather the perspectives of students and teachers to examine how these key end-users engage with LMS and utilize its various features and functions. Such an endeavor could aid in addressing the barriers and in promoting the use of LMSs in online teaching and learning. As studies about LMS use with both teacher and student samples are limited, we simultaneously gathered both students’ and teachers’ perceptions of Moodle from all academic faculties at a public university in Hong Kong. Structured qualitative interviews were conducted with eighty-two participants (41 teachers, 41 students) via Zoom. Results suggest that Moodle, while previously viewed as merely a repository of course materials, transitioned from being a supplementary tool to a key information dissemination tool during the pandemic. Despite the availability of collaboration tools, majority of interactions still occur in alternative communication channels. Findings point to students’ and teachers’ need for familiarity, training, and a visually and functionally improved interface to enhance their experience in the LMS. We also found how content and pedagogy influenced how LMS was integrated into teaching, with frequency and manner of LMS use varying between faculties and departments. Given this, tailor-made information and support for each department are needed to maximize LMS use in classes. We suggest the conduct of dialogues involving multiple stakeholders (i.e., teachers, students, administrators, and technical support staff) so that higher education institutions can share best practices on how to improve LMS utilization to enhance the quality of teaching and learning in universities. Copyright © 2024 The Author(s).

This study aims to develop a self-report inventory to measure University students’ perception of their creative thinking skills. Creative thinking is a critical learning outcome in higher education and one of the essential 21st Century Competency. The data were collected from 253 students of a university in Hong Kong. A structural equation model was applied to confirm the construct validity of the instrument. The result shows that the key characteristics of creative thinking skills are empirically constructed by creative character, originality, sensitivity, synthesizing and resistance to premature closure. The five characteristics of creative thinking can be considered as learning processes or outcomes to inform the design of instructional events and learning activities to nurture students’ creative thinking skills. Copyright © 2023 by the authors.

隨著信息技術的不斷發展，通過自媒體上的教學視頻進行語言學習已經成為一種新的學習方式。本文以國際中文教育為例，對新時期信息技術環境下的自媒體二語教學視頻進行研究。研究問題共有四個： 自媒體二語教學視頻有怎樣的特點？ 自媒體二語教學視頻的優點和不足是什麼？自媒體二語教學視頻如何輔助傳統形式的課堂教學？ 自媒體二語教學視頻如何在內容與製作上更有規範、更有系統化的發展？在研究方法上， 以定性研究為主，定量研究為輔，具體採用問卷調查、訪談法和非參與式課堂觀察法來收集數據。根據數據的分析和討論，得出了最終的結論，回應了研究問題，並進一步提出了自媒體二語教學視頻的教學框架、模型和概念。本文的研究意義是希望幫助自媒體二語教學視頻更好的發展與傳播，成為數字化信息技術時代下主要的網路學習方式和途徑； 幫助拓展網路教與學的空間； 幫助學校的教師更好的使用自媒體二語教學視頻來輔助課堂教學，提高教學效率和教學質量；幫助國際中文教育事業等第二語言教育事業方面的發展和推廣； 幫助發展個性化學習和終身學習，並進一步做到知識共享。All rights reserved.