The introduction of "differentiated" instruction (DI), tailored to meet students' individual needs, has influenced educational policies throughout the world, including Hong Kong. The impart of Tomlinson's model on curriculum planning is recognized widely and informed thinking on this project. Reported benefits include addressing students' readiness and interest in learning related to content, process, product and learning environment. © 2023 Informa UK Limited.

This paper presents a study on the evaluation of hybrid learning and teaching practices by academics. A mixed research method involving a questionnaire survey and a focus group interview was employed to gather academics’ feedback on their experience in delivering hybrid instruction in a synchronous manner in which on-site and remote students attended classes simultaneously, their students’ hybrid learning effectiveness, and their suggestions for improvement. The questionnaire was administered to 76 academics from a university in Hong Kong where hybrid learning and teaching were implemented, and the focus group interview involved 10 academics. The findings reveal that the participating academics perceived themselves as having an overall high degree of readiness to handle technical issues. They expressed that the students from their hybrid classes had lower levels of interaction, engagement, and motivation than those from traditional face-to-face classes. The participants also reported their challenges regarding hybrid learning and teaching, including heavy workload for lesson preparation and face-to-face and online classroom management, unfamiliarity with interactive teaching design suitable for hybrid classes, and difficulties in monitoring students’ learning process. They provided suggestions for the improvement of hybrid classes, ranging from the provision of technological support to professional development for enhancing students’ online interaction and engagement. These findings contribute to revealing academics’ experience in practising hybrid learning and teaching and identifying ways to address their challenges. © 2023 by the authors.

Differentiated instruction (DI) has been introduced as a viable approach for accommodating the diverse learning needs of students in the same classroom. Despite the significant advantages attributed to this approach, it can still be a challenge for teachers to incorporate DI into practice. This study examined the lived experiences and perceptions of teachers regarding the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on their differentiation practices. Purposive sampling was used, and 40 in-service primary and secondary school teachers in Hong Kong were recruited. Hybrid thematic analysis was implemented to examine data from the semi-structured interviews carried out in both face-to-face and online formats. Drawing on the five-dimensional model of differentiation as a conceptual framework, the findings were organized into five thematic areas: (1) teaching arrangements, (2) learning environment, (3) teaching methods, (4) support materials, and (5) assessment. The perceptions of teachers, both positive and negative, regarding the impact of the pandemic on DI were categorized into sub-themes. The results indicated that while the pandemic brought about considerable obstacles for educators in practicing DI, it also opened up opportunities for new approaches to meeting the diverse needs of students. © 2023 by the authors.

Dialogic teaching has been demonstrated to be conducive to the development of important competencies and skills such as creativity, communication skills and critical thinking skills. Yet, the literature confirms that teacher–student interactions in the classroom are predominantly monologic rather than dialogic across subjects, grades and countries. This article reports the results of a study that evaluates the effectiveness of a Philosophy for Children (P4C) programme in facilitating the development of dialogic and inquiry teaching in teachers in Hong Kong. In the study, training and support were provided for teachers to enable them to teach P4C to their students during Integrated Humanities and English lessons. P4C was found to help enhance the teachers’ effectiveness in the classroom in terms of their ability to engage in dialogic and inquiry teaching. The findings of this study suggest that P4C plays a significant role in promoting the professional development of teachers. © 2023 University of Cambridge, Faculty of Education.

Self-regulated learning (SRL) is critical to students' academic success and lifelong learning. Although the benefits of SRL have been examined in many studies, few have explored it in a broader educational context. This study presents an eight-month institutional case study that demonstrates how SRL has been developed as a pedagogy through the collective endeavours of teachers, researchers, and experts at a university in Hong Kong. A case study method protocol was followed. Data were obtained from multiple sources, including surveys of teachers (N = 93) and students (N = 215), interviews with teachers (n = 5) and students (n = 19), archived course documents, videos, and project reports. T-tests, coding, and document analysis were applied to analyse the collected data. The results showed that the teachers had good knowledge of SRL strategies but some students struggled to apply them effectively. Our study's findings have various implications for the effective promotion of SRL at the university level, and include the importance of developing a collective approach involving various members of the university, integrating responsive pedagogy, and adapting SRL strategies to students' individual needs. Future research can follow our methodology to replicate the study in different educational contexts.

This paper explores the pedagogical approaches teachers employ and the strategies that school leaders implement to promote the use of an Adaptive Learning Platform (ALP) in a high school in Hong Kong. It assesses how such an AI-powered platform can support teachers in enhancing student engagement and learning outcomes. The study employs a case study methodology to identify the factors influencing the incorporation of ALP. Qualitative data were collected through teacher interviews, and an in-depth analysis was carried out to identify effective pedagogies and strategies for implementing adaptive learning. The findings of this study underscore the significance of supportive school leadership that encourages teachers to embrace ALP as a tool for promoting student learning. Additionally, effective implementation of ALP necessitates a shift in pedagogical practices from traditional teacher-centred approaches to more student-centred strategies. The study concludes that the integration of ALP into teaching practices can boost student engagement and elevate the quality of learning outcomes. In summary, this research contributes to understanding the successful implementation of ALP in high schools, emphasising the critical roles of school leadership support and the adoption of student-centred pedagogies. The findings provide valuable insights for educators, administrators, and policymakers interested in utilising ALP to improve student learning outcomes. Copyright © 2023 by the owner/author(s).

The paper introduces an approach that facilitates whole-class curriculum co-creation and presents a case study conducted in a higher education institution in Hong Kong where it was implemented. The approach enables students to actively contribute to constructing a curriculum in partnership with teachers and practitioners, using scenario development techniques within the technology-enhanced learning environments. In this sense, the study is compatible with and contributes to contemporary higher education requirements for future-ready students, able to work in fast-changing, digitalized and globalized working environments. The case study describes the implementation of the approach in undergraduate and postgraduate knowledge management courses. The mix-method design was employed, including content analysis of scenarios, a questionnaire asking for students' feedback, and teacher's observations. The findings revealed that the approach enabled students and the teacher to work more collaboratively and co-create some aspects of the knowledge management courses (e.g., identifying and compiling relevant subject trends), even if some challenges were experienced. The paper points to the need for students' ownership when it comes to developing curricula that better consider students' experiences and meaning-making processes. The paper contributes to contemporary higher education discourse by providing conceptual and practical guidance on how to enact whole-class curriculum co-creation for teachers interested in such practice. Copyright ©2023 Springer.

Although spherical video-based virtual reality (SVVR) has gained attention as an effective tool for technology-enhanced learning, little research has been conducted on its integration in formal education settings and the role of teachers in facilitating its pedagogical use. In this study, a design-based research (DBR) approach was used to develop teacher-facilitated tactics for SVVR-supported learning based on virtual inquiry fieldwork in formal senior secondary geography education in Hong Kong. Over a period of 2 academic years, we engaged with nine teachers (from nine schools across the upper, middle, and lower academic bands in Hong Kong) and their Grade-10 classes, which comprised a total of 504 students. In addition to reporting and discussing the pedagogical effectiveness of the teacher facilitation practices designed, enacted, analysed, and refined in the iterative DBR process, this paper presents the teacher facilitation principles deduced from these practices. Overall, the findings and implications of this DBR are academically and practically relevant for researchers and educational practitioners who seek to utilise SVVR for educational purposes and strive to enhance its pedagogical effectiveness. Copyright © 2023 Elsevier.

Among science subjects, gender disparities are most evident in information and communication technology (ICT). Researchers have suggested that science identification plays a key role in motivating young females to pursue the study and work of science. However, few studies have comprehensively examined the constituting components of ICT identity and its influencing factors from a person-centered perspective. By adopting an explanatory mixed methods design, this study uncovers ICT identity profiles using nine components derived from the literature and examines their influence on the intention to further study and work in the ICT field among female high school students. The sample included 821 female high school students from 13 schools in Hong Kong who completed a self-report questionnaire. Twenty of them were invited for a follow-up semi-structured interview. The result of the latent profile analysis reveals five ICT identity profiles based on differences in the levels of the nine components. Both quantitative and qualitative data analyses indicate that the higher the level of ICT identity is, the more likely female students are to choose to study and work in ICT. Furthermore, adolescent females with low levels of gender stereotypic beliefs and high degrees of parental and peer support are more likely to belong to the highest level of the ICT identity profile, namely, the ICT person profile. In particular, female high school students with the ICT person profile report even stronger intentions to study ICT when they are clear about career prospects, whereas those with the average ICT identity profile display stronger intentions to work in the ICT industry when they have high expectations of career success. The practical implications for ICT education are discussed. Copyright © 2023 Elsevier.

International kindergartens, which offer an immersive dual-language (English and Chinese) environment, are popular among middle-class families in Hong Kong. The international learning and teaching environment is cultivated primarily by developing a diverse workforce, in which Chinese-speaking (Putonghua and/or Cantonese) teachers with local training or from mainland China generally work with their English-speaking counterparts from overseas in the same classroom. Such heterogeneity has complicated the already challenging concept of collaborative teaching. This article presents a case study of the collaborative teaching practice in a trilingual international kindergarten which had been established for over 50 years. Through in-depth interviews, questionnaires, text messaging, document analysis, site visits, and observations, the study examined the collaborative teaching practices among international colleagues in the kindergarten. The findings revealed that collaboration among international colleagues was made successful by: (1) senior management and teachers sharing a common goal; (2) a dynamic whole-school supportive structure that embraced heterogeneity; and (3) the development of a shared culture of professional learning. The implications of these findings for management, practice, and research are discussed, including the need to foster a culture of collaboration, the importance of professional development, and the need for further research on collaborative teaching practices in diverse educational settings. Copyright © 2023 Springer.