A quasi-experimental research study is reported in this paper. Its aim was to evaluate the effects of different types of pedagogy on the cultivation of students' critical thinking dispositions. One hundred and forty Secondary 4 students (i.e. tenth-grade students at 15–17 years of age) from two Hong Kong schools joined a teaching intervention in which they learnt strategies of argumentation through an established critical thinking framework (i.e. Kuhn's model The Skills of Argument, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991]). Analysis revealed collaborative group work to exert positive impacts on students' development of critical thinking when used in conjunction with explicit instruction in reasoning and evidence-based justifications during the intervention. The research results also showed the students who received teacher guidance to have engaged more interactively in joint learning tasks, thereby illustrating the important role of the teacher in facilitating group discussions.
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Objective: Developing student's critical thinking capacity has long become one of the fundamental aims in Hong Kong secondary school education sector. The aim of the proposed research was to investigate the influence of teachers' teaching strategies on the learning of students' critical thinking (CT). Method: A mixed-method research design was employed. Under the guidance and training from the research team, classroom interventions were undertaken in two rounds. Well established student survey was collected. Lesson observation tools were developed and used, measuring the teaching strategies adopted in class, and the changes of outcome variables such as classroom discourses and student higher-order thinking. Nearly 200 students from eight Liberal study (LS) classrooms, four secondary schools in Hong Kong, participated in the research. Paired samples T-test was adopted for the quantitative part of analysis, meanwhile coding schemes were developed for the analysis of lessons observed. Results: Descriptive results showed a consistent improvement on student's critical thinking across dimensions, regarding both their CT propensity and skills. Significant results were found in sub-dimension levels. Further, findings reflect improved student engagement in classroom both from behavioral and cognitive perspectives. There was also significant increase in student higher order-thinking behaviors. Conclusion: This piece of research confirmed the important role played by the teachers as facilitators in improving students' critical thinking in the process of learning and teaching in classroom. The paper concludes with recommendations for efficient teaching strategies in enhancing the student's CT and implications for linking pedagogical theories and classroom practice.

Hong Kong, a leading city of China, is a place with students having good examination results but being regarded as incapable of thinking critically. In 2005, the Education Bureau decided to make Liberal Studies as a core subject and aroused controversial debate. This change, proposing to use a core subject to nurture student critical thinking skills, is a drastic curriculum change in this society. This study, inquiring into the perceptions and practices of teachers teaching Liberal Studies, consists of two research questions. First, how do teachers perceive the aims and nature of the core subject Liberal Studies in the new curriculum? Second, how do they nurture the critical thinking habits of students in their classroom? Qualitative study was conducted to investigate teachers’ perception and practices of critical thinking in Liberal Studies. Both interview and documentary analysis are used in this study. First, the researcher interviewed five Liberal Studies teachers, who were experienced in teaching Liberal Studies. Each teacher individually attended the interview for about one hour. The researcher audio-recorded the conversation and transcribed word by word. Second, in order to follow up with interviews, teachers were invited to provide supporting materials such as teaching plan for further analysis. The study showed that a positive side in this reform. Teachers with strong perceptions for nurturing critical thinking skills of pupils were empathetic in teaching Liberal Studies. Teachers had initiated various methods to provide students opportunities to reflect on thinking and learning, which were drastically differed from traditional culture of Hong Kong. This study also showed that teachers’ perception of critical thinking skills in Liberal Studies also influences their practices in teaching the discipline. However, with the traditional pedagogical culture and examination bounded system, shifting from transmission of knowledge to nurturing critical thinking

This study explored two under-researched areas on students' attitudes towards science, that is, the structural models representing these attitudes and the role played by school bands in moderating the gender differences in such attitudes. The participants were 360 ninth graders in Hong Kong from 3 school bands. The structural equation modelling method was adopted to compare four hypothetical models for students' attitudes towards science. Results reflect that (i) the data supported the three-factor structure of the behavioural domain of students' attitudes towards science; (ii) the four lower level dimensions of the attitudes towards science (i.e. value of science to society, self-concept in science, anxiety towards science and enjoyment of science) could be further integrated into broader categories; (iii) male students demonstrated significantly more positive attitudes towards science in five dimensions (i.e. self-concept in science, enjoyment in science, learning science in and outside the classroom and future participation) and (iv) school bands played a prominent moderating role in gender differences in students' attitudes towards science. Implications for studying and developing students' attitudes towards science are discussed in the paper.

Purpose: Peer assisted learning (PAL) strategies have been widely adopted in physical education (PE). They facilitate peer education and involved peer-based interaction and learning (Ward & Lee, 2005). These strategies are innovative, and effective in helping students in different learning domains. The reciprocal style of teaching (Mosston & Ashworth, 2002) and cooperative learning (CL) (Dyson & Casey, 2012) are common PAL strategies in PE. They aim to tackle problems associated with large classes, limited equipment, and insufficient feedback to students and learners diversity. However, these strategies are rarely practiced and studied in Hong Kong. The purpose of the study was to investigate students’ perceptions of, and experiences in reciprocal teaching and cooperative learning in PE in Hong Kong schools. Factors that influence students’ learning with these strategies were also examined. Methods: Eight experienced local primary and secondary PE teachers from different regions of Hong Kong and their classes were purposely selected to take part in the study. Four teachers were briefed on the principles and implementation of the reciprocal style, while another four teachers were reminded the principles and implementation of CL, and taught a 10-lesson unit with the same strategies in their schools. A combination of techniques was used to collect qualitative data: lesson observations, formal interviews of students and teachers, student reflective journals and teachers’ self-review. Constant comparison and inductive analysis were used to organize code and categorize the data. Results: Findings indicated that the students’ learning benefited from the PAL. Learning experiences influenced the students’ learning attitudes in PE lessons. Teachers’ experience, support, tasks designed and tutors’ abilities were found to be major factors influencing students’ learning in PAL strategies. In particular, teachers’ intervention and preparation availed students in the learning

Critical thinking is regarded as a higher-order thinking skill, which is important in developing a comprehensive competency in modern times. Nurturing children’s critical thinking at an early stage thus becomes an essential target that should be pursued by all school teachers. Facing such a trend, the Education Bureau of Hong Kong started to reform the school curriculum in 2000 in order to develop students’ generic skills through eight Key Learning Areas (KLA), one of which is Arts Education that includes Music. Nine generic skills, including critical thinking, have been identified that should be nurtured through all KLAs. Published in 2003, the Music Curriculum Guide (Curriculum and Development Council, 2003) proposed four learning targets for music. Among all, cultivating critical responses in music is the target achieved by the integrated learning activities of creating, performing and listening. Nevertheless, there are very limited studies investigating the extent to which current primary music teachers can nurture students’ critical thinking in Hong Kong. Furthermore, Hong Kong music teachers may not be capable of developing students’ critical thinking through these integrated activities. This study aims to examine the current situation of cultivating critical thinking in music in Hong Kong’s primary schools and explore how critical thinking skills can be effectively developed. A questionnaire, interviews and class observation were used to collect data for current situation of nurturing critical thinking skills in primary music lessons. The results of the study demonstrate a positive indication of the acceptance of and beliefs in the implementation of critical thinking skills in Hong Kong primary teachers. Difficulties are found that impeded the effectiveness of the implementation, namely, teachers’ professional commitments by using critical thinking skills, teachers’ understanding of and abilities for the implementation, students’ involvement and differentiation

This study explored the effects of the classroom learning environment of a Liberal Studies course on the critical thinking skills and disposition of 3,869 Grade 12 students in Hong Kong. Through combining both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, a two-level model of the classroom learning environment for critical thinking with seven dimensions (i.e., Student Negotiation, Challenging Task, Multiple Perspectives, Shared Control, Skeptical Voice, Uncertainty and Personal Relevance) at the first level and three broader aspects (i.e., Pedagogy, Relationship and Content) at the second was generated. The correlation and structural equation modelling analyses indicated that the classroom learning environment had a stronger relationship with critical thinking disposition than skills. Structural equation modelling analysis also indicated a mediation effect of critical thinking disposition between the classroom learning environment and critical thinking skills. It is suggested that different approaches be combined so as to achieve a balanced development of students’ critical thinking skills and disposition.
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This paper reports on the effectiveness and practicality of abstracting essential pedagogical methods that aim to promote high level thinking among junior secondary science students. Strategies include intensive professional development programme and design of lesson materials that can be integrated into the existing science curriculum in the Hong Kong schools. The professional development workshops focus on the distinction between the “Cognitive Skills Enhancing Lessons” (CSE) and regular science lessons. Teachers were stimulated to discuss ways to get students to discuss, think about and respond to teachers’ questions, and to ask questions. Classroom implementations of the CSE teaching materials tailor-made for the Hong Kong junior secondary science curriculum were initiated for 3 secondary two classes. The paper reports on the findings from the pre and post interviews, as well as interviews during the classroom implementations with all the participating teachers and a sample of 6 students from each class. Findings report on what teachers think about the CSE method, their general feelings about using CSE, their comments on the materials, the difficulties (if any) they met, the benefits to students and the perceived feasibility of implementing CSE-infused science activities designed by the project team in local classrooms.

It has been suggested that students can learn with video technology (Jonassen, Howland, Moore and Marra 2003): by involving them in project-based production, they will engage in deep learning and develop a variety of thinking skills in order to complete the project (Jonassen, Carr and Yueh 1998). With the shift from an industrial to a knowledge-based society, the development of skills in, for example, problem solving, project management, collaboration, leadership and presentation is essential (Bransford, Brown, and Cocking 2000). For the past few years, many Hong Kong primary schools have been supported by the Quality Education Fund to set up Campus TV within or beyond the curriculum. Campus TV activities may provide a platform for engaging students in video production to develop important thinking skills -- though the possibility of using such a platform for this purpose is still under development. Last summer, a three-day summer Digital Video (DV) Camp was held in a local primary school, with about 20 Primary 4 and 5 pupils producing their own topics on digital video. Participant observation and semi-structured and focus group interviews were held to find out what the students had learned during the collaborative production process. Through digital ethnography methodology (Goodman 1998), the students demonstrated unexpected creativity, showed proficiency in using technology and media language to express themselves, and explicitly expressed the importance of collaborative skills in the process of video production. These encouraging findings suggest a direction for the implementation of Campus TV for student learning and the development of important thinking skills in the Hong Kong primary school setting.

Teaching English as a second language in Hong Kong has been undergoing considerable change in the last two decades, from the Oral-structural Approach to the Communicative Approach, and more recently the Task-based teaching and learning. Hong Kong ESL teachers are having to rethink classroom strategies. This poses a particular problem for student teachers who have limited understanding of what this involves. Moreover, the only experience they can rely on is their own as pupils, and this has been rendered largely irrelevant at a time when the standard of English in schools in Hong Kong is said to have been declining. The speaker explores how eight student teachers who consider themselves linguistically deficient develop their professional knowledge in learning to teach ESL. Results show that the thinking, knowledge and practices of these student teachers who entered teacher education with an 'empty disk' did change critically on the course. Implications are drawn for developing TESL programmes for teaching candidates who are less competent in English.