In recent years, research using learning analytics to predict learning outcomes has begun to increase. This emerging field of research advocates the use of readily-available data to inform teaching and learning. The current case study adopts a learning analytics approach to evaluate the online learning package of an academic English course in a university in Hong Kong. This study aims to (1) explore the completion pattern of use of the online learning package by students in a generic undergraduate academic skills course; and (2) predict student outcomes based on their online behaviour patterns. Over three academic years, the study examined usage logs for 7000+ students that were available on the university's learning management system. Student assessment component scores, online activity completion rates, and online behavioural patterns were identified and examined using descriptive analysis, bivariate correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis. The findings reveal insights into different online learning behavioural patterns that would benefit blended course designers. For instance, some students started using the online learning package early in the semester but fulfilled only the minimum required online work, whereas others greatly exceeded the basic requirement and continued doing activities in the online package even after the semester had finished. The relationship between learning activities in the online package and assessment component grades was found to be weak but meaningful. A regression model was developed drawing on the completion rates to predict overall student scores, and this model successfully identified several specific factors, such as total number of attempts and performance in individual online learning activities, as predictors of the final course grade.
[Copyright of Electronic Journal of e-Learning is the property of Academic Conferences and Publishing International Ltd.]

This study aims to investigate students' knowledge and interest on adoption of IFRS in Hong Kong, the preferred strategy and pedagogy of introducing IFRS, and the usefulness of learning IFRS. The results show that most Hong Kong students are eager to learn IFRS and they understand the positive impact of learning IFRS. The Hong Kong accounting professionals and educators have to develop relevant materials on IFRS.
[Copyright of Journal of Management Research. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://www.macrothink.org/journal/index.php/jmr/]

This study examines the effect of a reading intervention aimed at improving the comprehension performance of three students with hyperactive behaviours in Hong Kong. Comprehension tasks, adopted from local exercise books based on Hong Kong Certificate Education Examination Paper I, were used to appraise three participants' reading performance, and their corresponding in-class behaviours were observed and recorded as a point of reference. A five-week reading intervention, introducing four major adjustments to the conventional drilling task, including pre-teaching vocabulary, providing visual clues, offering instructions on a separate piece of paper and encouraging productive physical movements, resulted in an improved reading outcome. Following the treatment stage, a two-week conventional comprehension approach was re-employed and results compared with those at the pre-intervention stage. A very slight improvement was shown, suggesting the effectiveness of the intervention. A similar pattern of improvement in students' behaviour was shown during the intervention. The results indicated that students made improvements in terms of both comprehension results and behavioural status. Implications for teachers facilitating students with hyperactive behaviours are discussed.
[Copyright of Emotional & Behavioural Difficulties is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13632752.2011.545644]

This study examines the association between teachers' preferred interpersonal behaviour in teaching and their thinking styles. A sample of 131 secondary teachers from Hong Kong (n = 94) and Macau (n = 37) participated in a survey to measure their preferred interpersonal behaviour by the questionnaire for teacher interaction (QTI) and their thinking styles by the thinking style inventory-revised (TSI-R). Results indicated that teachers in both regions preferred to employ student-centred interpersonal behaviour (leadership, helpful and friendly, understanding and freedom teaching styles) in the classroom teaching. Teachers' thinking styles were related to their preferred interpersonal teaching styles. Specific relationships were found between the types of thinking styles and their preferred teacher interpersonal behaviour among Hong Kong and Macau teachers.
[Copyright of Educational Psychology is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2010.548116]