With such advantages as being fun, effective and interactive, game-based learning has become a new trend in education field. In the course Web Intelligence (INT 4029), one of the major difficulties for students to complete the assignment and to meet the achievement of the expected learning outcome is the lack of information literacy skills. To facilitate the development of students' information literacy, the present research developed a game based on an online role-playing platform called MEGA World. Twenty students participated in the project. Pre-questionnaire and postquestionnaire surveys were conducted to collect data concerning the students' attitudes towards the game-based learning experience. The results showed that students believed that game-based learning effectively facilitated the development of their information literacy. Copyright ©2018 Global Chinese Society for Computers in Education All rights reserved.

要裝備學生面對未來的世界，培養學生成為獨立的閱讀者以達致學會學習是教師非常重要的任務。對於在學習上有特殊教育需要的學生，常規的課堂未必能滿足他們的學習需要，本文展示一個結合元認知和動機理論的認知策略教學方案，倡議學校考慮採納針對性的閱讀策略輔導教學課，以交互教學法結合明確和直接的教學方式教授學生認知策略，讓學生於小學階段即能從小組互動的成功經驗中，建立自信、成為積極的讀者、享受從閱讀中學習的樂趣。 To prepare today's students to face tomorrow's challenge, one of teachers' crucial tasks is to help the students to develop a habit of reading independently aiming at learning to learn. For the students with special educational needs, regular classes may not satisfy their needs. This article aims to share a remedial teaching program design that combines metacognition and motivation theories and encourages schools to use remedial classes that specifically designed for teaching reading strategies for students who are weak in reading. By using reciprocal teaching with explicit and direct teaching of cognitive strategies, primary students are able to experience success via group interaction, to develop their self-confidence, to become active readers and to enjoy reading to learn as early as possible.
[Copyright of 香港特殊教育期刊 is the property of 香港特殊教育學會有限公司. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
https://sites.google.com/a/seshk.org.hk/seshk-org-hk/c_publication]

Previous studies have shown that teacher cognitions and practices in curriculum innovations can be inconsistent. This article describes the practical theory of a novice teacher in Hong Kong in reacting to the introduction of Language Arts (LA) elective modules in the New Senior Secondary (NSS) English Language Curriculum in Hong Kong by exploring her stated cognitions and observed practices as well as the factors mediating them. Data included an open-ended interview, 10 lesson observations and post-lesson interviews, as well as documentary analysis of the teaching and learning materials used. Analysis of the interview data showed evidence of a personal practical theory which recognises the merit of LA integration. The observation showed significant discrepancies between the teachers’ stated cognitions and the observed practices. Both her cognitions and practices were influenced by her understanding of LA derived from her previous learning experiences, the context in which she worked, students’ reactions; striking a balance between the creative and imaginative appeal of LA texts and grammatical accuracy in the exams in particular may have contributed to the divergence between cognitions and practices. Copyright © 2018 Asia TEFL.

This article explores what is currently known about the most effective teaching methods or approaches to be used with students who have special educational needs. Drawing first on the recent meta-analyses of Swanson, Kavale and Forness, the writer highlights methods producing the most impressive improvements. In general, the evidence shows that carefully structured approaches in which students are taught how to learn,combined with high quality direct teaching of curriculum content, have the greatest impact. The article then describes in detail the key characteristics of such approaches, as used in intervention programs and in mainstream teaching.
[Copyright of Hong Kong Special Education Forum is the property of Special Education Society of Hong Kong Ltd.. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
https://sites.google.com/a/seshk.org.hk/seshk-org-hk/c_publication]

This study compares the learning results of three groups of secondary two (grade eight) students of a similar academic standard who participated in a teaching intervention involving different pedagogies. One hundred and forty-nine Hong Kong secondary students were chosen and divided into three groups, “whole-class teaching approach”, “group work with no specific strategies” and “group work with effective strategies”, to study the “space travel” unit in their science curriculum. The first group was exposed to traditional whole-class instruction, and the latter two practised collaborative group work, with the third adopting four effective strategies derived from a UK-based quasi-experimental project. Analyses of the pre- and post-diagnostic assessments and audiotaped discussions revealed that group work comprising effective strategies not only raised students’ test scores, but also enhanced their joint construction of conceptual knowledge in science. The findings suggest that the effective strategies adopted in this study are contributory factors to superior student accomplishments and a stronger desire to seek clarification accruing from shared cognitive activities.
[Copyright of International Journal of Science & Mathematics Education is the property of Springer Netherlands. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10763-017-9839-x]

Hong Kong’s policy and curriculum guide advocates the development of creativity, and stresses the importance of child-centred and play-based practices in preschools. Effective pedagogical approaches for creativity reform should reflect a sociocultural perspective. This study aimed to compare the pedagogical effects of two teaching approaches, in a teacher-led, problem-solving activity. A case study research method was employed in a preschool setting. The Analysing Children’s Creative Thinking framework was used to document the creative thinking behaviours of two groups of six-year-old children in terms of exploration, involvement and enjoyment, and persistence. The results revealed that children in the teacher-guided approach exhibited more creative thinking behaviours than children in the hands-off approach. It was evident that Chinese children benefit when the level of choice is not overwhelming and learning occurs in a progressive way. The findings suggest that cultural and contextual appropriateness should be taken into consideration when promoting creativity in education. Copyright © 2018 Pedagogy, Culture & Society.

本研究旨在探討以「交互教學法」的策略來說故事，提升香港幼兒的閱讀理解能力的可行性。本研究以隨機抽樣方法選取共32位五至六歲幼稚園高班的幼兒，採用準實驗研究方法，將幼兒分為實驗組及控制組，分前測、實驗教學及後測三個階段進行，再就所得資料做質性和量化的分析。結果顯示，經過「交互教學法」的閱讀策略說故事後，實驗組閱讀理解能力比控制組為佳。本研究根據實驗教學的結果，找出如何以圖畫故事書為教材並運用交互教學策略進行活動，來幫助香港幼稚園教師實踐交互教學以提升幼兒的閱讀能力，並有助於其他幼稚園吸取相關的成功經驗。This study used the reciprocal teaching approach to storytelling as a reading strategy method to determine whether it affects Hong Kong children's competence in reading comprehension. A total of 32 children (age 5-6 years) studying in upper class (K3) were selected through random sampling to undertake reading activities for 6 weeks. They were split into experimental and control groups for a quasiexperiment study. The children of the control group carried out the story activity with the traditional way of teaching storytelling while the experimental group used the Reciprocal Teaching Approach with interactive teaching strategies to tell story books. The study, which used qualitative and quantitative methods, was conducted in three stages: pretesting, experimental teaching, and posttesting. The results revealed that children's competence in reading comprehension in the posttesting stage was superior to that in the pretesting stage. Children found learning vocabulary that appeared more frequently to be easier when listening to stories. Because of the link between pictures and context, children's image came up in their thoughts was developed in a multifaceted manner, which enhanced and improved their reading comprehension competence. The results of the experimental teaching indicated that by using picture stories and by adopting the reciprocal teaching approach, young children's competence in reading comprehension can be enhanced. This paper provides insight that can be applied in other kindergartens. Copyright © 2017 國立清華大學.

The promotion of creativity has come to be seen as a vital component in the development of a knowledge-based globalised society, and Hong Kong, like other countries around the world, has been responding to this challenge through a raft of educational policy reforms. However, despite the last ten years of policy reforms aimed at encouraging creativity, traditional teacher-centred didactic practices still dominate. This chapter will argue that before creativity can be promoted, it is essential to understand teachers' beliefs in relation to creativity and then to establish whether these beliefs are actualized in practice. Drawing on research that was undertaken within a number of Hong Kong early childhood settings, this chapter will exemplify how it became possible to utilize a Western-orientated pedagogical framework for creative practice (PFCP). Using examples of illustrative data, the chapter will draw out the complexities that surround the interrelationship between teachers' beliefs and practice whilst also foregrounding the necessity for the development of culturally and contextually appropriate pedagogies. The chapter suggests that because creative practice is complex, changing, and developmental, more effort is needed in searching for culturally and contextually appropriate pedagogies. This may involve some fusion of Chinese and Western creative pedagogies. Copyright © 2018 selection and editorial matter, Kerry J. Kennedy and John Chi-Kin Lee; individual chapters, the contributors.

This study explores kindergarten teachers’ understanding of, comments on their actual practice of giving feedback to children in Hong Kong. The research employed a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, with data being collected through questionnaires and interviews. The sample was chosen from the in-service kindergarten teachers who were enrolled in the teacher certificate course offered at Hong Kong Institute of Education during the academic year 2015-2016. Questionnaires were sent to 150 in-service kindergarten teachers and six teachers were interviewed. Finding indicates that many teachers have the basic understanding of using feedback. They can analyze the aims of giving students feedback not only from the perspectives of students, but also the interaction between teachers and students. However, they seldom explore it through the views from teachers. Teachers’ aims of giving students feedback are mostly for encouraging and it is mainly positive and appreciation. It is common for teachers to give motivational feedback in kindergartens, however, over-emphasize has its disadvantage. It is found that teachers encountered two problems. Firstly, teachers do not have adequate training about giving students feedback. Secondly, teachers lack follow-up work after giving feedback to students. Some suggestions for teachers’ development are made at the end of the paper. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). All Rights Reserved.