Undergraduate courses on the nature of science (NOS) often involve teaching a set of core elements. Without extensive unpacking and reflection, the complexity of those NOS elements could be easily misinterpreted and oversimplified by the students. Our paper will explain how we teach our Hong Kong university students the NOS by introducing traditional Chinese science in a general education common core course. This course adopted a seminar method of teaching by introducing and discussing the cultural–historical context in its pedagogical design. There are indicators that this approach is effective as the conflict between students' own culture and what they are learning generated a deeper reflection and integration of the newly learned with their prior knowledge and personal beliefs. We believe our pilot study would be an invaluable case study for exploring ways to improve NOS teaching for other educators. Copyright © 2021 Springer.

The examination-oriented education, de-emphasis of hands-on practical work in science lessons and the lack of interdisciplinary curricula are some of the major constraints or obstacles for STEM education in China as reflected from their deficiency or ineffectiveness in nurturing gifted students or talents. In this presentation, we will report two different innovative ways to employ technology and field-based learning for effective STEM education as based on our prize-winning educational device (called mobile logger for science and environmental studies with a corresponding software/app called SESlogger). In the first case, a cartoon video was specifically developed for teaching the primary school students on how to use the device and then students were arranged to practice it for field-based learning in a Guangdong school campus. In the second case, the mobile logger was used to collect on-site environmental data for hiking through all the ten sections of the MacLehose Trail with a total distance of 100km and then the best section of the Trail was designed as a kind of technology-enhanced field trip for trial run by some university students in Hong Kong. To evaluate the educational effectiveness, students' attitudes and views towards the STEM lessons and activities have been collected using questionnaire survey (together with the pre-test and post-test scores on the students' cognitive understanding and level of practical performance) or interviews. For these two cases, we will also present the findings on students' learning difficulties and field-based implementation problems or issues together with reflections from the researchers themselves. Copyright © 2020 International Conference on Learning and Teaching.

In Hong Kong, STEM education has become timely only since 2016 when the government launched the related policy initiatives which impacted the education practices substantially. Particularly, learning in STEM domains has often consisted of memorization of facts devoid of deep connection, separated from life and often failing to integrate the STEM disciplines. Hence, STEM learning is urged to take place in an environment with more attention to different modes of communicating and meaning making. Individuals are required to make meaning and find ways to create personal connections to deeply internalize this knowledge. The investigations, sense-making, creativity, representation and communication of STEM-related ideas are all conducted and connected with human implications of meaningfulness. In this connection, this paper will report the study based on constructivist narrative approach (as cross-case studies) of 3 pre-service teachers majoring in STEM-based programme at teacher training institutes in Hong Kong and 3 in-service STEM teachers. The empirical study will purpose to address three research questions within STEM professional teacher identity perspective: (1) What STEM teacher should be look like and mean to them? (2) What are the factors which construct the STEM teacher identity? (3) What are the needs for professional training of STEM teachers and implications for teacher education? Empirical findings from this study will inform the implications on the context of STEM teacher identity, career and life planning education with STEM-related career aspirations and the professionalism growth of STEM teacher in Hong Kong. Copyright © 2020 International Conference on Learning and Teaching.

Programming is perceived to be an indispensable type of literacy in the digital era. To effectively promote and implement programming in K–12 education, it is necessary to understand school principals' perception of programming education. This study adopted a mixed methods design to explain principals' understanding, expectations, and support for programming education in primary schools using Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA). In study 1, survey questionnaires were distributed to all principals from public primary schools in Hong Kong. Two hundred and sixty-six principals responded to the survey (response rate = 55.6%). In study 2, a follow-up interview study with 13 principals was conducted to further explore their perception of programming education. The results of study 1 indicated that principals with a better understanding of programming education tend to have clearer expectations of how to implement programming education in their schools, which consequently leads to greater support for the implementation of programming education. In study 2, the thematic analysis further supported the results obtained in study 1. Specifically, the results of study 2 demonstrated that most principals show understanding, expectation, and support for the implementation of programming education, which in turn results in various positive student and teacher outcomes. The results also showed that challenges are inevitable during implementation, principals show capabilities and willingness to adjust their expectation and support to better integrate programming education into their school curricula. Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

This special issue on early STEM education collects ten articles that present a series of studies covering topics about curriculum and pedagogy, teacher education and professional development, family environment, and inclusive education for enhancing young children’s STEM learning experiences. These collected studies have presented empirical evidence obtained from diverse cultural contexts, including Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, Mainland China, Singapore, and the United States. With varying designs and diversified approaches, these studies jointly present a vivid picture of the STEM world and may therefore provide some contributions to theoretical developments and practical improvements. Copyright © 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

This paper aims to report and discuss the findings of a research project examining the effects of students‘ use of self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies on their computer programming achievement in higher education. In the project, data were collected from 66 undergraduate students who enrolled in a 13-week introductory computer programming course offered by a Hong Kong university during the academic year 2018/19. Participants were asked to complete the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) to measure their use of SRL strategies. They were also asked to write weekly reflective journals to reflect on their learning progress and plan their future actions for improvement. Their programming achievement was assessed by individual exercises and an end-of-course examination as part of the course assessment. The project adopted a mixed method approach to data analysis. A quantitative correlational analysis on the questionnaire and assessment scores was conducted to explore the relationship between SRL strategies and programming achievement. In addition, a qualitative content analysis on the reflective journals was carried out to identify differences in programming problems and SRL strategies used to tackle the problems between high- and low-achieving students. The findings of the project indicate that higher-order cognitive strategies, metacognitive control strategies and collaborative learning strategies were positively associated with programming achievement. The findings also suggest that reflective journaling can be a good way for students to reflect on their programming performance and think about strategies for improvement. Copyright © 2019 ICEDU.