This paper reports the findings of a quasi-experimental study that investigated the impacts of effective group work on Hong Kong science classrooms. One hundred and fifty-two Secondary 2 (or Grade 8) students from two schools participated in a teaching intervention (comprising 16 lessons) in which they studied the topic 'Making Use of Electricity' and resolved a series of related scientific inquiries. Informed by both the quantitative (i.e. diagnostic tests) and qualitative (i.e. science inquiry questions, audio-recordings of group discussions and focus-group interviews) results of the study, this paper reveals that effective group work can narrow the social and gender differences in Hong Kong students' science performance. Whilst a dynamic and respectful learning environment was found to help economically disadvantaged and female students to overcome such barriers to science learning as low self-esteem and high anxiety, a gender-balanced and socioeconomically diverse arrangement was found to be an important element of social group work practice. Finally, the study's broad implications for teacher and peer support for science teaching worldwide are also discussed. Copyright ©Routledge.

Online learning has become a ubiquitous part of the educational landscape and how teachers are supported in developing approaches to teaching online is a fundamental aspect of the students' learning experience. Based on the implementation of a professional development course on becoming an online teacher offered in a blended learning mode at one university in Hong Kong, this article proposes that offering this type of professional development in a blended mode is very effective in facilitating enhanced usage of the university's learning management system. In a blended mode, teachers are actively engaged with blended learning and were found to make more extensive use of features/tools in Blackboard after they attended the professional development course. Results support that offering professional development in a blended mode provides teachers with an authentic student perspective, at the same time as they take guided steps in the teacher's role in blended learning. Copyright ©Routledge.

Study abroad has become an important component of many teacher education programs. Through the lens of culturally relevant pedagogy, critical thinking, and educational freedom, this qualitative case study focuses on understanding Hong Kong teachers' perceptions about United States culture and education. Data were collected through in-depth, one-on-one interviews with five Hong Kong educators. The findings reveal that the Hong Kong teachers believe that respecting individual differences, inspiring students' critical thinking, and having freedom to choose how to teach and learn are top priorities in the U.S. However, there are also misconceptions in a few areas. This study not only helps prepare for a multicultural collaboration between U.S. teacher candidates and Hong Kong educators in a study abroad course, but it also aims to contribute to the literature the critical need of understanding unintentional biases and stereotypes that might negatively influence U.S. teacher candidates' assumptions of their students with diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Copyright ©Petru Maior University Publishing House.

Developing, sustaining, and improving student engagement is of vital importance to higher education instructors. Educational technology has been linked to student engagement, and preservice and in-service teachers need to develop information communication and technology (ICT) skills and knowledge to apply them in the classroom as well as to develop ICT skills in students. Thus, further investigation of this link in the field of education is needed. This narrative systematic review is a synthesis of 42 peer-reviewed articles from across four international databases, published between 2007-2016 and is a subset of a larger systematic review. The results indicate that the majority of research has been undertaken within undergraduate preservice teacher education, predominantly in the US, Hong Kong, and the UK, with limited attention given to grounding research in theory. This review found educational technology supports student engagement, with behavioral and affective being the most prevalent dimensions. Social networking tools (SNT), knowledge organization and sharing tools, text-based tools, and website creation tools were the most effective at promoting engagement. However, caution is needed when employing SNT and assessment tools, as they were also more likely to lead to disengagement. Further research is needed on how educational technology affects disengagement, how tools are used in online teacher education programs, and how to effectively integrate SNT in education programs. Copyright ©Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education.

In this article, we report on an action case study on the use of mobile-assisted peer feedback to improve second language (L2) speakers' English performance. Drawing on the learning-oriented assessment (LOA) framework (Carless, 2007), the study made in-class use of a newly developed mobile app with the provision of peer feedback. The study was conducted with 25 Business School students in an English for Specific Purposes course at a Hong Kong university. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, including a questionnaire survey, a focus group discussion after the class and a teacher journal. In addition to the participants' general attitudes, two broad themes were found in relation to the participants' learning experience, namely the use of peer feedback and the affordances and constraints of technology. Results showed that students generally agreed on the positive effects of mobile-assisted peer feedback (e.g. real-time and anonymous feedback), while they recognized some limitations such as the small screen size of their phones and the limited number of given rubrics. Finally, we discuss the implications from different perspectives based on the reported themes. Copyright © Sage Publications Ltd.

It has been well documented that active learning (AL) improves student learning outcomes in education. This quasi-experimental study explores the effect of active learning on students' knowledge of calculus concepts, in the form of the Calculus Concept Inventory (CCI), regular assignment scores, and test scores, during an 8-week calculus tutorial program. The active pedagogies used were cooperative problem-based learning and peer assessment, implemented using an interactive online whiteboard (IOWB) called RealtimeBoard. This study reveals statistically significant evidence that active learning increases students' conceptual understanding and graded assignment performance in a first-year calculus class in Hong Kong. Furthermore, this study contributes towards a better understanding of how active learning can be implemented effectively in Asian tertiary mathematics education. Copyright © Springer.

This report describes the adaptations made to one initial teacher education course at a Hong Kong university designed for face-to-face instruction that was required to be delivered exclusively online due to the suspension of face-to-face classes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It describes the adaptations the tutor made, and the challenges faced adapting to the new mode of delivery. It is hoped that others can learn from the author’s experience and be prepared for the suspension of face-to-face classes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic or other health emergencies. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Ltd.

Capstone projects are common in undergraduate programmes, providing students with a culminating educational experience designed to draw on the knowledge and skills accumulated over the course of their studies. While there are many benefits to capstone projects, they are not without challenges. In particular, when these projects are conducted in groups, forming groups to optimise the learning outcomes and managing group dynamics can be challenging. In this article, we report on the analysis of data collected from 346 undergraduate business students who completed capstone projects at a Hong Kong university. Measures included students' learning goal (mastery and performance), satisfaction with their supervisor and group diversity in relation to gender, prior academic achievement, self-report nationality and programme of study. Analysis of this data in conjunction with student grades for the project was conducted to inform improvements in design and delivery of the capstone subject to improve students' learning outcomes. The results showed that for groups consisting of three students, group diversity in respect to prior academic achievement as measured by grade point average (GPA) is positively related to the grade achieved in the capstone project. However, diversity in respect to the nationalities in the group was related to poorer performance. Furthermore, the more teacher-focused the group supervisor's approach was, the worse the grade achieved for the project. The results suggest that groups made up of students of different nationalities tend to have lower grades compared to homogeneous groups. In contrast, having a group with a mix of GPAs can result in higher grades on the project. While these findings have informed our understanding of group performance on capstone projects, work is needed to fully understand what underlies the diversity effects identified which will be explored with future cohorts. Copyright © Routledge.

Digital technology plays a crucial role in modern second/foreign language education. Enormous changes in technology and the growing emphasis on 21st century skills raise a concern about English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ competencies in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) more than ever. In response to the mounting concern, this study investigates pre-service EFL teachers’ readiness in the use of CALL in the Hong Kong context. It explores the experiences and self-efficacy of participants with respect to the evaluation of the current English teacher education curriculum for CALL at a university in Hong Kong and factors affecting the participants’ acceptance and willingness to use CALL. In-depth interviews were conducted with six pre-service EFL teachers to reveal the reality of the teachers’ attitudes, perceptions and experiences regarding the use of technology. Findings provide insights into the significance of language teacher education in CALL and ways for fostering pre-service EFL teachers’ knowledge and skills in the implementation of CALL. Practical implications are made for effective teacher training for CALL in EFL contexts.
[Copyright of Asia Pacific Journal of Education is the property of Routledge.]

Visual methods are effective in facilitating human learning while metacognition is a critical aspect of the learning process. In this context, the purpose of this study is to explore the metacognition of pre-service teachers in response to their participation in a series of visual reflections after an online dialogue on the topic of inclusive education. A global online platform was used to facilitate dialogue in three discussion sessions of real-time videoconferencing between pre-service teachers in England, Hong Kong, Northern Ireland, and South Africa. A group of Hong Kong pre-service teachers participated in a face-to-face post-discussion session using visual methods. Their transcripts and artefacts were recorded and analysed by applying a shared metacognitive construct. The power of visual methods in online collaborative inquiry for teacher education was noted by the participants’ deeper reflection on discussion issues when the issues were presented visually.
[Copyright of Journal of Education for Teaching is the property of Routledge.]