Teaching and Learning Workshop

Active Learning Strategies and Communities of Practices (CoP): Good Practices and Lessons Learned

Facilitator: Dr Sam Lau

It is time to take a step back, pause and reflect on teaching and learning.   The active workshop aims to offer an opportunity for fellow teachers to share, reflect and review the good practices of teaching and learning.   The use of active learning strategies in engaging digital native students would be explored and tested, with hands-on sessions for participants.   The second part of the active workshop aims to introduce the Communities of Practices (CoP) concepts as well as key advantages, challenges and tips of working through CoPs.   The workshop would provide a platform to bring together interested teachers of different institutions to form cross-institutional CoPs.   The CoP which serves as a learning, sharing and creation platform is expected to run after the workshop as it connects different teachers with common interests to continue sharing and exchanging good practices in teaching and learning.

Assessing student engagement at a community college in Hong Kong

Paul Li
Lingnan Institute of Further Education, Lingnan University


Despite the widespread use of student engagement as a benchmark to enhance students' experience and for continuous improvement in tertiary education (chiefly in the United States and Australia), very scant research has examined student engagement in the local sub-degree sector, which is relatively new in the higher education scene in Hong Kong.

Guided by the theoretical framework behind the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) in the US, this study identified and analysed the main characteristics of student engagement in a local community college. By using a mixed-methods case study, it also examined how and why local and Mainland community college students differ in engagement.

Both qualitative and quantitative data reveal that local students were not engaged enough in active and collaborative learning, student effort, and their interaction with instructors. Inadequate institutional support did not engage students either. However, students were engaged in academic challenge. Compared with local students, Mainland ones were more engaged. Further analysis indicated that the stigma of being Associate Degree students discounted their willingness in active and collaborative learning. Both English and Cantonese inadequacy may discourage Mainland students from being engaged throughout the learning process.

The significance of this study lies in being the first student engagement study in the sub-degree sector. A survey tool for understanding local student engagement was developed. The empirical differences between local and Mainland students shed light on how to increase the level of student engagement, going forward.

Brand identification in higher education, identity threat and students' psychological well-being: An exploratory study

Daisy Lee
School of Professional Education & Executive Development, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University


There is a growing awareness of students' psychological well-being (also referred to as happiness) in relation to their social identity in higher education. Students' social identity is usually associated with the ranking and brand image of the university or higher education institution (HEI) they belong to. Although it seems obvious that students from a less prestige HEI are more likely to be negatively stereotyped, it is a misassumption that happiness is purely linked to the brand image of HEI. Students attending universities with prestige brand image may not be happier than those attending other publicly-funded or self-financing HEIs.

Previous research on social identity revealed that there are many factors affecting the impact of others' perception on one's psychological well-being. Unfortunately, psychological well-being in relation to social identity associated with the brand image of HEI is under-explored. Given that little research has focused on the impact of HEI branding on students' well-being, this study developed a theoretical framework to explore the postulated relationship between brand identification in higher education, identity threat, word-of-mouth (WOM) behaviour as a defence mechanism and students' psychological well-being.

Students from a local self-financing HEI were invited to participate in this pilot study through online self-administered questionnaires. Results confirmed that brand identification, the extent to which students define their self-image in association with the image of their HEI, positively influences students' psychological well-being and the relationship is fully mediated by school life satisfaction. Brand identification also positively affects students' intention to spread positive WOM for their institutions. However, WOM behaviour as a defence mechanism for students to retaliate negative evaluations tied to their HEI is not related to their well-being. Moreover, identity threat resulted from negative judgement by others based on students' HEI has no impact on students' psychological well-being.

Findings of the study provide brand marketing insights for HEIs aimed at cultivating brand identities that promote students' psychological well-being. Universities and higher education institutions are investing in marketing and corporate brand building to compete in the global environment. While HEIs develop their brands, the brand identity of HEIs also acts as a major symbolic resource of students' social identity formation. Thus, HEI management should understand the possible impacts of brand marketing on students' psychological well-being in addition to organisational goal attainment.

Curricular or co-curricular? What relates to students' generic competences?

Ada Pui Ling Chan, Joseph Chi Ho So & Alvin Yau Tak Wong
Hong Kong Community College, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Wincy Wing Sze Lee
The Education University of Hong Kong


In the advent of outcome-based education, much effort has been made by tertiary institutes to identify and hence measure intended generic competences of graduates. The contribution of the formal academic curriculum to the development of graduates' generic competences remains the focus of empirical studies. However, lately, it is noted that co-curricular activities in tertiary context, though informal and less structured, do constitute a large portion of students' learning experience and hence contribute to the fostering of generic competences are often left under-explored.

The present study aims at filling this gap by examining the relationship of students' prior engagement level in co-curricular activities and prior academic performances with six dimensions of generic competence respectively. A total of 1,764 students from a self-financed tertiary institutes participated in the study voluntarily and filled out an online survey during the orientation program at the beginning of their academic study. The instrument consisted of items measuring six generic competences (Hui, 2014): 1) Lifelong learner; 2) Competent professional; 3) Critical thinker; 4) Effective communicator; 5) Practical problem solver and 6) Ethical citizen. Students also provided their prior academic attainment and prior co-curricular engagement level for further analysis. Results showed three lines of findings: 1) the six generic competences correlated with each other positively; 2) the cumulative percentage of students reported a level of “some degree of engagement in co-curricular activities” or above added up to 88%; and 3) prior academic attainment does not associate with any generic competences but only prior degree of co-curricular engagement associates with all six generic competences.

Results of the study yield several implications. First, it demonstrates the importance of co-curricular activities in students' learning experience for most students indicating somewhat more degree of involvement. In relation to this, results showed that only this prior degree of engagement in co-curricular activities associate with their generic competences, but not their prior academic performance. Second, the positive correlations among all generic competences suggest further effort in developing a second-order factorial structure of the construct. Future studies may delve into understanding the mechanism of generic competences development with reference to a more theoretically-driven co-curricular program.

Ethics education for internship and career development: A pilot study for constructing an ethics training framework

Alvin YT Wong
Hong Kong Community College, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University


The impact of internship on students' development has been capturing scholars' attention in recent years. Several studies covered discussion on students' readiness for entering internship or workplace settings (Sumathi et al., 2011; Gysbers, 2013). The importance of ethics justifies more attention on ethics training for internship and career development.

This pilot study aims to achieve two objectives: (i) to understand students' perception on the need of ethics training for internship or students' readiness for entering workplace settings; and (ii) to collect students' input on pedagogy for establishing a framework of ethics training module for internship or entering workplace settings. Semi-structured interview approach (Streubert & Carpenter, 1995) was adopted in this pilot study. Three tertiary students were invited to participate voluntarily in semi-structured individual interviews with the aid of a questionnaire that covered several aspects of ethical training materials including personal attitudes, interpersonal communication, internship responsibilities, host company/college's support to interns, rules and regulation of the respective industry or workplace.

Results of this pilot study show three findings. First, students indicate relatively higher training need on internship responsibilities, and rules and regulations of respective industry or workplace. Second, students have mixed views on the training needs on personal attitudes and interpersonal communication. Third, some evidences suggest that there is a need for using interactive approach for ethics training. This pilot study suggests further studies and evaluation for establishing an ethics training framework that comprises four main training aspects: attitudes, interpersonal communication, responsibilities and relevant rules and regulations.

Support services for students with special educational needs (SEN) in general education curriculum

Paul Wai Kei Tsang & Joanna Wing Ka Yiu
Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong, Vocational Training Council


In line with the Vocational Training Council (VTC) upholding the concept of “Inclusive Education”, the School of General Education and Languages (SGEL) of the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi) has implemented policies and practices to offer equal learning opportunities to students with SEN. The aim of the SGEL is to enhance support services and learning and assessment exemplars for students with SEN towards maximising their potential.

Since 2015, the SGEL has appointed SEN-coordinators (SEN-Cos) to assist students with SEN for their teaching and learning progress. After students have declared their SEN status, the SEN-Co would be notified and a briefing session would be arranged with THEi's student counsellors and respective Programme Leaders (PL). History of students' learning background, adjustments, and other considerations would be discussed to draw a tailor-made study plans for the students. In accordance with the THEi's guidelines, SEN-Co and PL would coordinate special arrangements for assessment, examination, and teaching strategies on an individual basis. In certain cases, a tailor-made four-year study plan would be constructed based on the respective SEN status. Regular meetings among the above-mentioned parties would be scheduled to follow up students' overall performance in-class and out-of-class. Individual coaching and remedial classes are offered to students with distinctive needs when necessary. An evaluation meeting with all parties would be arranged at the end of a semester to review the student learning experience and feedback (in the forms of questionnaire and focus groups) from the students would be collected for future planning.

Furthermore, the SEN-Cos of the SGEL have actively engaged in courses, seminars, and workshops to strengthen knowledge and skills in teaching and handling students with SEN. In particular, the Task Force on Provision of Support to students with SEN of the VTC has been offering training workshops to THEi staff members on classroom management strategies, early identification of students with SEN, basic counselling skills, mental health, and crisis prevention. The SEN-Co of the SGEL have joined a 30-hour certificate course on SEN to acquire new principles, accommodation, and supporting strategies which can be employed to improve curriculum development.

Career development of degree students in self-financing institutions in Hong Kong: the impact of institution related experience and beyond

Raysen Cheung & Qiuping Jin
Hong Kong Shue Yan University


In the face of the dynamic labor market of 21st century, fostering career development of the students that prepares them for the uncertainty of the world of work is an integral part of quality higher education (Kumar, 2007). Career development of students in the self-financing sector of Hong Kong is especially important considering the doubts concerning the employability and income of these graduates in the society. However, the career development of students in these institutions is a neglected topic in research. Thus, our research served as the first attempt to undertake this topic. We aimed to provide a picture of the career development status of degree students in these institutions. More importantly, we undertook to explore the impact of the institution related experiences of these students on their career development in addition to the more established personal factors. The results can provide insight of how the self-institutions can structure students' experiences to enhance their career development. We examined career adaptability, career decision making self-efficacy (CDMSE) and career commitment as indicators of student career development.

The study sample consisted of 633 final year students from 5 self-financing institutions in Hong Kong, covering different disciplines of study. We compared the levels of career development of the students with the norms of similar samples internationally. Furthermore, we explored the differences in the levels of career development of students in a number of aspects, including gender, program of study, whether the students are local or non-local students, campus career service usage and whether they have internship experience.

Finally, we built regression models for each aspect of career development respectively to explore the significant predictors of each aspect and how much variance the predictors predict of each aspect. We explored the same three blocks of predictors for each aspect of career development. The first block indicated institution related experience, including whether the students have internship experience, the frequency of campus career service usage and the level of career support the students perceived. The second block indicated students' self-perceived academic achievement. The third and final block indicated students' level of past career exploration experience. The three blocks explained 23.2%, 18.2% and 17.3% of variance in career adaptability, CDMSE and career commitment respectively. Detailed results and the implications of the results for career service and student development service in self-financing institutions in Hong Kong will be further discussed in our presentation.

Applying micro content in workplace

Henry Chiang
Hong Kong College of Technology


The notion of micro lesson, micro course and micro lecture is the reflection of the current information era in education, and the inevitable product of knowledge big bang today. People are eager to learn in their leisure time. The huge consumption of online content is mainly due to the short attention spans of people and the way people learn online today. The main advantage of micro content is anyone can implement it with ready-to-use software or user friendly apps of iPad and mobile phone. Learners can find exactly what they are searching for in the moment of need.

The emergence of new teaching and learning modes of TED (technology, entertainment and design), Khan Academy, flipped classroom and MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) was started in 2012. In China, there was rapid development and adoption of micro lecture in education and training sectors, arrangement of staff training, workshop and external competition from 2012 onwards. Both NETEASE and TENCENT in China have provided popular mobile learning platforms for VPET (vocational and professional education and training) today from the perspectives of reputation, creativity, user experience and future potential.

There are some characteristics of micro content which is well fitted for moment-of-need learning using mobile device and fulfilling the requirements of easy production. Presenter can choose whether to present in the video or just to have the voice recording. Mobile media has various options of video, animation, PowerPoint slide, etc. Each micro lecture is of short duration and preferable 5-10 minutes. It carries less content, clear and concentrated presentation to emphasize a learning goal or a particular skill. With less resource volume and small data size, micro content is easy for network transfer and sharing, and suitable for current infrastructure and environment of mobile learning. It is mainly for self-learning, and one-to-one learning at the own pace of learner.

This paper introduces the concept of micro lecture applications in workplace as an innovative approach using emerging learning technology and information technology in education. Popular software will be recommended for micro lecture production. Sharing of how a specific micro lecture production will be given. Future development and direction of micro content will be explored in the context of educational institutions and learning organizations.

Enhancing teaching and learning through computer network simulator: A study in a self-financing undergraduate IT course

Man Fung Lo, Adam Wong & Jack Wu
School of Professional Educationn and Executive Development, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University


Quality teaching and learning is particularly important in self-financing undergraduate programmes. In the information technology industry, employers expect graduates to be equipped with both theoretical knowledge and practical skills. In order to enhance students' practical skills in networking, a computer network simulator has been introduced in an undergraduate networking course since 2014 in a self-financed top-up degree scheme, which consists of three programmes.

Software vendors and networking companies have invested a lot in the simulator development. It is important for academics and vendors to understand whether the adoption of network simulators enhance the teaching and learning effectiveness. Prior studies mainly focused on the technical issues of simulators; however, these articles did not adequately address the learners' behavior and their satisfaction. This paper aims to examine learners' satisfaction, their behavioral intention and the effectiveness of computer network simulator in higher education. Firstly, this paper will describe and compare the interfaces and features of two contemporary simulators (Graphical Network Simulator 3 and Cisco Packet Tracer). Secondly, it will explain the curriculum design and implementation of these simulators in this networking course. The third section is a review of the literature on e-learning.

Based on the review, this study developed a framework with six constructs: perceived self-efficacy, technical system quality, learning climate, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and learning satisfaction. The data was collected using a questionnaire which consists of five-point Likert scale and open-ended questions on satisfaction, intention and perceived effectiveness. There were also demographic questions. The questionnaires were distributed to three cohorts of information technology and data science students in 2017. A total of 115 students taking this networking course completed the survey. With SmartPLS 3.0, a structural equation model was developed to understand the relationships of the aforementioned constructs. To triangulate the survey results, the school's standard Student Feedback Questionnaire results were used to examine the students' subjective evaluation of effectiveness of teaching and learning in such setting.

For practical implications, this study provides insights to academics, software developers and networking vendors. The results indicated that academics should be encouraged to integrate computer network simulator in teaching networking-related courses because of its effectiveness and student satisfaction. From the results obtained, networking vendors are able to understand more about the needs of the users and learners so as to develop more user-friendly simulators. Future research directions will also be discussed with the concluding remarks.

Stretching student engagement by capitalizing on students' experiences beyond the classroom

Florence Ho
School of Professional Education and Executive Development, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University


Student engagement refers to the time, energy and resources that students devote to activities designed to enhance their learning. However, it is paramount to recognize that the millennial students have completely different learning styles from those of previous generations and their attitudes to learning are also different. In view of the changing student experiences in the new millennium, it is necessary to revisit the current thinking about how to sustain their involvement in learning activities.

This paper will discuss the experiences drawn from the author's involvement in working with her students, whereby groups of four to six students will have to identify an organisation and undertake an analytic review of its staffing practice. While the potential learning benefits of group work are significant, but simply assigning group work is no guarantee that these goals will be achieved. Initially, groups tend to approach the task by conducting a search on the web. However, more hands have not made for lighter work, and before long group members begin to find themselves entangled in bits and pieces of research data, and overwhelmed with a sense of confusion. The course instructor stepped in and helped students redefine their understanding of the project objective. Students were encouraged that in addition to secondary data, they could actually take reference from their own work experiences.

Contrary to the popular perception that students involved in paid employment might represent a problem, research has shown that the interference is moderate. Furthermore, students expressed that improved knowledge and skills they acquired from work have enhanced their career readiness and contributed to their employability.

Changes in the approach to teaching and learning, and intentional focus on engagement inside and outside the classroom will have a positive effect on students' learning outcomes. The study will also shed some lights on students' integration of work experiences in educationally purposeful and meaningful ways.

Essential elements in designing mobile learning activities with Moodle mobile

Thomas Wai Kee Yuen & Winnie Wan Ling Chu
Hong Kong Shue Yan University


In recent years, there has been an increase in the use of mobile learning and the publication of related articles. In April 2018, a search of the keyword “mobile learning 2017” in google came up with 50,600,000 records. When comparing to 25,500,000 records resulted from a search of the keyword “mobile learning 2012”, there has been around 100% increase in related records in the past five years. The rapid advancement in mobile device and the availability of open-sources mobile Apps have promoted the feasibility of adopting mobile teaching and learning activities. One of the distinguishing features in the millennium is their way of lifestyle has been changed by mobile technology. The learning style of millennium is to personalize how, when, and where that they will learn. To catch up with millennium way of learning, this paper proposed that an appropriate design of mobile learning activities can create innovative teaching and learning strategies so as to enhance both teaching and learning.

In reviewing recent literature using content analysis, this paper has identified five essential elements for designing mobile learning activities. These five elements are Space, Device, Activity, Interaction and Evaluation. Space refers to the right place and right time to use mobile learning. Device includes both learning management system, mobile device and mobile App. Activity refers to mobile learning tasks that are able to achieve the intended learning outcomes. Interaction involves encouraging students to engage into peer or social discussion using mobile devices so as to enhance their learning experience. Evaluation is a process to evaluate the effectiveness of the activity.

To enhance student learning, mobile learning is more than just uploading the teaching materials and allowing student to read with their mobile device. Indeed with the limited screen size of mobile device, traditional teaching materials cannot fit in. Mobile learning should involve interactive learning activities both beyond and inside the classroom. By sharing an example of using Moodle mobile to design a mobile learning activity in teaching the course “Happiness and Society”, this paper illustrates how to integrate the five essential elements in designing mobile pedagogical learning strategies.

Event-based learning: A case study on language support for WorldSkills competitors

Dilys Wai Mui Sung & John Yuk Lun Ng
Vocational Training Council


Event-based learning (EBL) is viewed as an extension of the task-based approach, with “much of the task preparation done in the classroom” and “some sort of main event or performance open to the public” (Higginbotham, 2009). There is the need to prepare for the final event that “sparks interest in the language” and provides “positive pressure” that makes EBL tasks “more intrinsically motivating” for learners. EBL also refers to “learning that takes place in response to planned events in real-life contexts” (Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority, 2018).

Immersion takes place when learners are involved in environments where they can only use a target language in a (series of) learning event(s). It usually takes place where the language is spoken as a native tongue or a lingua franca. This provides an immediate and immense need for learning. MacIntyre, Baker & Clément (2001) commented on learners' willingness to communicate after taking part in immersion programmes.

This paper covers a less-explored area of producing event-based language learning material through the experience of developing a 21-hr preparatory language programme for a group of about 60 Hong Kong learners shortlisted for the WorldSkills Competitions 2017 in Abu Dhabi. Non-credit-bearing and unassessed, the programme featured a lot of flexibility in terms of design and delivery. The paper offers a descriptive account of how materials were produced to attain utmost interactivity, learner-centeredness and be fun-driven to ready learners for optimal immersive learning experience. Results of the Student Feedback Questionnaires show that the programme was well-received by the learners.

From background research and interviews of former competitors to drafting of the Scheme of Work and the Teaching & Learning Package and to the administration of quality assurance measures, such documentary evidence may bring new insights to curriculum developers on EBL as well as Content-based Second Language Acquisition, Content and Language Integrated Learning, and English for Specific Purposes.

A training simulation of the belt and road initiative

Glenn Shive & Brant Knutzen
Hong Kong-America Center


The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) promises to create new opportunities for the younger generation who can participate in Hong Kong's role as the super-connector in economic, social and cultural aspects of transnational relations. They need to be aware of the countries and cultures across the Eurasian landmass where many new investments, especially in new infrastructure projects, will take place.

New business ventures need to be cognizant of the financial, managerial and technical aspects of the initiation of large projects in this region such a new rail lines, energy sources and telecommunications systems. Security, environmental impact and integrity of contracts are just some of the challenges of doing business in the region. Projects may influence social, religious and linguistic norms of the local people, including how they view changing relations among Russian, Muslim and Chinese spheres of influence in the region.

The HKAC plans to conduct a simulation for HK university students in a range of relevant disciplines for developing business in the BRI build-out process. The simulation will illuminate these and other critical factors that can influence the outcomes of major new investments in the BRI. It should also engage students in active, imaginative learning and team building experiences.

The simulation of the BRI will be developed as an integrated package across three learning environments: a learning management system, the immersive virtual world, and face-to-face. The Moodle LMS will handle enrollment and provide the organizational infrastructure to coordinate learning activities between groups of students, including discussion forums and links to resources. The Second Life virtual world will host three-dimensional immersive simulations of regions along the BRI route, including cultural, urban, and rural aspects. For a week prior to the face-to-face training, students can meet with their teammates in the virtual world, explore iconic monuments, diverse climates, habitats and historical buildings, and experience interactions with representations of key stakeholders in each region. For the face-to-face training, the HKAC plans to recruit about 42 students from Hong Kong to role-play parts in company teams in a range of business scenarios. Ideally, each company team should be comprised of members with both technical and strategic business expertise.

The BRI training simulation would provide structured experiential learning to give students hands-on practice in the team building, leadership skills, and negotiation dynamics required to compete in the modern business world.

The professional development needs of Hong Kong kindergarten English teachers: A case study of English oral language input in kindergarten classrooms

Sara Lai
School of Continuing Education, Hong Kong Baptist University
Billy TM Wong & Kam Cheong Li
The Open University of Hong Kong


In Hong Kong kindergarten education, it is a prerequisite for teachers to have obtained post-secondary qualification in early childhood education. For teaching English, kindergarten English teachers currently however do not need to take the Language Proficiency Assessment for Teachers and are not required to undergo formal training in teaching English as a second language. Recent findings indicated that 13.7% of the kindergartens even have untrained English teachers (Ng and Rao, 2013).

This study addresses the professional development needs of kindergarten English teachers in Hong Kong. It focuses on examining the English oral language input given by kindergarten English teachers in classrooms. Oral language input has long been recognised as one key factor influencing language acquisition in early childhood. Children rely heavily on oral language input to learn new words and develop phonological awareness of a language. This study probed into the oral language input in Hong Kong kindergarten classrooms and how the teachers' input affected English language learning conditions for children. It explored the input of both native-speaking (NS) and non-native speaking (NNS) teachers to a total of 44 Chinese-speaking children in the English language classrooms in a kindergarten by conducting classroom observations. The initial results show that, despite the learning activities did not seem to be hindered by the different oral language input between the NS and NNS, the NS teachers tended to provide more input in terms of a richer amount of English and a broader variety of vocabulary than the NNS teachers. The implications of the results are discussed in relation to the professional development needs of kindergarten English teachers and shed light on how to enhance the quality of English language learning in kindergarten education.

Case study on adopting self-paced e-learning for teacher training of Vocational and Professional Education and Training (VPET)

Patsy Pui Sze Leung & Cherrie Hiu Tung Kung
Vocational Training Council


Given the importance of professional development for teacher to equip themselves for the rapidly changing environment in Vocational and Professional Education and Training (VPET), Centre for Learning and Teaching (CLT) in Vocational Training Council has offered different kinds of training programmes to enhance academic and teaching staff's competency and refresh the knowledge by applying latest pedagogies and skills in learning and teaching.

Using videos for self-paced e-learning to enhance learning experience has become the latest trend in education and has long been promoted as “flexible” and “convenient”. So, CLT also explored the possibilities of applying self-paced e-learning for VPET teacher training. In this study, we first identify teacher learning preferences for teacher training. Then, we make a contribution to learn about teacher perceptions of using self-paced e-learning for teacher training in one of the training modules named “Incorporating Problem-based Learning in Teaching” in the “Advanced Teaching Programme” offered by CLT. Lastly, we evaluate the effectiveness.

Data for this study were collected from different sources. For quantitative data, a pre-course survey was conducted to generate an understanding of the management level's views and teaching staff learning preferences and perceptions towards the use of self-paced e-learning as a teacher training mode. Besides, data from activity logs of YouTube Analytics, online exercise results and a post-course online survey filled out by the participants were analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of the self-paced e-learning training method. The participants' overall performance and the respective completion rate of the final individual projects were used as the other sources of qualitative and quantitative data and served as an additional indicator to reflect the effectiveness of self-paced e-learning as a teacher training mode.

This study reveals that teaching staff acceptance of self-paced e-learning was high. They perceive it as an effective mode of teacher training. The findings reflect that the teaching staff are satisfied with self-paced e-learning training if there are sufficient online materials supporting their learning. The findings contribute to change teacher training facilitators' practices regarding developing and adopting online modules. It also brings forward the issues concerning the shift of the pedagogical beliefs from traditional face-to-face teaching to technology enhanced teaching.

Training needs of full-time Vocational and Professional Education and Training teachers in Hong Kong

Annie Lai Fong Lau
Vocational Training Council


With the HKSAR Government's effort in rebranding and promoting Vocational and Professional Education and Training (VPET) in recent years, there has been a rapidly changing environment in the field. While there are all sorts of measures and campaigns to promote the image of VPET, to expand the articulation pathway and to enhance its quality; the need of strengthening the continuous professional development of VPET teachers, who serve as backbone of VPET, should never been overlooked. Research revealed that professional development could improve the quality of learning and teaching in a sustainable manner, increase the effectiveness of education and training, and add value to students and teachers; therefore, the impact of continuous professional development (CPD) for VPET teachers is not questionable. What are their training needs? What are the effective training modes?

This paper presents a case study conducted at a vocational education institution in Hong Kong with a focus on the training needs of full-time teachers. The case study explored (1) the training needs and preference of teachers; and (2) the training mode desirable for them. A questionnaire survey was conducted to over two hundred VPET teachers to understand their training needs and training mode in generally. Then individual interviews were conducted to ten teachers with five to ten years teaching experience for a more in-depth understanding. The data of a training programme with 40 teacher participants were also analysed to see their performance. Findings revealed that (1) teachers were generally competent in the skills of learning and teaching strategies and work-integrated learning, yet less confident in technology-enhanced learning; (2) the conventional mode of face-to-face-training was still preferred despite the prevalent trend of e-learning. The study is aspired to provide insight and reference to other stakeholders of VPET, who are involved in planning continuous professional development programme for VPET teachers.

Equipping sub-degree students for Work-in-Education

Joseph Chi Ho So, Ada Pui Ling Chan & Angelique Tsz Ching Chau
Hong Kong Community College, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University


Work-integrated-Education (WIE) aims to provide preliminary industry knowledge and job experience to the students in tertiary education, so as to equip the students before entering the labour market. Nevertheless, students in the sub-degree sector might underestimate the importance of WIE and value of internships. They tend to prioritize formal study over WIE and corresponding preparation work due to the eagerness to pursue further studies. The room for improvement in attitudes and proper skills had been reflected by the findings of WIE Industry Partner Survey 2017 in a college in Hong Kong.

With the emphasis on connecting classroom learning with workplace applications, WIE has been considered as an important part of curriculum requirements in most of the sub-degree education institutes. With regards to the possible maladaptive behaviours in the internship application and internship period followed by the neglect on WIE preparation, an internship enhancement programme focusing on internship preparation for sub-degree students has been designed. Several aspects including self-actualization, knowledge and professional skills improvement, workplace relationship establishment and career marketability have been targeted in the programme to prepare students for internship.

To come up with an effective program, over a hundred sub-degree students were invited to complete a need assessment for identifying the service needs. Having better career plans, communication skills and work attitudes were reported to be the high-priority needs. Referencing to the results, career assessment services are arranged to help sub-degree students to understand more about themselves and explore career choices that best fit their personality and interests. Activities covering sharing sessions by professionals, practical career related workshops and company visits are also planned for sub-degree students to develop essential qualities to be competent employees. Through offering an array of services, it is expected that the sub-degree students could improve their professional and soft skills as well as their workplace manners before starting the internships.

The study aims to determine what the WIE preparation needs are and how these needs could be met by the enhancement programme. Findings and recommendations will be based on the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data by means of questionnaires and focus groups. Services offered in the enhancement programmes are predicted to be direct influencing factors arousing awareness of the importance of WIE and reducing the maladaptive behaviours. Insights on developing better WIE supporting services in sub-degree education institutes can also be sparked.

Using Facebook to promote student engagement in authentic learning for Vocational Education and Training (VET)

Benson KH Hung
Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education, Vocational Training Council


The popularity of online social media has made a significant impact on education and has brought an amazing potential in promoting authentic learning. Authentic learning engages learners by the opportunities of actually participating and working on real-world problems that link to the classroom theories. However, it can be a difficult shift without an adequate involvement of students.

Facebook due to its popularity and usefulness, teachers cannot only introduce motivational authentic learning tasks but also allow students to come together to discuss, collaborate and resolve real-life problems. In this study, teachers gain the advantages of using Facebook as a tool to provide students with experimental learning opportunities. Students are also encouraged to make efforts to explore, discuss, exchange ideas in groups and meaningfully connect what they are taught in school to solve real-life problems and applications.

These students are from the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (Tsing Yi) and all of them are studying Higher Diploma in Civil Engineering. Purposive samplings are employed to find out students' preferences in using Facebook to introduce authentic learning opportunities among many other means. In the student survey, levels of engagement and possible learning activities such as sharing resources and interacting with other students are presented.

This paper investigates the effectiveness of Facebook use in bringing up authentic learning opportunities and how the overall quality of students' educational experience with this technology usage. The result has shown that the use of Facebook as a tool of promotion has a positive impact on student levels of engagement and has enhanced students' learning experience such as sharing ideas with classmates.

Using Student Response System in higher education using the student-led approach

Adam Wong, Jack Wu & Man Fung Lo
School of Professional Education and Executive Development, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University


The Student Response System (SRS) has been gaining the attention of educators recently. This is because many implementations of SRS do not require special hardware, but just the mobile phone and access to the Internet. Current studies of SRS mainly focus on the impact of the performance of students in the subjects being taught, the student perceptions of the system and the moderating factors to its effectiveness. However, the SRS can be an effective tool in real-life situations such as product seminars, conferences and community meetings. It is believed that students should benefit not only from using SRS to learn about a subject, but also learn how to use it to communicate effectively with an audience.

In this study, the SRS was used in an undergraduate programme for teaching the subject of Management Information Systems (MIS) to final-year students. These students were chosen because they were more likely to appreciate the usefulness of such systems outside the classroom. The students were taught how to use the college designated SRS in a previous semester. When the students took the MIS subject, students had to create questions using the SRS when they present their group projects at the end of the course. After the group project presentations, a focus group was conducted to collect the students' feedbacks on such an approach. Finally, a survey was carried out to find out the students' perception of the SRS in general. It was observed that the SRS questions created by the students had more diversified formats than those created by teachers, but the skills in administering the questions and the question contents still have a lot of room for improvement.

The focus group findings indicated that the students welcomed the idea of student-created SRS questions to help them concentrate on their classmates' presentations. This is consistent with the survey results which showed that students regarded SRS as a good way to test their knowledge, and that they recommended the school keep using SRS. However, this approach also created a new challenge because the responses were not accessible to the teachers for assessing the participation of the audience. It is suggested that future research be done on the effect of student-led discussions using SRS in weekly tutorials.

Effects of a remedial course of introductory economics on the college students with lower language proficiency

Fione Chiu
Hong Kong Community College, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University


Introductory Economics is a compulsory subject offered to business students by most of the tertiary education institutions in Hong Kong. The medium of instruction is English. It is expected that students who perform well in this discipline are also have good English language skills. Hence, students who are weak in English language proficiency often find it hard to obtain a satisfactory academic result in this course. How to provide additional support to this group of students has aroused the interest of some researchers.

This paper provides a brief overview of a tailor-made remedial course which aims to raise the level of English proficiency of freshmen for an introductory Economics course at a local college. Particularly, the topic of demand and supply analysis is selected for developing the relevant teaching and learning materials. In brief, inspiring by the concept of business letter format and writing sample, a writing format consisted of six steps is developed to teach students how to write a simple demand and supply analysis for a given scenario. The set of materials developed for this remedial course integrate the learning of English language skills with the application of economic concepts. The target students are the freshmen of business programs with level 2 English in the examination of Hong Kong Diploma Secondary Education.

To identify the effectiveness of the remedial course, a group of business students with weak English language proficiency were selected to attend the workshops for a pilot study launched in the semester 1, 2017/18. Their performance in the assessment of an Introductory Economics subject was analyzed and compared with their peers who have similar level of English language proficiency but did not take the remedial course. Regression analysis will be performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the remedial course on the students' performance in studying this course. A questionnaire survey was also carried out in the last session to collect the student feedbacks regarding the usefulness of the remedial course.

Analysis of data collected from students contributes to the study of the correlation between English language proficiency and learning of economics among post-secondary college students in Hong Kong. Moreover, the results can give some insights to help college lecturers to explore multiple ways to support students by improving their English proficiency, critical thinking skill, Economics knowledge, learning in the college and lifelong learning ultimately.

From aspirations to success: The community college graduates' experiences

Beatrice Yan Yan Dang
HKU SPACE Po Leung Kuk Stanley Ho Community College
Hayes Hei Hang Tang
The Education University of Hong Kong


In response to highly competitive admission to local public-funded universities, the Hong Kong SAR government initiated the associate degree programs as a policy innovation in 2000. Highlighting more democratic access to higher education, admission to community colleges is less stringent than admission to the local degree programmes. It purposes to offer alternative route and second chance for Hong Kong secondary school graduates who missed the opportunity admitting to a Hong Kong public university. This paper borrows liberally the ideas surrounding the ‘cooling-out' function of higher education by the late Burton R. Clark (1960, 1980) and examines the role of community college in elucidating educational disadvantages.

Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with community college graduates to probe their college experiences and level of their educational desire before and after entering the community college. Student stories led to the development of the four major themes of this study: 1) formative assessment conducive to a second chance for university admission; 2) self-discoveries of academic capabilities and ‘warming-up' educational desire; 3) liberal teacher-student learning interactions and learner autonomy; and 4) effective career guidance for strategic preparations for university admission. The findings of this study suggested that the community college enhances the social justice goal of higher education including equity of educational opportunities and inclusive participation in higher education. This study has also substantiated the value of community college in the Hong Kong's post-secondary education sector.

Quality of programme for quality of care: curriculum development of a vocational education programme for community care for the elderly in Hong Kong

Benjamin Chi Ho Fung & Bonnie Yuk San Tsung
Caritas Institute of Community Education


The paper reports the dynamic and interactive process for the curriculum development of a vocational education programme of a Higher Diploma in Health and Community Care for the Elderly. The proposal gave rise to a building block of technically oriented subjects in nursing skills, rehabilitation practice and social sciences methods and implementations in facilitating “ageing in place”.

By conducting stakeholder surveys and in-depth case studies of client-based requirements, the programme development team enhanced their understanding on the context-specific issues which underpin total quality of community care for the elderly. Programme design is shifted from institutional care to community care services in order to address emerging market needs and learning resources support. Curriculum design takes on new and interactive relationships of the following factors and issues: (1) With community care comprising mainly health and community care services, potential service needs are multifaceted, individualized and in a primarily social oriented context (Gendron, et al 2017, Al-Mazrooa 2011). (2) Graduates of this vocational education programme are expected to have the competencies to demonstrate practical skills in elderly care services and work independently with high sensitivity to the continuum of care in a broad client-based environment (Mulder et al 2007, Chaya et al 2008, cf. Zickafoose et al 2011). (3) The quality of care and the managed care contexts in elderly care services require embedding experiential learning in the practical training of students that goes beyond job shadowing to include action research for the design and implementation of individuals' care plans in a wellness perspective (Coogle et al 2005, Loffler et al 2018, Kwan 2007).

The programme is subsequently developed in a structure of mutually reinforcing the PILOs specifying graduates' abilities to design and implement client-oriented caring plans based on the service needs and communicate effectively in an ethically and responsibly in the planning and delivery of elderly care services. The programme is structured with a foundation module of Combined Health Worker Training and a balanced mix of advanced technical and social sciences subjects with cross-disciplinary topics as well as experiential learning through project work supported by NGOs. With impending changes in government policies and industry demands for career development opportunities for elderly care professionals (Fung 2017), introduction of the programme should help in capitalizing on changes and moving towards prototype curriculum frameworks for the study (cf. Riegelman and Wilson 2016).

Impacts of space and furniture design on student learningre for the elderly in Hong Kong

Edmond WM Lam
School of Professional Education and Executive Development, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Irene Wong & Daniel WM Chan
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University


The traditional teacher-centered teaching mode in tertiary education concerned primarily with one-way delivery of information to students. Teaching is usually confined to lecture theatres and general teaching rooms, which are designed to “one size fits all”. With the increasing integration of communication and information technologies, and the emergence of the constructivism-learning paradigm, teaching and learning have shifted from the traditional “passing expertise knowledge to students” to “interactive learning between teachers and students, and among students” advocated in contemporary teaching. The traditional classroom design, which is focused on teachers' performance, cannot support collaborative learning effectively. The design should be student-oriented, which is particularly important in the self-financing tertiary education sector as students are the main users of the facilities provided in campus. Hence, facilities that encourage learner participation are increasingly important in learning space design. Previous research suggests that such parameters as functionality, versatility, aesthetic and comfort should be included in learning space design in order to achieve effective teaching and learning. Learning spaces should also be equipped with advanced IT/AV facilities to supplement and inform effective teaching. Classrooms are even preferable to be multi-functional adapting to different uses and contextual needs whereas furniture should be flexible allowing quick reconfiguration to facilitate group discussions and activities.

This research is based on the Strategic Plan 2012-18 of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, which includes upgrading and creating innovative learning spaces and facilities with a view to improving the learning environment. Design and innovations have been embedded to make a difference. Vibrant colour is added to classroom design for motivating learning incentive. Ambient lighting and adjustable temperature are provided to create a comfortable environment for awakening learning. The modular tables and mobile chairs further enhance instant movements and formation of different sizes for group discussions to facilitate active learning. The overall design is able to generate interaction, collaboration, physical movement and social engagement as primary elements of student learning experiences to satisfy the strong desire of students nowadays. Questionnaire Surveys to collect students' feedback on completed renovation works were conducted to review the effectiveness of the alterations. Students are generally satisfied with the renovation work, agree that the refurbished teaching rooms have achieved the purpose of renovation, and enhance active learning. This paper summarizes the survey findings and draws conclusions on how space and furniture design can facilitate collaborative learning for consideration of creating effective learning space by the self-financing tertiary education sector.

What drives tacit and explicit knowledge sharing? An empirical investigation in the Hong Kong higher education sector

Peggy Ng
School of Professional Education and Executive Development, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University


Hong Kong is moving steadily towards a knowledge-based economy where knowledge is a vital source and main driver of long-term economic growth. University is a place for academics and students to share and learn knowledge freely. Knowledge is an important institutional resource for creating sustainable competitive advantages in higher education contexts. Higher education institutions, like other organizations, create, share, apply and manage knowledge systemically to achieve better quality education objectives. Knowledge sharing is recognized as a source of innovation and value creation in higher education institutions. It enables academics to exploit and explore new and existing knowledge to establish institutions' intellectual capital. Thus, effective knowledge sharing among academics has become increasingly important for higher education institutions.

However, the willingness to share knowledge among academics is becoming a critical management problem. It is necessary for higher education institutions to encourage academics to share knowledge and foster their knowledge-sharing behaviour. This study has adopted an intention-based approach using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) as the basis to identify the key factors influencing academics' behaviour to share tacit and explicit knowledge in the Hong Kong higher education context. A conceptual model has been developed and the findings of this study will inform the senior management of higher education institutions of Hong Kong how best to increase academics' knowledge sharing intentions; thus, tacit and explicit knowledge behaviour will be encouraged among academics. This study will also assist policy makers of respective institutions to develop strategies to foster knowledge sharing behaviour among academics.

A Transformation of Higher Education Institution in China

Yui Yip Lau
Hong Kong Community College, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Dan He
East China Normal University


Deng Xiaoping, the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China launched the Open Door Policy in 1978. Since then, political, economic, social, cultural and higher education systems have demonstrated fundamental changes. Higher education in China is continuously changing, growing and developing. Until now, there are over 2,000 higher education institutions with over 6 million enrolments in total. Due to dramatic enlargement of higher education institutions in China in the past decades, quality of education programmes, student learning experience and graduate unemployment is addressed. In order to meet employers and policy makers' expectations, various higher education institutions have started to generate a new academic model, which transforms into a professional education. Thus, revisiting the value of professional education with new academic model is urgently needed. To this end, this study will illustrate East China Normal University as a representative case study to analyze a professional education modal transformation and create new changes in different disciplines.

Through semi-structured face to face interviews, we conducted a series of interview with both students and academic staff from School of Urban and Regional Sciences, School of Business, and School of Humanities and Social Science. The comparative study aims to explore the key research questions (1) What are the exogenous forces driving the changes from traditional to professional education? (2) What are the values of new model of professional education in higher education sector? (3) How does professional education affect student learning experience, academic staff profile, pedagogy and programme development? (4) What is the association between the changes of education at institutional and departmental levels? This study provides useful strategic advices on how to develop a professional education model in higher education sector in China.