Principal Project Supervisors:

Dr FONG Wai Tsz Ricci, Dr CHENG Wing Yi Rebecca

Period:

Jan 2024 – Dec 2025

Funding Source:

Fund for Innovative Technology-in-Education

Description:

Recent technological advancements have led to the rise of generative AI (GenAI) tools. While having the potential to induce critical and reflective thinking, GenAI tools also threaten the authenticity of students’ work if they are used inappropriately. Adding to the challenge, course lecturers may lack the professional capacity to implement GenAI tools effectively in their courses. This initiative aims to promote the effective and ethical use of GenAI tools among students using the framework of 6-P pedagogy, a 6-step approach to guide students in using GenAI tools effectively. Specifically, the objectives of the project are:

1. To develop course lecturers’ professional capacity in using the 6-P pedagogy to help students leverage the affordances of GenAI tools for effective learning
2. To identify good practices of using the 6-P pedagogy in course delivery to help students leverage the affordances of GenAI tools for effective learning

With the objectives in mind, the project will develop professional development and learning materials for teachers and students, including:

1. Guidebooks for professional training
2. Cases of good practices
3. Online Professional Learning Network

Principal Project Supervisors:

Dr CHEUNG Sum Kwing, Dr FONG Wai Tsz Ricci, Prof YEUNG Siu Sze

Period:

Jan 2024 – Dec 2025

Funding Source:

Fund for Innovative Technology-in-Education

Description:

Due to the limited opportunities for students from the BA(SE), BEd(ECE) and BSoSc(PSY) programmes to communicate and interact with learners with special educational needs, students may face difficulties in acquiring practical skills and experiences required to effectively support learners with disabilities and diverse learning needs. To address the situation, this initiative aims to equip students with the necessary skills by constructing a Special Education Metaverse to provide an immersive learning environment with learning activities simulating real-life scenarios. Specifically, the objectives of the initiative are:

1. To enhance students’ ability to effectively communicate with learners with special education needs by practicing and refining communication strategies within the SE Metaverse
2. To develop students’ social interaction skills in the context of special education, enabling them to effectively engage and interact with learners with diverse learning needs
3. To provide students with hands-on experience in supporting learners with disabilities, empowering them to apply practical skills acquired through virtual scenarios in real-life settings
4. To equip students with the necessary knowledge and skills to provide effective support and assistance to learners with disabilities and diverse learning needs

With the objectives in mind, the project will design and develop:

1. An SE Metaverse
2. Learning resources and multimedia content for teachers and students

Principal Project Supervisors:

Dr YUNG Wai Ho Kevin; Dr ZHANG Yuefeng Ellen

Period:

Jan 2024 – Dec 2024

Funding Source:

Teaching Development Grant

Description:

This project aims to develop a pedagogical framework to enhance university students’ academic literacy in reading and writing regarding their critical and ethical use of AI in source-based academic writing. Since AI technology has been developing rapidly, it is crucial to explore its usage among university students and teachers before developing a protocol for its critical and ethical use or measuring or experimenting its effectiveness. In this regard, the project will first explore the usage of AI tools among university students, focusing on their academic literacy. Specifically, the project will investigate the extent to which and how university students use AI to comprehend, analyse, and synthesise ideas from complex academic texts and support their arguments in writing. The project will identify effective AI tools and features, develop pedagogical approaches and teaching packages, and provide recommendations for the critical and ethical use of AI in academic writing.

Principal Project Supervisors:

Dr FONG Wai Tsz Ricci, Dr CHENG Wing Yi Rebecca, Prof YAN Zi

Period:

Mar 2023 – Mar 2024

Funding Source:

Teaching Development Grant

Description:

Despite well-documented importance of formative assessment in education, recent research suggested the need to develop teachers’ and students’ assessment literacy to provide and adopt formative feedback. Acknowledging the affordances and the challenges of emerging technologies, e.g., Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Virtual Reality (VR), this project aims to foster teachers’ and students’ capacity to utilise AI-generated formative feedback for further improvement in teaching and learning. Specifically, the objectives of the project are:

1. To develop a learning analytics platform to provide visualisations of students’ formative assessment
2. To build teachers’ and students’ capacity in adopting formative AI feedback to enhance the effectiveness of formative assessment
3. To provide students with a personalised and meaningful learning experience using AI formative assessment resources to foster their problem-solving skills, critical thinking skills, oral communication skills and social interaction skills

With the objectives in mind, the project has designed, developed, and implemented:

1. A web-based learning analytics platform to provide visualisations and AI-generated comments on students’ performance in a series of VR scenario-based learning packages
2. A professional learning network to offer pedagogical and technological advice, as well as professional development consultations/workshops
3. 10 sets of quality professional development materials to build teachers’ and students’ capacity to maximise the use of the AI-generated feedback for effective teaching and learning

Principal Project Supervisors:

Dr YEUNG Siu Sze Susanna; Dr FONG Wai Tsz Ricci; Dr YUN Pu Ho Patrick

Period:

Apr 2021 – Jun 2023

Funding Source:

UGC Special Grant for Strategic Development for Virtual Teaching and Learning

Description:

The initiative of this project is proposed to apply VTL in enhancing students’ communication skills in work settings (education and non-education) with a goal to enhance their preparation of FE/practicums/internships. Specifically, Virtual Reality (VR) will be adopted to develop learning packages of communication skills in work settings for students.

In this project, we will utilise the VR technology to provide near-authentic simulations of engaging communication in common work settings that EdUHK students would attach to in their FE/Practicums/Internships.

With a goal to enhance students’ problem solving as well, problem-based learning approach will be used to design the VR learning packages. Problem-based learning refers to an instructional, problem-focused teaching method that facilitates students’ skills development (e.g., problem-solving abilities, communication skills and critical thinking skills etc.) for solving a particular real-life problem/issue (Duch et al., 2001; Wood, 2003). Therefore, the simulations designed in the VR learning packages are common communication challenges students may encounter in work settings. The simulated problem-based scenarios presented in VR would allow students to engage in problem solving and their behavioural responses can be captured by the technology for further use in learning and teaching.

Principal Project Supervisors:

Ms CHAN Ngok Cheng Terri; Dr LEUNG Ka Wai; Dr HO Pui Kay Katty

Period:

Dec 2020 – Feb 2022

Funding Source:

Teaching Development Grant

Description:

Past empirical studies have shown that both gamification of learning and gamified assessment can challenge students to become active participants in the learning process through engagement with instruction content, self-discovery of information, and creation of knowledge or meaning of information (Rivera & Garden, 2018). While game elements have been adopted in different fields in the last decades, only recently have they become an area of interest for course design in higher educational contexts (Campos, Batista, Gardiman, Madeira, & Signoretti, 2015; Silva, Leal, & Rodrigues, 2019; Zainuddin, Chu, Shujahat, & Corinne, 2020). More specifically, this project aims to identify the effects of gamified courses on students’ flow experience (Csíkszentmihályi, 1990; Jackson, Martin & Eklund, 2008), besides testing its effect on undergraduate education. There will be two or three courses implementing the gamified pedagogies and gamified assessment strategies. Interviews and observations will be conducted to investigate students’ beliefs and dispositions towards gamified learning. Participating teachers’ beliefs and dispositions in conducting gamification of learning and gamified assessment will be collected and compared to students’ perception. Good practices in gamification of learning and gamified assessment will be compiled and consolidated; gamified implementation guidelines will be developed for colleagues’ use or as reference materials.

Principal Project Supervisors:

Prof TSUI Kwok Tung; Dr Darren BRYANT

Period:

Nov 2020 – Jan 2024

Funding Source:

Central Reserve Allocation Committee

Description:

In response to the unexpected and rapid transition to online learning, The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) has launched the “e-Pedagogy project”. Through collaborative design with EdUHK teachers, we explore strategies and tactics applicable to online learning, hybrid learning, and post-COVID “next normal”.
In each course, the project team deploys staff to work closely with the instructors of e-pedagogy:

• Personalised consultation
• Lesson co-design
• In-class support
• Feedback for enhancement

Principal Project Supervisors:

Prof TANG Yee Fan Sylvia; Dr CHAN Po Lin Pauline; Dr CHENG Yuen Ling Elaine; Dr WONG Kwok Sai Tricia

Period:

Nov 2020 – Apr 2023

Funding Source:

Central Reserve Allocation Committee

Description:

Online learning and teaching are expected to become a new normal under the impact of the Pandemic. In ECE classrooms, face-to-face classes emphasise constructivism and engaging and interactive, hands-on activities. Yet, when lessons go online, ECE teachers have to ensure all these essential principles are in place and maintained close to face-to-face classes. To preserve these vital learning and teaching principles, it is necessary to provide support for both the pre-service and in-service ECE teachers in preparing for quality online teaching and enhancing the Field Experience (FE) for EdUHK students.
This project consists of two major parts, targeting pre-service and in-service ECE teachers respectively. The aims of the project are:

• To build the capacity of pre-service and in-service teachers for online learning and teaching, especially in designing and developing e-learning activities close to face-to-face teaching mode and aligned with principles of ECE.
• To form Communities of Practice (CoPs) of EdUHK university staff, pre-service teachers and in-service teachers to share good practices and betterment the quality of online learning and teaching in ECE.

Principal Project Supervisors:

Prof TANG Yee Fan Sylvia; Prof LIM Cher Ping

Period:

Jul 2020 – Dec 2022

Funding Source:

Central Reserve Allocation Committee

Description:

The objective of this project is for the Faculty of Education and Human Development (FEHD) to build the capacity of academic/teaching staff for quality online learning and teaching through co-developing and co-implementing online learning resources. To encourage more academic/teaching staff to develop quality online learning resources, support from a faculty-based project team involving online learning specialists would be provided.

• Developed 23 sets of quality bite-sized online learning resources
• Provided customised professional support for online learning and teaching for academic/teaching staff

Principal Project Supervisors:

Prof LIM Cher Ping; Prof TANG Yee Fan Sylvia; Prof LEE Chi Kin John

Period:

Sep 2018 – Jun 2021

Funding Source:

Central Reserve Allocation Committee

Description:

The goal of this initiative is for the Faculty of Education and Human Development (FEHD) to harness online technologies for quality access to education and lifelong learning in The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK). Specifically, the two objectives are:

• Position FEHD as an international leader for the innovative use of online technologies in its teacher education and education/human development-related courses to enhance learning engagement and outcomes, and develop lifelong learning competencies of its students, local and international education communities, and society at large.
• Develop a prototype of innovative e-learning policies and practices, and support mechanisms and strategies within FEHD that will then be shared with the other two faculties for potential scaling up at the university level.

More specifically, informed by the university’s Learning and Teaching Framework, this initiative:

• adopts innovative e-learning approaches with high-quality digital resources to enhance learning engagement and outcomes;
• provides students with a personalised and meaningful learning experience through flexible learning modes; and
• supports students to become lifelong learners.