Theresa Kwong

An exploration of Biggs’ constructive alignment in course design and its impact on students’ learning approaches

This paper investigates whether instructors’ adoption of constructive alignment has any impact on university students’ learning approaches, which are highly correlated with students’ achievement of learning outcomes. A multi-method model with a combination of qualitative and quantitative design was adopted, using document analysis, interviews and survey. The analysis of covariance results suggested that regardless of individual differences, students would adjust their learning approaches and study behaviours in response to the classroom teaching and learning environment. Students in more ‘constructively aligned courses’ were more likely to adopt deep learning approaches and less likely to use surface learning approaches in their study of a particular course.

Measuring gender differences in cognitive functioning

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate relationships between gender, A‐level scores and scores on the learning and study strategies inventory (LASSI) of undergraduate students.Design/methodology/approach – The participants for this study were selected at random from the overall LASSI sampling exercise and males and females were compared using the LASSI scales at a Hong Kong University.Findings – Gender differences in cognitive functioning and achievement do not always favour one sex with the literature related to intelligence testing suggesting that males outperform females on tests of visuo‐spatial ability, and mathematical reasoning whereas females do better on tests involving memory and language use. This paper examines relationships between gender, A‐level scores and scores (LASSI) of undergraduate students and argues that whilst there are significant gender differences in A‐level scores, these provide limited practical information at a cognitive level. In contrast, the data from LASSI ...

Transcriptional regulation and functional implication of the grass carp CITED1 (gcCITED1) in the negative regulation of HIF-1.

Hypoxia triggers a broad range of gene responses that are primarily mediated by the transcription factor, hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) that complexes with the transcriptional coactivator CREB-binding protein/p300 (CBP/p300). In mammals, members of the CBP/p300-interacting transactivators with ED-rich tail (CITED) family, such as CITED2 and CITED4, bind CBP/p300 with high affinity and thereby negatively regulate HIF-1 transactivation. In fish, we have previously shown that two CITED3 homologues from the hypoxia-tolerant grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) are induced by hypoxia/HIF-1 and able to inhibit HIF-1 transactivation. Here we report the identification and functional characterization of the grass carp CITED1 (gcCITED1) protein as a new repressor of HIF-1-mediated transcriptional activity. Expression of gcCITED1 mRNA was increased in heart, kidney and liver in vivo after exposure to hypoxia. Luciferase reporter and ChIP assays, respectively, indicated the inducibility of the gcCITED1 promoter by gcHIF-1 and the in vivo binding of gcHIF-1 to the gcCITED1 promoter. Ectopic overexpression of gcCITED1 significantly attenuated HIF-1-dependent transactivation of a HRE-luciferase reporter gene. Furthermore, GST pull-down confirmed that gcCITED1 specifically binds via its CR2 domain to the CH1 region of the grass carp p300 coactivator. Overall, our findings suggest that the hypoxia/gcHIF-1-inducible gcCITED1 may function in a negative feedback loop to regulate gcHIF-1 activity in response to hypoxia stress.

Institutional-Level Integration of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI)

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to exhibit the integration of learning and study strategies inventory (LASSI) with the City University of Hong Kong information systems to promote teaching and learning within the university.Design/methodology/approach – From the 2006 entry cohort, all undergraduate freshmen at City University of Hong Kong are required to complete LASSI online through Administrative Information Management System (AIMS). Each student is required to take LASSI at three specific times during their undergraduate careers. With the cooperation of H&H publishing, City University has developed a program within AIMS to upload LASSI results of individual students so that the students can view their scores whenever they wish to. In addition to helping the students develop their learning and study strategies, the integration between LASSI and the universitys information system provides academic staff with aggregated LASSI scores for their students.Findings – The integration of LASSI with the un...

Developing students’ teamwork skills in a cooperative learning project

Purpose – This paper aims to apply the inventory – Comprehensive Assessment of Team Member Effectiveness (CATME) to examine the development of teamwork skills among freshmen from the Chinese Mainland through a cooperative learning activity (group project) in the context of Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach – The questionnaire survey was conducted twice, at the beginning (pre) and end (post) of the group project; qualitative interviews were undertaken after their project completion. Findings – It was found that, except for Category 5 (having relevant knowledge, skills and abilities), the post mean scores in all items of other four categories declined, because students’ Chinese Mainland backgrounds led to their different understanding toward teamwork, as unveiled by the qualitative interviews. However their project completion enabled them to acquire the relevant competencies, causing the rise in the mean scores of Category 5. Research limitations/implications – Limited by the small sample size and Amer...

Piloting Lecture Capture: An Experience Sharing from a Hong Kong University

This paper reports on valuable experience gathered from a pilot project that deployed lecture capture as a student engaging e-learning tool at Hong Kong Baptist University. The paper presents the planning of the pilot project and how it was deployed. Furthermore, user satisfaction, and user perception on the use of lecture capture as an effective and efficient e-learning technology are presented. Based on these findings, some valuable lessons can be learned and shared with other institutions. Finally, while this paper only presents the findings from credit bearing academic courses across a number of different academic teaching faculties at HKBU, these findings are also applicable for non-credit bearing courses.

Bringing Abstract Academic Integrity and Ethical Concepts into Real-Life Situations

This paper reports the learning analytics on the initial stages of a large-scale, government-funded project which inducts university students in Hong Kong into consideration of academic integrity and ethics through mobile Augmented Reality (AR) learning trails—Trails of Integrity and Ethics (TIEs)—accessed on smart devices. The trails immerse students in collaborative problem solving tasks centred on ethical dilemmas, addressed in real, actual locations where such dilemmas might arise, with contextually appropriate digital advice and information available on hand. Students play out the consequences of their decisions which help reinforce the links between the theoretical concept of academic integrity and ethics and the practical application in everyday contexts. To evaluate the effectiveness of the TIEs, triangulation of different sets of data is adopted and these datasets include user experience surveys, qualitative feedback, clickstream data, and text mining of pre-/post-trail discussion. Thousands of students’ responses and related data gathered are analysed to ascertain the effectiveness of these mobile learning trails in enhancing students’ awareness of AIE issues. The positive learning outcome of the TIEs suggests that this approach can be adopted and applied to a wider scope of the academic curriculum and co-curriculum.

Using Student ePortfolios to Showcase Students’ Learning: Experience from Hong Kong Baptist University

This paper gives a descriptive account on the pilot in using learning electronic portfolios (ePortfolios) to facilitate students’ reflective practice of their learning at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU). The opportunities and challenges faced by HKBU are explained to share experience in our continuing endeavour to enhance teaching and learning quality at the University.