Pedagogic Research Knowledge Exchange (ARU-CUHK Joint Session1)

In this "Pedagogic Research Knowledge Exchange" series, educators from The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Anglia Ruskin University will collaborate to share their teaching innovations and insights from pedagogic research. This session will focus on learning spaces, particularly how these environments support and impact student learning.

Date: 8 October 2025 (Wednesday)

Start time: 9:30 a.m. (UKT) / 4:30 p.m. (HKT)

Format: Online via Teams

Target audience: Academic staff and professional staff

Topics & Speakers

Prof. Suzannie Leung, Associate Professor, Department of Curriculum & Instruction, Faculty of Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Prof. Suzannie Leung serves as an associate professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. With extensive experience in various educational environments, she has focused on professional development and curriculum design in early childhood education. Her research interests include curriculum studies, teacher development, and children's learning. Her academic work has examined multidisciplinary and integrative approaches within the education system in Hong Kong. Currently, she is an Editorial Board Member of international journals including British Educational Research Journal, Pedagogy, Culture & Society, Journal of Research in Childhood Education, and Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood.

Topic: Extending Learning Space in the University Classrooms: The Power of Digital Storytelling

Abstract: In response to the pandemic that began in December 2019, schools were closed, leading to the suspension of face-to-face classes. In Hong Kong, student teachers were required to complete their teaching practicum online, which served as an alternative to the traditional in-person format. The Bachelor’s Programme in Early Childhood Education at CUHK initiated the integration of e-learning and technology through a novel digital storytelling approach. This innovative teaching method, developed for the new normal of the 21st century, aims to enhance early childhood education by utilizing digital technology—an area previously overlooked in local teacher-training programmes. With increasing emphasis on technology within the curriculum guide for local kindergartens, this approach is one of the first in Hong Kong to advocate for the use of digital technology in teaching young children. By equipping both pre-service and in-service teachers with essential Technology Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK), particularly in digital storytelling, we have significantly improved their self-efficacy and effectiveness in online teaching. This improvement has, in turn, positively influenced the motivation and learning outcomes of young children. The implementation and impact of this approach have been well-documented and published in reputable academic journals. Furthermore, this e-teaching approach has evolved into a newly launched bachelor's degree-level course at CUHK, ensuring sustainability and feasibility for future replication. We anticipate that this digital technology approach can meaningfully contribute to broader communities in the near future.

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Prof. Andrew Middleton, Deputy Head of Anglia Learning & Teaching, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom

Dr Andrew Middleton is Professor of Active Learning at Anglia Ruskin University and a National Teaching Fellow. His research focuses on spaces for learning in higher education and the relationship of spatial affordances to academic, student, and graduate identities. He continues to research spatial fluency as a dimension of developing digital fluency towards harnessing multimodality in an age of great and rapid change.

Topic: Where We Learn - Considering Learning Spaces in a Postdigital Age

Abstract: This session explores some key ideas to do with learning and space in higher education. The aim of the session is to encourage academic and professional services colleagues to see the relationship of education to the spaces and places we use in new and expansive ways. Doing so can reveal new possibilities for the imaginative student-centred professional around engagement and challenging pedagogies. We will look at ideas like spatial affordances and spatial fluency and we will consider the value of multimodality for engaging our diverse students in an age of continuous and rapid change. We will reflect, for example, on conflicting ideas of fostering belonging and the delivery of teaching.

Register Now

Registration deadline: 6 October 2025 (Mon) 23:59 HKT

Enquiry

For any queries, please contact Vienne LIN at viennelin@cuhk.edu.hk