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Dissertation
Dissertation
My PhD required the writing of a dissertation. It involved Educational Psychology, which I was specialising in, combined with the learning and teaching of a topic in secondary school Chemistry. The study contributed to our theoretical understanding of learning and teaching and at the same time had implications for the enhancement of the teaching and learning in the Chemistry classroom. Hence the title of the dissertation, which was:
Mental representation of knowledge for a topic in high school Chemistry
The research for the dissertation was done in Hong Kong after the course-work requirements had been completed at Stanford. The subjects for the research came from a Form 4 Chemistry class at a local secondary school in Shatin, Hong Kong. The study included both qualitative and quantitative research methodology.
Pre-dissertation course paper
Pre-dissertation course paper
When seeking out possible areas of research for my dissertation, I wrote a paper in a course dealing with mental models that people have, especially in the domain of Science. The paper included a mental model that Leonie, then 5 years of age, might have had of the internal parts of the human body.
The picture on the right shows a drawing by Leonie (of my course teacher whose name was Philip!) - refer to the course paper for details. Note: The drawing is Leonie's but the labels she gave are written on her digram by me. You can click on the picture at the right to get an enlarged view.
Mental Modelling in Children:
Ph.D. dissertation
Ph.D. dissertation
The published dissertation is well over 500 pages in length, which necessitated two volumes! I have included links to view the dissertation but it may not open or may take a long time. It may also depend on the browser you use. However, a detailed abstract of the dissertation is available, which gives a very good description of what was involved. To view the abstract, click on the following link:
Click here to view the dissertation abstract
Dissertation
Click here to view the complete dissertation online
There is more on the dissertation in the section entitled Projects, which you will see at the top of the page in the navigation bar.
Academic Articles
Academic Articles
The Chinese University School (later Faculty) of Education is both an academic, research-oriented institution, as well as a professional school, involved in the training of teachers. During my years there, I wrote a number of articles, many of which had some sort of practical implications for teaching and/or learning. Many of the articles are mine alone while some were written in collaboration with others or with research students of mine.
Journals
Journals
International Journal of Science Education
Journal of Educational Computing Research
Education Journal (of the CUHK)
Articles
Articles
Here I will briefly describe some, though not all, of the articles under a variety of rather general headings.
Microteaching
Microteaching is used in the training of specific teaching skills. It involves teaching a 'micro' (brief) topic for a 'micro' (short) time to just a 'micro' (small) group of students. Click on the links.
1. Microteaching: A Bilingual Approach
2. Bilingual Microteaching: An analysis of Questioning Skills
3. Experience or Formal Training? An analysis of pre-service and in-service teacher performances
Problem solving in Science
These are articles that derived primarily from the work I did for my dissertation. Click on the links to view.
1. Expert-Novice Differences in the Solving of a Basic Problem in Chemistry
2. Procedural and conceptual knowledge of expert and novice students for the solving of a basic problem in Chemistry.
Click here to view just the abstract
For the complete article, click here
3. Quantitative Problem Solving in Science: Cognitive Factors and Directions for Practice
Cartoon comes from a question from a test used in the study - refer to article.
Concrete Thinking in Children
This is an earlier article based on the theories of the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget. Note: It was later translated into Turkish by a university professor in Turkey and used for a similar investigation there.
Concrete Thinking Abilities among Hong Kong Junior Secondary Pupils
Teaching English to Chinese-speaking Students
These are articles from research I did with students of mine. Click on the links to view.
1. Teaching English Vocabulary to Cantonese-speaking students with the Keyword Method
2. Strategies of More Competent and Less Competent Problem-Solvers in a Problem-Solving Task of Sorting a Scrambled Passage
Cartoon used as an example of the 'keyword' method - refer to article.
Problem solving and computing in Mathematics
These are articles done with a PhD student of mine involving educational psychology, computing and mathematics. Click on the links to view the abstracts.
1. Problem Complexity: A Measure of Problem Difficulty in Algebra by Using Computer
2. Electronic Homework [Abstract only]
General
This is a very early article written soon after arriving at the Chinese University that builds on my teaching experience. Click on the link below to view the article.
Some thoughts on the Teaching of Pupils of Lower Academic Ability
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