Na Li | Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (original) (raw)

Papers by Na Li

Education and Information Technologies, 2025

Supporting learners in achieving high-level socially shared regulation of learning (SSRL) in the ... more Supporting learners in achieving high-level socially shared regulation of learning (SSRL) in the online collaborative learning (OCL) context presents challenges that the utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies may help solve. However, the effective uses of AI to support multifaceted areas (cognition, metacognition, and motivation) and phases (forethought, performance, and reflection) of SSRL remain elusive. Furthermore, research on developing an educational AI and what pedagogical attributes and elements are required for AI to support students' SSRL effectively is limited. This study, therefore, aims to investigate students' perceptions of AI applications in enhancing SSRL and to explore the essential pedagogical elements necessary for AI to support SSRL during the OCL. To achieve these aims, the study conducted Focus Group Interviews facilitated by 9 scenarios of AI application storyboards and paper prototypes with 30 undergraduate and graduate students. The study findings show that students perceive various types of AI to support cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational areas across different SSRL phases. The study also found that students viewed AI as an active learning agent, serving in roles previously inhabited solely by human educators and students. Furthermore, the study reveals seven key pedagogical elements across TPACK components such as pedagogical, content, technological, pedagogical content, technological pedagogical, technological content, and technological pedagogical content knowledge deemed crucial by students for AI to support SSRL in OCL effectively. These findings offer implications for using and designing educationally relevant AI to support SSRL in OCL environments.

The rapid development of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), including large language mod... more The rapid development of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), including large language models (LLM), has merged to support students in their academic writing process. Keeping pace with the technical and educational landscape requires careful consideration of the opportunities and challenges that GenAI-assisted systems create within education. This serves as a useful and necessary starting point for fully leveraging its potential for learning and teaching. Hence, it is crucial to gather insights from diverse perspectives and use cases from actual users, particularly the unique voices and needs of student-users. Therefore, this study explored and examined students' perceptions and experiences about GenAI-assisted academic writing by conducting in-depth interviews with 20 Chinese students in higher education after completing academic writing tasks using a ChatGPT4-embedded writing system developed by the research team. The study found that students expected AI to serve multiple roles, including multi-tasking writing assistant, virtual tutor, and digital peer to support multifaceted writing processes and performance. Students perceived that GenAI-assisted writing could benefit them in three areas including the writing process, performance, and their affective domain. Meanwhile, they also identified AI-related, student-related, and task-related challenges that were experienced during the GenAI-assisted writing activity. These findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of GenAI's impact on academic writing that is inclusive of student perspectives, offering implications for educational AI design and instructional design.

Humanit Soc Sci Commun, 2024

The Final Year Project (FYP) is one of the most important courses for every undergraduate student... more The Final Year Project (FYP) is one of the most important courses for every undergraduate student, and the effective operation of the FYPs in higher education still faces challenges, such as uneven resource distribution and limited efficiency. This study reports a mixedmethods approach to study the impact of a student-centered FYP allocation mechanism on student performance. This research aims to investigate how aligning students' FYP choices with their interests can inspire motivation and enhance academic performance. More importantly, this mechanism improves students' academic resilience, enabling them to navigate unexpected contextual factors. The study's findings take into account various aspects, including student satisfaction with the allocation process, future improvement methods, and the relationship between interest and context. The outcomes observed in this study support our hypotheses, indicating the improvements in students' academic performance as well as the pass and completion rates. Moreover, this research contributes to 'resilience theory' by exploring students' adaptability to contextual changes and their enhancement of academic resilience. This study proposes recommendations for cultivating a dynamic student-centered classroom environment. Future work could pay attention to addressing the limitations of this study, exploring other factors influencing FYP allocation, and integrating more quantitative measures for a comprehensive assessment of its impact.

Education and Information Technologies, 2024

Learning design has become increasingly important in the context of expanding and dynamic digital... more Learning design has become increasingly important in the context of expanding and dynamic digital learning environments. More traditional teaching approaches are no longer sufficient to engage learners in these changing learning environments. Teachers and aspiring learning designers therefore increasingly need learning design expertise, which takes time to develop. This paper responds to this challenge by outlining a fishbone digital learning design method, which is aligned with updated versions of Bloom's taxonomy for the digital world, as a scaffolded approach to developing basic learning design expertise. The study integrates three practical tools into one learning design method to ensure constructive alignment. The findings contribute to digital educational development and teacher professional development by proposing a practical and easy to adapt learning design method.

Education and Information Technologies, 2023

The undeniable potential benefits of learning analytics (LA) in education have led to growing inv... more The undeniable potential benefits of learning analytics (LA) in education have led to growing investment in developing and integrating LA systems into K-12 schools. Yet, the actual integration and adoption depend on levels of teachers’ acceptance and usage. This study aims to propose a conceptual model to reveal the decisive factors affecting teachers’ adoption of the LA system for evaluating teachers’ sustainable LA usage through the integration of Information System Success and the Technology Acceptance Model. The variables used were system performance quality (SP), information quality (IQ), perceived usefulness (PU), and intention to use (IU) via the partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Furthermore, the moderation effect of teachers’ AI literacy level (LIT) between dependent variables (SP and IQ) and PU were analyzed. The results indicated SP (sub-constructed by accessibility and human awareness) and IQ (comprised of reliability and relevancy) have statistically positive influences on PU and IU, where LIT played a moderating role between IQ and PU. This study contributes to our understanding of teachers’ perceptions regarding LA system integration through a theoretically grounded analysis of empirical data from the K-12 school education context and highlights important areas of development for better LA integration into teachers’ practice.

Interdisciplinary Journal of Virtual Learning in Medical Sciences, 2023

Background: Given the rapid development of technologies, virtual community of practice (VCoP) has... more Background: Given the rapid development of technologies, virtual community of practice (VCoP) has been employed across various fields, including education. In this context, it is essential to identify the utilization of virtual community of practice in medical education settings in China, particularly its effects on teaching methods and student learning. By understanding the effects of the virtual community of practice on college medical education, we can better evaluate the feasibility of introducing this technology to universities in economically disadvantaged areas. To this end, this study reviewed the literature to identify the potential benefits and challenges of implementing a virtual community of practice in the Chinese context and provide insights into how such an initiative can be effectively designed and implemented. Methods: To identify the effects of the virtual community of practice on teaching and learning in Chinese medical education settings, we searched multiple databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, and the University of Manchester Online Library. We focused on peerreviewed English-language publications on virtual technology and medical education from 2013 to 2023. Results: In Chinese medical education, traditional face-toface teaching remains the primary instructional approach. This is understandable, considering that supplying a costly virtual community of practice to each student might be impractical, particularly for universities in economically disadvantaged areas. Nevertheless, the literature reviewed in this study suggests that if the virtual community of practice are employed appropriately, it can significantly enhance teaching by substantially reducing the budget required for constructing realistic medical scenarios. Conclusion: To effectively promote the virtual community of practice for universities in economically disadvantaged areas, we advocated for establishing a dedicated medical education volunteer association as a form of the virtual community of practice to support medical education, which is enhanced by the virtual community of practice.

Education and Information Technologies, 2023

Metaverse, which combines a number of information technologies, is the Internet of the future. A ... more Metaverse, which combines a number of information technologies, is the Internet of the future. A media for immersive learning, metaverse could set future educational trends and lead to significant reform in education. Although the metaverse has the potential to improve the effectiveness of online learning experiences, metaversebased educational implementations are still in their infancy. Additionally, what factors impact higher education students' adoption of the educational metaverse remains unclear. Consequently, the aim of this study is to explore the main factors that affect higher education students' behavioral intentions to adopt metaverse technology for education. This study has proposed an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to achieve this aim. The novelty of this study resides in its conceptual model, which incorporates both technological, personal, and inhibiting/enabling factors. The empirical data were collected via online questionnaires from 574 students in both private and public universities in Jordan. Based on the PLS-SEM analysis, the study identifies perceived usefulness, personal innovativeness in IT, and perceived enjoyment as key enablers of students' behavioral intentions to adopt the metaverse. Additionally, perceived cyber risk is found as the main inhibitor of students' metaverse adoption intentions. Surprisingly, the effect of perceived ease of use on metaverse adoption intentions is found to be insignificant. Furthermore, it is found that self-efficacy, personal innovativeness, and perceived cyber risk are the main determinants of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. While the findings of this study contribute to the extension of the TAM model, the practical value of these findings is significant since they will help educational authorities understand each factor's role and enable them to plan their future strategies.

Heliyon, 2024

Despite the potential of meta-education to transform higher education, there remains a scarcity o... more Despite the potential of meta-education to transform higher education, there remains a scarcity of research investigating students' adoption intentions. This study aimed to identify factors influencing students' intentions to adopt meta-education using an extended Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior model (DTPB). Data was collected via an online survey of 596 higher education students from Jordan who were purposefully selected. Structural equation modeling using partial least squares analysis revealed attitude, social influence, and perceived behavioral control as key antecedents of adoption intention. Furthermore, newly added variables including perceived enjoyment, herd behavior, student autonomy, and student innovativeness showed efficiency in explaining variance in attitude, social influence, and perceived behavioral control. Overall, the extended model provided meaningful insights on factors driving students' willingness to adopt meta-education. The study contributes to theory by extending the decomposed TPB model in the context of emerging educational technologies. It also provides practical implications for policymakers and educators aiming to encourage meta-education adoption.

Journal of the Korea Contents Association, 2023

This study aims to investigate the moderating effect of AI preference (three AI types: ITS, ELE, ... more This study aims to investigate the moderating effect of AI preference (three AI types: ITS, ELE, and AI-based Dashboard) of college students between expected relationship building with educational AI and the expected role of AI. For an exploratory study, PLS-SEM (Partial Least Square Structural Equation Model) analysis was conducted based on 425 college students' responses. The results revealed that students expected 'Trust' the most for building relationships with educational AI, and 'ITS' showed the most frequent moderating effects among other AI preferences. The results of this study are expected to be used as basic data to present implications for AI development that can form educationally meaningful interactions with students and the role of AI in collaborating with human instructors to support learning in the educational field.

There is a growing trend of educational institutionalizations that comes with the use of technolo... more There is a growing trend of educational institutionalizations that comes with the use of technologies (e.g. Casanovas,

International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 2021

The purpose of this research is to investigate the correlation within three key variables in rela... more The purpose of this research is to investigate the correlation within three key variables in relation to students’ learning outcomes: face-to-face class attendance, virtual learning engagement, and academic performance. A sample course with 3783 students’ data were analysed by applying a quantitative research methodology. The research data included one semester’s attendance records, students’ virtual learning engagement on the university centralized virtual learning environment and the average academic performance Both Spearman’s correlation coefficient and Pearson’s correlation coefficient were used for the hypothesis’s tests according to the variables’ data characteristics. This research has verified the positive correlations between face-to-face class attendance and academic performance, virtual learning engagement and academic performance in a blended learning environment at a Chinese transnational university, which are consistent with existing research. The finding about the po...

Interactive Learning Environments, 2022

To address the problem of poor efficacy in hybrid learning in higher education, this study conduc... more To address the problem of poor efficacy in hybrid learning in higher education, this study conducted a mix-method explanatory case study with structural equation modelling to examine a new construct, "perceived pedagogical value" (PPV), and its relationship with the core constructs of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model. This study recruited 246 undergraduate students from a year 2 computer science course at an English Medium Instruction University in China to investigate their perceptions of using JazzQuiz for interactive hybrid learning using an online survey and semi-structured interviews. One of the key findings suggests that students who have a deeper understanding of technology's pedagogical value (i.e. higher PPV) are more likely to accept and use the technology with reduced efforts through five dimensions. Our contribution to the literature is threefold: (1) the new construct, PPV, extends our understanding of the UTAUT model for interactive hybrid learning; (2) the extended model highlights the role of student PPV in improving learning efficacy; (3) the five dimensions of how PPV influences technology acceptance, and student academic performance clarify the underlying mechanisms of effective interactive hybrid learning. Further studies are needed to test the new model in different contexts.

Computers in Human Behavior, 2022

Universities have implemented digital-technology-assisted automated project-allocation solutions ... more Universities have implemented digital-technology-assisted automated project-allocation solutions to solve perceived injustices raised by students during manual project allocation for project-based learning (PBL). However, perceived injustices still occur. Grounded in social cognitive theory and organizational justice theory, this mixed-method case study explored the proposition that self-efficacy predicts perceived justice. First, we developed and evaluated an integrated scale that assessed self-efficacy and perceived justice by incorporating the educational context into PBL project allocation. Second, we tested three hypotheses regarding the relationship between self-efficacy and the dimensions of perceived justice, using structural equation modelling. Third, we conducted focus group interviews and qualitative analysis to explain the quantitative findings. The questionnaire was administered to two undergraduate cohorts (N1 = 226, N2 = 537) in an interdisciplinary PBL course at an international university. Perceived self-efficacy, procedural justice, distributive justice, and learning equity were the most relevant factors for perceived justice in PBL project allocation. Moreover, students' self-efficacy significantly predicted perceived justice, confirming human agency's critical role in automated project-allocation decision-making. Three themes were extracted to explain underlying mechanisms. This study provides a context-specific justice measurement tool and a conceptual model highlighting the importance of student self-efficacy for perceived justice in sustainable PBL in higher education.

Education Sciences, 2022

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

Interactive Learning Environments, 2022

Despite the high expectation of virtual learning environments (VLEs) to accelerate meaningful edu... more Despite the high expectation of virtual learning environments (VLEs) to accelerate meaningful educational innovations for more interactive learning and teaching, resistance to changes exists, and innovations are fading over time. How to promote widespread and steady adoption of VLE enabled innovations remains an open question. This study uses mixed methods to examine 13 years of VLE logs, archival documents, and interviews with 51 teachers to investigate two research questions: What is the threshold stage of the institutionalisation process of VLE enabled innovation, and how does the innovation become institutionalised in the threshold stage? We found that the majority VLE enabled innovations (such as virtual classrooms and interactive quizzes) were abandoned or faded before the new or changed learning and teaching practices were fully habitualised. The empirical results show that individual cognitive divergence and collective consensus could promote habitualised institutional leverage through a threshold process, namely, meaning-making. These findings extend our understanding of the cognitive mechanism, and we suggest that universities provide continuous facilitating and teacher support, both on technological use and pedagogical design, to help teachers develop the meaning of the action as a priority. Research significance and implications to the educational transformation in the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed.

Education Sciences

Broad societal disruptions (i.e., the industrial revolution, digitalisation, and globalisation) h... more Broad societal disruptions (i.e., the industrial revolution, digitalisation, and globalisation) have created a need for an increasingly adaptive higher education system in recent decades. However, the response to these disruptions by universities has generally been slow. Most recently, online learning environments have had to be leveraged by universities to overcome the difficulties in teaching and learning due to COVID-19 restrictions. Thus, universities have had to explore and adopt all potential digital learning opportunities that are able to keep students and teachers engaged in a short period. This paper proposes a digital learning HeXie ecology model, which conceptualises elements and relationships pertaining to the societal need for a more agile and digitally resilient higher education system that is better placed to confront disruptive events (such as pandemics) and that is able to produce graduates who are well-equipped to deal with disruption and uncertainty more broadly. ...

Education Sciences, 2022

Taylor & Francis Online, Action Learning: Research and Practice, 2021

This case study draws a specific link to the practice of action learning (AL) in China. We organi... more This case study draws a specific link to the practice of action learning (AL) in China. We organized ourselves into an AL set and used Revans’ AL, as interpreted by Marquardt (2004), to create a post-teaching dialog to examine the experience gained from delivering an interdisciplinary course online—a novice situation—in a Chinese transnational university. AL’s questioning insight occurred after conducting an evidence-based evaluation of online teaching in an interdisciplinary higher education course that used Debattista’s (2018) online teaching effectiveness rubric. The rubric offered rich ‘programed knowledge’ that triggered our question-based inquiry. We conclude that our AL approach is valuable for teacher professional development and offers our rationale for why this particular AL practice would be suitable for the Confucian culture, teaching of interdisciplinary courses, and in novice situations. By conducting AL, we identified a list of key findings, such as proactive communication among teachers in an interdisciplinary course, was vital when teaching to a large group of students. We offer recommendations to improve interdisciplinary online course design and delivery in the future based on reflections from the AL. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are presented at the end of this paper.
Link to the full paper: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14767333.2021.2002681

Taylor & Francis Online, Interactive Learning Environments, 2021

Although virtual learning environments (VLEs) have long been forecasted to accelerate the educati... more Although virtual learning environments (VLEs) have long been forecasted to accelerate the educational revolution, their adoption by teachers and students has not always been as effective as is expected over the years. This challenges universities that extensively investigated educational technologies. Stakeholders are keen to understand the underlying factors and mechanisms that influence technology adoption. However, the extant contradictive and inconsistent research findings from individual country or region fail to address the problem. To provide a holistic view, we follow the PRISMA protocol and synthesize 145 empirical studies across 42 countries and regions from 2001 to 2020. Our main contribution lies in integrating the institutional theory and the elements of country, culture, and university with the decision to adopt VLEs. Specifically, we develop three individual themes and two institutional themes about the factor characteristics. Power distance associated with the institutional cognitive-cultural influence, and long and short-term orientation affects VLE adoption through the institutional normative facilitation. Masculinity-femininity links to individual cognition, while uncertainty avoidance has a connection with individual digital capability in the VLE adoption processes. We suggest that cultural dimensions should be examined as explanatory variables in future research. Implications and research significance in the COVID-19
pandemic is discussed. Link to the full paper: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10494820.2021.1967408

International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 2021

Abstract-The purpose of this research is to investigate the correlation within three key variable... more Abstract-The purpose of this research is to investigate the correlation within three key variables in relation to students' learning outcomes: face-to-face class attendance, virtual learning engagement, and academic performance. A sample course with 3783 students' data were analysed by applying a quantitative research methodology. The research data included one semester's attendance records, students' virtual learning engagement on the university centralized virtual learning environment and the average academic performance. Both Spearman's correlation coefficient and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used for the hypothesis's tests according to the variables' data characteristics. This research has verified the positive correlations between face-to-face class attendance and academic performance, virtual learning engagement and academic performance in a blended learning environment at a Chinese transnational university, which are consistent with existing research. The finding about the positive correlation between the face-to-face class attendance and virtual learning engagement suggests that students can benefit from both traditional and contemporary teaching formats by integrating the virtual learning elements into the face-to-face class delivery.

Education and Information Technologies, 2025

Humanit Soc Sci Commun, 2024

Education and Information Technologies, 2024

Education and Information Technologies, 2023

Interdisciplinary Journal of Virtual Learning in Medical Sciences, 2023

Education and Information Technologies, 2023

Heliyon, 2024

Journal of the Korea Contents Association, 2023

International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 2021

Interactive Learning Environments, 2022

Computers in Human Behavior, 2022

Education Sciences, 2022

Interactive Learning Environments, 2022

Education Sciences

Education Sciences, 2022

Taylor & Francis Online, Action Learning: Research and Practice, 2021

Taylor & Francis Online, Interactive Learning Environments, 2021

International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 2021

Springer, 2024

Rapid globalization and digitalization make human society more complicated and intertwined. More ... more Rapid globalization and digitalization make human society more complicated and intertwined. More and more problems require interdisciplinary collaboration; however, researchers face challenges in performing such studies due to inadequate institutional guidelines. This chapter presents a framework for effective interdisciplinary collaboration. Based on a literature review and critical reflections on a case at a transnational university in China, this chapter discusses the challenges and difficulties encountered in conducting interdisciplinary research. Then, it provides a practical toolkit to support researchers, educators, and policymakers in overcoming those obstacles. The proposed framework encompasses strategies of university and school-level policies that aim to develop cross-discipline communication channels. By adopting this framework, stakeholders in education can foster more effective interdisciplinary collaborations and advance educational research toward a more sustainable future.

Multilingual Education Yearbook 2023, 2023

Professional development for teachers in English medium instruction (EMI) universities is challen... more Professional development for teachers in English medium instruction (EMI) universities is challenging in a multilingual and multicultural environment. This chapter introduces a case study using a digital escape room, a game-based instructional resource that aims to support interactive teacher education in a Sino-British EMI university, namely, Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU). XJTLU has adopted, as a guiding educational philosophy, HeXie, a pedagogical model that integrates aspects of eastern and western cultures. In accordance with this model, in a postgraduate certificate programme (PGCert) offered to all EMI lecturers and instructors, the digital escape room has been designed to introduce trainees to the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) and the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF) using H5P through the Moodle-based learning management system.

H5P is an open-source emerging learning technology that has been integrated with Moodle since 2017 (see https://h5p.org/). It provides quick and easy interactive quizzes, presentations, and visualised knowledge test games to enrich learner engagement in the hybrid learning environment (Wehling J et al, BMC Med Educ 21(1):351, 2021). Mainly, H5P allows designers to create seamless, user-friendly online interfaces for learning. Since its launch, more than 18 million users have registered on the H5P community website, and more than 700 organisations have used H5P to create easier and quicker online interactions (Magro J, J Med Libr Assoc 109(2):351–354, 2021).

First, we discuss the benefits of using the digital escape room to motivate lecturers and instructors’ intercultural communication and self-directed learning in EMI teacher education. Next, we discuss the general challenges and difficulties of integrating the digital escape room solution in curriculum design, instructional development, technological deployment, synchronous and asynchronous learning activity creation, teaching delivery and assessment support in a hybrid learning environment. Educators and practitioners can benefit from critical reflections, recommended good practices, and tips for future development.

Routledge, 2023

Research-led education: Student-centered teaching innovation in universities , 2017

In this chapter, the focus is on the Academic Enhancement Centre’s role in supporting learning an... more In this chapter, the focus is on the Academic Enhancement Centre’s role in supporting learning and teaching innovation at XJTLU, and in particular on the range of initiatives and programmes it manages to achieve such innovation, in line with the university’s vision. Overall, the AEC employs a holistic approach to supporting learning and teaching innovation, which includes all aspects of learning and teaching and a range of programmes and initiatives.

The 2022 3rd International Conference on Education, Knowledge and Information Management (ICEKIM 2022), 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic disruption has provided opportunities for educators to rethink the effectiv... more The COVID-19 pandemic disruption has provided opportunities for educators to rethink the effectiveness of technology-enhanced online or hybrid learning globally. This paper employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the acceptance of a Moodle-based plugin, namely JazzQuiz in a hybrid Computer Science course from a Sino-British English Medium Instruction (EMI) University in China. 246 undergraduate students joined an online survey to share their self-reported perceptions on the use of JazzQuiz for interactive learning from the online and face-to-face learning environments. The findings are corresponding to the existing technology acceptance literature and validated the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model under the Chinese higher education context. This paper contributes to the information system literature and educational technology literature by confirming the model validation and providing valuable practical implications for effective hybrid learning and teaching in computer science education.

International Conference on Learning and Teaching 2021, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the educational transition from traditional face-to-face to... more The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the educational transition from traditional face-to-face to fully online or hybrid learning. Online learning engagement has long been considered essential to effective learning and teaching, but with many challenges (e.g., learner autonomy, cyber distraction and digital competence) in higher education, especially in the post-pandemic. The extant literature pays more attention to empirical studies under the western context than the eastern context. To address the above problems, this paper aims to examine to what extent that using H5P, a free and open-source content collaboration platform, could enrich online learning engagement in a hybrid mode teaching of the Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Supporting Learning in Higher Education (PGCert) in a Sino-British transnational university in China. The H5P provides interactive video, quiz, presentation and visualized knowledge test games to enrich the learner engagement in the blended learning environment. We analyze the data collected from two data sources: (1) the online digital behavioral logs of a course PGC404 on the university learning management system and (2) the semi-structured self-reported survey responses from the PGCert participants. The main contribution of this research lies in presenting the empirical evidence of how learning technologies could enhance learning and teaching in a hybrid learning environment for teacher professional studies in higher education. Challenges and reflections in curriculum development, instructional design and course delivery are discussed for future practices and research consideration.

The Learning Ideas Conference 2021, 2021

The widespread disruption caused by the global Covid 19 pandemic has increased societal awareness... more The widespread disruption caused by the global Covid 19 pandemic has increased societal awareness of the importance of online learning and teaching experiences in higher education, a development which also has the potential to disrupt perceptions of the university’s value model. Undoubtedly, digital competencies and capacities now play an increasingly critical role in the delivery of higher education in a mid and post-Covid context. However, while the availability of various learning and teaching technologies have long been associated with the efficacy of online or blended learning, very little attention has been given to other factors, such as the selection of appropriate technological solutions , implementation, development, provision of user training and support – all of which will affect the quality and effectiveness of online learning and teaching. As a response to the situation triggered by the outbreak of Covid-19, online learning and teaching rapidly became the only choice for Chinese universities in early February of 2020. However, extant studies have shown that many Chinese students have had, until this recent period, only very limited opportunities to use Internet-based technology with a learning focus. Additionally, most of the Chinese traditional public universities had not previously made use of technologies widely adopted in other contexts, such as an institutionally-centralised learning management system. Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University (XJTLU), a Sino-British University located in Suzhou, China, was one of the earliest adopters of this approach, beginning the transition of its delivery in January, 2020. One of the most critical factors related to how XJTLU was able to undertake this transition effectively and rapidly, via leveraging 13+ years’ experience of using Moodle as the University’s centralized LMS. This case study will share stories and lessons learned by XJTLU from the past several years and provide a comparison with other, traditional public universities in China, including those relating to the technological development of our Moodle instance, rapid implementation of support and training processes, institutional changes in relation to learning and teaching policy, regulations and guidelines for online instructional design and delivery, approaches to online assessments and quality assurance practices.

Art of Management and Organization in The Pandemic 2021 Conference, 2021

2016 e-Learning Forum Asia (“eLFAsia 2016”), 2016

The focus of this paper will be on ways in which the Academic Enhancement Centre (AEC) at XJTLU e... more The focus of this paper will be on ways in which the Academic Enhancement Centre (AEC) at XJTLU encourages computer supported learning amongst academic staff through the use of the Mahara ePortfolio system. The Mahara ePortfolio system is being implemented and supported by the technology-enhanced learning team at XJTLU with the aim of developing learning communities amongst both staff and students. XJTLU is a transnational university in a Chinese context, which merges two different higher education systems. While this creates exciting opportunities, it also creates potential challenges, especially as they relate to differences in educational and cultural traditions. To address some of these challenges Mahara is used at XJTLU as an electronic portfolio system with social networking features to support online learning communities. In this paper, we report on a case study of the different ways in which the Mahara ePortfolio system has been adopted (and adapted) at XJTLU, for example to create individual, flexible, and multimedia-based professional portfolios for both staff and students, to provide a platform for innovative assessment practices, and even to develop departmental newsletters. The Mahara system has a number of social media-based features that provide opportunities for collaborative and peer learning. Furthermore, it can be integrated into various learning communities in a flexible manner via the university’s Moodle-based VLE or other VLEs. Overall, we will demonstrate how the Mahara ePortfolio system has the potential to bring potentially disparate elements together and to help develop transnational collaborative learning communities.

American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting 2021, 2021

The recent pandemic emergency has brought technology to the forefront of instructional changes an... more The recent pandemic emergency has brought technology to the forefront of instructional changes and innovations for online and hybrid learning in Higher Education. Universities might have gained digital resilience by the integration of technology into their programmes over the past years and it might be valuable for Universities to shift their services/operations from a blended approach to an emergency remote/hybrid one. Despite the longstanding recognition of the importance of technology for learning and teaching purposes, very little attention has been given to the technology’s impact on educational institutionalization process. This longitudinal case study examines the role of technology in the educational change before the COVID-19 pandemic to explore how possible is for a University to shift between different approaches. Research data was collected from a new international university in China with quick development and frequent changes from 2006 to 2019. We argue that teachers and students’ understanding of learning and teaching changes over time through their educational experiences mediated by the use of technology at the concrete level and the psychological level. This study proposes a new institutionalization process model and highlights a key stage, namely dual mediation, which enriches the interpretation of educational institutionalization by integrating the institutional theory and technology-mediated learning theory. The implications provide strategic guidelines for university leaders, policy makers and educators to incorporate technology more effectively and get better preparation for the dynamic uncertainties in the changing education environment.

British Educational Research Association (BERA) Conference 2021, 2021

Over the past two decades, technology has provided new pedagogical opportunities for knowledge ac... more Over the past two decades, technology has provided new pedagogical opportunities for knowledge accessing and information sharing with greater student-centeredness (Gordon, 2014; Lai & Bower, 2019). Most Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs), however, are very cautious of technology adoption, suspicious of the potential educational transition (e.g. teacher-centeredness to student-centeredness, face-to-face to online/blended learning), and thus lack of systematic understanding of the ongoing educational revolution (Brown, 2015; Collins & Halverson, 2008; Salmon, 2019). The emerging digital education keeps disrupting traditional education with an increasingly nontraditional student population (Brown et al., 2020). Under the high pressure of the forced, rapid educational transitions during the current pandemic, lots of unexpected challenges and problems (e.g. digital inequality, technology constraints and pedagogical chaos) shocked the unprepared HEIs (Sandars et al., 2020; Watermeyer et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2020). The worldwide crisis brought extra pressures to the HEIs stakeholders in different countries; nevertheless, it exposed the underlying contradictions and discrepancies in a short period, and thus provides great opportunities to accelerate the context-based investigation towards the better management of technology adoption and educational transition in gaining HEIs’ competence in the changing world. From the institutional perspective, both technology adoption and the educational transition could lead to the creation of the new educational institutions, which include new rules, understanding and associated practices (Scott, 2008). As Greif (2006, p. 17) argued: “Beliefs, norms, and organizations inherited from the past will constitute part of the initial conditions in the processes leading to new institutions.” Institutionalization, as the central focus of institutional theory, assimilates the innovations into the organizational structure in a stable manner (Miles et al., 1987), thus making innovative educational practices available to a broader community and more widespread within the university (Nworie, 2015; Surry & Ely, 2002). In Tolbert and Zucker’s (1996) institutionalization model, technological change is one of the predictors (Anderson & Tushman, 1990) to the diffusion of innovations and the start point of a better understanding of the institutionalization process. However, although the prevailing institutional scholars used this theoretical model to successfully examine and illuminate social practices in different areas, the research attention in higher education is very limited (Meyer & Rowan, 2006; Miles et al., 1987; Reay et al., 2013). On the other hand, the emerging technology adoption theories (Venkatesh & Bala, 2008; Venkatesh & Davis, 2000; Venkatesh et al., 2003) focused on variance-based theorizing more than process-based theorizing, and paid little attention to the connection between technology adoption and educational transition (Kirkwood, 2014; Marangunić & Granić, 2014; Mortenson, 2016; Salas, 2016; Turner et al., 2010). The above phenomenon and literature address the importance of complementing the substantive theories by investigating the underlying mechanisms of technology-enhanced educational change and to provide more effective strategical implications to educators, policymakers and practitioners. This paper adopted grounded strategy (Charmaz, 2014; Gioia & Chittipeddi, 1991) with mixed methods in a longitudinal case study (Eisenhardt, 1989; Langley, 1999; Yin, 2018) to a Sino-British joint venture international university. The main purpose of this study is to explore the theoretical structure grounding from the original cultural and historical context-based data and to seek new theoretical relationships (Creswell, 2012; Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Miles & Huberman, 1994) concerning the research question: how does technology adoption interact with the educational transition in the process of institutionalization? Specifically, this study collected data from three data sources: 14 years’ archival documents, 13 years’ Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) user behaviour logs and over 200 hours’ interviews with 50 faculty members in various roles, including the Executive President of the University, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Director of Centre for Academic Affairs, Dean of Institute of Leadership & Education Advanced Development, Director of Centre for Knowledge and Information and Head of Centre for Educational Technology. As a result of the grounded data analysis, the research team inferences the process of institutionalization with a sustainable dynamic cycle, transforming endogenous contradictions to exogenous opportunity: (1) technology adoptions disrupt current education practices while enabling the online/blended learning innovations; (2) online/blended learning innovations debilitate the teacher-centredness while enhancing the student-centred instructional design and the cultural-cognitive habitualization; (3) Student-centredness decentralize the technology adoption while enriching the face-to-face learning experiences; (4) Face-to-face teaching practices dampen the online/blended learning innovations while embedding teacher-centredness; (5) Teacher-centredness discourage student-centredness while empowering technology adoptions. This paper bridged and expanded the extant research by integrating the institutional theory and technology adoption theory in the Higher Education setting. Practical implications were provided to assist other HEIs to advance their technology adoption and educational transition in gaining organizational competence.

MoodleMoot Global 2020, 2020

Universities around the world were forced to rapidly adapt teaching and learning practices from f... more Universities around the world were forced to rapidly adapt teaching and learning practices from face-to-face to fully online in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University (XJTLU), a Sino-British University located in Suzhou, China, was one of the earliest adopters of this approach, beginning the transition of its delivery in January, 2020. One of the most critical factors related to how XJTLU was able to undertake this transition effectively and rapidly involved the 13+ years’ experience of using Moodle as the University’s centralized Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). This presentation will share our stories and lessons learned from the past 5-months of rapid change, including those relating to the technological development of our Moodle instance, rapid implementation of support and training processes, institutional changes in relation to teaching and learning policy, regulations and guidelines for online instructional design and delivery, approaches to online assessments and quality assurance practices. Many scholars have indicated that past knowledge and ways of living might not equip us to deal with precarious, uncertain and complex situations. The unexcepted pandemic crisis has forced educators and practioners to reflect on previous practices and prepare for future challenges – and the MoodleMoot Global Online event represents a great opportunity to share and exchange ideas and best practices.

Conference: 2020 4th International Conference on Education and Distance Learning, 2020

Lecture Notes in Management Science, 2019

This study explored the correlations and relationships amongst three variables: students' class a... more This study explored the correlations and relationships amongst three variables: students' class attendance, online engagement and academic performance in an EAP blended learning class. A two-step statistical testing was carried out for the investigation. The first-step Pearson correlation test indicated that both online engagement and class attendance were positively related with student's academic performance and students who had more attendance rates were more likely to spend more time in online self-learning. Based on the result of the first-step test, the second-step regression test was implemented to investigate whether class attendance and online engagement are causal factors for student performance. The findings were coherent with prior studies, which validated class attendance is a significant determinant for students' performance, whilst online engagement wasn't found statistically significant to determine performance. Differing from previous studies about blended learning, which mostly focused on the virtual learning component of teaching, this study takes a more comprehensive approach by looking into both of the two essential aspects of blended learning environment. The findings encourage teachers to design more efficient online classroom and raise institutional awareness in developing student support systems to aid enhanced progression and academic success.

Topics discussed in this presentation include: how the use of Moodle to record and track students... more Topics discussed in this presentation include: how the use of Moodle to record and track students’ in class attendance has led to significant gains in terms of efficiency, convenience, and security; the successes and challenges involved in implementing an online, Moodle-based approach to attendance-related activity; and the results of an internal research project focusing on attendance that was made possible by this development.

This paper discusses and reflects on the institutional, multi-year strategy taken by a large, Sin... more This paper discusses and reflects on the institutional, multi-year strategy taken by a large, Sino-international university in relation to the implementation of a diverse portfolio of open source educational technologies. Processes and considerations surrounding the selection of open source educational technologies, their evaluation, testing and implementation will be highlighted, together with key recommendations relating to best practices, reflections on successes and challenges, and how open source educational technologies have impacted the learning and teaching landscape at our University.

Education Sciences , 2022

Beijing University Press, 2024

This book serves as a companion piece to "What Management Could Be and Do: The Life Story of A Pr... more This book serves as a companion piece to "What Management Could Be and Do: The Life Story of A Practitioner of Idealism", weaving together the authentic narratives of Professor Xi Youmin, a renowned management scholar and founder of HeXie Management Theory, along with his multi-generational disciples. It presents a vivid portrayal of a mentorship journey toward enlightenment, cultivation, wisdom, and clarity, highlighting the unique humanistic and educational values of the "mentor-disciple relationship," an ancient educational micro-ecosystem, in the modern era. Fifty narrators, spanning various life stages, industries, and regions, strive to capture those moments of awakening from their memories, summarizing their personal growth journeys and exploring the meaning of education from their unique perspectives—what education could be and do. Each story within the book constitutes the author's self-construction. Amidst the external noise, there are still those who uphold their beliefs and forge ahead courageously, perhaps embodying the power of education—not only shaping personalities and enlightening wisdom but also encouraging everyone to bravely face life's storms and live authentically. The book aims to explore the multifaceted meanings of education with readers. More importantly, it hopes to inspire readers to find courage, discover themselves, and become their true selves! 本书是《管理何为：一个“理想主义”践行者的人生告白》的姊妹篇，以我国著名管理学家、和谐管理理论创始人席酉民教授与其多代弟子的真实故事为主线，为读者勾勒了一幅经由开悟、修炼朝向智慧和豁然的师门教育图景，展示了“师门”这一历史悠久的教育小生态在新时代中的特殊人文价值和教育价值。五十位讲述者身处不同的人生阶段、行业、地域，努力捕捉回忆里“被唤醒”的那些瞬间，总结自己的成长路程，并从各自的视角窥探教育的意义——教育是什么，以及教育为了什么。书中的每个故事，都是作者对自我的建构。无论外界如何喧嚣，仍有人坚守信念，勇往直前，也许这就是教育的力量——在塑造人格、启迪智慧的同时，更鼓励每个人勇敢地面对生活的风雨，活出真我。希望与读者共同探索教育的多维意义。更希望读者能从本书获得勇气，发现自我，成为自我！