Celebrating future classroom stars: FLASS honours top RPg tutors

At FLASS, many of our research students take up instructional tasks to prepare themselves for future teaching careers. To encourage them to excel in teaching, FLASS organises the Best Research Postgraduate (RPg) Student Teaching Awards. For the 2024/25 academic year, the awards went to three PhD students: Mr Kong Yu-hin from the Department of Health and Physical Education (HPE), Ms Tao Lei from the Department of Mathematics and Information Technology (MIT), and Mr Richard Yeung Chung-yiu from the Department of Science and Environmental Studies (SES).

Mr Kong Yu-hin, also known as Hin, was nominated by his PhD supervisor Dr Gary Chow Chi-ching from HPE. He joined FLASS as a research assistant in 2018 before starting his doctoral studies under Dr Chow’s supervision in 2023. His research focuses on developing a new assessment tool to evaluate the ability to handle physical and mental tasks simultaneously. “By exploring the connection between people’s physical skills and mental abilities, I aim to discover new approaches to help young people become more active and healthier,” he said.

Besides working on his PhD programme, Hin also assists Dr Chow in carrying out different tests in physical skills and fitness, as well as collecting biomarker samples. Over the past two academic years, he has also been involved in organising the HPE Student Conference. “Helping out in the conference offered me valuable opportunities to engage with HPE students, departmental staff and staff from other teams within EdUHK. In the 2024/25 conference, my organisational and leadership skills were greatly enhanced as I guided and worked closely with a new PhD student, Ms Jaclyn Tsang Hei, throughout the project,” he said.

“Before joining HPE, I worked at the Hong Kong Sports Institute for two years. There, I assisted coaches in monitoring the performances of elite athletes through assessments of various physical skills and fitness, and by collecting biomarker samples, such as blood lactate,” Hin said. He explained that biomarkers, often collected from blood, urine, or sweat, measure an athlete’s physiological response to training and their nutritional status. “Data analysis, including that of biomarkers, plays a crucial role in modern sports science research. My experience in data collection, including practical difficulties, helps current students a lot in mastering the techniques,” Hin said.

Hin was grateful to Dr Chow for deepening his understanding of how to sustain students' attention. “Take the sprint test as an example. It is conducted to evaluate a student’s maximum running speed and often involves multiple trials, with adequate rest periods in between. To optimise the testing process, we divide students into groups to ensure sufficient recovery between trials and minimise unnecessary waiting. The principle behind the test design is getting everyone engaged, whether performing the sprint or taking a rest,” Hin said. Dr Chow emphasised that the same principle of “getting everyone engaged” should be applied when teaching students, whether in a classroom or on the sports field.

“Dr Gary Chow also pointed out that my presentation skills were an area for improvement. He encouraged me to enhance these skills by pursuing opportunities to present at conferences and seminars. Through repeated practice, including participating in the Faculty Postgraduate Seminars, my oral presentation has substantially improved,” Hin said. Dr Chow’s reminder made him aware of the importance of good presentation abilities in effective teaching. “To keep the audience engaged, I always strive to deliver my presentation at an appropriate pace and with clarity,” the HPE awardee stressed.

Ms Tao Lei is the awardee from the Department of Mathematics and Information Technology (MIT). Her PhD research is about how primary school students learn together in a virtual world. “I examine primary students’ socially shared regulation of learning during collaborative problem-solving tasks in a 3D metaverse-based platform called Learningverse. By integrating multimodal data such as behavioural and dialogue data, my study aims to identify effective patterns of collaboration and provide insights into how timely digital guidance can support group learning in these immersive settings,” she said.

Apart from working on her doctoral research, Tao Lei teaches one course for PGDE students every semester. “The students came from diverse backgrounds; some are undergraduates, while others are experienced teachers. I observed they have varying attitudes towards the use of educational technology. Undergraduate students generally embraced it more readily, while in-service teachers showed more resistance. In one course, I taught how to use Virtual Reality (VR) headsets to facilitate learning. Some students experienced dizziness and visual discomfort, making them reluctant to use the technology,” Tao Lei explained.

The PhD candidate found from her real teaching experience that while virtual environments can enhance learning in some cases, they are not always suitable. “VR technology can bring complex and abstract concepts to life in a visually engaging and interactive manner. I learnt from my own teaching experiences that VR headsets are most appropriate for teaching abstract ideas and conducting virtual experiments,” she shared.

Tao Lei thanked her supervisor, Professor Song Yanjie, for giving her so many opportunities to teach and encouraging her to participate in academic conferences. She found great joy in teaching, especially when students told her that the educational techniques and pedagogy she taught were useful. “On one occasion, I taught them how to use the inquiry-based 5E instructional model (Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation) to enhance learning effectiveness. I was delighted when they told me that the 5E model helped their teaching,” she said.

Tao Lei obtained undergraduate degrees both in Software Engineering and English Studies in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, and later earned a Master’s degree in Education at the University College London, reflecting her strong interest in teaching. “I always think about how to enable students to learn effectively. As a PhD student, I actively apply findings and inspiration from my research in real-world teaching scenarios. Conversely, teaching helps me adjust my research focus to meet the real needs of education,” she said.

Dean of FLASS, Professor Li Wai-keung, congratulated the achievements of the three awardees. He said, “The Best Research Postgraduate Student Teaching Awards highlight FLASS’s commitment to nurturing well-rounded educators who excel not only in research but also in teaching. By providing opportunities for research students to gain instructional experience and recognising their achievements, FLASS is shaping the future of education and empowering the next generation of teachers to make a meaningful impact.”

Please refer to the related article for details.