Lisa Y. N. Law

Bio: Lisa Y. N. Law is an academic researcher from Hong Kong Baptist University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Curriculum & Blended learning. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 3 publications receiving 14 citations.

University teachers’ conceptions of internationalisation of the curriculum: a phenomenographic study

Abstract: Internationalisation of the curriculum (IoC) is on the agenda of many higher education (HE) institutions worldwide. Typically seen as associated with a top-down strategy, IoC often meets resistance from university teachers, many of whom struggle to understand its relevance to teaching practice. This phenomenographic study investigates university teachers’ conceptions of IoC. Five conceptions ranging in sophistication have been identified. The least sophisticated focuses on making the curriculum content internationally relevant, whereas the most sophisticated centres around developing self-awareness, awareness of others, and a change in mindset in students. The latter is realised by embracing reflexivity and criticality and, more importantly, utilising societal and political issues as learning opportunities for identity development. Situated in the Hong Kong context, the findings not only suggest the need for teachers to shift their focus from curriculum content to value-based development but also for educators to reflect on their role in helping students to reconcile their identity in relation to their counterparts regionally and globally.

Developing Academics’ Capacity for Internationalizing the Curriculum: A Collaborative Autoethnography of a Cross-Institutional Project:

Abstract: Developing academics’ capacity for internationalizing the curriculum (IoC) is essential but challenging. There is a lack of understanding of how the IoC framework can be implemented in reality and ...

The Challenges and Dynamics of Flipped Learning Totally Online: The Case of Training Research Postgraduates to Be University Instructors

Abstract: “Flipped classroom” is one of the popular blended learning approaches in Higher Education (HE) with significant use of technology. A “flipped” course typically engages students to do pre-class online learning at their own pace; the teachers then design active learning activities to reinforce students’ online learning in a physical classroom setting. Although literatures suggest that active learning after self-directed online learning can take place not only in traditional lectures hall but also online learning spaces, there is a lack of studies that investigate how the “relocation” of the face-to-face component online would affect students’ learning. As the COVID-19 pandemic has suspended face-to-face teaching on HE campuses worldwide, this article seizes the opportunity to examine the difficulties and possibilities of conducting flipped learning totally online. By evaluating the delivery of a flipped course for 46 research postgraduate students in Hong Kong during the pandemic-stricken period, the teaching team of the captioned course summarizes how the paradigm shift of flipped learning from partially online to totally online simultaneously distort and create new dynamics of in-class interaction and collaboration. Recommendations on how to better implement and research “flipped learning totally online” as a pedagogy across multiple disciplines will also be highlighted.

On the development of meaning in life among college freshmen: Social relationship antecedents and adjustment consequences

Abstract: Entering tertiary education is a critical developmental task during emerging adulthood when exploration of life meaning becomes salient. A strong sense of meaning in life (MIL) plays a key role in smooth transition to college. However, little is known about how MIL develops in the first year of college, and even less is studied about the extent to which such development is a function of social relationships and predicts subsequent adjustment outcomes in college freshmen. This three-wave longitudinal research aims to address these underexplored questions, collecting data from Chinese college freshmen regarding their MIL, social relationships with parents, peers, and teachers, and a range of adjustment outcomes (i.e., life satisfaction, adaptation, procrastination, and smartphone addiction) at the second (T1), fourth (T2), and eighth (T3) months upon entry into college (i.e., higher vocational training institute; T1 N = 1,578). Results of latent growth models unravelled that Chinese college freshmen’s MIL showed a slight, but significant, decrease over the first year of college. Positive relationships with mother and teachers were related to higher levels of initial MIL and a positive teacher-student relationship mitigated the decline of MIL over time. In addition, results of path analysis revealed that MIL was concurrently related to better adjustment at both T2 and T3 and that T2 MIL also predicted better adjustment at T3. Mediation analyses further revealed that T2 MIL mediated the associations between T1 teacher-student relationship quality and T3 adjustment, even after controlling for T1 MIL and T2 adjustment. These findings bear important implications for college freshmen’s positive transition to college.

Developing Academics’ Capacity for Internationalizing the Curriculum: A Collaborative Autoethnography of a Cross-Institutional Project:

Abstract: Developing academics’ capacity for internationalizing the curriculum (IoC) is essential but challenging. There is a lack of understanding of how the IoC framework can be implemented in reality and ...

Higher Education Organizations as Strategic Actors in Networks: Institutional and Relational Perspectives Meet Social Network Analysis

Abstract: Informed by multiple disciplines, theories, and methods, higher education scholars have developed a robust and diverse literature in many countries. Yet, some important (organizational) sociological perspectives, both more established and more recent, are insufficiently linked. In particular, we identify two theoretical strands – institutional and relational – that, when joined, help to explain contemporary developments in global higher education and yield new organizational insights. We review relevant literature from each perspective, both in their general formulations and with specific reference to contemporary higher education research. Within the broad institutional strand, we highlight strategic action fields, organizational actorhood, and associational memberships. Within the relational strand, we focus on ties and relationships that are especially crucial as science has entered an age of (inter)national research collaboration. Across these theories, we discuss linkages between concepts, objects, and levels of analysis. We explore the methodological approach of social network analysis as it offers great potential to connect these strands and, thus, to advance contemporary higher education research in a collaborative era.