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This study examined the effects of students' argumentation standpoints on their argumentation learning in the context of socio-scientific issues (SSIs). To that end, four kinds of argumentation standpoints were defined: affirmative standpoints, oppositional standpoints, multiple standpoints, and non-standpoints. These four kinds of standpoints allow for six possible combinations of any two of the different kinds of standpoints, which enabled us to conduct six kinds of 2-team format debates. The resulting differences of students' four types of arguments (i.e., claims, warrants, rebuttals, and qualifiers) generated in six types of debates were examined. This study invited 208 10th-grade students to participate in a quasi-experimental research design. The results showed the affirmative group students demonstrated superior performance in terms of claims and warrants, and the oppositional group students had the largest number of rebuttals. The students in the debate with combinations of affirmative and oppositional groups exhibited the best performance regarding the generation of claims, warrants, and rebuttals. Based on the results, the present study concluded the standpoint had significant effects on the students' argumentation learning, which suggests that teachers can investigate students' standpoint on the learning topic of SSI and their prior knowledge about the standpoint before teaching.

The study explored how the quality of Internet access influenced students' online learning experiences during the pandemic-imposed large-scale adoption of online education. Drawing upon digital inequality research, we analyzed data collected from 894 higher education international students in China. We found that both access devices and Internet stability exerted significant impacts on international students' satisfaction with and performance of synchronous online learning (SOL). The path model further revealed that the underlying mechanisms through which the two dimensions of access inequality affected learning outcomes were different. While the effects of access devices on learning satisfaction and course performance were only mediated by adaptability to online pedagogy, Internet stability affected the two outcome variables via both interaction and adaptability. The study highlights the implications of these findings in the context of online education.

Transnational online education has become an emerging trend in promoting academic collaboration and exchange in higher education during and after the pandemic. Guided by the learning ecology framework, we conducted concurrent mixed methods research by distributing an online survey to Chinese students (N=51) to collect quantitative and qualitative data. This helped us deeply understand their experiences and perceptions of a cross-cultural online learning environment in the United States. We applied multiple regression and thematic analysis to analyze the data. The merging of both types of data analysis indicated the confirmation of the importance of discipline-based English learning environments, the transformation of online learning practices, the insufficiency of student-to-instructor interactions, discordance of technological self-efficacy and the disadvantages of technology-assisted instruction, and discordance between the usefulness and difficulties of learning activities and assessments. We further discussed appropriate strategies and techniques to promote online teaching and learning excellence in transnational distance education.

Population-adjusted indirect comparisons, developed in the 2010s, enable comparisons between two treatments in different studies by balancing patient characteristics in the case where individual patient-level data (IPD) are available for only one study. Health technology assessment (HTA) bodies increasingly rely on these methods to inform funding decisions, typically using unanchored indirect comparisons (i.e., without a common comparator), due to the need to evaluate comparative efficacy and safety for single-arm trials. Unanchored matching-adjusted indirect comparison (MAIC) and unanchored simulated treatment comparison (STC) are currently the only two approaches available for population-adjusted indirect comparisons based on single-arm trials. However, there is a notable underutilisation of unanchored STC in HTA, largely due to a lack of understanding of its implementation. We therefore develop a novel way to implement unanchored STC by incorporating standardisation/marginalisation and the NORmal To Anything (NORTA) algorithm for sampling covariates. This methodology aims to derive a suitable marginal treatment effect without aggregation bias for HTA evaluations. We use a non-parametric bootstrap and propose separately calculating the standard error for the IPD study and the comparator study to ensure the appropriate quantification of the uncertainty associated with the estimated treatment effect. The performance of our proposed unanchored STC approach is evaluated through a comprehensive simulation study focused on binary outcomes. Our findings demonstrate that the proposed approach is asymptotically unbiased. We argue that unanchored STC should be considered when conducting unanchored indirect comparisons with single-arm studies, presenting a robust approach for HTA decision-making.

Web-based inquiry learning provides opportunities for students to take responsibility to regulate their learning. However, due to a lack of science inquiry-specific self-regulated learning (SRL) frameworks, there is insufficient understanding of SRL processes in inquiry-based science learning. This study aims to explore students' SRL patterns by using a comprehensive framework that combines SRL with the science inquiry process. Additionally, log-file data collected in the online science inquiry learning session were used to analyze students' SRL patterns. The results of the latent class analysis revealed four types of SRL learners: disengaged learners, proficient SRL learners, aimless reflective learners, and less reflective learners. Furthermore, we found significant differences in science achievement tests among different SRL learners. Specifically, proficient SRL learners and less reflective learners scored significantly higher than the other two types of learners. A difference was also found between proficient SRL learners and disengaged learners in terms of their self-determined motivation. Understanding the heterogeneity of SRL processes among students revealed from distinct SRL patterns informs how to provide targeted intervention and support for students who encounter difficulties in inquiry-based science learning.

To revise the Parental Autonomy Support Scale (PASS) and to validate its psychometric properties in Chinese college students, this study recruited 738 Chinese college students, with 72 of them retested four weeks later. The Parental Psychological Control Scale (PPCS) and the Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) were used to evaluate the validity of the PASS. Results showed that the revised PASS contained a total of nine items measuring three dimensions: autonomous decision-making, transpositional thinking, and willingness to respect. Results showed that the three-factor ESEM model fitted the data well (TLI = 0.981, CFI = 0.994, RMSEA = 0.046). The PASS showed a significant negative correlation between the total score of the PASS and the total score of the PPCS (r = -0.344, p < 0.001), and a significant positive correlation of the PASS with the total score of the RSES (r = 0.297, p < 0.001). The composite reliability coefficient was 0.913 for the total score. The test-retest reliability coefficients were 0.827 for the total score and ranged from 0.626 to 0.744 for the three dimensions. The revised PASS is shown to have sound psychometric properties and thus can be used as a tool to measure the level of parental autonomy support among Chinese college students.

This study examined the cognitive-linguistic and literacy-related correlates of dyslexia in three Chinese cities and the English word reading and mathematics performances of Chinese children with dyslexia. Chinese children with/without dyslexia were measured with an equivalent test battery of literacy and mathematics in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Taipei. Univariate analysis results suggested that phonological sensitivity distinguished those with and without dyslexia across all three cities in group comparisons. In Taipei and Hong Kong, morphological awareness, delayed copying, and spelling also distinguished the groups. Logistic regression analyses demonstrated that Chinese character reading, as directly compared to Chinese word reading, also distinguished the groups particularly well. In addition, in Beijing and Hong Kong, children with dyslexia performed significantly less well in English word reading than those without dyslexia. In Hong Kong and Taipei, children with dyslexia also had difficulties in mathematics performance. Findings highlight the fundamental importance of some cognitive-linguistic skills for explaining Chinese dyslexia across cultures, the utility of recognizing the individual Chinese character as a foundational unit of analysis in Chinese across cultures, and the generalizability of the comorbidity of both English as a second language (L2) and mathematics with dyslexia in Chinese children in both Beijing and Hong Kong.

In the Digital Heritage Education (DHE) classroom, students use digital tools to assist in understanding intangible cultural heritage (ICH), which comprises intricate knowledge. However, students may still encounter obstacles when trying to produce creative designs. To address this issue, we propose a framework that adopts a human-engaged computing perspective to enhance the understanding and design of ICH through phased synergized engagement between engaged students and engaging digital tools. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed framework, we designed, implemented, and tracked Cantonese Porcelain (CP) Creative Design courses over five years. We then evaluated the framework using the probing method, i.e., interviews and focus groups, to obtain lessons learned about understanding and designing CP in the classroom from students and teachers. The findings demonstrate that the framework effectively facilitates students' step-by-step understanding of the knowledge of CP and improves their creative design performance by integrating digital tools and the knowledge of CP. The framework emphasizes both the human and digital aspects of the learning process, encouraging students to engage in a synergized relationship with digital tools to enhance their understanding of ICH and creative design skills. We also discuss the theoretical and practical importance of this framework and outline a future research agenda for DHE in the classroom. Our framework provides researchers and educators with a new approach to explore how digital technology can effectively support students in understanding and designing ICH. It can be applied to other domains of cultural heritage beyond CP. In general, our study contributes to the development of effective pedagogical practices to integrate digital tools into DHE classrooms and to improve student creativity and cultural awareness.