Abstract as per original application
(English/Chinese): |
Quality mathematics education in Hong Kong is ever more important due to worldwide emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in order to effectively respond to the changing workforce and skillsets in the twenty-first century. Mathematics, a core subject for compulsory education, is a foundational STEM subject with interdisciplinary applications spanning across engineering, quantitative finance, artificial intelligence (AI), and biotechnology. Therefore, mathematics education across compulsory to tertiary education must be designed and executed to support students’ development to become successful in STEM fields.
Despite continued efforts by local government to support quality mathematics learning through curricular reforms, there remains a significant and research-evidenced gap in students’ secondary-tertiary mathematics transition locally, and worldwide. Particularly, university academics in mathematics consistently observe secondary school graduates’ unpreparedness for tertiary mathematics, raising concerns for industries and stakeholders in attracting and fostering STEM talents. Thus, there exist urgent needs to improve the secondary-tertiary mathematics transition in Hong Kong and beyond, which has also implication toward sustainable development of STEM and AI applications in the local, wider Chinese, and global contexts in today's increasingly digital world.
This study will examine the secondary-tertiary mathematics transition in Hong Kong by a mixed-method approach. Three kinds of stakeholders, namely secondary and tertiary students of mathematics (n=380), in-service and prospective mathematics teachers (n=210), and university academics will participate in the two-part study. Firstly, this study will develop an instrument and quantitatively assess the participating teachers’ and students’ mathematical competence in the topics of pre-calculus and calculus, which are major domains in both secondary and tertiary education. Second, it will adopt an interview methodology, focusing on generating new understanding about the participant groups’ mathematics teaching and/or learning experiences, the challenges and opportunities faced, and the meanings associated with the experiences, while task-based interviews will reveal the participants’ thinking processes in solving the designed mathematical tasks.
The study surveys and informs the curricular learning and instructional practices of upper secondary and tertiary mathematics, drawing upon different methodologies (quantitative/qualitative) and epistemologies (cognitive/sociocultural). Findings will contribute toward refining theoretical understanding about the cognitive processes in studying advanced mathematics. Practically, it will provide evidence-based directions toward coherent and quality mathematics education in Hong Kong. More broadly, this study will make impact toward curricular and policy reforms regarding what, and how, public education may better address, leverage, and respond to the changing landscape and needs for STEM education.
由於全球對科學、技術、工程和數學（STEM）教育的重視，以有效應對21世紀勞動力和技能的變化，香港的優質數學教育愈發重要。數學作爲義務教育階段的核心課程，也是STEM學科的基礎，其跨學科應用於工程製造、量化金融、人工智慧和生物科技等領域。因此，從義務教育到高等教育的數學教育必須圍繞支持學生在STEM領域中的成功發展來設計和實施。
儘管香港政府通過課程改革持續努力地促進高質量的數學學習，但在香港和全球範圍內，學生從高中數學到高等教育數學的銜接上仍然存在顯著且已經被研究證實的不足。尤其是，數學領域的大學學者們不斷發現高中畢業生對大學數學的準備不足，這引起了業界和相關人士在吸引和培養STEM人才方面的擔憂。因此，在香港乃至更廣汎的地區，迫切需要改善高中數學向大學數學的銜接問題，同時在當今日益數字化的世界，這對於香港，中國乃至全世界的STEM持續發展和AI應用也具有影響。
本研究將採用混合研究法來探究香港高中數學和大學數學的銜接問題。三類相關人士，分別是高中和大學數學專業的學生（380名）、在職和准數學教師（210名）、大學學者，將參與兩部分的研究。首先，本研究將開發一種工具來量化評估參與教師和學生在前備微積分和微積分上的數學能力，這些知識是高中和高等教育階段的主要內容。其次，本研究將使用訪談法，聚焦於參與者群體的數學教學和/或學習經歷、面臨到的挑戰和機遇、以及與經驗相關的意義，從而產生對以上問題的新認識，同時基於任務的訪談將揭示參與者在解決數學問題中的思考過程。
該研究利用不同的研究方法（量化/質性）和認識角度（認知/社會文化）調查並揭示了高中數學和高等教育數學的課程學習以及教學實踐。研究發現將有助於完善對高等數學學習中認知過程的理論理解。從實踐角度出發，這個研究將為香港連貫且優質的數學教育提供基於經驗的指導。更廣汎地來講，這項研究將對課程和政策改革產生影響，這些改革涉及公共教育做什麽、以及怎麽做才能夠更好地應對、利用和回應不斷變化的STEM教育格局和需求
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