The Assessment Research Centre at The Education University of Hong Kong has received recognition from the World Education Research Association (WERA) for its key International Research Network (IRN) on social metacognition and big data. The IRN’s 28 researchers, from 17 universities in nine countries and regions, are collaborating on seven research projects, involving large data sets, regarding how a group’s executive thinking influences its members’ actions.

“To help people work together more effectively, we need to understand how they influence one another’s feelings, thoughts and behaviours,” said Professor Chiu Ming Ming, Network Convener and Centre Director. “Thus, our Network uses artificial intelligence and advanced statistics to analyse complex data sets to develop social metacognition theory.”

The Network will conduct seven joint research projects, concerning (i) young children’s buddy reading, (ii) students learning from feedback, (iii) discussions to improve teaching, (iv) problem solving among technicians, (v) mathematics problem-solving forums, (vi) online debate arguments, and (vii) winning online debates. Through a WERA symposium, joint publications and a synthesis report, the Network will showcase the research findings, set out future research directions, and explore new collaboration opportunities.