Short Bio
Prof. Jana Ho is an accomplished researcher specializing in the integration of technology in education, with a focus on early childhood learning, gamification, and online assessments. She holds a Ph.D. in Psychology from The Chinese University of Hong Kong and a Master's degree in Learning Sciences at the University of Munich. She completed her postdoctoral training at Purdue University. Prof. Ho is committed to advancing teacher development and enhancing pedagogical practices through innovative technological approaches.
Publications
1. Ho, J.CS., Reed, D., & McBride, C. (2025). The Effects of Orthography, Phonology, Semantics, and Word Memory on the Reading Comprehension of Children with and without Dyslexia. Annals of Dyslexia, 1-16. (SSCI, Q1, IF = 2.1)
2. HO, J.CS., Cheung S.K., McBride, C., Purpura, D.J., Ng, M.CY. & Ho, A.PL. (2025). Relation between general vocabulary knowledge and early numeracy competence: The mediating role of mathematical language. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 252, 106145. (SSCI, Q1, IF = 1.8)
3. McQuade, M., Pan, D.J., Ho, J.CS., Ong, J., Ng, M.C., Meng, X., McBride, C. (2024). Chinese Students Learning English as a Second Language. Education Sciences, 14(2), 180. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14020180 (ESCI, Q1, IF = 2.5)
4. Ho, J.CS., McBride, C., Lui, K.FH., & Łockiewicz, M. (2023). WordSword – An Efficient Online Word Reading Assessment for Global English. Assessment, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1177/10731911231194971 (SSCI, Q1, IF = 3.5)
5. Ho, J.CS., McBride, C., & Lui, K.FH., (2023). What Explains Children's Digital Word Reading Performance in L2. Reading and Writing, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-023-10420-8 (SSCI, Q1, IF = 2.0)
6. Tong, C. K. Y., Ho, J. CS., Yang, X., McBride, C., Ng, M. C. Y., & Pan, D. J. (2022). Transfer? Reading, writing, and parental factors in Hong Kong Chinese families across Chinese and English. Reading and Writing, 36, 1997–2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-022-10372-5 (SSCI, Q1, IF = 2.0)
7. Ho, J.CS., Hung, YS. & Kwan, L.YY. (2021). The impact of peer competition and collaboration on gamified learning performance in educational settings: a Meta-analytical study. Education and Information Technologies, 27, 3833–3866. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10770-2 (SSCI, Q1, IF = 4.8)
Modules
Year 1 PGDE
This module will cover the most relevant theories of developmental psychology of infants and children and its relevance to teaching and learning as well as different strategies to support and enhance the infant and child’s social, emotional, psychological and cognitive skills. The module will then explore how both psychological and educational development can be disrupted by a range of problems associated with childhood. Students will learn how to identify pupils with learning difficulties and how to work with others to allow all pupils to achieve their full educational potential.
This module will cover the most relevant theories of developmental psychology of adolescents and its relevance to teaching and learning as well as different strategies to support and enhance the adolescents social, emotional, psychological and cognitive skills. Relevant issues associated with adolescence, such as friendships, peer cultures, bully/vitim problems at school, teens independence and autonomy within families, will be examined. The module will explore how both psychological and educational development can be disrupted by a range of problems related with adolescence. Students will learn how to identify pupils with learning difficulties and how to work with others to allow all pupils to achieve their full educational potential.
Year 1 Bachelor
This module addresses a number of fundamental questions of current debates around pedagogy, teaching and effective ways of enhancing student learning in educational settings. Major educational theories concerning the learning process and their implications for the instructional process will be investigated. A wide variety of different types of educational theories and concepts that are relevant to educational issues and their impact on education will be covered.
This module examines the forces converging on education that are shifting views of teaching and learning. It will introduce various frameworks developed to guide educators in preparing students for the 21st century and covers skills to help students learn and innovate. The module is designed to meet the rising demand for creativity, problem solving, critical thinking, digital literacy skills, and innovation.
Year 2 Bachelor
This module is designed to familiarize the students with the language, the logic and the elements of research in order to make them capable of conducting their own small-scale research projects at class and school level. The emphasis is on methodologies and techniques that are relevant and commonly used within the field of education. Various small-scale research methodologies are explored during the course.
