Research Student Profiles

Miss XIAO, Ya

Mathematics, Science, and Technology

Programme of Study: PhD

Field of Study: Technology-enhanced Learning

Research Topic: Investigating the Effects of Personalized Gamification on Student Behavioural, Emotional and Cognitive Engagement

Email Address: yaxiao@connect.hku.hk

Office: Room 668, Meng Wah Complex

About Me:
I am interested in the following two areas of research: (1) technology-enhanced learning, i.e., how technology can be leveraged to improve student learning engagement and motivation; for this line of research, I focus primarily on gamification; (2) educational assessment, i.e., how large-scale educational assessments (e.g., PISA) can inform instructional practices.

For more information, please see:
- Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=zh-CN&user=uQ_I4qoAAAAJ
- ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ya-Xiao

Current Research:
Technology-assisted learning, Gamification, Learning engagement and motivation, Educational assessment, Literacy development

Primary Supervisor: Professor HEW, Timothy K F

Co-supervisor(s): Professor LO, Yuen Yi and Professor TAN, Cheng Yong

Research Outputs:
Chen, X., & Xiao, Y. (2024). Pathways to digital reading literacy among secondary school students: A multilevel analysis using data from 31 economies. Computers & Education. DOI: [10.1016/j.compedu.2024.105090]

Xiao, Y., & Hew, K. F. (2024). Personalized gamification versus one-size-fits-all gamification in fully online learning: Effects on student motivational, behavioral and cognitive outcomes. Learning and Individual Differences. DOI: [10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102470]

Xiao, Y., & Hew, K. F. (2024). Player Types in Gamified Learning: Conceptualization, Validation, and Profiling. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction. DOI: [10.1080/10447318.2024.2338664]

Xiao, Y. (2020). Review of the book Language and Culture in Dialogue, by J. S. Andrew & J. S. Pamela. Language in Society, 49(3), 492-493.

Xiao, Y., & Hu, J. (2020, 8). The influence of ICT attitudes on closing the reading literacy gap of students from different economic, social and cultural backgrounds. Proceedings of IEEE the 14th International Conference on Computer Science & Education (ICCSE), Toronto, Canada.

Xiao, Y., & Hew, K. F. (2023, 7). A systematic literature review on personalized gamification: Algorithms and techniques. Proceedings of EdMedia + Innovate Learning, Vienna, Austria.

Xiao, Y., & Hew, K. F. (2023, 12). Incorporating tangible rewards into gamification increases students’ identified regulation in fully online learning. Proceedings of the 31st International Conference on Computers in Education, Matsue, Shimane, Japan.

Xiao, Y., Li, Y., & Hu, J. (2019). Construction of the belt and road initiative in Chinese and American media: A critical discourse analysis based on self-built corpora. International Journal of English Linguistics, 9(3), 68-77. DOI: [10.5539/ijel.v9n3p68]

Xiao, Y., & Hu, J. (2019). Assessment of optimal pedagogical factors for Canadian ESL learners’ reading literacy through artificial intelligence algorithms. International Journal of English Linguistics, 9(4), 1-14. DOI: [10.5539/ijel.v9n4p1]

Xiao, Y., & Hu, J. The moderation examination of ICT use on the association between Chinese students’ socioeconomic status and reading achievement. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, 14(15), 107-120. DOI: [10.3991/ijet.v14i15.10494]

Xiao, Y., & Hu, J. (2019). Regression analysis of ICT impact factors on early adolescents’ reading proficiency in five high-performing countries. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. DOI: [10.3389/fpsyg.201946.016]

Xiao, Y., & Hew, K. F. (2022). The relationships among ICT-related psychological factors, school contextual factors and secondary students’ reading performance: A multilevel analysis across 47 Economies. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 60(5), 1166-1196. DOI: [10.1177/07356331211070975]

Xiao, Y., & Hew, K. F. (2023). Intangible rewards versus tangible rewards in gamified online learning: Which promotes student intrinsic motivation, behavioral engagement, cognitive engagement and learning performance?. British Journal of Educational Technology. DOI: [10.1111/bjet.13361]

Xiao, Y., & Hew, K. F. (2024). Personalized gamification enhances student participation but produces mixed effects on emotional and cognitive engagements: a systematic review. Interactive Learning Environments. DOI: [10.1080/10494820.2023.2299977]

Awards and Prizes:
HKU Presidential PhD Scholarship, awarded by the University of Hong Kong, 2021-2025.
China National Scholarship (Postgraduate), awarded by China Ministry of Education, 2018-2019.
China National Scholarship (Undergraduate), awarded by China Ministry of Education, 2015-2016, 2016-2017
Excellent Graduate, awarded by Zhejiang University, 2021.
Award of Honor for Graduate, and Graduate of Merit/Triple A Graduate, awarded by Zhejiang University, 2018-2019, 2019-2020.
The 1st Prize of Outstanding Student Scholarship, awarded by Zhengzhou University, 2017-2018.
Model Student of the Year 2017, awarded by Zhengzhou University, 2017.
Triple-A Undergraduate Student & Excellent Student Cadre, awarded by Zhengzhou University, 2014-2015, 2015-2016, 2016-2017.