My Involvement in Our Group Project: Reflections on Design, Decisions, and Choices

 

1. Why We Chose the Topic: Supporting Chinese Students in Adapting to UK Student-Centred Learning

   When our group first brainstormed possible topics, we quickly realized that many Chinese students—including ourselves—had experienced a significant cultural and academic shock when transitioning into the UK education system. Compared to China's teacher-centred approach, the UK heavily emphasizes student-centred learning.

   Many Chinese students feel uncertain, passive, or even frustrated when first encountering expectations such as open discussion, critical thinking, and independent learning (Fakunle et al., 2016). This reality inspired our group to design a learning solution specifically aimed at easing this transition. 

2. My Role: Designing the Quiz and Explaining Student-Centred Learning

a) The Quiz Design

   I took primary responsibility for designing the Quiz (Part 1 of the blog). I wanted an engaging and reflective tool that would help new students quickly assess their own learning habits. Inspired by diagnostic questionnaires in educational psychology, I structured the quiz with simple but thoughtful questions. Each option (A, B, or C) reflected different degrees of alignment with student-centred principles, encouraging participants to think about their personal styles without feeling judged. Creating this quiz allowed me to apply theories from learner-centred teaching literature (Sharkey and Weimer, 2003), which emphasizes personal reflection as a key starting point for transformation.

b) Helping better understand the concept

   I knew that many incoming Chinese students might have little or even no prior understanding of "student-centred learning", so it was essential to explain it clearly, and in a relatable way. In our initial discussions, I proposed that rather than giving a very academic or abstract definition, we should break down the concept into key features that students could easily recognize in real classroom experiences. I suggested that by linking theory to specific examples, we could help students not just understand, but also imagine themselves participating in a student-centred classroom, and we concluded five core features.

3. Group Dynamics

   Our group started with a lot of different ideas. Some members, like Xinyi Gao and Xiaohui Dai, suggested making a short video to show the emotional journey of adapting to a new educational culture. I proposed recording a personal vlog about our current learning experiences, thinking a diary-style record would help new students relate to real challenges and progress.

   After discussion, we realized a personal vlog might be too long and scattered for our goal. To keep the project focused and accessible, we decided on a short, professional-style video that clearly conveyed key messages like embracing mistakes and practicing critical thinking.

   Once we finalized the direction, we divided the tasks based on strengths. I focused on designing the quiz and writing the explanation about student-centred learning, while others worked on the video content, case examples, and the blog layout. Throughout the process, we shared feedback and kept adjusting, ensuring that the final solution was clear, supportive, and consistent.

4. My Reflection

   While designing the learning solution for Chinese students, I kept reflecting: Were we truly addressing their real struggles? Could our activities genuinely boost their confidence and engagement in a student-centred classroom? Through working on the quiz and the explanation, I realized that real support means respecting students’ learning backgrounds and guiding gradual change, not imposing new methods (Ryan & Deci, 2000). 

   Our group collaboration also taught me that learner-centredness is an attitude—valuing individual differences and fostering autonomy. Like in our discussions, effective learning spaces must allow students to feel safe to explore and express themselves (Sharkey and Weimer, 2003).

AI Declaration

This blog was created with the assistance of AI tools, including quillbot and ChatGPT. These tools were used to enhance research, refine critical analysis, and improve the clarity of expression. However, the final content has been reviewed and edited to ensure originality, coherence, and academic integrity.

References

Fakunle, L., Allison, P. and Fordyce, K. (2016). Chinese Postgraduate Students’ Perspectives on Developing Critical Thinking on an UK Education Masters. Journal of Curriculum and Teaching, 5(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.5430/jct.v5n1p27.

Ryan, R.M. and Deci, E.L. (2000). Self-determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), pp.68–78.

Sharkey, S. and Weimer, M. (2003). Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice. Teaching Sociology, [online] 31(2), p.251. doi:https://doi.org/10.2307/3211318.