7 August 2025 | Department of Curriculum and Instruction
The Department of Curriculum and Instruction was pleased to welcome Dr. Moritz Breit from the University of Trier, Germany, for a two-day seminar series held on August 5 and 6, 2025, focusing on meta-analysis, cognitive development, and academic achievement. Chaired by Dr. Norman Mendoza, the two-day hybrid seminars were attended by over 100 participants and garnered positive feedback and praise.
Day 1: Meta-Analytic Insights into Cognitive and Academic Trajectories
The first seminar, titled “Stability to Change: Cognitive and Academic Development Through a Meta-Analytic Lens”, was held fully online due to the Black Rainstorm Warning Signal in Hong Kong. Despite the inclement weather, the event attracted over 50 participants via Zoom, including faculty, researchers, and postgraduate students. Dr. Breit shared findings from several large-scale meta-analyses that examine how cognitive abilities and academic performance evolve over time. He offered fresh insights into developmental stability and change, emphasizing how longitudinal syntheses can guide theory, educational practices, and research.
Day 2: Demystifying the Meta-analytic Process
The second session, “The Meta-Analyst’s Toolkit: From Conceptualization to Publication”, took place on August 6 in hybrid format, with both in-person participants at the e-Learning Pedagogy Space at the EdUHK Tai Po campus and others joining online. Again, over 50 attendees took part. The workshop offered practical and reflective guidance on conducting meta-analytic research. Participants actively took notes and engaged in extended discussions. Dr. Breit generously allowed extended time for Q&A and individual consultation, walking participants through key decisions such as defining inclusion criteria, developing coding schemes, interpreting results, and navigating peer review.
Summary
This seminar series reflects the Department’s commitment to fostering global academic exchange and promoting research excellence. We thank Dr. Breit for his innovative and enriching sessions and his generous sharing of expertise with our academic community.
Dr. Breit is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Giftedness Research and Education at the University of Trier. His research, which bridges cognitive psychology, educational assessment, and quantitative methods, has been published in leading journals such as Psychological Bulletin, Educational Research Review, and Psychological Methods. Dr Mendoza of C&I and Dr Breit met in the AERA Conference in Chicago in 2023, and stayed connected for collaborations.
