The Department of Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) at The Education University of Hong Kong successfully hosted an invited face-to-face seminar on 4 June 2026, featuring Dr. Yu-Ju Lan, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chinese as a Second Language at National Taiwan Normal University.
Dr. Lan is an internationally recognized scholar in technology-enhanced language learning. She currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of Educational Technology & Society, Associate Editor of Language Learning & Technology, and a member of the editorial board of Ampersand. She was awarded the Outstanding Research Award by Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology in 2022 and is the founding president of the Taiwan Pedagogy and Practice in TELL Association. Her research interests include technology-enhanced foreign language learning, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and online synchronous teacher training.
Titled “AI as a Learning Partner: Enhancing Writing, Critical Thinking, and Self-Regulated Learning through Pedagogical AI Agents,” the seminar attracted 92 registrants. The event provided a timely platform for exploring the pedagogical potential of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) in technology-rich learning environments, where autonomous and self-regulated learning have become increasingly important.
In her presentation, Dr. Lan examined both the opportunities and challenges associated with the use of GAI in education. While GAI offers considerable potential to support teaching and learning, she noted that concerns regarding academic integrity, accuracy, and ethical use remain prominent. In response to these issues, Dr. Lan proposed a customized pedagogical AI agent grounded in learning theory to serve as a learning partner for students. Drawing on writing research as an illustrative example, she demonstrated how guided interaction and feedback can enhance students’ writing performance, critical thinking, and self-regulated learning.
The seminar marked another important milestone in C&I’s commitment to fostering academic exchange and advancing innovation in AI-enhanced teaching and learning.
