332
L. Liu and L. Gao
Fig. 2 Comparison of prior knowledge on sustainability between the 2016 and 2017 classes
Protocol and Paris Agreement added in 2017, the trend seems obvious that students
are more knowledgeable about recent events.
Students were asked to choose SDGs they are more interested in and identify
their likes and dislikes from a number of topics that are proposed to be taught in
the course. The likes and dislikes listed by the 2017 class cover a wide spectrum,
but are quite similar to those for the 2016 class. In general, the top-selected topics include the network economy (51.9%), environmental protection and pollution
control (46.8%), quality education (40.3%), climate change and the carbon market
(36.4%) and issues on China (32.5). Political theory and state governance (47.4%)
was chosen to be the most disliked topic, followed by social inquiry methods (32.9%)
and the history of sustainable development (31.6%). Students could also add topics of
their special interests, with more than 50% of the students giving replies. The teacher
responded that their perceptions and suggestions would be considered in arranging
future classes.
Students also responded in terms of their habitual behaviors and their perceptions
of pedagogy and class atmosphere. Mobile phones (97.4%) and the internet (94.8%)
are the most popular tools that they use to obtain information and to communicate.
39% of the students spend 2 to 3 hours per day on the internet, while this increases
to more than 3 hours per day for 29% of the students. In the multiple-choice item
requiring information about the type of news that interest them, entertainment news
ranked first (72.7%), followed by domestic news (66.2%), disciplinary information
(51.9%) and international news (42.9%).
Analysis of the questionnaires indicated that the majority of students (81.8%)
anticipated that the lecturer would be able to adopt various ways to teach in class
that would go beyond traditional instruction. This included video playing (75.3%
L. Liu and L. Gao
Fig. 2 Comparison of prior knowledge on sustainability between the 2016 and 2017 classes
Protocol and Paris Agreement added in 2017, the trend seems obvious that students
are more knowledgeable about recent events.
Students were asked to choose SDGs they are more interested in and identify
their likes and dislikes from a number of topics that are proposed to be taught in
the course. The likes and dislikes listed by the 2017 class cover a wide spectrum,
but are quite similar to those for the 2016 class. In general, the top-selected topics include the network economy (51.9%), environmental protection and pollution
control (46.8%), quality education (40.3%), climate change and the carbon market
(36.4%) and issues on China (32.5). Political theory and state governance (47.4%)
was chosen to be the most disliked topic, followed by social inquiry methods (32.9%)
and the history of sustainable development (31.6%). Students could also add topics of
their special interests, with more than 50% of the students giving replies. The teacher
responded that their perceptions and suggestions would be considered in arranging
future classes.
Students also responded in terms of their habitual behaviors and their perceptions
of pedagogy and class atmosphere. Mobile phones (97.4%) and the internet (94.8%)
are the most popular tools that they use to obtain information and to communicate.
39% of the students spend 2 to 3 hours per day on the internet, while this increases
to more than 3 hours per day for 29% of the students. In the multiple-choice item
requiring information about the type of news that interest them, entertainment news
ranked first (72.7%), followed by domestic news (66.2%), disciplinary information
(51.9%) and international news (42.9%).
Analysis of the questionnaires indicated that the majority of students (81.8%)
anticipated that the lecturer would be able to adopt various ways to teach in class
that would go beyond traditional instruction. This included video playing (75.3%