On April 11, 2025, Harvard CES Postgraduate Scholars Conference 2025 was held at Harvard University in the United States. With the theme “Educational Innovation in the Era of Globalization: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Language, Psychology, and Technology,” the conference focused on three key research areas: “International Education”, “Integration of Education and Artificial Intelligence”, and “Educational Psychology”. It brought together young scholars from 13 countries and regions worldwide, representing 44 renowned universities, to deeply explore the challenges and opportunities in educational development in the new era. Master's students Zhao Yibo and Ni Yujia from our institute attended the conference in the United States and delivered academic presentations.
In a sub-forum presentation, master's student Zhao Yibo delivered a report titled Reading to Illuminate Thinking: A Longitudinal Study on the Impact of Reading on the Trajectory of Critical Thinking Disposition in College Students. Based on a one-year longitudinal tracking of college students, the study found that their critical thinking disposition showed a non-linear decline. Both academic reading and leisure reading effectively buffered this declining trend, with the optimal reading durations being 0.5–1 hour and less than 0.5 hour, respectively. These results highlight the significant influence of different reading types and their durations on the critical thinking disposition of college students.
Master's student Ni Yujia presented a report titled From Silence to Inspiration: A Study on University Teachers' Active Silence. The study conducted in-depth interviews with university teachers at different career stages to explore their attitudes toward and application of active silence strategies in the classroom. The research found that university teachers' active silence carries rich educational implications and, when used appropriately, can enhance classroom teaching effectiveness.
China Education Forum is an official student organization of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the most influential non-profit platform focusing on Chinese education among top U.S. higher education institutions. The Postgraduate Scholars Conference is a core component of the 16th Harvard China Education Forum, providing a unique platform for young scholars and early-career researchers to present their research findings and engage in in-depth discussions.
