38 人物專訪 • EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW 澳大新語 • 2025 UMAGAZINE 31 assess intelligence and achievement. It evaluates the difficulty of test items by analysing respondents’ overall answers while simultaneously estimating individual ability levels based on their performance. The late Benjamin Drake Wright, a professor of educational measurement at the University of Chicago, introduced the Rasch model to the field of educational assessment. In 1969, he developed BICAL, the first Rasch analysis software, which became the foundation for many of the measurement tools commonly used today. Prof Liu played a pivotal role in extending the application of the Rasch model to measure student proficiency in science education. Although he never met Prof Wright personally, he attended several of his presentations at the American Educational Research Association annual meetings, which sparked his interest in the model. Inspired by Prof Wright’s work, Prof Liu applied the Rasch model for the first time in 2005 to analyse how students’ understanding of the concept of energy develops and changes from primary to secondary school. This approach effectively addressed the shortcomings of traditional assessment methods for science education, which relied solely on correct answer rates to measure proficiency and lacked common difficulty parameters, often leading to inaccurate results. In 2006, Prof Liu co-edited the book Applications of Rasch measurement in science education with William Boone, a student of Prof Wright. In 2010, he published Using and developing measurement instruments in science education: A Rasch modeling approach. encouragement of Prof David Robitaille, the then head of the Department of Mathematics and Science Education in the university’s Faculty of Education. After earning his PhD, Prof Liu held academic positions at universities in Canada and the US, where he conducted research on science education and contributed to major research projects including the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). During this time, he progressed steadily from assistant professor to associate professor, and to distinguished professor. In 2024, Prof Liu joined UM, bringing his extensive research experience and ability to combine his wealth of knowledge with cutting-edge theories. ‘I love doing research,’ Prof Liu says with a smile. ‘When I was a chemistry student and later a chemistry teacher, I found so much joy in conducting experiments and exploring how substances change. Education research feels very similar. I am keen on studying how education evolves and finding new ways to make learning more engaging and effective for students. It is both interesting and meaningful.’ Developing Rasch Tools for Science Education Prof Liu has made significant contributions to science education research. One of his most notable achievements is his dedicated effort to promote the use of the Rasch model for measuring science education. The Rasch model, developed in 1960 by Danish mathematician Georg Rasch, was designed to 柳秀峰教授出版多部學術著作 Prof Liu is the author of many academic publications
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