Code-switching: a strategy for teaching and learning or a problem?

Hein, G. (1991). Constructivism Learning Theory: The museum and the needs of people. Paper presented at the CECA conference in Jerusalem. Israel.

Republic of Botswana, (1994). The Revised National Policy on Education. Gaborone. Government Printers.

Evaluating the quality of written knowledge based on literature in collaborative, inquiry based blog-supported environment by the SOLO taxonomy

Pal Molnar
Abstract: This study investigate the quality of the knowledge created in written texts (N=81) of an undergraduate learning community in higher education context. The quality of written texts is determined by the cognitive process of written composition (Galbraith, 1999). In written compositions we can evaluate the outcome of the observed learning and the quality of the knowledge with the SOLO taxonomy (Biggs and Collis, 1982; Biggs and Tang, 2007). At schools, by using networked tools the learning communities could act as connected classes (Richardson and Mancabelli, 2011). In blog based learning environments with blogging-to-learn (Burgess, 2006) approach the learning communities could act as communities of inquiry (Garrison, Anderson, and Archer, 2000). In this context writing could be inquiry (Emig, 1977) and discovery (Galbraith, 1999;2009) process, where learners use existing resources to construct new knowledge based on the information of these resources.

The students of this study are undergraduate BA university students. Most of the time they learn in traditional lectures, where they are passive listeners, and at the end of the semester they take exams by the given literature. On the contrary, in this treatment, they worked collaboratively, in writing centered, blog based learning environment. The aim of the course is to familiarize themself with the literature of the field, by active, collaborative knowledge building approach.

The main research question is that what will be the quality of the texts the students wrote in blg based collaborative, technology intensive learning situation in formal university context?

We evaluated the quality of the knowledge represented in the written texts with levels of the SOLO taxonomy. According to the results, the students used only up to five sources max, on average two (82%). Significant number of the authors used online texts without mention the author (74%). Small amount of the students indicated literature relevant to the main topic of the course (9%). Also, in the texts appeared mixed sources (textbooks, articles and blog posts, online texts) without the mention of the authors (15%). The quality of the literature elaboration process showed significant multistructural level (62%). There was connections between the information items of the literature, but without associations. Small amount of the texts was unistructural (18%). In this level the elaboration of the literature was limited only to the reproduction of the literature. Few students have completed the relational level (11%). There was some explanations of new knowledge and appeared viewpoints without change of perspectives. The texts of extended abstract level was minimal (8%), where preconceptions are embedded in the texts. The results showed that without relevant support the students struggle compositing texts based on the literature. It seems that text composition in online learning environment is difficult for undergraduate students, but students need higher order cognitive operations to elaborate the literature.

Biggs, J., and Collis, K. (1982): Evaluating the quality of learning – the SOLO Taxonomy. New York. Academic Press.

Biggs, J., and Tang, C. (2007). Teaching for Quality Learning at University (Third Edition). Open University Press.

Burgess, J. E. (2006). Blogging to learn, learning to blog. In Bruns, A. and Jacobs, J. S. (Eds.), Uses of Blogs. New York: Peter Lang.

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Gailbraith, D. (2009): Writing about what we know: Generating ideas in writing. In: Beard, R., Myhill, D., Riley, J. and Nystrand, M. (Eds.): The SAGE Handbook of writing development. London, Sage Publicatoins, London. 48–67.

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Barab, S., & Squire, K. (2004). Design-Based Research: Putting a Stake in the Ground. (S. Barab & K. Squire, Eds.) The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 13(1), 1-14.

Organized by Astrid Neumann – Leuphana University of Lüneburg (aneumann@leuphana.de),

Irit Haskel-Shaham – University of (irithaskel@dyellin.ac.il),

Elina Harjunen – University of Helsinki (elina.harjunen@karvi.fi).

Mother tongue and culture are acquired together through anticipating in significant activities, which are language mediated (Snow, 1984; Tomasello, 2003). Therefor the main role of school is to strengthen students' language knowledge as well as their communicational competencies, spoken and written (Blum-Kulka, 2008).

Today, teaching good writing emphasizes not only skills, but also styles and genres. Teachers and educators provide their students with tools for examining the different qualities of the language, helping them to adjust their language to a specific purpose and, most of all, to express their own voice. Language education points out the mutual relationship between speaking and writing and seeks the social-cultural source of the unique voice of each one of us.

The participants will present topics, such as cognitive abilities that improve writing competence; assessment in the service of improving literacies; pedagogical and technological activities that enhance competencies; and, the writer's voice and academic writing. We will discuss how pedagogy impacts literacy and the ways by which the findings or results of our studies may be translated to pedagogical language practis in specific mother tongues.

Setting

The symposium includes two sessions of ninety minutes each: "language skills in praxises" and "effectiveness in language learning". Each of the four presenters will talk fifteen minutes, followed by a general discussion. Maybe, at the end we shall participate in "hands-on" workshop.

Introduction by organizers: presentation of themes and work forms

Presentations by:

• Baez

• Haskel-Shaham

• Yagelski & Wilder
Session 2:

Presentations by:

• Grabowski, Becker-Mrotzek, Brinkhaus & Knopp

• Phillip

• Peled-Elhanan

• Kouki & Alisaari

• Discussion of central theses of both sessions.

Keywords: To be added.

Bernstein, B. & Diaz, M. (1984). Towards a theory of predagogic discource. University of London: Isnstitute of Education.

Blum-Kulka, S. (2008). Developing Curriculum in L1 and L2. In: N. Nevo, & E. Olshtain, (Eds.) Hebrew in the globalization era. Jerusalem: Magnes

Elbow, P. (2012). Vernacular eloquence. What Speech Can Bring to Writing. Oxford: University Press.

Graham, S. & Harris, K. (2014). Conducting high quality writing intervention reseach: Twelve recommendations. Journal of Writing Research, 6(2), 89-123.

Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning. A Sythesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. London/New York: Rotledge.

OECD (2001). Knowledge and skills for life. Paris: OECD.

Snow, C. E. (1984). Parent-child interaction and the development of communicative ability. In: R. Schiefelbush, & J. Pickar (Eds.), Communicative competence: Acquisition and intervention (pp. 69-107). Baltimore: University Park Press.

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  Uma Maheshwari Chimirala
  
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  Brief Abstract:
  
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  Can engaging in anticipatory listening initiate noticing and learning of task-specific features? Can noticing task-specific aspects enable developmental changes in oral task performance? This research paper will discuss the findings of a study that aimed at investigating the two questions and then shares strategies to build conscious listening abilities in ESL contexts.
  
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  Detailed abstract:
  
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  Research into listening skills posits that listening as a source of input, input processing and output enabling skill requires the learners to psycho-linguistically navigate unidirectional, bidirectional and autodirectional modes of listening in order to engage in reflective thinking and problem-solving activities. Such studies also implicate the dire need to create instructional programmes that would enable learners develop listening as a skill to notice linguistic aspects and engage in concept learning. Consequently, researching the relationship between conscious language learning processes and the dynamic listening skills (and productive skills) has been an intriguing yet challenging. The need to explore and exploit this relationship appears pertinent in an academic context, since learners would have to engage in listening to concept-based talks in technical subjects and subsequently apply the concepts in pedagogically simulated problem-solving contexts. Subsequently, this paper explores whether learner engagement in ‘anticipatory listening’ can impact concept-learning and task specific language learning.
  
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  Seventy-eight technical students participated in the study which required them to present three topic-based oral presentations. In each presentation they had to engage in pre-peer presentation anticipatory listening activity and then provide feedback and suggestions to peers in the post-peer presentation stage. After the three presentation sessions, all the participants participated in an open-ended survey and in focus group discussions. Based on the data collected through the responses on the anticipatory listening activity, the survey, the discussions and the ppts presented, the study claims that engaging in anticipatory listening can induce a relative degree of reflection and evaluation of the task expectations and task response i.e. oral presentations.
  
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  Key words: Noticing, anticipatory listening, concept-learning, task-specific features
  
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  References:
  
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  Wolvin, A., and C. G. Coakely (1996). Listening (5th ed.). Dubuque IA: Brown and Benchmark Publishers.
  
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  Mendelsohn, David (1995). Applying learning strategies in the second/ foreign language listening comprehension. In David Mendelsohn and Joan Rubin (eds.), A Guide for the Teaching of Second Language Listening. San Diego, CA: Dominie Press, pp. 132–150.
  
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  Goh, C., and T. Yusnita (2006). Metacognitive instruction in listening for young learners. ELT Journal 60(3):222–232.
  
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  Irit Haskel-Shaham
  
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  Mastering mother tongue is essential for any learning in all subject matters. Mastering mother tongue means being capable of using all skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) in an appropriate way in all circumstances. In Israel (and in the world, see PISA & PIRLS) the focus is on reading comprehension and writing is a usualy neglected.
  
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  Writing is a process of problem solving, and as such, it requires high order thinking competence (Elbow, 1973, 2000; Emig, 1971). In my college, students who soon will be teachers should enhance their own writing skill while preparing themselves to teach it to young children. In order to "seduce" them to confront their hesitation to write and to bring them to incorporate with the obstacles of doing it and teaching it, I developed an online course in class based on PBL (problem based learning).
  
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  The changing demands of the modern world demands skills such as abstraction competence, holistic thinking, technological attitude and ability to find information, classify it, retrieve it when needed and use it. These competences cannot be taught by the traditional teaching. An active teaching-learning attitude is required, one that enable experiencing functioning in different situations. PBL teaching enables students to use knowledge in relevant and complicated situations that echo the world outside school. It brings up the importance of learning in many ways and with variance tools, like internet, interviews etc.
  
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  In this course they pretend to be decision makers in a school that emphasize writing. Through the process of founding the school, interviewing children and writing a curriculum they experience the writing process, and meet different genres in their assignments as well as experiencing peer assessment and expert assessment. At the end of the course, most students' stance towards writing is changed, and their self-confidence is strengthened.
  
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  In my lecture, I will present the course sight, the activities and will explain its variance advantages.
  
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  Elbow, P. (1973). Writing without teachers. London: Oxford U. Press.
  
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  Elbow, P. (2000) Everyone Can Write. New York: Oxford U.
  
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  Emig, J. (1971). The Composition Process of Twelfth Graders. IL: Urbana, NCTE
  
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  Laura Wilder & Robert P Yagelski
  
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  Required first-year writing courses in U.S. universities are intended to prepare students to write effectively across the curriculum and in other settings. These programs are sometimes also used to enhance student retention rates (White, 2001). However, whether such writing programs achieve these goals is contested (Russell, 1995; Smit, 2004). As a result, many programs collect and analyze various kinds of data to determine the impact of the instruction students receive. But few programs integrate research and professional development focused on pedagogical practices into their assessment efforts as a way to improve learning outcomes. In this session we will describe one such effort at a large public university.
  
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  In a new required first-year writing program at the State University of New York at Albany, we set out to assess the students’ writing and also to study the analytical thinking evident in the students’ texts. A random stratified sample of 10% of the 880 final papers written for the course during the 2013-2014 academic year was analyzed for the use of six cross-disciplinary analytical strategies adapted from Wolfe, Olson, and Wilder (forthcoming), such as using a theoretical framework. Results suggest that some of these strategies, which represent significant challenges for first-year students, seem to be developmental. These findings have implications for understanding the extent to which analytic skills taught in first-year courses transfer to other contexts. In this presentation, we will discuss how the results of this research informed the ongoing effort to assess student learning and improve instruction, and we will examine how the study informed instructors’ pedagogical practices.
  
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  References
  
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  Russell, D. R. (1995). Activity theory and its implications for writing instruction. In. J. Petraglia (Ed.), Reconceiving writing, rethinking writing instruction (pp. 51-77). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
  
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  Smit, D. W. (2004). The end of composition studies. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.
  
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  White, E. M. (2001). Revisiting the importance of placement and basic studies. In G. McNenny and S. A. Fitzgerald (Eds.), Mainstreaming basic writers: Politics and pedagogies of assessment (pp. 19-29). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
  
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