Sample records for collaborative language learning

  1. Collaborative Tasks in Wiki-Based Environment in EFL Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zou, Bin; Wang, Dongshuo; Xing, Minjie

    2016-01-01

    Wikis provide users with opportunities to post and edit messages to collaborate in the language learning process. Many studies have offered findings to show positive impact of Wiki-based language learning for learners. This paper explores the effect of collaborative task in error correction for English as a Foreign Language learning in an online…

  2. Mobile Collaborative Language Learning: State of the Art

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes; Viberg, Olga

    2018-01-01

    This paper presents a review of mobile collaborative language learning studies published in 2012-16 with the aim to improve understanding of how mobile technologies have been used to support collaborative learning among second and foreign language students. We identify affordances, general pedagogical approaches, second- and foreign-language…

  3. The Relationships among Group Size, Participation, and Performance of Programming Language Learning Supported with Online Forums

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shaw, Ruey-Shiang

    2013-01-01

    This study examined the relationships among group size, participation, and learning performance factors when learning a programming language in a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) context. An online forum was used as the CSCL environment for learning the Microsoft ASP.NET programming language. The collaborative-learning experiment…

  4. Collaboration and Computer-Assisted Acquisition of a Second Language.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Renie, Delphine; Chanier, Thierry

    1995-01-01

    Discusses how collaborative learning (CL) can be used in a computer-assisted learning (CAL) environment for language learning, reviewing research in the fields of applied linguistics, educational psychology, and artificial intelligence. An application of CL and CAL in the learning of French as a Second Language, focusing on interrogative…

  5. Collaborative Learning: Group Interaction in an Intelligent Mobile-Assisted Multiple Language Learning System

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Troussas, Christos; Virvou, Maria; Alepis, Efthimios

    2014-01-01

    This paper proposes a student-oriented approach tailored to effective collaboration between students using mobile phones for language learning within the life cycle of an intelligent tutoring system. For this reason, in this research, a prototype mobile application has been developed for multiple language learning that incorporates intelligence in…

  6. A Case Study on Mobile-Blended Collaborative Learning in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Avci, Hulya; Adiguzel, Tufan

    2017-01-01

    As learning a foreign language poses a number of challenges for the students, it has become indispensable to search for "optimal" conditions to enhance opportunities of engaging in the target language. Within this context, the Mobile-Blended Collaborative Learning model has been integrated in and out of the classroom learning in order to…

  7. Developing Pedagogical Expertise in Modern Language Learning and Specific Learning Difficulties through Collaborative and Open Educational Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gallardo, Matilde; Heiser, Sarah; Arias McLaughlin, Ximena

    2017-01-01

    This paper analyses teachers' engagement with collaborative and open educational practices to develop their pedagogical expertise in the field of modern language (ML) learning and specific learning difficulties (SpLD). The study analyses the findings of a staff development initiative at the Department of Languages, Open University, UK, in 2013,…

  8. Collaborative Production of Learning Objects on French Literary Works Using the LOC Software

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Penman, Christine

    2015-01-01

    This case study situates the collaborative design of learning objects (interactive online learning material) using the LOC (Learning Object Creator) software in the context of language activities external to the core learning activities of language students at a UK university. It describes the creative and pedagogical processes leading to the…

  9. Empowerment through Collaboration: Dimension 2009. Selected Proceedings of the 2009 Joint Conference of the Southern Conference on Language Teaching, the Foreign Language Association of Georgia, and the Southeastern Association for Language Learning Technology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Southern Conference on Language Teaching, 2009

    2009-01-01

    "Dimension" is the annual volume containing the selected, refereed, edited Proceedings of each year's conference. The Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT), in collaboration with the Foreign Language Association of Georgia (FLAG) and the Southeast Association for Language Learning Technology (SEALLT), held its annual conference March…

  10. Understanding Collaborative Language Learning in Novice-Level Foreign Language Classrooms: Perceptions of Teachers and Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sun, Peijian; Yuan, Rui

    2018-01-01

    This study explored the congruence and disparities among three groups of foreign language (Chinese, French, and German) students' and teachers' perceptions of collaborative/cooperative language learning (CLL) strategies in novice-level classroom contexts. A total of 168 participants from a university in the USA took part in this mixed-method…

  11. Collaboration to Teach English Language Learners: Opportunities for Shared Teacher Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martin-Beltran, Melinda; Peercy, Megan Madigan

    2014-01-01

    This study examines collaboration between English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teachers and content-area elementary school teachers, and makes the case for conceptualising teacher collaboration as an opportunity for shared teacher learning. Using a sociocultural theoretical lens, this study examines how three pairs of elementary teachers…

  12. Using Wikis to Promote Collaborative EFL Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aydin, Zelilha; Yildiz, Senem

    2014-01-01

    This study focuses on the use of wikis in collaborative writing projects in foreign language learning classrooms. A total of 34 intermediate level university students learning English as a foreign language (EFL) were asked to accomplish three different wiki-based collaborative writing tasks, (argumentative, informative and decision-making) working…

  13. Exploring Students' Language Awareness through Intercultural Communication in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yang, Yu-Fen

    2013-01-01

    Students seldom think about language unless they are instructed to do so or are made to do so during learning activities. To arouse students' awareness while learning English for Specific Purposes (ESP), this study formed a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) community to engage teachers and students from different domains and…

  14. A Working Model for Intercultural Learning and Engagement in Collaborative Online Language Learning Environments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lawrence, Geoff

    2013-01-01

    Given the emerging focus on the intercultural dimension in language teaching and learning, language educators have been exploring the use of information and communications technology ICT-mediated language learning environments to link learners in intercultural language learning communities around the globe. Despite the potential promise of…

  15. Discussing the Factors Contributing to Students' Involvement in an EFL Collaborative Wiki Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Hsiao-chien; Wang, Pei-ling

    2013-01-01

    A growing number of researchers have acknowledged the potential for using wikis in online collaborative language learning. While researchers appreciate the wikis platform for engaging students in virtual team work and authentic language learning, many also have recognized the limitations of using wikis to promote student collaboration (Alyousef…

  16. The Design and Development of a Collaborative mLearning Prototype for Malaysian Secondary School Science

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    DeWitt, Dorothy; Alias, Norlidah; Siraj, Saedah

    2014-01-01

    Collaborative problem-solving in science instruction allows learners to build their knowledge and understanding through interaction, using the language of science. Computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools facilitate collaboration and may provide the opportunity for interaction when using the language of science in learning. There seems to be…

  17. Evidence and Interpretation in Language Learning Research: Opportunities for Collaboration with Computational Linguistics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Meurers, Detmar; Dickinson, Markus

    2017-01-01

    This article discusses two types of opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration between computational linguistics (CL) and language learning research. We target the connection between data and theory in second language (L2) research and highlight opportunities to (a) enrich the options for obtaining data and (b) support the identification…

  18. The Disciplinary Literacy Discussion Matrix: A Heuristic Tool for Initiating Collaboration in Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Airey, John

    2011-01-01

    In this paper I address the issue of collaboration between content lecturers and language lecturers or educational researchers. Whilst such collaboration is a desirable goal for disciplinary learning in monolingual settings, I suggest it takes on extra significance when two or more languages are involved in teaching and learning a discipline.…

  19. Vocabulary Learning in Collaborative Tasks: A Comparison of Pair and Small Group Work

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dobao, Ana Fernández

    2014-01-01

    This study examined the opportunities that pair and small group interaction offer for collaborative dialogue and second language (L2) vocabulary learning. It compared the performance of the same collaborative writing task by learners working in groups of four (n = 60) and in pairs (n = 50), focusing on the occurrence of lexical language-related…

  20. Redefining Professional Identity: The Voice of a Language Teacher in a Context of Collaborative Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pinho, Ana Sofia; Andrade, Ana Isabel

    2015-01-01

    Following a narrative and biographic approach, in this study, we present the case of an in-service language teacher and her professional learning trajectory in the context of the project "Languages and education: constructing and sharing training". This project aimed at the construction of a collaborative teacher education context for…

  1. Teacher Professional Development through Collaborative Action Research: Impact on Foreign English-Language Teaching and Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Banegas, Dario; Pavese, Anahi; Velazquez, Aurelia; Velez, Sandra Maria

    2013-01-01

    In 2011 we, a group of English-as-a-foreign-language teachers at a secondary school in Argentina, decided to investigate our teaching practices through collaborative action research so as to improve our students' learning opportunities and thus revitalise English-language teaching in our context. We implemented and evaluated the integration of…

  2. A Single-Display Groupware Collaborative Language Laboratory

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Calderón, Juan Felipe; Nussbaum, Miguel; Carmach, Ignacio; Díaz, Juan Jaime; Villalta, Marco

    2016-01-01

    Language learning tools have evolved to take into consideration new teaching models of collaboration and communication. While second language acquisition tasks have been taken online, the traditional language laboratory has remained unchanged. By continuing to follow its original configuration based on individual work, the language laboratory…

  3. Combining Collaborative Learning with Learning Management Systems in Teaching Programming Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cavus, Nadire; Uzunboylu, Huseyin; Ibrahim, Dogan

    2006-01-01

    The development of collaborative studies in learning has led to a renewed interest in the field of web-based education. In this experimental study, a highly interactive and collaborative teaching environment was created using Moodle, a learning management system with two types of Collaborative Tools (CTs): Standard CT and Advanced CT to create a…

  4. Social Media, Collaboration and Social Learning--A Case-Study of Foreign Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mondahl, Margrethe; Razmerita, Liana

    2014-01-01

    Social media has created new possibilities for digitally native students to engage, interact and collaborate in learning tasks that foster learning processes and the overall learning experience. Using both qualitative and quantitative data, this article discusses experiences and challenges of using a social media-enhanced collaborative learning…

  5. Integration of Collaborative Learning in Grade K-5 EFL Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shahamat, Ailar; Mede, Enisa

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated the effectiveness of integrating collaborative learning in Turkish elementary (primary) classrooms where English is acquired as a foreign language. Specifically, it aimed at shedding light on how the participating students and teachers perceive such language classes, what are the effects of integrating this particular…

  6. Synchronous and Asynchronous E-Language Learning: A Case Study of Virtual University of Pakistan

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Perveen, Ayesha

    2016-01-01

    This case study evaluated the impact of synchronous and asynchronous E-Language Learning activities (ELL-ivities) in an E-Language Learning Environment (ELLE) at Virtual University of Pakistan. The purpose of the study was to assess e-language learning analytics based on the constructivist approach of collaborative construction of knowledge. The…

  7. Situated Language Learning: Concept, Significance and Forms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Abdallah, Mahmoud M. S.

    2015-01-01

    Currently, there is a shift in language learning from the "acquisition" metaphor to the "participation" metaphor. This involves viewing learners as active constructors of knowledge who can collaborate together to create meaningful language learning situations and contextualised practices. Thus, this worksheet aims at exploring…

  8. Scaffolding Strategies for Wiki-Based Collaboration: Action Research in a Multicultural Japanese Language Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jung, Insung; Suzuki, Yoko

    2015-01-01

    Wikis can be used to encourage and support collaborative constructivist learning. However, their effectiveness depends upon the use of scaffolding strategies to guide the students in their use. This action research investigated three scaffolding strategies for wiki-based multicultural Japanese language learning: worked examples, grouping and peer…

  9. The Role of Language and Culture in Open Learning in International Collaborative Programmes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scarino, Angela; Crichton, Jonathan; Woods, Megan

    2007-01-01

    In the context of internationalisation, the delivery of higher education programmes increasingly combines open learning with collaborations among people of diverse languages and cultures. In this paper we argue that while the literature on international education focuses on mapping modes of delivery in international education, there is also a need…

  10. Learning Lodge Institute: Montana Colleges Empower Cultures To Save Languages.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boyer, Paul

    2000-01-01

    Describes the Learning Lodge Institute, a collaboration of seven Montana tribal colleges that utilizes language courses to promote and strengthen knowledge of traditional culture. Also discusses documenting the loss of language and building support for tribal languages. The institute supports existing language instruction programs to make them…

  11. The Knowledge and Perceptions of Prospective Teachers and Speech Language Therapists in Collaborative Language and Literacy Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilson, Leanne; McNeill, Brigid; Gillon, Gail T.

    2015-01-01

    Successful collaboration among speech and language therapists (SLTs) and teachers fosters the creation of communication friendly classrooms that maximize children's spoken and written language learning. However, these groups of professionals may have insufficient opportunity in their professional study to develop the shared knowledge, perceptions…

  12. K-5 Educators' Perceptions of the Role of Speech Language Pathologists

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hatcher, Karmon D.

    2017-01-01

    Rarely is a school-based speech language pathologist (SLP) thought of as an active contributor to the achievement of students or to the learning community in general. Researchers have found benefits for students when members of the learning community collaborate, and the SLP should be a part of this community collaboration. This qualitative case…

  13. Pathways Seen for Acquiring Languages

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sparks, Sarah D.

    2010-01-01

    New studies on how language learning occurs are beginning to chip away at some long-held notions about second-language acquisition and point to potential learning benefits for students who speak more than one language. New National Science Foundation-funded collaborations among educators, cognitive scientists, neuroscientists, psychologists, and…

  14. Transforming Language Ideologies through Action Research: A Case Study of Bilingual Science Learning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Eunah

    This qualitative case study explored a third grade bilingual teacher's transformative language ideologies through participating in a collaborative action research project. By merging language ideologies theory, Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), and action research, I was able to identify the analytic focus of this study. I analyzed how one teacher and I, the researcher, collaboratively reflected on classroom language practices during the video analysis meetings and focus groups. Further, I analyzed twelve videos that we coded together to see the changes in the teacher's language practices over time. My unit of analysis was the discourse practice mediated by additive language ideologies. Throughout the collaborative action research process, we both critically reflected on the classroom language use. We also developed a critical consciousness about the participatory shifts and learning of focal English Learner (EL) students. Finally, the teacher made changes to her classroom language practices. The results of this study will contribute to the literacy education research field for theoretical, methodological, and practical insights. The integration of language ideologies, CHAT, and action research can help educational practitioners, researchers, and policy makers understand the importance of transforming teachers' language ideologies in designing additive learning contexts for ELs. From a methodological perspective, the transformative language ideologies through researcher and teacher collaborated video analysis process provide a unique contribution to the language ideologies in education literature, with analytic triangulation. As a practical implication, this study suggests action research can be one of the teacher education tools to help the teachers transform language ideologies for EL education.

  15. Learner Agency and the Use of Affordances in Language-Exchange Interactions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ahn, Tae youn

    2016-01-01

    Language exchange refers to a learning partnership between two learners with different native languages who collaborate to help each other improve their proficiency in the other's language. The purpose of this study is to examine the ways in which language-exchange participants activate learner agency to construct opportunities for learning in…

  16. Focus on Collaborative Learning. Classroom Practices in Teaching English, 1988.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Golub, Jeff; And Others

    Written by English teachers considered successful in directing collaborative learning, this collection of essays focuses on the effective use of collaborative learning in the English language arts classroom. The essays and their authors are, as follows: (1) "None of Us Is as Smart as All of Us" (Dana Herreman); (2) "Collaborative…

  17. Enhancing Integrative Motivation: The Japanese-American Collaborative Learning Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kato, Fumie

    2016-01-01

    The Collaborative Learning Project is a language exchange program in which American and Japanese university students have the opportunity to interact with native speakers over the course of a three-week period. This paper reports the outcomes of the Collaborative Learning Project in terms of its effectiveness in fulfilling student expectations and…

  18. A Glimpse into the Effectiveness of L2-Content Cross-Curricular Collaboration in Content-Based Instruction Programmes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lo, Yuen Yi

    2015-01-01

    In content-based instruction (CBI) programmes, students learn content subjects through a second language (L2), so that they can incidentally learn the language. To further facilitate students' L2 development, the collaboration between L2 and content subject teachers has been strongly advocated. Previous research on such kind of collaboration…

  19. Innovative Language Teaching and Learning at University: Enhancing Participation and Collaboration

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goria, Cecilia, Ed.; Speicher, Oranna, Ed.; Stollhans, Sascha, Ed.

    2016-01-01

    The School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies at the University of Nottingham hosted the fifth annual conference in the "Innovative Language Teaching at University" series. Under the heading "Enhancing participation and collaboration" the conference, organised by Cecilia Goria, Oranna Speicher and Sascha Stollhans, took…

  20. A Comparison of Inter-Professional Education Programs in Preparing Prospective Teachers and Speech and Language Pathologists for Collaborative Language-Literacy Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilson, Leanne; McNeill, Brigid; Gillon, Gail T.

    2016-01-01

    Ensuring teacher and speech and language pathology graduates are prepared to work collaboratively together to meet the diverse language literacy learning needs of children is an important goal. This study investigated the efficacy of a 3-h inter-professional education program focused on explicit instruction in the language skills that underpin…

  1. Learner Perspectives on Task Design for Oral-Visual eTandem Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    El-Hariri, Yasmin

    2016-01-01

    Constituting a more specific form of online collaboration, eTandem Language Learning (eTLL) shows great potential for non-formal, self-directed language learning. Research in this field, particularly regarding task design, is still scarce. Focusing on their beliefs and attitudes, this article examines what learners think about how…

  2. Sociocultural Theory Applied to Second Language Learning: Collaborative Learning with Reference to the Chinese Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dongyu, Zhang; Fanyu, B.; Wanyi, Du

    2013-01-01

    This paper discusses the sociocultural theory (SCT). In particular, three significant concepts of Vyogtsky's theory: self-regulation, the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), and scaffolding all of which have been discussed in numerous second language acquisition (SLA) and second language learning (SLL) research papers. These concepts lay the…

  3. Studying Language Learning Opportunities Afforded by a Collaborative CALL Task

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leahy, Christine

    2016-01-01

    This research study explores the learning potential of a computer-assisted language learning (CALL) activity. Research suggests that the dual emphasis on content development and language accuracy, as well as the complexity of L2 production in natural settings, can potentially create cognitive overload. This study poses the question whether, and…

  4. A Collaborative Virtual Environment for Situated Language Learning Using VEC3D

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shih, Ya-Chun; Yang, Mau-Tsuen

    2008-01-01

    A 3D virtually synchronous communication architecture for situated language learning has been designed to foster communicative competence among undergraduate students who have studied English as a foreign language (EFL). We present an innovative approach that offers better e-learning than the previous virtual reality educational applications. The…

  5. Monitoring Bilingualism: Pedagogical Implications of the Bilingual Tandem Analyser

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schwienhorst, Klaus; Borgia, Alexandre

    2006-01-01

    Tandem learning is the collaborative learning partnership of two language learners with complementary language combinations, for example an Irish student learning German and a German student learning English. One of the major principles in tandem learning, apart from reciprocity and learner autonomy, is balanced bilingualism. While learners may…

  6. The Possibility of Applying YouTube to Motivate Learning Autonomy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Yiling

    2013-01-01

    The notion of collaborative learning and teaching in foreign language education has been popular for decades. This concept focuses on learners and encourages them to learn a language by experiential and shared learning. The learners are believed to learn best if they learn through the conscious or unconscious internalization of their own or…

  7. An Online Task-Based Language Learning Environment: Is It Better for Advanced- or Intermediate-Level Second Language Learners?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Arslanyilmaz, Abdurrahman

    2012-01-01

    This study investigates the relationship of language proficiency to language production and negotiation of meaning that non-native speakers (NNSs) produced in an online task-based language learning (TBLL) environment. Fourteen NNS-NNS dyads collaboratively completed four communicative tasks, using an online TBLL environment specifically designed…

  8. Integrating Language and Content

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nordmeyer, Jon, Ed.; Barduhn, Susan, Ed.

    2010-01-01

    The definition of "English language classroom" is changing. When students have the opportunity to learn content and language at the same time, disciplinary boundaries overlap. Teachers are rethinking how they design courses, plan lessons, assess students, and collaborate with colleagues to support student learning and facilitate their…

  9. Assessing the Success Rate of Students Using a Learning Management System Together with a Collaborative Tool in Web-Based Teaching of Programming Languages

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cavus, Nadire; Ibrahim, Dogan

    2007-01-01

    The development of collaborative studies in learning has led to a renewed interest in the field of Web-based education. In this experimental study a highly interactive and collaborative virtual teaching environment has been created by supporting Moodle LMS with collaborative learning tool GREWPtool. The aim of this experimental study has been to…

  10. The Effects of Collaborative Models in Second Life on French Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hsiao, Indy Y. T.; Yang, Stephen J. H.; Chia-Jui, Chu

    2015-01-01

    French is the ninth most widely used language globally, but French-learning environments in Taiwan have been insufficient. Language acquisition is easier in a natural setting, and so such a setting should be available to language learners wherever possible. This study aimed to (1) create an authentic environment for learning French in Second Life…

  11. Why Virtual, Why Environments? Implementing Virtual Reality Concepts in Computer-Assisted Language Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schwienhorst, Klaus

    2002-01-01

    Discussion of computer-assisted language learning focuses on the benefits of virtual reality environments, particularly for foreign language contexts. Topics include three approaches to learner autonomy; supporting reflection, including self-awareness; supporting interaction, including collaboration; and supporting experimentation, including…

  12. Tales of Tutors: The Role of Narrative in Language Learning and Service-Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Polansky, Susan G.; Andrianoff, Timothy; Bernard, Jaclyn B.; Flores, Ana; Gardocki, Isabel A.; Handerhan, Ryan J.; Park, Jihea; Young, Lisa

    2010-01-01

    This article examines the role of narrative in the learning process of language tutors in a university service-learning course involving collaboration between an institution of higher learning and public high schools in an urban setting. The tutors' personal narrative reflections offer multiple perspectives on interactions of tutors with high…

  13. Developing Collaborative Learning Practices in an Online Language Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chang, Heejin; Windeatt, Scott

    2016-01-01

    There is much evidence to support the occurrence of learning in connection with collaboration, both in face-to-face and online teaching situations, but much less research on how such collaboration develops over the duration of a course. Using Dillenbourg's concepts of "situation," "interactions," "mechanisms," and…

  14. The Effects of Mobile Collaborative Activities in a Second Language Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ilic, Peter

    2015-01-01

    This research is designed to explore the areas of collaborative learning and the use of smartphones as a support for collaborative learning through a year-long exploratory multiple case study approach integrating both qualitative and quantitative data analysis. Qualitative exploratory interviews are combined with Multidimensional Scaling Analysis…

  15. Using Technology to Develop a Collaborative-Reflective Teaching Practice toward Synthecultural Competence: An Ethnographic Case Study in World Language Teacher Preparation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Webber, Dana E.

    2013-01-01

    Using technology to develop a collaborative-reflective teaching practice in a world language education methods course block for teaching certification creates unique opportunities for world language education undergraduates to learn to develop synthecultural competence for education. Such a program allows undergraduates to expand their capacity to…

  16. Motivation, students' needs and learning outcomes: a hybrid game-based app for enhanced language learning.

    PubMed

    Berns, Anke; Isla-Montes, José-Luis; Palomo-Duarte, Manuel; Dodero, Juan-Manuel

    2016-01-01

    In the context of European Higher Education students face an increasing focus on independent, individual learning-at the expense of face-to-face interaction. Hence learners are, all too often, not provided with enough opportunities to negotiate in the target language. The current case study aims to address this reality by going beyond conventional approaches to provide students with a hybrid game-based app, combining individual and collaborative learning opportunities. The 4-week study was carried out with 104 German language students (A1.2 CEFR) who had previously been enrolled in a first-semester A1.1 level course at a Spanish university. The VocabTrainerA1 app-designed specifically for this study-harnesses the synergy of combining individual learning tasks and a collaborative murder mystery game in a hybrid level-based architecture. By doing so, the app provides learners with opportunities to apply their language skills to real-life-like communication. The purpose of the study was twofold: on one hand we aimed to measure learner motivation, perceived usefulness and added value of hybrid game-based apps; on the other, we sought to determine their impact on language learning. To this end, we conducted focus group interviews and an anonymous Technology Acceptance Model survey (TAM). In addition, students took a pre-test and a post-test. Scores from both tests were compared with the results obtained in first-semester conventional writing tasks, with a view to measure learning outcomes. The study provides qualitative and quantitative data supporting our initial hypotheses. Our findings suggest that hybrid game-based apps like VocabTrainerA1-which seamlessly combine individual and collaborative learning tasks-motivate learners, stimulate perceived usefulness and added value, and better meet the language learning needs of today's digital natives. In terms of acceptance, outcomes and sustainability, the data indicate that hybrid game-based apps significantly improve proficiency, hence are indeed, effective tools for enhanced language learning.

  17. Improving Students' Summary Writing Ability through Collaboration: A Comparison between Online Wiki Group and Conventional Face-To-Face Group

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wichadee, Saovapa

    2013-01-01

    Wikis, as one of the Web 2.0 social networking tools, have been increasingly integrated into second language (L2) instruction to promote collaborative writing. The current study examined and compared summary writing abilities between students learning by wiki-based collaboration and students learning by traditional face-to-face collaboration.…

  18. Foreign Language Learning Using E-Mail in a Task-Oriented Perspective: Interuniversity Experiments in Communication and Collaboration.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barson, John; And Others

    1993-01-01

    Describes collaborations of college French classes using electronic mail. Suggests that this type of task-oriented learning through distance-communication is applicable at many different course levels and has considerable merit as an approach to teaching and learning. (PR)

  19. Exploring Models of Team Teaching in Initial Foreign/Second Language Teacher Education: A Study in Situated Collaboration

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barahona, Malba

    2017-01-01

    The demonstrable potential of team teaching as a productive mechanism for developing collaborative teacher learning is now broadly understood in the field of teacher education. However, there is less evidence of the use of such collaborative teaching as a means of strengthening initial foreign/second language teacher education. This paper reports…

  20. Exploring Collaborative Reverse Subtitling for the Enhancement of Written Production Activities in English as a Second Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Talaván, Noa; Ibáñez, Ana; Bárcena, Elena

    2017-01-01

    This article explores the effects of collaborative reverse subtitling as an activity for the promotion of writing skills in English as a second language. An initial analysis is undertaken of the pros and cons of the role of translation in second language learning historically and the role of information and communication technology in this…

  1. Adapting Cooperative Learning and Embedding It into Holistic Language Usage.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bailey, Dora L.; Ginnetti, Philip

    Class collaboration and small group composition illustrate the embedding of cooperative learning theory in whole language classroom events. Through this experience all students participate in active learning. The teacher has a weighty role in decision making, setting of the lesson, assigning roles, and monitoring segments of cooperative learning…

  2. C[superscript 4] (C Quad): Development of the Application for Language Learning Based on Social and Cognitive Presences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yamada, Masanori; Goda, Yoshiko; Matsukawa, Hideya; Hata, Kojiro; Yasunami, Seisuke

    2013-01-01

    This research aims to develop collaborative language learning systems based on social and cognitive presence for learning settings out of class, and evaluate their effects on learning attitude and performance. The main purpose of this system is focusing on the building of a learning community, therefore the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework…

  3. Grand Challenges and Great Potential in Foreign Language Teaching and Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hlas, Anne Cummings

    2018-01-01

    This article argues for the field of foreign languages to begin to identify and define our Grand Challenges, which are difficult yet solvable problems facing our field. Seeking answers to these challenges can provide new opportunities for collaboration and can spur new directions and innovation within language learning and teaching. Researchable…

  4. Teachers as Awakeners: A Collaborative Approach in Language Learning and Social Media

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Plutino, Alessia

    2017-01-01

    This paper provides an overview of the successful pedagogical project TwitTIAMO, now in its third year, where micro blogging (Twitter) has been used in Italian language teaching and learning to improve students' communicative language skills, accuracy, fluency and pronunciation outside timetabled lessons. It also explores the background and…

  5. TANGO, an International Collaborative Bilingual E-Learning Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Álvarez-Mayo, Carmen

    2016-01-01

    TANGO (Álvarez-Mayo, 2013) uses the cultural aspects of foreign languages to promote oral interaction, enabling students to become self-regulated learners. Through TANGO, foreign language students learn about the cultural intricacies of the Target Language (TL) and use the TL to practise and further develop their oral skills with a partner who is…

  6. Developing Collaborative Autonomous Learning Abilities in Computer Mediated Language Learning: Attention to Meaning among Students in Wiki Space

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kessler, Greg; Bikowski, Dawn

    2010-01-01

    This study reports on attention to meaning among 40 NNS pre-service EFL teachers as they collaboratively constructed a wiki in a 16-week online course. Focus is placed upon the nature of individual and group behavior when attending to meaning in a long-term wiki-based collaborative activity as well as the students' collaborative autonomous…

  7. Learning to Program in KPL through Guided Collaboration

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hsiao, Sheng-Che; Lin, Janet Mei-Chuen; Kang, Jiin-Cherng

    2011-01-01

    A quasi-experiment was conducted at an elementary school to investigate if guided collaboration would facilitate programming learning of 6 graders. Sixty-six students of two intact classes learned to program in KPL (kid's programming language) for 18 weeks during the experiment. One class was randomly assigned to the control group (i.e.,…

  8. Content-Focused Classrooms and Learning English: How Teachers Collaborate

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Creese, Angela

    2010-01-01

    This article looks at the possibilities of content-based instruction in mainstream English secondary schools. It considers the continuum from a language to content focus in classrooms where teachers collaborate. English as an additional language (EAL) and subject curriculum teachers work together to support young people while they simultaneously…

  9. The Development of Second Language Critical Thinking in a Virtual Language Learning Environment: A Process-Oriented Mixed-Method Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mroz, Aurore

    2015-01-01

    This article presents a process-oriented mixed-method study, focusing on the emergence of second language (L2) critical thinking (CT) skills in the collaborative discourse produced by a focal group of five college-level students of French working in a virtual language learning environment (the VLLE Cinet Second Life). Levels of CT ability were…

  10. The Effect of iPad Assisted Language Learning on Developing EFL Students' Autonomous Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Albadry, Haifa

    2015-01-01

    This paper will present the experience of using iPads with a group of 21 students in a Saudi university over a period of one semester. The purpose of this ongoing study is to explore how students learn to collaborate and interact in English by participating in a teacher-designed English as a Foreign Language (EFL) course. The course aimed at…

  11. Implementing Strategies of Cooperation for Enhancing Intrinsic Motivation towards English Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zapata, Julian Esteban

    2007-01-01

    This action research paper dealt with how to increase motivation towards English language learning through cooperative work in a public school in Medellín, Colombia. It was necessary to explore the concepts of teachers' beliefs, social teaching, collaborative and cooperative learning, to understand the conditions and activities that favored…

  12. Children, Language, and Literacy: Diverse Learners in Diverse Times. Language & Literacy Series

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Genishi, Celia; Dyson, Anne Haas

    2009-01-01

    In their new collaboration, Celia Genishi and Anne Haas Dyson celebrate the genius of young children as they learn language and literacy in our diverse times. Despite burgeoning sociocultural diversity, many early childhood classrooms (pre-K to grade 2) offer a one-size-fits-all curriculum in which learning is too often assessed by standardized…

  13. Language Play, a Collaborative Resource in Children's L2 learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cekaite, Asta; Aronsson, Karin

    2005-01-01

    Within '"communicative language teaching," "natural" language has had a privileged position, and a focus on form has been seen as something inauthentic or as something that is inconsequential for learning (for a critique, see Kramsch and Sullivan 1996; Cook 1997). Yet in the present study of an immersion classroom, it was found that children with…

  14. The PROFILES Project Promoting Science Teaching in a Foreign Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blanchard, B.; Masserot, V.; Holbrook, J.

    2014-01-01

    School subjects can provide a good context for learning a second language. This is especially true for science as it can involve a range of student centred activities, which involve students in collaborative communication related to a range of different competences. This paper reflects on one approach to learning in a second language, using the…

  15. "This Is the Size of One Meter": Children's Bodily-Material Collaboration

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davidsen, Jacob; Ryberg, Thomas

    2017-01-01

    In CSCL studies, language is often foregrounded as the primary resource for engaging in collaborative learning, while the body is more often positioned as a secondary resource. There is, however, a growing interest in the body as a resource in learning and collaboration in and outside CSCL. In this paper, we present, analyse, and discuss how two…

  16. "Experiential" Professional Development: Improving World Language Pedagogy inside Spanish Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burke, Brigid Moira

    2012-01-01

    "Experiential" professional development (EPD), influenced by Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound design, was integrated in the classrooms of secondary Spanish teachers to create opportunities for them to learn to use communicative language teaching (CLT) through experience. Teachers collaborated with colleagues, students, and a…

  17. Aspiring to Quality Teacher-Parent Partnerships in Vietnam: Building Localised Funds of Knowledge

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hedges, Helen; Fleer, Marilyn; Fleer-Stout, Freya; Hanh, Le Thi Bich

    2016-01-01

    Collaborative and reciprocal teacher-parent partnerships have been established in prior research as vital in empowering ethnic-minority children to be competent learners who value their home background, culture, and language and also learn the language used by teachers as the medium of education. Such collaborative relationships may be challenging…

  18. Assessing Online Collaboration among Language Teachers: A Cross-Institutional Case Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Arnold, Nike; Ducate, Lara; Lomicka, Lara; Lord, Gillian

    2009-01-01

    This paper focuses on computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) among foreign language (FL) graduate students from three universities, who worked together to create a wiki. In order to investigate the nature of CSCL among participants, this qualitative case study used the Curtis and Lawson framework (2001) to conduct a content analysis of…

  19. Learning without Boundaries: Developing Mobile Learning Scenarios for Elementary and Middle School Language Arts & Mathematics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Evans, Michael A.; Gracanin, Denis

    2009-01-01

    This article provides an overview to a collaborative knowledge building project using iPod Touches in elementary and secondary language arts and mathematics classrooms, working with 4 teachers and over 80 students. The interactive technologies for embodied Learning in Reading and Mathematics (iteL*RM) project intends to facilitate student…

  20. Technological Readiness of UiTM Students in Using Mobile Phones in the English Language Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Murugan, Agelyia; Sai, George Teoh Boon; Lin, Agnes Liau Wei

    2017-01-01

    Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) by using devices such as mobile phones is an ideal learning platform for learners to acquire language and share knowledge beyond the confines of a fixed location. By utilizing the mobile applications available via smartphone, learners can engage in collaborative networks and find information in a variety of…

  1. Enhancing Collaborative and Meaningful Language Learning Through Concept Mapping

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marriott, Rita De Cássia Veiga; Torres, Patrícia Lupion

    This chapter aims to investigate new ways of foreign-language teaching/learning via a study of how concept mapping can help develop a student's reading, writing and oral skills as part of a blended methodology for language teaching known as LAPLI (Laboratorio de Aprendizagem de LInguas: The Language Learning Lab). LAPLI is a student-centred and collaborative methodology which encourages students to challenge their limitations and expand their current knowledge whilst developing their linguistic and interpersonal skills. We explore the theories that underpin LAPLI and detail the 12 activities comprising its programme with specify reference to the use of "concept mapping". An innovative table enabling a formative and summative assessment of the concept maps is formulated. Also presented are some of the qualitative and quantitative results achieved when this methodology was first implemented with a group of pre-service students studying for a degree in English and Portuguese languages at the Catholic University of Parana (PUCPR) in Brazil. The contribution of concept mapping and LAPLI to an under standing of language learning along with a consideration of the difficulties encountered in its implementation with student groups is discussed and suggestions made for future research.

  2. Enhancing Collaborative and Meaningful Language Learning through Concept Mapping

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de Cássia Veiga Marriott, Rita; Torres, Patrícia Lupion

    This chapter aims to investigate new ways of foreign-language teaching/learning via a study of how concept mapping can help develop a student's reading, writing and oral skills as part of a blended methodology for language teaching known as LAPLI (Laboratorio de Aprendizagem de LInguas: The Language Learning Lab). LAPLI is a student-centred and collaborative methodology which encourages students to challenge their limitations and expand their current knowledge whilst developing their linguistic and interpersonal skills. We explore the theories that underpin LAPLI and detail the 12 activities comprising its programme with specify reference to the use of “concept mapping”. An innovative table enabling a formative and summative assessment of the concept maps is formulated. Also presented are some of the qualitative and quantitative results achieved when this methodology was first implemented with a group of pre-service students studying for a degree in English and Portuguese languages at the Catholic University of Parana (PUCPR) in Brazil. The contribution of concept mapping and LAPLI to an understanding of language learning along with a consideration of the difficulties encountered in its implementation with student groups is discussed and suggestions made for future research.

  3. Online Collaborative Communities of Learning for Pre-Service Teachers of Languages

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morgan, Anne-Marie

    2015-01-01

    University programs for preparing preservice teachers of languages for teaching in schools generally involve generic pedagogy, methodology, curriculum, programming and issues foci, that provide a bridge between the study of languages (or recognition of existing language proficiency) and the teaching of languages. There is much territory to cover…

  4. Assessment Measures for Specific Contexts of Language Use.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chalhoub-Deville, Micheline; Tarone, Elaine

    A discussion of second language testing focuses on the need for collaboration among researchers in second language learning, teaching, and testing concerning development of context-appropriate language tests. It is argued that the nature of the proficiency construct in language is not constant, but that different linguistic, functional, and…

  5. Language-learning disabilities: Paradigms for the nineties.

    PubMed

    Wiig, E H

    1991-01-01

    We are beginning a decade, during which many traditional paradigms in education, special education, and speech-language pathology will undergo change. Among paradigms considered promising for speech-language pathology in the schools are collaborative language intervention and strategy training for language and communication. This presentation introduces management models for developing a collaborative language intervention process, among them the Deming Management Method for Total Quality (TQ) (Deming 1986). Implementation models for language assessment and IEP planning and multicultural issues are also introduced (Damico and Nye 1990; Secord and Wiig in press). While attention to processes involved in developing and implementing collaborative language intervention is paramount, content should not be neglected. To this end, strategy training for language and communication is introduced as a viable paradigm. Macro- and micro-level process models for strategy training are featured and general issues are discussed (Ellis, Deshler, and Schumaker 1989; Swanson 1989; Wiig 1989).

  6. Facilitating Autonomy and Creativity in Second Language Learning through Cyber-Tasks, Hyperlinks and Net-Surfing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Akinwamide, T. K.; Adedara, O. G.

    2012-01-01

    The digitalization of academic interactions and collaborations in this present technologically conscious world is making collaborations between technology and pedagogy in the teaching and learning processes to display logical and systematic reasoning rather than the usual stereotyped informed decisions. This simply means, pedagogically, learning…

  7. Improving Communicative Competence through Synchronous Communication in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Environments: A Systematic Review

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huang, Xi

    2018-01-01

    Computer-supported collaborative learning facilitates the extension of second language acquisition into social practice. Studies on its achievement effects speak directly to the pedagogical notion of treating communicative practice in synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC): real-time communication that takes place between human beings…

  8. Rationalities of Collaboration for Language Learning in a Wiki

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bradley, Linda; Lindstrom, Berner; Rystedt, Hans

    2010-01-01

    For language learning, online environments allowing for user generated content are becoming increasingly important since they offer possibilities for learners to elaborate on assignments and projects. This study investigates what wikis can do as a means to enhance group interaction, when students are encouraged to participate in constructing text…

  9. Memory in the Information Age: New Tools for Second Language Acquisition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chapin, Alex

    2003-01-01

    Describes a Middlebury College second language vocabulary learning database that goes well beyond flashcards, because it keeps track of what students learn. Discusses further expansion of the system through collaborative filtering software to establish learner profiles. A learner profile could then be used to create instructional materials just…

  10. Fostering Foreign Language Learning through Technology-Enhanced Intercultural Projects

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Jen Jun; Yang, Shu Ching

    2014-01-01

    The main aim of learning English as an international language is to effectively communicate with people from other cultures. In Taiwan, learners have few opportunities to experience cross-cultural communication in English. To create an authentic EFL classroom, this one-year action research study carried out three collaborative intercultural…

  11. Using Collaborative Tasks to Elicit Auditory and Structural Priming

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Trofimovich, Pavel; McDonough, Kim; Neumann, Heike

    2013-01-01

    Interaction between second language (L2) learners in which the primary goal is the communication of meaning rather than the manipulation of language forms is widely regarded as beneficial for L2 learning from a variety of theoretical and pedagogical perspectives. Besides learning opportunities created through interactional feedback, modified…

  12. Metanotes (Written Languaging) in a Translation Task: Do L2 Proficiency and Task Outcome Matter?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ishikawa, Masako

    2015-01-01

    Languaging has been identified as a contributor to language learning. Yet, compared to oral languaging, such as collaborative dialogs in contextualized settings, little seems to be known about written languaging. In order to fill this gap, this study investigates languaging in the form of "metanotes," that is, metatalk in a written…

  13. Collaborative Filtering for Expansion of Learner's Background Knowledge in Online Language Learning: Does "Top-Down" Processing Improve Vocabulary Proficiency?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yamada, Masanori; Kitamura, Satoshi; Matsukawa, Hideya; Misono, Tadashi; Kitani, Noriko; Yamauchi, Yuhei

    2014-01-01

    In recent years, collaborative filtering, a recommendation algorithm that incorporates a user's data such as interest, has received worldwide attention as an advanced learning support system. However, accurate recommendations along with a user's interest cannot be ideal as an effective learning environment. This study aims to develop and…

  14. A Study of Professional Learning Communities in International Schools in Bangkok, Thailand

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gerhard, James Herbert

    2010-01-01

    Teacher collaboration and professional development are crucial components to any school improvement process. In an international school context differences among teachers emerging from culture, language, training, and environment can present a unique view of how teachers collaborate and learn together. The purpose of the study was to determine…

  15. Mathematical Language Development and Talk Types in Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Environments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Symons, Duncan; Pierce, Robyn

    2015-01-01

    In this study we examine the use of cumulative and exploratory talk types in a year 5 computer supported collaborative learning environment. The focus for students in this environment was to participate in mathematical problem solving, with the intention of developing the proficiencies of problem solving and reasoning. Findings suggest that…

  16. Promoting a Culture of Collaboration and Reflection through a Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Murdaugh, Erica Charlanda Russell

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this qualitative Action Research Study was to describe eight elementary English Language Arts (ELA) teachers' perceptions of a Professional Learning Community (PLC). The teacher-participants' opinions about the PLC were used to improve the existing PLC to promote a more reflective and collaborative environment where ELA teachers…

  17. Toward a Shift in Expectations and Values: What We've Learned from Collaborative Action Research in Northern Indigenous Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peterson, Shelly Stagg; Horton, Laura; Restoule, Jean Paul

    2016-01-01

    In this paper we propose that collaborative action research values, goals and practices have much in common with guiding principles for conducting research with educators and community members in First Nation, Inuit and Metis communities, as outlined in the Task Force on Aboriginal Languages and Cultures on Aboriginal Languages and Cultures'…

  18. Adopting Social Networking Sites (SNSs) as Interactive Communities among English Foreign Language (EFL) Learners in Writing: Opportunities and Challenges

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Razak, Norizan Abdul; Saeed, Murad; Ahmad, Zulkifli

    2013-01-01

    As most traditional classroom environments in English as Foreign Language (EFL) still restrict learners' collaboration and interaction in college writing classes, today, the majority of EFL learners are accessing Social Networking Sites (SNSs) as online communities of practice (CoPs) for adopting informal collaborative learning as a way of…

  19. Educating English Language Learners: Instructional Approaches and Teacher Collaboration in Philadelphia Public Schools. PERC Research Brief

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reumann-Moore, Rebecca; Rowland, Jeannette; Hughes, Rosemary; Lin, Joshua

    2016-01-01

    Districts, charter management organizations, and individual schools can learn a great deal from each other about strategies for creating robust and supportive learning environments for English Language Learners (ELLS). This brief highlights key findings about how Philadelphia public schools were crafting instructional approaches to serve their…

  20. Service Learning and Student Engagement: A Dual Language Book Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roessingh, Hetty

    2012-01-01

    A model is proposed followed by a case study of collaborative project work between student teachers, teachers and English language learners in kindergarten and grade 1. As a model, service learning provides a framework for making explicit linkages between course-based, credit bearing academic content, the identified need of the community school,…

  1. Collaborative distance learning: Developing an online learning community

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stoytcheva, Maria

    2017-12-01

    The method of collaborative distance learning has been applied for years in a number of distance learning courses, but they are relatively few in foreign language learning. The context of this research is a hybrid distance learning of French for specific purposes, delivered through the platform UNIV-RcT (Strasbourg University), which combines collaborative activities for the realization of a common problem-solving task online. The study focuses on a couple of aspects: on-line interactions carried out in small, tutored groups and the process of community building online. By analyzing the learner's perceptions of community and collaborative learning, we have tried to understand the process of building and maintenance of online learning community and to see to what extent the collaborative distance learning contribute to the development of the competence expectations at the end of the course. The analysis of the results allows us to distinguish the advantages and limitations of this type of e-learning and thus evaluate their pertinence.

  2. SLT Beliefs about Collaborative Practice: Implications for Education and Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jago, Suzanne; Radford, Julie

    2017-01-01

    Effective collaborative practice is expected of newly qualified speech and language therapists (SLTs) in order to achieve the best outcomes for clients. Research into collaborative practice has identified a number of barriers to and facilitators of collaborative practice, but there has been limited research into how well prepared newly qualified…

  3. Impacts of Online Technology Use in Second Language Writing: A Review of the Literature

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lin, Show Mei; Griffith, Priscilla

    2014-01-01

    This article reviews the literature on computer-supported collaborative learning in second language and foreign language writing. While research has been conducted on the effects of online technology in first language reading and writing, this article explores how online technology affects second and foreign language writing. The goal of this…

  4. Transforming EFL Classroom Practices and Promoting Students' Empowerment: Collaborative Learning from a Dialogical Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Contreras León, Janeth Juliana; Chapetón Castro, Claudia Marcela

    2017-01-01

    This study investigates the impact of implementing collaborative learning from a social and dialogical perspective on seventh graders' interaction in an English as a foreign language classroom at a public school in Bogotá, Colombia. Thirty students participated in this action research where field notes, questionnaires, semi-structured interviews,…

  5. Podcasting Communities and Second Language Pronunciation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lord, Gillian

    2008-01-01

    Although often neglected in language classrooms, second language phonology is a crucial element in language learning because it is often the most salient feature in the speech of a foreigner. As instructors, we must decide how to emphasize pronunciation and what techniques to use. This article discusses a collaborative pod-casting project in an…

  6. Algorithm Building and Learning Programming Languages Using a New Educational Paradigm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jain, Anshul K.; Singhal, Manik; Gupta, Manu Sheel

    2011-08-01

    This research paper presents a new concept of using a single tool to associate syntax of various programming languages, algorithms and basic coding techniques. A simple framework has been programmed in Python that helps students learn skills to develop algorithms, and implement them in various programming languages. The tool provides an innovative and a unified graphical user interface for development of multimedia objects, educational games and applications. It also aids collaborative learning amongst students and teachers through an integrated mechanism based on Remote Procedure Calls. The paper also elucidates an innovative method for code generation to enable students to learn the basics of programming languages using drag-n-drop methods for image objects.

  7. Inter-professional education of prospective speech-language therapists and primary school teachers through shared professional practice placements.

    PubMed

    Wilson, Leanne; McNeill, Brigid; Gillon, Gail T

    2017-07-01

    Preliminary studies of inter-professional education (IPE) among student speech-language therapists (SLTs) and student teachers suggest that workshop-based applications are beneficial in preparing participants for elements of collaborative practice. Situating IPE within the students' professional practice placements may provide another useful avenue to develop attitudes, knowledge and skills for inter-professional collaboration. Research examining the impact of different approaches to IPE is required to advance our understanding of effective design and evaluation of such initiatives. To understand how student SLTs and student teachers develop competency for collaborative practice when co-working during professional practice placements to support children's speech and literacy development. A case study design was used to monitor the impact of the IPE. Student SLTs (n = 4) were paired with student teachers (n = 4) to participate in shared professional practice placements in junior school classrooms. An inductive thematic analysis of interviews conducted with participants after the IPE was employed to explore the development of competencies in collaborative practice. Change in inter-disciplinary knowledge and perceptions over the IPE was evaluated via survey to further explore the development of collaborative competencies. Integration of qualitative and quantitative findings suggested that participants began to develop four broad areas of collaborative competency: understanding of professional roles and expertise, communication skills to support shared decision-making, inter-dependency in supporting children's learning, and flexibility to implement alternative instructional practices. Interview analysis also revealed factors related to the facilitators and learning contexts that supported and/or limited the collaboration between participants. Shared placement experiences between student SLTs and student teachers may be an effective method for building participants' competencies in multiple aspects of collaborative practice. Active facilitation by both SLT and classroom teacher supervisors alongside careful consideration of learning contexts (e.g., classroom structure) will help to ensure that learning is maximized for prospective professionals. © 2016 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

  8. Desirable Difficulties in Vocabulary Learning

    PubMed Central

    BJORK, ROBERT A.; KROLL, JUDITH F.

    2016-01-01

    In this article we discuss the role of desirable difficulties in vocabulary learning from two perspectives, one having to do with identifying conditions of learning that impose initial challenges to the learner but then benefit later retention and transfer, and the other having to do with the role of certain difficulties that are intrinsic to language processes, are engaged during word learning, and reflect how language is understood and produced. From each perspective we discuss evidence that supports the notion that difficulties in learning and imposed costs to language processing may produce benefits because they are likely to increase conceptual understanding. We then consider the consequences of these processes for actual second-language learning and suggest that some of the domain-general cognitive advantages that have been reported for proficient bilinguals may reflect difficulties imposed by the learning process, and by the requirement to negotiate cross-language competition, that are broadly desirable. As Alice Healy and her collaborators were perhaps the first to demonstrate, research on desirable difficulties in vocabulary and language learning holds the promise of bringing together research traditions on memory and language that have much to offer each other. PMID:26255443

  9. Desirable Difficulties in Vocabulary Learning.

    PubMed

    Bjork, Robert A; Kroll, Judith F

    2015-01-01

    In this article we discuss the role of desirable difficulties in vocabulary learning from two perspectives, one having to do with identifying conditions of learning that impose initial challenges to the learner but then benefit later retention and transfer, and the other having to do with the role of certain difficulties that are intrinsic to language processes, are engaged during word learning, and reflect how language is understood and produced. From each perspective we discuss evidence that supports the notion that difficulties in learning and imposed costs to language processing may produce benefits because they are likely to increase conceptual understanding. We then consider the consequences of these processes for actual second-language learning and suggest that some of the domain-general cognitive advantages that have been reported for proficient bilinguals may reflect difficulties imposed by the learning process, and by the requirement to negotiate cross-language competition, that are broadly desirable. As Alice Healy and her collaborators were perhaps the first to demonstrate, research on desirable difficulties in vocabulary and language learning holds the promise of bringing together research traditions on memory and language that have much to offer each other.

  10. Learning Opportunities in Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication and Face-to-Face Interaction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kim, Hye Yeong

    2014-01-01

    This study investigated how synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) and face-to-face (F2F) oral interaction influence the way in which learners collaborate in language learning and how they solve their communicative problems. The findings suggest that output modality may affect how learners produce language, attend to linguistic forms,…

  11. Fellow Language Learners as Producers of Knowledge and Understandings: A Case of a Tertiary Japanese Linguistics Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Minagawa, Harumi

    2017-01-01

    This paper reports students' experiences of a coursework task in a Japanese linguistics course that embraces certain aspects of collaborative learning--aspects that are not practised widely in Japanese language learning situations. These involve the students looking at themselves as well as their fellow students as producers of knowledge and…

  12. Helping Second Language Literature Learners Overcome E-Learning Difficulties: LET-NET Team Teaching with Online Peer Interaction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wu, Pin-Hsiang Natalie; Marek, Michael W.

    2013-01-01

    This study presents and discusses results from an EFL second language literature program in which the instructional design included a team teaching scheme, blended learning practice, and computer-mediated peer-interaction. The team teaching plan used a Mandarin speaking English teacher and a Native English-speaking teacher collaborating and…

  13. Analyses of Student Learning in Global Change

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Takle, E. S.; Moser, H.; Sorensen, E. K.

    2004-12-01

    The Global Change course at Iowa State University is a senior undergraduate and graduate level course that has been delivered over the internet with online dialog and learning activities since 1995. Students may enroll in the course as a distance education course, but in doing so they engage in dialog with students in the conventional on-campus face-to-face course. Online delivery and student participation offer opportunities for promoting use of critical thinking skills and collaborative learning not available in face-to-face environments. Students are required to research, post, and defend with authoritative information their positions on a variety of global change issues and specifically identify how they have demonstrated use of critical thinking skills in their online postings. Threaded dialog is used for structuring interactions toward promoting collaborative learning. We analyze collaborative learning by use of a rubric based on the theory of language games. By random selection of 1,350 online dialog comments posted over the last 10 years we evaluated student response to requirements for demonstrating critical thinking skills and collaboration in learning. We found that, by itself, the requirement of demonstrating critical thinking skills in online dialog was insufficient in promoting collaborative learned as measured by the standards of language game theory. But we also found that if an online comment clearly defines a situation and makes a clear expectation of a response, the likelihood is high that a game will be created. And if a game is established, there is a high probability that it will be closed, thereby giving evidence that collaborative learning had occurred. We conclude that a key component in collaborative online learning lies in establishing a lead-off comment that provides sufficient background information to clearly define an engaging situation. It also must include a clear expectation that a response is expected that will provide dialog participants an opportunity to demonstrate critical thinking skills in their responding comments.

  14. Learning and Language: Supporting Group Work so Group Work Supports Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mylett, Terri; Gluck, Russell

    2005-01-01

    This paper reports on developments in teaching and learning for first year employment relations students at the University of Wollongong based on creating conditions of learning informed by Vygotsky's "zone of proximal development" theory. Essentially, this meant emphasising collaborative learning (group work) in the lecture theatre and…

  15. The Use of MOOC as a Means of Creating a Collaborative Learning Environment in a Blended CLIL Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Titova, Svetlana

    2017-01-01

    The objective of this action research is to work out the possible ways of Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) integration in a blended Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) course to create an authentic online collaborative community. The theoretical framework of the intervention is based on current MOOC theories, connectivism, and the…

  16. Intertextuality and Multimodal Meanings in High School Physics: Written and Spoken Language in Computer-Supported Collaborative Student Discourse

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tang, Kok-Sing; Tan, Seng-Chee

    2017-01-01

    The study in this article examines and illustrates the intertextual meanings made by a group of high school science students as they embarked on a knowledge building discourse to solve a physics problem. This study is situated in a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment designed to support student learning through a science…

  17. Teaching Future K-8 Teachers the Language of Newton: A Case Study of Collaboration and Change in University Physics Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Briscoe, Carol; Prayaga, Chandra S.

    2004-01-01

    This interpretive case study describes a collaborative project involving a physics professor and a science educator. We report what was learned about factors that influenced the professor's development of teaching strategies, alternative to lecture, that were intended to promote prospective teachers' meaningful learning and their use of canonical…

  18. Social Constructivist Approach to Web-Based EFL Learning: Collaboration, Motivation, and Perception on the Use of Google Docs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Sarah Hsueh-Jui; Lan, Yu-Ju

    2016-01-01

    This study reports on the differences in motivation, vocabulary gain, and perceptions on using or the Google Docs between individual and collaborative learning at a tertiary level. Two classes of English-as-a-Foreign Language (EFL) students were recruited and each class was randomly assigned into one of the two groups--individuals or…

  19. Collaborative Research Projects in the Technology-Enhanced Language Classroom: Preservice and In-Service Teachers Exchange Knowledge about Technology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schmid, Euline Cutrim; Hegelheimer, Volker

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents research findings of a longitudinal empirical case study that investigated an innovative Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) professional development program for pre-service English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers. The conceptualization of the program was based on the assumption that pre-service language teachers…

  20. Improving Language Production Using Subtitled Similar Task Videos

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Arslanyilmaz, Abdurrahman; Pedersen, Susan

    2010-01-01

    This study examines the effects of subtitled similar task videos on language production by nonnative speakers (NNSs) in an online task-based language learning (TBLL) environment. Ten NNS-NNS dyads collaboratively completed four communicative tasks, using an online TBLL environment specifically designed for this study and a chat tool in…

  1. Collaborative Attention Work on Gender Agreement in Italian as a Foreign Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kunitz, Silvia

    2018-01-01

    In cognitivist Second Language Acquisition (SLA), attention and noticing are described as psycholinguistic processes that (may) have a role in language learning. The operationalization of such constructs, however, poses methodological challenges, since neither online nor off-line measures are coextensive with these cognitive processes that occur…

  2. A Comparative Study of Vygotsky's Perspectives on Child Language Development with Nativism and Behaviorism

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dastpak, Mehdi; Behjat, Fatemeh; Taghinezhad, Ali

    2017-01-01

    This study aimed at investigating the similarities and differences between Vygotsky's perspectives on child language development with nativism and behaviorism. Proposing the idea of the Zone of Proximal Development, Vygotsky emphasized the role of collaborative interaction, scaffolding, and guided participation in language learning. Nativists, on…

  3. Project LINC: Supporting Lecturers and Adjunct Instructors in Foreign Language Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scott, Sally S.; Edwards, Wade

    2012-01-01

    Foreign language learning can pose a barrier to some students with disabilities. This practice brief describes a collaborative process used on one campus to provide professional development for foreign language instructors. Training opportunities were intentionally focused on the needs of adjunct and temporary lecturers in providing inclusive…

  4. Leading the Way for Open Access Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Warschauer, Mark

    2016-01-01

    "Language Learning & Technology" ("LLT") was launched in the mid-1990s out of a collaboration between the University of Hawai'i National Foreign Language Resource Center (NFLRC) and the Michigan State University Center for Language Education Research (CLEAR). Like other online journals started in the 1990s, "LLT"…

  5. English for Business: Student Responses to Language Learning through Social Networking Tools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    García Laborda, Jesús; Litzler, Mary Frances

    2017-01-01

    This action research based case study addresses the situation of a first year class of Business English students at Universidad de Alcalá and their attitudes towards using Web 2.0 tools and social media for language learning. During the semester, the students were asked to collaborate in the creation and use of some tools such as blogs, video…

  6. CLEW: A Cooperative Learning Environment for the Web.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ribeiro, Marcelo Blois; Noya, Ricardo Choren; Fuks, Hugo

    This paper outlines CLEW (collaborative learning environment for the Web). The project combines MUD (Multi-User Dimension), workflow, VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) and educational concepts like constructivism in a learning environment where students actively participate in the learning process. The MUD shapes the environment structure.…

  7. Factors That Influence Middle School Mathematics Teachers' Willingness to Collaborate with School Librarians

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schnabel, Stephanie L.

    2017-01-01

    Collaboration between school libraries and classroom teachers can have a powerful impact on student learning. School librarians routinely collaborate with English language arts and social studies curriculum and less frequently with areas in STEM education. This research examines middle school mathematics teachers' extent of or willingness to…

  8. A Learning Style-Based Grouping Collaborative Learning Approach to Improve EFL Students' Performance in English Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kuo, Yu-Chen; Chu, Hui-Chun; Huang, Chi-Hao

    2015-01-01

    Learning English is an important and challenging task for English as Foreign Language (EFL) students. Educators had indicated that, without proper learning support, most EFL students might feel frustrated while learning English, which could significantly affect their learning performance. In the past research, learning usually utilized grouping,…

  9. Language Play in a Second Language: Social Media as Contexts for Emerging Sociopragmatic Competence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lantz-Andersson, Annika

    2018-01-01

    The aim of this study is to gain insights into students' language use on social media as part of the specific linguistic activities of second language (L2) learning, including development of sociopragmatic competence. Two Facebook groups were introduced in different English-as-L2 classes that were part of an international collaborative project…

  10. Language-Building Activities and Interaction Variations with Mixed-Ability ESL University Learners in a Content-Based Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Serna Dimas, Héctor Manuel; Ruíz Castellanos, Erika

    2014-01-01

    The preparation of both language-building activities and a variety of teacher/student interaction patterns increase both oral language participation and content learning in a course of manual therapy with mixed-language ability students. In this article, the researchers describe their collaboration in a content-based course in English with English…

  11. The Effectiveness of Using Learning Management Systems and Collaborative Tool in Web-Based Teaching of Programming Languages

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cavus, Nadire; Uzunboylu, Huseyin; Ibrahim, Dogan

    2006-01-01

    This paper is about a pilot study which has been carried out at the Near East University during the 2004/5 Fall Semester using the Moodle LMS [learning management system] together with GREWPtool collaborative editor. The system has been tested with 36 students taking the Java and the Pascal programming courses. The results of the pilot study…

  12. Getting Their Feet Wet: Trainee EFL Teachers in Germany and Israel Collaborate Online to Promote Their Telecollaboration Competence through Experiential Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Waldman, Tina; Harel, Efrat; Schwab, Götz

    2016-01-01

    The paper presents a telecollaboration project between 54 pre-service teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) studying at a teacher training college in Israel and a university in Germany. The telecollaboration involved a collaborative Project Based Learning Task (PBLT) in which the students compared and evaluated the ways EFL is taught in…

  13. Collaborative Language Learning for Professional Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mesh, Linda Joy

    2010-01-01

    Institutions of higher education realise the importance of the role of learning organisations in terms of providing personnel training and updating. Yet further consideration should be given to flexible and accessible means for meeting the growing request for continuous learning. Jason Hughes describes an organization's capability to "learn how to…

  14. Talk or Chat? Chatroom and Spoken Interaction in a Language Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hamano-Bunce, Douglas

    2011-01-01

    This paper describes a study comparing chatroom and face-to-face oral interaction for the purposes of language learning in a tertiary classroom in the United Arab Emirates. It uses transcripts analysed for Language Related Episodes, collaborative dialogues, thought to be externally observable examples of noticing in action. The analysis is…

  15. Transforming Language Ideologies through Action Research: A Case Study of Bilingual Science Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yang, Eunah

    2012-01-01

    This qualitative case study explored a third grade bilingual teacher's transformative language ideologies through participating in a collaborative action research project. By merging language ideologies theory, Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), and action research, I was able to identify the analytic focus of this study. I analyzed…

  16. Examining Online Forum Discussions as Practices of Digital Literacy in College-Level ESL Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bauler, Clara Vaz

    2012-01-01

    This research study examines the role of digital media, more specifically online forums, in the development of academic literacy and language learning in English as a Second Language (ESL) college writing. Studies in Second Language Acquisition suggest that participation in online forum discussions can potentially foster collaboration,…

  17. Learning from Consistently High Performing and Improving Schools for English Language Learners in Boston Public Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tung, Rosann; Diez, Virginia; Gagnon, Laurie; Uriarte, Miren; Stazesky, Pamela

    2011-01-01

    This study is part of a collaborative project entitled "Identifying Success in Schools and Programs for English Language Learners in Boston Public Schools". The companion to this report, entitled "Improving Educational Outcomes of English Language Learners in Schools and Programs in Boston Public Schools", provides a…

  18. Learner's Use of First Language in EFL Collaborative Learning: A Sociocultural View

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yaghobian, Farideh; Samuel, Moses; Mahmoudi, Marzieh

    2017-01-01

    This study investigates the functions served by learners' first language (L1) in classroom interaction among Iranian learners of English (L2). The study aims to determine how learners' L1 serves them in their L2 learning. It adopts a qualitative approach. The study involved the participation of eleven Grade 9 learners in one Iranian high school in…

  19. Second teaching: An exploration of cognitive factors in small group physics learning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Novemsky, Lisa Forman

    This inquiry was focused on an exploration of introductory physics teaching. Alan Van Heuvelen's Overview Case Study (OCS) physics was the pedagogical approach involving guided small group problem solving and stressing concepts first, before mathematics. Second teaching is a new pedagogical construct based on Vygotsky's ideas. Structured small group activity follows traditional instruction facilitating learning for non-traditional students. It is a model of structured small group activity designed to follow traditional instruction to facilitate the learning process for students who find a physics optic (way of seeing) and physics language foreign. In informal small group settins students describe, explain, elaborate, test, and defend ideas in their own familiar vernacular as they collaborate in solving problems. Collective wisdom of a collaborative group, somewhat beyond the level for each individual member, is created then recreated through self-correction. Students improved significantly in physics knowledge. In a classroom setting, small groups of non-traditional physics students engaged in second teaching were observed. Written explanations to conceptual physics questions were analyzed. Development of language usage in relationship to introductory physics concept learning was studied. Overall physics learning correlated positively with gains in language clarity thus confirming the hypothesis that language development can be linked with gains in physics knowledge. Males and females were found to be significantly different in this respect. Male gains in language clarity were closely coupled with physics learning whereas female gains in the two measures were not coupled. Physics discourse, particularly in relationship to force and motion, seems to resonate with natural developmentally acquired sex-typical male but not female discourse. Thus, for males but not for females, physics learning proceeds in a seamless fashion wherein knowledge gains are coupled with language development. Average frequency in use of the indeterminate pronoun it per person decreased. Reificiation of qualifying terms appeared in the form of a word-form problem. In the process of reifying adjectival properties students may be recapitulating the language-bound history of natural science.

  20. A Case Study of Peer Review Practices of Four Adolescent English Language Learners in Face-to-Face and Online Contexts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vorobel, Oksana

    2013-01-01

    Peer review is a complex collaborative activity, which may engage English language learners in reading, writing, listening, and speaking and carry many potential benefits for their language learning (Hu, 2005). While many research studies focused on peer review practices of adult language learners in academic settings in the USA or abroad in…

  1. The Effects of the Collaborative Leadership Style Provided by Professional Learning Communities on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program Mean Value-Added Scores in Selected Middle Schools in East Tennessee

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jones, Jone S.

    2011-01-01

    This causal-comparative study examined the effects of the collaborative leadership style provided by professional learning communities (PLCs) on the students' Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) mean Value-Added achievement scores in language arts and mathematics. The study used twenty-nine selected middle schools in eight different…

  2. Language Awareness and Comprehension through Puns among ESL Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lucas, Teresa

    2005-01-01

    The focus in studies of language awareness in L2 learning generally has been on the efficacy of teacher-generated attention to discrete elements of the forms of language through the manipulation of texts or corrective feedback. The study reported in this paper engaged learners in a collaborative task that involved learner-generated attention to…

  3. Student Engagement in Learning Vocabulary with CALL

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stroud, Robert

    2014-01-01

    Ensuring that students are "engaged" in learning is a key concern for instructors across many fields. With regards to vocabulary in language learning, teachers should provide students with tasks which promote high levels of motivation and resultant engagement. The recent trend of online systems which have dynamic, collaborative, and even…

  4. Comulang: towards a collaborative e-learning system that supports student group modeling.

    PubMed

    Troussas, Christos; Virvou, Maria; Alepis, Efthimios

    2013-01-01

    This paper describes an e-learning system that is expected to further enhance the educational process in computer-based tutoring systems by incorporating collaboration between students and work in groups. The resulting system is called "Comulang" while as a test bed for its effectiveness a multiple language learning system is used. Collaboration is supported by a user modeling module that is responsible for the initial creation of student clusters, where, as a next step, working groups of students are created. A machine learning clustering algorithm works towards group formatting, so that co-operations between students from different clusters are attained. One of the resulting system's basic aims is to provide efficient student groups whose limitations and capabilities are well balanced.

  5. Preparing for Collaborative Working.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    David, Rachel; Smith, Beryl

    1987-01-01

    Interdisciplinary collaboration with other professionals was the theme of a preservice training activity in England in which 18 students enrolled in a teacher training program for learning difficulties were paired with students of speech and language pathology to observe, discuss, and assess a severely disabled child in the school setting. (JW)

  6. Learning through Collaboration.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fisher, Mary Henri, Ed.; And Others

    Presented are summaries of 11 selected projects in the areas of language arts, instructional media, simulation, and the valuing process developed during the 1974 summer session of the Teacher Training Institute of the Governor's School (North Carolina) by institute teachers and gifted students. Outlined are language arts projects on the history of…

  7. Meaningful Learning in the Teaching of Culture: The Project Based Learning Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kean, Ang Chooi; Kwe, Ngu Moi

    2014-01-01

    This paper reports on a collaborative effort taken by a team of three teacher educators in using the Project Based Learning (PBL) approach in the teaching of Japanese culture with the aim to investigate the presence of actual "meaningful learning" among 15 students of a 12-Week Preparatory Japanese Language course under a teacher…

  8. Investigating the Affective Learning in a 3D Virtual Learning Environment: The Case Study of the Chatterdale Mystery

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Molka-Danielsen, Judith; Hadjistassou, Stella; Messl-Egghart, Gerhilde

    2016-01-01

    This research is motivated by the emergence of virtual technologies and their potential as engaging pedagogical tools for facilitating comprehension, interactions and collaborations for learning; and in particular as applied to learning second languages (L2). This paper provides a descriptive analysis of a case study that examines affective…

  9. A Team Approach to Training Early Intervention and Preschool Personnel in Speech-Language Pathology, 1998-2000. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    San Jose State Univ., CA.

    This final report discusses the activities and outcomes of a project designed to train specialists to work collaboratively across settings to improve the outcomes of young children with language and learning disabilities. It provided education for trainees that led to a Masters degree in speech-language pathology with a specialty in early…

  10. Beetles and Butterflies: Language and Learning in a Dual Language Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reyes, Sharon Adelman

    2007-01-01

    Welcome to the classroom of Jill Sontag and her 19 young bilingual collaborators. Join them as they simultaneously explore the world of insects and the world of language. These curious and energetic second graders are easily drawn into the realm of bugs. Encouraging them to speak in Spanish, however, is a bit more complicated. Jill uses her…

  11. Learning about primates' learning, language, and cognition

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rumbaugh, Duane M.

    1992-01-01

    Results are presented of many years of research on the methods of teaching primates the language and cognitive skills which were long considered to be unteachable to particular species of primates. It was found that chimpanzee subjects could not only learn a number of 'stock sentences' but to use them in variations and several combinations for the purpose of solving various problems. Apes placed in different rooms could be taught to communicate via computer, and collaborate with each other on doing specific tasks. Contrary to expectations, young rhesus monkeys proved to be able to learn as much as the chimpanzee species.

  12. Working Together for Learning Together: Supporting Students and Teachers with Collaborative Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shamberger, Cynthia Thrasher; Friend, Marilyn

    2013-01-01

    Professional educators are called upon to provide effective instruction to student populations that increasingly consist of multiple cultures, languages, and ethnic backgrounds. Based on current special education law, schools are working toward establishing more collaborative cultures by stressing partnerships between general and special education…

  13. Collaborative Language Learning in Co-Constructed Participatory Culture

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kessler, Greg

    2013-01-01

    This article expands upon themes addressed in the 2012 CALICO opening plenary that I delivered at the University of Notre Dame. This extended interpretation allows me the opportunity to further explore the nature of participatory human communication and collaboration and offer some clarification of the proposed instructional model for promoting…

  14. Developing Collaborative Cyber Communities to Prepare Tomorrow's Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lord, Gillian; Lomicka, Lara L.

    2004-01-01

    Computer-mediated exchange and interaction have become topics of debate and discussion in the past several years due to the growing interest in synchronous and asynchronous communication and their role in language acquisition, learning, and teaching (Liu, Moore, Graham, & Lee, 2002). This article offers a model for a collaborative course on…

  15. Using Instant Messaging for Collaborative Learning: A Case Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sotillo, Susana M.

    2006-01-01

    As recent second language acquisition (SLA) studies have shown, the negotiation of linguistic items such as vocabulary, verb tenses, and grammar rules with different types of interlocutors--native speakers (NSs) and advanced non-native speakers (NNSs) of English--seems to facilitate second language development among students. Findings from…

  16. A Walk on Ice.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Turner, Jane

    1998-01-01

    Exploration of a specific use of Text Based Virtual Reality--not just as powerful communities for authentic communication and collaboration in language learning but exploiting role-playing and writing aspects. The "Walk on Ice" takes a group of adult English-as-a-Second-Language learners through the creation of imaginary characters who…

  17. Internationalizing the Business Professor: A Collaborative Effort.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Slonaker, William M.; Cannon, Emilie T.

    This paper recounts how two university colleagues, a business faculty member and a foreign language faculty member, benefited from their interdisciplinary contact as student and as teacher. Mutual anxieties, new language learning techniques using computers, and culture are discussed in a stylized dialogue between the two faculty members. From the…

  18. Webquests for English-Language Learners: Essential Elements for Design

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sox, Amanda; Rubinstein-Avila, Eliane

    2009-01-01

    The authors of this article advocate for the adaptation and use of WebQuests (web-based interdisciplinary collaborative learning units) to integrate technological competencies and content area knowledge development at the secondary level and to support the linguistic needs of English-language learners (ELLs). After examining eight WebQuests, the…

  19. Task-Modality and L1 Use in EFL Oral Interaction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Azkarai, Agurtzane; del Pilar García Mayo, María

    2015-01-01

    This study examines whether task-modality (speaking vs. speaking+writing) influences first language (L1) use in task-based English as a foreign language (EFL) learner-learner interaction. Research on the topic has shown that different task-modality triggers different learning opportunities with collaborative speaking tasks drawing learners'…

  20. "Imaginings": Reflections on Plurilingual Students' Creative Multimodal Works

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stille, Saskia; Prasad, Gail

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to illustrate the potential contribution of a multimodal approach to English language teaching and learning in the educational context. Collaborating with English as a second language (ESL) and classroom teachers to explore ways to improve pedagogy in multilingual, multicultural schools, the authors discovered many…

  1. The Dynamics among Non-English Speaking Online Learners' Language Proficiency, Coping Mechanisms, and Cultural Intelligence: Implications for Effective Practice for Online Cross-Cultural Collaboration

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ou, Chun-Ming

    2012-01-01

    Cross-cultural online collaboration has evolved as an inevitable trend that people influenced by globalization cannot neglect. The primary purpose of this study was to discover major factors contributing to productive and effective online cross-cultural collaborative learning for people from diverse cultural backgrounds with varying levels of…

  2. Eco-Dialogical Learning and Translanguaging in Open-Ended 3D Virtual Learning Environments: Where Place, Time, and Objects Matter

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zheng, Dongping; Schmidt, Matthew; Hu, Ying; Liu, Min; Hsu, Jesse

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this research was to explore the relationships between design, learning, and translanguaging in a 3D collaborative virtual learning environment for adolescent learners of Chinese and English. We designed an open-ended space congruent with ecological and dialogical perspectives on second language acquisition. In such a space,…

  3. Capacity Building for Primary Languages through Initial Teacher Education: Could Specialist and Non-Specialist Student Teachers' Complementary Skills Provide a Winning Combination?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rowe, Jan; Herrera, Maria; Hughes, Bernie; Cawley, Michael

    2012-01-01

    There has been much debate about the development of a suitably qualified workforce to deliver the objectives of the Key Stage 2 language learning entitlement in England. The model of a skilled primary languages subject leader, working in collaboration with enthusiastic generalist class teachers is emerging as a consistent preference. Relatively…

  4. Virtual Collaborations in the Spanish Class: From E-Mail to Web Design and CD-ROM Development.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hellebrandt, Josef

    1999-01-01

    Modern technologies can provide language students with authentic content and contextualized, collaborative learning situations. This article illustrates how e-mail exchanges, Web exercises, and CD-ROM development between students in the United States and organizations in Ecuador can promote contextualized and authentic practice of Spanish language…

  5. Tele-Collaborative Projects: Monsters.com?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    LeLoup, Jean; Ponterio, Robert

    2003-01-01

    Examines a collaborative language learning project that brought together elementary and middle school students in France, Canada, and a Basque school to communicate about monsters--a topic of concern to any child who has heard a fairy tale or watched a Disney movie. The Internet is used as the medium of interaction, allowing more students to…

  6. Talking It through: Two French Immersion Learners' Response to Reformulation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Swain, Merrill; Lapkin, Sharon

    2002-01-01

    This article documents the importance of collaborative dialogue as part of the process of second language learning. The stimulus for the dialogue we discuss in this article was a reformulation of a story written collaboratively in French by Nina and Dara, two adolescent French immersion students. A sociocultural theoretical perspective informs the…

  7. Student Engagement in Long-Term Collaborative EFL Storytelling Activities: An Analysis of Learners with English Proficiency Differences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huang, Yun-Yin; Liu, Chen-Chung; Wang, Yu; Tsai, Chin-Chung; Lin, Hung-Ming

    2017-01-01

    English proficiency difference among students is a challenging pedagogical issue in EFL classrooms worldwide. Collaborative digital storytelling has been adopted in language learning settings to increase motivation and engagement, especially for young learners. However, it remains unknown whether students of different proficiency levels can…

  8. Collaborative Online Projects for English Language Learners in Science

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Terrazas-Arellanes, Fatima E.; Knox, Carolyn; Rivas, Carmen

    2013-01-01

    This paper summarizes how collaborative online projects (COPs) are used to facilitate science content-area learning for English Learners of Hispanic origin. This is a Mexico-USA partnership project funded by the National Science Foundation. A COP is a 10-week thematic science unit, completely online, and bilingual (Spanish and English) designed to…

  9. A Blended Collaborative Writing Approach for Chinese L2 Primary School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wong, Lung-Hsiang; Chen, Wenli; Chai, Ching-Sing; Chin, Chee-Kuen; Gao, Ping

    2011-01-01

    This paper outlines an adaptable collaborative writing approach employing a wiki to address the typical weaknesses of young Singaporean Chinese students learning Chinese as second language (L2) in Chinese writing. These students' problems in writing include limited and incorrect use of vocabulary, English-style grammar, badly structured passages,…

  10. Lessons Learned: Collaborative Symbiosis and Responsive Disciplinary Literacy Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilder, Phillip; Herro, Danielle

    2016-01-01

    This paper describes a case study of how a middle school literacy coach and a science teacher attempted to improve disciplinary literacy teaching in a sixth-grade science class. The collaborative inquiry exposed the disciplinary knowledge gap of the literacy coach (a former language arts teacher) and the science teacher's limited knowledge of…

  11. Proposing a Wiki-Based Technique for Collaborative Essay Writing (Propuesta de un modelo pedagógico para la escritura colaborativa de ensayos en un entorno virtual wiki)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ortiz Navarrete, Mabel; Ferreira Cabrera, Anita

    2014-01-01

    This paper aims at proposing a technique for students learning English as a foreign language when they collaboratively write an argumentative essay in a wiki environment. A wiki environment and collaborative work play an important role within the academic writing task. Nevertheless, an appropriate and systematic work assignment is required in…

  12. Language Differentiation: Collaborative Translation to Support Bilingual Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Puzio, Kelly; Keyes, Christopher S.; Cole, Mikel W.; Jiménez, Robert T.

    2013-01-01

    Although a variety of research has investigated the use and benefits of home language in school settings, research on using translation to support school learning is scarce. With the goal of designing a differentiated and culturally relevant strategy that supports the reading of bilingual students, we worked with seventh-grade students in pull-out…

  13. Talking It Through: Collaborative Dialogue and Second Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ammar, Ahlem; Hassan, Rania Mohamed

    2018-01-01

    This quasi-experimental study examined the potential benefits of zero-error dictation, a teaching technique based on dialogue-driven dictation, and the extent to which target linguistic features and proficiency levels mediated its effects on second language (L2) learners' accurate use of French grammatical morphology. Seventy-nine learners of L2…

  14. CALL Teacher Professional Growth through Lesson Study Practice: An Investigation into EFL Teachers' Perceptions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nami, Fatemeh; Marandi, S. Susan; Sotoudehnama, Elaheh

    2016-01-01

    Despite the abundance of research on the potential of lesson study for promoting teachers' professional growth through practice and collaboration, little is known on how language teachers perceive this strategy for their computer assisted language learning (CALL) professional development. In an attempt to contribute to this research base, this…

  15. Negotiation for Action: English Language Learning in Game-Based Virtual Worlds

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zheng, Dongping; Young, Michael F.; Wagner, Manuela Maria; Brewer, Robert A.

    2009-01-01

    This study analyzes the user chat logs and other artifacts of a virtual world, "Quest Atlantis" (QA), and proposes the concept of Negotiation for Action (NfA) to explain how interaction, specifically, avatar-embodied collaboration between native English speakers and nonnative English speakers, provided resources for English language acquisition.…

  16. Speaking to Read: Meta-Analysis of Peer-Mediated Learning for English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cole, Mikel W.

    2014-01-01

    This meta-analysis examines the effectiveness of a group of instructional approaches (i.e., cooperative, collaborative, and peer tutoring) at improving literacy outcomes for English language learners. Main effects analyses of a sample of 28 experimental and quasi-experimental studies reveal that peer-mediation is more effective for ELLs than…

  17. Designing ICT-Enhanced Language Programmes: Academic Writing for Postgraduate Studies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stepanek, Libor; Hradilova, Alena

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents a case study of a course on academic writing for postgraduate studies within a collaborative and interactive information and communication technologies (ICT) based language-learning setting. It describes the structure of an academic writing course for PhD students, focusing on three ICT-enhanced course activities: collaborative…

  18. Sounds and Meanings Working Together: Word Learning as a Collaborative Effort

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Saffran, Jenny

    2014-01-01

    Over the past several decades, researchers have discovered a great deal of information about the processes underlying language acquisition. From as early as they can be studied, infants are sensitive to the nuances of native-language sound structure. Similarly, infants are attuned to the visual and conceptual structure of their environments…

  19. Emergent Practices in Translingual Pedagogy: Teachers Learning to Facilitate Collaborative Translation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    David, Samuel S.

    2017-01-01

    Due to demographic changes, teachers in mainstream U.S. classrooms now work with English language learners (ELLs) in larger numbers than ever before (Sheng, Sheng, & Anderson, 2011). US schools have been diversifying for decades, and students whose first language is not English are the fastest growing population of students in US schools…

  20. Converging Recommendations for Culturally Responsive Literacy Practices: Students with Learning Disabilities, English Language Learners, and Socioculturally Diverse Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Piazza, Susan V.; Rao, Shaila; Protacio, Maria Selena

    2015-01-01

    This study examines culturally responsive pedagogy across the fields of special education, multicultural literacy education, and teaching English language learners. A systematic review of recommendations identified culturally responsive practices in five key areas: dialogue, collaboration, visual representation, explicit instruction, and inquiry.…

  1. Reading-Strategy Use by English as a Second Language Learners in Online Reading Tasks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Park, Ho-Ryong; Kim, Deoksoon

    2011-01-01

    This study investigates adult English language learners' reading-strategy use when they read online texts in hypermedia learning environments. The learners joined the online Independent English Study Group (IESG) and worked both individually and collaboratively. This qualitative case study aims (a) to assess college-level ESL learners' use of…

  2. A Novel Approach for Enhancing Student Reading Comprehension and Assisting Teacher Assessment of Literacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Jun-Ming; Chen, Meng-Chang; Sun, Yeali S.

    2010-01-01

    For students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), reading exercises are critical not only for developing strong reading comprehension, but also for developing listening, speaking, and writing skills. Prior research suggests that social, collaborative learning environments are best suited for improving language ability. However, opportunities…

  3. Teaching Poetry through Collaborative Art: An Analysis of Multimodal Ensembles for Transformative Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wandera, David B.

    2016-01-01

    This study is anchored on two positions: that every communication is multimodal and that different modalities within multimodal communication have particular affordances. Written and oral language and other modalities, such as body language and audio/visual media, are interwoven in classroom communication. What might it look like to strategically…

  4. Language Learning 2.0--International Collaboration Made Easy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kotikoski, Tuula-Harriet; Doshi, Natasha

    2014-01-01

    The Internet has become part of our daily life and serves as a source of knowledge as well as a space for interaction. E-learning is thus a vital element in teaching, and digital media offer not only the possibility to support the individual learning processes of students, but also to foster multilingualism and to immerse into authentic learning…

  5. Designing Interactive and Collaborative Learning Tasks in a 3-D Virtual Environment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Berns, Anke; Palomo-Duarte, Manuel; Fernández, David Camacho

    2012-01-01

    The aim of our study is to explore several possibilities to use virtual worlds (VWs) and game-applications with learners of the A1 level (CEFR) of German as a foreign language. Our interest focuses especially on designing those learning tools which increase firstly, learner motivation towards online-learning and secondly, enhance autonomous…

  6. Influence of Personality and Motivation on Oral Presentation Performance.

    PubMed

    Liang, Hsin-Yi; Kelsen, Brent

    2018-01-19

    Personality and motivation have been identified as influential variables associated with foreign language learning; however, few studies have investigated their effect on oral presentations. This study addresses the importance of both personality and motivation in students' collaborative oral presentation performance. A Big Five personality trait questionnaire measuring Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism and Openness to Experience, together with the Collaborative Inquiry-based Project Questionnaire measuring Task, Project Work, Reinforcement, Social Learning and Social Pressure motivational constructs were employed to evaluate 257 university students. In general, the results showed that Extraversion, Project Work and Social Pressure were significant correlates of oral presentation scores. The first result suggests that extraverts possess superiority in situations where oral language production is central to communication. This was particularly true for lower-level students, inferring that extraverted personalities can compensate for a lower English language ability. The second indicates that the inquiry-based nature of the assignments was an intrinsic motivator especially valued by extraverts. The third implies that extrinsic motivation was a factor influencing student performance. These findings extend previous research by highlighting the contextual relationships between these affective variables and performance in collaborative oral presentation contexts.

  7. Educating Bilingual/ESL Teachers in a Language/Culture Exchange Field School: A Collaborative Model in Teacher Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Guadarrama, Irma N.

    This paper describes a program that brings bilingual and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers from the United States to a Mexican ESL school to teach in the Tetiz (Yucatan, Mexico) field school and in exchange, learn Mayan language and culture. The theoretical base for the project is drawn from the work of major theorists in second language…

  8. Policy versus Practice: The Role of the Home Language in Learning Mathematics and Science in English-Medium Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wildsmith-Cromarty, Rosemary; Gordon, Mary

    2009-01-01

    The focus of this paper is on the effects of the use of the home language (i.e. isiZulu) on teachers' and learners' understanding and use of core concepts in mathematics and science at the senior phase, in contexts where the language of instruction is English. It reports on a national, collaborative, multilingual research project which attempts to…

  9. Modelling Learners' Cognitive, Affective, and Social Processes through Language and Discourse

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dowell, Nia M. M.; Graesser, Arthur C.

    2014-01-01

    An emerging trend toward computer-mediated collaborative learning environments promotes lively exchanges between learners in order to facilitate learning. Discourse can play an important role in enhancing epistemology, pedagogy, and assessments in these environments. In this paper, we highlight some of our recent work showing the advantages using…

  10. Friendship and Reciprocity as Motivators in CSCL

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Flowers, Simeon

    2015-01-01

    Motivation is an important topic among language teachers in Japan. Collins and Hunt (2011) observed increases in Japanese university student's motivation as a result of collaborative learning and cooperative learning programs. This paper continues in this line of inquiry through a quantitative study of motivation in the context of computer…

  11. The Scratch Programming Language and Environment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maloney, John; Resnick, Mitchel; Rusk, Natalie; Silverman, Brian; Eastmond, Evelyn

    2010-01-01

    Scratch is a visual programming environment that allows users (primarily ages 8 to 16) to learn computer programming while working on personally meaningful projects such as animated stories and games. A key design goal of Scratch is to support self-directed learning through tinkering and collaboration with peers. This article explores how the…

  12. Collaboration Handbook: Creating, Sustaining, and Enjoying the Journey.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Winer, Michael; Ray, Karen

    This book provides activities and examples for learning about creating, sustaining, and enjoying new ways of working together. The book helps to develop a new language to deal with complicated situations on the journey to collaboration. The book is divided into four parts. Part 1, "How Do We Begin?" shares a story to develop the scenario. Part 2,…

  13. Cooperative or Collaborative Literacy Practices: Mapping Metadiscourse in a Business Students' Wiki Group Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alyousef, Hesham Suleiman; Picard, Michelle Yvette

    2011-01-01

    Although wikis have been used successfully in collaborative learning in higher education, there is a lack of research investigating wikis in business module assessment tasks. Little research to date has been conducted on how wikis formatively develop international English as a second language (ESL) in business students' academic discourse. In this…

  14. English Learning in an Intercultural Perspective: Russia and Norway

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bjøru, Anne-Mette

    2015-01-01

    This paper describes a cross-border collaboration between a Russian and a Norwegian University in the English Language field, and how it is made possible by the universities' support--both in terms of strategic plans and funding. The paper shows the goals of the collaboration; to give the students an insight into how English is taught in…

  15. EFL Learners' Intercultural Competence Development in an International Web Collaboration Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lázár, Ildikó

    2015-01-01

    This article is based on an analysis of a small sample of data from an international web collaboration project between four classes of English as a foreign language (EFL) learners guided by their English teachers in four different countries in Europe. As few studies have been published about intercultural communication in blended learning EFL…

  16. Learning from Cross-University Collaboration and Research: A Greek Tragedy in Three Acts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mercado, Carmen I.

    2004-01-01

    A multiyear collaboration engaging key educational partners set out to understand how it was that English-language learners attending public schools that had the potential to serve as centers of excellence came to demonstrate relatively strong levels of performance on New York City and New York State standardized tests. This article describes what…

  17. Sounds and meanings working together: Word learning as a collaborative effort

    PubMed Central

    Saffran, Jenny

    2014-01-01

    Over the past several decades, researchers have discovered a great deal of information about the processes underlying language acquisition. From as early as they can be studied, infants are sensitive to the nuances of native-language sound structure. Similarly, infants are attuned to the visual and conceptual structure of their environments starting in the early postnatal period. Months later, they become adept at putting these two arenas of experience together, mapping sounds to meanings. How might learning sounds influence learning meanings, and vice versa? In this paper, I will describe several recent lines of research suggesting that knowledge concerning the sound structure of language facilitates subsequent mapping of sounds to meanings. I will also discuss recent findings suggesting that from its beginnings, the lexicon incorporates relationships amongst the sounds and meanings of newly learned words. PMID:25202163

  18. Modelling language evolution: Examples and predictions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gong, Tao; Shuai, Lan; Zhang, Menghan

    2014-06-01

    We survey recent computer modelling research of language evolution, focusing on a rule-based model simulating the lexicon-syntax coevolution and an equation-based model quantifying the language competition dynamics. We discuss four predictions of these models: (a) correlation between domain-general abilities (e.g. sequential learning) and language-specific mechanisms (e.g. word order processing); (b) coevolution of language and relevant competences (e.g. joint attention); (c) effects of cultural transmission and social structure on linguistic understandability; and (d) commonalities between linguistic, biological, and physical phenomena. All these contribute significantly to our understanding of the evolutions of language structures, individual learning mechanisms, and relevant biological and socio-cultural factors. We conclude the survey by highlighting three future directions of modelling studies of language evolution: (a) adopting experimental approaches for model evaluation; (b) consolidating empirical foundations of models; and (c) multi-disciplinary collaboration among modelling, linguistics, and other relevant disciplines.

  19. Dyslexia in Modern Language Learning: A Case Study on Collaborative Task-Design for Inclusive Teaching and Learning in an Online Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Motzo, Anna; Quattrocchi, Debora

    2015-01-01

    In recent years, universities have been involved in developing new strategies to promote widening participation in higher education, and consequently they have been focusing on increasing the variety of support offered to students with disabilities for a more inclusive and widely accessible learning environment. However, there is a common feeling…

  20. The Use of a Wiki at a College in Hungary as a Tool to Enhance Personal Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Asztalos, Réka

    2014-01-01

    Wikis have been extensively used in language teaching for collaborative writing. However, there are very few studies about wikis as holistic learning environments. To fill this niche, the present research project aimed to explore the potential of the wiki as a platform for knowledge building and personalized learning that may enhance lifelong…

  1. Handing It Over: Giving Students Responsibility for Teaching in a Sheltered Content Course.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heuser, Linda; Tabet, J. Sirena

    1998-01-01

    To expand cognitive knowledge, increase language competency, and promote active learning, a content instructor and a language professor collaborated to develop a final unit in which teams of Japanese college sophomores, studying in a 10-month program in the United States, teach their classmates in English about a topic of interest concerning…

  2. Discussing Course Literature Online: Analysis of Macro Speech Acts in an Asynchronous Computer Conference

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kosunen, Riitta

    2009-01-01

    This paper presents a macro speech act analysis of computer-mediated conferencing on a university course on language pedagogy. Students read scholarly articles on language learning and discussed them online, in order to make sense of them collaboratively in preparation for a reflective essay. The study explores how the course participants made use…

  3. Using Collaborative Strategic Reading with Refugee English Language Learners in an Academic Bridging Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Kent

    2016-01-01

    Refugee students arrive in Canada with varying amounts of previous formal education. School-aged refugees who lack a solid first language education may find learning to read in English and studying subject content especially challenging. If these students leave school, they depart with inadequate English reading proficiency for further academics…

  4. "For most of us Africans, we don't just speak": a qualitative investigation into collaborative heterogeneous PBL group learning.

    PubMed

    Singaram, Veena S; van der Vleuten, Cees P M; Stevens, Fred; Dolmans, Diana H J M

    2011-08-01

    Collaborative approaches such as Problem Based Learning (PBL) may provide the opportunity to bring together diverse students but their efficacy in practice and the complications that arise due to the mixed ethnicity needs further investigation. This study explores the key advantages and problems of heterogeneous PBL groups from the students' and teachers' opinions. Focus groups were conducted with a stratified sample of second year medical students and their PBL teachers. We found that students working in heterogeneous groupings interact with students with whom they don't normally interact with, learn a lot more from each other because of their differences in language and academic preparedness and become better prepared for their future professions in multicultural societies. On the other hand we found students segregating in the tutorials along racial lines and that status factors disempowered students and subsequently their productivity. Among the challenges was also that academic and language diversity hindered student learning. In light of these the recommendations were that teachers need special diversity training to deal with heterogeneous groups and the tensions that arise. Attention should be given to create 'the right mix' for group learning in diverse student populations. The findings demonstrate that collaborative heterogeneous learning has two sides that need to be balanced. On the positive end we have the 'ideology' behind mixing diverse students and on the negative the 'practice' behind mixing students. More research is needed to explore these variations and their efficacy in more detail.

  5. Knowledge Strands: Enhancing Student Perception of Online Postings

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gaudry-Hudson, Christine; Yalda, Sepideh

    2008-01-01

    An important component of student-centered learning is students' ability to connect to their own experiences and to build on their initial perspectives. In this collaborative project, two courses, one in foreign language and one in meteorology, use online postings and threaded discussions to guide the student in a self-study of progress, learning,…

  6. The Fallacies of Open: Participatory Design, Infrastructuring, and the Pursuit of Radical Possibility

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    West-Puckett, Stephanie; Smith, Anna; Cantrill, Christina; Zamora, Mia

    2018-01-01

    To better understand the impacts of participatory design in English language arts teacher education, this critical case study focuses on the National Writing Project's Connected Learning Massive, Open, Online Collaboration (CLMOOC) that engaged educators in playing with the connected learning framework. The authors draw from 5 years of interaction…

  7. Engage, Enhance, and Extend Learning!

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Keren-Kolb, Liz

    2013-01-01

    Educators often say that technology is more than a gimmick or add-on, and that it should engage, enhance, or extend learning in ways that traditional tools do not. Yet they seldom stop to define these terms, and they can be confusing, especially for teachers and preservice teachers. Recently, while collaborating on an English language arts and…

  8. Social Networking: A Collaborative Open Educational Resource

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Toetenel, Lisette

    2014-01-01

    Studies undertaken since the introduction of Web 2.0 have focussed mainly on open educational resources (OERs) such as email, blogging and virtual learning environments. No consistent efforts have been undertaken to study the use of social networking sites as a tool for learning in the second language classroom. This study examined the use of…

  9. Joint Attention in Infant-Toddler Early Childhood Programs: Its Dynamics and Potential for Collaborative Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Degotardi, Sheila

    2017-01-01

    This article examines how joint attention episodes constitute a core feature of relational pedagogy for infants and toddlers. It draws on social interactionist approaches to language and cognitive development to propose that joint attention may afford significant current and future potential for young children's learning. However, most joint…

  10. Supporting Multilingual Learners: Practical Theory and Theoretical Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Van Sluys, Katie; Rao, Arthi

    2012-01-01

    To be literate in the 21st century means much more than learning to read and write; it requires advanced skills like collaboration, critical problem solving, and utilizing multiple sources and means of communication. Learning a language, an aspect of becoming literate, demands that learners not only acquire vocabulary and syntax but also use…

  11. The Language of Collaboration: Dialogue and Identity in Teacher Professional Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crafton, Linda; Kaiser, Eileen

    2011-01-01

    This article explores several professional development models currently being used in the US and in other countries to support teacher learning, including coaching, mentoring and communities of practice. While in some contexts the activities of the participants are informed by social constructivist views of learning, the authors argue that…

  12. Creating Meaning through Multimodality: Multiliteracies Assessment and Photo Projects for Online Portfolios

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schmerbeck, Nicola; Lucht, Felecia

    2017-01-01

    Actively engaged in online media, learners today are surrounded by texts overtly and covertly transmitted by visual images, sound effects, and voices as well as the written word. Language learning portfolios can engage students in the literacy-oriented learning processes of interpretation, collaboration, and problem solving as outlined by Kern…

  13. Computer-Assisted Pronunciation Learning in a Collaborative Context: A Case Study in Taiwan

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tsai, Pi-hua

    2015-01-01

    Computer-assisted pronunciation training (CAPT) software provides language learners with an individualized free environment where they can have access to unlimited input and repetitive practice pronunciation at their own pace. This study explores the impact of CAPT on 90 Taiwanese college students' pronunciation learning and examines if other…

  14. Chinese-French Case Study of English Language Learning via Wikispaces, Animoto and Skype

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hartwell, Laura M.; Zou, Bin

    2013-01-01

    This paper reports on the learning experience of Chinese and French students participating in a computer mediated communication (CMC) collaboration conducted in English and supported by Wikispaces, Animoto, and Skype. Several studies have investigated CMC contexts in which at least some participants were native speakers. Here, we address the…

  15. Strategy Instruction Shifts Teacher and Student Interactions during Text-Based Discussions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boardman, Alison G.; Boelé, Amy L.; Klingner, Janette K.

    2018-01-01

    This study examined how teacher and student interactions were influenced by a multistrategy reading model, Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR), where students learn to apply before-, during-, and after-reading strategies in small cooperative learning groups. Five middle school English language arts teachers and their students (N = 184)…

  16. The Effects of L2 Proficiency Differences in Pairs on Idea Units in a Collaborative Text Reconstruction Task

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shin, Sun-Young; Lidster, Ryan; Sabraw, Stacy; Yeager, Rebecca

    2016-01-01

    Collaborative text reconstruction tasks such as dictogloss have been suggested as effective second language (L2) learning tasks that promote meaningful interaction between learners and their awareness of L2 target grammatical structures. However, it should be noted that the effect of pair interaction on the final product may differ depending on…

  17. Teacher Collaborative Inquiry as a Professional Development Intervention: Benefits and Challenges

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Deni, Ann Rosnida Md.; Malakolunthu, Suseela

    2013-01-01

    The paper reports on a collaborative learning project coded as the teacher inquiry community that was carried out over a year in a private higher education institution to improve the professional capability of language-based subject teachers. Nine teachers completed the project all of whom were females and shared work experience of 2-29 years. Six…

  18. Comenius Project: Are e-Learning Collaborations of High School Students across Europe in Maths Possible?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Simonovits, Reinhard; McElroy, Jim; O'Loughlin, James; Townsend, Colin

    2013-01-01

    The overall aim of the project is to allow for the collaboration of high school students of different European countries on small, selected maths topics. This involves the use of technology, student mobility and English language competency. Benefits are also expected to accrue to teachers of mathematics by providing the opportunity to work with…

  19. "Old School" Meet School Library 2.0: Bump Your Media Program into an Innovative Model for Teaching and Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brooks, Laura K.

    2008-01-01

    Media specialists are never done learning technology. They can't truly learn in isolation and they are not ever settled in their roles as collaborator and teacher. Selecting literature and managing collections is an "old school" role. Just like language evolves, just like the town grange has evolved from a listserv, forum, to a wiki, media…

  20. Emergent Communities of Practice: Secondary Schools' Interaction with Primary School Foreign Language Teaching and Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Evans, Michael; Fisher, Linda

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to give an account of the response of secondary schools to the primary school foreign language teaching initiative recently introduced by the UK government. The paper also explores defining features of the process of cross-phase interaction and the role that knowledge and collaborative practice plays in generating change…

  1. How Effective Is Interactive Learning? Investigating Japanese University Students' Language Patterns in a Collaborative Writing Task

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sakamoto, Mitsuyo

    2017-01-01

    According to Swain, Kinnear, & Steinman (2011), we use a language with others as a form of shared cognition, and in the process we scaffold each other. This action research investigates how students' online written output affects each other's writing. One thousand twenty online entries written by 21 Japanese university sophomore English majors…

  2. Technology and Tasks for Bridging the Language-Content Gap: Teacher-Researcher Collaboration in a Third-Year Spanish Writing Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gleason, Jesse

    2013-01-01

    Many scholars have noted the disjunction between language instruction at the lower- and upper levels of FL study (Byrnes, 2002; Kraemer, 2008; Lord, 2014; Maxim, 2005; Schultz, 2000; Swaffar & Arens, 2005). Whereas lower-division courses tend to focus primarily on learning grammatical patterns and the "four skills," upper-level…

  3. Socialization, Learner Intent, and Environmental Intellectualism: A Transactional Model of Art Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Houser, Neil O.

    This paper proposes a collaborative processing model for art education that draws upon the language and learning theories of Lev S. Vygotsky. This model is a means by which students' natural affinity for socialization and inclination to attend to their own personal agendas may be used to increase learning motivation and effectiveness. The model…

  4. Knowledge-Building Quality in Online Communities of Practice: Focusing on Learning Dialogue

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sorensen, Elsebeth K.; Takle, Eugene S.; Moser, Heather M.

    2006-01-01

    This paper reports on a case study on the implementation of "language games" as a pedagogical tool for analyzing, assessing and promoting the quality and the level of collaborative knowledge building in online learning dialogues. Part of the overall objective is to explore the use, strength, weaknesses, and limitations of using the…

  5. The Zones of Proximal and Distal Development in Chinese Language Studies with the Use of Wikis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chew, Esyin; Ding, Seong Lin

    2014-01-01

    Educational practitioners in the higher education institutions of the UK have increasingly promoted the use of wikis. The technology enhanced learning experience of the UK was transferred to a local higher educational agency in Malaysia through a collaborative research project called WiLearn. By examining a student cohort enrolled in Chinese…

  6. E-Learning in a University Interdisciplinary and Bilingual Context: Analysis of Students' Participation, Motivation and Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ruiz-Molina, Maria-Eugenia; Cuadrado-Garcia, Manuel

    2008-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of virtual learning environments in multicultural higher education of two different subjects: foreign language and marketing. Design/methodology/approach: The paper describes the aims, development and results of an interdisciplinary collaboration project was held between two European…

  7. Learning E.S.L. with Los Cumbancheros 1988-89. OREA Evaluation Section Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Berney, Tomi D.; Adelman, Deborah

    The Learning English as a Second Language (ESL) with Los Cumbancheros project was developed through the collaborative efforts of several New York State Government offices, community school districts in the Bronx, and the private corporate sector. Its objective was to provide supplemental services to at-risk students of limited English proficiency…

  8. Learning to Become a CLIL Teacher: Teaching, Reflection and Professional Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Urmeneta, Cristina Escobar

    2013-01-01

    This case study is part of a larger project which aims to determine the usefulness and validity of a model of a pre-service content and language integrated learning (CLIL) teacher education programme inserted in a Master's degree, whose main pedagogical option is to achieve teacher empowerment through cycles of collaborative teaching and shared…

  9. "Can You Hear Me, Hanoi?" Compensatory Mechanisms Employed in Synchronous Net-Based English Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cunningham, Una; Fagersten, Kristy Beers; Holmsten, Elin

    2010-01-01

    At Dalarna University, Sweden, modes of communication are offered at many points of Kenning's continuum with a web-based learning platform, including asynchronous document exchange and collaborative writing tools, e-mail, recorded lectures in various formats, live streamed lectures with the possibility of text questions to the lecturer in real…

  10. The Global Classroom Project: Learning a Second Language in a Virtual Environment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Knutzen, Brant; Kennedy, David

    2012-01-01

    This paper reports the progress of a pilot project exploring the integration of a collaborative virtual learning environment (Second Life) with the instruction of English courses at Lingnan University in Hong Kong. An educational partnership was developed with two TESOL teacher-training courses at Texas A&M University in the US. The project…

  11. North-South Collaborations: Learning from a Decade of Intercultural Experiences for Teachers and Faculty in One Mexican and US University Partnership

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thomas-Ruzic, Maria; Prudencio, Fatima Encinas

    2015-01-01

    This paper focuses on an ongoing international collaboration between two large public universities, one in the US and one in Mexico, through projects in program development, faculty exchange, graduate student/teacher field experiences, student mentoring and joint research in the area of a foreign/second language teaching and teacher development.…

  12. Angelina, Who Whispered in Three Languages: A Story of One Success in Arts Integration and International Collaboration

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bresciano, Cora

    2012-01-01

    In a virtual space between nations, children can come together to learn about and appreciate each other's culture--and their own. As the Co-Executive Director of Blue Planet Writers' Room, a nonprofit writing center in West Palm Beach, Florida, the author was one of the creators of an international collaboration through which they taught…

  13. Professional Learning Communities Facilitator's Guide for the What Works Clearinghouse™ Practice Guide: Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to English Learners in Elementary and Middle School. REL 2015-105

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dimino, Joseph A.; Taylor, Mary Jo; Morris, Joan

    2015-01-01

    This facilitator's guide is designed to assist professional learning communities (PLCs) in applying evidence-based strategies to help K-8 English learners acquire the language and literacy skills needed to succeed academically. Through this collaborative learning experience, educators will expand their knowledge base as they read, discuss, share,…

  14. Opportunities for Professional Learning Dialogue Generated by Cross-Phase Collaboration in Languages between Primary and Secondary Initial Teacher Education Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schäfer, Isabelle

    2018-01-01

    School partnerships to manage transition between primary and secondary settings are well developed. However, studies show that some aspects of transition in Modern Languages leave much to be desired, as mentioned in a recently published report on KS3 provision ([Office for Standards in Education. 2015. "KS3: The Wasted Years?"…

  15. A multilingual and multimodal approach to literacy teaching and learning in urban education: a collaborative inquiry project in an inner city elementary school.

    PubMed

    Ntelioglou, Burcu Yaman; Fannin, Jennifer; Montanera, Mike; Cummins, Jim

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents findings from a collaborative inquiry project that explored teaching approaches that highlight the significance of multilingualism, multimodality, and multiliteracies in classrooms with high numbers of English language learners (ELLs). The research took place in an inner city elementary school with a large population of recently arrived and Canadian-born linguistically and culturally diverse students from Gambian, Indian, Mexican, Sri Lankan, Tibetan and Vietnamese backgrounds, as well as a recent wave of Roma students from Hungary. A high number of these students were from families with low-SES. The collaboration between two Grade 3 teachers and university-based researchers sought to create instructional approaches that would support students' academic engagement and literacy learning. In this paper, we described one of the projects that took place in this class, exploring how a descriptive writing unit could be implemented in a way that connected with students' lives and enabled them to use their home languages, through the creation of multiple texts, using creative writing, digital technologies, and drama pedagogy. This kind of multilingual and multimodal classroom practice changed the classroom dynamics and allowed the students access to identity positions of expertise, increasing their literacy investment, literacy engagement and learning.

  16. A multilingual and multimodal approach to literacy teaching and learning in urban education: a collaborative inquiry project in an inner city elementary school

    PubMed Central

    Ntelioglou, Burcu Yaman; Fannin, Jennifer; Montanera, Mike; Cummins, Jim

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents findings from a collaborative inquiry project that explored teaching approaches that highlight the significance of multilingualism, multimodality, and multiliteracies in classrooms with high numbers of English language learners (ELLs). The research took place in an inner city elementary school with a large population of recently arrived and Canadian-born linguistically and culturally diverse students from Gambian, Indian, Mexican, Sri Lankan, Tibetan and Vietnamese backgrounds, as well as a recent wave of Roma students from Hungary. A high number of these students were from families with low-SES. The collaboration between two Grade 3 teachers and university-based researchers sought to create instructional approaches that would support students’ academic engagement and literacy learning. In this paper, we described one of the projects that took place in this class, exploring how a descriptive writing unit could be implemented in a way that connected with students’ lives and enabled them to use their home languages, through the creation of multiple texts, using creative writing, digital technologies, and drama pedagogy. This kind of multilingual and multimodal classroom practice changed the classroom dynamics and allowed the students access to identity positions of expertise, increasing their literacy investment, literacy engagement and learning. PMID:24994986

  17. Working Together Online to Enhance Learner Autonomy: Analysis of Learners' Perceptions of Their Online Learning Experience

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eneau, Jerome; Develotte, Christine

    2012-01-01

    This study concerns the development of autonomy in adult learners working on an online learning platform as part of a professional master's degree programme in "French as a Foreign Language". Our goal was to identify the influence of reflective and collaborative dimensions on the construction of autonomy for online learners in this programme. The…

  18. Broadening Educational Practice to Include Translanguaging: An Outcome of Educator Inquiry into Multilingual Students' Learning Needs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Van Viegen Stille, Saskia; Bethke, Robin; Bradley-Brown, Jackie; Giberson, Janet; Hall, Gillian

    2016-01-01

    This paper reports research findings relating to a recent initiative to build capacity and support professional learning among educators to meet the needs of English language learners in Ontario schools. Drawing on data from case studies of educator teams in 16 school districts, the paper explores whether and how collaborative inquiry promoted…

  19. Feasibility Study for Ballet E-Learning: Automatic Composition System for Ballet "Enchainement" with Online 3D Motion Data Archive

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Umino, Bin; Longstaff, Jeffrey Scott; Soga, Asako

    2009-01-01

    This paper reports on "Web3D dance composer" for ballet e-learning. Elementary "petit allegro" ballet steps were enumerated in collaboration with ballet teachers, digitally acquired through 3D motion capture systems, and categorised into families and sub-families. Digital data was manipulated into virtual reality modelling language (VRML) and fit…

  20. Learning the Language of School History: The Role of Linguistics in Mapping the Writing Demands of the Secondary School Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coffin, Caroline

    2006-01-01

    This study uses the tools of functional linguistics to illuminate the writing requirements of the history curriculum in the context of Australian secondary schools. It shows how the resulting linguistic description was integrated into a sequence of teaching and learning activities through collaboration between linguists and content/pedagogic…

  1. Collaborative Learning and the Joint Construction of Knowledge and Understanding

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burkert, Anja

    2015-01-01

    This article reports on a small-scale study conducted among first and second-year students of English at the University of Graz in the winter semester 2013-2014. The aim of the study was to determine the extent to which students in their peer-group interactions were using language efficiently as a means of thinking and learning together. To this…

  2. Exploring the Relationships among Teacher Confidence, Learning, and Test Performance within the English-for-Teaching Course. Research Report. ETS RR-16-24

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gu, Lin; Papageorgiou, Spiros

    2016-01-01

    In responding to the increasingly expanded emphasis on English language teaching (ELT) around the globe, Educational Testing Service (ETS) collaborated with National Geographic Learning to develop the "ELTeach"™ program (http://www.elteach.com), an online professional development program consisting of two courses, English-for-Teaching…

  3. Supporting a Course in New Literacies and Skills for Linguists with a Virtual Learning Environment. Results from a Staff/Student Collaborative Action-Research Project at Coventry University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Orsini-Jones, Marina

    2004-01-01

    This paper reports on the results of an action research project at Coventry University that consisted of the evaluation of a curriculum innovation supported by the use of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) WebCT, i.e. a new module (course): "Academic and Professional Skills for Language Learning". The project was carried out…

  4. Science As A Second Language: Acquiring Fluency through Science Enterprises

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shope, R.; EcoVoices Expedition Team

    2013-05-01

    Science Enterprises are problems that students genuinely want to solve, questions that students genuinely want to answer, that naturally entail reading, writing, investigation, and discussion. Engaging students in personally-relevant science enterprises provides both a diagnostic opportunity and a context for providing students the comprehensible input they need. We can differentiate instruction by creating science enterprise zones that are set up for the incremental increase in challenge for the students. Comprehensible input makes reachable, those just-out-of-reach concepts in the mix of the familiar and the new. EcoVoices takes students on field research expeditions within an urban natural area, the San Gabriel River Discovery Center. This project engages students in science enterprises focused on understanding ecosystems, ecosystem services, and the dynamics of climate change. A sister program, EcoVoces, has been launched in Mexico, in collaboration with the Universidad Loyola del Pacífico. 1) The ED3U Science Inquiry Model, a learning cycle model that accounts for conceptual change: Explore { Diagnose, Design, Discuss } Use. 2) The ¿NQUIRY Wheel, a compass of scientific inquiry strategies; 3) Inquiry Science Expeditions, a way of laying out a science learning environment, emulating a field and lab research collaboratory; 4) The Science Educative Experience Scale, a diagnostic measure of the quality of the science learning experience; and 5) Mimedia de la Ciencia, participatory enactment of science concepts using techniques of mime and improvisational theater. BACKGROUND: Science has become a vehicle for teaching reading, writing, and other communication skills, across the curriculum. This new emphasis creates renewed motivation for Scientists and Science Educators to work collaboratively to explore the common ground between acquiring science understanding and language acquisition theory. Language Acquisition is an informal process that occurs in the midst of exploring, solving problems, seeking answers to questions, playing, reading for pleasure, conversing, discussing, where the focus is not specifically on language development, but on the activity, which is of interest to the participant. Language Learning is a formal education process, the language arts aspect of the school day: the direct teaching of reading, writing, grammar, spelling, and speaking. Fluency results primarily from language acquisition and secondarily from language learning. We can view the problem of science education and communication as similar to language acquisition. Science Learning is a formal education process, the school science aspect of the school day: the direct teaching of standards-aligned science content. Science Acquisition is an informal process that occurs in the midst of exploring, solving problems, seeking answers to questions, playing, experimenting for pleasure, conversing, discussing, where the focus is not specifically on science content development, but on the inquiry activity, driven by the curiosity of the participant. Treating Science as a Second Language shifts the evaluation of science learning to include gauging the extent to which students choose to deepen their pursuit of science learning.

  5. PDLE: Extending Provisional Contributions. Volume 2

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Murphey, Tim, Ed.

    2003-01-01

    Focusing on midcareer professionals, this second volume includes descriptive accounts of professional development opportunities designed specifically so that language teachers can reinvigorate their teaching and remain on the path of lifelong learning. Due to the amount of development that comes from collaboration with other professionals, this…

  6. Science for ELLs: Rethinking Our Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Medina-Jerez, William; Clark, Douglas B.; Medina, Amelia; Ramirez-Marin, Frank

    2007-01-01

    A rich amount of research suggests that native-English speaking and linguistically diverse students are equally capable of learning scientific concepts and terminology through collaborative inquiry-based experiences. Yet, a full understanding of how to address English Language Learner (ELL) issues during science instruction and assessment will…

  7. Collaborative Language Learning in Teletandem: A Resource for Pre-Service Teacher Education (Aprendizaje de lenguas colaborativo en Teletándem: un recurso para la educación de profesores en formación inicial)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Salomão, Ana Cristina Biondo

    2011-01-01

    This article presents some of the results of a qualitative research project about the influences of the pedagogic strategies used by a mediator (graduate student in applied linguistics) in the supervision process of a Teletandem partner (undergraduate student in languages) on her pedagogical practice. It was done within the project…

  8. Layering Language and Novel Study Deepens Adolescent Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Saunders, Jane M.

    2012-01-01

    This article discusses the pedagogical practices of a middle level English teacher who teaches reading and writing skills creatively and recursively. By providing varied ways for students to construct knowledge and repeatedly grapple with difficult concepts, this teacher sustains an environment of collaborative inquiry whereby students internalize…

  9. Sharing Shakespeare: Integrating Literature, Technology, and American Sign Language.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cambridge, Theresa; Abdulezer, Susan

    1998-01-01

    The Sharing Shakespeare project at New York City's Public School for the Deaf developed a unique, elective, process-oriented literature class that combined teenage profoundly deaf students and culturally diverse, limited-English-proficient hearing students. Aided by multimedia technologies, these students collaborated in learning, reading, and…

  10. Helping Students Develop Learning Strategies: Some Theoretical and Practical Considerations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harrison, Ian D.

    The collaborative curriculum development process in a postsecondary language education program in Japan is described, looking specifically at the work of five curriculum development teams, or focus groups: needs assessment; curriculum aims, goals, and objectives; cognitive development and learner strategies; materials development; and learner…

  11. The GLOBAL Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Collaboration System. Building a robust international collaboration environment for teachers, scientists and students.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Overoye, D.; Lewis, C.

    2016-12-01

    The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program is a worldwide hands-on, primary and secondary school-based science and education program founded on Earth Day 1995. Implemented in 117 countries, GLOBE promotes the teaching and learning of science, supporting students, teachers and scientists worldwide to collaborate with each other on inquiry-based investigations of the Earth system. As an international platform supporting a large number and variety of stakeholders, the GLOBE Data Information System (DIS) was re-built with the goal of providing users the support needed to foster and develop collaboration between teachers, students and scientists while supporting the collection and visualization of over 50 different earth science investigations (protocols). There have been many challenges to consider as we have worked to prototype and build various tools to support collaboration across the GLOBE community - language, security, time zones, user roles and the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) to name a few. During the last 3 years the re-built DIS has been in operation we have supported user to user collaboration, school to school collaboration, project/campaign to user collaboration and scientist to scientist collaboration. We have built search tools to facilitate finding collaboration partners. The tools and direction continue to evolve based on feedback, evolving needs and changes in technology. With this paper we discuss our approach for dealing with some of the collaboration challenges, review tools built to encourage and support collaboration, and analyze which tools have been successful and which have not. We will review new ideas for collaboration in the GLOBE community that are guiding upcoming development.

  12. Data mining and education.

    PubMed

    Koedinger, Kenneth R; D'Mello, Sidney; McLaughlin, Elizabeth A; Pardos, Zachary A; Rosé, Carolyn P

    2015-01-01

    An emerging field of educational data mining (EDM) is building on and contributing to a wide variety of disciplines through analysis of data coming from various educational technologies. EDM researchers are addressing questions of cognition, metacognition, motivation, affect, language, social discourse, etc. using data from intelligent tutoring systems, massive open online courses, educational games and simulations, and discussion forums. The data include detailed action and timing logs of student interactions in user interfaces such as graded responses to questions or essays, steps in rich problem solving environments, games or simulations, discussion forum posts, or chat dialogs. They might also include external sensors such as eye tracking, facial expression, body movement, etc. We review how EDM has addressed the research questions that surround the psychology of learning with an emphasis on assessment, transfer of learning and model discovery, the role of affect, motivation and metacognition on learning, and analysis of language data and collaborative learning. For example, we discuss (1) how different statistical assessment methods were used in a data mining competition to improve prediction of student responses to intelligent tutor tasks, (2) how better cognitive models can be discovered from data and used to improve instruction, (3) how data-driven models of student affect can be used to focus discussion in a dialog-based tutoring system, and (4) how machine learning techniques applied to discussion data can be used to produce automated agents that support student learning as they collaborate in a chat room or a discussion board. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  13. Interactive Simulated Patient: Experiences with Collaborative E-Learning in Medicine

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bergin, Rolf; Youngblood, Patricia; Ayers, Mary K.; Boberg, Jonas; Bolander, Klara; Courteille, Olivier; Dev, Parvati; Hindbeck, Hans; Edward, Leonard E., II; Stringer, Jennifer R.; Thalme, Anders; Fors, Uno G. H.

    2003-01-01

    Interactive Simulated Patient (ISP) is a computer-based simulation tool designed to provide medical students with the opportunity to practice their clinical problem solving skills. The ISP system allows students to perform most clinical decision-making procedures in a simulated environment, including history taking in natural language, many…

  14. Approaches to Assessment in CLIL Classrooms: Two Case Studies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Dwyer, Fergus; de Boer, Mark

    2015-01-01

    This article presents two case studies that show how learner involvement and collaboration in assessment are valid pedagogic tools to encourage learner reflection and engagement, particularly where a very traditional approach to language learning is the norm. The authors, who teach in universities in Japan, discuss different but related approaches…

  15. Simulation and Collaborative Learning in Political Science and Sociology Classrooms.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peters, Sandra; Saxon, Deborah

    The program described here used cooperative, content-based computer writing projects to teach Japanese students at an intermediate level of English proficiency enrolled in first-year, English-language courses in political science/environmental issues and sociology/environmental issues in an international college program. The approach was taken to…

  16. Developing educational resources for population genetics in R: An open and collaborative approach

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The R computing and statistical language community has developed a myriad of resources for conducting populations genetic analyses. However, resources for learning how to carry out population genetic analyses in R are scattered and often incomplete, which can make acquiring this skill unnecessarily ...

  17. The Mystery Begins

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harrington, LaDawna

    2008-01-01

    All teachers and media specialists are looking for the "hook" that will engage their students and make them want to learn--and according to the author, mystery stories are a perfect way to create that hook. Here, she presents a unit on mysteries, intended for collaboration between media specialists and language arts teachers. The unit uses…

  18. "But I'm a Language Teacher!" Dual Immersion Teacher Identities in a Complex Policy Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chesnut, Colleen

    2015-01-01

    This qualitative study examined dual immersion teachers' identities as they engaged in policy implementation within their school, collaborating in professional learning communities (PLC) with one-way immersion teachers. Data derived from participant observation, interviews, and interpersonal process recall were analyzed through a theoretical lens…

  19. Collaboration around Facilitating Emergent Literacy: Role of Occupational Therapy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Asher, Asha; Nichols, Joy D.

    2016-01-01

    The article uses a case study to illustrate transdisciplinary perspectives on facilitating emergent literacy skills of Elsa, a primary grade student with autism. The study demonstrates how a professional learning community implemented motor, sensory, and speech/language components to generate a classroom model supporting emergent literacy skills.…

  20. Promoting Critical Thinking in Online Intercultural Communication

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Batardière, Marie-Thérèse

    2015-01-01

    This paper investigates the educational experience arising from the use of an online discussion forum in an undergraduate blended learning language programme; to do this, it focuses on the type of cognitive processes that learners experience during a computer-mediated collaborative task and explores the potential causal relationship between the…

  1. Catching Sight of Talk: Glimpses into Discourse Groups

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jewett, Pamela; Goldstein, Nancy

    2008-01-01

    This article reports on a study conducted in a graduate teacher research class with elementary and secondary classroom teachers. Wanting to create a collaborative environment in which their students could use language to support each other's learning, the instructors formed discourse groups. The article introduces a theoretical framework for…

  2. Reflective Practices in Foreign Language Teacher Education: A View through Micro and Macro Windows

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Geyer, Naomi

    2008-01-01

    As professional development models of teacher education that allow for self-directed, collaborative, inquiry-based learning are increasingly replacing more traditional top-down models, researchers acknowledge the impact of teachers' reflective practices. Although many different types of reflective practices are reported, the differences across…

  3. Learning through Drama.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jensen, Ina; Rechis, Ruth; Luna, J. Don

    This chapter is part of a book that recounts the year's work at the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) at Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi. Rather than an "elitist" laboratory school for the children of university faculty, the dual-language ECDC is a collaboration between the Corpus Christi Independent School District and…

  4. Engaging Foreign Language Learners in a Web 2.0-Mediated Collaborative Learning Process (Inclusión de estudiantes de lenguas extranjeras en procesos colaborativos de aprendizaje mediados por la web 2.0)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cote Parra, Gabriel Eduardo

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this action research was to explore the types of interactions that foreign language learners experience while using a wiki as a supporting tool for a face-to-face research course. This design allowed me to play a dual role: first, I studied my own classroom setting and students. Second, I implemented a pedagogical intervention based…

  5. Collaborative online projects for English language learners in science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Terrazas-Arellanes, Fatima E.; Knox, Carolyn; Rivas, Carmen

    2013-12-01

    This paper summarizes how collaborative online projects (COPs) are used to facilitate science content-area learning for English Learners of Hispanic origin. This is a Mexico-USA partnership project funded by the National Science Foundation. A COP is a 10-week thematic science unit, completely online, and bilingual (Spanish and English) designed to provide collaborative learning experiences with culturally and linguistically relevant science instruction in an interactive and multimodal learning environment. Units are integrated with explicit instructional lessons that include: (a) hands-on and laboratory activities, (b) interactive materials and interactive games with immediate feedback, (c) animated video tutorials, (d) discussion forums where students exchange scientific learning across classrooms in the USA and in Mexico, and (e) summative and formative assessments. Thematic units have been aligned to U.S. National Science Education Standards and are under current revisions for alignment to the Common Core State Standards. Training materials for the teachers have been integrated into the project website to facilitate self-paced and independent learning. Preliminary findings of our pre-experimental study with a sample of 53 students (81 % ELs), distributed across three different groups, resulted in a 21 % statistically significant points increase from pretest to posttest assessments of science content learning, t( 52) = 11.07, p = .000.

  6. Bullying in Virtual Learning Communities.

    PubMed

    Nikiforos, Stefanos; Tzanavaris, Spyros; Kermanidis, Katia Lida

    2017-01-01

    Bullying through the internet has been investigated and analyzed mainly in the field of social media. In this paper, it is attempted to analyze bullying in the Virtual Learning Communities using Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques, mainly in the context of sociocultural learning theories. Therefore four case studies took place. We aim to apply NLP techniques to speech analysis on communication data of online communities. Emphasis is given on qualitative data, taking into account the subjectivity of the collaborative activity. Finally, this is the first time such type of analysis is attempted on Greek data.

  7. [Internet-based continuing medical education: as effective as live continuing medical education].

    PubMed

    Maisonneuve, Hervé; Chabot, Olivier

    2009-10-01

    E-learning consists in using new multimedia and Internet technologies to improve the quality of learning activities by facilitating access to resources and services, as well as exchanges and remote collaboration. The Internet is used for adult education in most professional domains, but its use for continuing medical education is less developed. Advantages are observed for teachers (e.g., permanent updating, interactive links, illustrations, archiving, and collective intelligence) and for the learners (e.g., accessibility, autonomy, flexibility, and adaptable pace). Research and meta-analyses have shown that e-CME is as effective as live events for immediate and retained learning. English-language educational medical websites that grant CME credits are numerous; few such French-language sites can currently grant credits. Accreditation of websites for CME, in its infancy in Europe, is common in North America.

  8. Reputation-based collaborative network biology.

    PubMed

    Binder, Jean; Boue, Stephanie; Di Fabio, Anselmo; Fields, R Brett; Hayes, William; Hoeng, Julia; Park, Jennifer S; Peitsch, Manuel C

    2015-01-01

    A pilot reputation-based collaborative network biology platform, Bionet, was developed for use in the sbv IMPROVER Network Verification Challenge to verify and enhance previously developed networks describing key aspects of lung biology. Bionet was successful in capturing a more comprehensive view of the biology associated with each network using the collective intelligence and knowledge of the crowd. One key learning point from the pilot was that using a standardized biological knowledge representation language such as BEL is critical to the success of a collaborative network biology platform. Overall, Bionet demonstrated that this approach to collaborative network biology is highly viable. Improving this platform for de novo creation of biological networks and network curation with the suggested enhancements for scalability will serve both academic and industry systems biology communities.

  9. Setting the Stage for Literacy. An Anthology of Adult Student Scripts. Volume 1, Number 1.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Setting the Stage for Literacy, 1994

    1994-01-01

    This document describes a collaborative learning project that investigated how theater and improvisational drama can help adult learners to develop basic literacy and English language abilities. Three teachers, working with an average of 10 students each for 6 months, conducted classes to increase students' skills in improvisation, creative…

  10. Collaborative Scaffolding in Online Task-Based Voice Interactions between Advanced Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kenning, Marie-Madeleine

    2010-01-01

    This paper reports some of the findings of a distinctive innovative use of audio-conferencing involving a population (campus-based advanced learners) and a type of application (task-based language learning) that have received little attention to date: the use of Wimba Voice Tools to provide additional opportunities for spoken interactions between…

  11. Students' Perceptions of English Language Learning in the Facebook Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    AbuSa'aleek, Atef Odeh

    2015-01-01

    Social Networking Sites (SNS) such as Facebook (FB) are currently highly used by students because technology has the potential to become a valuable resource to support their educational communications and collaborations. This paper attempts to present a comprehensive picture of what has been investigated in terms of the use of Facebook as an…

  12. Exploring the Utility of a Video-Based Online EFL Discussion Forum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huang, Heng-Tsung Danny; Hung, Shao-Ting Alan

    2013-01-01

    Online discussion forums represent "online collaborative learning spaces in which communities become engaged in the discourse on a topic about which they share common interests or goals" (Montero, Watts & Garcia-Carbonell, 2007, p. 568). This digital communication modality has been claimed to enhance second/foreign language (L2)…

  13. A New Paradigm in ESL Teaching and Learning Environments: Online Professional Development for Taiwanese Instructors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chu, Shiao-wei

    2013-01-01

    This case study investigates the perspectives of four Taiwanese English ESL (English as a second language) teachers with regard to their participation in an online professional development course. To build a collaborative online professional development community, in which teachers acquire professional knowledge to improve teaching instruction and…

  14. The Role of Task Repetition in Learning Word-Stress Patterns through Auditory Priming Tasks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jung, YeonJoo; Kim, YouJin; Murphy, John

    2017-01-01

    This study focused on an instructional component often neglected when teaching the pronunciation of English as either a second, foreign, or international language--namely, the suprasegmental feature of lexical stress. Extending previous research on collaborative priming tasks and task repetition, the study investigated the impact of task and…

  15. Changing Cultural Stereotypes through E-Mail Assisted Foreign Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Itakura, Hiroko

    2004-01-01

    This paper explores the question of how cultural stereotypes are formed, modified, dismissed or reinforced, drawing on findings from a collaborative intercultural e-mail project between Hong Kong learners of Japanese at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and native Japanese speakers at Kagoshima University. It also evaluates role of e-mail…

  16. Online English Language Learning: Theory-Based Course Design and Pedagogy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Andrade, Maureen Snow

    2017-01-01

    The demand for higher education is increasing worldwide. To meet this demand, and to provide increased access, flexible forms of delivery are needed. Although online courses are criticized for a lack of interaction, when intentionally designed, they can provide learners with opportunities for collaboration that supports the achievement of desired…

  17. Ownership, Risk-Taking, and Collaboration in an Elementary Language Arts Classroom.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sturdivant, Cynthia

    1992-01-01

    A teacher of fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students with deafness in a residential school shares methods and activities found to be effective. The methods stress the importance of expectations for learners, ways that design of the learning environment can encourage student ownership, risk taking, and responsibility. (Author/DB)

  18. Project-Based Community Language Learning: Three Narratives of Multilingual Story-Telling in Early Childhood Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lotherington, Heather; Holland, Michelle; Sotoudeh, Shiva; Zentena, Mike

    2008-01-01

    At Joyce Public School (JPS) in the Greater Toronto Area, we are engaged in ongoing collaborative action research to develop pedagogical approaches to emergent literacies that engage multilingual, multicultural, and multimodal perspectives in complex interplay. Our research is grounded in the challenges children experience in acquiring literacy…

  19. The Multicultural Science Framework: Research on Innovative Two-Way Immersion Science Classrooms.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hadi-Tabassum, Samina

    2000-01-01

    Reviews the different approaches to multicultural science teaching that have emerged in the past decade, focusing on the Spanish-English two-way immersion classroom, which meets the needs of Spanish speakers learning English and introduces students to the idea of collaboration across languages and cultures. Two urban two-way immersion classrooms…

  20. Learners without Borders: Connected Learning in a Digital Third Space

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moran, Clarice M.

    2018-01-01

    Authentic field experiences are an important aspect of most teacher education programs, yet collaboration often is difficult because of distance and limited resources. This collective case study aimed to explore the experiences of 30 ninth-grade English language arts (ELA) students and 17 preservice English education teachers as they collaborated…

  1. Communities of practice in support of collaborative multi-disciplinary learning and action in response to climate change

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Heimlich, J. E.; Stylinski, C.; Palmquist, S.; Wasserman, D.

    2017-12-01

    Collaborative efforts reaching across interdisciplinary boundaries to address controversial issues such as climate change present significant complexities, including developing shared language, agreeing on common outcomes, and even establishing habits of regular dialogue. Such collaborative efforts should include museums, aquariums, zoos, parks, and youth groups as each of these informal education institutions provides a critical avenue for supporting learning about and responding to climate change. The community of practice framework offers a potential effective approach to support learning and action of diverse groups with a shared interest. Our study applied this framework to the NSF-funded Maryland and Delaware Climate Change Assessment and Education (MADE-CLEAR) project, facilitating informal educators across these two states to advance their climate change education practices, and could provide insight for a building a citywide multi-sector collaborative effort. We found strategies that center on the process of group evolution; support different perspectives, levels of participation, and community spaces; focus on value as defined by members; and balance familiarity and fun produced a dynamic and functional community with a shared practice where none had existed before. Also important was expanding the community-of-practice focus on relationship building to include structured professional development and spin-off opportunities for small-group team-based endeavors. Our findings suggest that this collaborative professional learning approach is well suited to diverse groups seeking creative solutions to complex and even divisive challenges.

  2. Factors influencing indirect speech and language therapy interventions for adults with learning disabilities: the perceptions of carers and therapists.

    PubMed

    Graves, Judy

    2007-03-01

    The working context for speech and language therapists (SLTs) delivering interventions to adults who have a learning disability has changed following the reorganization of care provision from hospitals to the community. Consequently, SLTs often deliver their care within a social model of disability through indirect intervention in collaboration with carers. However, there has been little research into how this approach works in practice. To gain insight into the working context by identifying the key factors that influence indirect SLT interventions as perceived by SLTs and by paid carers from a range of service providers. To explore the implications of the results for the delivery of indirect SLT interventions and provide direction for further research. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from an opportunistic sample of five SLTs working in Community Learning Disability Teams (CLDTs) and 12 carers from residential and day care services who had had experience of working with SLTs. The data were analysed inductively using a grounded theory framework. Two broad themes emerged for SLTs: roles and expectations, and changing carer behaviour through training. The key themes for carers were roles and values, awareness of communication needs, and motivation and opportunity to implement interventions. Four broad factors are suggested as having the potential to influence indirect interventions: diversity in the working context; possible conflict between the guiding values of SLTs and carers, particularly residential carers; collaboration and support for implementation; and SLT doubts about the effectiveness of formal carer communication training. The results add to the evidence that the delivery of indirect speech and language therapy interventions to people with learning disabilities is a complex activity demanding specialist skills from SLTs. The findings suggest that these should include expertise in professional collaborative and relational skills, and training methods and strategies. Action research is needed to test the validity of the findings and document their impact on indirect interventions in day-to-day practice. More research is needed on the effectiveness of modelling or demonstration as a training technique with carers.

  3. Collaboration in the Context of Teaching, Scholarship, and Language Revitalization: Experience from the Chatino Language Documentation Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cruz, Emiliana; Woodbury, Anthony C.

    2014-01-01

    We describe our own experience of linguist-community collaboration over the last ten years in our Chatino Language Documentation Project, focused on the Chatino languages (Otomanguean; Oaxaca, Mexico). We relate episodes in the emergence and evolution of the collaboration between ourselves, and of the collaboration among ourselves and the Chatino…

  4. Learning autonomy in writing class: Implementation of project-based learning in english for spesific purposes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ayu Sukerti, G. N.; Yuliantini, Ny

    2018-01-01

    This research was aimed to analyze students’ attitude on learning autonomy through the implementation of project-based learning (PBL). Writing has been considered one of the most difficult competencies to master as it incorporates several integrated language skills. Thus, teaching writing in English for Specific Class posts a huge challenge as students often feel discouraged by the complex series of processes involved in producing a well-structured piece of writing. This research implemented PBL as the learning model to boost students’ learning outcomes and construct self-directed learning. Participants were 25 second semester students enrolled in a three-year undergraduate program in Informatics Management. The implementation of PBL in writing class contributed real advantages since it allowed students to collaboratively arrange outline in order to produce individual drafts and final essays. The study revealed that students were able to be involved in a more deep and autonomous learning as they helped each other during group discussion. The students autonomously engaged in the completion of the project in a more positive attitude. They also acquired more knowledge in the aspect of grammar and learned how to use language in proper context based on the feedbacks they got during revising their writing.

  5. Behind the scenes: A medical natural language processing project.

    PubMed

    Wu, Joy T; Dernoncourt, Franck; Gehrmann, Sebastian; Tyler, Patrick D; Moseley, Edward T; Carlson, Eric T; Grant, David W; Li, Yeran; Welt, Jonathan; Celi, Leo Anthony

    2018-04-01

    Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities in medicine can help address many pressing problems in healthcare. However, AI research endeavors in healthcare may not be clinically relevant, may have unrealistic expectations, or may not be explicit enough about their limitations. A diverse and well-functioning multidisciplinary team (MDT) can help identify appropriate and achievable AI research agendas in healthcare, and advance medical AI technologies by developing AI algorithms as well as addressing the shortage of appropriately labeled datasets for machine learning. In this paper, our team of engineers, clinicians and machine learning experts share their experience and lessons learned from their two-year-long collaboration on a natural language processing (NLP) research project. We highlight specific challenges encountered in cross-disciplinary teamwork, dataset creation for NLP research, and expectation setting for current medical AI technologies. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  6. Engineering and Language Discourse Collaboration: Practice Realities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harran, Marcelle

    2011-01-01

    This article describes a situated engineering project at a South African HE institution which is underpinned by collaboration between Applied Language Studies (DALS) and Mechanical Engineering. The collaboration requires language practitioners and engineering experts to negotiate and collaborate on academic literacies practices, discourse…

  7. ICT-SUSTOUR and MARKETOUR: Two Second Language Acquisition Projects through a Virtual Learning Environment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Colomar, M. Pilar Alberola; Guzman, Eva Gil

    2009-01-01

    We are presenting a methodological approach that aims to increase students' motivation by asking them to develop tasks based on professional settings. In order to meet this objective a collaborative methodology was designed and applied to two multidisciplinary projects: MARKETOUR and ICT-SUSTOUR. Both projects made students face real workplace…

  8. Early Childhood Teacher Preparation: A Tale of Authors and Multimedia, A Model of Technology Integration Described.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wetzel, Keith; McLean, S. V.

    1997-01-01

    Describes collaboration of two teacher educators, one in early childhood language arts and one in computers in education. Discusses advantages and disadvantages and extensions of this model, including how a college-wide survey revealed that students in teamed courses are better prepared to teach and learn with technology. (DR)

  9. Five Heads Are Better than One: Preliminary Results of Team-Based Learning in a Communication Disorders Graduate Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Epstein, Baila

    2016-01-01

    Background: Clinical problem-solving is fundamental to the role of the speech-language pathologist in both the diagnostic and treatment processes. The problem-solving often involves collaboration with clients and their families, supervisors, and other professionals. Considering the importance of cooperative problem-solving in the profession,…

  10. Teacher/Mentor: A Dialogue for Collaborative Learning. The Practitioner Inquiry Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Graham, Peg, Ed.; Hudson-Ross, Sally, Ed.; Adkins, Chandra, Ed.; McWhorter, Patti, Ed.; Stewart, Jennifer McDuffie, Ed.

    Using the subjects of language arts and English in the secondary school setting, this collection of essays should inspire the development and refinement of teacher education at all levels and in all subject areas. The essays are written in the voices of public school teachers and grounded in everyday theory and practice of faculty in public…

  11. The Platte River Corridor Project: A University/K-12 Collaboration to Meet the Needs of Latino Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hof, David D.; Lopez, Samuel T.; Dinsmore, Julie A.; Baker, Jessica; McCarty, Wendy L.; Tracy, Glenn

    2007-01-01

    This article discusses the development and impact of the Platte River Corridor Project, a successful university/K-12 partnership designed to address the inequality in learning outcomes for Latino students by increasing the effectiveness of K-12 classroom teachers in educating Latino English Language Learner (ELL) students and by facilitating…

  12. Examining the Internal Structure of the Test of English-for-Teaching ("TEFT"™). Research Report. ETS RR-15-16

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gu, Lin; Turkan, Sultan; Gomez, Pablo Garcia

    2015-01-01

    ELTeach is an online professional development program developed by Educational Testing Service (ETS) in collaboration with National Geographic Learning. The ELTeach program consists of two courses: English-for-Teaching and Professional Knowledge for English Language Teaching (ELT). Each course includes a coordinated assessment leading to a score…

  13. Wikis as Discussion Forums: Exploring Students' Contribution and Their Attention to Form

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nami, Fatemeh; Marandi, S. Susan

    2014-01-01

    The potential of wikis for learning has recently begun to capture the attention of English as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL) research. While students' collaboration, attention to form, and perceptions of wikis in document mode have been widely addressed in previous research, the educational value of wikis used in thread mode, as discussion…

  14. Supporting Collaborative Learning and Problem-Solving in a Constraint-Based CSCL Environment for UML Class Diagrams

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baghaei, Nilufar; Mitrovic, Antonija; Irwin, Warwick

    2007-01-01

    We present COLLECT-UML, a constraint-based intelligent tutoring system (ITS) that teaches object-oriented analysis and design using Unified Modelling Language (UML). UML is easily the most popular object-oriented modelling technology in current practice. While teaching how to design UML class diagrams, COLLECT-UML also provides feedback on…

  15. Learners' Reflections on and Perceptions of Computer-Mediated Communication in a Language Classroom: A Vietnamese Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nguyen, Long V.

    2011-01-01

    The paper examines Vietnamese learners' reflections on and perceptions of the application of computer-mediated communication (CMC) into collaborative learning. Data for analysis included an evaluation questionnaire, consisting of 24 4-point Likert scale items, appended with six open-ended questions, and transcripts of 15, out of 30, teacher…

  16. English for Bible and Theology: Understanding and Communicating Theology across Cultural and Linguistic Barriers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pierson, Cheri; Bankston, Will

    2013-01-01

    This article introduces English for Bible and Theology (EBT), an inherently interdisciplinary field that merges English language learning with the content of biblical and theological studies in a context that is, by nature, cross-cultural. Within this collaboration there exists the possibility not only to enable theological study, but also to…

  17. Symposium on Literacy and Disabilities (6th, Durham, North Carolina, January 23-24, 1997). Proceedings.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Duke Univ., Durham, NC. Medical Center.

    Shortened versions of papers from a symposium on literacy and disabilities are provided. Paper topics include: (1) a literacy bill of rights; (2) balanced instruction for diverse learners; (3) historical trends in vocabulary selection; (4) inclusive/collaborative service delivery for language/learning disabled school-age children; (5) literacy,…

  18. Foreign Language Learning Conceptualisations of Distance Learners in New Zealand: Goals, Challenges and Responses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Walker, Ute; Haddon, Rosemary

    2011-01-01

    This article reports on a collaborative research project which involved first-year distance learners of Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish at a New Zealand university. Drawing on the principles of Allwright's exploratory practice, the study aimed to gain an insight into the learners' experiences and conceptualisations in terms of their…

  19. Charting New Waters: Collaborating for School Improvement in U.S. High Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schneider, Melanie; Huss-Lederman, Susan; Sherlock, Wallace

    2012-01-01

    When professional learning communities (PLCs) are developed to promote the academic achievement of English language learners (ELLs), the results can benefit not only ELLs but the whole school. This article examines the ventures of three high schools that implemented PLCs as part of a Title III National Professional Development Project. The authors…

  20. EssayCritic: Writing to Learn with a Knowledge-Based Design Critiquing System

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mørch, Anders I.; Engeness, Irina; Cheng, Victor C.; Cheung, William K.; Wong, Kelvin C.

    2017-01-01

    This article presents a study of EssayCritic, a computer-based writing aid for English as a foreign language (EFL) that provides feedback on the content of English essays. We compared two feedback conditions: automated feedback from EssayCritic (target class) and feedback from collaborating peers (comparison class). We used a mixed methods…

  1. The Challenges of Collaborative Learning across the Border--Canada and the United States: Divergent Paths/Intertwined Futures

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Parham, Claire Puccia

    2014-01-01

    For The past two years, Siena College and Loyola International College for Diversity and Sustainability (LCDS), formerly Loyola International College, have jointly taught a comparative Canadian/ U.S. history class. Concordia University, an English language university, has more than 46,000 students and offers 433 undergraduate and graduate…

  2. The role of collaborative ontology development in the knowledge negotiation process

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rivera, Norma

    Interdisciplinary research (IDR) collaboration can be defined as the process of integrating experts' knowledge, perspectives, and resources to advance scientific discovery. The flourishing of more complex research problems, together with the growth of scientific and technical knowledge has resulted in the need for researchers from diverse fields to provide different expertise and points of view to tackle these problems. These collaborations, however, introduce a new set of "culture" barriers as participating experts are trained to communicate in discipline-specific languages, theories, and research practices. We propose that building a common knowledge base for research using ontology development techniques can provide a starting point for interdisciplinary knowledge exchange, negotiation, and integration. The goal of this work is to extend ontology development techniques to support the knowledge negotiation process in IDR groups. Towards this goal, this work presents a methodology that extends previous work in collaborative ontology development and integrates learning strategies and tools to enhance interdisciplinary research practices. We evaluate the effectiveness of applying such methodology in three different scenarios that cover educational and research settings. The results of this evaluation confirm that integrating learning strategies can, in fact, be advantageous to overall collaborative practices in IDR groups.

  3. Pursuing Precision Speech-Language Therapy Services for Children with Down Syndrome.

    PubMed

    McDaniel, Jena; Yoder, Paul J

    2016-11-01

    The behavioral phenotype of individuals with Down syndrome (DS) offers one avenue for developing speech-language therapy services that are tailored to the individual's characteristics that affect treatment response. Behavioral phenotypes are patterns of behavioral strengths and weaknesses for specific genetic disorders that can help guide the development and implementation of effective interventions. Nonetheless, individual differences within children with DS must be acknowledged and addressed because behavioral phenotypes are probabilistic, not deterministic. Developing precision speech-language therapy services to maximize learning opportunities and outcomes for children with DS calls for increased collaboration among clinicians and researchers to address the needs, challenges, and opportunities on three interconnected themes: (1) moving effective interventions from research to practice, (2) making evidence-based, child-specific treatment intensity decisions, and (3) considering child motivation and temperament characteristics. Increased availability of intervention materials and resources as well as more specific recommendations that acknowledge individual differences could help narrow the research-practice gap. Clear descriptions of disciplined manipulations of treatment intensity components could lead to more effective intervention services. Last, addressing motivation and temperament characteristics, such as the personality-motivation orientation, in children with DS may help maximize learning opportunities. Focused attention and collaboration on these key themes could produce substantial, positive changes for children with DS and their families in the coming decade. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

  4. Embodying a cognitive model in a mobile robot

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Benjamin, D. Paul; Lyons, Damian; Lonsdale, Deryle

    2006-10-01

    The ADAPT project is a collaboration of researchers in robotics, linguistics and artificial intelligence at three universities to create a cognitive architecture specifically designed to be embodied in a mobile robot. There are major respects in which existing cognitive architectures are inadequate for robot cognition. In particular, they lack support for true concurrency and for active perception. ADAPT addresses these deficiencies by modeling the world as a network of concurrent schemas, and modeling perception as problem solving. Schemas are represented using the RS (Robot Schemas) language, and are activated by spreading activation. RS provides a powerful language for distributed control of concurrent processes. Also, The formal semantics of RS provides the basis for the semantics of ADAPT's use of natural language. We have implemented the RS language in Soar, a mature cognitive architecture originally developed at CMU and used at a number of universities and companies. Soar's subgoaling and learning capabilities enable ADAPT to manage the complexity of its environment and to learn new schemas from experience. We describe the issues faced in developing an embodied cognitive architecture, and our implementation choices.

  5. Towards effective partnerships in a collaborative problem-solving task.

    PubMed

    Schmitz, Megan J; Winskel, Heather

    2008-12-01

    Collaborative learning is recognized as an effective learning tool in the classroom. In order to optimize the collaborative learning experience for children within a collaborative partnership, it is important to understand how to match the children by ability level, and whether assigning roles within these dyads is beneficial or not. The current study investigated the effect of partnering children with different task-specific abilities and assigning or not assigning helping roles within the dyads on the quality of talk used in a collaborative learning task. The participants in this study comprised 54 year 6 pupils from a Western Sydney government primary school (boys=26, girls=28). The ages ranged from 10 years 10 months to 12 years 4 months with a mean age of 11 years 4 months. The children were formed into 27 single sex dyads of low-middle- and low-high-ability partnerships. In half of each of these dyads the higher ability partner was asked to help the lower ability partner, which was compared with just asking partners to work together. The quality of talk used by the dyads while working collaboratively on the problem-solving task was analysed using a language analysis framework developed by Mercer and colleagues (e.g. Littleton et al., 2005; Mercer, 1994, 1996). Results of this study found that children who worked collaboratively in the low-middle-ability dyad condition demonstrated significantly more high-quality exploratory talk than those in the low-high-ability dyad condition. Although there was no significant difference between dyads who were assigned roles and those who were asked to work together, there was an interaction trend which suggests that low-high-ability dyads, who were given the roles of helper and learner, showed more exploratory talk than dyads who were asked just to work together. Mercer's re-conceptualization of Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) in terms of the Intermental Development Zone (IDZ), which is reliant on constructive challenging discourse, can potentially provide a platform upon which all learners in the classroom can benefit from collaborative learning experiences.

  6. Raising Learners' Awareness through L1-L2 Teacher Collaboration

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gunning, Pamela; White, Joanna; Busque, Christine

    2016-01-01

    There is considerable interest in teacher collaboration across mother tongue and second language curricula. However, cross-curricular collaboration in reading strategy instruction has seldom been investigated. We report a two-year study involving collaboration between the French first language (L1) and English second language (L2) teachers in an…

  7. Using Educative Assessments to Support Science Teaching for Middle School English-language Learners

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Buxton, Cory A.; Allexsaht-Snider, Martha; Suriel, Regina; Kayumova, Shakhnoza; Choi, Youn-jeng; Bouton, Bobette; Baker, Melissa

    2013-03-01

    Grounded in Hallidayan perspectives on academic language, we report on our development of an educative science assessment as one component of the language-rich inquiry science for English-language learners teacher professional learning project for middle school science teachers. The project emphasizes the role of content-area writing to support teachers in diagnosing their students' emergent understandings of science inquiry practices, science content knowledge, and the academic language of science, with a particular focus on the needs of English-language learners. In our current school policy context, writing for meaningful purposes has received decreased attention as teachers struggle to cover large numbers of discrete content standards. Additionally, high-stakes assessments presented in multiple-choice format have become the definitive measure of student science learning, further de-emphasizing the value of academic writing for developing and expressing understanding. To counter these trends, we examine the implementation of educative assessment materials—writing-rich assessments designed to support teachers' instructional decision making. We report on the qualities of our educative assessment that supported teachers in diagnosing their students' emergent understandings, and how teacher-researcher collaborative scoring sessions and interpretation of assessment results led to changes in teachers' instructional decision making to better support students in expressing their scientific understandings. We conclude with implications of this work for theory, research, and practice.

  8. BAAL/CUP Seminar 2016: New Plurilingual Pathways for Integration: Immigrants and Language Learning in the 21st Century

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bermingham, Nicola; Higham, Gwennan

    2017-01-01

    This seminar was held at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, on 27 May 2016. It was jointly organised by BAAL members Nicola Bermingham (Heriot-Watt University) and Gwennan Higham (Swansea University) in collaboration with COST Action IS1306 New Speakers in a Multilingual Europe: Opportunities and Challenges, and supported by the Intercultural…

  9. Opportunities for Academic Language and Literacy Development for Emergent Bilingual Students during Group Work

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Molle, Daniella; Lee, Naomi

    2017-01-01

    The present paper argues for a shift in teacher knowledge and beliefs about the role of group work in the teaching and learning of emergent bilingual students. Using case study data from an eighth grade classroom, the authors analyze the role of collaboration in the interaction with grade-level text of emergent bilingual students. The analysis…

  10. The Application of a Cloud-Based Student, Teacher, and Parent Platform in English as a Foreign Language Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chiu, Fu-Yuan

    2014-01-01

    This study constructed a cloud-based student, teacher, and parent platform (CSTPP) in collaboration with a Taiwanese textbook publisher. Junior high school students' attitudes to learning English using the developed system were subsequently examined. The study participants were divided into 3 groups: Those in Group A employed the CSTPP with…

  11. Crossroads Cafe: An ESOL Program for Adult Learners. Formative Evaluation Study, Summer 1996 Pilot Implementation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Spiegel, Seymour; Rayman, Irene C.

    The reports presents findings of a formative evaluation of "Crossroads Cafe," an adult-level distance learning program designed to teach English to speakers of other languages (ESOL). The study focused on how 22 programs were implemented in 6 different regions of New York State. The program is a collaborative efforts of the Department of…

  12. Understanding the Use of Online Role-Play for Collaborative Argument through Teacher Experiencing: A Case Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhang, Li; Beach, Richard; Sheng, Yue

    2016-01-01

    As computers and the Internet are increasingly employed in language teaching and learning, preparing teachers for the impending reality of online teaching is of paramount importance. This study investigated 10 in-service teachers participating in an online role-play as part of a digital education methods course to acquire an understanding of the…

  13. Collaboration by Design: School Chooses Strategies That Allow Teachers to Learn with and from Each Other

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Keller, Jeff; Kusko, Marfel

    2015-01-01

    At Marylin Avenue School in Livermore, California, student achievement more than doubled from 2006 to 2013, even as the number of socioeconomically disadvantaged students increased from 66% to 88% and English language learner populations from 57% to 64%. Key to this continued growth in student achievement was the evolution of strategies that…

  14. Life as a graduate student in a globalized collaboration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fracchiolla, Claudia

    2009-05-01

    A global vision is important, if not essential, in all scientific fields. In the case of graduate students, the language of instruction is not the only issue. We must learn different research methodologies and understand a new set of complex cultural dynamics both in our living situations and in our new university workplaces. My research program is in experimental particle astrophysics. I study ultra-high energy cosmic rays with the Pierre Auger Observatory located in Argentina. More than 400 scientists from 18 different countries are a part of this science program. As a graduate student within this model provides me with a comprehensive understanding of global cultures combined with research skills, proficiency in different languages, and an international experience. I will discuss the benefits and challenges of working in a large international collaboration, and how it can help you grow not only as a scientist, but also as a person.

  15. Computer-mediated interdisciplinary teams: theory and reality.

    PubMed

    Vroman, Kerryellen; Kovacich, Joann

    2002-05-01

    The benefit of experience, tempered with the wisdom of hindsight and 5 years of text-based, asynchronous, computer-mediated, interdisciplinary team communications, provides the energy, insights and data shared in this article. Through the theoretical lens of group dynamics and the epistemology of interdisciplinary teaming, we analyze the interactions of a virtual interdisciplinary team to provide an understanding and appreciation of collaborative interdisciplinary communication in the context of interactive technologies. Whilst interactive technologies may require new patterns of language similar to that of learning a foreign language, what is communicated in the interdisciplinary team process does not change. Most important is the recognition that virtual teams, similar to their face-to-face counterparts, undergo the same challenges of interdisciplinary teaming and group developmental processes of formation: forming, storming, norming, performing, and transforming. After examining these dynamics of communication and collaboration in the context of the virtual team, the article concludes with guidelines facilitating interdisciplinary team computer-mediated communication.

  16. Identifying and Supporting Productive Collaborative Teacher Talk

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Flarend, Alice M.

    As improvements and changes in science education are promulgated, science teachers must be educated about these changes. Professional development programs are central to promoting teacher learning. Although the field seems to have agreed upon large-scalepedagogical features of high quality professional development with an emphasis on building a collaborative community of learners, effective implementation of these features is still problematic. The connections between these collaborative features and actual teacher work during the professional development remain unclear. This qualitative discourse study investigated how teachers engaged in small group discussions use discourse to collaborate during a weeklong professional development program that employed these useful pedagogical features. Small group discussions among the forty-two participants, diverse in their demographics and teaching experiences, were video and audio recorded. A collaborative discourse framework is developed and applied to the discussions, successfully categorizing episodes of discourse according to their productive potential for learning. The structure of the PD activities is then investigated to determine characteristics encouraging to these productive learning conversations. The analysis in this study indicated requiring groups to come to a consensus helps groups dig deeper into the content, promoting a more productive negotiation of concepts. Building consensus around an artifact such as a graph strengthened the need for consensus and thereby strengthened the opportunities for productive conversation. In addition, professional development activities that target building and using specific language were also opportunities for productive learning talk, providing opportunities to negotiate the deep meaning of words and concepts rather then leaving them unexamined. When viewed through the lens of Wenger's Community of Practice (1998) these findings are ways of strengthening the community. Consensus strengthens the mutual accountability and the purposeful building of vocabulary strengthens the shared repertoire, as did having the consensus artifact.

  17. "You Never Know What Research Is Like Unless You've Done It!": Action Research to Promote Collaborative Student-Teacher Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yan, Chunmei

    2017-01-01

    In contrast with its high level of popularity in both research and practice for in-service teacher development, teacher research has received much less attention in pre-service language teacher education as a reflective learning approach, particularly in China's context. Action research, as a major form of teacher research, has rarely been…

  18. Hybrid Collaborative Learning for Classification and Clustering in Sensor Networks

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wagstaff, Kiri L.; Sosnowski, Scott; Lane, Terran

    2012-01-01

    Traditionally, nodes in a sensor network simply collect data and then pass it on to a centralized node that archives, distributes, and possibly analyzes the data. However, analysis at the individual nodes could enable faster detection of anomalies or other interesting events as well as faster responses, such as sending out alerts or increasing the data collection rate. There is an additional opportunity for increased performance if learners at individual nodes can communicate with their neighbors. In previous work, methods were developed by which classification algorithms deployed at sensor nodes can communicate information about event labels to each other, building on prior work with co-training, self-training, and active learning. The idea of collaborative learning was extended to function for clustering algorithms as well, similar to ideas from penta-training and consensus clustering. However, collaboration between these learner types had not been explored. A new protocol was developed by which classifiers and clusterers can share key information about their observations and conclusions as they learn. This is an active collaboration in which learners of either type can query their neighbors for information that they then use to re-train or re-learn the concept they are studying. The protocol also supports broadcasts from the classifiers and clusterers to the rest of the network to announce new discoveries. Classifiers observe an event and assign it a label (type). Clusterers instead group observations into clusters without assigning them a label, and they collaborate in terms of pairwise constraints between two events [same-cluster (mustlink) or different-cluster (cannot-link)]. Fundamentally, these two learner types speak different languages. To bridge this gap, the new communication protocol provides four types of exchanges: hybrid queries for information, hybrid "broadcasts" of learned information, each specified for classifiers-to-clusterers, and clusterers-to-classifiers. The new capability has the potential to greatly expand the in situ analysis abilities of sensor networks. Classifiers seeking to categorize incoming data into different types of events can operate in tandem with clusterers that are sensitive to the occurrence of new kinds of events not known to the classifiers. In contrast to current approaches that treat these operations as independent components, a hybrid collaborative learning system can enable them to learn from each other.

  19. A Case Study of a Collaborative Speech-Language Pathologist

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ritzman, Mitzi J.; Sanger, Dixie; Coufal, Kathy L.

    2006-01-01

    This study explored how a school-based speech-language pathologist implemented a classroom-based service delivery model that focused on collaborative practices in classroom settings. The study used ethnographic observations and interviews with 1 speech-language pathologist to provide insights into how she implemented collaborative consultation and…

  20. Collaboration in Language Testing and Assessment. Language Testing and Evaluation. Volume 26

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tsagari, Dina, Ed.; Csepes, Ildiko, Ed.

    2012-01-01

    The Guidelines for Good Practice of the European Association for Language Testing and Assessment (EALTA) stress the importance of collaboration between all parties involved in the process of developing instruments, activities and programmes for testing and assessment. Collaboration is considered to be as important as validity and reliability,…

  1. Case-based pedagogy as a context for collaborative inquiry in the Philippines

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arellano, Elvira L.; Barcenal, Tessie L.; Bilbao, Purita P.; Castellano, Merilin A.; Nichols, Sharon; Tippins, Deborah J.

    2001-05-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential for using case-based pedagogy as a context for collaborative inquiry into the teaching and learning of elementary science. The context for this study was the elementary science teacher preparation program at West Visayas State University on the the island of Panay in Iloilo City, the Philippines. In this context, triple linguistic conventions involving the interactions of the local Ilonggo dialect, the national language of Philipino (predominantly Tagalog) and English create unique challenges for science teachers. Participants in the study included six elementary student teachers, their respective critic teachers and a research team composed of four Filipino and two U.S. science teacher educators. Two teacher-generated case narratives serve as the centerpiece for deliberation, around which we highlight key tensions that reflect both the struggles and positive aspects of teacher learning that took place. Theoretical perspectives drawn from assumptions underlying the use of case-based pedagogy and scholarship surrounding the community metaphor as a referent for science education curriculum inquiry influenced our understanding of tensions at the intersection of re-presentation of science, authority of knowledge, and professional practice, at the intersection of not shared language, explicit moral codes, and indigenization, and at the intersection of identity and dilemmas in science teaching. Implications of this study are discussed with respect to the building of science teacher learning communities in both local and global contexts of reform.

  2. Natural Language Direction Following for Robots in Unstructured Unknown Environments

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-01-15

    Looking back, I can safely say my most fruitful research was the result of these collaborations. Seeing peers learn and struggle alongside me has been...performance gains on such diverse problems as autonomous driving, playing Super Mario, handwriting recogni- tion, helicopter control, and image...similarity metric between what the direction says and what the robot sees. These are useful to describe the landmark field of the Spatial Description

  3. Addressing Microaggressions to Facilitate High-Performing Work Climates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brown Clarke, J.

    2016-12-01

    Microaggressions can be described as verbal, behavioral or environmental insults, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicates hostile, derogatory, or negative messages toward individuals based on one's race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, intersectionality, thisABILITIES, language, socioeconomic and/or citizenship status. This interactive workshop will engage participants to examine and identifying microaggressions, then work collaboratively to develop strategies and tools to confront and remove them from the environment. At the end of this session, participants will be more aware of their own personal biases and stereotypes, and the influence it can have on the organizational climate: Learn how to detect microaggressions Learn how to react to microaggressions Learn how to sustain a microaggression-free environment

  4. Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, and Hearing Signing Undergraduates’ Attitudes toward Science in Inquiry-Based Biology Laboratory Classes

    PubMed Central

    Gormally, Cara

    2017-01-01

    For science learning to be successful, students must develop attitudes toward support future engagement with challenging social issues related to science. This is especially important for increasing participation of students from underrepresented populations. This study investigated how participation in inquiry-based biology laboratory classes affected students’ attitudes toward science, focusing on deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing signing students in bilingual learning environments (i.e., taught in American Sign Language and English). Analysis of reflection assignments and interviews revealed that the majority of students developed positive attitudes toward science and scientific attitudes after participating in inquiry-based biology laboratory classes. Attitudinal growth appears to be driven by student value of laboratory activities, repeated direct engagement with scientific inquiry, and peer collaboration. Students perceived that hands-on experimentation involving peer collaboration and a positive, welcoming learning environment were key features of inquiry-based laboratories, affording attitudinal growth. Students who did not perceive biology as useful for their majors, careers, or lives did not develop positive attitudes. Students highlighted the importance of the climate of the learning environment for encouraging student contribution and noted both the benefits and pitfalls of teamwork. Informed by students’ characterizations of their learning experiences, recommendations are made for inquiry-based learning in college biology. PMID:28188279

  5. The Language of Engagement: "Aha!" Moments from Engaging Patients and Community Partners in Two Pilot Projects of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

    PubMed

    Tai-Seale, Ming; Sullivan, Greer; Cheney, Ann; Thomas, Kathleen; Frosch, Dominick

    2016-01-01

    Compared with people living in the community, researchers often have different frameworks or paradigms for thinking about health and wellness. These differing frameworks are often accompanied by differences in terminology or language. The purpose of this commentary is to describe some of our "Aha!" moments from conducting two pilot studies funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. Over time, we came to understand how our language and word choices may have been acting as a wedge between ourselves and our community research partners. We learned that fruitful collaborative work must attend to the creation of a common language, which we refer to as the language of engagement. Such patient-centered language can effectively build a bridge between researchers and community partners. We encourage other researchers to think critically about their cultural competency, to be mindful of the social power dynamics between patient and physician, to reflect on how their understanding might differ from those of their patient partners, and to find ways to use a common language that engages patients and other community partners.

  6. Is it all in the game? Flow experience and scientific practices during an INPLACE mobile game

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bressler, Denise M.

    Mobile science learning games show promise for promoting scientific practices and high engagement. Researchers have quantified this engagement according to flow theory. Using an embedded mixed methods design, this study investigated whether an INPLACE mobile game promotes flow experience, scientific practices, and effective team collaboration. Students playing the game (n=59) were compared with students in a business-as-usual control activity (n=120). Using an open-ended instrument designed to measure scientific practices and a self-report flow survey, this study empirically assessed flow and learner's scientific practices. The game players had significantly higher levels of flow and scientific practices. Using a multiple case study approach, collaboration among game teams (n=3 teams) were qualitatively compared with control teams (n=3 teams). Game teams revealed not only higher levels of scientific practices but also higher levels of engaged responses and communal language. Control teams revealed lower levels of scientific practice along with higher levels of rejecting responses and command language. Implications for these findings are discussed.

  7. Research Collaboration across Higher Education Systems: Maturity, Language Use, and Regional Differences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shin, Jung Cheol; Lee, Soo Jeung; Kim, Yangson

    2013-01-01

    This study analyzed whether research collaboration patterns differ across higher education systems based on maturity of the systems, their language, and their geographical region. This study found that collaboration patterns differ across higher education systems: academics in developed systems are more collaborative than their colleagues in…

  8. A Framework for Assessing Collaborative Capacity in Community-Based Public Forest Management

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cheng, Antony S.; Sturtevant, Victoria E.

    2012-03-01

    Community-based collaborative groups involved in public natural resource management are assuming greater roles in planning, project implementation, and monitoring. This entails the capacity of collaborative groups to develop and sustain new organizational structures, processes, and strategies, yet there is a lack of understanding what constitutes collaborative capacity. In this paper, we present a framework for assessing collaborative capacities associated with community-based public forest management in the US. The framework is inductively derived from case study research and observations of 30 federal forest-related collaborative efforts. Categories were cross-referenced with literature on collaboration across a variety of contexts. The framework focuses on six arenas of collaborative action: (1) organizing, (2) learning, (3) deciding, (4) acting, (5) evaluating, and (6) legitimizing. Within each arena are capacities expressed through three levels of social agency: individuals, the collaborative group itself, and participating or external organizations. The framework provides a language and set of organizing principles for understanding and assessing collaborative capacity in the context of community-based public forest management. The framework allows groups to assess what capacities they already have and what more is needed. It also provides a way for organizations supporting collaboratives to target investments in building and sustaining their collaborative capacities. The framework can be used by researchers as a set of independent variables against which to measure collaborative outcomes across a large population of collaborative efforts.

  9. Informal learning.

    PubMed

    Callanan, Maureen; Cervantes, Christi; Loomis, Molly

    2011-11-01

    We consider research and theory relevant to the notion of informal learning. Beginning with historical and definitional issues, we argue that learning happens not just in schools or in school-aged children. Many theorists have contrasted informal learning with formal learning. Moving beyond this dichotomy, and away from a focus on where learning occurs, we discuss five dimensions of informal learning that are drawn from the literature: (1) non-didactive, (2) highly socially collaborative, (3) embedded in meaningful activity, (4) initiated by learner's interest or choice, and (5) removed from external assessment. We consider these dimensions in the context of four sample domains: learning a first language, learning about the mind and emotions within families and communities, learning about science in family conversations and museum settings, and workplace learning. Finally, we conclude by considering convergences and divergences across the different literatures and suggesting areas for future research. WIREs Cogni Sci 2011 2 646-655 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.143 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  10. Partnerships for parks and physical activity.

    PubMed

    Shulaker, Bianca D; Isacoff, Jennifer W; Cohen, Deborah A; Marsh, Terry; Wier, Megan; Bhatia, Rajiv

    2014-01-01

    Given the need for comprehensive and multidisciplinary active living interventions, this article describes an innovative partnership for park design and evaluation. The Trust for Public Land partnered with the RAND Corporation and the San Francisco Department of Public Health to generate context-sensitive active park design, establish evaluation methods, and build the framework for future collaboration. These partners worked together from 2009 to 2012 to design, renovate, and study parks in San Francisco, California. The three partnering organizations are the focus of this article. The Trust for Public Land's Parks for People-Bay Area Program raised more than $16 million to renovate three San Francisco parks, which served as the intervention for a study that initially brought the three partnering organizations together. The authors, who represent the three partners, collaborated to develop the lessons learned. This article is a description and commentary about a partnership that emphasized community involvement and rigorous evaluation. Lessons learned and elements for successful partnerships include collaborating with organizations with differing expertise, deciding upon goals initially, finding a common language, involving local communities, and recognizing the importance and appropriate role of evaluations. The model for collaboration and community involvement presented supports and encourages other organizations to use strategic, multidisciplinary partnerships and highlights the importance of evaluation.

  11. Analysis and Design of a Decision Support System for Silas B. Hays Army Community Hospital

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1988-09-01

    develop the DSS. This collaboration allows the user to learn about the power decision support can give to the decision maker and... projects under their control. A DSS is developed to provide decision support for a specific manager or group , and con- sequently falls under the ... It is possible the first iteration could be developed in more than one programming language and results compared . Once the first

  12. Articulating the ideal: 50 years of interprofessional collaboration in Medical Education.

    PubMed

    Paradis, Elise; Pipher, Mandy; Cartmill, Carrie; Rangel, J Cristian; Whitehead, Cynthia R

    2017-08-01

    Health care delivery and the education of clinicians have changed immensely since the creation of the journal Medical Education. In this project, we seek to answer the following three questions: How has the concept of collaboration changed over the past 50 years in Medical Education? Have the participants involved in collaboration shifted over time? Has the idea of collaboration itself been transformed over the past 50 years? Starting from a constructionist view of scientific discourse, we used directed content analysis to sample, code and analyse 144 collaboration-related articles over the 50-year life span of Medical Education. We developed an analytical framework to identify the key components of varying articulations of 'collaboration', with a focus on shifts in language and terminology over time. Our sample was drawn from an archive of 1221 articles developed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Medical Education. Interprofessional collaboration is conceptualised in three primary ways throughout our sample: as a psychometric property; as tasks or activities, and, more recently, as 'togetherness'. The first conceptualisation articulates collaboration as involving knowledge or skills that are teachable to individuals, the second as involving the education of teams to engage in structured meetings or task distribution, and the third as the building of networks of individuals who learn to form team identities. The 'leader' of collaboration is typically conceptualised as the doctor, who is consistently articulated by authors as the active agent of collaborative care. Other clinicians and students of other professions are, as the wording in this sentence suggests, usually positioned as 'others', and thus as more passive participants in, or even observers of, 'collaboration'. In order to meet goals of meaningful collaboration leading to higher-quality care, it behoves us as a community of educators and researchers to heed the ways in which we teach, think and write about interprofessional collaboration, interrogating our own language and assumptions that may be betraying and reproducing harmful care hierarchies. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and The Association for the Study of Medical Education.

  13. A National Study Assessing the Teaching and Learning of Introductory Astronomy Part II: Analysis of Student Demographics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Prather, Edward; Rudolph, A. L.; Brissenden, G.; Consiglio, D.; Gonzaga, V.; CATS

    2010-01-01

    This is the second in a series of reports on a national study of the teaching and learning of astronomy in general education, non-science major, introductory college astronomy courses (Astro 101). The results show dramatic improvement in student learning with increased use of interactive learning strategies even after controlling for individual student characteristics. In addition, we find that the positive effects of interactive learning strategies apply equally to men and women, across ethnicities, for students with all levels of prior mathematical preparation and physical science course experience, independent of GPA, and regardless of primary language. These results powerfully illustrate that all categories of students can benefit from the effective implementation of interactive learning strategies. We acknowledge the NSF for funding under Award No. 0715517, a CCLI Phase III Grant for the Collaboration of Astronomy Teaching Scholars (CATS) Program and Award No. AST-0847170, a PAARE Grant.

  14. Instructional games: Scientific language use, concept understanding, and attitudinal development of middle school learners

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mongillo, Geraldine

    The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover the influence of instructional games on middle school learners' use of scientific language, concept understanding, and attitude toward learning science. The rationale for this study stemmed from the lack of research concerning the value of play as an instructional strategy for older learners. Specifically, the study focused on the ways in which 6 average ability 7th grade students demonstrated scientific language and concept use during gameplay. The data were collected for this 6-week study in a southern New Jersey suburban middle school and included audio recordings of the 5 games observed in class, written documents (e.g., student created game questions, self-evaluation forms, pre- and post-assessments, and the final quiz) interviews, and researcher field notes. Data were coded and interpreted borrowing from the framework for scientific literacy developed by Bybee (1997). Based on the findings, the framework was modified to reflect the level of scientific understanding demonstrated by the participants and categorized as: Unacquainted, Nominal, Functional, and Conceptual. Major findings suggested that the participants predominantly achieved the Functional level of scientific literacy (i.e., the ability to adequately and appropriately use scientific language in both written and oral discourse) during games. Further, it was discovered that the participants achieved the Conceptual level of scientific literacy during gameplay. Through games participants were afforded the opportunity to use common, everyday language to explore concepts, promoted through peer collaboration. In games the participants used common language to build understandings that exceeded Nominal or token use of the technical vocabulary and concepts. Additionally, the participants reported through interviews and self-evaluation forms that their attitude (patterns included: Motivation, Interest, Fun, Relief from Boredom, and an Alternate Learning Approach) toward learning science was positively affected by playing games. This research confirmed the value of playing instructional games and indicated the potential benefits for teaching and learning scientific vocabulary and concepts in middle school settings. Educators are in need of finding methods that stimulate the often disinterested or disengaged adolescent student. Results from this investigation suggested that games provided a meaningful alternate learning approach that relieved the boredom associated with traditional science instruction.

  15. Classroom Promotion of Oral Language (CPOL): protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial of a school-based intervention to improve children’s literacy outcomes at grade 3, oral language and mental health

    PubMed Central

    Goldfeld, Sharon; Snow, Pamela; Eadie, Patricia; Munro, John; Gold, Lisa; Le, Ha N D; Orsini, Francesca; Shingles, Beth; Lee, Katherine; Connell, Judy; Watts, Amy

    2017-01-01

    Introduction Oral language and literacy competence are major influences on children’s developmental pathways and life success. Children who do not develop the necessary language and literacy skills in the early years of school then go on to face long-term difficulties. Improving teacher effectiveness may be a critical step in lifting oral language and literacy outcomes. The Classroom Promotion of Oral Language trial aims to determine whether a specifically designed teacher professional learning programme focusing on promoting oral language can lead to improved teacher knowledge and practice, and advance outcomes in oral language and literacy for early years school children, compared with usual practice. Methods and analysis This is a two-arm cluster multisite randomised controlled trial conducted within Catholic and Government primary schools across Victoria, Australia. The intervention comprises 4 days of face-to-face professional learning for teachers and ongoing implementation support via a specific worker. The primary outcome is reading ability of the students at grade 3, and the secondary outcomes are teacher knowledge and practice, student mental health, reading comprehension and language ability at grade 1; and literacy, writing and numeracy at grade 3. Economic evaluation will compare the incremental costs of the intervention to the measured primary and secondary outcomes. Ethics and dissemination This trial was approved by the Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee #CF13/2634-2013001403 and later transferred to the University of Melbourne #1545540. The investigators (including Government and Catholic partners) will communicate trial results to stakeholders, collaborators and participating schools and teachers via appropriate presentations and publications. Trial registration number ISRCTN77681972; Pre-results. PMID:29162571

  16. Situating teacher learning in the practice of mathematics and science teaching

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hartman, Monica Louise

    Education reforms propose new content and pedagogy for students. Making such reforms possible in schools depends on creating new content and pedagogy for teachers' learning. This study investigated an approach to support teachers' learning which has been rapidly growing in popularity. Specifically, the study was designed to learn how a collaborative professional development experience, situated in teachers' own practice, might help elementary teachers develop knowledge for teaching. Eleven fourth and fifth grade teachers from two public schools participated in this professional development which was modeled after Japanese Lesson Study. A qualitative research methodology of critical inquiry was used to analyze the data. The researcher was both designer and participant. This intervention gave these teachers opportunities to learn content, pedagogy, and skills for collaborative inquiry, but not all the teachers continued their involvement. Challenges of time, talk and individualism were problems for all and were among the main reasons teachers in one group gave for leaving the program. Three characteristics of the teachers who completed the project included: (a) dissatisfaction with the learning outcomes of their students; (b) participation with colleagues in social activities throughout the school year; (c) an existing trusting relationship with the program facilitator. The features of this new pedagogy of professional development require teachers to break from typical orientations to practice. This produces a paradox. On one hand, many American teachers do not have the skills needed to be expert at this, for the professional culture does not support such work. On the other hand, if teachers are not given opportunities to collaborate in meaningful ways, the skills they need cannot develop. Although, these teachers were not yet experts in this collaborative inquiry process, the skills required began to develop in the course of engaging in this professional development activity. Future research should seek to identify how to address these challenges more directly by design and how to develop structures to change teachers' environment, to help teachers learn to think of themselves as part of a collective rather than individuals, and to learn the language and the nature of criticism when talking to other professionals.

  17. Infants' Selectively Pay Attention to the Information They Receive from a Native Speaker of Their Language.

    PubMed

    Marno, Hanna; Guellai, Bahia; Vidal, Yamil; Franzoi, Julia; Nespor, Marina; Mehler, Jacques

    2016-01-01

    From the first moments of their life, infants show a preference for their native language, as well as toward speakers with whom they share the same language. This preference appears to have broad consequences in various domains later on, supporting group affiliations and collaborative actions in children. Here, we propose that infants' preference for native speakers of their language also serves a further purpose, specifically allowing them to efficiently acquire culture specific knowledge via social learning. By selectively attending to informants who are native speakers of their language and who probably also share the same cultural background with the infant, young learners can maximize the possibility to acquire cultural knowledge. To test whether infants would preferably attend the information they receive from a speaker of their native language, we familiarized 12-month-old infants with a native and a foreign speaker, and then presented them with movies where each of the speakers silently gazed toward unfamiliar objects. At test, infants' looking behavior to the two objects alone was measured. Results revealed that infants preferred to look longer at the object presented by the native speaker. Strikingly, the effect was replicated also with 5-month-old infants, indicating an early development of such preference. These findings provide evidence that young infants pay more attention to the information presented by a person with whom they share the same language. This selectivity can serve as a basis for efficient social learning by influencing how infants' allocate attention between potential sources of information in their environment.

  18. The Integration of a Three-Year-Long Intercultural Collaborative Project into a Foreign Language Classroom for the Development of Intercultural Competence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hirotani, Maki; Fujii, Kiyomi

    2015-01-01

    Many studies on intercultural communication introduced how their collaborative projects were conducted. There are also several studies that discuss how intercultural collaborative activities can be integrated into a foreign language curriculum, as well as a big project (the INTENT project) that helps teachers integrate collaborative activities…

  19. International R&M/Safety Cooperation Lessons Learned Between NASA and JAXA

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fernandez, Rene; Havenhill, Maria T.; Zampino, Edward J.; Kiefer, Dwayne E.

    2013-01-01

    Presented are a number of important experiences gained and lessons learned from the collaboration of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on the CoNNeCT (Communications, Navigation, and Networking re-Configurable Testbed) project. Both space agencies worked on the CoNNeCT Project to design, assemble, test, integrate, and launch a communications testbed facility mounted onto the International Space Station (ISS) truss. At the 2012 RAMS, two papers about CoNNeCT were presented: one on Ground Support Equipment Reliability & System Safety, and the other one on combined application of System Safety & Reliability for the flight system. In addition to the logistics challenges present when two organizations are on the opposite side of the world, there is also a language barrier. The language barrier encompasses not only the different alphabet, it encompasses the social interactions; these were addressed by techniques presented in the paper. The differences in interpretation and application of Spaceflight Requirements will be discussed in this paper. Although many, but definitely not all, of JAXA's Spaceflight Requirements were inspired by NASA, there were significant and critically important differences in how they were interpreted and applied. This paper intends to summarize which practices worked and which did not for an international collaborative effort so that future missions may benefit from our experiences. The CoNNeCT flight system has been successfully assembled, integrated, tested, shipped, launched and installed on the ISS without incident. This demonstrates that the steps taken to facilitate international understanding, communication, and coordination were successful and warrant discussion as lessons learned.

  20. Indigenous students transitioning to school: responses to pre-foundational mathematics.

    PubMed

    Sarra, Grace; Ewing, Bronwyn

    2014-01-01

    Australian Indigenous students' mathematics performance continues to be below that of non-Indigenous students. This occurs from the early years of school, due largely to knowledge and social differences on entry to formal schooling. This paper reports on a mathematics research project conducted in one Aboriginal community school in New South Wales, Australia. The project aimed to identify and explain the ways that young Australian Indigenous students (age 2-4 years) learn number language and processes, specifically attribute language, sorting, 1-1 correspondence and, counting. The project adopted a mixed methods approach. That is, the methodology was decolonising (Smith 1999) in that it collaborated with and gave benefit back to the Indigenous community and school being researched. It was qualitative and interpretative (Burns 2000) and incorporated an action-research teaching-experiment approach where and teachers collaborated with the researchers to try new teaching methods. This paper draws on data pertaining to students' response to diagnostic interview questions, the pre- and post-test results of the interview and photographic evidence as observations during mathematics learning time. Participants referred to in this paper include one female principal (N = 1), and the transition class of students' pre- (N = 6) and post-test (N = 3) results of the pre-foundational processes (also referred to as attributes). The results were encouraging with improvements in colour (34%), patterns (33%) and capacity (38%). As a result of this project, our epistemology regarding the importance of finding out about students' pre-foundational knowledge and understandings and providing a culturally appropriate learning environment with resources has been built upon.

  1. The Ups and Downs of Third-Stream Collaboration in Modern Languages: The Blended Language Training Initiative at Nottingham Trent University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hughes, Neil

    2012-01-01

    In his "Review of Modern Foreign Languages Provision in Higher Education in England", Michael Worton argues that to safeguard the health of their subjects, languages academics will need to establish "greater, sustainable collaborations" with a range of partners including "extra-educational organisations". For Worton's…

  2. A Culture of Collaboration: Meeting the Instructional Needs of Adolescent English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Russell, Felice Atesoglu

    2012-01-01

    This article details a study that focused on the supports that enabled an English language learner (ELL) facilitator to contribute to a culture of collaboration between the English as a Second Language (ESL) and Language Arts Departments to more effectively meet the instructional needs of ELLs in one culturally and linguistically diverse high…

  3. Collaboration between Teachers and Speech and Language Therapists: Services for Primary School Children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Glover, Anna; McCormack, Jane; Smith-Tamaray, Michelle

    2015-01-01

    Speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) are prevalent among primary school-aged children. Collaboration between speech and language therapists (SLTs) and teachers is beneficial for supporting children's communication skills. The aim of this study was to investigate the needs of both professional groups and their preferences for service…

  4. International service learning and interprofessional education in Ecuador: Findings from a phenomenology study with students from four professions.

    PubMed

    Johnson, Audrey M; Howell, Dana M

    2017-03-01

    Combined international service learning (ISL) and interprofessional education (IPE) experiences can move health professional student learning beyond the traditional confines of the classroom and outside uniprofessional ethos. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the shared experience of health professional students participating in an ISL trip to a small community in Ecuador. The study focused on the learning and collaboration that occurred among students from multiple health professions during the trip and the cross-cultural exchange between the students and the patients in Ecuador. Participants included 15 students from 4 health professional programmes (pharmacy, medicine, physical therapy, and nursing). Data included interviews, focus groups, observation, and written documents. The essential meaning that emerged from this study was that the ISL/IPE learning opportunity created a practical opportunity for demystifying other healthcare professions in the context of a resource-limited international patient care setting, while supporting students' personal and professional development. Four structural themes emerged to describe the student experiences. Students had to negotiate the language barrier, limited resources, and unexpected diagnoses, while simultaneously learning about the roles and scope of other professions on the team and how to communicate effectively. Student's perseverance when facing the challenges resulted in their personal growth. The interprofessional component strengthened the students' knowledge of interprofessional collaboration and communication through real-world application.

  5. Challenges in oral communication for internationally educated nurses.

    PubMed

    Lum, Lillie; Dowedoff, Penny; Bradley, Pat; Kerekes, Julie; Valeo, Antonella

    2015-01-01

    Achieving English language proficiency, while key to successful adaptation to a new country for internationally educated nurses (IENs), has presented more difficulties for them and for educators than previously recognized. Professional communication within a culturally diverse client population and maintaining collaborative relationships between nurses and other team members were perceived as new challenges for IENs. Learning an additional language is a long-term, multistage process that must also incorporate social and cultural aspects of the local society and the profession. This article provides a descriptive review of current research literature pertaining to English language challenges, with a focus on oral language, experienced by IENs. Educational strategies for teaching technical language skills as well as the socio-pragmatics of professional communication within nursing programs are emphasized. Bridging education programs must not only develop students'academic language proficiency but also their ability to enter the workforce with the kind of communication skills that are increasingly highlighted by employers as essential attributes. The results of this review are intended to facilitate a clearer understanding of the English language and communication challenges experienced by IENs and identify the implications for designing effective educational programs. © The Author(s) 2014.

  6. Assessing the Linguistic Productivity of Unsupervised Deep Neural Networks

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Phillips, Lawrence A.; Hodas, Nathan O.

    Increasingly, cognitive scientists have demonstrated interest in applying tools from deep learning. One use for deep learning is in language acquisition where it is useful to know if a linguistic phenomenon can be learned through domain-general means. To assess whether unsupervised deep learning is appropriate, we first pose a smaller question: Can unsupervised neural networks apply linguistic rules productively, using them in novel situations. We draw from the literature on determiner/noun productivity by training an unsupervised, autoencoder network measuring its ability to combine nouns with determiners. Our simple autoencoder creates combinations it has not previously encountered, displaying a degree ofmore » overlap similar to actual children. While this preliminary work does not provide conclusive evidence for productivity, it warrants further investigation with more complex models. Further, this work helps lay the foundations for future collaboration between the deep learning and cognitive science communities.« less

  7. Science education for sustainability, epistemological reflections and educational practices: from natural sciences to trans-disciplinarity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Colucci-Gray, Laura; Perazzone, Anna; Dodman, Martin; Camino, Elena

    2013-03-01

    In this three-part article we seek to establish connections between the emerging framework of sustainability science and the methodological basis of research and practice in science education in order to bring forth knowledge and competences for sustainability. The first and second parts deal with the implications of taking a sustainability view in relation to knowledge processes. The complexity, uncertainty and urgency of global environmental problems challenge the foundations of reductionist Western science. Within such debate, the proposal of sustainability science advocates for inter-disciplinary and inter-paradigmatic collaboration and it includes the requirements of post- normal science proposing a respectful dialogue between experts and non-experts in the construction of new scientific knowledge. Such a change of epistemology is rooted into participation, deliberation and the gathering of extended-facts where cultural framings and values are the hard components in the face of soft facts. A reflection on language and communication processes is thus the focus of knowledge practices and educational approaches aimed at sustainability. Language contains the roots of conceptual thinking (including scientific knowledge) and each culture and society are defined and limited by the language that is used to describe and act upon the world. Within a scenario of sustainability, a discussion of scientific language is in order to retrace the connections between language and culture, and to promote a holistic view based on pluralism and dialogue. Drawing on the linguistic reflection, the third part gives examples of teaching and learning situations involving prospective science teachers in action-research contexts: these activities are set out to promote linguistic integration and to introduce reflexive process into science learning. Discussion will focus on the methodological features of a learning process that is akin to a communal and emancipatory research process within a sustainability scenario.

  8. Supporting Preschool Dual Language Learners: Parents' and Teachers' Beliefs about Language Development and Collaboration

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sawyer, Brook E.; Manz, Patricia H.; Martin, Kristin A.

    2017-01-01

    Guided by Bronfenbrenner's bio-ecological theory of human development and Moll's theory of funds of knowledge, the aim of this qualitative study was to examine the beliefs of parents and early childhood teachers on (a) the language development of Spanish-speaking preschool dual language learners (DLLs) and (b) how they can collaborate to support…

  9. Wikis and Collaborative Learning in Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zheng, Binbin; Niiya, Melissa; Warschauer, Mark

    2015-01-01

    While collaborative learning and collaborative writing can be of great value to student learning, the implementation of a technology-supported collaborative learning environment is a challenge. With their built-in features for supporting collaborative writing and social communication, wikis are a promising platform for collaborative learning;…

  10. Navigating the Challenges Arising from University-School Collaborative Action Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yuan, Rui; Mak, Pauline

    2016-01-01

    Despite increasing evidence showing the benefits language teachers can reap from university-school collaborative action research (CAR), scant attention has been given to how university researchers collaborate with language teachers, what challenges they might encounter, and how they navigate such challenges in CAR. To fill the gap, this study…

  11. Collaborative Teaching from English Language Instructors' Perspectives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tasdemir, Hanife; Yildirim, Tugba

    2017-01-01

    Collaborative teaching, a significant concept in the field of English language teaching, involves teachers in sharing expertise, decision-making, lesson delivery, and assessment. It is a common practice for instructors in many schools and universities where English is taught as a foreign/second language (EFL/ESL) in intensive programs or…

  12. Seven Affordances of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning: How to Support Collaborative Learning? How Can Technologies Help?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jeong, Heisawn; Hmelo-Silver, Cindy E.

    2016-01-01

    This article proposes 7 core affordances of technology for collaborative learning based on theories of collaborative learning and CSCL (Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning) practices. Technology affords learner opportunities to (1) engage in a joint task, (2) communicate, (3) share resources, (4) engage in productive collaborative learning…

  13. The Architecture of Children's Use of Language and Tools When Problem Solving Collaboratively with Robotics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mills, Kathy A.; Chandra, Vinesh; Park, Ji Yong

    2013-01-01

    This paper demonstrates, following Vygotsky, that language and tool use has a critical role in the collaborative problem-solving behaviour of school-age children. It reports original ethnographic classroom research examining the convergence of speech and practical activity in children's collaborative problem solving with robotics programming…

  14. Fontbonne University: Collaboration in Speech-Language Pathology and Early Intervention in Deaf Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rice, Gale; Lenihan, Susan

    2010-01-01

    Children with hearing loss are best served through the collaborative efforts of their parents and a team of professionals. For communication development and educational achievement, speech-language pathologists and teachers of the deaf working together can have a profound impact. A collaborative approach to assessment, direct instruction, and…

  15. Collaborative Writing Tasks in the L2 Classroom: Comparing Group, Pair, and Individual Work

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dobao, Ana Fernandez

    2012-01-01

    This study investigates the benefits of collaborative writing tasks. Previous research from the perspective of the sociocultural theory of mind suggests that writing tasks completed in pairs offer learners an opportunity to collaborate in the solution of their language-related problems, co-construct new language knowledge, and produce…

  16. Seamless Language Learning: Second Language Learning with Social Media

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wong, Lung-Hsiang; Chai, Ching Sing; Aw, Guat Poh

    2017-01-01

    This conceptual paper describes a language learning model that applies social media to foster contextualized and connected language learning in communities. The model emphasizes weaving together different forms of language learning activities that take place in different learning contexts to achieve seamless language learning. it promotes social…

  17. Collaboration for Authentic Preservice Teacher Experiences: Mathematics and English as a Second Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tilley-Lubbs, Gresilda A.; Kreye, Betibel C.

    2013-01-01

    This paper describes a collaboration between Mathematics Education and English as a Second Language (ESL) Education programs that presented opportunities for preservice teachers from both programs to work together to address curricular and linguistic gaps that occur for English language learners (ELL) in content area classrooms. By modeling…

  18. "Miss, How do you Write Hipotesis?" Learning to Teach Science to English Language Learners While Navigating Affordances and Constraints: A Longitudinal Multiple Case Study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ortega, Irasema

    Early career science teachers are often assigned to classrooms with high numbers of English language learners (ELL students). As these teachers learn to become effective practitioners, the circumstances surrounding them merit a thorough examination. This study examines the longitudinal changes in Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) and practices of six early career science teachers who taught in urban schools. The teachers participated in the Alternative Support for Induction Science Teachers (ASIST) program during their initial two years of teaching. Our research team followed the participants over a five-year period. This study focuses on data from Years 1, 3, and 5. The data collected included classroom observations and interviews. In addition, classroom artifacts were collected periodically for the purpose of triangulation. The analysis of the data revealed that with the support of the ASIST program, the teachers implemented inquiry lessons and utilized instructional materials that promoted academic language skills and science competencies among their ELL students. Conversely, standardized testing, teaching assignment, and school culture played a role in constraining the implementation of inquiry-based practices. The results of this study call for collaborative efforts among university science educators and school administrators to provide professional development opportunities and support for the implementation of inquiry and language practices among early career science teachers of ELL students.

  19. Incidental acquisition of foreign language vocabulary through brief multi-modal exposure.

    PubMed

    Bisson, Marie-Josée; van Heuven, Walter J B; Conklin, Kathy; Tunney, Richard J

    2013-01-01

    First language acquisition requires relatively little effort compared to foreign language acquisition and happens more naturally through informal learning. Informal exposure can also benefit foreign language learning, although evidence for this has been limited to speech perception and production. An important question is whether informal exposure to spoken foreign language also leads to vocabulary learning through the creation of form-meaning links. Here we tested the impact of exposure to foreign language words presented with pictures in an incidental learning phase on subsequent explicit foreign language learning. In the explicit learning phase, we asked adults to learn translation equivalents of foreign language words, some of which had appeared in the incidental learning phase. Results revealed rapid learning of the foreign language words in the incidental learning phase showing that informal exposure to multi-modal foreign language leads to foreign language vocabulary acquisition. The creation of form-meaning links during the incidental learning phase is discussed.

  20. Perception of collaborative learning in associate degree students in Hong Kong.

    PubMed

    Shek, Daniel T L; Shek, Moses M W

    2013-01-01

    Although collaborative learning has been widely researched in Western contexts, no study has been carried out to understand how associate degree students look at collaborative learning in Hong Kong. In this study, perceptions of and attitudes to collaborative learning among associate degree students were studied. A total of 44 associate degree students completed an online questionnaire including measures of perceived benefits and attitudes to collaborative learning, and social-emotional competence. Results showed that there were no significant differences between male and female students on perceived benefits of and attitudes towards collaborative learning. Social-emotional competence was related to perceived benefits of and attitudes to collaborative learning. Attitudes were also related to perceived benefits of collaborative learning. This paper is the first known study looking at the relationships among perceived benefits and attitudes to collaborative learning and social-emotional competence in Chinese associate degree students in different Chinese contexts.

  1. Native-language N400 and P600 predict dissociable language-learning abilities in adults

    PubMed Central

    Qi, Zhenghan; Beach, Sara D.; Finn, Amy S.; Minas, Jennifer; Goetz, Calvin; Chan, Brian; Gabrieli, John D.E.

    2018-01-01

    Language learning aptitude during adulthood varies markedly across individuals. An individual’s native-language ability has been associated with success in learning a new language as an adult. However, little is known about how native-language processing affects learning success and what neural markers of native-language processing, if any, are related to success in learning. We therefore related variation in electrophysiology during native-language processing to success in learning a novel artificial language. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while native English speakers judged the acceptability of English sentences prior to learning an artificial language. There was a trend towards a double dissociation between native-language ERPs and their relationships to novel syntax and vocabulary learning. Individuals who exhibited a greater N400 effect when processing English semantics showed better future learning of the artificial language overall. The N400 effect was related to syntax learning via its specific relationship to vocabulary learning. In contrast, the P600 effect size when processing English syntax predicted future syntax learning but not vocabulary learning. These findings show that distinct neural signatures of native-language processing relate to dissociable abilities for learning novel semantic and syntactic information. PMID:27737775

  2. Effects of Collaborative Learning Styles on Performance of Students in a Ubiquitous Collaborative Mobile Learning Environment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fakomogbon, Michael Ayodele; Bolaji, Hameed Olalekan

    2017-01-01

    Collaborative learning is an approach employed by instructors to facilitate learning and improve learner's performance. Mobile learning can accommodate a variety of learning approaches. This study, therefore, investigated the effects of collaborative learning styles on performance of students in a mobile learning environment. The specific purposes…

  3. PBL and beyond: trends in collaborative learning.

    PubMed

    Pluta, William J; Richards, Boyd F; Mutnick, Andrew

    2013-01-01

    Building upon the disruption to lecture-based methods triggered by the introduction of problem-based learning, approaches to promote collaborative learning are becoming increasingly diverse, widespread and generally well accepted within medical education. Examples of relatively new, structured collaborative learning methods include team-based learning and just-in-time teaching. Examples of less structured approaches include think-pair share, case discussions, and the flipped classroom. It is now common practice in medical education to employ a range of instructional approaches to support collaborative learning. We believe that the adoption of such approaches is entering a new and challenging era. We define collaborate learning by drawing on the broader literature, including Chi's ICAP framework that emphasizes the importance of sustained, interactive explanation and elaboration by learners. We distinguish collaborate learning from constructive, active, and passive learning and provide preliminary evidence documenting the growth of methods that support collaborative learning. We argue that the rate of adoption of collaborative learning methods will accelerate due to a growing emphasis on the development of team competencies and the increasing availability of digital media. At the same time, the adoption collaborative learning strategies face persistent challenges, stemming from an overdependence on comparative-effectiveness research and a lack of useful guidelines about how best to adapt collaborative learning methods to given learning contexts. The medical education community has struggled to consistently demonstrate superior outcomes when using collaborative learning methods and strategies. Despite this, support for their use will continue to expand. To select approaches with the greatest utility, instructors must carefully align conditions of the learning context with the learning approaches under consideration. Further, it is critical that modifications are made with caution and that instructors verify that modifications do not impede the desired cognitive activities needed to support meaningful collaborative learning.

  4. Fostering Collaboration in CALL: Benefits and Challenges of Using Virtual Language Resource Centres

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Medina, Liliana Cuesta; Alvarez, Claudia Patricia

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents the findings from a qualitative study on collaborative CALL design and implementation carried out with two groups of postgraduate language-teacher trainees who designed and piloted nine virtual language resource centres (VLRC) at 16 educational institutions of different levels and contents for an academic year. The project was…

  5. Where Research, Practice and the Authority Meet: A Collaborative Inquiry for Development of Technology-Enhanced Chinese Language Curricula

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wong, Lung Hsiang; Gao, Ping; Chai, Ching Sing; Chin, Chee Kuen

    2011-01-01

    This collaborative inquiry project brought together 14 Chinese Language teachers, 4 researchers and 2 Ministry of Education (MOE) curriculum specialists to co-design the Chinese Language curricula with the integrated use of information and communication technology (ICT). Three qualitative data sources--one-to-one interviews, focus group…

  6. Teaching science to English Language Learners: Instructional approaches of high school teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Frank, Betty-Vinca N.

    Students who are English Language Learners (ELLs) form the fastest growing segment of the American school population. Prompted by the call for scientific literacy for all citizens, science educators too have investigated the intersection of language and science instruction of ELLs. However these studies have typically been conducted with elementary students. Few studies have explored how high school science teachers, particularly those who have not received any special training, approach science instruction of ELLs and what supports them in this endeavor. This was a qualitative case study conducted with five science teachers in one small urban high school that predominantly served ELLs. The purpose of this study was to examine instructional approaches used by teachers to make science accessible to ELLs and the factors that supported or inhibited them in developing their instructional approaches. This goal encompassed the following questions: (a) how teachers viewed science instruction of ELLs, (b) how teachers designed a responsive program to teach science to ELLs, (c) what approaches teachers used for curriculum development and instruction, (d) how teachers developed classroom learning communities to meet the needs of ELLs. Seven instructional strategies and five perceived sources of support emerged as findings of this research. In summary, teachers believed that they needed to make science more accessible for their ELL students while promoting their literacy skills. Teachers provided individualized attention to students to provide relevant support. Teachers engaged their students in various types of active learning lessons in social contexts, where students worked on both hands-on and meaning-making activities and interacted with their peers and teachers. Teachers also created classroom communities and learning spaces where students felt comfortable to seek and give help. Finally, teachers identified several sources of support that influenced their instructional approaches including, the structure of the school, working on instructional teams, collaborating and working with other teachers especially English teachers and including science teachers, and participating in various professional development activities. The findings indicated that the instructional approaches used by teachers were largely supported by literacy education and science education done at elementary level. Findings also revealed that teachers in this study encouraged their ELLs to participate in classroom conversations and involved them in answering open-ended questions. However, not all teachers in this study had the same repertoire of instructional strategies for their ELL students and some teachers demonstrated a better understanding of these approaches than others. All teachers perceived that the structure of the school as well as collaborating and working with other teachers, especially English teachers, as their main source of support in designing instructional approaches. This study suggests that teacher educators and professional development providers need to develop courses and programs to help high school teachers learn about how to design instructional activities that simultaneously promote both academic science and English literacy. Also, administrators need to create conditions at their schools that would allow teachers to interact, collaborate, and learn from each other.

  7. When Collaborative Is Not Collaborative: Supporting Student Learning through Self-Surveillance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kotsopoulos, Donna

    2010-01-01

    Collaborative learning has been widely endorsed in education. This qualitative research examines instances of collaborative learning during mathematics that were seen to be predominantly non-collaborative despite the pedagogical efforts and intentions of the teacher and the task. In an effort to disrupt the non-collaborative learning, small groups…

  8. Collaborative testing as a learning strategy in nursing education: a review of the literature.

    PubMed

    Sandahl, Sheryl S

    2009-01-01

    Nurses are important members of a patient's interprofessional health care team. A primary goal of nursing education is to prepare nursing professionals who can work collaboratively with other team members for the benefit of the patient. Collaborative learning strategies provide students with opportunities to learn and practice collaboration. Collaborative testing is a collaborative learning strategy used to foster knowledge development, critical thinking in decision-making, and group processing skills. This article reviews the theoretical basis for collaborative learning and research on collaborative testing in nursing education.

  9. Native-language N400 and P600 predict dissociable language-learning abilities in adults.

    PubMed

    Qi, Zhenghan; Beach, Sara D; Finn, Amy S; Minas, Jennifer; Goetz, Calvin; Chan, Brian; Gabrieli, John D E

    2017-04-01

    Language learning aptitude during adulthood varies markedly across individuals. An individual's native-language ability has been associated with success in learning a new language as an adult. However, little is known about how native-language processing affects learning success and what neural markers of native-language processing, if any, are related to success in learning. We therefore related variation in electrophysiology during native-language processing to success in learning a novel artificial language. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while native English speakers judged the acceptability of English sentences prior to learning an artificial language. There was a trend towards a double dissociation between native-language ERPs and their relationships to novel syntax and vocabulary learning. Individuals who exhibited a greater N400 effect when processing English semantics showed better future learning of the artificial language overall. The N400 effect was related to syntax learning via its specific relationship to vocabulary learning. In contrast, the P600 effect size when processing English syntax predicted future syntax learning but not vocabulary learning. These findings show that distinct neural signatures of native-language processing relate to dissociable abilities for learning novel semantic and syntactic information. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Perceptions of an international interprofessional education experience: Findings from students based in Europe and North America.

    PubMed

    Macauley, Kelly; Skov, Hanne; Lehtonen, Krista; Shulman, Brian

    2016-09-01

    The globalisation of healthcare is changing the demands placed on health professionals. It requires different skills and thought processes across national borders. Thinking in an innovative manner may provide healthcare workers with some of the necessary tools to facilitate international change by increasing students' mental flexibility and ability to apply solutions in multiple contexts. We created the International Innovation Program for health profession education students to learn about and implement the innovation process. The programme provides students the opportunity to learn in interprofessional, international teams and apply didactic knowledge to community problems using the innovation process. The purpose of this article is to describe student perceptions across 4 years of programme implementation. Through analysis of closed-ended survey data, we found that students who participated in the programme reported improvements in collaboration and teamwork, project management, interprofessional teamwork, professional growth and development, thinking in an innovative manner, research and development skills, information seeking, and willingness to work on international projects. Analysis of the open-ended questions revealed five themes: language, teamwork and collaboration, cultural awareness, innovation process, and personal growth and self-improvement. The long-term, follow-up data indicate that these attributes can be transferred into a clinical context which have implications for improved collaboration and patient care.

  11. Collaborative Learning in Higher Education: Lecturers' Practices and Beliefs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    De Hei, Miranda Suzanna Angelique; Strijbos, Jan-Willem; Sjoer, Ellen; Admiraal, Wilfried

    2015-01-01

    Collaborative learning can, if designed and implemented properly, contribute to student learning outcomes and prepare them for teamwork. However, the design and implementation of collaborative learning in practice depend on beliefs of lecturers about teaching and learning in general, and collaborative learning in particular. One hundred and…

  12. Collaborative Learning: Sourcebook for Collaborative Learning in the Arts and Sciences at Indiana University.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hamilton, Sharon J., Ed.; Hansen, Edmund J., Ed.

    This sourcebook, prepared by the Intercampus Group on Collaborative Learning of Indiana University, offers suggestions to those who are already familiar with collaborative learning, but want to know how others are responding to the same or similar challenges. Papers are presented that examine general issues of collaborative learning in the Arts…

  13. Assessment of (Computer-Supported) Collaborative Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Strijbos, J. -W.

    2011-01-01

    Within the (Computer-Supported) Collaborative Learning (CS)CL research community, there has been an extensive dialogue on theories and perspectives on learning from collaboration, approaches to scaffold (script) the collaborative process, and most recently research methodology. In contrast, the issue of assessment of collaborative learning has…

  14. Affordances of Web 2.0 Technologies for Collaborative Advanced Writing in a Foreign Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Strobl. Carola

    2014-01-01

    Can online collaboration yield a positive effect on academic writing in a foreign language? If so, what exactly is the added value, compared to individual writing, and (how) does it translate to better output? These are the central questions addressed in this paper. L2 writing research has long highlighted the benefits of collaboration in terms of…

  15. Supporting Distance Learners for Collaborative Problem Solving.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Verdejo, M. F.; Barros, B.; Abad, M. T.

    This paper describes a computer-supported environment designed to facilitate distance learning through collaborative problem-solving. The goal is to encourage distance learning students to work together, in order to promote both learning of collaboration and learning through collaboration. Collaboration is defined as working together on a common…

  16. Leveraging Literacies through Collaborative, Source-Based Planning and Teaching in Social Studies and Language Arts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Patterson, Nancy; Weaver, Joanna; Fletcher, Jamie; Connor, Bryce; Thomas, Angela; Ross, Cindy

    2018-01-01

    The value of preparing students for college, careers, and civic life is a shared outcome of social studies and language arts teachers. This study explores how developing content and civic literacy to these ends can be fortified through language arts and social studies teacher collaboration in source-based planning and teaching. Although numerous…

  17. A Critical Appraisal of Foreign Language Research in Content and Language Integrated Learning, Young Language Learners, and Technology-Enhanced Language Learning Published in Spain (2003-2012)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dooly, Melinda; Masats, Dolors

    2015-01-01

    This state-of-the-art review provides a critical overview of research publications in Spain in the last ten years in three areas of teaching and learning foreign languages (especially English): context and language integrated learning (CLIL), young language learners (YLL), and technology-enhanced language learning (TELL). These three domains have…

  18. Language Learning Strategies and Beliefs about Language Learning in High-School Students and Students Attending English Institutes: Are They Different?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Saeb, Fateme; Zamani, Elham

    2013-01-01

    This paper reports a comparative study exploring language learning strategy use and beliefs about language learning of high-school students and students attending English institutes. Oxford's (1990) strategy inventory for language learning (SILL) and Horwitz's (1987) beliefs about language learning inventory (BALLI), were used to collect data.…

  19. Using Wikis as a Support and Assessment Tool in Collaborative Digital Game-Based Learning Environments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Samur, Yavuz

    2011-01-01

    In computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments, there are many researches done on collaborative learning activities; however, in game-based learning environments, more research and literature on collaborative learning activities are required. Actually, both game-based learning environments and wikis enable us to use new chances…

  20. Translational leadership: new approaches to team development.

    PubMed

    Harrigan, Rosanne C; Emery, Lori M

    2010-01-01

    Little is known about how to develop collaborative multidisciplinary research teams. Following a comprehensive needs assessment, we developed a curriculum-based, multi-disciplinary, didactic and experiential Translational Leadership training program grounded in adult learning theory. In addition, we constructed collaborative clinical/translational research experiences for trainees to enhance clinical/translational research skills. KEY PROGRAMMATIC ELEMENTS AND PRELIMINARY FINDINGS: This 15-week Translational Leadership program was generated based on the following premises. Academic translational leadership teams should partner and collaborate, customize, make the program relevant to the culture, create a common language, use the best resources, and establish measurable goals for success. Development of effective collaborative research teams is essential to the management of successful translational research teams. Development of these skills in addition to cultural humility will provide the best infrastructure and human capital committed to the resolution of health disparities. Effective translational research teams are more comfortable with the component team members and the communities where they implement their protocols. Our participants highly valued the diverse experiences from this program; several have succeeded in leading community-based research teams. Our Translational Leadership program offers essential skills using adult learning theory for translational researchers who become capable of leading and participating in translational research teams. We believe including community members in the training of translational research programs is an important asset. The multidisciplinary approach develops skills that are also of significant use to the community and its acceptance of responsibility for its own health.

  1. Methodological Challenges for Collaborative Learning Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Strijbos, Jan-Willem; Fischer, Frank

    2007-01-01

    Research on collaborative learning, both face-to-face and computer-supported, has thrived in the past 10 years. The studies range from outcome-oriented (individual and group learning) to process-oriented (impact of interaction on learning processes, motivation and organisation of collaboration) to mixed studies. Collaborative learning research is…

  2. Enhancing Collaborative Learning in Web 2.0-Based E-Learning Systems: A Design Framework for Building Collaborative E-Learning Contents

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    El Mhouti, Abderrahim; Nasseh, Azeddine; Erradi, Mohamed; Vasquèz, José Marfa

    2017-01-01

    Today, the implication of Web 2.0 technologies in e-learning allows envisaging new teaching and learning forms, advocating an important place to the collaboration and social interaction. However, in e-learning systems, learn in a collaborative way is not always so easy because one of the difficulties when arranging e-learning courses can be that…

  3. E pluribus unum: the potential of collaborative learning to enhance Microbiology teaching in higher education.

    PubMed

    Rutherford, Stephen

    2015-12-01

    Collaborative learning, where students work together towards a shared understanding of a concept, is a well-established pedagogy, and one which has great potential for higher education (HE). Through discussion and challenging each other's ideas, learners gain a richer appreciation for a subject than with solitary study or didactic teaching methods. However, collaborative learning does require some scaffolding by the teacher in order to be successful. Collaborative learning can be augmented by the use of Web 2.0 collaborative technologies, such as wikis, blogs and social media. This article reviews some of the uses of collaborative learning strategies in Microbiology teaching in HE. Despite the great potential of collaborative learning, evidence of its use in Microbiology teaching is, to date, limited. But the potential for collaborative learning approaches to develop self-regulated, deep learners is considerable, and so collaborative learning should be considered strongly as a viable pedagogy for HE. © FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  4. Advancing Learner Autonomy in TEFL via Collaborative Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jacobs, George M.; Shan, Tan Hui

    2015-01-01

    The present paper begins by situating learner autonomy and collaborative learning as part of a larger paradigm shift towards student-centred learning. Next are brief discussions of learner autonomy and how learner autonomy links with collaborative learning. In the main part of the paper, four central principles of collaborative learning are…

  5. Interaction Forms in Successful Collaborative Learning in Virtual Learning Environments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vuopala, Essi; Hyvönen, Pirkko; Järvelä, Sanna

    2016-01-01

    Despite the numerous studies on social interaction in collaborative learning, little is known about interaction forms in successful computer-supported collaborative learning situations. The purpose of this study was to explore and understand student interaction in successful collaborative learning during a university course which was mediated by…

  6. Application of a Novel Collaboration Engineering Method for Learning Design: A Case Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cheng, Xusen; Li, Yuanyuan; Sun, Jianshan; Huang, Jianqing

    2016-01-01

    Collaborative case studies and computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) play an important role in the modern education environment. A number of researchers have given significant attention to learning design in order to improve the satisfaction of collaborative learning. Although collaboration engineering (CE) is a mature method widely…

  7. The Effects of Mobile-Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning: Meta-Analysis and Critical Synthesis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sung, Yao-Ting; Yang, Je-Ming; Lee, Han-Yueh

    2017-01-01

    One of the trends in collaborative learning is using mobile devices for supporting the process and products of collaboration, which has been forming the field of mobile-computer-supported collaborative learning (mCSCL). Although mobile devices have become valuable collaborative learning tools, evaluative evidence for their substantial…

  8. Visual interaction: models, systems, prototypes. The Pictorial Computing Laboratory at the University of Rome La Sapienza.

    PubMed

    Bottoni, Paolo; Cinque, Luigi; De Marsico, Maria; Levialdi, Stefano; Panizzi, Emanuele

    2006-06-01

    This paper reports on the research activities performed by the Pictorial Computing Laboratory at the University of Rome, La Sapienza, during the last 5 years. Such work, essentially is based on the study of humancomputer interaction, spans from metamodels of interaction down to prototypes of interactive systems for both synchronous multimedia communication and groupwork, annotation systems for web pages, also encompassing theoretical and practical issues of visual languages and environments also including pattern recognition algorithms. Some applications are also considered like e-learning and collaborative work.

  9. Making Sense of Critical Pedagogy in L2 Education through a Collaborative Study Group (Dándole sentido a la pedagogía crítica en la educación en L2 a través de un grupo de estudio colaborativo)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Echeverri Sucerquia, Paula Andrea; Pérez Restrepo, Sebastián

    2014-01-01

    In this article we discuss our experiences in the process of understanding critical pedagogy within an English teachers' study group which was created for the purpose of learning how to teach language from a critical perspective. We particularly focus on the challenges of meaning making around critical pedagogy, as we realized that we were not all…

  10. Using an Online Collaborative Project between American and Chinese Students to Develop ESL Teaching Skills, Cross-Cultural Awareness and Language Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Angelova, Maria; Zhao, Ying

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore the potential of computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools to facilitate second language acquisition and develop English as a second language (ESL) teaching skills and cultural awareness. The paper describes a collaborative online project between students from China and the USA, who communicated using the…

  11. The Role of Mother Tongue Literacy in Language Learning and Mathematical Learning: Is There a Multilingual Benefit for Both?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dahm, Rebecca; De Angelis, Gessica

    2018-01-01

    The present study examines the multilingual benefit in relation to language learning and mathematical learning. The objective is to assess whether speakers of three or more languages, depending on language profile and personal histories, show significant advantages in language learning and/or mathematical learning, and whether mother tongue…

  12. Student Collaboration and Standards-Based Music Learning: A Literature Review

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cangro, Richard

    2016-01-01

    This article is a review of relevant literature on collaborative, standards-based music learning. The review is organized as follows: (a) historical perspective, (b) collaborative music learning, (c) collaboration and creating, (d) collaboration and performing, (e) collaboration and responding, and (f) conclusions. In an effort to bridge the gap…

  13. Cognitive Development One Year After Infantile Critical Pertussis.

    PubMed

    Berger, John T; Villalobos, Michele E; Clark, Amy E; Holubkov, Richard; Pollack, Murray M; Berg, Robert A; Carcillo, Joseph A; Dalton, Heidi; Harrison, Rick; Meert, Kathleen L; Newth, Christopher J L; Shanley, Thomas P; Wessel, David L; Anand, Kanwaljeet J S; Zimmerman, Jerry J; Sanders, Ronald C; Liu, Teresa; Burr, Jeri S; Willson, Douglas F; Doctor, Allan; Dean, J Michael; Jenkins, Tammara L; Nicholson, Carol E

    2018-02-01

    Pertussis can cause life-threatening illness in infants. Data regarding neurodevelopment after pertussis remain scant. The aim of this study was to assess cognitive development of infants with critical pertussis 1 year after PICU discharge. Prospective cohort study. Eight hospitals comprising the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network and 18 additional sites across the United States. Eligible patients had laboratory confirmation of pertussis infection, were less than 1 year old, and were admitted to the PICU for at least 24 hours. The Mullen Scales of Early Learning was administered at a 1-year follow-up visit. Functional status was determined by examination and parental interview. Of 196 eligible patients, 111 (57%) completed the Mullen Scales of Early Learning. The mean scores for visual reception, receptive language, and expressive language domains were significantly lower than the norms (p < 0.001), but not fine and gross motor domains. Forty-one patients (37%) had abnormal scores in at least one domain and 10 (9%) had an Early Learning Composite score 2 or more SDs below the population norms. Older age (p < 0.003) and Hispanic ethnicity (p < 0.008) were associated with lower mean Early Learning Composite score, but presenting symptoms and PICU course were not. Infants who survive critical pertussis often have neurodevelopmental deficits. These infants may benefit from routine neurodevelopmental screening.

  14. Applying Adaptive Swarm Intelligence Technology with Structuration in Web-Based Collaborative Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huang, Yueh-Min; Liu, Chien-Hung

    2009-01-01

    One of the key challenges in the promotion of web-based learning is the development of effective collaborative learning environments. We posit that the structuration process strongly influences the effectiveness of technology used in web-based collaborative learning activities. In this paper, we propose an ant swarm collaborative learning (ASCL)…

  15. The Effect of Socially Shared Regulation Approach on Learning Performance in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zheng, Lanqin; Li, Xin; Huang, Ronghuai

    2017-01-01

    Students' abilities to socially shared regulation of their learning are crucial to productive and successful collaborative learning. However, how group members sustain and regulate collaborative processes is a neglected area in the field of collaborative learning. Furthermore, how group members engage in socially shared regulation still remains to…

  16. Using a Game Environment to Foster Collaborative Learning: A Design-Based Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hamalainen, Raija

    2011-01-01

    Designing collaborative three-dimensional learning games for vocational learning may be one way to respond to the needs of working life. The theoretical vantage points of collaborative learning for game development and the "design-based research" methodology are described; these have been used to support collaborative learning in the…

  17. Deriving Process-Driven Collaborative Editing Pattern from Collaborative Learning Flow Patterns

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marjanovic, Olivera; Skaf-Molli, Hala; Molli, Pascal; Godart, Claude

    2007-01-01

    Collaborative Learning Flow Patterns (CLFPs) have recently emerged as a new method to formulate best practices in structuring the flow of activities within various collaborative learning scenarios. The term "learning flow" is used to describe coordination and sequencing of learning tasks. This paper adopts the existing concept of CLFP and argues…

  18. Electronic Tandem Language Learning (eTandem): A Third Approach to Second Language Learning for the 21st Century

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cziko, Gary A.

    2004-01-01

    Tandem language learning occurs when two learners of different native languages work together to help each other learn the other language. First used in face-to-face contexts, Tandem is now increasingly being used by language-learning partners located in different countries who are linked via various forms of electronic communication, a context…

  19. Pedagogy and Related Criteria: The Selection of Software for Computer Assisted Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Samuels, Jeffrey D.

    2013-01-01

    Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is an established field of academic inquiry with distinct applications for second language teaching and learning. Many CALL professionals direct language labs or language resource centers (LRCs) in which CALL software applications and generic software applications support language learning programs and…

  20. Languaging in Cyberspace: A Case Study of the Effects of Peer-Peer Collaborative Dialogue on the Acquisition of English Idioms in Task-Based Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Teng, Xuan

    2015-01-01

    Despite the growing interest in examining the link between peer-peer collaborative dialogue and second language (L2) development in recent years (Swain, Brooks, & Tocalli-Beller, 2002), much of the empirical work in this regard focused on face-to-face communication, leaving the operationalization of collaborative dialogue in text-based…

  1. [Development of a French-language online health policy course: an international collaboration].

    PubMed

    Hébert, Réjean; Coppieters, Yves; Pradier, Christian; Williams-Jones, Bryn; Brahimi, Cora; Farley, Céline

    2017-01-01

    To present the process and challenges of developing an online competency-based course on public health policy using a collaborative international approach. Five public health experts, supported by an expert in educational technology, adopted a rigorous approach to the development of the course: a needs analysis, identification of objectives and competencies, development of a pedagogical scenario for each module and target, choice of teaching methods and learning activities, material to be identified or developed, and the responsibilities and tasks involved. The 2-credit (90-hour) graduate course consists of six modules including an integration module. The modules start with a variety of case studies: tobacco law (neutral packaging), supervised injection sites, housing, integrated services for the frail elderly, a prevention programme for mothers from disadvantaged backgrounds, and the obligatory use of bicycle helmets. In modules 1, 3, 4 and 5, students learn about different stages of the public policy development process: emergence, formulation and adoption, implementation and evaluation. Module 2 focuses on the importance of values and ideologies in public policy. The integration module allows the students to apply the knowledge learned and addresses the role of experts in public policy and ethical considerations. The course has been integrated into the graduate programmes of the participating universities and allows students to follow, at a distance, an innovative training programme.

  2. An Evaluation of a Counseling-Community Learning Approach to Foreign Language Teaching or Counseling-Learning Theory Applied to Foreign Language Learning. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gallagher, Rosina Mena

    This study evaluates the counseling-learning approach to foreign language instruction as compared with traditional methods in terms of language achievement and change in personal orientation and in attitude toward learning. Twelve students volunteered to learn Spanish or German under simultaneous exposure to both languages using the…

  3. Learning Styles and Individual Differences in Learning English Idioms via Computer Assisted Language Learning in English as a Second Language.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Viteli, Jarmo

    The purpose of this study was to determine the learning styles of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students and individual differences in learning English idioms via computer assisted language learning (CALL). Thirty-six Hispanic students, 26 Japanese students, and 6 students with various language backgrounds from the Nova University Intensive…

  4. Are Online Learners Frustrated with Collaborative Learning Experiences?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Capdeferro, Neus; Romero, Margarida

    2012-01-01

    Online education increasingly puts emphasis on collaborative learning methods. Despite the pedagogical advantages of collaborative learning, online learners can perceive collaborative learning activities as frustrating experiences. The purpose of this study was to characterize the feelings of frustration as a negative emotion among online learners…

  5. Online Collaborative Learning: Theory and Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roberts, Tim, Ed.

    2004-01-01

    "Online Collaborative Learning: Theory and Practice" provides a resource for researchers and practitioners in the area of online collaborative learning (also known as CSCL, computer-supported collaborative learning), particularly those working within a tertiary education environment. It includes articles of relevance to those interested in both…

  6. "Lone Wolves" and Collaboration: A Reply to Crippen & Robinson (2013)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bowern, Claire; Warner, Natasha

    2015-01-01

    In this reply to Crippen & Robinson's (2013) contribution to "Language Documentation & Conservation," we discuss recent perspectives on "collaborative" linguistics and the many roles that linguists play in language communities. We question Crippen & Robinson's characterization of the state of the field and their…

  7. The Effects of Different Computer-Supported Collaboration Scripts on Students' Learning Processes and Outcome in a Simulation-Based Collaborative Learning Environment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wieland, Kristina

    2010-01-01

    Students benefit from collaborative learning activities, but they do not automatically reach desired learning outcomes when working together (Fischer, Kollar, Mandl, & Haake, 2007; King, 2007). Learners need instructional support to increase the quality of collaborative processes and individual learning outcomes. The core challenge is to find…

  8. Collaborative testing as a learning strategy in nursing education.

    PubMed

    Sandahl, Sheryl S

    2010-01-01

    A primary goal of nursing education is to prepare nurses to work collaboratively as members of interprofessional health care teams on behalf of patients. Collaborative testing is a collaborative learning strategy used to foster knowledge development, critical thinking in decision making, and group processing skills. This study incorporated a quasi-experimental design with a comparison group to examine the effect of collaborative testing as a learning strategy on student learning and retention of course content as well as group process skills and student perceptions of their learning and anxiety. The setting was a baccalaureate nursing program; the sample consisted of two groups of senior students enrolled in Medical-Surgical Nursing II. Student learning, as measured by unit examination scores, was greater for students taking examinations collaboratively compared to individually. Retention of course content, as measured by final examination scores, was not greater for students taking examinations collaboratively compared to individually. Student perceptions were overwhelmingly positive, with students reporting increased learning as a result of the collaborative testing experiences. Despite the lack of data to support increased retention, collaborative testing may be a learning strategy worth implementing in nursing education. Students reported more positive interactions and collaboration with their peers, skills required by the professional nurse.

  9. A Collaborative Learning Network Approach to Improvement: The CUSP Learning Network.

    PubMed

    Weaver, Sallie J; Lofthus, Jennifer; Sawyer, Melinda; Greer, Lee; Opett, Kristin; Reynolds, Catherine; Wyskiel, Rhonda; Peditto, Stephanie; Pronovost, Peter J

    2015-04-01

    Collaborative improvement networks draw on the science of collaborative organizational learning and communities of practice to facilitate peer-to-peer learning, coaching, and local adaption. Although significant improvements in patient safety and quality have been achieved through collaborative methods, insight regarding how collaborative networks are used by members is needed. Improvement Strategy: The Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP) Learning Network is a multi-institutional collaborative network that is designed to facilitate peer-to-peer learning and coaching specifically related to CUSP. Member organizations implement all or part of the CUSP methodology to improve organizational safety culture, patient safety, and care quality. Qualitative case studies developed by participating members examine the impact of network participation across three levels of analysis (unit, hospital, health system). In addition, results of a satisfaction survey designed to evaluate member experiences were collected to inform network development. Common themes across case studies suggest that members found value in collaborative learning and sharing strategies across organizational boundaries related to a specific improvement strategy. The CUSP Learning Network is an example of network-based collaborative learning in action. Although this learning network focuses on a particular improvement methodology-CUSP-there is clear potential for member-driven learning networks to grow around other methods or topic areas. Such collaborative learning networks may offer a way to develop an infrastructure for longer-term support of improvement efforts and to more quickly diffuse creative sustainment strategies.

  10. Collaborative learning of clinical skills in health professions education: the why, how, when and for whom.

    PubMed

    Tolsgaard, Martin G; Kulasegaram, Kulamakan M; Ringsted, Charlotte V

    2016-01-01

    This study is designed to provide an overview of why, how, when and for whom collaborative learning of clinical skills may work in health professions education. Collaborative learning of clinical skills may influence learning positively according to the non-medical literature. Training efficiency may therefore be improved if the outcomes of collaborative learning of clinical skills are superior or equivalent to those attained through individual learning. According to a social interaction perspective, collaborative learning of clinical skills mediates its effects through social interaction, motivation, accountability and positive interdependence between learners. Motor skills learning theory suggests that positive effects rely on observational learning and action imitation, and negative effects may include decreased hands-on experience. Finally, a cognitive perspective suggests that learning is dependent on cognitive co-construction, shared knowledge and reduced cognitive load. The literature on the collaborative learning of clinical skills in health science education is reviewed to support or contradict the hypotheses provided by the theories outlined above. Collaborative learning of clinical skills leads to improvements in self-efficacy, confidence and performance when task processing is observable or communicable. However, the effects of collaborative learning of clinical skills may decrease over time as benefits in terms of shared cognition, scaffolding and cognitive co-construction are outweighed by reductions in hands-on experience and time on task. Collaborative learning of clinical skills has demonstrated promising results in the simulated setting. However, further research into how collaborative learning of clinical skills may work in clinical settings, as well as into the role of social dynamics between learners, is required. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Language Revitalization and Language Pedagogy: New Teaching and Learning Strategies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hinton, Leanne

    2011-01-01

    Language learning and teaching of endangered languages have many features and needs that are quite different from the teaching of world languages. Groups whose languages are endangered try to turn language loss around; many new language teaching and learning strategies are emerging, to suit the special needs and goals of language revitalization.…

  12. Technology-enhanced learning in transnational higher education.

    PubMed

    Arunasalam, Nirmala

    2016-11-24

    Some university schools of nursing in Australia and the UK have developed collaborative links with Malaysia to deliver part-time Transnational Higher Education (TNHE) post-registration top-up nursing degree courses. It enables nurses trained to diploma level to upgrade to a degree qualification. The views of 18 Malaysian nurses who had studied with one Australian and two UK TNHE universities were explored using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach. Participants recruited via convenience and snowball sampling methods were interviewed in English and Bahasa Malaysia (Malaysian language). Thematic analysis were used to analyse data. Findings indicated nurses' frustration with technology-enhanced teaching and learning and a lack of support throughout the programme. Although nurses developed confidence in using computer technology, they remained disappointed with the level of academic support. The data and some useful strategies outlined provide important insights for TNHE providers, the Malaysian Nursing Board and private hospital employers to consider for enhancing nurses learning and experiences.

  13. Design and Evaluation of a Collaborative Learning Environment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wang, Qiyun

    2009-01-01

    Collaboration becomes an essential competency in the current knowledge society. In this study, a collaborative learning environment was designed to facilitate students in group collaboration. Instructional support strategies of friendship and meaningful learning tasks were applied to promote collaboration. Scaffolding strategies such as writing…

  14. Evidence-based practice in speech-language pathology curricula: a scoping study.

    PubMed

    Togher, Leanne; Yiannoukas, Corina; Lincoln, Michelle; Power, Emma; Munro, Natalie; Mccabe, Patricia; Ghosh, Pratiti; Worrall, Linda; Ward, Elizabeth; Ferguson, Alison; Harrison, Elisabeth; Douglas, Jacinta

    2011-12-01

    This scoping study investigated how evidence-based practice (EBP) principles are taught in Australian speech-language pathology (SLP) teaching and learning contexts. It explored how Australian SLP university programs: (1) facilitate student learning about the principles of EBP in academic and clinical settings, and (2) self-evaluate their curricula in relation to EBP. The research involved two surveys. Survey 1 respondents were 131 academic staff, program coordinators, and on-campus and off-campus clinical educators. This survey gathered information about EBP teaching and learning in SLP programs as well as future EBP curriculum plans. Survey 2 investigated how clinical educators incorporated EBP into the way they taught clinical decision-making to students. Surveys responses from 85 clinical educators were analysed using descriptive and non-parametric statistics and thematic grouping of open-ended qualitative responses. Both surveys revealed strengths and gaps in integrating EBP into Australian SLP curricula. Perceived strengths were that respondents were positive about EBP, most had EBP training and access to EBP resources. The perceived gaps included the academic staff's perceptions of students' understanding and application of EBP, respondents' understanding of research methodologies, communication and collaboration between academic staff and clinical educators, and a lack of explicit discussion by clinical educators and students of EBP in relation to clients.

  15. Collaborative learning: A next step in the training of peer support providers.

    PubMed

    Cronise, Rita

    2016-09-01

    This column explores how peer support provider training is enhanced through collaborative learning. Collaborative learning is an approach that draws upon the "real life" experiences of individual learners and encompasses opportunities to explore varying perspectives and collectively construct solutions that enrich the practice of all participants. This description draws upon published articles and examples of collaborative learning in training and communities of practice of peer support providers. Similar to person-centered practices that enhance the recovery experience of individuals receiving services, collaborative learning enhances the experience of peer support providers as they explore relevant "real world" issues, offer unique contributions, and work together toward improving practice. Three examples of collaborative learning approaches are provided that have resulted in successful collaborative learning opportunities for peer support providers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  16. Language Transfer in Language Learning. Issues in Second Language Research.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gass, Susan M., Ed.; Selinker, Larry, Ed.

    Essays on language transfer in language learning include: excerpts from "Linguistics across Cultures" (Robert Lado); "Language Transfer" (Larry Selinker); "Goofing: An Indication of Children's Second Language Learning Strategies" (Heidi C. Dulay, Marina K. Burt); "Language Transfer and Universal Grammatical Relations" (Susan Gass); "A Role for the…

  17. Awakening the Languages. Challenges of Enduring Language Programs: Field Reports from 15 Programs from Arizona, New Mexico and Oklahoma.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Linn, Mary S.; Naranjo, Tessie; Nicholas, Sheilah; Slaughter, Inee; Yamamoto, Akira; Zepeda, Ofelia

    The Indigenous Language Institute (ILI) collaborates with indigenous language communities to combat language decline. ILI facilitates community-based language programs, increases public awareness of language endangerment, and disseminates information on language preservation and successful language revitalization programs. In response to numerous…

  18. Language-Based Curriculum Analysis: A Collaborative Assessment and Intervention Process.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Prelock, Patricia A.

    1997-01-01

    Presents a systematic process for completing a language-based curriculum analysis to address curriculum expectations that may challenge students with communication impairments. Analysis of vocabulary and the demands for comprehension, oral, and written expression within specific content areas provides a framework for collaboration between teachers…

  19. A Collaborative Naturalistic Service Delivery Program for Enhancing Pragmatic Language and Participation in Preschoolers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Demchick, Barbara B.; Day, Karen H.

    2016-01-01

    We describe a speech-language pathology and occupational therapy service delivery program for preschoolers with developmental delays and communication and related impairments. Key features included interprofessional collaboration; parent professional partnerships; naturalistic environment; opportunities for choice and control; use of a…

  20. Language Evolution by Iterated Learning with Bayesian Agents

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Griffiths, Thomas L.; Kalish, Michael L.

    2007-01-01

    Languages are transmitted from person to person and generation to generation via a process of iterated learning: people learn a language from other people who once learned that language themselves. We analyze the consequences of iterated learning for learning algorithms based on the principles of Bayesian inference, assuming that learners compute…

  1. Implementing Collaborative Design in the Next Series of eLearning Platforms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kropf, Dorothy

    2013-01-01

    Collaborative design empowers learning management system (LMS) providers and end users (online students) to develop a vibrant teaching and learning community. Successful periodic collaborations utilizing collaborative web tools between these two pivotal groups can produce the next series of eLearning platforms that are fertile grounds for…

  2. A Delphi Study on Collaborative Learning in Distance Education: The Faculty Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Neill, Susan; Scott, Murray; Conboy, Kieran

    2011-01-01

    This paper focuses on the factors that influence collaborative learning in distance education. Distance education has been around for many years and the use of collaborative learning techniques in distance education is becoming increasingly popular. Several studies have demonstrated the superiority of collaborative learning over traditional modes…

  3. Examining the Role of Collaborative Learning in a Public Speaking Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liao, Hsiang-Ann

    2014-01-01

    Collaborative learning has been found to benefit students in various disciplines. Moreover, in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics literature, it was noted that minority students benefited the most from collaborative learning. Studies on the effects of collaborative learning in communication are limited. As a result, I examined…

  4. Learning bias, cultural evolution of language, and the biological evolution of the language faculty.

    PubMed

    Smith, Kenny

    2011-04-01

    The biases of individual language learners act to determine the learnability and cultural stability of languages: learners come to the language learning task with biases which make certain linguistic systems easier to acquire than others. These biases are repeatedly applied during the process of language transmission, and consequently should effect the types of languages we see in human populations. Understanding the cultural evolutionary consequences of particular learning biases is therefore central to understanding the link between language learning in individuals and language universals, common structural properties shared by all the world’s languages. This paper reviews a range of models and experimental studies which show that weak biases in individual learners can have strong effects on the structure of socially learned systems such as language, suggesting that strong universal tendencies in language structure do not require us to postulate strong underlying biases or constraints on language learning. Furthermore, understanding the relationship between learner biases and language design has implications for theories of the evolution of those learning biases: models of gene-culture coevolution suggest that, in situations where a cultural dynamic mediates between properties of individual learners and properties of language in this way, biological evolution is unlikely to lead to the emergence of strong constraints on learning.

  5. The Relationship between Iranian EFL Learners' Beliefs about Language Learning and Their Use of Learning Strategies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Azar, Fereshteh Khaffafi; Saeidi, Mahnaz

    2013-01-01

    The present study investigated the relationship between Iranian EFL learners' learning strategies use and their language learning beliefs. A sample of 200 Iranian EFL learners who were all English language learners at different language institutes participated in this study. Two instruments, Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) and…

  6. Language Learning Strategies Used by Distance Learners of English: A Study with a Group of Turkish Distance Learners of EFL

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Altunay, Dilek

    2014-01-01

    Use of language learning strategies is important for language learning. Some researchers state that language learning strategies are important because their use affects the development of communicative competence (Lessard-Clouston, 1997 & Oxford, 1990). Effective use of language learning strategies has particular importance for distance…

  7. Language Learning Strategies and Styles among Iranian Engineering and Political Science Graduate Students Studying Abroad

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alireza, Shakarami; Abdullah, Mardziha H.

    2010-01-01

    Language learning strategies are used with the explicit goal of helping learners improve their knowledge and understanding of a target language. They are the conscious thoughts and behaviors used by students to facilitate language learning tasks and to personalize language learning process. Learning styles on the other hand, are "general…

  8. When Collaborative Learning Meets Nature: Collaborative Learning as a Meaningful Learning Tool in the Ecology Inquiry Based Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rozenszayn, Ronit; Assaraf, Orit Ben-Zvi

    2011-01-01

    This research suggests utilizing collaborative learning among high school students for better performance on ecology inquiry-based projects. A case study of nine 12th grade students who participated in collaborative learning sessions in the open field and in class is examined. The results show that the students concentrated on discussing the…

  9. Mobile-Assisted Second Language Learning: Developing a Learner-Centered Framework

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leow, Choy Khim; Yahaya, Wan Ahmad Jaafar Wan; Samsudin, Zarina

    2014-01-01

    The Mobile Assisted Language Learning concept has offered infinite language learning opportunities since its inception 20 years ago. Second Language Acquisition however embraces a considerably different body of knowledge from first language learning. While technological advances have optimized the psycholinguistic environment for language…

  10. Intelligent Computer-Assisted Language Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harrington, Michael

    1996-01-01

    Introduces the field of intelligent computer assisted language learning (ICALL) and relates them to current practice in computer assisted language learning (CALL) and second language learning. Points out that ICALL applies expertise from artificial intelligence and the computer and cognitive sciences to the development of language learning…

  11. Medical Students’ Perceptions of Peer Assessment in a Problem-based Learning Curriculum

    PubMed Central

    Tayem, Yasin I.; James, Henry; Al-Khaja, Khalid A. J.; Razzak, Rima L. A.; Potu, Bhagath K.; Sequeira, Reginald P.

    2015-01-01

    Objectives: Peer assessment (PA) is believed to support learning and help students develop both professionally and personally. The aim of this study was to examine medical students’ perceptions of intragroup PA in a problem-based learning (PBL) setting. Methods: This study was carried out between September and November 2014 and involved six random groups of fourth-year undergraduate medical students (n = 60) enrolled at the Arabian Gulf University in Manama, Bahrain. While working on set tasks within a curriculum unit, each student evaluated a randomly selected peer using an English language adapted assessment tool to measure responsibility and respect, information processing, critical analysis, interaction and collaborative skills. At the end of the unit, students’ perceptions of PA were identified using a specifically-designed voluntary and anonymous self-administered questionnaire in English. Results: A total of 55 students participated in the study (response rate: 92%). The majority of students reported that their learning (60%), attendance (67%), respect towards group members (70%) and participation in group discussions (71%) improved as a result of PA. Regarding problem analysis skills, most participants believed that PA improved their ability to analyse problems (65%), identify learning needs (64%), fulfil tasks related to the analysis of learning needs (72%) and share knowledge within their group (74%). Lastly, a large proportion of students reported that this form of assessment helped them develop their communication (71%) and self-assessment skills (73%), as well as collaborative abilities (75%). Conclusion: PA was well accepted by the students in this cohort and led to self-reported improvements in learning, skills, attitudes, engagement and other indicators of personal and professional development. PA was also perceived to have a positive impact on intragroup attitudes. PMID:26355668

  12. Language Views on Social Networking Sites for Language Learning: The Case of Busuu

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Álvarez Valencia, José Aldemar

    2016-01-01

    Social networking has compelled the area of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) to expand its research palette and account for new virtual ecologies that afford language learning and socialization. This study focuses on Busuu, a social networking site for language learning (SNSLL), and analyzes the views of language that are enacted through…

  13. A prototype molecular interactive collaborative environment (MICE).

    PubMed

    Bourne, P; Gribskov, M; Johnson, G; Moreland, J; Wavra, S; Weissig, H

    1998-01-01

    Illustrations of macromolecular structure in the scientific literature contain a high level of semantic content through which the authors convey, among other features, the biological function of that macromolecule. We refer to these illustrations as molecular scenes. Such scenes, if available electronically, are not readily accessible for further interactive interrogation. The basic PDB format does not retain features of the scene; formats like PostScript retain the scene but are not interactive; and the many formats used by individual graphics programs, while capable of reproducing the scene, are neither interchangeable nor can they be stored in a database and queried for features of the scene. MICE defines a Molecular Scene Description Language (MSDL) which allows scenes to be stored in a relational database (a molecular scene gallery) and queried. Scenes retrieved from the gallery are rendered in Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) and currently displayed in WebView, a VRML browser modified to support the Virtual Reality Behavior System (VRBS) protocol. VRBS provides communication between multiple client browsers, each capable of manipulating the scene. This level of collaboration works well over standard Internet connections and holds promise for collaborative research at a distance and distance learning. Further, via VRBS, the VRML world can be used as a visual cue to trigger an application such as a remote MEME search. MICE is very much work in progress. Current work seeks to replace WebView with Netscape, Cosmoplayer, a standard VRML plug-in, and a Java-based console. The console consists of a generic kernel suitable for multiple collaborative applications and additional application-specific controls. Further details of the MICE project are available at http:/(/)mice.sdsc.edu.

  14. Occupational therapy students in the process of interprofessional collaborative learning: a grounded theory study.

    PubMed

    Howell, Dana

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this grounded theory study was to generate a theory of the interprofessional collaborative learning process of occupational therapy (OT) students who were engaged in a collaborative learning experience with students from other allied health disciplines. Data consisted of semi-structured interviews with nine OT students from four different interprofessional collaborative learning experiences at three universities. The emergent theory explained OT students' need to build a culture of mutual respect among disciplines in order to facilitate interprofessional collaborative learning. Occupational therapy students went through a progression of learned skills that included learning how to represent the profession of OT, hold their weight within a team situation, solve problems collaboratively, work as a team, and ultimately, to work in an actual team in practice. This learning process occurred simultaneously as students also learned course content. The students had to contend with barriers and facilitators that influenced their participation and the success of their collaboration. Understanding the interprofessional learning process of OT students will help allied health faculty to design more effective, inclusive interprofessional courses.

  15. Correcting Spellings in Second Language Learners' Computer-Assisted Collaborative Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Musk, Nigel

    2016-01-01

    The present study uses multimodal conversation analysis to examine how pupils studying English as a foreign language make spelling corrections in real time while doing collaborative computer-assisted project work. Unlike most previous related investigations, this study focuses on the "process" rather than evaluating the final…

  16. Collaboration for Instruction of LEP Students in Vocational Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Platt, Elizabeth; And Others

    A study examined the collaboration between vocational teachers and their colleagues in vocational English as a Second Language (VESL) or English as a second language (ESL) on behalf of limited English proficient (LEP) students in mainstream vocational classrooms. Visits were made to three secondary and three postsecondary sites nationwide. Data…

  17. Implementing Verbal and Non-Verbal Activities in an Intercultural Collaboration Project for English Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fujii, Kiyomi; Hirotani, Maki

    2015-01-01

    Technological development offers language teachers a myriad of options for collaborative activities. Learners, in turn, benefit from increased opportunities to interact with people who can speak their target language. Research has previously highlighted the importance of developing learners' intercultural competence through such activities. The…

  18. Academic Alliances: School/College Faculty Collaboratives.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Silber, Ellen; Moore, Terre

    1989-01-01

    Reports the results of a survey of high school and college foreign language teachers participating in 24 collaboratives around the country. Information about the effects of the alliances on the teachers' attitudes and instructional effectiveness are reported, and an update about current programs in academic alliances in foreign languages is…

  19. Developing Foreign Language Skills, Competence and Identity through a Collaborative Creative Writing Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Feuer, Avital

    2011-01-01

    This study examined the effects of a collaborative creative writing project on identity formation and overall language proficiency development among advanced Hebrew students. In an exercise called "The Zoning Committee", college students created the fictional Israeli-American town of Beit Shemesh, located in northern Michigan.…

  20. Collaborative Curriculum Renewal in a Tertiary Vocational Institution in Japan.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harrison, Ian D.

    The process of revising the second language curriculum in a Japanese postsecondary vocational school is described, focusing on the collaborative approach taken. The school provides second language instruction and vocational training in several occupational areas. A number of research teams or "focus groups" were established, each with a…

  1. Enabling model checking for collaborative process analysis: from BPMN to `Network of Timed Automata'

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mallek, Sihem; Daclin, Nicolas; Chapurlat, Vincent; Vallespir, Bruno

    2015-04-01

    Interoperability is a prerequisite for partners involved in performing collaboration. As a consequence, the lack of interoperability is now considered a major obstacle. The research work presented in this paper aims to develop an approach that allows specifying and verifying a set of interoperability requirements to be satisfied by each partner in the collaborative process prior to process implementation. To enable the verification of these interoperability requirements, it is necessary first and foremost to generate a model of the targeted collaborative process; for this research effort, the standardised language BPMN 2.0 is used. Afterwards, a verification technique must be introduced, and model checking is the preferred option herein. This paper focuses on application of the model checker UPPAAL in order to verify interoperability requirements for the given collaborative process model. At first, this step entails translating the collaborative process model from BPMN into a UPPAAL modelling language called 'Network of Timed Automata'. Second, it becomes necessary to formalise interoperability requirements into properties with the dedicated UPPAAL language, i.e. the temporal logic TCTL.

  2. A Comparison of the Efficacy of Individual and Collaborative Music Learning in Ensemble Rehearsals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brandler, Brian J.; Peynircioglu, Zehra F.

    2015-01-01

    Collaboration is essential in learning ensemble music. It is unclear, however, whether an individual benefits more from collaborative or individual rehearsal in the initial stages of such learning. In nonmusical domains, the effect of collaboration has been mixed, sometimes enhancing and sometimes inhibiting an individual's learning process. In…

  3. Investigating Technical and Pedagogical Usability Issues of Collaborative Learning with Wikis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hadjerrouit, Said

    2012-01-01

    Wikis have been recently promoted as tools that foster collaborative learning. However, there has been little research devoted to the criteria that are suitable to address issues pertinent to collaborative learning. This paper proposes a set of criteria to explore technical and pedagogical usability issues of collaborative learning with wikis. The…

  4. When Is It Better to Learn Together? Insights from Research on Collaborative Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nokes-Malach, Timothy J.; Richey, J. Elizabeth; Gadgil, Soniya

    2015-01-01

    Although collaboration is often considered a beneficial learning strategy, research examining the claim suggests a much more complex picture. Critically, the question is not whether collaboration is beneficial to learning, but instead how and when collaboration improves outcomes. In this paper, we first discuss the mechanisms hypothesized to…

  5. Creativity and Collaborative Learning: The Practical Guide to Empowering Students, Teachers, and Families. Second Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thousand, Jacqueline S., Ed.; Villa, Richard A., Ed.; Nevin, Ann I., Ed.

    These 24 papers explain how using the collaborative learning model can help teachers address classroom challenges. Section 1, "Toward Creativity and Collaborative Learning in the 21st Century," begins with "Toward Whole Schools: Building a Movement for Creativity and Collaborative Learning in the 21st Century" (J. Michael…

  6. Exploring Learner Autonomy: Language Learning Locus of Control in Multilinguals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peek, Ron

    2016-01-01

    By using data from an online language learning beliefs survey (n?=?841), defining language learning experience in terms of participants' multilingualism, and using a domain-specific language learning locus of control (LLLOC) instrument, this article examines whether more experienced language learners can also be seen as more autonomous language…

  7. An anthropological approach to teaching health sciences students cultural competency in a field school program.

    PubMed

    Hutchins, Frank T; Brown, Lori DiPrete; Poulsen, Keith P

    2014-02-01

    International immersion experiences do not, in themselves, provide students with the opportunity to develop cultural competence. However, using an anthropological lens to educate students allows them to learn how to negotiate cultural differences by removing their own cultural filters and seeing events through the eyes of those who are culturally different. Faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Global Health Institute believed that an embedded experience, in which students engaged with local communities, would encourage them to adopt this Cultural Competency 2.0 position. With this goal in mind, they started the Field School for the Study of Language, Culture, and Community Health in Ecuador in 2003 to teach cultural competency to medical, veterinary, pharmacy, and nursing students. The program was rooted in medical anthropology and embraced the One Health initiative, which is a collaborative effort of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally to obtain optimal health for people, animals, and the environment. In this article, the authors identify effective practices and challenges for using a biocultural approach to educating students. In a semester-long preparatory class, students study the Spanish language, region-specific topics, and community engagement principles. While in Ecuador for five weeks, students apply their knowledge during community visits that involve homestays and service learning projects, for which they partner with local communities to meet their health needs. This combination of language and anthropological course work and community-based service learning has led to positive outcomes for the local communities as well as professional development for students and faculty.

  8. Bilinguals' Existing Languages Benefit Vocabulary Learning in a Third Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bartolotti, James; Marian, Viorica

    2017-01-01

    Learning a new language involves substantial vocabulary acquisition. Learners can accelerate this process by relying on words with native-language overlap, such as cognates. For bilingual third language learners, it is necessary to determine how their two existing languages interact during novel language learning. A scaffolding account predicts…

  9. Case study on perspicacity of collaborative learning experiences

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abdullah, Fadzidah; Majid, Noor Hanita Abdul; Numen, Ibrahim; Kesuma Azmin, Aida; Abd. Rahim, Zaiton; Denan, Zuraini; Emin Sisman, Muhammet

    2017-12-01

    In the attempt to relate to the architectural practice, architectural education today has augmented the development of collaborative learning environment in the campus scenario. Presently, collaborative work among students from the same program and university is considered common. Hence, attempts of collaboration is extended into having learning and teaching collaboration by means of inter-universities. The School of Architecture, at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) has explored into having collaboration across the continent with Fatih Sultan Mehmet Waqf University (FSMWU), among faculty members and students of the two (2) universities This paper explicates the empirical study on students’ perspicacity of their collaborative learning experiences; in term of effectiveness, generative behaviour, and teamwork. Survey with three (3) open-ended questions are distributed to students to express their opinions on learning collaboration that they have had during the execution of the Joint Summer School Program (JSSP). Feedback on their perspicacity is obtained and organised into numerical and understandable data display, using qualitative data processing software. Albeit the relevancy of collaborative learning, students gave both positive and negative feedbacks on their experiences. Suggestions are given to enhance the quality of collaborative learning experience for future development

  10. Computational Investigations of Multiword Chunks in Language Learning.

    PubMed

    McCauley, Stewart M; Christiansen, Morten H

    2017-07-01

    Second-language learners rarely arrive at native proficiency in a number of linguistic domains, including morphological and syntactic processing. Previous approaches to understanding the different outcomes of first- versus second-language learning have focused on cognitive and neural factors. In contrast, we explore the possibility that children and adults may rely on different linguistic units throughout the course of language learning, with specific focus on the granularity of those units. Following recent psycholinguistic evidence for the role of multiword chunks in online language processing, we explore the hypothesis that children rely more heavily on multiword units in language learning than do adults learning a second language. To this end, we take an initial step toward using large-scale, corpus-based computational modeling as a tool for exploring the granularity of speakers' linguistic units. Employing a computational model of language learning, the Chunk-Based Learner, we compare the usefulness of chunk-based knowledge in accounting for the speech of second-language learners versus children and adults speaking their first language. Our findings suggest that while multiword units are likely to play a role in second-language learning, adults may learn less useful chunks, rely on them to a lesser extent, and arrive at them through different means than children learning a first language. Copyright © 2017 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  11. Do action learning sets facilitate collaborative, deliberative learning?: A focus group evaluation of Graduate Entry Pre-registration Nursing (GEN) students' experience.

    PubMed

    Maddison, Charlotte; Strang, Gus

    2018-01-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate if by participating in action learning sets, Graduate Entry Pre-registration Nursing (GEN) students were able to engage in collaborative and deliberative learning. A single focus group interview involving eleven participants was used to collect data. Data analysis identified five themes; collaborative learning; reflection; learning through case study and problem-solving; communication, and rejection of codified learning. The themes are discussed and further analysed in the context of collaborative and deliberative learning. The evidence from this small scale study suggests that action learning sets do provide an environment where collaborative and deliberative learning can occur. However, students perceived some of them, particularly during year one, to be too 'teacher lead', which stifled learning. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. eLearning, knowledge brokering, and nursing: strengthening collaborative practice in long-term care.

    PubMed

    Halabisky, Brenda; Humbert, Jennie; Stodel, Emma J; MacDonald, Colla J; Chambers, Larry W; Doucette, Suzanne; Dalziel, William B; Conklin, James

    2010-01-01

    Interprofessional collaboration is vital to the delivery of quality care in long-term care settings; however, caregivers in long-term care face barriers to participating in training programs to improve collaborative practices. Consequently, eLearning can be used to create an environment that combines convenient, individual learning with collaborative experiential learning. Findings of this study revealed that learners enjoyed the flexibility of the Working Together learning resource. They acquired new knowledge and skills that they were able to use in their practice setting to achieve higher levels of collaborative practice. Nurses were identified as team leaders because of their pivotal role in the long-term care home and collaboration with all patient care providers. Nurses are ideal as knowledge brokers for the collaborative practice team. Quantitative findings showed no change in learner's attitudes regarding collaborative practice; however, interviews provided examples of positive changes experienced. Face-to-face collaboration was found to be a challenge, and changes to organizations, systems, and technology need to be made to facilitate this process. The Working Together learning resource is an important first step toward strengthening collaboration in long-term care, and the pilot implementation provides insights that further our understanding of both interprofessional collaboration and effective eLearning.

  13. Use of an Interculturally Enriched Collaboration Script in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning in Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Popov, Vitaliy; Biemans, Harm J. A.; Kuznetsov, Andrei N.; Mulder, Martin

    2014-01-01

    In this exploratory study, the authors introduced an interculturally enriched collaboration script (IECS) for working in culturally diverse groups within a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment and then assessed student online collaborative behaviour, learning performance and experiences. The question was if and how these…

  14. Ego Is a Hurdle in Second Language Learning: A Contrastive Study between Adults and Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Abdullah, Shumaila; Akhter, Javed

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this research paper is to find out by comparing and contrasting between the adults and children in second language learning process how language ego of adult learners affects them to learn second language, and how it becomes a barrier for them in second language learning process. Nowadays learning English as foreign and second language…

  15. Using Language Learning Conditions in Mathematics. PEN 68.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stoessiger, Rex

    This pamphlet reports on a project in Tasmania exploring whether the "natural learning conditions" approach to language learning could be adapted for mathematics. The connections between language and mathematics, as well as the natural learning processes of language learning are described in the pamphlet. The project itself is…

  16. Developmental Comparisons of Implicit and Explicit Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lichtman, Karen

    2013-01-01

    Conventional wisdom holds that children learn languages implicitly whereas older learners learn languages explicitly, and some have claimed that after puberty only explicit language learning is possible. However, older learners often receive more explicit instruction than child L2 learners, which may affect their learning strategies. This study…

  17. Beliefs about Learning English as a Second Language among Native Groups in Rural Sabah, Malaysia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Krishnasamy, Hariharan N.; Veloo, Arsaythamby; Lu, Ho Fui

    2013-01-01

    This paper identifies differences between the three ethnic groups, namely, Kadazans/Dusuns, Bajaus, and other minority ethnic groups on the beliefs about learning English as a second language based on the five variables, that is, language aptitude, language learning difficulty, language learning and communicating strategies, nature of language…

  18. Language Learning in Wittgenstein and Davidson

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kotzee, Ben

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, I discuss language learning in Wittgenstein and Davidson. Starting from a remark by Bakhurst, I hold that both Wittgenstein and Davidson's philosophies of language contain responses to the problem of language learning, albeit of a different form. Following Williams, I hold that the concept of language learning can explain…

  19. Examining Emotions in English Language Learning Classes: A Case of EFL Emotions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pishghadam, Reza; Zabetipour, Mohammad; Aminzadeh, Afrooz

    2016-01-01

    Emotions play a significant role in learning in general, and foreign language learning in particular. Although with the rise of humanistic approaches, enough attention has been given to the affective domain in language learning, the emotions English as a foreign language (EFL) learners experience regarding English language skills in listening,…

  20. The Use of Prosodic Cues in Learning New Words in an Unfamiliar Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kim, Sahyang; Broersma, Mirjam; Cho, Taehong

    2012-01-01

    The artificial language learning paradigm was used to investigate to what extent the use of prosodic features is universally applicable or specifically language driven in learning an unfamiliar language, and how nonnative prosodic patterns can be learned. Listeners of unrelated languages--Dutch (n = 100) and Korean (n = 100)--participated. The…

  1. Creating an Authentic Learning Environment in the Foreign Language Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nikitina, Larisa

    2011-01-01

    Theatrical activities are widely used by language educators to promote and facilitate language learning. Involving students in production of their own video or a short movie in the target language allows a seamless fusion of language learning, art, and popular culture. The activity is also conducive for creating an authentic learning situation…

  2. Learning Motivation and Retention Effects of Pair Programming in Data Structures Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yang, Ya-Fei; Lee, Chien-I; Chang, Chih-Kai

    2016-01-01

    Collaborative learning is an activity in which two or more students learn something together. Many studies have found that collaborative learning improve students' memory retention and motivation to learn. Peer Instruction (PI) is one of the most successful evidence-based collaborative learning methods. This article investigates issues of student…

  3. Stress in Japanese Learners Engaged in Online Collaborative Learning in English

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jung, Insung; Kudo, Masayuki; Choi, Sook-Kyoung

    2012-01-01

    Many studies report positive learning experience and improved performance in online collaborative learning. However, such learning can also incur unnecessary or excessive stress with a resultant adverse effect on the learning. This study aimed to determine the stress factors in online collaborative learning as perceived by 226 Japanese university…

  4. Rocking & Rolling: Supporting Infants, Toddlers, and Their Families. One Language, Two Languages, Three Languages . . . More?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Prieto, H. Victoria

    2009-01-01

    The belief that a child has to abandon his home language to learn English implies that the young brain has limited learning capacity. Early childhood teachers need to help families understand that children can learn two languages at the same time. What matters is that the infant/toddler is in an effective language-learning environment, whether it…

  5. Taking an Instrumental Genesis Lens: New Insights into Collaborative Mobile Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cerratto Pargman, Teresa; Nouri, Jalal; Milrad, Marcelo

    2018-01-01

    In this paper, we argue that in order to gain a deeper understanding of collaborative mobile learning in schools, it is important to know not only how mobile devices affect collaborative learning but also how collaborative learning emerges and is mediated by these devices. We develop our argument by applying the instrumental genesis theory and the…

  6. Bridging the Gap between Students and Computers: Supporting Activity Awareness for Network Collaborative Learning with GSM Network

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, C.-C.; Tao, S.-Y.; Nee, J.-N.

    2008-01-01

    The internet has been widely used to promote collaborative learning among students. However, students do not always have access to the system, leading to doubt in the interaction among the students, and reducing the effectiveness of collaborative learning, since the web-based collaborative learning environment relies entirely on the availability…

  7. Is CALL Obsolete? Language Acquisition and Language Learning Revisited in a Digital Age

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jarvis, Huw; Krashen, Stephen

    2014-01-01

    In this article, Huw Jarvis and Stephen Krashen ask "Is CALL Obsolete?" When the term CALL (Computer-Assisted Language Learning) was introduced in the 1960s, the language education profession knew only about language learning, not language acquisition, and assumed the computer's primary contribution to second language acquisition…

  8. Language Alternation and Language Norm in Vocational Content and Language Integrated Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kontio, Janne; Sylvén, Liss Kerstin

    2015-01-01

    The present article deals with language choice as communicative strategies in the language learning environment of an English-medium content and language integrated learning (CLIL) workshop at an auto mechanics class in a Swedish upper secondary school. The article presents the organisation and functions of language alternations (LAs) which are…

  9. A Whole-School Approach to Promoting Languages

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lane, Nathan

    2015-01-01

    Languages teachers are all aware of the significant advantages and benefits learning a language provides, and believe in the importance of second language acquisition. However, why is it that languages teachers need to justify learning a second language and work hard to encourage more students to see the importance of learning a language and to…

  10. Age and Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Collard, Lucien

    1977-01-01

    An investigation of the differences between first and second language acquisition and the relationship between age and second language learning. The stages in native language acquisition and the advantages of an early start in second language learning are discussed. (AMH)

  11. Exploring Collaborative Learning Effect in Blended Learning Environments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sun, Z.; Liu, R.; Luo, L.; Wu, M.; Shi, C.

    2017-01-01

    The use of new technology encouraged exploration of the effectiveness and difference of collaborative learning in blended learning environments. This study investigated the social interactive network of students, level of knowledge building and perception level on usefulness in online and mobile collaborative learning environments in higher…

  12. Three Philosophical Pillars That Support Collaborative Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maltese, Ralph

    1991-01-01

    Discusses three philosophical pillars that support collaborative learning: "spaces of appearance," active engagement, and ownership. Describes classroom experiences with collaborative learning supported by these pillars. (PRA)

  13. Virtual collaboration in the online educational setting: a concept analysis.

    PubMed

    Breen, Henny

    2013-01-01

    This study was designed to explore the concept of virtual collaboration within the context of an online learning environment in an academic setting. Rodgers' method of evolutionary concept analysis was used to provide a contextual view of the concept to identify attributes, antecedents, and consequences of virtual collaboration. Commonly used terms to describe virtual collaboration are collaborative and cooperative learning, group work, group interaction, group learning, and teamwork. A constructivist pedagogy, group-based process with a shared purpose, support, and web-based technology is required for virtual collaboration to take place. Consequences of virtual collaboration are higher order thinking and learning to work with others. A comprehensive definition of virtual collaboration is offered as an outcome of this analysis. Clarification of virtual collaboration prior to using it as a pedagogical tool in the online learning environment will enhance nursing education with the changes in nursing curriculum being implemented today. Further research is recommended to describe the developmental stages of the collaborative process among nursing students in online education and how virtual collaboration facilitates collaboration in practice. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  14. Shared language:Towards more effective communication.

    PubMed

    Thomas, Joyce; McDonagh, Deana

    2013-01-01

    The ability to communicate to others and express ourselves is a basic human need. As we develop our understanding of the world, based on our upbringing, education and so on, our perspective and the way we communicate can differ from those around us. Engaging and interacting with others is a critical part of healthy living. It is the responsibility of the individual to ensure that they are understood in the way they intended.Shared language refers to people developing understanding amongst themselves based on language (e.g. spoken, text) to help them communicate more effectively. The key to understanding language is to first notice and be mindful of your language. Developing a shared language is an ongoing process that requires intention and time, which results in better understanding.Shared language is critical to collaboration, and collaboration is critical to business and education. With whom and how many people do you connect? Your 'shared language' makes a difference in the world. So, how do we successfully do this? This paper shares several strategies.Your sphere of influence will carry forward what and how you are communicating. Developing and nurturing a shared language is an essential element to enhance communication and collaboration whether it is simply between partners or across the larger community of business and customers. Constant awareness and education is required to maintain the shared language. We are living in an increasingly smaller global community. Business is built on relationships. If you invest in developing shared language, your relationships and your business will thrive.

  15. Language learning, language use and the evolution of linguistic variation

    PubMed Central

    Perfors, Amy; Fehér, Olga; Samara, Anna; Swoboda, Kate; Wonnacott, Elizabeth

    2017-01-01

    Linguistic universals arise from the interaction between the processes of language learning and language use. A test case for the relationship between these factors is linguistic variation, which tends to be conditioned on linguistic or sociolinguistic criteria. How can we explain the scarcity of unpredictable variation in natural language, and to what extent is this property of language a straightforward reflection of biases in statistical learning? We review three strands of experimental work exploring these questions, and introduce a Bayesian model of the learning and transmission of linguistic variation along with a closely matched artificial language learning experiment with adult participants. Our results show that while the biases of language learners can potentially play a role in shaping linguistic systems, the relationship between biases of learners and the structure of languages is not straightforward. Weak biases can have strong effects on language structure as they accumulate over repeated transmission. But the opposite can also be true: strong biases can have weak or no effects. Furthermore, the use of language during interaction can reshape linguistic systems. Combining data and insights from studies of learning, transmission and use is therefore essential if we are to understand how biases in statistical learning interact with language transmission and language use to shape the structural properties of language. This article is part of the themed issue ‘New frontiers for statistical learning in the cognitive sciences’. PMID:27872370

  16. Language learning, language use and the evolution of linguistic variation.

    PubMed

    Smith, Kenny; Perfors, Amy; Fehér, Olga; Samara, Anna; Swoboda, Kate; Wonnacott, Elizabeth

    2017-01-05

    Linguistic universals arise from the interaction between the processes of language learning and language use. A test case for the relationship between these factors is linguistic variation, which tends to be conditioned on linguistic or sociolinguistic criteria. How can we explain the scarcity of unpredictable variation in natural language, and to what extent is this property of language a straightforward reflection of biases in statistical learning? We review three strands of experimental work exploring these questions, and introduce a Bayesian model of the learning and transmission of linguistic variation along with a closely matched artificial language learning experiment with adult participants. Our results show that while the biases of language learners can potentially play a role in shaping linguistic systems, the relationship between biases of learners and the structure of languages is not straightforward. Weak biases can have strong effects on language structure as they accumulate over repeated transmission. But the opposite can also be true: strong biases can have weak or no effects. Furthermore, the use of language during interaction can reshape linguistic systems. Combining data and insights from studies of learning, transmission and use is therefore essential if we are to understand how biases in statistical learning interact with language transmission and language use to shape the structural properties of language.This article is part of the themed issue 'New frontiers for statistical learning in the cognitive sciences'. © 2016 The Authors.

  17. Addressing Clinician–Client Mismatch: A Preliminary Intervention Study With a Bilingual Vietnamese–English Preschooler

    PubMed Central

    Pham, Giang; Kohnert, Kathryn; Mann, Deanine

    2018-01-01

    Purpose This project examined receptive vocabulary treatment outcomes in the two languages of a bilingual preschooler with moderate to severe language impairment. Method A series of single-subject experimental designs was used to compare English-only (EO) and bilingual (BI) approaches to receptive vocabulary treatment. The participant, Nam, was a boy age 3;11 (years;months) who was learning Vietnamese as a first language at home and English in his early childhood education program. Treatment was implemented by an EO interventionist using a computer interface and prerecorded audio files in Vietnamese and English. The dependent measure was the percentage of items that were correctly identified in each language. Results Combined studies revealed that the BI approach increased Nam’s attention to task and was as effective as the EO approach for increasing his receptive vocabulary in English. Nam made vocabulary gains in both treatment conditions; receptive vocabulary gains were evident in both Vietnamese and English. Conclusion This project showed that it is feasible for an EO clinician to promote gains in both the home and school languages of a BI child through creative collaborations with BI colleagues and the use of technology. Replication with additional participants and treatment activities is needed to make further generalizations. PMID:21616987

  18. Is Native-Language Decoding Skill Related to Second-Language Learning?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Meschyan, Gayane; Hernandez, Arturo

    2002-01-01

    Investigated the mechanisms through which native-language (English) word decoding ability predicted individual differences in native- and second-language (Spanish) learning. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that second-language learning is founded on native-language phonological-orthographic ability among college-age adults, especially…

  19. The quality and impact of computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) in radiology case-based learning.

    PubMed

    Kourdioukova, Elena V; Verstraete, Koenraad L; Valcke, Martin

    2011-06-01

    The aim of this research was to explore (1) clinical years students' perceptions about radiology case-based learning within a computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) setting, (2) an analysis of the collaborative learning process, and (3) the learning impact of collaborative work on the radiology cases. The first part of this study focuses on a more detailed analysis of a survey study about CSCL based case-based learning, set up in the context of a broader radiology curriculum innovation. The second part centers on a qualitative and quantitative analysis of 52 online collaborative learning discussions from 5th year and nearly graduating medical students. The collaborative work was based on 26 radiology cases regarding musculoskeletal radiology. The analysis of perceptions about collaborative learning on radiology cases reflects a rather neutral attitude that also does not differ significantly in students of different grade levels. Less advanced students are more positive about CSCL as compared to last year students. Outcome evaluation shows a significantly higher level of accuracy in identification of radiology key structures and in radiology diagnosis as well as in linking the radiological signs with available clinical information in nearly graduated students. No significant differences between different grade levels were found in accuracy of using medical terminology. Students appreciate computer supported collaborative learning settings when tackling radiology case-based learning. Scripted computer supported collaborative learning groups proved to be useful for both 5th and 7th year students in view of developing components of their radiology diagnostic approaches. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Collaborative learning in pre-clinical dental hygiene education.

    PubMed

    Mueller-Joseph, Laura J; Nappo-Dattoma, Luisa

    2013-04-01

    Dental hygiene education continues to move beyond mastery of content material and skill development to learning concepts that promote critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of collaborative learning and determine the growth in intellectual development of 54 first-year dental hygiene students. The control group used traditional pre-clinical teaching and the experimental group used collaborative pedagogy for instrument introduction. All students were subjected to a post-test evaluating their ability to apply the principles of instrumentation. Intellectual development was determined using pre- and post-tests based on the Perry Scheme of Intellectual Development. Student attitudes were assessed using daily Classroom Assessment Activities and an end-of-semester departmental course evaluation. Findings indicated no significant difference between collaborative learning and traditional learning in achieving pre-clinical competence as evidenced by the students' ability to apply the principles of instrumentation. Advancement in intellectual development did not differ significantly between groups. Value added benefits of a collaborative learning environment as identified by the evaluation of student attitudes included decreased student reliance on authority, recognition of peers as legitimate sources of learning and increased self-confidence. A significant difference in student responses to daily classroom assessments was evident on the 5 days a collaborative learning environment was employed. Dental hygiene students involved in a pre-clinical collaborative learning environment are more responsible for their own learning and tend to have a more positive attitude toward the subject matter. Future studies evaluating collaborative learning in clinical dental hygiene education need to investigate the cost/benefit ratio of the value added outcomes of collaborative learning.

  1. Thinking and Content Learning of Mathematics and Science as Cognitional Development in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL): Teaching Through a Foreign Language in Finland

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jappinen, Aini-Kristiina

    2005-01-01

    This paper presents a study on thinking and learning processes of mathematics and science in teaching through a foreign language, in Finland. The entity of thinking and content learning processes is, in this study, considered as cognitional development. Teaching through a foreign language is here called Content and Language Integrated Learning or…

  2. Beliefs and Out-of-Class Language Learning of Chinese-Speaking ESL Learners in Hong Kong

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wu, Manfred Man-fat

    2012-01-01

    Background: There has been a lack of research on exploring how beliefs about language learning (BALLs) and out-of-class language-learning activities are related. BALLs and out-of-class language-learning activities play an important role in influencing the learning behaviours of learners and learning outcomes. Findings of this study provide useful…

  3. Google Docs as a Tool for Collaborative Writing in the Middle School Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Woodrich, Megan; Fan, Yanan

    2017-01-01

    Aim/Purpose: In this study, the authors examine how an online word processing tool can be used to encourage participation among students of different language backgrounds, including English Language Learners. To be exact, the paper discusses whether student participation in anonymous collaborative writing via Google Docs can lead to more…

  4. Online Collaboration of English Language Teachers for Meaningful Professional Development Experiences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kabilan, Muhammad Kamarul; Adlina, Wan Fara Wan; Embi, Mohamed Amin

    2011-01-01

    This article reports on an online collaborative project between English language teachers pursuing a degree in TESL/TESOL from three universities in Malaysia--Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). A total of 142 teachers were involved in the study and about three to eight…

  5. Video-Mediated Teacher Collaborative Inquiry: Focus on English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baecher, Laura; Rorimer, Sarah; Smith, Leonore

    2012-01-01

    High school teachers today work in challenging, high-accountability instructional environments, striving to meet the needs of upwards of 100 learners per day. Rapidly growing numbers of English-language learners (ELLs) in U.S. classrooms have added to these pressures. Rather than using collaborative structures to face these challenges, the…

  6. Collaborative Work and Language Learners' Identities When Editing Academic Texts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Caviedes, Lorena; Meza, Angélica; Rodriguez, Ingrid

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents a qualitative case study that involved three groups of English as a foreign language pre-service teachers at a Colombian private university. Each group attended tutoring sessions during an academic semester. Along these sessions, students were asked to work collaboratively in the editing process of some chapters of their thesis…

  7. Collaborative Tasks in Web Conferencing: A Case Study on Chinese Online

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Guo, Sijia; Möllering, Martina

    2017-01-01

    This case study aimed to explore best practice in applying task-based language teaching (TBLT) via a Web-conferencing tool, Blackboard Collaborate, in a beginners' online Chinese course by evaluating the pedagogical values and limitations of the software and the tasks designed. Chapelle's (2001) criteria for computer-assisted language learning…

  8. Collaborative project-based learning: an integrative science and technological education project

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baser, Derya; Ozden, M. Yasar; Karaarslan, Hasan

    2017-04-01

    Background: Blending collaborative learning and project-based learning (PBL) based on Wolff (2003) design categories, students interacted in a learning environment where they developed their technology integration practices as well as their technological and collaborative skills.

  9. Resourcing speech-language pathologists to work with multilingual children.

    PubMed

    McLeod, Sharynne

    2014-06-01

    Speech-language pathologists play important roles in supporting people to be competent communicators in the languages of their communities. However, with over 7000 languages spoken throughout the world and the majority of the global population being multilingual, there is often a mismatch between the languages spoken by children and families and their speech-language pathologists. This paper provides insights into service provision for multilingual children within an English-dominant country by viewing Australia's multilingual population as a microcosm of ethnolinguistic minorities. Recent population studies of Australian pre-school children show that their most common languages other than English are: Arabic, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Italian, Mandarin, Spanish, and Greek. Although 20.2% of services by Speech Pathology Australia members are offered in languages other than English, there is a mismatch between the language of the services and the languages of children within similar geographical communities. Australian speech-language pathologists typically use informal or English-based assessments and intervention tools with multilingual children. Thus, there is a need for accessible culturally and linguistically appropriate resources for working with multilingual children. Recent international collaborations have resulted in practical strategies to support speech-language pathologists during assessment, intervention, and collaboration with families, communities, and other professionals. The International Expert Panel on Multilingual Children's Speech was assembled to prepare a position paper to address issues faced by speech-language pathologists when working with multilingual populations. The Multilingual Children's Speech website ( http://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech ) addresses one of the aims of the position paper by providing free resources and information for speech-language pathologists about more than 45 languages. These international collaborations have been framed around the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF-CY) and have been established with the goal of supporting multilingual children to participate in society.

  10. Storms in Space: Bringing NASA Earth-Sun Science Educational Resources to Hearing- Impaired Students.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lowry, K.; Sindt, M.; Jahn, J.

    2007-12-01

    Using assistive technology, children with hearing loss can actively participate in the hearing world. However, to develop the necessary skills, hearing-impaired students need to be immersed in a language-rich environment which compensates for the lack of "incidental" learning that typifies the language acquisition of their peers with typical hearing. For any subject matter taught in class, this means that the conceptual and language framework of the topic has to be provided in addition to regular class materials. In a collaboration between the Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children and the Southwest Research Institute, we are exploring how NASA-developed educational resources covering Space Science topics can be incorporated successfully in blended classrooms containing children with hearing loss and those with typical hearing in grades 3-5. Utilizing the extensive routine language monitoring performed at Sunshine Cottage, student progress is directly monitored during the year as well as from year to year. This allow us to evaluate the effectiveness of the resources used. Since all instruction at Sunshine Cottage is auditory-oral, our experiences in using those materials can be fed back directly into mainstream classrooms of the same grade levels.

  11. Acoustics and sociolinguistics: Patterns of communication in hearing impairing classrooms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McKellin, William; Shahin, Kimary; Jamieson, Janet; Hodgson, Murray; Pichora-Fuller, Kathleen

    2005-04-01

    In elementary school classes, noise during student led activities is often taken as evidence of successful interaction and learning. In this complex social environment of elementary school classrooms, acquisition of complex language and social skills-the focus of activities in early education-is expected to take place in hearing-hostile environments. Communication and language processing in these contexts requires interactive strategies, discourse forms, and syntactic structures different from the educationally desired forms used in acoustically advantageous environments. Recordings were made of the interaction of groups of students in grades 1-3, 5, and 7 during collaborative group work in their regular classrooms. Each student wore microphones at the ear level and head-mounted video cameras. Each group as a whole was also audio- and videotaped and noise level readings were recorded. Analysis of the acoustical and phonological properties of language heard by each student has demonstrated that the language variety used in these noisy and reverberant settings is similar to that of individuals with hearing impairments. This paper reports similarities between the syntactic structures and pragmatic strategies used by hearing impaired children and normally hearing children in noisy contexts. [Work supported by Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, University of British Columbia.

  12. Computer Assisted Language Learning. Routledge Studies in Computer Assisted Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pennington, Martha

    2011-01-01

    Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) is an approach to language teaching and learning in which computer technology is used as an aid to the presentation, reinforcement and assessment of material to be learned, usually including a substantial interactive element. This books provides an up-to date and comprehensive overview of…

  13. Beyond the Four Walls: Community-Based Learning and Languages

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Connor, Anne

    2012-01-01

    At a time when languages in universities are under pressure, community-based learning language courses can have many positive benefits: they can increase interest in language learning, they can foster greater engagement with learning, and they can encourage active learning, creativity and teamwork. These courses, which link the classroom and the…

  14. Minority Languages Learned Informally: The Social Construction of Language Skills through the Discourse of Ontario Employers. NALL Working Paper.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goldberg, Michelle; Corson, David

    Many immigrants, refugees, and aboriginal Canadians learn their own languages in the normal, informal way. These minority languages learned informally are not valued as a skill that yields returns in the labor market in the same way the official languages or formally learned languages do. What counts as a skill in a society, in a given point in…

  15. A Collaborative Perspective on Learning Transfer

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nielsen, Klaus

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to argue that it is important to focus on the apprentices' collaborative learning processes when addressing issues of learning transfer. Design/methodology/approach: The claims about the importance of addressing processes of collaborative activities and learning in relation to learning transfer are based on…

  16. Implementing Collaborative Learning Methods in the Political Science Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wolfe, Angela

    2012-01-01

    Collaborative learning is one, among other, active learning methods, widely acclaimed in higher education. Consequently, instructors in fields that lack pedagogical training often implement new learning methods such as collaborative learning on the basis of trial and error. Moreover, even though the benefits in academic circles are broadly touted,…

  17. Learning Alone or Together? A Combination Can Be Best!

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Olsen, Jennifer K.; Rummel, Nikol; Aleven, Vincent

    2017-01-01

    Collaborative and individual learning are both frequently used in classrooms to support learning. However, little research has investigated the benefits of combining individual and collaborative learning, as compared to learning only individually or only collaboratively. With our study, we address this research gap. We compared a combined…

  18. The Relationship between Iranian EFL Learners' Beliefs about Language Learning and Language Learning Strategy Use

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zarei, Abbas Ali; Rahmani, Hanieh

    2015-01-01

    The present study investigated the relationship between Iranian EFL learners' beliefs about language learning and language learning strategy use. A sample of 104 B.A and M.A Iranian EFL learners majoring in English participated in this study. Three instruments, the Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency (MTELP), Beliefs about Language…

  19. The Internet, Language Learning, and International Dialogue: Constructing Online Foreign Language Learning Websites

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kartal, Erdogan; Uzun, Levent

    2010-01-01

    In the present study we call attention to the close connection between languages and globalization, and we also emphasize the importance of the Internet and online websites in foreign language teaching and learning as unavoidable elements of computer assisted language learning (CALL). We prepared a checklist by which we investigated 28 foreign…

  20. "So They're Actually Real?" Integrating E-Tandem Learning into the Study of Language for International Business

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bruen, Jennifer; Sudhershan, Aleksandra

    2015-01-01

    Tandem learning involves learners with complementary target and native languages communicating for the purpose of learning each other's languages and cultures. Studies indicate that it can function as a powerful complement to formal language learning classes with regard to the development of both language proficiency and cultural intelligence.…

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