Enhancing the Academic Literacy Skills of ESL Higher Education Students in Canada

For higher education institutions to produce graduates capable of contributing to society and the economy in a productive manner, educational emphasis is placed on the development of critical thinking. The above necessitates that higher education institutions are able to engage in responsive curriculum design and delivery for enhanced student success and access. Public Administration programmes focus on equipping students to work within the broader government sector, able and capable of delivering public functions responsive to the needs of society. Literature suggests that there are a number of factors which influence the success ratio of any undergraduate programme in the South African context, including, inter alia, increased enrolments, student–staff ratios and the overall decline of professional and intellectual life in the country. Further complicating matters are classes too big to be participatory and crammed syllabi preventing in-depth discussions. The notion of embedding academic literacy development in curriculum design through a scaffolded approach aims to influence the academic performance of students through engaged and active learning in order to attain a higher level of achievement as well as benefit from the process of scaffolding. The research comprises a mixed method approach using a case study of the first-year students enrolled for a Public Administration degree. Data collected included an analysis of 2015, 2016 and 2017 student cohorts in: determining their academic literacy level upon registration (set as a baseline before any academic literacy intervention); tracking their academic performance through their formative and summative assessments (through a scaffolded approach); and reflecting upon their learning through their completion of a semi-structured survey. The research intends to argue that the use of a scaffolded approach to learning enhances epistemic access, which sees students moving beyond propositional, or foundation knowledge to epistemic or reflexive knowledge.

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Technology-Mediated Progressive Inquiry in Higher Education

Online and Distance Learning ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-935-9.ch256 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 3149-3156

Author(s):

H. Muukkonen

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Critical Thinking ◽

Information Sources ◽

Academic Literacy ◽

Education Students ◽

Collaborative Processes ◽

New Knowledge ◽

Asking Questions ◽

Use Of Knowledge ◽

Progressive Inquiry

In higher education, students are often asked to demonstrate critical thinking, academic literacy (Geisler, 1994), expert-like use of knowledge, and creation of knowledge artifacts without ever having been guided or scaffolded in learning the relevant skills. Too frequently, universities teach the content, and it is assumed that the metaskills of taking part in expert-like activities are somehow acquired along the way. Several researchers have proposed that in order to facilitate higher level processes of inquiry in education, cultures of education and schooling should more closely correspond to cultures of scientific inquiry (Carey & Smith, 1995; Perkins, Crismond, Simmons & Under, 1995). Points of correspondence include contributing to collaborative processes of asking questions, producing theories and explanations, and using information sources critically to deepen one’s own conceptual understanding. In this way, students can adopt scientific ways of thinking and practices of producing new knowledge, not just exploit and assimilate given knowledge.

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Information Literacy Skills Among Students of Higher Education Institutions With Special Reference to Tamil Nadu

Advances in Library and Information Science - Challenges and Opportunities of Open Educational Resources Management ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-3559-2.ch003 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 40-62

Author(s):

A. Alagu ◽

S. Thanuskodi

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Information Literacy ◽

Tamil Nadu ◽

Literacy Skills ◽

Library Services ◽

Education Students ◽

Electronic Information Resources ◽

Information Literacy Skills ◽

Access Information ◽

Hybrid Libraries

All academic institutions find rapid growth in computer networks and the use of computerized databases to access information in their libraries. Most academic libraries include hybrid libraries, which have e-library features and traditional library services. It is difficult to use electronic information resources effectively without training. Students need to obtain the skills to get information quickly and efficiently from electronic sources and become what is often referred to as information literate. The human being is blessed with a unique ability to create something from nothing. He creates, originates, innovates, generates, accumulates knowledge, produces works of art, and discovers the truth about the world he lives in. What sets the information age apart from prior periods in history is the label we put on these intellectual creations. These days the economy of nations depends upon buying and selling facts, ideas, knowledge. This chapter explores information literacy skills amongst higher education students.

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Re-crafting an Academic Literacies approach to pedagogic communication in higher education

Learning and Teaching ◽

10.3167/latiss.2011.040204 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 45-61 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Paul Sutton

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Academic Literacy ◽

Reproductive Function ◽

Literacy Skills ◽

Academic Literacies ◽

Theoretical Synthesis ◽

Institutional Dimension ◽

Institutional Contexts ◽

Critical Hope ◽

Communicative Relationship

The communicative relationship between learners and teachers in higher education, particularly as manifested in assessment and feedback, is often problematic. I begin from an Academic Literacies approach that positions academic literacy as requiring learners to acquire a complex set of literacy skills and abilities within specific discursive and institutional contexts. Whilst acknowledging the institutional dimension of academic literacy, I argue that the Academic Literacies approach tends to underestimate its significance. This shortcoming can be addressed by considering student speaking and writing as powerfully constrained by what Bourdieu refers to as the authority of pedagogic institutions, which function in what Sennett calls the culture of the new capitalism. Synthesising Bourdieu and Sennett, I argue, opens up possibilities for creating a pedagogy for itself: a pedagogy conscious of its reproductive function but able to provide both learners and teachers with what Canaan terms critical hope. Through this theoretical synthesis I seek to re-craft the Academic Literacies approach to pedagogic communication so that our understanding of the problems experienced by learners in acquiring academic literacy can be enhanced.

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Research competencies to develop academic literacy in higher education students through innovative models

Eighth International Conference on Technological Ecosystems for Enhancing Multiculturality ◽

10.1145/3434780.3436613 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Isolda Margarita Castillo-Martínez ◽

María Soledad Ramírez-Montoya

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Academic Literacy ◽

Education Students ◽

Research Competencies

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Technology-Enhanced Progressive Inquiry in Higher Education

Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, Second Edition ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-026-4.ch592 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 3714-3720 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Hanni Muukkonen ◽

Minna Lakkala ◽

Kai Hakkarainen

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Critical Thinking ◽

Information Sources ◽

Academic Literacy ◽

Education Students ◽

Collaborative Processes ◽

New Knowledge ◽

Asking Questions ◽

Use Of Knowledge ◽

Progressive Inquiry

In higher education, students are often asked to demonstrate critical thinking, academic literacy (Geisler, 1994), expertlike use of knowledge, and creation of knowledge artifacts without ever having been guided or scaffolded in learning the relevant skills. Too frequently, universities teach the content, and it is assumed that the metaskills of taking part in expert-like activities are somehow acquired along the way. Several researchers have proposed that in order to facilitate higher-level processes of inquiry in education, cultures of education and schooling should more closely correspond to cultures of scientific inquiry (e.g., Carey & Smith, 1995; Perkins, Crismond, Simmons & Under, 1995). Points of correspondence include contributing to collaborative processes of asking questions, producing theories and explanations, and using information sources critically to deepen one’s own conceptual understanding. In this way, students can adopt scientific ways of thinking and practices of producing new knowledge, not just exploit and assimilate given knowledge.

Download Full-text

Technology-Mediated Progressive Inquiry in Higher Education

Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, First Edition ◽

10.4018/978-1-59140-553-5.ch492 ◽

2005 ◽

pp. 2771-2776

Author(s):

Hanni Muukkonen ◽

Minna Lakkala ◽

Kai Hakkarainen

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Critical Thinking ◽

Information Sources ◽

Academic Literacy ◽

Education Students ◽

Collaborative Processes ◽

New Knowledge ◽

Asking Questions ◽

Use Of Knowledge ◽

Progressive Inquiry

In higher education, students are often asked to demonstrate critical thinking, academic literacy (Geisler, 1994), expert-like use of knowledge, and creation of knowledge artifacts without ever having been guided or scaffolded in learning the relevant skills. Too frequently, universities teach the content, and it is assumed that the metaskills of taking part in expert-like activities are somehow acquired along the way. Several researchers have proposed that in order to facilitate higher level processes of inquiry in education, cultures of education and schooling should more closely correspond to cultures of scientific inquiry (Carey & Smith, 1995; Perkins, Crismond, Simmons & Under, 1995). Points of correspondence include contributing to collaborative processes of asking questions, producing theories and explanations, and using information sources critically to deepen one’s own conceptual understanding. In this way, students can adopt scientific ways of thinking and practices of producing new knowledge, not just exploit and assimilate given knowledge.

Download Full-text