scholarly journals Effects of a self-regulating writing course on academic text production in a PhD and Master sample

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-34
Author(s):  
Lida Johana Rincón ◽  
Christian Hederich-Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Virtual Learning Environment ◽  
The Self ◽  
Metacognitive Awareness ◽  
Self Evaluation ◽  
Writing Course

Objective: This article presents the results of a study with an experimental design; whose objective was to examine the effects of a virtual learning environment focused on the self-regulation of writing on the development of self-regulation and academic writing skills. Background: The course design presented here is based on the idea that writing should be taught as a process, not as a product, which requires training students in the use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies. For this reason, the course set out to increase two skills: 1) the ability to self-regulate academic text writing process and 2) metacognitive awareness. Methodology: In an experimental design, 46 master and doctoral students participated in the 12 – week course, designed to be implemented in an online modality, through the Moodle learning management system. Given the self-regulating nature of this intervention proposal, didactic tools were created enabling the subject to identify and learn about their own processes and the resources they usually employ to develop writing tasks. To that end, the course has two specific strategies: a self-regulating writing scaffolding (SWS) and different tools to increase metacognitive awareness (IMA). The effects of these strategies were observed separately and combined. Results: A first aspect to consider with respect to the effects of the SWS on factors associated with self-regulation is the increase in motivation at the end of the intervention, this, by incorporating strategies such as the explicit formulation of goals, self-evaluation and the explanation of the usefulness and functionality of the task. Regarding achievements reached in improving writing, the SWS also proves to be the most effective for this purpose. Modelling specific behaviours such as choosing specific objectives for the writing task, the formulation of a defined and explicit plan, monitoring behaviours, self-evaluation and self-reinforcement are determinants to reach higher levels of writing.

scholarly journals TOP-DOWN OR BOTTOM-UP? EMPLOYING A MIDDLE-GROUND APPROACH IN DESIGNING A UK ACADEMIC WRITING COURSE FOR ADVANCED CHINESE GRADUATES

2020 ◽  
pp. 095
Author(s):  
Ivo Ganchev
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Middle Ground ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Postgraduate Study ◽  
Writing Course ◽  
Second Tier ◽  
The Uk

This article documents the academic writing course design process for advanced Chinese learners aiming to pursue postgraduate degrees in business-related fields at their respective target universities in the UK. Four holders of BA degrees in the social sciences from second tier universities in Beijing were tested, surveyed and observed in detail to design a non-terminal twenty-hour pre-sessional writing course (ten two-hour sessions) to assist in their preparation for postgraduate study. All students held offers from Russell Group universities in the UK and had covered the IELTS requirement (6.5-7.0) for admission there prior to signing up for the EAP course discussed in this paper. The aim of the course is to enhance the students’ academic skills and improve their performance in the following year when they attend UK universities. The course design process is informed by two sets of principles, incorporating both a top-down and a bottom-up perspective. The former is framed within an understanding of EAP as academic, rather than language training. The latter is based on needs analysis of student-specific weaknesses explored through the use of a questionnaire, a diagnostic writing test and in-class observations. Both perspectives feed into the course goals and objectives which serve as a basis for the course rationale. Aiming to bridge the gap between Chinese undergraduate and UK postgraduate study, the course combines textbooks with authentic materials and formative with summative assessment. Reflections on major constraints and limitations are provided throughout the process. This documented case of academic writing course design aims to reveal challenges faced by EAP practitioners working with UK and Chinese institutions, and to present a middle ground approach to resolving tensions between top-down and bottom-up pressures in the context of course design for advanced Chinese graduates.

scholarly journals Saudi Arabia EFL university students’ voice on challenges and solution in learning academic writing

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Abdullah Alharbi
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Efl Writing ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
Writing Improvement ◽  
Writing Course ◽  
Before And After

The present study aims to investigate the difficulties faced by 74 English as a foreign language (EFL) undergraduate students in developing a well-written paragraph in academic writing by designing a writing course based on the students’ voices. The self-report survey (5-point Likert scale) was used as the pre- and post-questionnaire, and pre- and the post-tests task was used to track students’ writing improvement before and after taking a writing course. Pre-questionnaire and pre-tests showed that participants had difficulties in using the mechanics of writing (punctuation, spelling, grammar, topic sentences, and supporting sentences). The majority of the students’ responses in the post-survey shows that they believed their writing improved and encountered fewer difficulties in writing as compared to their views in the pre-questionnaire. The result of the post-tests indicates improvements in students’ writing samples. The study concludes that EFL writing courses should be designed on the basis of challenges faced by the students in order to get the best outcome from the course.

scholarly journals Metacognition in Student Academic Writing

2012 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raffaella Negretti
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Reciprocal Relationship ◽  
Metacognitive Awareness ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Strategic Choices ◽  
Self Regulated Learning ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Task Perception

This article proposes a novel approach to the investigation of student academic writing. It applies theories of metacognition and self-regulated learning to understand how beginning academic writers develop the ability to participate in the communicative practices of academic written communication and develop rhetorical consciousness. The study investigates how this awareness changes over time and how it relates to students’ perceptions of the writing task, metacognitive awareness of strategic choices, and evaluation of their writing. Through a constructivist grounded theory approach, journals collected throughout a semester from students of beginning academic composition were analyzed to determine qualitative changes. The data suggest a link between task perception and students’ conditional metacognitive awareness —their understanding of how to adapt writing strategies to specific rhetorical requirements of the task and why—and performance evaluation. Metacognitive awareness also seems to have a reciprocal relationship with self-regulation and students’ development of individual writing approaches.

Metacognitive Knowledge and the Self as Socially Distanced Online Learner: A Virtual Reality Assisted Analysis of Academic Self-Concept

2021 ◽  
pp. 004723952199977
Author(s):  
Damian J. Rivers ◽  
Michael Vallance ◽  
Michiko Nakamura
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Metacognitive Knowledge ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

With online learning solutions responding to the novel coronavirus pandemic, it is important for educational technologists and other practitioners to understand how learners are experiencing the demands of socially distanced online learning and how they conceive of themselves within distant spaces and digital communities. Research into the metacognitions of learners provides a non-technocratic focal point through which such information can be extracted. Framing learner self-beliefs as a form of metacognitive knowledge, the current article presents a virtual-reality-assisted thematic analysis into the self-appraisals of 210 socially distanced online learners at a Japanese university. The study focuses on the discursive rationalizations expressed in service of the academic self-concept. Four themes were identified in the data: formal assessment, affect and emotion, self-regulation, and transformative awareness. Such research provides educators with a platform for pedagogical intervention and course design considerations relative to the challenges of the online learning experience.

scholarly journals An Investigation of Transfer of Learning in an English-for-Specific-Academic Writing Course: Teaching for Transfer

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-184
Author(s):  
Kalthoum Kassab
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Transfer Of Learning ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Learning Transfer ◽  
Far Transfer ◽  
Near Transfer ◽  
Writing Course ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Transfer Principles

Despite its importance, transfer of learning is still an under-explored area of research in EAP contexts. The few EAP studies that investigated this phenomenon were mostly conducted in EGAP contexts. Studies conducted in ESAP contexts and informed by learning transfer theories are still rare. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of a teaching-for-transfer ESAP writing course on students’ ability to transfer their new learning to their subject-specific courses in a Tunisian university. The ESAP course design drew on SFL genre theories and teaching-for-transfer principles. Perkins and Salomon’s (1988) hugging and bridging strategies were blended into instruction in order to maximize the chances for learning transfer to occur. In addition, elements of Barnett and Ceci’s (2002) transfer taxonomy were used to distinguish between near transfer and far transfer. A longitudinal quantitative research design, using repeated measures, was followed. Students’ authentic written exams from the ESAP writing course and from three content subjects were analyzed in order to investigate the impact of instruction on learning transfer overtime. Results showed that near transfer occurred quite frequently while far transfer occurred in a constricted manner. The findings suggest that an ESAP writing course that blends teaching-for-transfer principles increases the chances for learning transfer to occur. However, the success of such courses depends on the close collaboration between the writing teachers and the disciplinary lecturers.

scholarly journals CYCLE OF WRITING PROPHECY: EXPLORING BELIEFS AND FEAR IN ACADEMIC WRITING

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Noor Hanim Rahmat ◽  
Mazlen Arepin ◽  
Norhartini Aripin ◽  
Zarina Razlan
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
The Self ◽  
Writing Apprehension ◽  
Demographic Profile ◽  
Writing Course ◽  
Writing Assignment

The fear of writing stems from many reasons. Some fear the process, some fear the product, while others fear the reaction given towards their writing product. Past researchers have done many studies that investigate many angles of writing. When it comes to writing, the self-imposed belief (positive or negative) is dependent on other imposed expectations (positive or negative). This in turn affects the end result of the writing assignment. This study is done to investigate the cycle of writing prophecy and explore how this cycle is influenced by the writers’ beliefs and fear. 108 participants were purposely chosen from a few groups of students who registered for an academic writing course, they were asked to respond to the instrument. The instrument used is a survey (table 1). The survey has 5 sections. Section A is about demographic profile. Section B has 9 items on Beliefs. Section C has 15 items on Writing apprehension. Section B has 7 items on Behaviour, and section E has 25 items on result. Findings bear interesting pedagogical implications towards the teaching and learning of writing. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0852/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

scholarly journals Self-Control, Self-Management and Entrepreneurship in Brazilian Creative Industries

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (63) ◽  
pp. 25-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro F. Bendassolli ◽  
Jairo Eduardo Borges-Andrade ◽  
Sonia Maria Guedes Gondim
Keyword(s):  
Cross Validation ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Creative Industries ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Self Monitoring ◽  
Self Evaluation ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Three Factor

Abstract Creative entrepreneurship has gained ground in recent years with the advent of creative industries. The capabilitiesto set targets and individually self-regulate have been indicated as predictors of entrepreneurship. This study aims to identify validity characteristics of a self-regulation scale and to test if score differences are related to whether or not one is an entrepreneur, personalcharacteristics, or the activity sector. A total of 596 professionals from creative industries in Brazil participated in this study. The self-control and self-management scale (SCMS) has been applied; it has been translated and adapted to Portuguese. Cross-validation analysis has been done. The results support the three-factor structure of the scale. Entrepreneurs tended to indicate higher means in the self-evaluation factor than non-entrepreneurs. Activity sector, gender and schooling demonstrated a significant difference in the self-monitoring factor.

scholarly journals Slow-Paced Breathing: Influence of Inhalation/Exhalation Ratio and of Respiratory Pauses on Cardiac Vagal Activity

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7775
Author(s):  
Sylvain Laborde ◽  
Maša Iskra ◽  
Nina Zammit ◽  
Uirassu Borges ◽  
Min You ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
The Self ◽  
Vagal Activity ◽  
Mean Square ◽  
Paced Breathing ◽  
Respiratory Parameters ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Respiratory Phases

Slow-paced breathing has been shown to enhance the self-regulation abilities of athletes via its influence on cardiac vagal activity. However, the role of certain respiratory parameters (i.e., inhalation/exhalation ratio and presence of a respiratory pause between respiratory phases) still needs to be clarified. The aim of this experiment was to investigate the influence of these respiratory parameters on the effects of slow-paced breathing on cardiac vagal activity. A total of 64 athletes (27 female; Mage = 22, age range = 18–30 years old) participated in a within-subject experimental design. Participants performed six breathing conditions within one session, with a 5 min washout period between each condition. Each condition lasted 5 min, with 30 respiratory cycles, and each respiratory cycle lasted 10 s (six cycles per minute), with inhalation/exhalation ratios of 0.8, 1.0, 1.2; and with or without respiratory pauses (0.4 s) between respiratory phases. Results indicated that the root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), a marker of cardiac vagal activity, was higher when exhalation was longer than inhalation. The presence of a brief (0.4 s) post-inhalation and post-exhalation respiratory pause did not further influence RMSSD. Athletes practicing slow-paced breathing are recommended to use an inhalation/exhalation ratio in which the exhalation phase is longer than the inhalation phase.

scholarly journals Evidence-based Smartphone Use among Engineering Students in an Academic Writing Course

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (17) ◽  
pp. 267
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Dawala Wilang ◽  
Michelle Andrino Garcia
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Teaching Writing ◽  
Form Finding ◽  
Cognitive Distraction ◽  
Writing Course ◽  
Smartphone Use

The role of smartphones is vital in academia as interconnectivity in the classroom promotes learning autonomy, increases motivation, and enhances teaching and learning mobility. Using classroom research design, this study aimed to investigate the perspectives of Engineering students of smartphone use in an academic writing course. The data were collected from students enrolled in a writing course in a top-ranked Science and Technology university in Thailand. Fifty students voluntarily submitted reflections towards the end of the semester. The study was qualitative, in which inductive coding was used. The findings elicited specific situations of smartphone use in an academic writing course, for example, knowing and looking at the meaning of words, knowing the word form, finding information, taking notes, brainstorming with friends, using translation, and others. Two roles of smartphone use were coded. The first role is facilitative, which has the following functions: resource-based, cognitive-based, memory-based, output-based, collaborative-based, entertainment-based, and communicative-based. Another is the debilitative role indicating two functions, such as sources of cognitive distraction and undesirable behaviors. Interestingly, self-regulation of smartphone use in class was coded. Implications on how smartphones can be used in teaching writing were also discussed.

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