scholarly journals The Impact of Rhetorical Argumentation on Achieving the Mastery of Fluency and Accuracy in Communicative Competence: A Case Study of 2 nd Year Students at the University Des Frères Mentouri, Constantine

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Abderrahim Bouderbane

The present study is a comparison between the impact of rhetorical argumentation and narrating stories on students’ fluency and accuracy in communicative competence. We aimed at evaluating the usefulness and suitability of these tasks, and their efficiency when it comes to teaching fluency and accuracy by analysing the direct effects of the tasks on the indices of fluency and accuracy. The problematic issue in this research investigates the effects of the task rhetorical argumentation, and whether it is an important task that teachers should rely on it in teaching speaking in academic contexts. The sample is composed of 65 students which are divided in between 30 students in the control group and 35 students in experimental group. The data was collected by a test which was used to evaluate three main areas which are: classroom interaction, topic knowledge and language knowledge. The results of the experiment show that there are two types of fluency which are procedural and automatic. Rhetorical argumentation can be used to develop procedural fluency, and not automatic since the task is considered as difficult and students were not familiar with it.

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Gary Blau ◽  
John DiMino ◽  
Allyce Barron ◽  
Kathleen Davis ◽  
Kelly Grace ◽  
...  

The purpose of this study was to test brief counseling impact on four outcomes. Two outcomes, self-esteem and social connectedness, were more typical for a University Counseling Center (UCC) to address. However, two other outcomes were more related to a university’s academic mission, i.e., recommending the university and active alumnus intent. Using a longitudinal sample of 60 matched non-urgent undergraduate clients at a UCC, brief counseling increased all four outcomes: social connectedness, self-esteem, recommending the university, and active alumnus intent. For this study, brief counseling was defined as a median of three counseling sessions after intake (range 1 to 8) over a median period of six weeks (range 4 to 10 weeks). In addition, these scale means were compared to a control group of business undergraduates not in counseling. The counseled sample at Time 2 compared favorably to the non-counseled sample on recommending the university and active alumnus intent. To better support its students’ success and university enrollments, UCCs need to consider new avenues to promote their advocacy by gathering data more directly connected to a university’s mission.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meagan Lacy ◽  
Alexandra Hamlett

PurposeIn most higher education institutions, information literacy (IL) instruction is usually considered the purview of librarians, not disciplinary faculty. However, a small but growing body of research indicates that students learn the research process best when these skills are taught in the context of a course or a discipline. For this reason, teaching faculty should share ownership of IL instruction — but how? In this case study, community college librarians explain how they successfully trained faculty to integrate IL into their English Composition courses and teach IL independently.Design/methodology/approachUsing a multimethods approach, the investigators draw on faculty interviews, student surveys, and content analysis of student essays to evaluate the impact of faculty-led IL instruction on student learning after one semester.FindingsFaculty reported that their instruction of IL was improved, and students work better as a result of their collaboration with the librarians. Compared to previous semesters, faculty perceived gains in terms of students’ ability to synthesize and cite evidence in their writing. Student survey results indicate perceived gains in their IL skills, but an assessment of their written work reveals a discrepancy between this perception and the actual application of these skills.Research limitations/implicationsBecause there is no control group, no conclusions can be drawn as to whether faculty-led IL instruction is as effective as librarian-led IL instruction or whether students’ academic performance improves due to faculty teaching IL. However, the purpose of this study is primarily descriptive. It addresses how other libraries may create a culture of shared ownership of IL instruction on their campuses.Practical implicationsThis study offers an alternative model to library instruction and suggests ways instruction librarians can prioritize their outreach and instructional efforts to maximize impact on student learning.Originality/valueWhile much has been written about how librarians can improve IL instruction, few studies mention the role of faculty. This case study starts the conversation.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Clara Carvalho Tourinho ◽  
Sabrina Andrade Barbosa ◽  
Özgür Göçer ◽  
Klaus Chaves Alberto

PurposeUsing the campus of a Brazilian university as case study, this research aims to identify which aspects of the outdoor spaces are the most significant in attracting people.Design/methodology/approachThis research relies on the application of different post-occupancy evaluation (POE) methods, including user tracking, behavioural mapping and questionnaires, on one plateau of the campus.FindingsThree group of aspects (socialization, proximity and infrastructure) were identified as key elements in explaining the impact of the campus physical characteristics on users’ behaviour. The results indicate that having characteristics of at least one group of aspects in those spaces can guarantee their vitality and, if there is presence of attributes of more than one group, liveliness can be increased.Research limitations/implicationsFurther studies should be conducted on an entire campus to identify other spatial elements in the three groups.Practical implicationsThis research contributes to the planning of future campuses and to solutions to the existed ones, indicating the most relevant spatial characteristics to be considered. Additionally, the combination of different methods may be useful to future research.Originality/valueMost of the investigations on the university campuses focus on the buildings, and little research has investigated the outdoor spaces, although they play a critical role in learning and academic life, where people establish social, cultural and personal relationships. In addition, studies using several POE allowed a consistent and complete diagnostic about the aspects of the campus, giving recommendations for future projects.


2012 ◽  
pp. 315-332
Author(s):  
Fatma Meawad ◽  
Geneen Stubbs

MobiGlam is a generic framework of interoperability with existing virtual learning environments (VLEs) that provides a compact and easy to use implementation of learning activity on Java enabled mobile devices. A case study was conducted at the University of Glamorgan, UK where MobiGlam was seamlessly integrated with the university’s VLE to support the delivery of computer courses at the foundation level. Such integration showed an added value to the participants and in many cases, it improved their use of the VLE. This chapter reports on the deployment, the evaluation, and the results of this case study. The results are analysed from two views: the impact on the participants’ use of the VLE and the framework’s overall usability.


Author(s):  
Maura Cerioli ◽  
Marina Ribaudo ◽  
Marina Rui

The last two decades have seen the spread of LMS among schools, universities, and companies to augment the traditional teaching process with ICT and network technologies. This chapter presents the process leading to the adoption of a Moodle based LMS at the University of Genova in the last decade. By analyzing the data collected from the LMS logs and from questionnaires proposed both to students and teachers, we found out that the needs of the stakeholders are largely limited to resource sharing and organizational support, satisfactorily provided by the current service. Further improvements could be achieved by the introduction of a policy encouraging or forcing the teachers to use the provided LMS. A project on instructional design and, as a case study, the evolution of some of the courses involved in it are also presented. Though the redesign of such courses has improved their results, the impact on the overall organization of the degree program has been negative. We infer that this is due to the excessive freedom the students enjoy in taking their exams in Italy.


Author(s):  
Malika Kouti

This chapter discusses the impact of knowing the English rhetorical pattern of organisation on BA Accounting and Finance students' academic writing. More specifically, it focuses on the knowledge of how to structure a letter of application for job hunting purposes. This case study involved the analysis of 40 letters of application written by 40 Accounting and Finance students in the Department of Accounting and Finance at the University of Ghardaïa, Algeria after they had been trained to structure this type of letter. The training lasted for two sessions in the Department of Accounting and Finance at Ghardaia University, Algeria. The training was a direct instruction in which students were shown activities that assisted them in mastering the rhetorical pattern of organisation that concerns letters of application. They were also shown the difference between formal and informal letters of application. The obtained results demonstrated the efficiency of the direct instruction in teaching Accounting and Finance students how to write a letter of application.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulkhaleq Q. A. Hassan ◽  
Sayed Salahuddin Ahmed

To investigate the effectiveness of e-learning by using a particular mobile application, namely WhatsApp, an empirical study was conducted on sixty undergraduate English language majors at King Khalid University in Saudi Arabia. The objective of the study was to determine whether the levels of motivation, content knowledge and grades of the students (who took the course “Syntax”)-, developed after receiving additional support through WhatsApp apart from traditional classroom lectures. The results showed that the experimental group that got extra support from fellow students and the course teachers through WhatsApp outperformed the students of the control group who studied the course only through traditional method. Moreover, the gap of success rate between the experimental group and the control group is about eighty nine percent with zero failure in the experimental group. The study proved that WhatsApp can be effectively used for providing supplementary support to motivate students to study properly and to get higher grades.


2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-201
Author(s):  
Corinne Farneti ◽  
Denise Ditch

This case study examines the impact of an unexpected recreational facility closure. The university studied is a small Division I school, located in a rural area. Semi-structured interviews were used to elicit data from 22 people representing various groups around campus. Using grounded theory, the researchers coded statements and categories, resulting in six themes: socialization, performance, adaptability, management, communication and perception, and student satisfaction. The study includes an overview of the university and recreational culture, a description of the fieldhouse roof collapse, interview methods and study limitations, an analysis of stakeholder interviews, and suggestions for how to best handle a similar scenario.


2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 70-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gertrude Sachs ◽  
Terry Fisher ◽  
Joanna Cannon

Collaboration, Mentoring and Co-Teaching in Teacher EducationCollaboration at the university level is a fundamental element needed to enhance teaching (Cochran-Smith & Fries, 2005) and reflection is a critical component of teacher education (Dewey, 1933, 1938). A case study is presented of one senior university faculty member's experiences co-teaching with two doctoral students seeking to understand the impact of shared decision-making and authentic collaboration on individuals entering the academy. An analysis of the authors' shared experiences indicated that, through this mentoring, collaborative and mutually beneficial relationships were built. An analysis of the authors' experiences also indicated that these collaborative relationships were built upon several key factors, specifically (a) a strong sense of individual accountability and professionalism; (b) the mutual creation and demonstration of respect; (c) affirmation and overt participation in reciprocal growth and development; (d) attention to issues of power and abeyance. The findings of the study highlight the need for further exploration into the role of mentorship of junior faculty and the efficacy of co-teaching processes in the development of professional identities of junior faculty entering the academy.


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