The Impact of Online and Face-to-Face Peer Feedback on Pre-Service Teachers in EFL Academic Writing

This mixed-method 14-week case study investigated the impact of peer feedback on Turkish English as a foreign language (EFL) prospective teachers' attitudes to and performance in a blended academic writing course in the tertiary setting. The peer feedback provision process involved online and face-to-face written peer feedback on weblogs, enhanced with a six-hour training phase for peer feedback. Weekly student journals, group feedback conferences, the end-of-the-semester survey, and the pre- and post-writing tests were used in the data collection. The qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis and the quantitative data via descriptive statistics and an independent paired sample t-test. The study indicated that the use of face-to-face and online peer feedback together was perceived as beneficial and effective by EFL pre-service teachers and that it led to a relatively successful performance in academic writing. It is suggested that participants unfamiliar with peer revision be provided with training and continuous scaffolding/guidance to ensure the effectiveness of the process.

Conceptualizing self-regulated reading-to-write in ESL/EFL writing and investigating its relationships to motivation and writing competence

Self-regulated reading-to-write (R2W) can be portrayed as learners’ proactive learning of useful elements (e.g. content, rhetorical features, and conventions) from reading by using strategies, which is an effective mechanism connecting reading and writing, to improve their writing competence. In the present study, six major types of self-regulated R2W strategies, i.e. mining reading, writerly reading, cognitive strategies, purposive reading, recalling while writing, and peer revision reading that can contribute to writing competence were included in the proposed self-regulated R2W framework. Importantly, a self-regulated R2W scale was established to understand the impacts of four types of strategies. Participants were 458 primary students (9 to 13 years old, M = 10.12, SD = .62) in Hong Kong. They completed the self-regulated R2W questionnaire along with motivational variables and a writing competence test. The motivational variables (i.e. self-efficacy and perceived task values) were positively related to self-regulated R2W strategy use. Important differences in self-regulated R2W strategy use among the high, average, and low achievers were identified. Results indicated that self-regulated R2W strategy use had positive impacts on writing competence. This is the first time that reading-to-write is proposed from a self-regulated learning perspective in ESL/EFL school contexts. The self-regulated R2W framework, scale and positive impacts of strategy use on writing have important implications for future research and practices.

Cost containment by peer prior authorization program for second line treatment in patients with retinal disease

Background: Rising drug prices prompt the establishment of cost-containment treatment policies. Ranibizumab was approved for treatment of retinal diseases, although the less-costly, off label, bevacizumab has been found equally effective. We describe a novel prior-authorization approach, which we applied to ranibizumab as second-line treatment, in non-responders to first-line bevacizumab: A steering committee set the funding criteria based on cost and updating clinical considerations; an ophthalmic specialists team evaluated their colleagues’ individual patient subsidization request, based on the funding criteria. Methods This retrospective cohort included all the applications for a first or ongoing treatment with ranibizumab, for one or both eyes, applying for treatment between March 1, 2012 to December 31, 2015 During that time, 16,778 applications for funding from 5,642 patients (~2.97 applications/patient) were submitted and assessed, accounting for 31% of bevacizumab (first line)-treated patients Aapproval was granted in 94.6% of all requests, via their peer-revision. Conclusions The program made it feasible to finance a costly treatment for patients that may benefit from it, while maintaining qualitative medical outcomes and sparing treating ophthalmologist from ethical gatekeeping dilemmas

Valoración científica de la descripción de nuevas especies de plantas

<p><strong>Background</strong>: Scientific discoveries have an impact in the cultural notion of the universe and the nature on earth. A discovery has to be published through a careful peer revision, and then recognized by diverse ways. A kind of recognition is the formal citation of the discovery paper on the scientific journals by the different scientists as a reference to discuss the new findings. In a scientific way, plant species discoveries are analogous to the ones on other scientific areas. However, plant discoveries are not cited formally in the plant taxonomy journals. As a result, the papers and the authors are not considered in the bibliographic databases, the general impact indexes, and of course, they are poorly known by most of the academic community. Not surprisingly, plant species discoveries are unimportant for society and decision makers.</p><p><strong>Question</strong>: New plant species discoveries do not have the accurate academic recognition.</p><p><strong>Results</strong>: A scientific discovery recognition analysis was done, by comparing some scientific disciplines against plant taxonomy. A proposal for a formal citation of new plant species publications in botanical journals is presented, so discoveries can be first recognized by the academic community.</p><strong>Conclusion</strong>: New plant species discoveries must have an academic and social recognition, comparable to those of similar scientific disciplines.

Salience of Student Written Feedback by Peer-Revision in EFL Writing Class

The study investigates the incorporation and effectiveness of student written feedback and their attitudes towards peer feedback in writing class. Taking a qualitative case study approach, this study followes closely a class of thirty-two English juniors over one semester. Data sources include composition drafts, student written feedback and interviews. The data collected demonstrates that students generally accept peer feedback and incorporate most of their peers’ comments and suggestions into their writing revision and that peer feedback provides them with more chances to discuss with their peers and understand their peers’ suggestions on the composition improvement.

Students’ Perception on Peer Revisions of Deemphasizing Grammar Correction in SMA Mulia Bhakti, Makassar, South Sulawesi

This research are aims at (i) investigating perceptions of learners about the implementation of peer revision of deemphasizing grammatical correction at SMA Mulia Bhakti Makassar, (ii) finding out the factors which influenced the implementation of peer revision of deemphasizing grammar correction at SMA Mulia Bhakti Makassar, and (iii) finding out how the peer revision of deemphasizing grammar correction is implemented at SMA Mulia Bhakti Makassar. The researcher conducted qualitative method. The data resources were 11th-grade students at SMA Mulia Bhakti Makassar who had experience in the practice of peer revision of deemphasizing grammar correction. The result showed that, (i) the researcher found the students’ positive perception and negative perception on peer revision of deemphasizing grammatical correction. The positive perceptions were students became more active, developed their critical thinking, leaded them to students’ self-directed learning, and decreased students’ writing apprehension while the negative perceptions were it created overly critical comments and also conflict (ii) the factors influenced the implementation were students’ ability as reviewer and sitting them in collaborative work (iii) the steps of peer revision of deemphasizing grammatical correction at SMA Mulia Bhakti Makassar consisted of six steps, namely writing, revision, first rewriting, editing, second rewriting, and scoring.

EFL Arab Learners’ Peer Revision of Writing in a Facebook Group: Contributions to Written Texts and Sense of Online Community

<p>This qualitative study investigated peer writing revision among English as foreign language (EFL) Arab students in a Facebook group. Specifically, it aimed to identify the text revisions made by the learners and to determine their contributions to the learners’ written texts and sense of online community outside the college classroom context. Being framed within the situated learning approach (Wenger, 1998), the current study was carried out among 14 EFL Arab university learners from Yemen, Algeria, Tunisia, Syria, Sudan and Egypt. A purposeful sampling was perfomed to achieve a heterogeneous group of EFL learners. A qualitative content analysis of the learners’ written paragraphs (original and revised drafts), online interactional exchanges and responses to the post-revision reflection discussions was employed in this study. The findings showed that addition, substitution, deletion, permutation, consolidation, and distribution were identified as the main revision operations made by the EFL learners. These revisions operations and changes contributed to enhancing learners’ end-products or texts in terms of content, unity and organization, language and mechanics. The learners’ engagement in the online revision activities fostered their sense of online learning community by creating an interactive friendly learning environment, building and nurturing new relationships based on shared interests and developing a sense of belonging.</p>