Written Languaging and Engagement with Written Corrective Feedback: The Results of Reflective Teaching

For corrective feedback (CF) to contribute to second language (L2) development, some cognitive processes need to be completed. Learners need to notice and comprehend the CF, reflect on and deeply process it, and finally integrate it into their interlanguage (Gass, 1997). Written languaging (WL), which requires learners to explicitly explain to themselves why they have received CF, has been proposed as a technique which can stimulate deep cognitive processing of the written CF. In an effort to improve learners’ writing accuracy, I adopted WL, whereby upon receiving online direct corrections, learners typed their selfexplanations regarding the underlying reasons for their writing mistakes. Then, I engaged in systematic reflection and journaling during a 10-week semester to critically analyze the affordances and limitations of WL. The conclusion, drawn from my perceptions of the usefulness of WL originating from my journal writing, is that WL has the potential to not only facilitate learning for students but also can provide teachers with a rich description of learners’ cognitive and affective engagement with CF. Some recommendations are made for better implementation of this instructional technique. Pour que la rétroaction corrective (RC) contribue au développement de la langue seconde (L2), des processus cognitifs doivent se produire. Les apprenants doivent remarquer et comprendre la RC, y réfléchir, la traiter profondément et pour finir, l’intégrer dans leur interlangue (Gass, 1997). La mise en langue écrite (MLE), qui exige des apprenants qu’ils s’expliquent à eux-mêmes de façon explicite pourquoi ils ont reçu de la RC, a été proposée comme une technique qui peut stimuler le traitement cognitif profond de la RC écrite. Dans le but d’améliorer la précision de la rédaction des apprenants, j’ai adopté la MLE, où, lorsqu’ils recevaient les corrections directes en ligne, les apprenants tapaient leurs propres explications sur les raisons pour lesquelles ils avaient commis des erreurs écrites. Ensuite, je me suis employé à réfléchir systématiquement et à tenir un journal pendant les 10 semaines que durait le semestre, afin d’analyser de façon critique les opportunités et les limitations de la MLE. La conclusion, tirée de mes perceptions de l’utilité de la MLE puisées dans mon journal, est que la MLE a non seulement le potentiel de faciliter l’apprentissage des apprenants, mais peut aussi fournir aux enseignants une riche description de l’engagement cognitif et affectif des apprenants eu égard à la RC. Des recommandations sont faites pour une meilleure mise en œuvre de cette technique d’enseignement.

Effect Of Peer Tutoring On Students’ Academic Achievement In Office Technology And Mangement In Nigerian Polytechnics

Students of Office Technology and Management (OTM) in Nigerian polytechnics have consistently performed below expectations both academically and at work. This may be attributed to use of inappropriate instructional method. The need to improve this situation necessitated the research on effects of peer tutoring on students’ academic achievement in OTM in Nigerian polytechnics. Using a research question to guide the study, and a null hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance. A non-randomized quasi experimental research design, adopting pre-test; post-test non-equivalent control group design was used. South West Nigeria was the region of the research work with a populace of 503 National Diploma Year II (ND II) OTM students in four federal polytechnics. Using cluster random sampling, a sample of the intact classes of 227 students from two states in the area of the study was drawn. Three OTM experts validated the “Office Technology and Management Achievement Test (OTMAT)” 100 items instrument for face and content validity. The Experts input modified some items and cancelled some which reduced 140 test items to 100 used for collecting data. Descriptive statistics of mean was used to analyze data and to respond to the research question while t-test and Analysis of Covariance were used to test the null hypothesis. Kuder-Richardson Formula 21 was adopted to establish internal consistency and reliability of the instrument which yielded a coefficient of 0.86. The research showed that Peer Tutoring Instructional Technique (PTIT) has higher positive effects on students’ academic achievement in OTM than Teacher-dominated Instructional Approach (TDIA), thus it can enhance students’ academic achievement in OTM. It was, therefore, suggested that OTM lecturers should include the use of Peer Tutoring Instructional Technique to boost learning in teaching their students.

Motivation as a necessary factor in the organization of non-linguistic students’ scientific work

Students’ scientific work is an integral element of the training of creative specialists, so the motivation for the implementation of this type of work is a necessary task at the modern stage of the development of education. The article presents approaches to students’ scientific work (an instructional technique with the help of which the teacher supports and manages educational activities to deepen and expand their knowledge and skills; active pedagogy, which contributes to the development of students’ research; active learning of students with an emphasis on the development of their intellectual and research skills; one of the most important means of improving the quality of training and education of future specialists, etc.). The main driving motivational factors of scientific work are identified (desire to obtain subjectively new knowledge, development of cognitive and creative abilities, desire to understand the essence of certain phenomena and reveal them to other participants of the educational process, desire for self-realization, etc.). Main types of scientific work when teaching the English language to students of the non-linguistic specialties are presented (summary and annotation in English, preparation and defence of abstracts on relevant topics, preparation of theses or articles with their subsequent publication, encouraging students to participate in scientific conferences in English). Our own experience in organizing the scientific work of students is described (defining the topic of the abstract according to the working programs of the faculties, holding conferences at the faculties and the All-Ukrainian scientific students’ conference). Scientific work of this format contributes to the formation of students' positive motivation for self-education and self-development; regular participation in scientific work develops the need for self-education, creative growth, and ability to solve problems independently.

Effect of Peer Tutoring On Students’ Knowledge Retention In Office Technology And Management In Polytechnics In South West, Nigeria.

Academic knowledge and transfer of knowledge retention after graduation to the workplace by office technology and management (OTM) students in Polytechnics has been worrisome to stakeholders in education. This study seeks to determine if peer tutoring instructional technique could solve these aforementioned problems. The study adopted a quasi-experimental design of a pre-test, post-test and delayed posttest (knowledge retention) for non-randomized un-equal two groups. The population for the study is 503 National Diploma (ND) II OTM students in four Polytechnics in South West, Nigeria. Through purposive sampling, we selected a sample of 227 (120 experimental and 107 control) students from two polytechnics in two states. These instruments; lesson plan for the experimental group, lesson plan for the control group and Office Technology and Management Achievement Test (OTMAT), were used for data collection. Three OTM experts validated the instruments. The reliability coefficient of the OTMAT was established as 0.86 through the use of Kuder-Richardson formula 21 techniques. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research question while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypothesis. Results revealed knowledge gain for the experimental group. Thus, peer-tutoring enhances academic knowledge retention among OTM polytechnic students. It is therefore recommended that peer-tutoring instructional technique be used to teach OTM students in Polytechnics. Stakeholders should create platforms (workshops and conferences) for OTM lecturers and students in Polytechnics to utilize the peer-tutoring technique in the teaching/learning process.

COVID-19 Remote Learning Transition in Spring 2020: Class Structures, Student Perceptions, and Inequality in College Courses

The COVID-19 pandemic forced all face-to-face college courses to transition to remote instruction. This article explores instructional techniques used in the transition, student perceptions of effectiveness/enjoyment/accessibility of those techniques, barriers that students faced due to the transition, and race/class/gender inequality in experiencing those barriers. We used surveys in introductory courses by two instructors (the authors) to compare students’ reactions to our transitions and the transitions in their other courses. We found that which instructional technique instructors use is less important than how well they implement it for student learning. Although there is a tradeoff between enjoyment and accessibility, instructors can use techniques to increase accessibility of interactive formats. Internet and technology barriers were extremely common, even for students who did not anticipate problems. Most students experienced barriers to their learning due to the pandemic, including distractions, increased anxiety, and feeling less motivated, especially for nonwhite, female, and first-generation college students.

Genre Pedagogy and ELLs’ Writing Skills: A Theme Analysis

Coherent writing skill is an important prerequisite for academic success, especially at the tertiary level. This work studied the effect of four-month teaching intervention of genre pedagogy with Reading to Learn (R2L) approach for developing coherence in argumentative writing. It was implemented on 40 undergraduate Pakistani English Language Learners (ELLs). Pre-test evaluation informed learning gaps especially at theme choice and theme progression strategies in their argumentative writings. These gaps were addressed while planning the R2L teaching cycle of ELLs’ experimental group. They were assisted through a process of scaffolding with an aim to enable them to write coherent argumentative essays independently after learning. Then functional analysis of lexical and grammatical features of their independent argumentative writings was conducted. Findings revealed that genre pedagogy had a significant effect on students' organization of argumentative writing. This study suggests genre pedagogy as a useful instructional technique, which can improve teaching and learning writing skills at the tertiary level in Pakistan.

Genre Pedagogy and ELLs’ Writing Skills: A Theme Analysis

Coherent writing skill is an important prerequisite for academic success, especially at the tertiary level. This work studied the effect of four-month teaching intervention of genre pedagogy with Reading to Learn (R2L) approach for developing coherence in argumentative writing. It was implemented on 40 undergraduate Pakistani English Language Learners (ELLs). Pre-test evaluation informed learning gaps especially at theme choice and theme progression strategies in their argumentative writings. These gaps were addressed while planning the R2L teaching cycle of ELLs’ experimental group. They were assisted through a process of scaffolding with an aim to enable them to write coherent argumentative essays independently after learning. Then functional analysis of lexical and grammatical features of their independent argumentative writings was conducted. Findings revealed that genre pedagogy had a significant effect on students' organization of argumentative writing. This study suggests genre pedagogy as a useful instructional technique, which can improve teaching and learning writing skills at the tertiary level in Pakistan.

Merging Personal and Academic Identities

In this article, we describe rationales and processes of using a tableau theater model for student engagement in a developmental education literacy course. Tableau theater is an instructional technique in which students physically reenact moments in texts they read. Asher's (1969) total physical response (TPR), and constructivist and theories of embodied literacies (Cope & Kalantzis, 2009; New London Group, 1996) informed the development of this technique. Repeated use of this instructional model in a variety of class contexts and with different texts and instructors demonstrated the value of using classroom time to allow students to engage physically with the text and create their own meaning, thus putting them in control of building their own academic identities.

The sabab-khāṣṣ—ʿāmm Process as an Instructional Technique within Qur'anic Rhetoric

In his al-Itqān fī ʿulūm al-Qurʾān, al-Suyūṭī (d. 911/1505) draws attention to a Qur'anic rhetorical device by which an extra-scriptural occasion of revelation ( sabab) causes the placement of a verse with a specific ( khāṣṣ) intent, shifting the composition to a general ( ʿāmm) verse on a related theme. This feature had been previously discussed in texts such as al-Burhān fī ʿulūm al-Qurʾān by al-Zarkashī (d. 794/1392) and al-Ibhāj fī sharḥ al-minhāj by Taqī al-Dīn al-Subkī (756/1355) and his son Tāj al-Dīn al-Subkī (771/1370). The idea appears to have emerged from a connection Ibn al-ʿArabī (d. 543/1148) draws between an address with a specific intent in Q. 4:51 and a general expression in Q. 4:58 enjoining the keeping of trusts ( al-amānāt). This article re-examines the historical development of the sabab- khāṣṣ— ʿāmm process within tafsīr, uṣūl al-fiqh, and ʿulūm al-Qurʾān, and assesses its theoretical and practical viability for use in the analysis of Qur'anic rhetorical patterns. By drawing attention to other apparent occurrences of this device within Sūrat al-Nisāʾ for such themes as inheritance and marriage, it is argued that it can be reclaimed as one of the Qur'an's instructional techniques and deserves consideration in contemporary discussions of scriptural rhetoric and composition.