1,646 research outputs found
Motivational Scaffolding, Politeness, and Writing Center Tutoring
Writing center tutors know that improving writing skills requires sustained effort over a long period of time. They also know that motivation - the drive to actively invest in sustained effort toward a goal- is essential for writing improvement. However, a tutor may not work with the same student more than once, so tutorials often need to focus on what can be done in a single 30- to 60-minute conference. Further, although tutors are likely to attempt to motivate students to invest time and effort in improving their writing, when writers leave the writing center, tutors\u27 influence might end with the conference. Therefore, tutors must work to develop and maintain students\u27 motivation to participate actively during the brief time they are collaborating in writing center conferences
UNDERSTANDING HOW A BLEND OF SCAFFOLDING INSTRUCTIONS FACILITATE CHINESE LANGUAGE TEACHING
Much attention has focused on linguistic scaffolding in language learning, little is known how a blend of scaffoldinginstructions facilitate Chinese language teaching in Putonghua-Medium-of-instruction (PMI) classroom encompassing linguistic, cognitive, cultural, affective and social (LCCAS) aspects. Lessons of a secondary school teacher who attended a professional development workshop were observed. The findings indicate that the use of different scaffolding instructions tailored to the needs of studentsenable students to achieve Chinese Language and Putonghua learning through scaffolding in various aspects: (1) provision of linguistic scaffolding to students to adapt Putonghua instruction, (2) foster cognitive development by association of students’ academic background knowledge with meaningful instruction, (3) connect the cultural and historical understandings of learners with the texts, (4) develop positive attitudes towards a switch of PMI from mother tongue to arouse the learning motivation of learners, and (5) stimulation of peer interaction and cooperation. Quantitative studies and cross-case qualitative studies examining this new conceptual framework on teachers’ scaffolding are suggested for future studies. 
Overcoming process-blindness in the design of an online environment: Balancing cognitive and psycho-social outcomes
Learning environment research can contribute to our understanding of how psychosocial processes need to be balanced with cognitive outcomes in the design of units of study. The research on Web-based learning supports the assumption that the nature of social interaction affects student outcomes and student perceptions of the quality of the learning experience. The purposeful this study is to examine student perceptions of psychosocial processes in a blended learning environment using a learning environment survey tool. Students assessed the environments as favourable, but found that the quality of dialogue and peer support offered did not meet their needs. Implications for online design are considered
Scaffolding in the Center: Training Tutors to Facilitate Learning Interactions with L2 Writers
abstract: Writing centers are learning settings and communities at the intersection of multiple disciplines and boundaries, which afford opportunities for rich learning experiences. However, navigating and negotiating boundaries as part of the learning is not easy or neutral work. Helping tutors shift from fixing to facilitating language and scaffolding literacy learning requires training. This is particularly true as tutors work with second or subsequent language (L2) writers, a well-documented area of tension. This mixed methods action research study, conducted at a large university in the United States (US), centered on a tutor training intervention designed to improve writing tutors’ scaffolding with L2 learners by increasing tutors’ concrete understanding of scaffolding and shifting the ways tutors view and value L2 writers and their writing. Using a sociocultural framework, including understanding writing centers as communities of practices and sites for experiential learning, the effectiveness of the intervention was examined through pre- and post-intervention surveys and interviews with tutors, post-intervention focus groups with L2 writers, and post-intervention observations of tutorials with L2 writers. Results indicated a shift in tutors’ use of scaffolding, reflecting increased understanding of scaffolding techniques and scaffolding as participatory and multidirectional. Results also showed that post-intervention, tutors increasingly saw themselves as learners and experienced a decrease in confidence scaffolding with L2 writers. Findings also demonstrated ways in which time, common ground, and participation mediate scaffolding within tutorials. These findings provide implications for tutor education, programmatic policy, and writing center administration and scholarship, including areas for further interdisciplinary action research.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 201
Overcoming process blindness in the design of an online unit
Learning environment research can contribute to our understanding of how psychosocial processes need to be balanced with cognitive outcomes in the design of units of study. The research on Web-based learning supports the assumption that the nature of social interaction affects student outcomes and student perceptions of the quality of the learning experience. The purposeful this study is to examine student perceptions of psychosocial processes in a blended learning environment using a learning environment survey tool. Students assessed the environments as favourable, but found that the quality of dialogue and peer support offered did not meet their needs. Implications for online design are considered
Estimating the Effects of Forms of Computer-Based Scaffolding in Problem-Centered STEM Instruction
Much like Post-Sputnik 1950s era there is a lot of interest in making sure that United States does not fall behind in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. STEM learners are often presented with complex problems to solve both as part of their education and their work. Engineering education suffers from student dropout often due to how difficult it is to support students through solving problems. This dissertation is a close look at computer-based scaffolding, a method of supporting learners during problem solving through computer software. The first paper in this dissertation examines and resolves some of the debate about key terms in scaffolding. The second paper looks across all of the collegiate engineering education research to date and measures the unique and combined contributions of scaffolding forms on learning using a technique called meta-analysis
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