Enhancing Conversational Search: Large Language Model-Aided Informative Query Rewriting

Query rewriting plays a vital role in enhancing conversational search by transforming context-dependent user queries into standalone forms. Existing approaches primarily leverage human-rewritten queries as labels to train query rewriting models. However, human rewrites may lack sufficient information for optimal retrieval performance. To overcome this limitation, we propose utilizing large language models (LLMs) as query rewriters, enabling the generation of informative query rewrites through well-designed instructions. We define four essential properties for well-formed rewrites and incorporate all of them into the instruction. In addition, we introduce the role of rewrite editors for LLMs when initial query rewrites are available, forming a "rewrite-then-edit" process. Furthermore, we propose distilling the rewriting capabilities of LLMs into smaller models to reduce rewriting latency. Our experimental evaluation on the QReCC dataset demonstrates that informative query rewrites can yield substantially improved retrieval performance compared to human rewrites, especially with sparse retrievers.Comment: 22 pages, accepted to EMNLP Findings 202

Linking Programming to Representations : Understanding meaning-making in physics education through semiotic resources

Programming is investigated with a social semiotic lens to study how programming can contribute to meaning-making in physics. The analysis focuses on how new and dynamic representations can be created with the help of programming and how programming allows students to investigate and create their own models of physical phenomena. This is described from a semiotic perspective and the semiotic perspective is also developed with new theoretical constructions to better describe the students' use of representations in physics

Unpacking Creativity for Language Teaching

Before unlocking creativity, we must first unpack what it means. In this book, creativity is unravelled from various perspectives and the relevance for language teaching and learning is explored. Tin offers a coherent discussion of creativity, adopting an inclusive and integrated but, at the same time, focused approach to creativity. Divided into 12 chapters, the book covers: • A critical review of the way the term ‘creativity’ is used, defined and written about in various disciplines • Various models and theories of creativity, the product- and process-oriented views of creativity and their relevance for language teaching • Three pillars on which creative language pedagogy should be based • Over 60 practical tasks, applying theoretical arguments and principles of creativity to language teaching and learning. Based on the author’s own practice and research on creativity over the last two decades, the book provides exciting new ideas for scholars and practitioners interested in creativity and creative language pedagogy. The book serves as an important contribution for students, teachers and scholars in the field of applied linguistics, language teaching and education

Facebooking for Feminism: Social Network Sites as Feminist Learning Spaces

Social media such as Facebook have become a significant space where social interactions increasingly take place. Within these spaces, users construct and engage with information that may facilitate social movements such as feminism. This study explored ways feminists learn, challenge, and reproduce discourses related to gender and feminism through Facebook. This research is positioned within current literature and theory related to gendered contexts of social media engagement and feminist social movement learning. Using qualitative interviews and a digital focus group, I investigated the experiences of 9 women who either learn about or engage with feminism through Facebook. Using critical feminist discourse analysis, I coded and analyzed themes that related to ways feminism is represented, constructed, navigated, and limited through Facebook. Specifically, I considered ways in which feminism can be learned, ways Facebook can be used as a learning platform, and ways gendered power relations can influence feminist engagement online. I advocate for continued exploration of and engagement with feminist uses of Facebook

Unpacking Creativity for Language Teaching

Before unlocking creativity, we must first unpack what it means. In this book, creativity is unravelled from various perspectives and the relevance for language teaching and learning is explored. Tin offers a coherent discussion of creativity, adopting an inclusive and integrated but, at the same time, focused approach to creativity. Divided into 12 chapters, the book covers: • A critical review of the way the term ‘creativity’ is used, defined and written about in various disciplines • Various models and theories of creativity, the product- and process-oriented views of creativity and their relevance for language teaching • Three pillars on which creative language pedagogy should be based • Over 60 practical tasks, applying theoretical arguments and principles of creativity to language teaching and learning. Based on the author’s own practice and research on creativity over the last two decades, the book provides exciting new ideas for scholars and practitioners interested in creativity and creative language pedagogy. The book serves as an important contribution for students, teachers and scholars in the field of applied linguistics, language teaching and education

Identity development in physics classes: from community of practice towards nexus of multi-membership

The thesis aims to contribute to the general problem of the impact of physics education on students’ identity development. Identity development has become more and more relevant in the last years and, according to OECD, it represents one of the main goals of education (OECD, 2018). In STEM education, the issue resonates with the lack of relevance that most of the students still perceive in learning science at school (physics and mathematics in particular) (Stuckey, Hofstein, Mamlok-Naaman, Eilks, 2013). Starting from this consideration, I carried out an analysis of the research literature to formulate the problem as a “research narrative” grounded on a selection of STEM literature theoretical constructs. The narrative is mainly centered around the idea of community of practice (Wenger, 1998), but is incorporates the constructs of Discourse & Affinity identity (J. Gee, 2000), Practice-linked identity (N. S. Nasir and Hand, 2008), epistemic agency (Stroupe, 2014), socio-scientific norms (Yackel and Cobb, 1996), boundary crossing mechanisms (Akkerman and Bakker, 2011; Wenger, 1998), and appropriation (Levrini, Fantini, Tasquier, Pecori & Levin, 2015)). The narrative has been tested in two empirical studies with physics students attending the course in Physics Education in Bologna. Aims of the studies were: i) to test students’ proximity of the problem and the effectiveness of its reformulation in the narrative (RQ1); ii) to collect suggestions, opinions, experiences to turn the narrative into an operational set of suggestions for teaching (RQ2). The results show a great feeling of proximity and effectiveness of the narrative to stimulate profound personal re-elaborations concerning the nexus between learning physics and personal identity. As for RQ2, initial insights have been collected and directions for further investigations have been pointed out