E/Valuating new media in language development

This paper addresses the need for a new approach to the educational evaluation of software that falls under the rubric "new media" or "multimedia" as distinct from previous generations of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) software. The authors argue that present approaches to CALL software evaluation are not appropriate for a new genre of CALL software distinguished by its shared assumptions about language learning and teaching as well as by its technical design. The paper sketches a research-based program called "E/Valuation" that aims to assist language educators to answer questions about the educational effectiveness of recent multimedia language learning software. The authors suggest that such program needs to take into account not only the nature of the new media and its potential to promote language learning in novel ways, but also current professional knowledge about language learning and teaching

Trialing project-based learning in a new EAP ESP course: A collaborative reflective practice of three college English teachers

Currently in many Chinese universities, the traditional College English course is facing the risk of being ‘marginalized’, replaced or even removed, and many hours previously allocated to the course are now being taken by EAP or ESP. At X University in northern China, a curriculum reform as such is taking place, as a result of which a new course has been created called ‘xue ke’ English. Despite the fact that ‘xue ke’ means subject literally, the course designer has made it clear that subject content is not the target, nor is the course the same as EAP or ESP. This curriculum initiative, while possibly having been justified with a rationale of some kind (e.g. to meet with changing social and/or academic needs of students and/or institutions), this is posing a great challenge for, as well as considerable pressure on, a number of College English teachers who have taught this single course for almost their entire teaching career. In such a context, three teachers formed a peer support group in Semester One this year, to work collaboratively co-tackling the challenge, and they chose Project-Based Learning (PBL) for the new course. This presentation will report on the implementation of this project, including the overall designing, operational procedure, and the teachers’ reflections. Based on discussion, pre-agreement was reached on the purpose and manner of collaboration as offering peer support for more effective teaching and learning and fulfilling and pleasant professional development. A WeChat group was set up as the chief platform for messaging, idea-sharing, and resource-exchanging. Physical meetings were supplementary, with sound agenda but flexible time, and venues. Mosoteach cloud class (lan mo yun ban ke) was established as a tool for virtual learning, employed both in and after class. Discussions were held at the beginning of the semester which determined only brief outlines for PBL implementation and allowed space for everyone to autonomously explore in their own way. Constant further discussions followed, which generated a great deal of opportunities for peer learning and lesson plan modifications. A reflective journal, in a greater or lesser detailed manner, was also kept by each teacher to record the journey of the collaboration. At the end of the semester, it was commonly recognized that, although challenges existed, the collaboration was overall a success and they were all willing to continue with it and endeavor to refine it to be a more professional and productive approach

Noetic Sanctification: Using Critical Thinking to Facilitate Sanctification of the Mind

This literature review proposes four pillars of critical thinking (CT) that should be applied as the Christian educational discipline of noetic (or cognitive) sanctification: 1) CT is a broad term involving multiple aspects of an approach to life, 2) education brings individuals out of the classroom and into developing CT dispositions, 3) CT necessitates being conversant with multiple perspectives throughout the process of thinking and learning, and 4) CT involves a high self-awareness regarding assumptions, biases, and motivation. Based on these CT pillars, some applications are recommended for Christian educators, regardless of educational setting

Evaluation of the interactive multimedia business simulation SPACE (Simulating Project Auditing and Controlling Excellence)

This report presents the evaluation of the computer-based simulation SPACE – Simulating Project Auditing & Controlling Excellence – which is an interactive multiedia business simulation developed in partnership by Andersen Consulting and Siemens AG. The aims of SPACE are fostering self-directed learning and the acquisition of applicable knowledge in the economic domain regarding construction and solution projects of US GAAP. The evaluation was conducted in cooperation with the Institute of Educational Psychology at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich. The aim of the evaluation was to compare the effectiveness of SPACE with a traditional classroom instruction. Therefore, a problem-based transfer task was designed which assessed learning gains with respect to applicable knowledge in the following areas: (1) strategic knowledge and problem-solving skills, that means selection of appropriate information and strategies to solve a realistic business problem, (2) basic skills to calculate POC and (3) conceptual knowledge, i.e. an understanding of principles and interconnections of concepts in the domain. 38 students of business administration participated in the evaluation. 19 students learned eight hours with SPACE, the other 19 students received a traditional classroom instruction lasting also eight hours in the same subject area of US GAAP. Results show that SPACE was significantly better with regard to strategic knowledge and applying problem solving skills. In other words, the study showed that SPACE is superior to classroom instruction in this area of knowledge acquisition and application. In the other areas of basic skills to calculate POC and conceptional knowledge, differences were not significant between the classroom instruction and SPACE. When SPACE is employed under realistic conditions, i.e. in business, it can be assumed that SPACE is even more superior to classroom instruction.Das computerbasierte Lernprogramm SPACE (Simulating Project Auditing & Controlling Excellence), eine interaktive, multimediale Simulationssoftware, wurde von Anderson Consulting und der Siemens AG entwickelt. SPACE zielt auf die Förderung selbstgesteuerten Lernens und die Vermittlung anwendbaren Wissens. Das Simulationsprogramm behandelt inhaltlich die Kalkulation von Projektdaten auf Basis von US GAAP. Die hier berichtete Evaluationsstudie hatte zum Ziel, die Effektivität von SPACE im Vergleich zu einem traditionellen Klassenzimmerunterricht festzustellen. Mit einer problemorientierten Transferaufgabe wurden folgende Dimensionen erfasst: (1) Strategisches Wissen und Problemlösefertigkeiten (hierbei ging es um die Selektion relevanter Informationen und Strategien in Bezug auf eine realistische Problemstellung), (2) Basisfertigkeiten zur Berechnung von POC und (3) konzeptionelles Wissen im Sinne eines Verständnisses von Prinzipien und Zusammenhängen innerhalb des behandelten Inhaltsgebietes. An der Studie nahmen 38 Studenten der Betriebswirtschaftslehre teil. 19 Studenten lernten in einem Zeitraum von acht Stunden mit SPACE, die anderen 19 Teilnehmer nahmen an einem achtstündigen Klassenzimmerunterricht zum selben Inhaltsbereich teil. Hinsichtlich der Dimension "Strategiewissen und Problemlösefertigkeiten" schnitten diejenigen Studenten signifikant besser ab, die mit SPACE lernten. Das Simulationsprogramm zeigte sich somit in Bezug auf diese Dimension der Wissensanwendung dem traditionellen Klassenzimmerunterricht überlegen. In den Dimensionen "Berechnung von POC" und "Konzeptionelles Wissen" ergaben sich keine signifikanten Unterschiede zwischen den beiden Untersuchungsgruppen. Es ist anzunehmen, dass SPACE dem traditionellem Unterricht deutlicher überlegen ist, wenn das Lernprogramm unter realistischeren Bedingungen, d.h. in Betrieben, eingesetzt wird

Practicing Civility in the Legal Writing Course: Helping Law Students Learn Professionalism

This Article suggests some concrete ways to teach civility— one component of professionalism—to law students. Professionalism certainly includes much more than civility, incorporating the concepts of ethics, morals, public service, life-long learning, personal integrity, professional identity, and a commitment to selfdevelopment. This Article begins with a brief overview of civility in Part I. Part II provides a few of the many arguments for why we should teach law students to be civil. Part III explores some concrete ways in which we can teach civility within individual classes, using the dynamics of student engagement in the classroom as an opportunity to identify goals, practice, and receive feedback

‘Warrant’ revisited: Integrating mathematics teachers’ pedagogical and epistemological considerations into Toulmin’s model for argumentation

In this paper, we propose an approach to analysing teacher arguments that takes into account field dependence—namely, in Toulmin’s sense, the dependence of warrants deployed in an argument on the field of activity to which the argument relates. Freeman, to circumvent issues that emerge when we attempt to determine the field(s) that an argument relates to, proposed a classification of warrants (a priori, empirical, institutional and evaluative). Our approach to analysing teacher arguments proposes an adaptation of Freeman’s classification that distinguishes between: epistemological and pedagogical a priori warrants, professional and personal empirical warrants, epistemological and curricular institutional warrants, and evaluative warrants. Our proposition emerged from analyses conducted in the course of a written response and interview study that engages secondary mathematics teachers with classroom scenarios from the mathematical areas of analysis and algebra. The scenarios are hypothetical, grounded on seminal learning and teaching issues, and likely to occur in actual practice. To illustrate our proposed approach to analysing teacher arguments here, we draw on the data we collected through the use of one such scenario, the Tangent Task. We demonstrate how teacher arguments, not analysed for their mathematical accuracy only, can be reconsidered, arguably more productively, in the light of other teacher considerations and priorities: pedagogical, curricular, professional and personal

Critical Thinking Activities and the Enhancement of Ethical Awareness: An application of a ‘Rhetoric of Disruption’ to the undergraduate general education classroom

This article explores how critical thinking activities and assignments can function to enhance students’ ethical awareness and sense of civic responsibility. Employing Levinas’s Othercentered theory of ethics, Burke’s notion of ‘the paradox of substance’, and Murray’s concept of ‘a rhetoric of disruption’, this article explores the nature of critical thinking activities designed to have students question their (often taken-for-granted) moral assumptions and interrogate their (often unexamined) moral identities. This article argues that such critical thinking activities can trigger a metacognitive destabilization of subjectivity, understood as a dialectical prerequisite (along with exposure to otherness) for increased ethical awareness. This theoretical model is illustrated through a discussion of three sample classroom activities designed to destabilize moral assumptions and identity, thereby clearing the way for a heightened acknowledgment of otherness. In so doing, this article provides an alternative (and dialectically inverted) strategy for addressing one of the central goals of many General Education curricula: the development of ethical awareness and civic responsibility. Rather than introducing students to alternative perspectives and divergent cultures with the expectation that heightened moral awareness will follow, this article suggests classroom activities and course assignments aimed at disrupting moral subjectivity and creating an opening in which otherness can be more fully acknowledged and the diversity of our world more fully appreciated

Authoring a Web‐enhanced interface for a new language‐learning environment

This paper presents conceptual considerations underpinning a design process set up to develop an applicable and usable interface as well as defining parameters for a new and versatile Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) environment. Based on a multidisciplinary expertise combining Human Computer Interaction (HCI), Web‐based Java programming, CALL authoring and language teaching expertise, it strives to generate new CALL‐enhanced curriculum developments in language learning. The originality of the approach rests on its design rationale established on the strength of previously identified student requirements and authoring needs identifying inherent design weaknesses and interactive limitations of existing hypermedia CALL applications (Hémard, 1998). At the student level, the emphasis is placed on three important design decisions related to the design of the interface, student interaction and usability. Thus, particular attention is given to design considerations focusing on the need to (a) develop a readily recognizable, professionally robust and intuitive interface, (b) provide a student‐controlled navigational space based on a mixed learning environment approach, and (c) promote a flexible, network‐based, access mode reconciling classroom with open access exploitations. At the author level, design considerations are essentially orientated towards adaptability and flexibility with the integration of authoring facilities, requiring no specific authoring skills, to cater for and support the need for a flexible approach adaptable to specific language‐learning environments. This paper elaborates on these conceptual considerations within the design process with particular emphasis on the adopted principled methodology and resulting design decisions and solutions