Scoping a vision for formative e-assessment: a project report for JISC

Assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning. If the relationship between teaching and learning were causal, i. e. if students always mastered the intended learning outcomes of a particular sequence of instruction, assessment would be superfluous. Experience and research suggest this is not the case: what is learnt can often be quite different from what is taught. Formative assessment is motivated by a concern with the elicitation of relevant information about student understanding and / or achievement, its interpretation and an exploration of how it can lead to actions that result in better learning. In the context of a policy drive towards technology-enhanced approaches to teaching and learning, the question of the role of digital technologies is key and it is the latter on which this project particularly focuses. The project and its deliverables have been informed by recent and relevant literature, in particular recent work by Black andIn this work, they put forward a framework which suggests that assessment for learning their term for formative assessment can be conceptualised as consisting of a number of aspects and five keystrategies. The key aspects revolve around the where the learner is going, where the learner is right now and how she can get there and examines the role played by the teacher, peers and the learner. Language: English Keywords: assessments, case studies, design patterns, e-assessmen

A case study of students entering writing courses at College of Sequoias

The purpose of this qualitative research study is to discover whether English Language Learners\u27 (ELLs\u27), English as a Second Language (ESL) students\u27, and First Generation College Students\u27 (FGCSs\u27) participation in College of the Sequoias\u27 writing center encouraged or yielded students\u27 personal and professional involvement. The purpose of this study is to encourage faculty, staff, ESLs/ELLs/FGCSs, and community stakeholders to enroll in the services offered at the college discipline\u27s writing center. More specifically the research questions for this study are as follows: According to student and staff members, is the writing center at College of the Sequoias maintaining effective reading and writing tutoring services for English as Second Language (ESL) students? 1. According to student and staff members, is the writing center at College of the Sequoias maintaining effective reading and writing tutoring services for English Language Learner (ELL) students? 2. According to student and staff members, is the writing center at College of the Sequoias maintaining effective reading and writing tutoring services for First Generation College Students (FGCSs)? 3. According to student and staff members, does maintaining reading and writing tutoring services for ESL students, ELL students, and FGCSs encourage faculty members\u27 and tutors\u27 personal and professional involvement? 4. According to student and staff members, how can tutors help to develop writing and reading courses for ESL students, ELL students, and FGCSs? The conclusions of the study include: College of the Sequoias must acknowledge the need for transformational and transgressional learning. In order for the dominant ethnic and cultural background of students to be independent learners and thinkers an institutional school reform must be in action. The present study contributes to the literature regarding ESL/ELL/FGCS adult learning theories and practices and explores the need for additional pedagogical practices to be implemented for post-secondary instructors and staff members. This study also helps to establish the strengths and weaknesses inherent in multiculturalism and diverse learning theories

How Participation in a Peer-Led Writing Center Impacts Struggling Students’ Self-Efficacy and Motivation

Many secondary students struggle with writing, both in terms of skill and confidence. This qualitative case study follows six students who have a history of struggling in English Language Arts class as they undergo a tutoring intervention based on the writing center model of peer tutoring. Students were observed in seven writing sessions which took place at multiple stages of the writing process and with informational, narrative, and analytical writing assignments. Through interview and observation, the researcher examines how students’ self-efficacy and motivation shift over the course of the intervention. Students who began with low self-efficacy and low motivation were shown to have increased in both components through the tutoring process; students with high self-efficacy and low motivation did not experience the same positive impact

Facing the Center: Toward an Identity Poltiics of One-To-One Mentoring

In the diversity of their clients as well as their professional and student staff, writing centers present a complicated set of relationships that inevitably affect the instruction they offer. In Facing the Center, Harry Denny unpacks the identity matrices that enrich teachable moments, and he explores the pedagogical dynamics and implications of identity within the writing center. The face of the writing center, be it mainstream or marginal, majority or miority, orthodox or subversive, always has implications for teaching and learning. Facing the Center will extend current research in writing center theory to bring it in touch with theories now common in cultural studies curricula. Denny takes up issues of power, agency, language, and meaning, and pushes his readers to ask how they themselves, or the centers in which they work, might be perpetuating cultures that undermine inclusive, progressive education.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/usupress_pubs/1167/thumbnail.jp

Lessons in project management

The conventional view of project management is challenged by a contemporary construction industry that is rethinking its processes and procedures as it seeks to align itself with clients' business needs. Project managers must update their skills. They require flexible education and training that complements work place experience rather than distracts from professional obligations. Educational technology offers an exciting opportunity to accommodate these, often conflicting, requirements. Computer-aided learning (CAL) is supported by a government keen to promote a Learning Society, the expansion of Higher Education (HE) postgraduate provision and the construction industry's own initiatives to engender a culture of lifelong learning. Enthusiasts argue that CAL provides greater access, enhances quality and overcomes the inherent disadvantages of distance learning. Yet the apparent eagerness to develop innovative CAL applications is not evidenced in an educational survey of built environment postgraduate course provision. On the contrary, only small pockets of CAL activity are available. A new distance learning project management educational software application (DIMEPM) is developed and compared with a traditional multiple media resource and a well-established postgraduate module delivered in part-time mode. The design of DIMEPM draws on the expertise of experienced practitioners in HE and the views of leading academics in the field. Qualitative and quantitative approaches are employed in a longitudinal evaluation that assesses the relative learning gains, student attitude and confidence of HE students. And, in order to gain reaction from industry, DIMEPM is subjected to an illuminative evaluation within a leading engineering and project management consultancy. The research study finds no significant difference in the academic performance of students in the control and experimental groups. However, it is clear that technically orientated tasks lend themselves more readily to CAL than interpersonal skills. Distributed educational packages provide opportunities for enhancing distance learning but alternative pedagogic approaches are needed to encourage web-based dialogue and promote vicarious learning. Practitioners suggest that the distinction between these alternative delivery methods is artificial and that an integrated approach should be explored. Crucially, the research identifies considerable advantage in linking outcomes to delivery mechanisms and advocates the use of an "Associated Delivery" model

USING GROWTH MINDSET STRATEGIES IN GATEWAY COMPOSITION COURSES

University enrollment rates have continued to decline and increasing retention efforts on campuses has become a central focus for university administration and faculty members. Growth mindset, a theory developed by Dr. Carol Dweck, is a belief that intellectual and academic ability are not “fixed” but instead can be developed by a student’s hard work and determination. The danger of a fixed mindset is that students who believe that their intellect is a fixed trait are much more likely to have lower academic performance, decreased motivation, and are at-risk for dropping out of school (Bickerstaff, Barragan & Rucks-Ahidiana, 2012; Cury, Elliot, Da Fonseca, & Moller, 2006; Kornilova, Kornilova, & Chumakova, 2009; Skipper & Douglas, 2012). Often, students with a fixed mindset cannot achieve academic success because they believe that they are incapable of meeting academic performance goals (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011). When students develop a growth mindset it can increase motivation, the desire to learn, and greatly impact school achievement (Dweck, 2007; Kornilova et al., 2009; Spinath, Freudenthaler, & Neubauer, 2010; Steinmayr & Spinath, 2009). The concept of improving academic ability, from the standpoint of retention purposes and overall student success, is very timely as university enrollment currently faces a downward trend. In addition, more students are beginning their university careers underprepared academically, and their success or failure in a gateway course can often be determined, not by their ability, but by their mindset. The purpose of this research is to examine how growth mindset strategies affect university students in a composition gateway (general education) course. This impact evaluation study was conducted over the course of a sixteen-week semester and targeted 150 Composition I students, in nine separate courses, at a regional university located in the Midwest. Central to the study is the use of ten growth mindset strategies that were introduced weekly in the course during the duration of the semester. A control group of 69 students, who were not exposed to growth mindset strategies, was established at the beginning of the study. All of the composition students in the study were given a survey measuring growth mindset, a writing survey, and a course content assessment that were administered at both the beginning and at the end of the course. After examining the data and the results of the surveys, this research would suggest that using growth mindset in a gateway course, particularly in writing courses, might help students enjoy the writing process more, might lead to better student academic success and higher retention rates, and might be beneficial for first generation students and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds in particular

Facilitating Enquiry Based Learning Within Midwifery Education: A Self Study Investigating My Professional, Knowledge and Learning Beliefs and Their Impact on the Learning Environment

Midwifery education requires that rigorous efforts are made to link theory to practice for the benefit of women and families and yet research has shown that equipping students with scientific theory is not enough to ensure effective practice. For this reason, teaching and learning strategies which develop the student’s knowledge and learning beliefs to enable them to appreciate the complexity of practice are encouraged. Enquiry Based Learning (EBL) is one such approach and has been evaluated as effective in promoting higher order skills. However, it has been suggested that the position of the educator with regards to their professional, knowledge and learning beliefs will determine whether or not desired outcomes are achievable (Savin-Baden 2003). For this reason, educational researchers such as Elliott (1991) suggest that reflective inquiry into action is essential if practitioners are to realise the ends of their intentions. Utilising the work of Schön, practical action research allows the inquirer to engage in a process of self understanding and professional development (Konsik 2001) that looks not just at action but the motive for that action through self-study (McNiff et al. 1996). This research therefore utilised the conceptual framework of self-study and, through the use of dialectical reflection on three critical incidents in practice, investigated the question ““How might my professional, knowledge and learning beliefs impact on the implementation of EBL?”. The study confirmed the work of Savin-Baden (2003) suggesting that positioning in relation to tacit beliefs about knowledge, learning and professional identity can undermine conscious attempts to promote complex student learning

Online Learning And Academic Support Centers: How Synchronous Support Opportunities Affect Graduate Students’ Interaction With The Content

This study analyzed the effects of live academic support sessions on online graduate students’ interaction with the course content. This was accomplished through qualitative methods of data collection and analysis. In-depth interviews with eight purposely selected online graduate students provided the textual data. Through a systematic framework analysis of the data garnered through interview, it was found that students did perceive the live interactions as being especially effective in improving their interactions with the course content. Students partially attribute the effectiveness to connections made between the students and university stakeholders. This study also revealed that students recognize initial student distress using new technology can be resolved with guided practice. Also uncovered in this study were the students’ perceptions of staff behaviors and characteristics as being influential in their interactions with the content. Finally, it was discovered that all meeting types (writing support, content tutoring, and learning strategies) were all understood to be valuable from student perspective. The study concluded that live interaction plays a positive role in student interaction with the course content and recommended universities employ live interaction opportunities between their online graduate students and the academic support department