Selecting and Using Course Readings: A Study of Instructors' and Students' Practices

University students' practices of reading required course materials have rarely been studied systematically outside the laboratory and are given short shrift in course evaluation questionnaires. This study exam- ines, first, the reasons why a sample of instructors at a large university create selections of course readings and the factors, both pedagogical and otherwise, that influence their selections. Second, students' patterns of reading in these instructors' courses are studied to determine how they vary with the quantity of assigned readings, time of year, and the provision of systematic student feedback to instructors. Third, the most prevalent themes in student feedback about readings are explored, in tan- dem with instructors' proposals about how to revise their reading selec- tions or teaching strategies.L'utilisation de recueils de textes, requis dans les cours universitaires, a rarement fait l'objet d'analyse sauf  dans les laboratoires dirigés par les psychologes. De plus, elle reçoit très peu d'attention dans les questionnaires utilisés pour l'évaluation des cours. Cette étude s'intéresse d'abord aux causes incitant certains universitaires, oeuvrant dans de grandes institutions d'enseignement, à créer des recueils de textes ainsi qu'aux facteurs, pédagogiques et autres, qui influencent la sélection des textes. Ensuite, les habitudes de lecture des étudiantes et des étudiants dans les cours sélectionnés par cette étude sont analysées afin de déterminer si elles varient en fonction du nombre d'articles à lire, du moment de l'année scolaire et des commentaires fournis par les étudiantes et étudiants aux enseignants. Enfin, l'article explore les thèmes les plus importants contenus dans les commentaires des étudiantes et étudiants concernant lesb articles choisis par les enseignants ainsi que ceux des enseignants sur la manière de revoir leur sélection de textes et leurs stratégies pédagogiques

A Kaleidoscope of Decisions: Using Cognitive Flexibility Theory to Advance a Novice ESOL Teacher\u27s Scaffolding Expertise

Instructional scaffolding is a powerful tool that many teachers utilize to meet the challenge of individualizing instruction for diverse learners. The concept of instructional scaffolding is complex (Meyer, 1993), in that teachers have to determine what, how much, and what kind of help to give to students in a moment’s notice (Rodgers, 2004/05). Gaining expertise with scaffolding can take years, which leads us to worry about the effectiveness of novice teachers. A scarcity of research examining how to support a teacher’s development of instructional decisions such as scaffolding is reported (Anders, Hoffman, & Duffy, 2000). The ability to make scaffolding decisions requires teachers to be cognitively flexible, drawing from multiple domains of understanding to meet the individual needs of a group of students. However, little is known about which domains and understandings teachers draw on during scaffolding events or the rationales underlying this decision-making process. This naturalistic study examined the decision-making processes of a novice elementary ESOL teacher as she scaffolded instruction for her third-grade students. As she videotaped what she considered to be a successful scaffolding event each week, we unpacked the event together using the lens of Cognitive Flexibility Theory (CFT). The guiding questions were: (1) How can the decision-making processes underlying a novice ESOL teacher’s instructional scaffolding be described? (2) How can the lens of Cognitive Flexibility Theory inform a novice ESOL teacher’s scaffolding decisions? Data sources included interviews, field notes, and reflections of the sessions. Constant comparative analysis (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Miles & Huberman, 1994) was used to analyze data. Rigor was demonstrated by establishing credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability (Lincoln and Guba). A grounded theory model of a kaleidoscope was created to describe the novice ESOL teacher’s decision-making processes during scaffolding events. The participant’s decisions were influenced by a variety of pedagogical and contextual domains while also being impacted by her views on scaffolding, on assessment, and on the connection between theory and practice. The participant’s conceptions of scaffolding became more complex and her confidence and sense of agency became stronger as a result of mentoring underpinned by CFT

Setting The Nutritional Agenda: An Analysis of Nutrition Blog Sourcing

This research study analyzed the sources of nutrition blog information as measured by frequency and type of sources used by nutrition bloggers. Since the use of online resources for finding health information has become more prevalent, it is important to further research the topic for the purpose of better understanding how our nutrition agenda is set by nutrition bloggers. Focusing on 20 nutrition blogs, the study content analyzed 3,156 blog posts during a one-year period from September 1, 2011 to August 31, 2012, yielding 5,263 sources. Additionally, in-depth interviews were conducted with the writers of all 20 blogs in July 2012. The findings showed that (1) nutrition bloggers are sourcing half of the time, (2) nutrition bloggers are citing a variety of sources that include both credible and less credible sources, (3) nutrition bloggers are finding and choosing sources in various ways that include both credible and less credible methods, and (4) there is no difference in the sources selected by men and women bloggers. Overall, this study shows the need to create best practices for blog sourcing that serve as guidelines for both bloggers and readers, with emphasis on guidelines for source frequency and credibility of sources

Enhancing the Communication of Law: a cross-disciplinary investigation applying information technology

Law is pervasive in culture. It is a form of communication between government and citizens. When effective, it is a tool of government policy. If poorly designed,law results in unnecessary costs to society. Impediments to understanding of the law limits and distorts democratic participation. Yet, historically, the law has been inaccessible to most. Thus enhancing the communication of law is an important and standing problem. Much work has been done (for example through the plain language movement) to improve the communication of law. Nonetheless, the law remains largely unreadable to non-legal users. This thesis applies information technology to investigate and enhance the communication of law. To this end, this thesis focusses on four main areas.To improve the readability of law, it must be better described as a form of language. Corpus linguistics is applied for this purpose. A linguistic description of contract language arose from this work, which, along with the corpus itself, has been made available to the research community. The thesis also describes work for the automatic classification of text in legal contracts by legal function.Reliable measures for the readability of law are needed, but they do not exist. To develop such measures, gold standard data is needed to evaluate possible measures.To create this gold standard data, the research engaged citizen scientists, in the form of the online “crowd”. However, methods for creating and using such user assessments for readability are rudimentary. The research therefore investigated,developed and applied a number of methods for collecting user ratings of readability in an online environment. Also, the research applied machine learning to investigate and identify linguistic factors that are specifically associated with language difficulty of legislative sentences. This resulted in recommendations for improving legislative readability. A parallel line of investigation concerned the application of visualization to enhance the communication of law. Visualization engages human visual perception and its parallel processing capacities for the communication of law. The research applied computational tools: natural language processing, graph characteristics and data driven algorithms. It resulted in prototype tools for automatically visualizing definition networks and automating the visualization of selected contract clauses. Also, the work has fostered an investigation of the nature of law itself. A “law as” framework is used to query the nature of law and illuminate law in new ways. The framework is re-assessed as a tool for the experimental investigation of law. This results in an enhanced description of law, applying a number of investigatory frames:law; communication; document; information; computation; design and complex systems theory. It also provides a contrastive study with traditional theories of law - demonstrating how traditional theories can be extended in the light of these multidisciplinary results. In sum, this thesis reports a body of work advancing the existing knowledge base and state of the art in respect of application of computational techniques to enhancing the communication of law

Web-Based Courses In Higher Education: Creating Active Learning Environments

Problem. As more and more adults seek to continue their education, alternate methods of course delivery Will be required to meet their needs. Web-based courses allow students to learn at times and places that are convenient for them. There is concern, however, about whether or not such courses can create effective, active learning experiences, and whether or not knowledge can be socially constructed in online interactions. In order for higher education to provide exemplary online courses, it is important to identify necessary elements and instructional strategies to create virtual learning environments. The goals of this study were to determine instructional practices in exemplary higher education Web based courses and their perceived effectiveness and to determine implications of new delivery models for higher education. Method. This qualitative study examined the 1998 Paul Allen Virtual Education Foundation\u27s Outstanding Online Course Award winner and five of the six Honorable Mentions. Typical qualitative tools were used to gather data including a Web-based questionnaire, email correspondence, video recordings of conference presentations by four of the instructors, observations, interviews, course Web pages, plus articles and Web sites published by the instructors. Each course was a case study. Results. Effective practices and design features of these exemplary online courses demonstrate multiple ways to facilitate active learning in Web-based instruction. The rich environments of these six courses included a variety of interactions between the instructor and students and among the students themselves. They model how innovative pedagogy guides the use of technology and that virtual learning communities can be created in any discipline. Faculty who have administrative support will be more likely to design, develop, and deliver effective Web-based instruction. Conclusions. The study demonstrated ways online courses can be designed to meet the criteria of the American Psychological Association\u27s Learner-Centered Psychological Principles. A number of implications for higher education emerged

How Students Access, Filter and Evaluate Digital News: Choices That Shape What They Consume and the Implications for News Literacy Education

Being an informed citizen in the digital age requires the ability to sift through an avalanche of news online and identify content that is credible and diverse. News literacy, a topic with a small but increasing presence in high school and college curricula, is concerned with training students to be discerning news consumers. Assessments of news literacy typically gauge the effects of exposure to news literacy curricula measured through student analysis of media messages selected by researchers. This exploratory, mixed-methods study instead examined how students with no formal news literacy instruction searched for news on a computer using their typical routine, their process of filtering and evaluating news about a topic of interest, and their awareness of their choices when accessing news online that shape what they consume. This study contributes to the understanding of what digital media concepts, cognitive strategies and evaluation criteria warrant targeting or greater emphasis in news literacy curricula. Survey results revealed that participants (n=244) typically spend a significant amount of time consuming video and written news, largely through digital platforms and mostly on a computer. They are mostly information scanners and more often stumble upon news online than seek out specific news of interest. Participants have a strong social interest in news, like to share stories with others, and are often trusting of their social networks and technology to filter the news they consume. Concurrent think-aloud protocols and subsequent interviews with a subset of survey respondents (n=37) found that participants often did not pay close attention to the process by which they accessed and filtered news online, doing so in a state of automaticity instead of thinking critically. When asked to explain the thought processes underlying their news searches, a significant percentage of students lacked a conscious awareness or understanding of the strategies and evaluation criteria that potentially affect the credibility and diversity of news consumed. As a result, students' online news habits often placed them at risk for consuming unreliable news and for adopting a hive mindset or being in a news silo

Interactivity, computers and orthodontic training for undergraduates

This phenomenological study investigates the interactivity taking place when students use computer-assisted-learning (CAL) in orthodontics and what can be inferred about why these interactions occur. CAL has been proposed in orthodontics because it provides an opportunity to follow a case through to completion. This training is needed if only to give all dentists sufficient knowledge to identify and refer cases for treatment. Two programs have been developed for the pilot: an introductory e-book and a narrative case study based on real records that takes students through a series of decisions relating to case assessment, treatment planning and appliance design.The mixed-methodology approach of the main study uses activity theory to provide a. framework combining qualitative and quantitative data to analyse the interactivity of 48 students as they work through the case study. Observations and transcripts of recordings of conversations between pairs of students, together with post-session interviews, facilitate a deeper understanding of students' conceptions of orthodontics particularly when they explain their reasoning in negotiations over answers, clarified where necessary by data recorded by computer activity log-files. The linear sequence of questions in the program allows students'interactions to be compared on a "like-for-like" basis.Activity systems are used to identify various tensions in students' responses whilst using CAL, facilitating a deeper understanding of the observed interactivity. A phenomenological profile of the students has been developed based on these interactions, particularly in response to the unexpected caused by the complex reality of the case. Further supporting quantitative data is obtained from a questionnaire survey and end-of-year examination results used to provide contextual background material particularly when presenting the results to a domain heavily dominated by a scientific epistemology.Throughout the program many students seem to ignore features not in their immediate focus. Students' reactions to the unexpected (extraction of 7s) indicates about half of the students are so reliant on simplified taught procedure they are unable to relate the extractions to these "hidden" features. Other students adopt a deeper approach and are able to identify reasons why the unexpected occurs. The program has been found to promote an active approach to learning in most students, whether their approach is surface or deep. Most students learn from the feedback provided by the program, even when this feedback is not explicit on a point. Students also benefit from working with a partner. The deeper understanding of students' misconceptions afforded by the adopted research methodology enables the development of guidelines for the future design of CAL in dentistry

Fuzzy Coherence : Making Sense of Continuity in Hypertext Narratives

Hypertexts are digital texts characterized by interactive hyperlinking and a fragmented textual organization. Increasingly prominent since the early 1990s, hypertexts have become a common text type both on the Internet and in a variety of other digital contexts. Although studied widely in disciplines like hypertext theory and media studies, formal linguistic approaches to hypertext continue to be relatively rare. This study examines coherence negotiation in hypertext with particularly reference to hypertext fiction. Coherence, or the quality of making sense, is a fundamental property of textness. Proceeding from the premise that coherence is a subjectively evaluated property rather than an objective quality arising directly from textual cues, the study focuses on the processes through which readers interact with hyperlinks and negotiate continuity between hypertextual fragments. The study begins with a typological discussion of textuality and an overview of the historical and technological precedents of modern hypertexts. Then, making use of text linguistic, discourse analytical, pragmatic, and narratological approaches to textual coherence, the study takes established models developed for analyzing and describing conventional texts, and examines their applicability to hypertext. Primary data derived from a collection of hyperfictions is used throughout to illustrate the mechanisms in practice. Hypertextual coherence negotiation is shown to require the ability to cognitively operate between local and global coherence by means of processing lexical cohesion, discourse topical continuities, inferences and implications, and shifting cognitive frames. The main conclusion of the study is that the style of reading required by hypertextuality fosters a new paradigm of coherence. Defined as fuzzy coherence, this new approach to textual sensemaking is predicated on an acceptance of the coherence challenges readers experience when the act of reading comes to involve repeated encounters with referentially imprecise hyperlinks and discourse topical shifts. A practical application of fuzzy coherence is shown to be in effect in the way coherence is actively manipulated in hypertext narratives.Hyperteksti on yleisnimi digitaaliselle tekstityyppille joka rakentuu yleensä suhteellisen lyhyistä, lukijan tekemien valintojen mukaan järjestyvistä osista. Hypertekstit yleistyivät 1990-luvun alussa erityisesti Internetin vaikutuksesta, ja tänä päivänä suuri osa tietokoneen ruudulta luettavista teksteistä onkin hypertekstejä. Hypertekstien piirteitä on tutkittu viimeisten 20 vuoden aikana erityisesti hypertekstiteorian ja mediatutkimuksen oppialoilla, mutta niiden kielitieteellinen tutkimus on monelta osin edelleen alkuvaiheessa. Tutkimus tarkastelee koherenssin eli tekstin eheyden rakentumista hyperteksteissä ja erityisesti hypertekstitarinoissa. Koherenssilla tarkoitetaan lukijalähtöistä kokemusta tekstin rakenteellisesta mielekkyydestä, eli lukijan vaikutelmaa tekstin eri osien kuulumisesta yhteen mielekkäänä kokonaisuutena. Hypertekstin osalta koherenssimuodostuksen keskeinen ongelma liittyy hyperlinkkien viittaussuhteiden epätarkkuuteen, epäsuoran vuorovaikutustilanteen dynamiikkaan ja tekstin pirstaleisen rakenteen synnyttämään kokemukseen temaattisesta epäjatkuvuudesta. Aihetta tarkastellaan tekstilingvistiikan, diskurssianalyysin, pragmatiikan ja narratologian teorioiden lähtökohdista. Tutkimus esittelee hyperlinkkien viittaussuhteiden tulkintaan liittyvät eri mekanismit primäärimateriaalista nostetuin esimerkein, korostaen erityisesti teoriamallien soveltuvuuden eroja hypertekstien ja perinteisten lineaaristen tekstien välillä. Tutkimuksen tuloksena todetaan että hypertekstuaalinen tekstityyppi on synnyttämässä uuden lukutavan, joka edellyttää koherenssin käsitteen uudelleenarviointia. Tämä uusi koherenssin erityistyyppi, jota tutkimuksessa kutsutaan nimellä fuzzy coherence eli sumea koherenssi, perustuu toistuvien pienten koherenssiongelmien hyväksymiseen osana lukukokemusta. Erityisesti hypertekstikirjallisuuden piirissä sumeaa koherenssia voidaan hyödyntää myös kerronnallisena keinona

Enabling organisational knowledge through action learning : an epistemological study

Thesis (PhD)--Universiteit van Stellenbosch, 2004.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Key words: Organisational knowledge, pluralistic epistemology, action learning, systems theory, structuration theory, organisational learning, knowledge management. In today's competitive environment the value and importance of knowledge as an organisational resource is considered to be a key element and source of power. Knowledge is regarded as the single most important source of core competence to ensure competitiveness and long term sustainability. The value of most products and services now depends on knowledge-based intangibles and many organisational theorists argue that strategy formulations should be built on a resource-based theory. The challenge for many organisations is therefore how to enable organisational knowledge and how to increase their organisational learning capacity and performance. Following a multi-disciplinary approach, this study critically evaluates and interprets existing theories on action and systems thinking. The traditional positivist paradigm no longer answers to the needs of a post-modem paradigm and corporate epistemologists and practitioners alike are in search of a new paradigm on how to construct organisational knowledge. Drawing on Habermasian theory of communicative action, as well as Parsons' general theory of action and Giddens' structuration theory, I argue that the construction of knowledge happens in a pluralistic manner, in contrast with traditional approaches which support a paradigm informed by a singular epistemology. A pluralistic approach to the development of knowledge, in relation to a Habermasian theory of communicative action which emphasises the importance of communication and which integrates action and systems theory, is therefore proposed. Constitutive features of organisational knowledge, such as deliberation, knowledge leadership, organisational culture and technology, are identified and analysed. Action learning has been adopted by a number of leading international comparues as a learning methodology. However, action learning has seemingly not been grounded in a defensible epistemological framework. In redescribing action learning, this study explores epistemological foundations of action learning in an attempt to provide corporate epistemologists with a defensible epistemological framework which promotes pluralism and constitutive features of organisational knowledge. A framework for organisational learning and knowledge construction, the Pluralistic Action Learning Systems theory (pALS), is suggested as an improved model of organisational learning suitable for implementation in a post-modem era. This framework incorporates the primary "technical" elements of the learning process, namely problem identification, collection of information, analysis and interpretation, application/use and reflection, as well as organisational enablers inherent in collaborative learning. Organisational knowledge is therefore seen as the outcome of a learning process which occurs at the individual, social and organisational system levels. Organisational knowledge is also constituted by features such as communication, knowledge leadership and trust which are essential in a collaborative learning environment. Knowledge is therefore not constructed through a single paradigm, but socially constructed through a pluralistic epistemology. Organisational knowledge is the outcome of organisational learning and such an organisational learning process is enabled by an action learning approach. An empirical study is conducted which is based on a forty-point questionnaire. The sample size is 120 part-time MBA students who are enrolled for an action learning management development programme and who have all been theoretically and practically exposed to an action learning programme. The findings of the empirical study conclude that the construction of knowledge happens in a pluralistic manner and that an organisational epistemology should be shaped by a pluralistic framework if it were to be successful in a post-modem business environment. It proposes that action learning, which is shaped by a pluralistic epistemology grounded in the Habermasian theory of communicative action, provides a defensible framework to enhance organisational knowledge through a collaborative learning approach fostering values such as deliberation, trust and openness.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Sleutel woorde: Organisasiekennis, pluralistiese epistemologie, aksieleer, stelseldenke, strukturasie teorie, organisasieleer, kennisbestuur. Die waarde en belangrikheid van kennis in vandag se vinnige veranderende wêreld word beskou as van kritiese waarde en as die enkele mees belangrike element van kompetisie om lang termyn volhoubaarheid te bewerkstellig. In die hedendaagse korporatiewe omgewing word die waarde van die meeste produkte en dienste gebaseer op ontasbare elemente soos onder andere kennis. Korporatiewe strategeë argumenteer derhalwe dat korporatiewe strategie gevolglik op 'n vermoëns-strategie gebaseer moet word. Vir baie maatskappye is die uitdaging dus hoe kennis konstrueer moet word en hoe maatskappye hulle vermoëns moet verbeter om kennisorganisasies te word. Hierdie studie volg 'n multi-disiplinêre benadering wat bestaande aksie- en stelseldenke teorieë krities evalueer en interpreteer. Die tradisionele positivistiese raamwerk beantwoord nie aan die vereistes van 'n post-moderne paradigma nie en beide korporatiewe epistemoloeë en praktisyns is op soek na nuwe wyses hoe om organisasiekennis te konstrueer. Deur gebruik te maak van Parsons se algemene aksie teorie, en in besonder Habermas se teorie van kommunikatiewe aksie en Giddens se strukturasieteorie, argumenteer ek dat die konstruksie van kennis op 'n veeldoelige wyse plaasvind, in teenstelling met die tradisionele benadering wat 'n raamwerk aanbeveel wat op 'n enkelvoudige teorie van kennis gebaseer is. 'n Pluralistiese benadering met betrekking tot die ontwikkeling van kennis, in ooreenstemming met Habermas se teorie van kommunikatiewe aksie en gesteun deur aksie- en stelsels teorie, word derhalwe aanbeveel. Kenmerkende eienskappe van organisasie kennis soos, uitgebreide dialoog, kennisleierskap, organisasiekultuur en tegnologie word ook geidentifiseer en ontleed. Aksieleer is deur verskeie toonaangewende internasionale maatskappye aanvaar as 'n leer metodologie. Dit wil egter voorkom asof aksieleer nie in 'n epistemologiese raamwerk gegrond is nie. Deur aksieleer te herbeskryf ondersoek hierdie studie epistemologiese gronde van aksieleer in 'n poging om korporatiewe epistemoloeë met 'n verdigbare teoretiese kennisraamwerk toe te rus. 'n Raamwerk vir organisasie leer en die konstruksie van kennis, die Pluralistiese Aksieleer Stelsels (pALS) raamwerk, word derhalwe aanbeveel as 'n verdedigbare model wat aan die eise van 'n postmoderne samelewing beantwoord. Hierdie raamwerk sluit die primêre tegniese elemente van die leerproses in, te wete: probleem identifisering, die inwin van informasie, analisering en interpretasie van informasie, aanwending en gebruik van informasie en refleksie. Hierdie proses word verder ondersteun deur aspekte wat organisasieleer vergemaklik binne spanverband. Organisasieleer word dus beskou as die uitkoms van 'n leerproses wat bogenoemde elemente bevat en wat gebaseer is op 'n leeromgewing wat samewerking bevorder. Organisasiekennis word derhalwe gesien as die uitkoms van 'n leerproses wat op die individuele, sosiale en organisasie vlakke geskied. So 'n leerproses word bevorder en vergemaklik deur 'n aksieleer proses. Organisiekennis word ook gekenmerk deur eienskappe soos kommunikasie en kennisleierskap wat binne 'n saamwerk leeromgewing as noodsaaklik geag word. Kennis word dus nie deur 'n enkelvoudige raamwerk konstrueer nie, maar word ondersteun deur 'n veelvoudige epistemologie. Die empiriese studie is gebaseer op 'n veertigpunt vraelys. Die ondersoekgroep is 120 :MBA studente wat vir 'n aksieleer bestuursontwikkelingsprogam ingeskryf is en wat beide teoreties en prakties aan aksieleer blootgestel is. Die bevindings van die studie dui daarop dat kennis nie op 'n enkelvoudige wyse geskep word nie, maar wel deur van verskeie teorieë van kennis gebruik te maak. Die bevindings van die studie beveel aan dat aksieleer, as 'n pluralistiese teorie van kennis gegrond in die denke van Habermas, 'n verdedigbare raamwerk verskaf wat organisasieleer en die konstruksie van kennis bevorder deur 'n leeromgewing waarin waardes soos vertroue, openlikheid en kommunikasie bevorder word