5,007 research outputs found
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 âmarginalizedâ, 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 âxue keâ English. Despite the fact that âxue keâ 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 teachersâ 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
The Social Construction of Sexuality in Primary School Classrooms
Through qualitative interviews with primary school teachers, this research sought to uncover how heterosexual privilege is maintained in talk about sexuality. More specifically, this research sought to identify the strategies used by teachers in talking to their students about sexuality. These strategies took shape in the following: a reliance on scientific explanations, deferring to others, a reliance on faith and religion, and the presumption that children are innocent and asexual. This research determined that these strategies were used to produce, reproduce, and maintain heterosexism and heteronormativity. The implications of this research are that schools are missing an important opportunity to create a safe and inclusive environment for ga
A Data Science Course for Undergraduates: Thinking with Data
Data science is an emerging interdisciplinary field that combines elements of
mathematics, statistics, computer science, and knowledge in a particular
application domain for the purpose of extracting meaningful information from
the increasingly sophisticated array of data available in many settings. These
data tend to be non-traditional, in the sense that they are often live, large,
complex, and/or messy. A first course in statistics at the undergraduate level
typically introduces students with a variety of techniques to analyze small,
neat, and clean data sets. However, whether they pursue more formal training in
statistics or not, many of these students will end up working with data that is
considerably more complex, and will need facility with statistical computing
techniques. More importantly, these students require a framework for thinking
structurally about data. We describe an undergraduate course in a liberal arts
environment that provides students with the tools necessary to apply data
science. The course emphasizes modern, practical, and useful skills that cover
the full data analysis spectrum, from asking an interesting question to
acquiring, managing, manipulating, processing, querying, analyzing, and
visualizing data, as well communicating findings in written, graphical, and
oral forms.Comment: 21 pages total including supplementary material
Ariel - Volume 2 Number 7
Editors
Richard J. Bonanno
Robin A. Edwards
Associate Editors
Steven Ager
Stephen Flynn
Shep Dickman
Tom Williams
Lay-out Editor
Eugenia Miller
Contributing Editors
Michael J. Blecker
W. Cherry Light
James J. Nocon
Lynne Porter
Editors Emeritus
Delvyn C. Case, Jr.
Paul M. Fernhof
Making waves in education
Making Waves in Education is a book of a collaborative nature, being a collection of chapters written by undergraduates studying B.A. Hons in Education at the Universities of Plymouth and York. Thirteen chapters, each from a different student, cover topics from learning theories to sex education, home education and autism. The chapters are well-organised and written, and they cover key topics in an accessible and thoughtful way. The chapters are generally well - referenced and present critical and balanced arguments. Many use hard statistics in an effective way to back up their points and all include bibliographies as indeed one expects from a serious publication. The collection therefore addresses itself to a wide readership of anyone interested in education, and students and teachers/trainers in HE in particula
Self-advocacy and socially just pedagogy
Discussions of 'special educational needs' (SEN), 'children with SEN' and 'inclusion' continue to portray disabled learners as problematic 'others' to be tolerated and managed (Allan 2004). The neo-liberal prioritisation of entrepreneurship and autonomy create further problems for disabled learners attempting to negotiate an increasingly market-driven education system. This paper comes about as a result of eight-weeks spent as a volunteer in an organisation offering self-advocacy based projects to young people with the label of âlearning difficultiesâ, and considers such projects alongside Deleuzoguatarrian Disability Studies discussions of socially just pedagogy. By drawing on Deleuze and Guattariâs metaphor of the rhizome, and considering desire as productive, it is argued that such projects have the potential to offer an alternative, more engaged and socially-just education to the one currently offered in schools
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