Portfolio Assessment and the Enhancement of Higher Order Thinking through Multiple Intelligence and Dialogic Feedback

The current emphasis on higher order thinking skills (HOTS) has inspired many EFL educators to explore the impact of merging different pedagogical teaching and assessment strategies on the enhancement of thinking skills. Responding to such a growing need to investigate the effect of diverse teaching strategies on HOTS, the present study aimed to explore the impact of the integration of portfolio assessment (PA), multiple intelligences (MI), and dialogic feedback (DF) on development of HOTS. Forty participants in two intact advanced classes were randomly assigned to control and treatment groups, receiving writing-based portfolio assessment (WBPA) and MI-oriented portfolio assessment with dialogic feedback (MIWBPADF), respectively. In the experimental group, the participants’ MI was initially measured and the data were used as a basis for grouping learners with the same dominant intelligence type in the same group.The participants in the MI-oriented portfolio assessment with dialogic feedback group received activities compatible with their dominant intelligence. The results of MANOVA revealed that the experimental group outperformed the other group with regard to their higher order thinking skills. The findings underscore the necessity of taking learners’ intelligences as a criterion for task selection and delivering feedback dialogically as instructional techniques for the enhancement of HOTS. This study has implications for teaching higher order thinking in EFL contexts

THE ROLE OF CRITICAL REFLECTIVE TEACHING IN TEACHING PRACTICE FOR THE 21st CENTURY: A CASE STUDY

Published ThesisNewly qualified teachers will soon be required to prove themselves in the classroom before they get a licence to teach. This is one of a number of initiatives to be spearheaded by the South African Council of Educators (SACE) in an attempt to improve and ensure the quality of teachers entering the profession and to guarantee their readiness to meet the requirements of 21st century teaching. A number of research studies emphasize the importance of nurturing reflective teaching during teaching practice. Student teachers’ approach to teaching practice is often very ‘mechanical’: they do not relate it to their training, nor do they actively develop, process and/or reflect on their teaching practice experiences. Moreover, education faculties find it difficult to facilitate appropriate reflection and debriefing on teaching practice. As a result, much of the professional development for innovative teaching has little effect on classroom teaching and learning. The aim of this research was to explore how student teachers at the Central University of Technology could be assisted to improve the practice of critical reflective thinking and teaching during their teacher training programme so as to satisfy the requirements of 21st century teaching. To ensure a solid foundation for carrying out the empirical phase of the study – the selection of participants, data collection strategies, data analysis and the reaching of valid and reliable findings ‐ the researcher explored the most important theories of critical reflection and reflective teaching, as well as the nature of adult learning and the application of contemporary learning theories in the context of adult learning in order to establish a conceptual framework for this study. The literature review focused on 21st century teaching and learning, including critical skills needed by teachers and prospective teachers to face the challenges of education in a postmodern society. The study was undertaken within the interpretative paradigm, following a qualitative approach and, more specifically, a case study design. Data was collected by means of document analysis (teaching curricula and student portfolios), classroom observations (including the preparation and integration of teaching media) and focus group interviews. In a nutshell, the core findings revealed that, although there are elements of critical reflective teaching in the teacher training curricula of the Central University of Technology (CUT), students are oblivious to the fact that critical reflection and reflective teaching form an integral part of the theory and practice of teaching and learning, and that critical reflection and reflective teaching run like a golden thread through all aspects of teaching practice – the planning (and actual presentation) of lessons, including the lesson objectives, the preparation of teaching media, the lesson content, learner involvement, and assessment activities. In brief, they regard reflection as a standalone, as something separate to the teaching and learning process. Students moreover raised concerns about their lecturers’ and mentor teachers’ lack of knowledge of reflective teaching and, consequently, their inability to model it to their students. Together with a few recommendations, a framework for reflective teaching at the CUT is proposed to address these concerns. It is believed that this framework will assist student teachers to use critical reflection as a means to enhance their teaching practices in keeping with the demand for creative, innovative, collaborative and productive 21st century teaching and learning

Syllabus design for 4ESO

Máster Universitario en Formación del Profesorado de ESO, Bachillerato, Formación Profesional y Enseñanza de Idiomas. Especialidad en Inglés (M086

Digital communities: context for leading learning into the future?

In 2011, a robust, on-campus, three-element Community of Practice model consisting of growing community, sharing of practice and building domain knowledge was piloted in a digital learning environment. An interim evaluation of the pilot study revealed that the three-element framework, when used in a digital environment, required a fourth element. This element, which appears to happen incidentally in the face-to-face context, is that of reflecting, reporting and revising. This paper outlines the extension of the pilot study to the national tertiary education context in order to explore the implications for the design, leadership roles, and selection of appropriate technologies to support and sustain digital communities using the four-element model

Demonstrating Experiential Learning at the Graduate Level Using Portfolio Development and Reflection

Problem. Various guidelines for assessment have been developed in an effort to promote academic quality and integrity for educational programs that recognize experiential learning. The purpose of this present study was to determine the extent to which experiential learning and assessment, through portfolio development, help adult students in a graduate-degree program demonstrate graduate-level learning and competency. Method. This qualitative single-case study used the assessment processes and outcomes elements of the Jackson and Maclsaac process model to analyze the use of reflective practice and the use of portfolios in a graduate education program. Data were triangulated using individual interviews and the analysis of portfolio artifacts, attestations, and documents including reflective and synthesis papers. Results. The participants’ perspectives of the portfolio as an experiential learning and development tool changed during the portfolio-development process. Each participant shifted from a belief that a portfolio represents experiences, to a belief that a portfolio coupled with reflection represents experiential learning. The process of theoretically informed written reflection allowed the participants to move beyond descriptive accounts of experiences to analyze, assess, interrelate, and synthesize their experiences in relation to their graduate-level learning and competency. Conclusions. Successful demonstration of graduate-level experiential learning when using a portfolio requires reflection that includes a description of the experience, linkage to the relevant theoretical constructs, and the application of the learning

Systematic literature review of E-learning capabilities to enhance organizational learning

E-learning systems are receiving ever increasing attention in academia, business and public administration. Major crises, like the pandemic, highlight the tremendous importance of the appropriate development of e-learning systems and its adoption and processes in organizations. Managers and employees who need efficient forms of training and learning flow within organizations do not have to gather in one place at the same time or to travel far away to attend courses. Contemporary affordances of e-learning systems allow users to perform different jobs or tasks for training courses according to their own scheduling, as well as to collaborate and share knowledge and experiences that result in rich learning flows within organizations. The purpose of this article is to provide a systematic review of empirical studies at the intersection of e-learning and organizational learning in order to summarize the current findings and guide future research. Forty-seven peer-reviewed articles were collected from a systematic literature search and analyzed based on a categorization of their main elements. This survey identifies five major directions of the research on the confluence of e-learning and organizational learning during the last decade. Future research should leverage big data produced from the platforms and investigate how the incorporation of advanced learning technologies (e.g., learning analytics, personalized learning) can help increase organizational value.publishedVersio

Long-Term Effects of Teacher Training and Other Intervening Factors on Teaching Styles of Foreign-Language Instructors

This study investigated the long-term effects of a learner-centered-oriented-teacher training on teaching styles of foreign-language instructors at a multilanguage institute to assess the relationship between the training and the teaching practice. A mixed-method design was employed, and the data were collected from 165 participants who took the Principles of Adult Learning Style (Conti, 1978, 2004) and who provided their written reflections on the training, in addition to follow-up interviews with 12 language instructors. Results of one-sample t tests showed statistically significant differences between the teaching styles of language instructors at the institute and the general population of adult educators indicating that the overall teaching approach of foreign-language instructors falls on the teacher-centered side of the scale. On the subscales, the instructors also reported more teacher-centered approach on learner-centered activities, personalizing instruction, climate building, and flexibility for personal development, but they showed more learner-centered practice on relating to experience, assessing student needs, and participation in the learning process. Kendall\u27s Tau-b rank correlations revealed that the teaching style is associated with some demographic variables, and ordinal-logistic-regression suggested that teaching style could be predicted from the time when the instructor took the training, satisfaction with the training, education, gender, age group, and the language category. Analysis of instructors’ reflections and the interviews supported the instructors’ self-reporting about their teaching practices, and thematic analysis resulted in several factors that are accounted for the teacher-centered practice such as the preassigned curriculum, lack of preparation time, lack of inschool support, lack of motivation to use the learner-centered approach, lack of conviction in classroom applicability of the training, resistance to change, influence of native culture and teacher-centered schooling, explanation of language form, and the achievement-oriented teaching. The instructors acknowledged that the teacher training helped them with language-teaching methods, experiential setting for construction of knowledge, and formulation of teaching vision. The study concluded that there is a need to strengthen the association between the learner-centered-oriented-teacher training and the instructors’ classroom practices, and recommendations are made to address the intervening factors that tip the teaching practice toward teacher-centered approach. Also, possible areas of future research are suggested to corroborate the findings from this study

Perspectives of Organizational Change Initiatives and Culture in a University’s Department

The current state of contemporary higher education institutions reveals challenges such as changing enrolment patterns (Association of American Colleges and Universities [AACU], 2002; Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada [AUCC], 2007; Levac & Newman, 2009), greater calls for accountability (AACU, 2002; Usher, 2015) and decreased public funding (AACU, 2002; Charbonneau, 2013; Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations [OCUFA], 2016). In addition to the external challenges of the higher education landscape, institutions are confronted with intersecting organizational issues such as the need for increasing productivity, improving communication processes, and motivating workforces (Jackson, 2010). These challenges require action, which often make change a constant in organizational life (Kogetsidis, 2012). Organizational culture encompasses those beliefs, values and meanings of the organization’s members (Kezar, 2014; Shultz, 1995) and, therefore, should be considered whenever trying to understand the change in an organization. However, due to the implicit nature of an organization’s culture, leaders tend to overlook the role of culture in the change process. In addressing the often neglected understandings of organizational change and culture, this qualitative, interpretivist intrinsic case study in one university department in Canada explored staff members’ understanding of organizational change initiatives and cultural shifts through semi-structured interviews. Using the framework of interpretive communities (Yanow, 2000), the intent was to explore staff members’ perspectives of change initiatives and their understandings of culture changes in the department. The findings of this exploration revealed that participants identified the practices of leaders, including behaviour, strategy and purpose, and unity, and departmental arrangements, including staffing, structure, and role as the change initiatives that had been the most significant. The participants understood the changes through three interpretive communities including a community of frustration, a community of apprehension, and a community of willingness. The findings from the cultural analysis of the department portrayed a past culture of division and conflict, toxicity, and disrespect. A cultural shift was perceived by participants through their description of a more optimistic culture, although they still questioned a culture of “us” as a result of the artifact of locale which perpetuated the lingering feelings of separation among staff members, and a lack of department-wide traditions. In response to the study’s findings, three recommendations can be made to build on the already identified improvements to the department. The first recommendation is for leaders to thoroughly consider the implementation and communication plans for future change initiatives in the department as a community of staff members was found to need more information to help them become more accepting of change initiatives. The second recommendation would be for leaders to build on the perceived culture of optimism by emphasizing the identified need to establish department-wide traditions. The last recommendation is for leaders to explore staff members’ understanding of the re-location of the department’s units to one centralized building. The participants provided initial understandings of this change initiative, so once the re-location takes place, it may be in the leaders’ interests to follow-up to see if the initial understandings of the change initiative have shifted in any way. As change initiatives have been perceived to result in cultural shifts, another cultural analysis department may also be informative. The goal of this study was to provide insight for educational leaders about the importance of recognizing organizational cultures when implementing change initiatives as well as to inform educational leaders of the potential impact of staff members’ understanding of organizational change and cultural shifts

Portfolio use in vocational education:Helping students to direct their learning

Kicken, W. (2008). Portfolio use in vocational education: Helping students to direct their learning. Doctoral Dissertation, Open University of the Netherlands, The Netherlands

Property rights, collective Action, and poverty: The role of institutions for poverty reduction

"This paper presents a conceptual framework on how institutions of property rights and collective action can contribute to poverty reduction, including through external interventions and action by poor people themselves. The first part of the paper examines the initial conditions of poverty, highlighting the role of assets, risks and vulnerability, legal structures and power relations. The latter part investigates the decision-making dynamics of actors—both poor and non-poor—and how they can use the tangible and intangible resources they have to shape their livelihoods and the institutions that govern their lives. The paper concludes with a discussion of how attention to property rights and collective action can improve the understanding of outcomes in terms of changes in wellbeing." authors' abstractCollective action, Property rights, Poverty reduction, Conceptual framework, Vulnerability, Power, Institutions, Wellbeing,