Chapter 5: Instructional Message Design with PowerPoint

Now a household name, Microsoft PowerPoint software is one of the most commonly used slideware presentation tools in business, scientific conferences, education, and other professional, academic, government, and military settings. As an instructional message design tool, controversy proliferates surrounding its role in the classroom experience and its impact on cognitive learning. After compiling the research, lessons can be garnered on how to best visually display PowerPoint slides, how to most effectively deliver PowerPoint-aided instruction, and how to maximize student learning from PowerPoint-based lessons. This chapter will explore the existing body of literature on the technology’s capabilities and limitations; offer best practices for instructional designers, instructors, and learners; and suggest future directions for research on PowerPoint use in higher education

An Exploration of Indonesian EFL Trainee Teachers’ Beliefs and Their Teaching Practice about Facilitating Learners’ Willingness to Communicate (WTC)

Abstract The main purpose of this research is to investigate the beliefs of trainee teachers regarding generating English language learners’ Willingness to Communicate (WTC), the relationship between their beliefs and practice and the influence of teaching practicum to their beliefs. This study took place in the Indonesian context in which EFL trainee teachers’ belief-practice relationships regarding learners’ WTC is still an understudied domain. Thus, this study was designed to fill this gap in current research. Three Indonesian EFL trainee teachers participated in this study during their teaching practicum. The study is within an Interpretive paradigm and utilizes a case study approach. Methods of data collection included classroom observation and semi-structured interviews. The findings showed that trainee teachers’ learning experience significantly influenced their beliefs and governed their teaching. Some of the trainee teachers’ beliefs were clearly manifested in their actual teaching (e.g. using explicit approaches particularly in teaching grammar). Other beliefs (e.g. creating interactive classroom activities) were not demonstrated. Several intrinsic factors such as trainee teachers’ English proficiency level and confidence, and extrinsic factors such as large class size and students’ responses were found to affect the relationship between trainee teachers’ beliefs and practice. Most of their beliefs (e.g. learners’ language knowledge as the key factor to communicate in English) remained unchanged after the practicum. Other beliefs, such as the need to use English and BI proportionally were not enacted in their teaching practice during the classroom observations. This study provides important implications for initial English language teacher education programmes, teacher professional development and for the field of teacher cognition and WTC

Applying science of learning in education: Infusing psychological science into the curriculum

The field of specialization known as the science of learning is not, in fact, one field. Science of learning is a term that serves as an umbrella for many lines of research, theory, and application. A term with an even wider reach is Learning Sciences (Sawyer, 2006). The present book represents a sliver, albeit a substantial one, of the scholarship on the science of learning and its application in educational settings (Science of Instruction, Mayer 2011). Although much, but not all, of what is presented in this book is focused on learning in college and university settings, teachers of all academic levels may find the recommendations made by chapter authors of service. The overarching theme of this book is on the interplay between the science of learning, the science of instruction, and the science of assessment (Mayer, 2011). The science of learning is a systematic and empirical approach to understanding how people learn. More formally, Mayer (2011) defined the science of learning as the “scientific study of how people learn” (p. 3). The science of instruction (Mayer 2011), informed in part by the science of learning, is also on display throughout the book. Mayer defined the science of instruction as the “scientific study of how to help people learn” (p. 3). Finally, the assessment of student learning (e.g., learning, remembering, transferring knowledge) during and after instruction helps us determine the effectiveness of our instructional methods. Mayer defined the science of assessment as the “scientific study of how to determine what people know” (p.3). Most of the research and applications presented in this book are completed within a science of learning framework. Researchers first conducted research to understand how people learn in certain controlled contexts (i.e., in the laboratory) and then they, or others, began to consider how these understandings could be applied in educational settings. Work on the cognitive load theory of learning, which is discussed in depth in several chapters of this book (e.g., Chew; Lee and Kalyuga; Mayer; Renkl), provides an excellent example that documents how science of learning has led to valuable work on the science of instruction. Most of the work described in this book is based on theory and research in cognitive psychology. We might have selected other topics (and, thus, other authors) that have their research base in behavior analysis, computational modeling and computer science, neuroscience, etc. We made the selections we did because the work of our authors ties together nicely and seemed to us to have direct applicability in academic settings

A Framework for Active Learning: Revisited

Over the past decade, algorithm visualization tools have been researched and developed to be used by Computer Science instructors to ease students’ learning curve for new concepts. However, limitations such as rigid animation frameworks, lack of user interaction with the visualization created, and learning a new language and environment, have severely reduced instructors’ desire to use such a tool. The purpose of this project is to create a tool that overcomes these limitations. Instructors do not have to get familiar with a new framework and learn another language. The API used to create algorithm animation for this project is through Java, a programming language familiar to many instructors. Moreover, not only do the instructors have control over planning the animation, students using the animation will also have the ability to interact with it

Pedagogy and adult training: A trainer’s manual

This manual, to be used to train adult participants, is designed with features to help overcome the challenges faced in delivering such training service. For one it promotes interactive, experience-based, practical and impact-oriented approaches based on various experiences. This involves role plays, hands-on exercises and training materials that are designed for trainers to deliver the service effectively. The course is based on case studies and shared learning from a large number of developing countries with agriculture, climate change and animal science focus. The training manual is divided into seven sessions. Session 1 defines adult learning; Session 2 explains the principles of designing and planning of a training program; Session 3 describes the course introductory session; Session 4 elaborates on guidelines for effective teaching styles for adults; Session 5 explains the different styles involved in adult training; Session 6 describes training aids or materials that can be used to support the training; and Session 7 covers the steps to be taken to evaluate and measure the impact of an adult training course. Each manual session has four parts to facilitate its use as a practical training guide, whereby each session can be implemented as a stand-alone course. The first part of a session gives a summarized introduction of the session. The second part contains session guide, objectives to be achieved and the training activities and requirements. The third part of each session contains slides that can be used in plenary presentation. The fourth part contains detailed notes to be used by the trainer or given out to the course participants. Each session then ends with a list of references used and recommended reading. The manual’s goal is to strengthen trainers and their faculties’ capacities to design, disseminate (or conduct) and evaluate the impact of adult trainings forums and their development as ‘Trainer of Trainers’

English as an Academic Lingua Franca in Spanish Tertiary Education: An Analysis of the use of Pragmatic Strategies in English-Medium LectureS.

Durante la última década, un cambio lingüístico ha sido especialmente notable en los contextos de educación superior debido al creciente uso del inglés como medio de instrucción (EMI) en las universidades europeas. Por ello, existe una innegable necesidad de saber más sobre las prácticas diarias de quienes participan en actividades académicas internacionales usando el inglés como vehículo de comunicación. Numerosos estudios se han realizado previamente en relación al inglés utilizado como lengua franca (ELF) en el ámbito académico. Sin embargo, existe una relativa falta de estudios empíricos sobre este uso del inglés en las universidades españolas en comparación con estudios similares en instituciones académicas europeas (Mauranen, 2006b; Björkman, 2010, 2011b, 2013). Esta investigación pretende estudiar las prácticas de inglés como medio de instrucción en diferentes disciplinas en la Universidad de Zaragoza (España), centrándose en el tipo de estrategias pragmáticas que utilizan los participantes para facilitar la comprensión. Estas prácticas lingüísticas son analizadas en este estudio con el fin de arrojar luz sobre el impacto que tiene el inglés en la eficacia comunicativa en estos entornos de enseñanza-aprendizaje.Los resultados derivan del análisis de un corpus de 12 clases magistrales impartidas en inglés como medio de instrucción que fueron grabadas en dos titulaciones diferentes. Estas se complementan con entrevistas semiestructuradas con los profesores y un pequeño corpus de diapositivas de presentaciones en formato PowerPoint que los mismos profesores utilizaron para impartir sus clases. Para analizar estos tres conjuntos de datos se ha utilizado un enfoque discursivo-pragmático y una metodología de orientación etnográfica. Por lo tanto, en este estudio se utiliza la triangulación de datos y la triangulación metodológica, ambas derivando en resultados tanto cuantitativos como cualitativos. Los resultados del estudio muestran 13 estrategias pragmáticas diferentes utilizadas en las sesiones magistrales grabadas para cumplir funciones comunicativas tales como potenciar la explicitud, aclarar y negociar el significado y/o el uso aceptable del lenguaje. El análisis de datos revela que las estrategias pragmáticas observadas en el corpus se utilizan principalmente para evitar posibles problemas comunicativos, pero también para remediar problemas de producción que obstaculizan abiertamente la comunicación y para co-construir la comprensión. Respaldando los estudios existentes sobre el inglés utilizado como lengua vehicular para la instrucción, los resultados revelan un uso altamente contextual y situacional de estrategias pragmáticas.<br /

Collaborative Lessons Through a Blended Learning Approach

本稿は、岡山大学生対象の英語クラスと留学生対象の日本語クラスからの有志の学生との「合同授 業」で行った｢ブレンド型学習｣（e-learning と対面式学習の組み合わせ）の実践報告である。留学 生と日本人学生が協働で行ったe-learning プロジェクト自体の言語学習目標は、テクノロジーを活 用したプレゼンテーションによる英語発表力の向上であったが、「合同授業」の研究目的は、英語 学習者と日本語学習者がe-learning プロジェクトを協働することにより、学生同士の交流や学習モ チベーションなどにどのような影響が現れるかを調査することであった。学期末に行ったアンケー ト調査によるとどちらのクラスにも肯定的な効果が見られた

Analysis of the implementation of a Webquest for learning English in a secondary school in Spain

In this technological era we live in, the educative scenario is changing rapidly and significantly due to the incorporation of the Internet. Therefore, education should pay special attention to society needs considering the information and communication technologies (TICs) essentially in the teaching process in order to make students ready for this changing society. This paper is focused on the implementation, assessment and analysis of a computer-based approach, a WebQuest, in a third year of compulsory secondary education. The didactic unit implemented deals with the different English-speaking countries and their particularities. The new approach has been carried out using in-class sessions together with autonomous work and group work. The purpose of this study is to analyse and discuss students' opinions and reactions towards the use of this new teaching and learning strategy in an English as a Second Language class. In this sense, the study aims at showing whether students 1) gain a higher motivation in learning English, 2) have improved their digital competence and 3) have acquired cultural competence. The results show that the use of new technologies have motivated students towards the teaching and learning of the English subject, improving their digital competence as well as their cultural competence

Translenguaje en un curso AICLE de francés-medio: Una investigación de acción sobre la preparación del curso de un profesor principiante

While translanguaging has been regarded as an appropriate approach to addressing the challenges that teachers and learners experience in content and language integrated learning (CLIL) classrooms, few studies have discussed translanguaging practices in the preparation of content for third language integrated learning courses. This study aims to explore teachers’ translanguaging practices when preparing CLIL courses through the medium of languages other than English (LOTEs) in a Chinese tertiary education institution. To address the research objective, we collected data including one novice CLIL teacher’s course planning and design documents, teaching materials and other reference materials, along with reflective reports written by the teacher. Through a frequency analysis and a thematic analysis of the data, this research not only documented the dynamic flow of translanguaging practices during CLIL course preparation, but also identified multiple functions served by different languages in the CLIL context. These findings have the potential to inform LOTE teachers involved in CLIL classrooms about different translanguaging pedagogies, and enrich the theoretical framework of translanguaging. FUNDING INFORMATION. This paper was supported by Program for Innovative Research Team of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (IRTSHUFE) under Grant [2020110925] and by [the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, SUFE] under Grant [2020110892].El translenguaje se ha considerado un enfoque apropiado para abordar los desafíos que los profesores y los alumnos experimentan en las aulas de aprendizaje integrado de contenido y lenguaje (AICLE), no obstante, escasos estudios han discutido las prácticas translingüísticas en la preparación de los cursos de aprendizaje integrado de contenido para un tercer idioma. El presente estudio tiene como objetivo explorar las prácticas translingüísticas del profesorado a la hora de preparar cursos AICLE a través de idiomas ajenos al inglés (IEAAI) en una institución china de educación terciaria. Para abordar el objetivo de investigación, recopilamos los datos incluidos en los documentos de planificación y diseño del curso de una profesora AICLE principiante, los materiales didácticos y otros materiales de referencia, así como los informes reflexivos escritos por la profesora. A través de un análisis de frecuencia y un análisis temático de los datos, el presente estudio no solo documentó el flujo dinámico de las prácticas translingüísticas durante la preparación de los cursos AICLE, sino que también identificó múltiples funciones cumplidas por diferentes idiomas en el contexto AICLE.&nbsp