Toward Transformative Classrooms: A Critical Analysis of School Partnerships in a Multicultural Setting

Digitized thesi

The impact of the assessment process and the international MA-TESOL course on the professional identity of Vietnamese student teachers :an ecological perspective

PhD ThesisIn the context of globalisation, English language teaching is a billions-of-pounds-worth business, yet the teacher of English still remains “an almost invisible figure” (Garton and Richards, 2008, p. 4). In Vietnam, thousands of TESOL teachers have been sponsored to enhance their professionalism in Anglophone institutions, yet the results of their sojourn study still remain almost intangible. These vague self-concepts of the TESOL teacher in both global and local contexts have motivated the researcher to conduct this study on the impact of the international MA-TESOL course on the professional identity of Vietnamese student teachers with the assessment process being the main focus owing to its substantial influence on the learner’s identity (Ecclestone and Pryor, 2003; Pryor and Crossouard, 2008). This “divergent multiple case study” is grounded in the school of social constructivism with new developments of cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) and theories of expansive learning (Engeström, 2001; Engeström and Sannino, 2010). It adopts an ecological view to analyse the assessment process and the international MA-TESOL course by using an “ecological activity system”, a combination of Engeström (1987)’s activity system, Pryor and Crossouard (2008)’s socio-cultural theorisation of formative assessment, and Hodgson and Spours (2013)’s high opportunity progression eco-system (HOPE) as the major conceptual framework. The assessment process, the object of the system, is perceived as encompassing both summative assessment tasks and formative feedback. Meanwhile, the professional identity, the outcome with cognitive, affective, behavioural, and socio-cultural aspects, is regarded as a case of multiplicity in unity and discontinuity in continuity (Akkerman and Meijer, 2011), and is to be depicted in two different dimensions: retrospection vs. prospection and projection vs. introjection (Bernstein, 2000). This research follows narrative inquiry and employs intensive, active, semi-structured interview as the primary data collection method and the documentary analysis of the MA-TESOL syllabi as the supplementary one. It called for the voluntary participation of fourteen Vietnamese student teachers studying in four Anglophone countries: Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States and collated four sets of the course syllabi. The thematic data analysis has yielded insights into (1) the positive impact of the assessment process on four major aspects of the professional identity; (2) the salient impacts of other factors of the international MA-TESOL course: the subject, the mediating artefacts, the rules, the community, and the power relations; and (3) the long-term impact on their continued career paths. The research findings may facilitate cross-institutional understanding of the assessment policies and the international MA-TESOL curricula and serve as a reference to design more beneficial TESOL training programmes for the future student teachers worldwide.Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), the Viet Nam International Education Development Department (VIED), the University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Viet Nam National University, Hanoi (ULIS -VNU

Amarcordi, tangible memory cues for personal stories

Personal memories shape individuals’ identities and inform their decisions. Since the beginning of time, technology has been used to aid human’s natural recall capabilities. The tools which are used to record them, have inevitably shaped and influenced not only how people remember, but also what they save. Digital media have provided great opportunities and power of handling personal memory collections, but have also introduced several controversies. The accumulation of huge unsorted digital archives is becoming inevitable: selecting pictures and files is now work rather than pleasure. Companies are starting to address this issue with new products and features, but this raises the question whether something so important as memories should be left in the hands of private corporations. This thesis addresses the need to find motivation to curate memories from my past with a personal and artistic approach. It argues the importance of defining a strong objective to encourage such hard work. I achieved this through the realization of a physical and interactive project: Amarcordi. It consists in modular magnetic embroideries, each one representing a cherished story from my past. The visual and tactile language I designed represents not only people and facts, but also emotions and moods. Findings show the effectiveness of the project in inspiring me to recollect and reflect, giving me the opportunity to look at events through different perspectives. A surprising benefit was also creating an innovative way to share those cherished moments with dear ones

Enhancing oral fluency through task-fluency discussions in second life

107 Páginas.This qualitative exploratory action research was conducted with A2 university students at Universidad de la Sabana. They are immersed in blended learning practices where autonomy has become the key to succeed in learning processes. The needs analysis carried out in the target A2 population showed that there was a need to improve oral fluency and gain more motivation in virtual learning spaces. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to enhance oral fluency, which is understood as the ability to communicate by dealing with meaning rather than accuracy of language use. Thus, the approach that best responds to this aim is the implementation of Task-Fluency Discussions (Ur, 2012) which are effective tools to practice talking freely while learning from content and putting communicative strategies into action. Additionally, the present study proposes Second Life as a visual friendly virtual environment to foster communicative learning experiences. A process of participants´ self-reflection was followed by using a self-reflective-portfolio to review their progress in their oral performance, the further challenges and a potential action plan to achieve more fluent speaking. Those perceptions were also explored during in-depth group interviews. The teacher-researcher also compiled her own perceptions as individual, researcher and teacher in a reflective journal to supplement qualitative analysis. Findings indicate that Second Life is a tool that may empower oral participation and fluency, enhance autonomy and provide a more appealing virtual learning space. Oral fluency can be increased in several ways. Firstly, by accomplishing task-fluency discussions; secondly by making use of a self-access bank of words and expressions; by self-reflection upon achievements and future goals, all of which, in turn, may lead to new understanding of that being fluent means

Marketing Strategies to Increase Sales in Small Family-Style Restaurant Businesses

Small business owners understand the advantages of using social media as a marketing tool; however, some of these owners do not leverage social media marketing strategies to increase sales. Small business owners who fail to implement social media marketing strategies minimizes the potential to gain new customers; thus, negatively impacting sales. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore social media marketing strategies used by five small family-style restaurants in Maryland. Berry\u27s relationship marketing theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Data collection included semistructured interviews, documents pertaining to social media marketing strategies, and social media pages and websites from the participating restaurants. These data were analyzed following Yin\u27s 5-step analysis plan. Key themes that emerged were (a) social media platforms small family-style restaurant owners use to increase sales and were most effective, (b) employees\u27 response to social media marketing strategies small family-style restaurant owners use to increase sales, and (c) relationship marketing. The implications for positive social change include the potential to increase the knowledge of future entrepreneurs and show them how technology can help them launch and grow their businesses faster creating an atmosphere of better customer services. Increasing the demand for employment can have a direct impact on decreasing the unemployment rate within the United States, particularly in the state of Maryland

Virtuality's Influence on the Process of Performing Information Systems Development: A case of a software organization

Organizations in all sectors have been utilizing virtual teams and virtual technologies for projects, making use of geographically dispersed human capital. Other forms of virtual working such as work-from-home, remote-work and telecommuting have also been implemented by organizations, often to a few employees usually over a small period of time and not applicable to the full organization. The transitioning from a collocated environment to a virtual context induced by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) had an effect on the process of performing Information Systems Development (ISD). The objectives of the study are: RO1: Explain how virtuality influences the process of doing ISD projects inside the IS Industry. RO1a: Explain how virtuality influences the execution of ISD activities inside the IS Industry. RO1 b: Explain how virtuality influences the assessment of ISD projects inside the IS Industry. RO2: Identify how organizations can improve ISD when working in a virtual context. This study employed a single case study of a technology company that recently transitioned from a collocated context to a full remote context. Data was collected through seventeen semi-structured interviews and secondary documents. Thematic analysis was employed to explain virtuality's influence on performing ISD and assessing ISD outcomes. A modified Systems Development as Performing (sd-as-p) conceptual model was utilized as a guide for this study's data collection process. A literature-derived sd-as-p conceptual model was developed made up of the following processes of performing ISD, namely leading; communicating; collaborating; knowing; developing with agility; dealing with challenges; trusting; assessing achievements and the enactment of virtuality. The study explained how virtuality influences the processes of performing ISD. Subthemes of the processes of performing ISD were identified resulting in the modification of the initial literature-derived sd-as-p model. Components that enhance the performing of ISD in a virtual context were found to be people, tools, processes, and virtual culture

Using health mind maps to capture patient's explanatory models of illness

BACKGROUND: Management of chronic diseases has become one of the major challenges for the health care community. Most of disease management relies on patient’s self-management, influenced in part by their illness perspectives or explanatory models of illness (EMI). Unfortunately, assessing patient’s EMI and using this information to engage patients in chronic illness self-management continues to be a challenge. This is due to time constraints, ambiguity in the design of EMI assessments, lack of motivation, and low health literacy. This study used ‘mind mapping’, a graphic representation of ideas, to develop a process that captures EMI. We will refer to this process as “Health Mind Mapping” (HMM). We explored patient’s experiences using HMM and potential uses of this tool during their care. METHODS: 20 adult (>18 years old) English and Spanish patients with uncontrolled (HbA1c >7%) type 2 diabetes were recruited from a primary care clinic. Participants developed their health mind maps with the guide of a facilitator. Each participant also completed a semi-structured interview in which patients were asked about their experience with HMM. The HMM process and qualitative interviews were video and audio recorded. Transcriptions were analyzed using grounded thematic analysis to identify how patients perceived and were impacted by the process. RESULTS: Two domains regarding the HMM process were identified: patient’s perceptions of the process itself and patient’s reports of potential uses of HMM. Three main themes related to the process itself emerged: 1) Helps to develop insight about self and illness; 2) Catalyst for taking actions to improve their illness; 3) Opportunity to actively share illness. Four main themes related to potential uses of HMM were identified: 1) Communicating their illness to others in their social network; 2) Communicating with their providers; 3) Share to help others with diabetes; 4) Use to encourage ongoing engagement in diabetes self-care. CONCLUSIONS: HMM helped patients to develop new insight about their illness and represented a catalyst for taking control of their illness. Additional research is needed to determine how to use HMM to facilitate patient communication and better engage patients in collaborative goal setting to improve self-care in chronic illness.2017-05-05T00:00:00

Articulating the speed(s) of the Internet: the case of open source/free software

"The Internet is widely considered as a key factor of speeding up social and cultural change. It represents the merging of information and communication technologies and enables flows of information and capital, and communication and co-operation regardless of space and, possibly, time. The paper explores the example of Open Source/Free Software development, i.e. software development in self-organised projects based on a considerable share of voluntary work. Here, we find complex articulations of speeding up and slowing down technological development. Open Source/Free Software projects complement the logic of speeding up technological progress and of obsolescence with a reflexive logic of optionality, variety and sustainability which addresses the accessibility of technology and knowledge as a precondition for future creativity beyond markets and organisations." (author's abstract

INVESTIGATING DIGITAL DIVIDE THROUGH VALUE CO-CREATION: EVIDENCE FROM AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITIES IN CHINA

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH