Cognitive Discourse Functions : a Bridge between Content, Literacy and Language for Teaching and Assessment in CLIL

As Bilingual Education programmes which adopt a CLIL approach grow, there is an ever-increasing need for conceptual and practical frameworks to help teachers integrate content, literacy and language in teaching and assessment. This article proposes that the construct 'Cognitive Discourse Function' or CDF (Dalton-Puffer, 2013) has clear potential for achieving a deeper integration of content, literacy and language than what is common in current practice. Cognitive discourse functions refer to how cognitive processes involved in learning academic content (such as describing, defining, explaining or evaluating) are realised in recurring linguistic patterns in the classroom. As the article argues, these linguistic patterns create a 'bridge' to link content, literacy and language and thus avoid the artificial separation of content and language that still pervades much CLIL practice. Reporting on a research study which examined 6th year primary CLIL students' production of one CDF (definitions) in a Spanish bilingual programme, the article suggests guidelines for how CDFs can inform CLIL practice at the levels of curriculum development, materials design, classroom teaching and assessment.Amb l'auge dels programes d'educació bilingüe que utilitzen l'enfocament AICLE (aprenentatge integrat de continguts i llengua estrangera), cada vegada més es necessiten marcs conceptuals i pràctiques per a ajudar als professors en la integració dels continguts, les formes de comunicació específiques per a comunicar els continguts ('literacy' en anglès) i el llenguatge. Aquest article proposa que el constructe 'Cognitive Discourse Function' (funció del discurs cognitiu) o CDF en les seves sigles en anglès (Dalton-*Puffer, 2013) té una potencial clara per a ajudar a aconseguir una integració més profunda dels continguts, 'literacy' i llenguatge del que s'aconsegueix en les pràctiques actuals. Les funciones del discurs cognitius (CDFs) es refereixen a com els processos cognitius de l'aprenentatge de continguts acadèmics (p. ex. descriure, definir, explicar o avaluar) es realitzen a través de patrons lingüístics recurrents a l'aula. En l'articles'argumenta que aquests patrons lingüístics creen un 'pont' que enllaça els continguts, 'literacy' i llenguatge per a així evitar la separació artificial dels continguts i llenguatge que encara caracteritza moltes de les pràctiques habituals en aules bilingües. L'article informa sobre un treball de recerca dut a terme en un programa bilingüe a Espanya, en el qual es va investigar la producció d'una funció (definicions) d'alumnes de 6è d'educació primària. Basat en els resultats d'aquest treball, i el marc conceptual presentat en l'article, s'ofereixen unes pautes per a guiar la pràctica de l'educació bilingüe amb un enfocament AICLE en les àrees de desenvolupament curricular, disseny de materials, ensenyament a l'aula, i avaluació.Con el auge de los programas de educación bilingüe que utilizan el enfoque AICLE (aprendizaje integrado de contenidos y lengua extranjera), cada vez más se necesitan marcos conceptuales y prácticas para ayudar a los profesores en la integración de los contenidos, las formas de comunicación específicas para comunicar los contenidos ('literacy' en inglés) y el lenguaje. Este artículo propone que el constructo 'CognitiveDiscourseFunction' (función del discurso cognitivo) o CDF en sus siglas en inglés (Dalton-Puffer, 2013) tiene una potencial clara para ayudar a lograr una integración más profunda de los contenidos, 'literacy' y lenguaje de lo que se consigue en las prácticas actuales. Las funciónes del discurso cognitivos (CDFs) se refieren a cómo los procesos cognitivos del aprendizaje de contenidos académicos (p. ej. describir, definir, explicar o evaluar) se realizan a través de patrones lingüísticos recurrentes en el aula. En el artículo se argumenta que estos patrones lingüísticos crean un 'puente' que enlaza los contenidos, 'literacy' y lenguaje para así evitar la separación artificial de los contenidos y lenguaje que todavía caracteriza muchas de las prácticas habituales en aulas bilingües. El artículo informa sobre un trabajo de investigación llevado a cabo en un programa bilingüe en España, en el cual se investigó la producción de una función (definiciones) de alumnos de 6º de educación primaria. Basado en los resultados de este trabajo, y el marco conceptual presentado en el artículo, se ofrecen unas pautas para guiar la práctica de la educación bilingüe con un enfoque AICLE en las áreas de desarrollo curricular, diseño de materiales, enseñanza en el aula, y evaluación

Exploring Bases of Achievement in Content and Language Integrated Assessment in a Bilingual Education Program

This study explores the bases of achievement invoked by teachers when assessing students' work in the context of a bilingual education program where academic subjects are taught through English as a foreign language. During a professional development seminar, teachers judged samples of students' writing in response to tasks that elicited the three cognitive discourse functions (CDFs) of define, evaluate, and explore. The teachers' discourse was analyzed using specialization, a dimension of Legitimation Code Theory-LCT (Maton, Knowledge and Knowers. Towards a realist sociology of education, 2014), a sociological framework for analyzing knowledge practices. Specialization codes provide insight into epistemic relations (knowledge) and social relations (knowers) in educational practices. The results show that within epistemic relations, there was a balance between content and language as bases of achievement. Content quality was emphasized over quantity, language form was emphasized over function, and teachers gave different weights to language depending on the quality of the content. Social relations were also invoked, though less often than epistemic relations. The results suggest that teachers' positioning of students in terms of epistemic and social relations in their assessment practices may have consequences for the equitable treatment of learners in bilingual programsThis research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (LongAd-CLIL project-RTI2018-094961-B-I00

‘Dirty little secret’: Journalism, privacy and the case of Sharleen Spiteri

In both the Australian and British debates about media ethics and accountability, a key question about the News of the World phone-hacking scandal was whether or not the law should provide stronger protection for individuals from invasion of their privacy by news organisations. There is no explicit reference to privacy in the terms of reference of either Britain’s Leveson or Australia’s Finkelstein inquiries. It can safely be said, however, that invasions of personal privacy by NOTW journalists were an important element in the political atmospherics which lead to their establishment. This article also asks where that dividing line should be drawn. However, it approaches the issue of privacy from a rather different perspective, drawing on a case study from relatively recent history involving Sharleen Spiteri, an HIV+ sex worker who caused a national scandal when she appeared on television in Australia in 1989 and revealed that she sometimes had unprotected sex with her clients

This wheel’s on fire: New models for investigative journalism

In the following pages of Pacific Journalism Review, the journal is publishing transcripts of Center for Investigative Journalism director Robert Rosenthal’s keynote address at the ‘Back to the Source’ investigative journalism conference in Sydney in September 2010; conference sessions in which Sue Spencer, Richard Baker and Nick McKenzie talk about their work on the Securency story; and Linton Besser and Dylan Welch of the Sydney Morning Herald describe their investigations of the New South Wales Crime Commission. Many other sessions featured at the conference; but these two transcripts give a strong sense of some of the new possibilities for investigative journalism, and of how investigative journalists practise their craft

Investigating “Dark” Energy in the Solar Corona Using Forward Modeling of MHD Waves

It is now well established that Alfvénic waves are ubiquitous in the solar corona. However, the Alfvénic wave energy estimated from Doppler velocity measurements in the corona was found to be four orders of magnitude less than that estimated from nonthermal line widths. McIntosh & De Pontieu suggested that this discrepancy in energy might be due to the line-of-sight (LOS) superposition of several oscillating structures, which can lead to an underestimation of the Alfvénic wave amplitudes and energies. McIntosh & De Pontieu termed this coronal "dark" or "hidden" energy. However, their simulations required the use of an additional, unknown source of Alfvénic wave energy to obtain agreement with measurements of the coronal nonthermal line widths. In this study, we investigate the requirement of this unknown source of additional "dark" energy in the solar corona using gravitationally stratified 3D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of propagating waves. We excite the transverse MHD waves and generate synthetic observations of the Fe xiii emission line. We establish that LOS superposition greatly reduces the Doppler velocity amplitudes and increases the nonthermal line widths. Importantly, our model generates the observed wedge-shape correlation between Doppler velocities and nonthermal line widths. We find that the observed wave energy is only 0.2%–1% of the true wave energy, which explains the 2–3 order-of-magnitude energy discrepancy. We conclusively establish that true wave energies are hidden in nonthermal line widths. Hence, our results rule out the requirement for an additional "dark" energy in the solar corona

EDITORIAL: Independent journalism

Discussion about the role of journalism in universities too often leaves the impression that our main, and even only game, should be producing employees for major media corporations. This issue of Pacific Journalism Review assumes much more than that. The theme for the issue is investigative journalism, particularly material presented at the ‘Back to the Source’ investigative journalism conference hosted by the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism (ACIJ) and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Sydney in September 2011. This was the second regional investigative journalism conference; the first, hosted by the Pacific Media Centre, provided the theme for PJR (MIJT, 2011). These conferences, and indeed Pacific Journalism Review, are based on the notion that the goal of university based journalism is to develop links between journalists—whether full-time employees of major companies, freelancers, academics or students—in order to promote a more independent and critical culture of journalism in our region, without which democracy cannot flourish. This goal suggests a relationship much wider and more challenging than simply the production of qualified journalists

Zones of silence: Forensic patients, radio documentary, and a mindful approach to journalism ethics

This article explains a collaborative and critically reflective journalism research project stemming from the wish of an incarcerated forensic mental health patient to be named in public communication about his case. The authors are academics and journalists who embarked upon a combination of journalism, legal processes and academic research to win the right to name Patient A in a radio documentary and in academic works—including this journal article and research blogs. As a case study, it explains the theoretical and ethical considerations informing the journalism and the academic research, drawing upon traditions of documentary production, the principle of open justice and the ethical framework of ‘mindful journalism’. It concludes by drawing lessons from the project that might inform future practitioners and researchers embarking upon works of journalism and research involving vulnerable people and a competing set of rights and public interests

Short-Term Effectiveness of a Lifestyle Intervention Program for Reducing Selected Chronic Disease Risk Factors in Individuals Living in Rural Appalachia: A Pilot Cohort Study

Most Western chronic diseases are closely tied to lifestyle behaviors, and many are preventable. Despite the well-distributed knowledge of these detrimental behaviors, effective efforts in disease prevention have been lacking. Many of these chronic diseases are related to obesity and type diabetes, which have doubled in incidence during the last 35 years. The Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP) is a community-based, comprehensive lifestyle modification approach to health that has shown success in addressing this problem. This pilot study demonstrates the effectiveness of CHIP in an underserved, rural, and vulnerable Appalachian population. Two hundred fourteen participants in CHIP collectively demonstrated significant reductions in body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and fasting blood levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, and glucose. If these results can be repeated in other at-risk populations, CHIP has the potential to help reduce the burden of preventable and treatable chronic diseases efficiently and cost-effectively