13 research outputs found
Learning to share and sharing to learn – professionaldevelopment of language teachers in HE to foster open educational practices
This case study presents the staff-development perspective of the ‘Collaborative Writing and Peer Review Project’ developed at the Department of Languages, at the Open University, UK, between November 2011 and March 2012. The project was set up to promote the professional development of teachers through collaborative writing and peer review, encouraging open educational practices (OEP) and by extension the production and publication of teaching resources in an open repository. As teacher developers working in a blended environment, the authors facilitate opportunities for sharing and developing good practice as part of a broad staff development programme to help teachers understand and integrate innovative approaches into their practice. Participants in this project brought with them a range of experiences as practitioners from their work with language students both at and outside the University. This case study focuses on the professional development aspect of this initiative. It presents the different aspects of the process and analyses teachers’ involvement with social online tools and the impact on teaching practice of engaging with the process of collaboration
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Distance and virtual distance: Preliminary results of a study of interaction patterns in synchronous audio graphic CMC and face-to-face tutorials in beginners’ language tutorials
This paper presents preliminary results of a larger study of interaction patterns in beginners’ language tutorials held at the Open University. The tutorials are voluntary, supplementing a distance learning course in German as a Foreign Language. Tutorials are offered in two versions: traditional face-to-face tutorials in a classroom or online tutorials held through an internet based audio-graphic conferencing system. Interaction patterns are compared between the two modes of presentation, between different tasks performed by students and between different tutors initiating the same task. Results of the completed study will be published in 2005 / 06
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Face-to-face and online interactions - is a task a task?
This study contrasts two different ways of analysing interaction and participation in language learning tutorials: Social network analysis of frequency and QSR analysis of type of interaction. One task from three German beginners' language tutorials (one delivered face-to-face, the other two online) is analysed. A description of the background and method of the study is provided together with some examples of the findings. As this is work in progress, only tentative conclusions can be provided at this stage
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The role and nature of assessment in blended contexts
Written for those teaching languages to adults in blended contexts in higher, further and adult education, where a mix of delivery modes and tools may be in use, this edited volume offers a comprehensive overview of the key issues faced and of the developmental issues that may arise for teachers and for those responsible for their professional development. The authors examine the impact of different learning environments (online, face-to-face, telephone) on pedagogic practice and language learner support and recognises the particular socio-cultural, psycho-linguistic and cognitive issues that have to be taken into account when working with diverse adult language learners in blended settings. Field research underpins the chapters to better inform and develop good practice.
The editors and contributors have all worked on the production and teaching presentations of Open University (OU) courses in French, German, Spanish, Welsh, Italian, Chinese and English. Many of them have also been responsible for the professional development of teaching teams working in varied blended models. The authors draw on pioneering and innovative work carried out in the fifteen years since the inception of language courses at the Open University, where blended models have been modified and become more complex over the years. The ideas they present are therefore well-formed, tested and have been approached reflectively.
Language teachers, particularly those who teach adult learners at all levels, will find the book of immense value in enhancing their professional perspective, assisting the development of their own teaching practice and enabling them to make useful links between research and practice.
The editors are all Senior Lecturers in the Open University’s Faculty of Education and Language Studies, and Staff Tutors in Languages, Margaret Nicolson for the Open University in Scotland, Linda Murphy for the Open University in the South of England and Margaret Southgate for the Open University in Wales
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‘Distant Classmates: speech and silence in online and telephone language tutorials’
This paper presents findings from the Interaction Study Group, a team of four researchers based at the Open University (OU) investigating tutorial provision on beginners' distance language courses. Patterns of verbal interaction in online and telephone tutorials are investigated using social network analysis and gaps and silences between interaction turns are analysed using an ethnographic approach. The results lead to recommendations for tutor training and student preparation for online and telephone tutorials
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Distant Classmates: Speech and silence online and telephone language tutorials
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Distant Classmates: comparing online and telephone language tutorials
This paper presents findings from the Interaction Study Group, a team of four researchers based at the Open University (OU) investigating tutorial provision on
beginners’ distance language courses. Patterns of verbal interaction in online and telephone tutorials are investigated using social network analysis and gaps and
silences between interaction turns are analysed using an ethnographic approach. The results lead to recommendations for tutor training and student preparation for online
and telephone tutorials
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Repositioning peer marking for feedback literacy in higher education
While the benefits of peer review on feedback literacy are widely recognised, peer marking tends to be associated with summative assessment, and often dismissed as a legacy from outdated approaches where assessment was used for measuring learning rather than as a means of achieving it. This paper repositions peer marking as a means of developing feedback literacy within a sustainable model of assessment. It presents an illustrative study where formative peer marking was integrated in a first-year distance learning undergraduate module in language studies, using digital asynchronous tools. Student engagement among the cohort (N = 939), as well as students’ learning behaviours and attitudes to peer marking, were evaluated through a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. Patterns of student engagement varied, with 41% of the cohort engaging in some way, but only 17% completing all task components. Thematic analysis of student forum discussions reveals that the process of marking and comparing marks did elicit an array of critical evaluation strategies among the latter group. Comments voiced by those students as to the value of peer marking were also positive, though it is also noted that this was a self-selected group. A roadmap for the graded integration of peer assessment across the curriculum is proposed