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1.
The main aim of this article is to explore the ways in which teacher educators can improve levels of reflection in postgraduate student teachers. The author argues that postgraduate student teachers are able to reflect on their practice in schools, and that the insights gained are useful in clarifying their own beliefs about teaching and learning. The outcome of such reflection at an early stage of their career may have implications for their ability to engage with the development opportunities made available to them as they move through their teaching careers. Using a qualitative approach, data from the learning journals and reflective writing assignments of student teachers, and a focus group interview, are examined in order to evaluate students' ability to engage in reflective writing at various stages over a 1 year course. The support given to students over the course of the year is examined with a view to evaluating its impact on students' abilities to reflect on their practice and their own learning. A number of recommendations are made for possible improvements to supporting student teachers in this important area of work.  相似文献   

2.
A project-based active/cooperative design course is planned, implemented, assessed and evaluated to achieve several desired engineering outcomes. The course allows freshman-level students to gain professional hands-on engineering design experience through an opportunity to practise teamwork, quality principles, communication skills, life-long learning, realistic constraints and awareness of current domestic and global challenges. Throughout successive design reports and in-class assignments, the students are required by the end of the semester to communicate, clearly and concisely, the details of their design both orally and in writing through a functional artefact/prototype, a design notebook, an A0 project poster and a final oral presentation. In addition to these direct assessment tools, several indirect measures are used to ensure triangulation. Assignments are based on customer expectations using a detailed checklist. This paper shows the direct and indirect assessment tools that indicated a high level of achievement of course learning outcomes and a high level of student satisfaction.  相似文献   

3.
This article describes a collaborative research project by the institutional research group and a team of faculty members at a Canadian university. In response to an increasingly diverse mix of students, the researchers set out to develop an understanding of relationships between student characteristics, categorized as demographic differences, personal attributes and academic preparedness, and student outcomes measured by both grades and student perceptions. Significant differences were found in grades outcomes based on characteristics such as international status, secondary school grades, study habits and writing skills. However, these differences were not evident in student perceptions of course value or learning achievement. This study has important implications for university administrators (recruiting, intake assessment and student support), instructors (understanding of diversity characteristics and how students perceive learning experience) and for students, who can be given an opportunity to better understand how their own personal characteristics might affect their learning experiences and outcomes.  相似文献   

4.

This article describes a collaborative research project by the institutional research group and a team of faculty members at a Canadian university. In response to an increasingly diverse mix of students, the researchers set out to develop an understanding of relationships between student characteristics, categorized as demographic differences, personal attributes and academic preparedness, and student outcomes measured by both grades and student perceptions. Significant differences were found in grades outcomes based on characteristics such as international status, secondary school grades, study habits and writing skills. However, these differences were not evident in student perceptions of course value or learning achievement. This study has important implications for university administrators (recruiting, intake assessment and student support), instructors (understanding of diversity characteristics and how students perceive learning experience) and for students, who can be given an opportunity to better understand how their own personal characteristics might affect their learning experiences and outcomes.

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5.
Students in a large undergraduate biology course were expected to write a scientific report as a key part of their course design. This study investigates the quality of learning arising from the writing experience and how it relates to the quality of students’ preconceptions of learning through writing and their perceptions of their writing program that led to their report. Closed‐ended questionnaires investigating student conceptions and perceptions of writing, and approaches to writing, were completed by 121 students. Significant associations were found amongst qualitatively different prior and post conceptions of writing, approaches to writing and achievement. The results of the analyses suggest that the effective support of student experiences of writing reports requires teachers to be aware of the type of conceptions that students bring to their course and the perceptions they hold about the purpose of the writing program in which they are engaged.  相似文献   

6.
One of the best opportunities that undergraduates have to learn to write like a scientist is to write a thesis after participating in faculty-mentored undergraduate research. But developing writing skills doesn't happen automatically, and there are significant challenges associated with offering writing courses and with individualized mentoring. We present a hybrid model in which students have the structural support of a course plus the personalized benefits of working one-on-one with faculty. To optimize these one-on-one interactions, the course uses BioTAP, the Biology Thesis Assessment Protocol, to structure engagement in scientific peer review. By assessing theses written by students who took this course and comparable students who did not, we found that our approach not only improved student writing but also helped faculty members across the department--not only those teaching the course--to work more effectively and efficiently with student writers. Students who enrolled in this course were more likely to earn highest honors than students who only worked one-on-one with faculty. Further, students in the course scored significantly better on all higher-order writing and critical-thinking skills assessed.  相似文献   

7.
The claim that writing facilitates students’ learning, although widely accepted, has little support from empirical research. A possible explanation for the lack of empirical evidence is that writing-to-learn research has disregarded that students use different writing strategies. The purpose of the present experimental study is to test whether it is effective to adapt writing-to-learn tasks to different writing strategies when teaching literature. A course “Learning to write argumentative texts about literature” was developed in two different versions: one adapted to a planning writing strategy, the other to a revising writing strategy. Participants were 113 tenth-grade high school students in the Netherlands. Our hypothesis is an adaptation hypothesis: we expect that the more a student will use a planning writing strategy, the more the student will profit from the lessons in the planning condition, and that the more a student uses a revising writing strategy, the more beneficial the revising condition will be. However, results show that for improving literary interpretation skill, a course adapted to the planning writing strategy is more effective for almost all students.  相似文献   

8.
To be fully prepared for the professional workplace, Engineering students need to be able to effectively communicate. However, there has been a growing concern in the field about students’ preparedness for this aspect of their future work. It is argued that online writing tools, to engage numbers of students in the writing process, can support feedback on and development of writing in engineering on a larger scale. Through interviews and questionnaires, this study explores engineering academics’ perceptions of writing to better understand how online writing tools may be integrated into their teaching. Results suggest that writing is viewed positively in the discipline, but it is not believed to be essential to success in engineering. Online writing tools were believed to support a larger number of students, but low knowledge of the tools limited academics’ understanding of their usefulness in teaching and learning. Implications for innovation in undergraduate teaching are discussed.  相似文献   

9.
In this mixed methods study, qualitative, quantitative, and single-case methods were combined to provide a comprehensive investigation of teacher and student outcomes following practice-based professional development (PBPD) for self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) in writing. Qualitative observations were used to determine outcomes among the three-fourth grade teachers involved, a nested quantitative model was used to analyze classwide student writing outcomes across 53 students in the three classes, and single case design was used to determine differential outcomes among randomly selected struggling and average writers in each class. PBPD was followed by coaching for differentiation based on student performance and fidelity as teachers taught their students strategies for writing timed imaginary stories (with self as main character), as required by the state writing test. Qualitative results indicated two teachers did not differentiate writing instruction without coaching; one teacher was unresponsive to coaching and did not differentiate instruction. Classwide analysis demonstrated significant growth in writing at the class level for students from baseline to posttesting. Single case design results indicated mixed outcomes among struggling and average writers and instances where instruction was not effective. Teachers indicated high social validity for PBPD and for SRSD; students indicated high social validity for SRSD. Results across the multiple methods illuminate growth and struggles often disguised in group data and are addressed to aid in understanding and enhancing PBPD as well as instruction in SRSD and other evidence-based practices. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.  相似文献   

10.
Journal entries submitted by thirteen Doctor of Education students as a course requirement were analysed in order to explore the nature and content of their reflection and the effectiveness of journal writing in facilitating student learning. The findings confirm that journal writing encourages students to engage cognitively and reflectively with course concepts and content and to make connections between their academic learning and their personal/professional experience. Marked individual differences in response styles were apparent and these impacted on the learning outcomes reported by students. An ‘analytic’ approach to journal writing helps students to clarify, organise, evaluate and personalise ideas, an ‘extracting’ approach provides a useful record of ideas and issues, and an ‘affective’ approach encourages freedom of expression and self‐evaluation. Students who adopt a ‘course‐feedback’ style, however, receive little benefit from the activity. Suggestions are made for improving the effectiveness of student journals as a learning technique.  相似文献   

11.
ABSTRACT: Writing can enhance learning by helping students put words to their thinking about course material. The purposes of this study were to assess the influence of a structured academic journal writing exercise on student learning in a food science class and to examine student responses to the experience. Hermeneutics, a philosophy of science and qualitative research method, was used to analyze journal data from 48 participating students during a 2-y period and involved 3 steps: (1) describing themes taken from a global reading of student commentaries, (2) reducing or relating themes to specific, verbatim statements found in student writings, and (3) interpreting or imposing meaning on the themes and the statements (Lanigan 1988). Hermeneutic analysis showed that journal writing was difficult at first but became easier and enjoyable over time, allowed students to relate course content to other knowledge, exposed students to course material multiple times allowing for better information retention, enhanced student understanding, helped students think critically, required students to prepare for class, gave students the opportunity to express opinions, and allowed students to experience writing as enjoyable and positive. Several minor themes suggested that most students found the experience useful to their learning. Findings from this study are consistent with neuroscience and cognitive psychology theories regarding learning and the development of reasoning skills.  相似文献   

12.
A project in writing-across-the curriculum was launched within a nationally ranked baccalaureate degree program in accountancy at a Boston area college. The project team, which comprised faculty from accountancy and technical communication, attempted to integrate technical communication skills, principally writing, into an accounting information systems course. To improve student writing in this way, the team had to determine what kinds of writing activities would successfully introduce accounting students to the discourse of their profession, and had to select, from all the communication skills that might be taught, only those that should be taught to complement the specialized content of the accounting information systems course. The team's collaborative process produced three critical planning decisions that greatly simplified the integration: 1) establishing Joseph Juran's TQM notion of fitness-for-use for evaluating the quality of student communications; 2) selecting only those forms of communication used in the profession's discourse community in assignments; and 3) teaching only those communication skills that support and enrich the principal technical skills taught in the accounting course. This strategy demonstrates that communication skills can be integrated within a technical course so as to enhance the students' understanding of technical content while improving the students' proficiency in written communication.  相似文献   

13.
We tested the hypothesis that engagement in a few, brief writing assignments in a nonmajors science course can improve student ability to convey critical thought about science. A sample of three papers written by students (n = 30) was coded for presence and accuracy of elements related to scientific writing. Scores for different aspects of scientific writing were significantly correlated, suggesting that students recognized relationships between components of scientific thought. We found that students' ability to write about science topics and state conclusions based on data improved over the course of three writing assignments, while the abilities to state a hypothesis and draw clear connections between human activities and environmental impacts did not improve. Three writing assignments generated significant change in student ability to write scientifically, although our results suggest that three is an insufficient number to generate complete development of scientific writing skills.  相似文献   

14.
The argumentative essay has endured as a popular form of university assessment, yet students still struggle to meet key intended learning outcomes, such as those associated with critical thinking. This paper presents the results of a study that examines the instruction provided by Australian essay writing guides to support students’ development of a questioning, critical viewpoint. Thirty publically available guides were chosen from a range of university types, and sourced from central student learning units and humanities disciplines. Findings of this documentary analysis show that some guides provide too little context for essay writing as an academic practice, and conceptualise definitional, instructional and procedural aspects of the task in ways that may not align with intended outcomes. The conclusion indicates a need for further research about the teaching of argumentative essay writing.  相似文献   

15.
Although writing groups have a long history in higher education, they have only recently been recognized as a support strategy for doctoral students, particularly those at the dissertation stage. From the perspective of student participants, we investigate motivations for participation in and perceived outcomes of voluntary semi-structured writing groups used to facilitate doctoral degree completion. Group participation resulted in the development of a vibrant intellectual community among students, recent doctoral recipients, and faculty. Commitment to degree completion and student and faculty scholarly productivity soared through the use of this simple but innovative pedagogical strategy.  相似文献   

16.
Whereas there has been strong advocacy of the value of writing for learning in science, the role of student planning in this approach and the relationships between planning, writing, and learning have been underresearched. Our mixed method study aimed to address this issue by seeking to identify quantitative differences in learning outcomes between two groups of students exposed to varying degrees of planning activities in writing‐to‐learn experiences. We also identified differences in learning outcomes between a group of students with two writing experiences and a group with one writing experience. Results indicate that students with planned writing activities did not score significantly better on conceptual questions as a group than students who had delayed planning experiences. Students with two writing experiences as opposed to one also scored significantly better as a group on answering conceptual questions both immediately after the writing experience and on a test 8 weeks after the unit. The difference in writing treatment initially significantly affected males compared with females but this effect disappeared with further opportunities to write. Students' comments provide support for using nontraditional writing tasks as a means to assist learning, particularly when the focus is on an audience different from the teacher. In reporting on different learning outcomes for the two groups, we consider various implications including identification of some key conditions for student writing to serve learning. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 186–210, 2004  相似文献   

17.
A random sample of language arts, social studies, science, and math high school teachers from across the United States were surveyed about their use of writing to support student learning. Four out of every five teachers reported they used writing to support student learning, applying on average 24 different writing activities across the school year, with nine activities applied by at least one-half of the teachers once a month or more often. Teachers’ responses, however, raised several concerns. One, a majority of teachers indicted they did not receive adequate preservice or inservice preparation on how to use writing to support learning (this issue was especially acute for science and math teachers). Two, many of the nine most commonly applied writing to learn activities involved little or no analysis, interpretation, or personalization of information to be learned. Three, use of writing activities involving the use of digital tools, report writing, and written arguments were infrequent. Such activities are stressed by the Common Core State Standards. Four, when respondents taught students how to apply writing to learn activities, they only used effective teaching practices slightly more than one half of the time (math teachers did this even less often). We further found that use of writing to support learning was related to teachers’ preparation to apply such strategies, perceptions of capabilities to teach and use these tools, and percent of below average students in the class.  相似文献   

18.
Distance students are time poor and some drop out of their studies because they fall behind with coursework. This raises the issue of how course teams decide upon how many study hours should be included in a course. This article presents a number of Open University projects that have addressed student workload management and relates how learning design has incorporated these findings into advice for new module development. Moreover, the article also discusses how recent automatic feedback systems can motivate and support time-poor students when writing their assignments. This is an important finding as drop-out can occur when students are unable to devote the necessary time to their summative assessments and drop out of the learning process.  相似文献   

19.
This paper discusses writing as a social practice and speculates on how wikis might be used to promote higher quality academic writing and support collaborative learning. This study of undergraduate teacher trainees’ online learning activities focuses on how shared spaces – wikis – might be used to communicate ideas and generate course‐specific content. The study also explored how students, through such activities, were able to improve their academic writing skills and engage more critically in learning. Data captured from student discussion boards and a post‐module email questionnaire (n = 35) were used to map student perceptions of the usefulness of wikis in support of their academic studies. The data indicate that most students raised their skill level in writing directly to the publicly viewable wiki space, in sharp contrast to the more informal content they posted on the discussion boards. The scope of collaborative writing was limited due to students’ reluctance to edit each others’ work, but students appreciated the shared environment as a means of discussing their work and the content of the course. Students reported that their academic writing skills had improved through their formal participation in the wiki.  相似文献   

20.
The scoring matrix, a method used to facilitate community participation in collaboratively planning and monitoring development projects in natural resource management, was adapted to promote collaboration and reflection in a course in participatory resource management. The scoring matrix is described and its strengths and weaknesses in relation to key objectives are analysed. The matrix represents an innovative approach to evaluation that may be useful in a variety of fields. The authors argue, too, that the case is an example of how discipline (and profession-) specific tools can be adapted in an educational setting to serve the dual purposes of promoting experiential learning of particular key skills, and of monitoring and evaluating student learning. They suggest that academics in other fields may wish to consider participatory tools like the scoring matrix or adapt the tools of their own disciplines as ways of collaboratively evaluating teaching in their own disciplines/professions.  相似文献   

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