The Applicability of Speech Act Analysis to Course Evaluation: A Small-Scale Pilot Study

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Alison Devine, Edge Hill University, UK

Abstract

The current paper has both a substantive and methodological focus. Substantively, it finds that the online discussion board postings of students enrolled on a postgraduate certificate in teaching and learning display evidence of students’ applying course studies in their workplace, but that these displays are mostly limited to comments regarding their own physical activities and (affective) approaches, rather than any attempt to disseminate their learning any more widely. Methodologically then, this paper argues that speech act analysis (SAA) can be of partial use to the course evaluator who is seeking evidence of an impact on practice as one means of triangulating data, but that there are three types of evidence of impact on practice apparent in the students’ online postings and a detailed understanding of these types can aid in enhancing student learning.
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Models for Success Initiative: Evidence Based Learning in a Latino Community

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Edith Esparza-Young, Texas A&M University, USA

Abstract

This paper examines the use of evidence-based learning to adapt and modify teaching practices to best serve the needs of pre-service teachers during the induction period. Research has shown that the attrition and retention rates of teachers during the first four years are at odds. The data collection consists of archived self-reflections by the participants along with university personnel, public school officials, mentoring teachers, and professors.
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Learning Resolutions: Assessment, Community Building, and Course Closure

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Bonnie Farley-Lucas, Southern Connecticut State University, USA

Abstract

Learning resolutions are an end-of-semester classroom exercise designed to help assess learning outcomes, while also providing a community-building experience and a positive closure for a course. Used in conjunction with formal written learning summaries and written course evaluation forms, learning resolutions provide valuable data about what students have learned throughout the course of a semester. This paper defines and offers examples of learning resolutions, reviews benefits for assessment of student learning, community building, and student learning, and provides several variations of active learning modules utilizing learning resolutions that can be adapted and used across all disciplines.
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The Art and Science of Design Education in a New College of Architecture

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Christina Joy Hoehn & Hans Peter Wachter, University of Oklahoma, USA

Abstract

Educating today’s design students goes beyond the standard walk and talk of the traditional classroom. Environments that nurture and promote collaboration and integration of technology are becoming a standard, critical for students emerging from the design academy. This paper will discuss the design of a college of architecture at the academy that must promote and foster the concepts of interdisciplinary collaboration, teaming and technology integration. A well-conceived facility creates an environment that will generate students that are ready to enter the design industry at a competitive level after graduation. Creative facility design promotes and enriches inclusive learning in a technologically-based educational discipline.
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Enhancing Classroom Communities and Course Engagement

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Tony Holland & Robert Pithers, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia

Abstract

The concept of the classroom as a community has been shown to contribute to student course engagement. The research literature also shows that classroom community may also contribute to academic achievement as well. This study looked at some of the variables that might further contribute to an enhanced level of classroom community with both post-graduate and undergraduate university students. The study examined variables such as gender, mode of study and educational experience and their contribution to the development of a sense of community as measured using a Classroom Community Scale. This study will show the relative importance of each of these variables.
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Innovations in the Traditional Chinese University Classroom

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Shaobin Ji, Wenzhou Vocational and Technical College, Wenzhou, China

Abstract

Traditionally, the Chinese classroom has been a place where lecturers transmit knowledge to learners. However, with the revolution in modern information technology, the traditional Chinese classroom has been systematically replaced by a virtual and multiple-function classroom where students and their instructors have more opportunity to exchange views on topics jointly set by the learners and instructors. So far the so-called “three-in–one classroom” has emerged from cooperation between higher learning institutions and their industrial counterparts. This paper addresses some critical issues related to this new pedagogical approach, where students are much more actively involved in industrial production as well as in traditional learning. It touches on issues concerning teaching effectiveness, assessment, the changing role of teachers, integrating textbooks with information available online or in the workplace, and the complementary roles of faculty and industry experts in student training.
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University Students’ Self-Regulation of Time Management

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Anna S.F. Kwan, The Open University of Hong Kong

Abstract

This study reports on efforts to aid university students on how to manage time to reach their goals. These students are members of a time management self-help group at a university in Hong Kong, who have different degrees of experience in using weekly schedules to manage their time. Interviews were conducted to understand the process of their development, and reveal that their development of time management skills involves at least four stages.
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Creativity in Materials Development: A Resource to Enhance Active Learning in Higher Education

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Susanna Wai Ching Lai-Yeung, The Open University of Hong Kong

Abstract

Contemporary higher education faces many challenges: funding cuts and diminished resources, large class size, wider university participation, increased student diversity, and rapidly changing student characteristics. In the midst of these challenges, teachers remain a very important factor in student engagement. Using examples from teaching an undergraduate course in educational psychology, the author discusses ways in which teachers can be creative in developing authentic, interesting and meaningful course materials to engage students in active learning.
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Students’ Attitudes towards Modes of Evaluation

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Mordechai Miron, Tel Aviv University, Israel

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine the attitudes of Israeli students towards different modes of evaluation. The Sample consisted of 346 undergraduate students who were enrolled in six different faculties. The instrument used in the study was a questionnaire. The analysis of the data indicated that there were significant differences among students’ attitudes from different faculties towards each mode of evaluation.
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A New Interface as a Teaching Element in a General Course on Control Systems

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Minekazu Moriishi, Norisada Uji, Aya Inaura, Hiroshi Yokoyama, & Hirotaka Uoi,
Osaka Electro-Communication University, Japan

Abstract

In the “Control by Computer Program” course taught at the Osaka Electro-Communication University, students are expected to master a control system that consists of actuators, sensors, and a computer interface. But in real-world control systems there are many interfaces — so many that students cannot recognize them easily. In this study, a new, more easily understood, physically separated and visualized interface has been developed by the authors. In addition, the authors have tested the new interface in the course and confirmed its usefulness.
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