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Lama, Prabin Tshering. "Assessing the Impact of Writing Centers on Student Writing." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/82954.
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This study assesses the influence of writing center tutorials on student writing and presents tutoring best practices. Writing center scholars have emphasized the need for evidence-based studies to understand how one-on-one tutorials influence student writing practices. After examining twenty tutorial recordings along with their pre-and post-intervention drafts in two state universities (ten in each university), the author traced the influence of writing center tutorials on students' post-session revisions and identified tutoring best practices. The findings show that all the twenty students included in the study followed up on the issues addressed in their tutorials, in some form or the other, in their post-session drafts. In terms of tutoring strategies, the findings revealed that although most of the tutors in the study could identify and speak about global concerns (i.e. development, structure, purpose, audience), many lacked specific strategies to address these concerns effectively. To address this concern, this study identifies tutoring best practices related to global concerns. Furthermore, the findings also revealed that the tutors faced challenges navigating the directive/non-directive continuum of tutoring. To address this concern, this study presents tutoring best practices to demonstrate how tutors can shift flexible between directive and non-directive strategies during a session.Ph. D.
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Hutchison, Allison Brooke. "Assessing the Feasibility of Online Writing Support for Technical Writing Students." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/90375.
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This dissertation unites two seemingly unrelated fields, writing centers and technical writing, to study the feasibility of creating an online technical writing resource. Despite prolonged attention to multiliteracies and collaboration in both subfields, writing centers and technical writing do not commonly implicate one another in their shared mission of shaping students to become savvy writers with an awareness of rhetorical concepts and situations. This dissertation establishes how complementary these two fields are based upon their shared pedagogies of collaboration and multiliteracies. I suggest that a service design approach is beneficial to writing center research. Similarly, the technical writing field has little research and scholarship dedicated specifically to online writing instruction and pedagogy.
Historically, writing centers have served students from all disciplines, but research demonstrates the effectiveness of specialist over generalist writing support. Taking a specialist perspective, I use service design methodology to gather input from student and instructor stakeholders about how online writing tutoring and web resources can address their needs. Using survey and interview data, I designed and piloted an online tutoring service for students enrolled in the Technical Writing service course at Virginia Tech.
In student and instructor surveys, participants reported that they were highly unlikely to use online tutoring sessions but were more likely to use a course-specific website. Additionally, student interviews revealed that the Writing Center is not necessarily a highly-used resource, especially for upper-level students. Instructor interviewees indicated some misunderstandings and limited views of the Writing Center's mission. Nevertheless, a small number of participants in both groups spoke to a need for specialized tutoring in the Technical Writing course.
In terms of feasibility, integration of online services for this course poses the greatest challenge because it relates to the amount of change needed to successfully integrate online tutoring or web resources into the curriculum. With some attention to how OWLs and synchronous online tutoring can be an asset to teaching technical writing online, I argue that the pilot project described in this study is relatively feasible.Doctor of Philosophy
A feasibility study addresses whether or not an idea or plan is good. In the case of this dissertation, the idea is whether or not to offer online writing services—such as tutoring and a repository website—to students enrolled in Technical Writing at Virginia Tech. In order to study the feasibility of this plan, I first argue for bringing together the fields of writing centers and technical writing. Two strong reasons for uniting these fields are based upon their shared methods and practices of teaching collaboration and multiliteracies. Multiliteracies in this dissertation refers to critical, functional, and rhetorical computer literacies; each literacy is important for Technical Writing students to develop as they enter their future careers. Historically, writing centers are places on a college or university campus where students from all disciplines can go for tutoring; this is known as the generalist approach to writing tutoring. However, research demonstrates the effectiveness of a specialist approach—where a tutor is familiar with a student’s discipline—to writing tutoring over generalist writing support. Therefore, I take a specialist perspective in this study. I use service design system of methods to gather input from student and instructor stakeholders about how online writing tutoring and web resources can address their needs. Service design is commonly used in the service economy, such as restaurants and hotels, in order to design or redesign services. In particular, service design focuses on people and their needs. Using survey and interview data, I designed and piloted an online tutoring service and a website for students enrolled in the Technical Writing service course at Virginia Tech. In student and instructor surveys, participants reported that they were highly unlikely to use online tutoring sessions but were more likely to use a course-specific website. Additionally, student interviews revealed that the Writing Center at Virginia Tech is not necessarily a highly-used resource, especially for upper-level students. Instructor interviewees indicated some misunderstandings and limited views of the Writing Center’s mission. Nevertheless, a small number of participants in both groups spoke to a need for specialized tutoring in the Technical Writing course. In terms of feasibility, integration of online services for this course poses the greatest challenge because it relates to the amount of change needed to successfully integrate online tutoring or web resources into the curriculum. With some attention to how online writing labs and synchronous online tutoring can be an asset to teaching technical writing online, I argue that the pilot project described in this study is relatively feasible.
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Pearson, Eden F. "Assessing writing through reflection a qualitative inquiry /." [Ames, Iowa : Iowa State University], 2007.
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Weitzel, Larry. "Assessing business writing: An examination of scoring methods, writing sample complexity, and rating variability." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2000. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1750.
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Oliver, Cynthia Catherine. "Technical writing, assessing curriculum and improvement rates for adult learners." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2000. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape3/PQDD_0015/MQ49150.pdf.
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Oliver, Cynthia Catherine, and University of Lethbridge Faculty of Education. "Technical writing : assessing curriculum and improvement rates for adult learners." Thesis, Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Education, 2000, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10133/108.
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The purpose of this study was to determine if adult students at the College of the Rockies improved in their ability to write technical English after having studied specifically developed curriculum. The research was conducted during the winter semester (January to April 1999) at the Cranbrook, BC campus. Curriculum for the course Technical and Professional Writing 091 was developed as a project for the Centre for Curriculum, Transfer and Technology, an arm of the post-secondary education division of the government of the Province of British Columbia. Four of the units, Direct Requests, Bad News Messages, Persuasive Writing, and Reports and Proposals were tested out in the Cranbrook class via pre and posttesting of the students. As well, field observations and interviews formed an integral component of the study. The final data analysis overall improvement in the learners' ability to write technical English; in addition, each curriculum unit was scrutinized for improvement rates. Recommendations were made for further areas of study and research needed in this discipline.ix, 81 leaves ; 29 cm.
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Veldtman, Helga Delene. "Assessing laboratory report writing skills of first entering bachelor of science students." Thesis, University of Limpopo, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/3401.
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Thesis (M. A. (English Studies)) --University of Limpopo, 2020Conventional laboratory report writing skills present an enormous challenge to first entering science students including the Bachelor of Science (BSc) students at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMHSU). First entering students are expected to meet essential tertiary discourse requirements and standards consistent with their scientific community. The purpose of this study was to explore how content lecturers in cognate departments assess laboratory report writing skills of first entering BSc students. The research design was exploratory and a mixed approach was used. Students sat for a criterion-referenced test and interviews were conducted with content lecturers to collect data; quantitative basic statistical interrogation of the basic data points and post interview analysis were performed. Some of the key findings of this exploration was that most first entering BSc students are in a dire situation regarding the laboratory report writing genre; they are unable to communicate comprehensive and intelligible information in the written laboratory reports. Thus, content lecturers and English language lecturers from the Department of Language Proficiency (DLP) need to strategically collaborate in order to improve the performance of first entering BSc students.
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Kasim, Varli A. "A study into English language teaching in Turkey : assessing competencies in speaking and writing." Thesis, University of Bristol, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/1983/95ebbfd5-cc06-4f8f-9062-1f1f3a032543.
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Albertson, Luann R. "A cognitive-behavioral intervention study : assessing the effects of strategy instruction on story writing /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/7710.
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Draper, Matthew. "The write rationale : teaching and assessing writing in English home language in the senior phase." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14154.
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The National Curriculum Statement is the most substantive document framing how English teachers are expected to teach writing in English Home Language in the Senior Phase. However, when its implicit pedagogy is evaluated according to what five decades of research and theory have confirmed as best practice, it is found wanting. This is largely due to its foundation in outcomes-based education, an educational philosophy that asserts that all meaningful learning can and must be expressed in objective, measurable terms. This positivist assumption is intrinsically at odds with how writing should be taught. Writing is both imaginative and social. Writing is imaginative in that it draws on non-rational faculties such as intuition, aesthetic sensibility and discernment as much as - if not more than - rational logical thought; writing resists reduction to measurable components. Writing is social in that to teach writing is to introduce and integrate student writers into a broader community of writers and writing. A content-driven writing pedagogy does not support the high level of interaction required between student and teacher. An alternative writing curriculum is proposed here, one that is based upon the best thinking and practice to emerge out of a long and continuing debate about how to teach writing.
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Hamakali, Hafeni Pamwenase Shikalepo. "Assessing student in English for academic purposes: The role of alternative assessment tools in writing instruction." University of the Western Cape, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/6621.
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Magister Educationis - MEdThis study aims to investigate the assessment of students in the English for Academic Purposes course at the University of Namibia Language Centre. There has been increasing criticism of standardised test and examinations and it has brought into question the value of other indirect approaches to language assessment (Reeves, 2000; Sharifi, & Hassaskhah, 2011; Tsagari, 2004). The study draws its theoretical foundation from the constructivist’s view of education (Canagarajah, 1999; Schunk, 2009; Vygotsky, 1962). The study embraces the interpretivist approach to research which tends to be more qualitative, and is open to diverse ways that people may understand and experience the same non-manipulated objective reality. The participants in this study are students and lecturers of the English for Academic Purposes course at the University of Namibia Language Centre. The study employs a qualitative research design, along with triangulation, where qualitative data was collected through lecturer interviews, lesson observations, multiple intelligence inventory, and student focus groups discussions. The study adapted the thematic approach of data analysis where the data were analysed and presented under themes derived from the research questions of the study. The findings indicate that, there was a limited stock of assessments that suits the classification of alternative assessment, namely: checklists, student-lecturer question techniques, and academic essay. The findings reveal some factors that influence the integration of alternative assessment in academic writing instruction, such as: lecturers and students’ knowledge of assessment, students’ assessment preferences, authenticity, classroom setup, and feedback. The findings also showed that the assessment practices that were used by the lecturers did not seem to fulfil the ideologies advocated in Gardener’s (1984) theory of Multiple Intelligences. However, the study found that the students and lecturers’ attitude which was skewed towards the positive direction may be an indication that there could be hope for success in attempts to integrate alternative assessment in academic writing instruction.
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O'Shaughnessy, Emma Vivian. "Re-assessing the inner city of Johannesburg : an exploration into emerging African urbanism and the discovery of black agency in Phaswane Mpe's Welcome to our Hillbrow and Kgebetli Moele's Room 207." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/11595.
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Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-131).At present, we are witnessing an exciting moment in African urban discourse, one that sees writers and theorists engaging with new avenues in which the African city can be configured and read. The discourse reflects and focuses on the myriad, creative ways in which African urbanites capitalise on their environments, exploring the kinds of challenges and freedoms generated by a life in the African city. Underlying this exploration is the notion that through the development of creative tactics, African urbanites can lay claim to agency amidst difficult conditions and can also shape their urban environments into flexible and enabling spaces. This approach challenges the idea that African cities are simply 'dysfunctional' or 'chaotic'. Simultaneously, this allows the stigma attached to the entire 'sign' of Africa to be challenged. The following study uses this basis of African urban discourse and applies it to a South African context. Indeed, one local urban centre that has always garnered a wealth of interest is the inner city of Johannesburg. Recent theory and research around African cities allows me to delve deeper into the intricacies of its social and geo-political landscape. The purpose of this is ultimately to shape a literary study. The discourse will aid me as I analyse two novels set in the inner city, namely Phaswane Mpe's Welcome to Our Hillbrow and Kgebteli Moele's Room 207. The theoretical framework creates a context in which I explore the impact of these two, post-apartheid novels. The texts also provide a crossover point that enables me to explore the ideas propagated by emerging African urban theory in depth. Both novels are realistic and semi- autobiographical accounts of life in the inner city. In a sense, the novels provide a semi-fictionalised 'ethnographic' frame for my research. This is not to imply that literature can challenge social theory or that the two naturally should correspond. What this approach does allow for is for me to show how valuable the writer is in this kind of environment, as well as how the city generates a particular kind of story and storytelling. Furthermore, it gives me a space in which the central tenets of African urban thought can be explored and applied in detail. For these reasons, the following research is multidisciplinary, using a range of social, urban theory to understand two creative, urban texts. The contribution it aims to make is to both to the field of literature and to the study of (South) African city spaces.
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Stapleton, Paul. "Assessing critical thinking in the writing of Japanese university students : insights about assumptions, content familiarity and biology." Thesis, University of Leicester, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/30979.
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Recent beliefs over the appropriateness of using cultural constructs as a tool to enhance foreign language learning have become entrenched into polarized camps. Disagreement between these two sides most often arises in the field of L2 writing. While writing encompasses many different facets, one of these, critical thinking, has received considerable attention. Some research suggests that Asians, including Japanese, do not display critical thinking as conveyed by their writing in English. On the other hand, other researchers claim that Asian learners are far too diverse to make claims about the whole group's thinking abilities. The present study proposes a model for assessing critical thinking in the writing of L2 learners in order to determine whether: 1) Japanese learners think critically, 2) instruction in critical thinking enhances their ability to think critically, 3) content familiarity plays a role in critical thinking, and 4) hierarchy and collectivity prevent Japanese from criticizing. Findings of an experiment performed on 69 Japanese undergraduate students using control and treatment groups and a pre- post-treatment design indicate that subjects did think critically and showed improvement after receiving instruction. However, the quality of critical though appeared to depend on the topic content with a familiar topic generating better critical thinking. In addition, it was found that notions of hierarchy or collectivism did not prevent subjects from being critical. Recent disagreement over whether Japanese language learners have critical thinking abilities is used here as a representation of how TESOL researchers have confirmed themselves to the intellectual framework of the social sciences. Working under assumptions about human behaviour that consider the brain a tabula rasas, TESOL researchers fail to consider new understandings coming from evolutionary psychology. This paper explains how critical thinking may be just one of many domain specific mechanisms with which all humans are equipped at birth. On a larger level, it is suggested that the TESOL community needs to broaden beyond the notion that 'learning' is the one and only way in which human behaviour can be understood.
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Delaney, Calum Milne. "How do assessors mark? : the process of assessing written work produced by students in higher education." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10036/4059.
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Much research into assessment has concentrated on its role in learning and educational practice, issues relating to objectivity and reliability in assessment, and the political and policy implications of assessment more generally. The means by which assessors arrive at their judgement has received comparatively little attention and remains obscure. There has been a focus on factors relating to the product rather than the subjectively experienced process of assessment. A greater understanding of the process is important for the validity of assessment and its wider consequences for students and others. The aim of this study was to examine how assessors conceptualise and carry out the assessment of discursive writing produced by students in a higher education context. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with experienced lecturers in health care subjects. The interviews and the data analysis were approached from within a hermeneutic phenomenological tradition, involving both description and interpretation. The participants' descriptions provided an analogue of what they thought they did cognitively as they assessed. These texts were then subjected to interpretation negotiated with participants to develop an understanding of the assessment process. There were two main findings relating to how participants carried out the process of assessment. Firstly, they made use of a framework of meanings that appeared in part to arise from the practice of evaluating in terms of grade-bands. These were viewed as having categorical identities with discontinuities between them, as opposed to representing ranges within a continuous scale. The data suggested that there were changes in the aspects of writing to which assessors paid attention (content versus argument/integration and components versus the whole), and the kinds of judgements they made (quantitative versus qualitative), at different points along the grade band scale. Secondly, the participants made use of six categories of processes during the course of performing an assessment. Some were objective and analytical while others were more subjective and integrative. They were not carried out sequentially, but appeared to be determined by the demands of the assessment task and to serve a function of simplification. The variety of processes within each category, their co-occurring usage and interdependence, and the selective use (or awareness) of processes by different assessors may help to explain some of the apparent complexity inherent in the assessment task, and the difficulty that experienced assessors demonstrate when trying to explain what it is they do and how they do it.
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Ross, Alanna. "Teaching and assessing for information literacy learning: A united Arab emirates case study." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2019. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/132446/2/__qut.edu.au_Documents_StaffHome_staffgroupW%24_wu75_Documents_ePrints_Julie_Ross_Thesis%5B1%5D.pdf.
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This thesis explores how instructors of Academic Writing in a UAE higher education institution conceive, teach and assess for information literacy learning. Using a case study the research included interviews, observations of classroom and instructor-student conferencing sessions, written assessment feedback, and curriculum-related materials. Findings provide insight into instructors' understanding and practice framed through the academic writing task, the challenges that students from a range of multicultural backgrounds face, and the utility that a formative assessment approach affords. Outcomes are significant for local institutions responding to international accreditation mandates, and practitioners who seek to understand the overlap between writing and research.
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English, Joel Alexander. "Assessing the synchronous online classroom : methodologies and findings in real-time virtual learning environments." Virtual Press, 1999. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1137523.
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In "Technology and Literacy: A Story about the Perils of Not Paying Attention," Cynthia Selfe charges the field of composition not to simply consider technology a tool, but to "pay attention" to the rhetorical and social implications of those tools. In one sense, paying critical attention to technological literacies echoes the decade-old call for Computers and Writing practitioners to use research as a means of assessing online activities, suggesting that teachers not remain satisfied with the unreflective excitement that has been the operative epistemology of the field from its beginning. In another sense, Selfe's recent call enlists teachers and students in reflective and evaluative class discussion and writing on the technological literacy tools they are learning to use.This dissertation responds to both of these implications as it studies a semester of first-year college composition students within a synchronous online classroom environment. The question that guides my study is, in its most basic form, what happens during synchronous online writing conferences? And to speak to that question, I design an ethnographic context-sensitive text analysis employing grounded theory for data coding, a methodological model adaptable for future research in synchronous online classroom activity. I focus on three issues that have continually arisen in the scholarship surrounding synchronous conferencing: aspects of online language, the implications of the environment within object-oriented MUDs (MOOs), and the use of social constructionism as a theoretical foundation for synchronous conferencing.With the findings from my study, I conclude the dissertation by offering pedagogical suggestions to teachers and students for critically assessing synchronous online discourse. My articulation of assessment mandates that students and teachers engage in it together, collaboratively reflecting on what happens online and learning about synchronous online discourse-a significant ingredient in contemporary literacy.Department of English
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Hattingh, Karien. "The validation of a rating scale for the assessment of compositions in ESL / K. Hattingh." Thesis, North-West University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/4203.
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This study aimed to develop and validate a rating scale for assessing English First Additional Language essays at Grade 12 level for the final National Senior Certificate examination.
The importance of writing as a communicative skill is emphasised with the re-introduction of writing as Paper 3 of the English First Additional Language examination at the end of Grade 12 in South Africa. No empirical evidence, however, is available to support claims of validity for the current rating scale.
The literature on the concept of validity and the process of validation was surveyed. Theoretical models and validation frameworks were evaluated to establish a theoretical base for the development and validation of a rating scale for assessing writing. The adopted framework was used to evaluate the adequacy of the current rating scale used for assessing Grade 12 writing in South Africa. The current scale was evaluated in terms of the degree to which it offers an appropriate means of assessing Grade 12 Level essay writing while adhering to requirements of the National Curriculum Statement. It was found lacking and the need for a new, validated rating scale was established. Various approaches to scale development were considered in consideration of factors that impact scores directly, viz. the type of rating scale, rater characteristics, scoring procedures and rater training.
A new scale was developed and validated following an empirical procedure comprising four phases. The empirical process was based on an analysis of actual performances of Grade 12 English learner writing. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used in each of the four phases to ensure the validity of the instrument. The outcome of this project was an empirically developed and validated multiple trait rating scale to assess Grade 12 essay writing. The proposed scale distinguishes five criteria assessed by means of a seven-point scale.Thesis (Ph.D. (English))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.
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DeForest, Reynolds Siri Torrence. "Validating Bloom's Revised Taxonomy as a Rubric for Assessing Middle School Students' Levels of Thinking." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/6990.
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Educators in a rural charter middle school in the United States were challenged with the reliable assessment of student thinking skills even though the development of higher order thinking was an espoused goal for the school. The purpose of this study was to validate a new rubric based on Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy (BRT) to reliably assess student levels of thinking as reflected in the students’ written work. A quantitative, nonexperimental design was used. The focus of the research questions was on the BRT rubric’s reliability and validity. Interrater reliability was assessed using Krippendorff’s alpha. Validity was explored by assessing the relationship between the BRT scores collected in this study to the original teacher scores of students’ archived writing samples. Reliable, unrelated scores would have suggested that the two processes were scoring different constructs. The convenience sample of 8 volunteer teachers scored papers using the new BRT rubric. Each teacher scored 52 writing samples, 2 each from 26 students in the 7th grade. The Spearman correlation coefficient between the BRT and original teachers’ scores was not statistically significant. The teachers’ original scores could not validate the BRT as a measuring tool. Also BRT measure failed to demonstrate evidence of reliability (Krippendorf’s α = .05). A position paper was created to present the results of this study and to explore possibilities for improving the assessment of thinking. Positive social change may be encouraged by the use of a reliable and valid scoring process to quantify levels of thinking. A reliable scoring process for levels of thinking could lead to more balanced curricula, instruction, and assessment ultimately providing a base for customized student learning experiences.
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Bira, Lindsay M. "Emotional Writing in an HIV+ Population: Assessing Two Scoring Methods of Emotional/Cognitive Processing and Their Effects on Health Status, Physical Symptoms and Psychological Well-being." Scholarly Repository, 2011. http://scholarlyrepository.miami.edu/oa_theses/294.
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Objective: The purpose of the present study is to examine whether level of written emotional expression (EE) and emotional/cognitive processing (ECP) for traumatic events predict health status (CD4 and VL), Category B symptoms, depression and anxiety in an HIV+ population over four years. Specifically, two different scoring methods of two variables within ECP (cognitive appraisal and self-esteem) will be compared to see if a change score (SMCHANGE) or a final score (SMFINAL) better predict outcomes. The possible mediating role of ECP in the relationship between EE and outcomes will also be explored. Methods: This longitudinal study assessed 169 HIV+ and diverse men and women in the midrange of illness as indicated by a CD4 number between 150 and 200 and no previous AIDS-defining symptom. EE/ECP data was gathered during baseline assessment and participants attended follow-up assessments every 6 months for a period of 4 years. Hierarchical Linear Modeling was used to examine change over time in CD4, VL log, Category B symptoms, depression and anxiety controlling for age, gender, ethnicity, education, anti-HIV medication and baseline values for each outcome. In addition, analyses for CD4 and VL log were rerun controlling for medication adherence. Results: Positive EE was found to be significantly related to only CD4 and Category B symptoms slopes. Negative EE was not related to any outcome. ECP was found to be related to CD4, VL log and Category B symptoms slope. No relationships were found between EE/ECP and depression and anxiety. SMFINAL scores on ECP subscales were found to predict CD4 and VL log slope better than SMCHANGE, but SMCHANGE scores predicted Category B symptoms slope better than SMFINAL. Within meditational analyses, ECP was found to mediate the relationship between positive EE and CD4 slope controlling for adherence. Positive EE mediated the relationship between ECP and Category B symptoms slope. Conclusions: Higher engagement in positive EE and ECP within emotional writing about a trauma contributes to beneficial changes in health outcomes over time within HIV+ individuals. SMFINAL seems to be more related to CD4 and VL log slope while SMCHANGE seems to be more related to Category B symptoms slope, indicating that both scoring methods within ECP seem to be valuable. Findings support the meditational role of ECP between EE and CD4, and provide new evidence that positive EE plays a meditational role between ECP and Category B symptoms. These findings can be used to help improve health for patients in future studies or in CBT therapies.
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Mohammad, Elham Ghazi. "Using the science writing heuristic approach as a tool for assessing and promoting students' conceptual understanding and perceptions in the general chemistry laboratory." [Ames, Iowa : Iowa State University], 2007.
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Tollerton, David C. "Reading Job as Disruption : Assessing Receptions of the Book of Job by Jewish-American Theologians Writing within or in Response to 'Holocaust Theology'." Thesis, University of Bristol, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.503881.
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Tate, Dominique Tate. "Unraveling the molecular interactions between M. oryzae and rice Assessing our assessments: a look into the role assessments play in college level learning." The Ohio State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1532015128204167.
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Schermbrucker, Ben Mathew. "Assessing the impact of an English for academic purposes course on the academic writing skills of English second language learners attending economically disadvantaged high schools : an interventionist case study." University of the Western Cape, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/5459.
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Philosophiae Doctor - PhDAcademic writing skills are vitally important for South African learners in both high school and tertiary contexts. The importance of such writing skills is even more pronounced for English Second Language (ESL) speakers, as such learners often attend low-performing schools (that inculcate poor levels of academic literacy), and also face the challenge of writing in a non-native language. This study is an attempt to understand how a specially designed English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course can improve the academic writing of bilingual, economically disadvantaged high-school South African learners. The study analysed the effects of the EAP course on Grade 11 learners from two 'nofees' high schools located in Khayeltisha and Delft. Over a seven-week period Grade 11 learners from these schools attended the EAP course twice a week (after school hours on their school premises) and submitted a total of fourteen written assignments (seven rough drafts, and seven final drafts). These assignments required the learners to formulate essay-like responses to literary and philosophical texts. The learners shaped their responses by making reference to structured classroom discussions (led by the EAP course instructor), as well as standardised notes and assignment instructions. The conceptual frameworks that guided this study were mapped using a variety of sources and materials. Whilst Hyland's (2005, 2006) influential writings on EAP helped the researcher situate the study's academic writing skill's course within an EAP paradigm, recent theoretical and empirical advancements in cognitive science (in particular by Tooby & Cosmides 1992; Gallistel 2000; Wagner &Wagner 2003) helped to justify the specifically 'modular' approach to academic writing skills that the course favoured. Finally, testimonies about the function of creative fiction (see Pessoa 2010; Kafka 2013; Barnes 2012; Pinker 2011) played an important part in shaping the EAP course's approach to text-orientated academic writing skills. Importantly, this study also aimed to describe and analyse various factors that threatened the implementation of the academic writing skills course. In relation to attrition – a phenomenon which clearly presented the single greatest threat to the intervention – Bandura's theoretical writings on the structure of agency (2006, 2005, 2004, 2001, 1998, 1997, 1994) provided a rich source of justification for many of the conclusions that the study derived about the underlying factors that drove the high dropout rate. Another key aim of this study was to transmit writing skills that would boost levels of learner preparedness for matric and first-year university. To establish a link between the course and the writing requirements of certain matric and university subjects, the researcher compared the contents of the writing skills course to the contents of these subjects. This comparative analysis relied heavily on matric and first-year university source material (i.e. exam papers, memorandums, marking rubrics, departmental handouts, etc.). In terms of its findings, the study discovered many striking parallels between the Grade 11 learners at Khayelitsha and Delft. Firstly, in both experimental groups, a preintervention writing task revealed that – prior to the EAP course's inception – the overwhelming majority of the learners were not in firm possession of virtually any of the writings skills the EAP course aimed to transmit. Secondly, in both groups, it was found that the EAP course significantly improved the learners' academic writing skills. Although this improvement was not especially visible in the learners' grade-based results for the EAP course (due, mainly, to absenteeism and resulting missed assignments), a thorough qualitative analysis of the learners' preintervention, early and late EAP assignments demonstrated that – by the end of the course – most of the learners had gained fairly high degrees of proficiency in a range of critically important academic writing skills. Thirdly, qualitative data – derived from observations and interviews – established that the high rates of attrition and absenteeism that plagued both experimental groups was chiefly due to a single cause: weak levels of agency. On the basis of this study's findings, a number of recommendations can be put forward. Firstly, the many parallels between the two experimental groups suggest that the EAP course designed by this study could achieve comparable results in other South African township schools. Secondly, due to the difficulties that this study encountered in relation to high absenteeism and attrition rates, it is recommended that future implementations of the EAP course adopt a number of measures to improve learners' perceptions of their self-efficacy. Finally, it is recommended that future versions of the EAP course could include a 'matric study skills module'.
Sasakawa Foundation
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Pinkelman, Lindsay Ann. "Everyone Engaged and Excelling: Assessing the Efficacy of Triple E Reading to Create Opportunities for Improved Literacy." Toledo, Ohio : University of Toledo, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=toledo1271353608.
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Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Toledo, 2010.Typescript. "Submitted to the Graduate Faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Education Middle Childhood Education." "A thesis entitled"--at head of title. Title from title page of PDF document. Bibliography: p. 74-96.
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周資娟. "Assessing Students’ Science Writing Performance With Peer Assessment." Thesis, 2007. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/01634092038006806765.
Full textAbstract:
碩士國立新竹教育大學
應用科學系碩士班
95
Assessing Students’ Science Writing Performance With Peer Assessment Abstract The purpose of this study was to survey the effects by assessing students’ science writing performance with peer assessment for the curriculum of science and technology field. In this study, we adopted the method of pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design. The subjects were two fifth-grade classes of one elementary school in Taipei city, 30 children in each class. One of these two classes was the experimental and the other was control group. The experimental group was taught with the instruction of science writing and peer assessment , while the other group was taught only with the instruction of science writing. There were several findings. 1. There is no significant difference in learning achievement in natural sciences between students who receive science writing and peer assessment instructions and those who are given science writing. 2. The results showed that peer assessment can help promote students’ attitue toward to science writing. 3. By using science writing and peer assessment instructions could promote the students' the metacognition ability. 4. There were good validity and reliability among the elementary school students' peer assessment. The scores of peer assessment were significantly correlated with the scores of teacher assessment. 5. The elementary school students accepted the way of peer assessment highly. But different level students have different constructing comments. Finally, the researcher induced research conclusions, and offered some suggestions for applications and future research.
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(9024011), Hadi Banat. "Assessing Intercultural Competence in Writing Programs through Linked Courses." Thesis, 2020.
Find full textAbstract:
Internationalization of higher education is a collaborative responsibility academic and non-academic programs share to facilitate the integration of various student populations within the broader culture of the university. My dissertation project links First Year Writing (FYW) classes of domestic and international students to promote and evaluate their intercultural competence development. My research questions explore the use of reflective writing as a genre for formative assessment in the writing classroom and investigate the data it provides about students’ continuous learning. My research methodology combines qualitative analysis of reflective writing and quantitative analysis of intercultural competence development. Participants come from four sections of FYW courses spanning two semesters – Spring 2016 and Fall 2017. I collected reflective writing data from four embedded reflective journals and a final reflective essay assigned to students in each section. Using a grounded scheme, I applied thematic coding analysis of reflective writing and traced frequencies of codes. I also mapped students’ reflections onto the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS; Bennett, 1993). Results from both coding methods contextualize and interpret students’ development in both intercultural competence and writing skills. I also share pedagogical, assessment, and administrative implications for more effective teaching of reflective writing and better continuous assessment of intercultural competence skills within the context of the linked course model curriculum.
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Smotrova, Yuliya, and 黃莉亞. "Defining and Assessing Critical Thinking in EFL Argumentative Writing." Thesis, 2018. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/7e4w6t.
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碩士國立清華大學
外國語文學系
106
Educators across disciplines have long seen critical thinking (CT) as a desirable educational outcome (for example, Dewey, 1910; Ennis, 1993). CT is an important part of EFL instruction as well (Davidson, 1998) and is defined as, for example, reasoning in making judgements (Alagozlu, 2007), using knowledge for problem-solving, posing questions and making inferences (Liaw, 2007), or as using skepticism, logic, and creativity for maintaining a democratic society (Atkinson, 1997). CT is mostly assessed through argumentative writing (Condon & Kelly-Riley, 2004; Ennis, 1993; Stapleton, 2001). However, there is a lack of a unified CT definition (Atkinson, 1997; Sternberg, 1986) to guide CT assessment in EFL argumentative writing, and hereby a lack of CT scoring guides and rubrics (Stapleton, 2001; Condon & Kelly-Riley, 2004). Another issue is that CT is often considered to be included in the language use assessment (Condon & Kelly-Riley, 2004). However, there seems to be a negative correlation between CT and language use (Condon & Kelly-Riley, 2004). In order to improve CT instruction and assessment in EFL argumentative writing it is necessary to develop a clear definition of CT and to understand the relationship between CT and language use. These goals are explored in this thesis by answering the following research questions: 1) How do EFL writing teachers operationalize CT in grading EFL argumentative essays? 2) To what extent do these definitions match the one reflected in existing CT scoring rubrics? 3) What is the relationship between CT and language use in EFL argumentative essays? To answer the first research question, five tertiary EFL writing teachers were asked to score 15 EFL argumentative essays based on their own conceptualizations of CT which were discussed in follow-up interviews. To answer the second and third research questions, the teachers were asked to score the same essays again using an analytic scoring rubric which combines CT and language use assessment. In the follow-up interviews, the teachers compared their original CT definition with the one reflected in the rubric. The relationship between CT and language use was analyzed by computing Spearman correlations and frequency statistics. The study found that the EFL writing teachers commonly define CT in EFL argumentative writing as having an argument which is logical, clear, developed and supported, focusing on the issue, and following guidelines. The participants were found to interpret the CT rubrics according to their own original definitions, and most participants found considerable similarities between their own and the rubric’s definitions. The individual differences in the original CT definitions and in the participants’ interpretations of the rubric were likely causes of little rater agreement in both rounds of rating. CT and LU in EFL argumentative writing were found to be related overall, with the strength of the relationship being contingent on the essay’s CT level and a particular rater. The relationship between LU and CT was stronger in essays with higher CT scores and weaker in essays with lower CT scores. The study has important implications for improving CT assessment in EFL argumentative writing. The more precise and relevant definition of CT in EFL writing may assist in developing a standardized CT scoring rubric for EFL writing assessment. However, training is necessary for the effective application of the rubric. In the absence of training, EFL teachers’ individual definitions of CT may provide a more fine-grained and consistent assessment. Finally, it is recommended that language use and CT elements relevant to EFL argumentative writing should be assessed separately.
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Levey, Margaret. "Assessing academic writing: L1 English content professors’ accommodation to non-standard rhetorical organization in L2 student writing." Thesis, 2011. http://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/35808/4/Levey_MA_F2011.pdf.
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Abstract
Assessing academic writing: L1 English content professors’ accommodation to non-standard rhetorical organization in L2 student writing
Margaret Levey
It is estimated that second language (L2) speakers of English in the world now outnumber first language (L1) English speakers more than 3 to 1. This shift in balance necessitates a re-examination of the notion of Standard English as L2 speakers develop regional and functional variations of English. In academic writing, Standard English is based not just on discrete elements of the language, but also on culturally determined rhetorical organization, which L2 scholars are expected to master to succeed in academia. Research suggests that in English academic publishing, the insistence on this culturally-defined rhetorical organization results in the unintentional silencing of the voices of L2 scholars. Yet whether the same insistence exists for university class assignments has been under investigated. Studies on the differences in the rhetorical organization of student-written compositions in languages other than English have not considered reader response. Conversely, studies exploring reader response to L2 writing have focussed on sentence-level errors rather than on rhetorical organization.
Using think-aloud protocols to access the thought processes of L1 content professors as they assess L2 student writing presented in both standard and non-standard rhetorical organization, this study employs a framework of critical discourse analysis to investigate whether L1 professors at a large Canadian university with a significant international student body accommodate to non-standard rhetorical organization in L2 student writing.
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LIANG, HUI LING, and 梁惠玲. "Application of Alternative Multiple Chinese Test on Assessing Pupil's Writing Abilities." Thesis, 2008. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/17283490271827663188.
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碩士國立臺北教育大學
語文與創作學系語文教學碩士班
97
The study constructed an alternative multiple-choice test in which each option of the test items scored differently. This aimed at examining the differences of learners’ ability in answering questions, so as to discuss the relationship between the test and learners’ composition ability. The research found that the correlation of the test and composition scores was .533, which was higher than that of the Mandarin test. This suggested that the alternative multiple-choice test could measure learners’ composition ability more accurately. Moreover, by comparing conceptualization, organization, and sentence construction of learners’ composition, correlation index of the alternative multiple-choice test was higher than those of the school Mandarin test. This indicated that the former is highly related to the three dimensions than the later.
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Lopez, Esmeralda. "Assessing Spanish Early Writing Development of Preschool English Language Learners and Its Link to English Early Writing Development." Thesis, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2011-08-9870.
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Children who speak limited English are at particular jeopardy of school failure because of multiple risk factors. In the later grades, these children have difficult y making progress towards state standards in English reading and English writing. Research with bilingual children indicates that children transfer phonological awareness and writing skills across languages. However, the research on cross-linguistic transfer of early writing is sparse when compared to the phonological awareness research base. This study is important because it aims to address the gap in the literature by exploring ELLs' pathway from Spanish (L1) to English (L2) written language and moderators of this pathway. Using a sample of 110 preschool English-language learners, the children's early writing performance was compared to national norms in 2007 and 2008 using a standardized instrument that prompts them to write letters and words from dictation. The data was analyzed using commonality regression analysis and canonical correlation to examine 1) shared and unique variance of performance on the English dictation measure accounted for by English and Spanish phonological awareness 2) shared and unique variance of performance on the Spanish dictation measure accounted for by English and Spanish phonological awareness and 3) interrelationships between early writing and phonological awareness in English and Spanish. Although it was expected that the student's performance on the English dictation task would be below average when compared to national norms, the students' performance was low average. The results from commonality regression and canonical correlation analysis indicated that the greatest unique contribution to English and Spanish dictation in 2008 was Spanish dictation in 2007. Finally, the results from the canonical correlation regression indicated that the Spanish literacy skills made a greater contribution to the phonological awareness and dictation synthetic variable than did the parallel English literacy skills.
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Nagrotsky, Kathryn. ""I'm Not Teaching Writing, I'm Just Assessing It" : Exploring Assimilationist Writing Pedagogies in a New Graduate School of Education." Thesis, 2020. https://doi.org/10.7916/d8-cxn8-j668.
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This qualitative multiple case study provides insight into how teachers make sense of the teaching of writing within the context of a prescriptive curriculum designed by Excellence Academies, a prominent no excuses charter management organization. Drawing from Ivanič’s discourses of writing (2004) and the tenets of culturally sustaining pedagogies (Alim & Paris, 2014), the study relies on multiple data sources to make sense of the discourses that teachers have access to: the teacher education curriculum, their school level writing curriculum, primary teacher interviews, and secondary administrative interviews.
A critical curriculum content analysis reveals that while the genre and process discourses are present at the macro level in graduate coursework and institutional materials, these discourses are muted by an emphasis on literacy as a tool for college readiness. My analysis reveals how literacy as a primarily skills-based endeavor becomes entangled with a coherent instructional model aimed to achieve college readiness through the acquisition of high test scores. The objectification of students and their capacities to be literate only in the ways valued by direct writing assessment constrained teachers from accessing a robust understanding of discourses of writing.
Findings also reveal a lack of teacher knowledge and training devoted to the teaching of writing which results in students being subjected to underprepared teachers who are more susceptible to and reliant on harmful prescriptive skills-based writing pedagogies, curricula, and assessment practices. Additionally, the study reveals the paradox of an Advanced Placement course that appears to be a rigorous college preparatory learning experience, highlighting meso and macro level discourses that work to restrict student opportunities for meaningful writing experiences and tangibly benefit the charter management organization’s expansion rather than students themselves. Recommendations for policy, practice, and research are provided.
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Ferstle, Thomas G. "Assessing visual rhetoric : Problems, practices and recommendations for the assessment of multimodal compositions /." 2007. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1296096171&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=10361&RQT=309&VName=PQD.
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Yang, Chia-Ching, and 楊家慶. "Assessing students' science writing performance with the rating scale: An action research study." Thesis, 2006. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/29902148057435306539.
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碩士國立臺中教育大學
自然科學教育學系碩士班
94
The action research describes the process that how to assess science writing performance with the rating scale in elementary school. The researcher also analyzes the difficulties/problems in the process and tries to find the solutions. The growth and achievement of researcher are discussed in the following paragraph. The assessment of science writing was practiced in two six-grade classes in elementary school. The researcher is just the teacher. After the honest self-examination, the assessment of students' performance, the interscorer reliability and the interviews and the findings of the action research are described as the following: It's a practicable way to use rating scales to exam the science writing cooperating with the teaching plan. Design the rating scales with special observations of students' writing. The feedback can be the reference for teaching decision and also improve the quality of students' writing performance and communicative ability. Try to get the correct judgment and objective results. The assessment of science writing should be designed to correspond with the teaching goals so as to reflect the real situation of students' learning. Teachers should let the students understand the methods, standard and aims (goals) of the assessment before the examinations. They should explain the standard of the assessment clearly and create the learning environment with no pressure. It's the right goal to make students write down what they think in their minds. Students are the real essential part of learning. They should realize the representative meanings of the assessment results and keep their learning impetus. According the preceding findings, the researcher makes several suggestions as the following: 1.Science writing is hard to get the immediate results, and the students should practice their writing skills more. 2.The standard of the assessment about science writing should be understood clearly by students. 3.To encourage teachers collect their teaching portfolio.
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Zheng, Ren-wun, and 鄭人文. "Assessing Coherence in EFL High School Students' Writing by Using Topical Structure Analysis." Thesis, 2016. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/44624628223294619246.
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碩士國立雲林科技大學
應用外語系
104
The current study aimed to explore how topical structures employed in senior high school students’ narrative writing influenced the coherence of their writing text. Twenty senior school students were the participants in the study. The writing samples were analyzed with topical structure analysis proposed by Liisa Lautamatti (1987). The findings of the current study showed that good writing samples demonstrated higher percentage of using sequential progression, and extended parallel progression, compared with the poor writing samples. The poor writing samples showed far higher percentage of parallel progressions compared with good writing samples. Moreover, the poor writing samples showed far higher percentage of coherence break, or rather the percentage of unjustified topic change, compared with the good writing samples. The finding of the current study would be beneficial to writing teachers in enhancing coherence in students’ writing. Topical structural analysis could be taught in class and serves as the revision tool for students.
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Huang, Hsifang, and 黃錫芳. "Assessing the Blackboard LMS Paperless Semester Experiment on EFL Writing from a Communal Constructivist Perspective." Thesis, 2011. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/u5394f.
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碩士國立臺灣科技大學
應用外語系
99
This master’s report delineates the comprehensive findings of a one-year paperless semester experiment conducted in an applied foreign languages program at a major technological university in Taiwan via the “hyper-hybridization” of the Blackboard Learning Management System and face-to-face instruction in ten of the foreign instructor’s English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writing-related courses. More specifically, the study was conducted with the goal of assessing the instructor-student and student-students’ observed and reported assessments of their computer-mediated communication (CMC) interactions from a Vygotskian sociocultural communal constructivist epistemological perspective that viewed human learning as variations of participation and non-participation in learning communities. Data were gathered ethnographically via structured and semi-structured interviews, participant observations, the researchers’ and student-participants’ reflective journals, Bb LMS synchronous and asynchronous CMC, audio-recordings of selected courses, Bb LMS statistics, and students’ course evaluations, and were analyzed according to Strauss and Corbin’s (1998) grounded theory data codification procedures. Results indicate that the Bb LMS, admittedly often a source of dissatisfaction among both the focal participant instructor and the student participants, has tremendous potential in serving as more than merely a convenient online filing repository, a trendy “green” way of saving natural resources, or an alternative to “traditional” teaching methods. On the contrary, the Bb LMS fostered deep student-instructor and student-student interactions and acted as a platform or bridge upon which interlocutors could scaffold each others’ learning’ in authentic target-language (English) learning contexts. Moreover, the instructor reported that the Bb LMS proffered the instructor a window through which to view students’ protracted interlanguage development and “afforded” students the chance to comment on each others’ written texts both synchronously and asynchronously. Viewed objectively, however, this flurry of increased CMC interactions ushered in a number of expected and unexpected challenges. Predictably, heightened online interactions required a substantial time commitment on everyone’s part. The instructor found it difficult to surrender his revered “sage-on-the-stage” persona in favor of a more flexible teaching style that better accommodated e-learning demands. This report, albeit fraught with its own limitations, might be of interest to those who wish to upgrade their commitment to the creation of “hyper-hybridized” e-learning contexts in Taiwan and beyond.
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Lu, Fang-Chen, and 呂芳鎮. "An Investigation of the Use of English-Chinese Dictionaries in Assessing EFL Learners' Writing Ability." Thesis, 2010. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/05816571957289266782.
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碩士中原大學
應用外語研究所
98
Abstract This study investigated the use of English-Chinese dictionaries in assessing EFL learners' writing ability. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of dictionary availability in assessing the writing ability of English learners. The data collected included writing scores, writing essays, and EFL learners’ perceptions and attitude toward dictionary availability in English writing tests. A total of 60 subjects from the third-year in a senior high school in northern Taiwan were recruited for this study. The study participants were classified into two groups: experimental group with dictionary availability and control group without dictionary availability. Two timed essay writing tests were developed to evaluate participants’ writing ability. The products of the timed essay writing tests were also analyzed for potential qualitative differences between the essays produced with and without the English-Chinese dictionary availability. In addition, a questionnaire was administered to elicit EFL test takers’ attitudes and perceptions toward the availability of English-Chinese dictionary in writing tests. The main findings of this study were listed as follows: Firstly, the results showed that no significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of their performance in two timed essay tests. In addition, little performance difference was found between the two groups in the aspects of content, organization, and grammar, but statistically significant differences were found in the aspects of word choice, and mechanics. Secondly, students produced qualitatively different writing products in all aspects of analyses across two conditions. Relatively greater differences were found in terms of lexical choice and use of substitution whereas slighter differences were detected in terms of uses of addition, deletion and reordering. Thirdly, it was found that a large proportion of the students expressed their preferences for dictionary availability. Nevertheless, a small amount of the students reported that they preferred not to use dictionaries during writing tests even if they were made available due to time limitation. Finally, research and pedagogical implications were discussed regarding dictionary use in EFL writing tests.
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Lombard, Juliana Verwey. "An evaluation of two methods of assessing writing proficiency of standard 8 English second language pupils." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10210/9239.
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M.A. (Applied Linguistics))The aim of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of two techniques of assessing writing proficiency. Both measuring techniques, Le. objective (multiple-choice question) and subjective (essay-type question) have their advantages as well as limitations and little agreement regarding their validity and reliability has been reached to date. Today great pressure is put on educational bodies to ensure that tests are fair to all those who attempt them and the cry for common standards is steadily increasing. The importance, therefore, of investigating the suitability of a multiple-choice test as a valid and reliable technique of assessing writing proficiency, is self-evident. Literature relevant to the following fields was reviewed: * Applied linguistics in relation to its application to pedagogy, especially to the teaching and testing of English as a second language * Perspectives concerning the methodology of teaching English as a second language, for example the traditional and functional/notional methods as well as the shift in emphasis from grammar oriented syllabuses to the new communicative approach * The writing process and the language skills and abilities involved * The validity and reliability of the essay-type test as opposed to multiple-choice testing as a measure of writing proficiency * The measurement of writing proficiency * Various scoring techniques...
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Motteram, Johanna Mary. "Reverse engineering language test constructs for Messick’s value implications: a sociolinguistic approach." Thesis, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/2440/113317.
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Industrial, high volume, high stakes language testing has recently emerged, which annually assesses the language proficiency of tens of millions of people, worldwide. Important decisions are made using test results, so the tests and the scoring procedures should be theoretically sound. This study explores an aspect of Messick’s validity matrix which explicitly identifies the potential for validity threat where there are hidden social and cultural assumptions in the test construct. This facet of validity research and theorisation has been largely ignored by the language testing field. The problem of implicit assumptions in test constructs is approached through a theoretical framework which combines Bernstein’s model of the structuring of pedagogic discourse and the results of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) informed text analysis. The framework allows connections between semantic and lexicogrammatical analysis of test responses and the social and cultural assumptions of the institution which evaluates that discourse. Analysis using SFL was pursued on the basis that the orientation to language which underpins the test construct under investigation, the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) General Training Version Written Module Task One (GTVWMT#1) is ill equipped to address questions of social and cultural assumptions implicit in texts, tasks, and test constructs. The IELTS GTVWMT#1 scoring criteria performance dimension Task Achievement, and its constituent elements ‘tone’ and ‘the requirements of the task’ were the particular focus of the study. The embodiment relationship between a test’s construct and the scoring criteria used to inform evaluation of test texts is an assumption of the study. Responses (n=54) to a single IELTS GTVWMT#1 prompt were collected from a diverse potential candidate population. The prompt demanded a friendly letter which communicated three main messages. The responses were double marked by trained IELTS raters. Quantitative analyses informed targeted qualitative analyses, including text analysis to identify similarities between groups of texts with respect to semantic constituency, realisation of critical semantic text elements, and Tenor. The study found that there are implicit expectations in the test construct related to social and cultural values and assumptions. These come from; 1. The particular task used in the study. There is potentially limited access to the domains of language use specified in this task. 2. The situational context of testing which has an impact on need for explicitness, on order of information, and on inclusion of detail. 3. Community expectations of thank you letters, particularly as they are entwined with notions of gracious behaviour. The major limitation of the study is the small sample size. Major recommendations include further work on the development of a model of text in social context to support language assessment, and consideration of the semantic constituency and potential for the impact of socially originating semantic variation in realisation of texts in high stakes language tests.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Humanities, 2016.
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Li, Mei-Huei, and 李美惠. "Applying Science Writing in Science Teaching and Assessing -- An Example of Describing and Explaining of the Acid-Base Phenomenon in the Movie." Thesis, 2005. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/70224819858335875951.
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碩士國立臺灣師範大學
科學教育研究所在職進修碩士班
93
Applying Science Writing in Science Teaching and Assessing -- An Example of Describing and Explaining of the Acid-Base Phenomenon in the Movie Abstract Drawn on the Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), the present study aims to explore the effects of applying science writing in science teaching and assessing. A Quasi-experiment was designed. After reading a text extracted from the science textbook, the experimental group was asked to accomplish science writing task as watching movie film, while the control group just watched movie film only. These students’ performance of acid-base tests and academic achievement including Chinese and Science were collected. Students’ science writing texts were analyzed by the grammatical system of transitivity in SFL and the relations between science writing and learning achievement were analyzed. The major findings were as follows: 1. In the text of students’ science writing, observational clauses were more than explanatory ones, the average lexical density was 3.14, where 29% was science content words. 2. Students’ science writing text was significant correlated with their academic achievement in Chinese and Science. However the coefficient of the later was higher than the former. 3. The experimental group performed better than the control group in the achievement test. Reading the science text promoted high-grade students’ learning achievement, while reading the science text accompanied with science writing promoted both high- and low-grade students’ achievements. 4. The combinations of the amount of content words, clauses and rank-shift, observational and explanatory clauses could be serve as possible rubrics for assessing the quality of students’ science writing. Issues and implications in science teaching of the above findings were discussed, and suggestions were proposed for further study.
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Dobrescu, Nicoletta Laura. "A utilidade da aprendizagem criativa na aula de língua estrangeira." Master's thesis, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10362/17271.
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Este relatório surge no âmbito da minha Prática do Ensino Supervisionada e representa
uma reflexão sobre a minha iniciação como professora de Inglês e de Francês no 3º ciclo
do Ensino Básico e no Ensino Secundário. A reflexão teve como objeto o conceito de
‘aprendizagem criativa’ na teoria do ensino da língua estrangeira e a sua aplicação na
prática letiva, nas duas escolas onde desenvolvi o meu estágio, a Escola Secundária de
Sebastião da Gama e a Escola Básica do 2º e 3º Ciclos de Aranguez, ambas em Setúbal.
Para além de uma tentativa de sistematização das abordagens teóricos, de modo a tornar a
noção de ‘criatividade’ mais aplicável na prática da docência da língua estrangeira, a nossa
reflexão procura evidenciar como e em que situações a aprendizagem se revela criativa e
demonstra a sua utilidade para a aula de língua estrangeira.This report is within my Supervised Teacher Training and represents my reflection on my initiation as a practitioner in English and French teaching at the 3rd level of Middle School and in Secondary Education. The object of my reflection is the notion of ‘creative learning’ in the modern foreign language teaching, including its implementation in the teaching of English and French in the two schools where I completed my training: Escola Secundária de Sebastião da Gama and Escola Básica do 2º e 3º Ciclos de Aranguez, both in Setúbal. Together with the attempt to systematise the theoretical approaches, in order to insert better the notion of ‘creativity’ into the modern foreign language teaching, my reflection aims to bring evidence of the way and situations when learning a foreign language becomes creative and creativity proves its benefits for the foreign language class.