Assessment of online reflections: engaging english second language (ESL) students
Article
Article Title | Assessment of online reflections: engaging english second language (ESL) students |
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ERA Journal ID | 20265 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Birch, Dawn (Author) and Volkov, Michael (Author) |
Journal Title | Australasian Journal of Educational Technology |
Journal Citation | 23 (3), pp. 291-306 |
Number of Pages | 16 |
Year | 2007 |
Publisher | Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE) |
Place of Publication | Perth, Australia |
ISSN | 1449-5554 |
Web Address (URL) | http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet.html |
Abstract | Online discussion boards are increasingly being used by tertiary educators as a tool for encouraging greater student interaction and developing learning communities. In particular, educators who have adopted a learner-centered, socio-constructivist approach to teaching have sought to facilitate collaborative learning in which students reflect upon and share their experiences and perspectives, and construct knowledge together through developing shared meanings. In this paper, the findings of an electronic survey of the perceptions of 70 distance education EFL and ESL students concerning a compulsory assessment item involving contribution to an online course discussion board are presented. The study revealed that the majority of the students enjoyed the assessment item and agreed that posting to the online course discussion board had allowed them to achieve a range of cognitive and social learning outcomes, as well as, to develop some important graduate skills. In particular, ESL students reported the benefits of posting to the discussion board in terms of sharing their experiences with others and reducing the feeling of isolation. Further, when considering social outcomes, ESL students perceive the discussion board provided them with an opportunity to meet and develop a closer relationship with other students in the course and encouraged them to keep up with their studies. |
Keywords | English as a second language students; ESL students; online discussion boards; tertiary education; distance education students |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 390108. LOTE, ESL and TESOL curriculum and pedagogy |
470306. English as a second language | |
399999. Other education not elsewhere classified | |
Public Notes | File reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/author. |
Byline Affiliations | School of Management and Marketing |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/9y60y/assessment-of-online-reflections-engaging-english-second-language-esl-students
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