Dr. Kevin DePew
Overview of ENG 824 Research
Plans
I am interested in pursuing research on the relationship between online writing instruction and the research needs of non-native English speaking students in an online environment. In my online and face-to-face teaching, I find that while most first-year students struggle with research and writing from sources, that the students that often struggle more are those who are new to the online environment, have not had a strong background in writing or research and are frequently non-native speakers of English. I see these same struggles in our first year seminars at the University of Richmond in classes taught face-to-face. The writing challenges of multi-language learners and their unfamiliarity with Western-style research and library resources are discussed each term at the University of Richmond. While all classes can benefit from library instruction, this is especially critical in an online research writing environment with students who may be struggling with other writing/language issues. Alison Head, Director of Project Literacy noted that for any incoming college students, they are not “natural-born researchers” (quoted in Kadavy, 64).
In my exploratory
research, I have found articles discussing embedded librarians in online
courses (Kadavy, Ovadia and Wang), as well as L2 students in online writing
courses (Zhang and Harrington), but nothing outside of the library literature
focusing on integrating these two areas (Bordonaro, Horn, Martin). I have found older (pre-2000) articles on
international students and their unique library needs and will be using these
as background for comparison to online needs. I would like to blend these research
areas while drawing from my own experience, to expand the conversation as to
the role librarians have in addressing the research writing needs of L2
learners in an online environment.
The problems I foresee
are that while there is literature to support one or the other approaches,
there is little putting the two into conversation with each other. I have
discovered, as I have before in my research that published articles on
collaboration with writing faculty and librarians tend to appear in library
journals, but are rarely seen outside of this narrow scope of publication. I am
confident that with the research I have done to date, as illustrated through my
working bibliography, that connections can be made and are in many cases
already implied. The other challenge I face is that while I am familiar with
the literature in library instruction and distance/online services, I have not
had any coursework or research exposure to the L2 learner. I see this as an area of interest I will
continue with throughout my studies, so I would like to begin learning about
and expanding my knowledge in this field of study.
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Blog Community Analysis
I am interested in
exploring how a sense of community is fostered in the online environment by the
interaction of students in their comments to each other’s posts. I find in my use of blogs in my classes that
students demonstrate an ability to post a thoughtful initial post, but do not
always engage with each other’s posts with the same rigor of analytical
thought. How can students be encouraged
to move beyond the “nice post” type of response and have more meaningful conversations
within a blog setting? Foundational reference articles are listed in my working
bibliography.
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Instructional Tool: VoiceThread (www.voicethread.com)
The instructional tool
I plan to discuss is VoiceThread. This
is a product that offers a way to tie together online slides or presentations
with real-time discussions and feedback.
My planned approach is to examine this product for ways it could be
utilized to help support online research writing and peer-review feedback,
focusing on L2 learners. It provides
ways for students to interact with each other’s written work and provides both
visual and auditory feedback that can be shared in an online course
environment.
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Pedagogy
Project
The pedagogical practice that
I am planning to design for is a first-year seminar online research writing module
that is used in conjunction with face-to-face or all online library research
sessions. These online modules are of use for all first-year students, but are
especially beneficial for our first generation and international students as we
find they gain the most from repeated contact and support during their first
months at the University of Richmond. I envision this as being a set of instructional
research-based tutorials and online beginning research assignments, developed
in conjunction with a class LibGuide (a product used in libraries to develop
course or subject guides for online research).
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Appendix: Research to Date
Blog Posts (in order of posting)
1. Kadavy, Casey and Kim
Chuppa-Cornell. "A Personal Touch: Embedding Library Faculty into Online
English 102." TETYC 39.1
(2011): 63-77.
2.
Zhang,
Jie. “Learner Agency, Motive, and Self-Regulated Learning in an Online ESL
Writing Class.” IALLT Journal 43.2
(2013): 57-81.
3.
Wang,
Zhonghong and Paul Tremblay. “Going Global: Providing Library Resources and
Services to International Sites.” Journal
of Library Administration 49 (2009): 171-185.
4.
Harrington,
Anna M. “Problematizing the Hybrid Classroom for ESL/EFL Students.” TESL-EJ 14.3 (December 2010): 1-13.
5.
Song, Chiann-Ru. “Online Composition Content Analysis of
Critical Thinking Skills.” International
Journal of Instructional Media 39.3 (2012): 239-262. (Not as
relevant as I wanted -- moved to
research background)
5. York, Amy
C., and Jason M. Vance. "Taking Library Instruction into the Online
Classroom: Best Practices for Embedded Librarians." Journal Of Library Administration 49.1/2
(2009): 197-209.
Blog Community Analysis
Background References
Blau,
Ina, Nih Mor, and Tami Neuthab." Open the Windows of Communication:
Promoting Interpersonal and Group Interactions Using Blogs in Higher
Education." Interdisciplinary Journal Of E-Learning & Learning
Objects 5 (2009): 233-246.
Freeman,
Wendy and Clare Brett. "Prompting Authentic Blogging Practice in an Online
Graduate Course." Computers & Education 59.3 (2012): 1032-1041.
Heckner,
Markus. "The Tagblog: Exploring Social Web User Contribution to Encourage
Students to Actively Engage in Learning Content". International Journal of Web Based Communities 5.4 (2009): 528-542.
Kerawalla,
Lucinda, S. Minocha, G. Kirkup, and G. Conole. "An Empirically Grounded
Framework to Guide Blogging in Higher Education." Journal of Computer
Assisted Learning 25.1 (2009): 31-42
Armstrong,
Kimberly M. “Fluency, Accuracy, and Complexity in Graded and Ungraded Writing.”
Foreign Language Annals 43.4 (Winter
2010): 690-702.
Carr,
Allison and Pearl Ly. "More Than Words": Screencasting as a Reference
Tool.” Reference Services Review,
37(4), 408-420.
Hafner,
Christoph A. “Digital Composition in a Second or Foreign Language.” TESOL Quarterly 47.4 (December 2013): 830-834. DOI: 10.1002/tesq.135
Kim,
Daesang, Daniel Rueckert, Dong-Joong Kim, and Daeryong Seo. "Students'
Perceptions and Experiences of Mobile Learning." Language, Learning & Technology 17.3 (2013): 52.
Koricich,
Andrew. "Technology Review: Multimedia Discussions Through
Voicethread." Community College Enterprise 19.1 (2013): 76-79.
Pop,
Anisoara, Elena Adriana Tomuletiu, and Doina David. "EFL Speaking
Communication with Asynchronous Voice Tools for Adult Students." Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences
15 (2011): 1199-203.
Stapleton,
Paul and Pavlina Radia. “Tech-Era L2 Writing: Towards a New Kind of Process.” ELT Journal 64.2 (April 2010): 175-183.
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Working Bibliography
Al-Jarf,
Reima S. “The Effects of Web-Based Learning on Struggling EFL College Writers.”
Foreign Language Annals 37.1 (Spring
2004): 49-57.
Amsberry,
Dawn. “Deconstructing Plagiarism: International Students and Textual Borrowing Practices.”
Reference Librarian 51.1 (2010):
31-44.
Bagnole,
John W. and Miller, John W. “An Interactive Information Literacy Course for
International Students: A Practical Blueprint for ESL Learners.” TESL-EJ 6.4 (2003): 1-18.
Bordonaro,
Karen. “Is Library Database Searching a Language Learning Activity?” College & Research Libraries 71.3
(May 2010): 273-284.
Horn,
Anne, Alexia Maddox, Pauline Hagel, Michael Currie, and Sue Owen. “Embedded
Library Services: Beyond Chance Encounters for Students from Low SES
Backgrounds.” Australian Academic &
Research Libraries 44.4 (2013): 235-250.
Knight,
Lorrie, Maryann Hight, and Lisa Polfer. “Rethinking the Library for the
International Student Community.” Reference
Services Review 38.4 (2010): 581-605.
Martin,
Charity, Charlene Maxey-Harris, Jolie
Ogg Graybill, and Elizabeth Rodacker-Borgens. “Closing the Gap: Investigating
the Search Skills of International and US Students: An Exploratory Study.” Library Philosophy & Practice 11.2
(2009): 1-17.
Martin,
Julia A., Kathleen M. Reaume, Elaine M. Reeves, and Ryan D. Wright.
“Relationship Building with Students and Instructors of ESL: Bridging the Gap
for Library Instruction and Services.” Reference
Services Review 40.3 (2012): 352-367.
Oladokun,
Olugbade. “The Information Environment of Distance Learners: A Literature
Review.” Creative Education 5 (2014):
303-317.
Osa, Justina.
“Teaching International Students to Access and Use Library Resources.” Teaching Information Literacy Skills to
Social Sciences Students and Practitioners: A Casebook of Applications.
Eds. Douglas Cook and Natasha Cooper. Chicago, IL: Association of College and
Research Libraries, 2006. 157-64.
Ovadia,
Steven. “Writing as an Information Literacy Tool: Bringing Writing in the
Disciplines to an Online Library Classroom.” Journal of Library Administration 50 (2010): 899-908.
Peters,
Diane E. International Students and
Academic Libraries: A Survey of Issues and Annotated Bibliography. Lanham,
MD: Scarecrow Press, 2010.
Reaume,
Kathleen. “Second Language Writing: An Exploratory Study of ESL Student’s
Evaluation of Web Resources.” MA thesis U of Toledo, 2011. Available at: https://etd.ohiolink.edu/rws_etd/document/get/toledo1302284565/inline
(accessed 26 May 2014).
Shaffer,
Christopher, Lisa Vardaman, and Donna Miller. “Library Usage Trends and Needs
of International Students.” Behavioral
& Social Sciences Librarian 29.2 (2010): 109-17.
So,
Lee. “A Case Study on the Effects of an L2 Writing Instructional Model for
Blended Learning in Higher Education.” The
Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology (TOJET) 12.4 (October
2013): 1-11.
Song, Chiann-Ru. “Online Composition
Content Analysis of Critical Thinking Skills.”
International Journal of Instructional Media 39.3 (2012):
239-262.
Spaven,
Claire and Anne Murphy. “Parlez-Vous Technologie? Teaching Information Skills
in a Second Language.” INSPEL 34.3/4
(2010): 179-86.
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