Learner Centered Approach

Enhancing the English Reading and Writing Skills of Palestinian English Majors by Using CALL

by Mohmmed Farrah

Dr. Mohammed Farrah- Chairperson, English Department- Hebron University
Hebron, Palestine
mfarrah2006@yahoo.com
published in Hebron University Research Journal  (Humanities)
Vol.(5), No.(2),2010

This study investigates enhancing the English Reading and Writing Skills of Palestinian English Majors by Using CALL.... more This study investigates enhancing the English Reading and Writing Skills of Palestinian English Majors by Using CALL. The study was conducted at the English Department in Hebron University in the second semester of the academic year 2008 2009. The focus of the study is the Integrated Language Skills course. The population comprised 104 students. The students took the reading and writing portions of a standardized English language test, and a questionnaire was used to assess the achievement of the control group and the experimental group. The two researchers investigated whether there was a significant difference between the two groups in four dimensions, namely, computter anxiety, computer importance, attitudes, and productivity. The results indicate that CALL enhanced the Reading and Writing skills as evidenced by the statistically significcant differences in the post-test between the control group and the experimental group. Also, using CALL has been shown to include the added advantages of promoting mottivation, increasing self-confidence, encouraging learner-centeredness and decreasing the anxiety felt by the students. Moreover, CALL makes EFL enjoyable, meaningful, motivating relevant, and exciting. Finally, the results of this study revealed that using
CALL enhances the reading and writing skills and proficiency of English majors. The two researchers conclude by offering some practical recommendations on using CALL to enhance English language skills of English majors at Hebron University.

What do Filipino gay male college students want to learn in sex education?

by Eric Julian Manalastas

Manalastas, E.J., & Macapagal, R.A. (2005). What do Filipino gay male college students want to learn in sex education? Review of Women’s Studies, 15, 126-173

Using a learner-centered, mixed qualitative-quantitative approach, we explored the needs, experiences, and contexts of... more Using a learner-centered, mixed qualitative-quantitative approach, we explored the needs, experiences, and contexts of sexuality education of Filipino gay and bisexual male college
students. A convenience sample of 121 self-identified gay/bisexual male Filipino college students answered a structured questionnaire asking them to rate 44 possible topics they would like to be discussed in a classroom-based college human sexuality class. Topics most wanted by gay/bisexual learners were sexual identity and orientation, love, body image,
HIV/AIDS, gender roles, and friendship. Survey findings are grounded in the context of learners’ experiences of sexuality education which we explored using a focus group with seven selected Filipino gay students. 219 suggestions made by respondents for improving sexuality education are also analyzed and presented as well as recommendations for further research.

ICT and Secondary Education: Changing Learning Patterns

by Manuel Acevedo

In: Harnessing the Potential of ICT for Education: a Multistakeholder Approach; UN ICT Task Force series 9

Secondary school starts in most countries at between 12 and 14 years. We start from the assumption that in the... more Secondary school starts in most countries at between 12 and 14 years. We start from the assumption that in the secondary cycle it is possible to work on explicit pedagogical methods with the students. At this point in his education, the student possesses sufficient cognitive capacity about learning processes to enable teachers and students themselves to build on educational practices introduced in earlier years. In other words, this is the period for firming up learning/studying methods. Moreover, the student has attained sufficient social and intellectual capacity to consciously integrate the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) – particularly Internet – as a set of tools for new ways of learning.

The article touches upon the three dimensions of educational processes, i.e. “learning”, “teaching” and “(educational) environment”, but focuses on the action of learning. It starts from the notion that all educational processes, particularly those said to be “studentcentred”, should converge towards good learning.

Using dictogloss to advacne fluencey and accuracy in Arabic

by ghassan husseinali

Key Words:
Dictogloss, focus on form, collaboration, learner-centered, Integrative approach, Arabic language.

The dictogloss is procedure is used in teaching foreign/second language to make learners focus on form while attending... more The dictogloss is procedure is used in teaching foreign/second language to make learners focus on form while attending to meaning. It is a learner-centered procedure that requires learners to work to work together to reconstruct an original text based on a few notes. It integrates all language skills.

The role of the teacher in higher education: exploring a learner-centred approach to teaching and learning with non-traditional HE students.

by Katy Vigurs

This reflective paper seeks to explore the role of the teacher in higher education in facilitating a learner-centred... more This reflective paper seeks to explore the role of the teacher in higher education in facilitating a learner-centred approach to teaching and learning with widening participation learners. This study will draw on relevant research and theory as well as the author’s own particular experience as an award leader for a new Foundation Degree in Community Learning (FDCL). This paper has identified ‘learner centred approaches’ as its key focus as this is an approach to teaching and learning (T&L) that the author has been striving to facilitate with the first cohort of FDCL learners. The FDCL is a modular programme that is studied part-time over three years and is delivered through a series of evening and Saturday sessions. The learners on the FDCL are invariably employed as education support practitioners (e.g. parent support workers, home-school link workers, learning mentors, extended schools support officers) by schools or local authorities. Much of the learning that takes place through the FDCL is work-based, which means that the learners must routinely evidence the application of theory in their practice. The learners are also encouraged to bring workplace issues and situations into the university classroom to stimulate and shape learning activities.

The FDCL aims to develop the learners both personally and professionally, by enhancing their knowledge, understanding and skills, so that they are more effective and valued members of the education workforce. For the purposes of this assignment it is also important to point out that the majority of these learners are white, working class women in their forties and fifties, and are considered to be non-traditional higher education students. These issues and their impact on learner-centred approaches will be analysed in this study.

A case study of a distance degree program in Vietnam: Examples from a learner-centered approach to distance education

by Kristy Beers Fägersten

Beers Fägersten, K. 2011 (delayed publication). A case study of a distance degree program in Vietnam: Examples from a learner-centered approach to distance education. In K. Sullivan, P. Czigler, and J. Sullivan Hellgren (Eds.), Cases on Professional Distance Education Degree Programs and Practices: Successes, Challenges and Issues. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

The English Department at Högskolan Dalarna, Sweden, participates in a distance learning program with the Faculty of... more The English Department at Högskolan Dalarna, Sweden, participates in a distance learning program with the Faculty of Education at Vietnam National University. Students who enroll in this program are teachers of English at secondary or tertiary institutions, and will study half-time for two years to complete a Master‟s degree in English Linguistics. The distance program, adapted specifically to accommodate the Vietnamese students in terms of cultural differences as well as inexperience with distance methodology, is characterized by three design features: testing, technical training, and fostering a community of learners. The design of the courses also reflects a learner-centered approach that addresses common problem areas in distance education by promoting interactivity. Central to the overall program is the maintenance of different channels of communication, reflecting an effort to support the students academically and socially, both as individuals and members of a learning community. In this way, the effects of physical and cultural distances are minimized.

E-learning design quality: A holistic conceptual framework

by Panagiotis Zaharias

Learner-centric design of digital mobile learning

by Marg O'Connell

Low, L. and O'Connell, M. (2006). Learner-centric design of digital mobile learning Paper presented at the Online Learning and Teaching (OLT) Conference, 26 September, Queensland University of Technology, QLD. [Best Paper Award at Conference]

Restor(y)ing lives: autobiographical reflection and perspective transformation in adults returning to study

by Jennifer K Miles

Throughout the course of our lives we are at times presented with the opportunity to reflect on our learning, to... more Throughout the course of our lives we are at times presented with the opportunity to reflect on our learning, to consider the experiences, the people and the environments that have contributed to the shaping of our sense of self, and to the expectation we subsequently have of ourselves and our future capacity. Nelson (1994) suggests we have the potential to transform our perspective if we have been enabled to explore the schemas woven into the fabric of our self-identity and to consider the impact this brings to bear on our life and learning. He speaks of the autobiographically reflective process as coming to imagine a future previously unknown.
This small-scale study, in one Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institute, examines the process and self-articulated outcomes of five participants in a qualitative, narrative based inquiry, investigating the capacity of autobiographical reflection to promote perspective transformation in adults returning to study within the context of vocational education and training. Drawing predominantly on the work of Brookfield (2005), Mezirow (2000), Freire (1972b), Shor (1992), Cranton (1994), Frankl (1964) and Rogers (1980), it explores the personal and social dimensions of meaning-making, identifying the role of critical reflection in transforming learners’ perspectives as they come to critique the power relationships and hegemonic assumptions that have influenced their construction of self-identity. Utilising a storytelling methodology, the thesis honours the narrative tradition in weaving the process and findings of the study through the stories of the participants as they dance on the edge of their knowing (Berger, 2004).
Through undertaking an autobiographically reflective process that included individual interviews and a focus group, participants were ultimately able to articulate a sense of meaning making that enabled the construction of a foundation on which a new future – a new story - might be built. Recommendations have been made around further investigation of the implications of these limited findings as they relate to the potentially greater social benefits of individual perspective transformation.

Contributing to a learning methodology for web 2.0 learning–identifying central tensions in educational use of web 2.0 technologies

by Lillian Buus

From Dewey to Gates: A model to integrate psychoeducational principles in the selection and use of instructional technology

by Moises Salinas Fleitman