At the TBLT conference this weekend here in Auckland, New Zealand, a brief presentation was given about Iris, a research repository. This sounds like a very exciting project. You can read more about it here.
Posts Tagged ‘methodology’
Iris research repository
Sunday, November 20th, 2011Deconstructing digital natives
Monday, May 2nd, 2011An excellent new book:
Deconstructing Digital Natives uses multiple analytic/descriptive lenses to bring the mercurial lives, literacies, and learning of digital youth into sharp focus. This comprehensive compilation of studies by noted, international scholars provides the most compelling understandings to date of how global youth engage in meaning making, personal representation, and social participation enabled by new media. These rich, research-based discussions also deconstruct myths, assumptions, and either/or projections about digital youth promoted both by disciples and dissenters of increasingly immersive digital technologies.
Professor Jabari Mahiri, Graduate School of Education, University of California, USA
the Online Measure of Autonomy in Language Learning (omall)
Sunday, October 24th, 2010David Dixon is working on a potentially interesting instrument for measuring learner autonomy. From the website:
OMALL is the Online Measure of Autonomy in Language Learning. It is a part of a PhD project to develop a web-based instrument for the investigation of autonomy in language learners who are in, or about to start, tertiary education.
There are many instruments designed to assess the way learners learn (their learning styles, strategy use, attitudes, etc.), however, there is no instrument specifically designed to research the construct of language learner autonomy at tertiary level.
OMALL consists of items intended to cover all areas of the construct of language learner autonomy. At present the questionnaire is at an early stage of development where the primary aims are reducing the number of items, refining the wording, and finding which items contribute best and which need to be changed or eliminated.
Please try it, and give your feedback in the form at the end - your contribution will be invaluable in the development of the questionnaire. If your first language is Chinese, please do the New OMALL Questionnaire in Mandarin Chinese; others please do the English version.
OMALL will be particularly appropriate for language learners from backgrounds that have not prepared them for Western-style tertiary education. China, with its recent opening up to the West, is a very important instance of this. Its eventual uses may, potentially, include: indicator of broad overall level of autonomy, formative aid, diagnostic tool, and research tool to develop autonomy theory.
Incremental learning
Thursday, May 6th, 2010Chen, Hsieh & Kinshuk’s study (2008) on the use of mobile phones for vocabulary learning is an example of an increasing (but still relatively small) number of studies that investigate mobile learning. I sometimes use it in my MA classes as an example of research that does not actually investigate defining aspects of the core constructs of the study; in this case, participants were given exercises to complete on their mobile phones in a lab (therefore completely obviating the potential benefits of mobility that phones bring) that did not in any way take advantage of the medium (the exercises could have been presented on a computer, or even in a book). However, this does not mean that the study is not interesting. One of the pedagogically relevant findings of the study was that participants themselves said they enjoyed using their phones. This may have simply been a novelty effect (which was not controlled for), but one of the reasons they gave was that they felt they learned better with the ‘bite-sized chunks’ of learning content that a cellphone necessarily is limited to presenting (due to limitations such as screen size).
Learners felt phones were useful because they could be used anywhere and anytime (as one would expect) but also because the ‘mini-lessons’ fitted in better with their own preferred ways of learning. I am very interested in out-of-class learning, and it seems to me that this is an important finding for materials developers and those interested in supporting learning outside the classroom; the presentation (including amount, format, portability) of learning materials is likely to have a big impact on its actual use. As much as applied linguists debate the various benefits or otherwise of various types of instruction, surely anything that increases (or decreases) the amount of exposure to input or amount of practice learners get should be a prime consideration. A lot has been written about the supposedly different ways in which young learners now interact with information. Without entering that discussion, it is clear to me that mobile technologies offer, at the very least, alternative, or perhaps more accurately, complementary means of engaging with learning content. The nature of out-of-class learning is that it is less structured and less consistent, and mobile technologies seem promising in supporting the type of incremental learning that this entails. We need more research investigating how learners interact with and - crucually - learn from this.
Chen, N., Hsieh, S., & Kinshuk. (2008). Effects of short-term memory and content representation type on mobile language learning. Language learning & technology, 12(3), 93-113.
Researching autonomy - an inventory of instruments
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009I have started compiling a list of instruments used to measure different aspects of learner autonomy. You can see the inventory here. If you know of any other instruments (maybe one you developed yourself?), please do contact me.
The Awareness of Independent Learning Inventory
Monday, July 27th, 2009My PhD student Cem Balcikanli drew my attention to an inventory of questions designed to measure awareness of independent learning. This is an interesting instrument designed for general education, so not specifically for language education, although I see no reason why it could not also be useful for that. The AILI is a list of 45 statements about learning and teaching. Respondents are asked to rate how true each statement is for them on a scale of 1 to 7.
Here is some general information from the authors:
“The AILI has been designed for people from whom it can be expected that they possess substantial metacognitive qualities that are based on ample learning experiences. We use the term ‘independent learning’ to designate a type of learning and studying that is accompanied and directed by metacognition. The inventory can be used for students from all stages of higher education, regardless of their specific studies. The instrument will provide an answer to the following three questions:
1. To what extent do students, according to themselves, have declarative knowledge about learning and studying?
2. To what extent do students, according to themselves, have the skills to systematically regulate their own learning and studying?
3. To what extent do students, according to themselves, have a sensitive and inquisitive attitude towards information that is important for further development of their metacognitive knowledge and regulatory skills?
The instrument consists of 45 statements, 15 for each of the above questions. Students are asked to circle a number on a 7-point scale for each statement. The scale ranges from 1: “not true at all” to 7: “ completely true”. Optical readable forms are used for the answers. Two parallel versions of the AILI have been designed. In the A-version 23 items are presented in a positive form and 22 in a negative one (see further down). In the B-version each item that is formulated positively in the A-version is presented in a negative form and vice versa.”
The instrument is included below (apologies for the lack of formatting). A paper about this instrument was published here and
Elshout-Mohr, M., J. Meijer, M.M. van Daalen-Kapteijns, and W. Meeus. 2003. A self-report
inventory for metacognition related to academic tasks. Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam,
SCO-Kohnstamm Instituut.
1
I know which assignments students really need to work at systematically.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2
I think it’s necessary to make a conscious effort to work systematically when you are studying.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
3
When I’m reading something I don’t pay much attention to whether it comes alive for me.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4
I don’t think it’s important to feel personally involved in what you are studying.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
5
I ignore feedback from tutors on my method of work.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
6
While working on an assignment I pay attention to whether I am carrying out all parts of it.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
7
While working on an assignment I keep a record of my learning aims.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8
When I’ve finished an assignment I don’t check for myself whether I’ve worked at it systematically enough.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
9
I never get the feeling that an assignment has suddenly started to interest me.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
10
While studying information I never get a sudden feeling that I’m beginning to gain insight.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
11
I don’t think it’s necessary to make a conscious effort to gain insight when you are studying.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
12
I wouldn’t know how to enable students to formulate their own learning outcomes.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
13
When students find it difficult to gain insight into the material to be studied, I know ways to solve this.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
14
Sometimes while working together with others on an assignment I get a sudden feeling that I’m learning a great deal from them.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
15
If I find an assignment pointless I try to find out why this is.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
16
I think it’s important that there are also personal aims linked to assignments.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
17
When I’ve worked together with others on an assignment I don’t think about whether the co-operation was useful for me.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
18
I sometimes get a sudden feeling that my method of work doesn’t suit the assignment.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
19
Sometimes while working on an assignment I get a sudden feeling that I am learning something valuable from it.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
20
When I study information I don’t pay much attention to how well I understand it.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
21
When the co-operation between students turns out to be unproductive I don’t know any ways to solve this.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
22
When I start on a text I first ask myself what I will need to do in order to study the text thoroughly.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
23
I can’t tell whether a text to be studied will appeal to students.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
24
When I work together with others I regularly think about what I learn from them.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
25
Before I begin on an assignment I don’t have a clear idea of what I want to learn from it.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
26
I think that feedback on my personal learning aims is unnecessary.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
27
I can’t tell from a text how much effort it will take for students to understand it.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
28
I see no reason to talk with others about the usefulness of working together on our studies.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
29
When I’ve finished an assignment I don’t consider whether working on it has been useful for me.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
30
I think that it’s important that students also learn from each other while they are studying.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
31
If my personal involvement in the material to be studied were to be questioned I would think about this.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
32
I know various ways in which students can increase their involvement in the material to be studied.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
33
Before I begin on an assignment, I don’t ask myself whether I will learn more from it by working together with others.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
34
I am interested in why I sometimes get very little out of my co-operation with others.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
35
I am not interested in why I have an aversion to some of the texts I have to study.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
36
If I can’t bring any structure into an assignment, I try to find out why that is.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
37
When students don’t work systematically, I don’t know any ways to solve this.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
38
If I find information difficult to understand I don’t try to find a deeper reason for this.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
39
I find it helpful to talk with others about how one can gain an understanding of the texts to be studied.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
40
I can tell whether an assignment corresponds to students’ learning aims.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
41
When I’ve finished studying information I check for myself whether I’ve gone into enough depth.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
42
When I’ve studied obligatory material I ask myself whether it aroused my interest.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
43
When I have to study information I try to find out what I will find interesting about it.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
44
Before I begin an assignment I don’t think about how I will introduce structure into it.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
45
I know which assignments students will learn more from by working together.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Using mobile phones for data collection
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009Mobile phones are widely used by people, so why are researchers not making more use of them to collect data? In an upcoming project in Hong Kong I hope to get participants to record language learning experiences outside the classroom - and what better way to do this than by using a tool that each of them carries around all the time anyway?
This article talks about the technical aspects of mobile data collection and is a good read if you think you may be interested in this area. Recommended!
Please drop me a line if you are using mobile data collection - I’d love to hear about your experiences. Maybe we can exchange tips.
Is your instruction teacher-or student-directed?
Monday, April 20th, 2009I am reading this fascinating book by Denise and Deirde Mithaug, Martin Agran, James Martin and Michael Wehmeyer about ‘Self-instruction pedagogy. How to teach self-determined learning’. Although it focuses on general education (not language) and predominantly on special needs education, it still has a lot of interesting ideas. One of those is a questionnaire for teachers to determine the teacher- or student-directedness of their teaching. You can find it on pages 33-35 of the book (reference below). What’s interesting in that in their own study using the instrument, their 253-teacher sample was significantly more teacher- than student-directed. It’s not a perfect tool (the rankings are strange for example, with a jump from ’sometimes to ‘almost always’) but it’s neat and I thought worth sharing.
Mithaug, D. et al (2007). Self-Instruction Pedagogy: How to Teach Self-Determined Learning. (2007). Springfied, Ill: Charles C Thomas.
Measuring learner autonomy
Saturday, April 18th, 2009It is always interesting to read about autonomy in general education publications. A lot of interesting work is being done that, in my opinion, we do not draw enough on in language research. An example is a recent article by Michael Ponton and Christine Schuette in the international Journal of self-directed learning, titled ‘learner autonomy profile: a discussion of skill combination to measure autonomous learning’. In the article the authors describe how they built on previously developed measures for autonomy to create new, integrated autonomy scale (‘the Learner Autonomy Profile’) that measures an adult learner’s desire, initiative, resourcefulness and persistence. They performed a statistical analysis of well over 2000 participants of previous studies that used the individual autononomy measures and found a strong linear relationship between the different economy measures.
It is refreshing to see this type of scientific approach to the study of autonomy where, at least in language learning studies, the use of statistics seems to be avoided at all costs.
Has anyone used the Learner Autonomy Profile?
Ponton, M., & Schuette, C. (2008). The learner autonomy profile: a discussion of scale combination to measure autonomous learning. International Journal of Self-Directed Learning , 5(1), 55-60.
Open learning, open teaching…how about open data?
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009I was just watching Tim Berners-Lee’s (the inventor of the world wide web) talk on the future of the internet. He’s calling for the data sources that underlie most websites to be opened up (”raw data NOW”). At the moment there are vast amounts of data not accessible to anyone. Obviously, making them available to everyone has great potential implications for science. Imagine if all research data of every article you read in every peer-reviewed journal was available to anyone to check. In theory this is the case in good quality research publications, but when was the last time you checked that the existence or integrity of the data an article reports on? If, like me, you answered ‘can’t remember’, then this shows you how much of what we build our language sciences on is only ‘peer-reviewed’ in a cursory way. Equally importantly, what if someone wanted to test a different hypothesis using the same data? Or combine their data with that from another study?
The implications are huge and potentially even bigger when you take into account the growing influence of other technological advances, especially in the way people communicate and share information through (social) networks. Researchers are now starting to make more use of such networks to generate ideas from not just one or two, but hundreds or even thousands of people, to get feedback on their work from people outside their cosy professional circles, tap into much larger data/participant pools, and to develop ideas across disciplines. All this is in its early stages, but it’s exciting.
Practically speaking what I would like to do is this:
1) publish all my research data on my website, available to anyone (alongside the actual publications, which are mostly already available)
2) ask (not require at this point) all contributors to our journal ‘Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching‘ to submit their raw data and make that available on the journal’s website
3) papers submitted to our symposium (CALL and the Learner) at the AILA conference in Beijing in 2011 to be ranked and selected through social peer-review (for example using Facebook, or - if it takes off, which I sincerely hope, Google’s Friend Connect).
Of course there are issues around ethics approvals and perhaps (not so much in our field) patents etc, but these are obstacles we can find a way around.
If we want to, that is…
