English Coursework Research Articles

Do central examinations lead to greater grading comparability? A study of frame-of-reference effects on the University entrance qualification in Germany

In Germany, the Abitur grades awarded at the end of upper secondary education are critical in the allocation of sought-after university places. Drawing on a representative sample of 3526 grade 13 Abitur students in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, this article examines whether and to what extent grading is affected by the mean achievement of the school serving as frame of reference (“group-referenced grading”), and to what extent this influence differs for coursework and examination grades in mathematics and English as a foreign language. Overall, the results indicate that the higher level of standardization of the central Abitur examinations makes examination grades less susceptible to frame-of-reference effects than are coursework grades.

The small-study effect in educational trials

The small-study effect refers to the observation that effect sizes from initial small-scale trials tend to be higher than those obtained from larger trials. This paper reviews the potential causes of this effect. In particular, it also investigates the effect of making the erroneous assumption that the variation in the experiment units is the same as the variation in the population under consideration. This is demonstrated by a simulation based on the whole entry of an English coursework examination in the UK. It is demonstrated that assuming random sampling, when in fact the data came from cluster sampling, tends to lead to an overestimate of the effect sizes. It is suggested that this result can be mistaken for the ‘file drawer problem’ in meta-analysis. Finally the paper concludes with recommendations for users of studies in meta-analysis.

Strategies for teaching Geography electives in English to native Spanish speakers at a Colombian University

Universidad de La Sabana in Colombia has been increasing course work in English, and the need for adequate learning and teaching strategies has become salient as both students and instructors expressed concern of a foreign language impeding content acquisition. Through a seminar on English Content-Based Instruction, the Foreign Languages Department identified underlying problems related to language, such as the need for language strategies in mainstream courses in areas such as academic writing and reading. The English Content-Based Instruction approach seeks to simultaneously teach content and language. The need for instruction to be focused on fostering autonomous learning became apparent given the heterogeneity of learning styles. Two geography courses taught in English are discussed here in light of an overall survey on learning strategies.

Copy detection in Chinese documents using Ferret

The Ferret copy detector has been used since 2001 to find plagiarism in large collections of students’ coursework in English. This article reports on extending its application to Chinese, with experiments on corpora of coursework collected from two Chinese universities. Our experiments show that Ferret can find both artificially constructed plagiarism and actually occurring, previously undetected plagiarism. We discuss issues of representation, focus on the effectiveness of a sub-symbolic approach, and show that Ferret does not need to find word boundaries first.

Moving Out of Our Comfort Zones

When I accepted this assignment, I was eager to read Romano and Kachgal’s (2004 [this issue]) article focused on a partnership between counseling psychology and school counseling. I have always been a big believer in cross-disciplinary collaborations. Such collaborations have been integral to my professional identity from the beginning. A good portion of my graduate school days was spent taking and teaching women’s studies courses. From its inception, women’s studies was rooted in cross-disciplinary commitments and partnerships. Women’s studies coursework in history, English, and sociology indirectly enhanced my understanding of psychology, its strengths and shortcomings. At the time, the faculty in psychology at the University of Washington were far behind the faculty in the other disciplines in exploring the gendered nature of knowledge production. This created an opportunity for me to become an instructor for several women’s studies courses (e.g., Psychology of Sex Differences and Psychobiology of Women) that I cotaught with biology faculty members for 3 years. These interdisciplinary teaching experiences grounded me early in collaborations across disciplines and gave me a unique platform from which to understand the disciplines of psychology and education as well as my own professional development.

Does Media Literacy Work? An Empirical Study of Learning How to Analyze Advertisements

Does Media Literacy Work? An Empirical Study of Learning How to Analyze Advertisements Renee Hobbs (bio) Abstract Many school districts are implementing media literacy programs in high schools that teach about the advertising production process and introduce students to techniques for critically analyzing media messages. In this study, students who learned how to critically analyze advertising as part of their Grade 11 English language arts class were compared to a demographically matched control group who did not receive such instruction. Four weeks of classroom activities involving the analysis of the purpose, target audience, point of view, and persuasive techniques used in advertising were provided as a regular part of classroom instruction in English language arts to 293 students by seven regular classroom teachers. Compared to the control group, students gained increased knowledge of the pre-production processes of advertising. Statistically significant differences were also found in measures of students’ ability to analyze a print ad, including the ability to identify target audience, to describe construction techniques used to attract and hold attention, and the ability to identify the implied message subtext. Advertising is increasing its prominence in American public schools, but not just as components of particular marketing campaigns. In an increasing number of secondary classrooms, print and TV ads are used by teachers as texts to be formally analyzed and studied. Educational practices like this are commonly identified as media literacy, which is defined as an expanded conceptualization of literacy that includes print, audio, visual, and electronic messages from contemporary culture (Kress, 2002). In using advertising texts in the classroom, teachers emphasize the skills of analyzing and evaluating ads to identify the message purpose, target audience, point of view, and persuasive techniques used. Often, there is a focus on the social, political, economic, and historical contexts in which media messages reflect and shape culture (Buckingham, 2003). Occasionally, as part of media literacy education, students also learn about the preproduction, production, and postproduction processes involved in the creation of advertising messages (Young, 1990; Singer, Zuckerman, & Singer, 1980). While it may be common for students enrolled in media production or marketing electives to learn about advertising production processes, it is far less common for students to gain this information in the context of their high school English coursework. Potter (1998) points out the importance of knowledge structures in building critical analysis skills when it comes to analyzing advertising, but empirical research has not yet examined the impact of increased knowledge of advertising production processes as it may affect critical thinking skills in responding to advertising messages. Drawing upon a tradition underway for the last 15 years (see Alvarado & Boyd-Barrett, 1992 and Brown, 1991 for reviews), in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, advertising messages are routinely included in the study of persuasion and propaganda, and students are invited to design and create advertising in print, visual, video, and multimedia formats as part of their instruction in understanding concepts like target audience, purpose, point of view, persuasive techniques, and message interpretation and impact. In the United States, a coalition of U.S. educators with interests in helping children and young people strengthen their media analysis skills has formed a national association and held bi-annual conferences bringing K-12 educators together with academics and community activists (Rogow, 2001). There has been increased momentum to include media literacy skills within state curriculum frameworks, so much so that secondary level English language arts textbooks now include the formal study of advertising (Odell, Vacca, Hobbs, Irvin & Warriner, 2000). In 1998, the State of Texas added viewing and representing skills alongside reading, writing, speaking and listening skills for students in Grades 4–12, and state curriculum frameworks make explicit reference to the genres of advertising, documentary, film drama, and news (Texas Education Agency, 1998). The ability to analyze advertising was recently included as a component of the high-stakes TAAS test for 10th graders in Texas, involving students’ ability to identify the persuasive techniques used in a specific print ad (Livaudais, 2002). More than 40 states including Massachusetts, North Carolina, and New Mexico have identified media literacy skills within language arts, social studies, fine and performing arts, library information skills, or health education curricula...

Learning from Coursework in English and Geography

As an element of high stakes assessment, coursework was originally intended to raise the validity of the assessment process and to enhance the learning of students. In recent years, this purpose has been distorted by the increasing requirements for educational institutions to demonstrate standards and to be accountable. This small, ESRC-funded study used in-depth qualitative approaches to explore the nature and processes of learning from coursework in national examinations undertaken by 16 year-old students. Among other things, it probed the extent to which qualities such as independent learning, critical thinking and creativity were developed through coursework. The research found that, while the practice underpinning coursework had the capacity to support deeper and more independent learning, the pressures of achieving good grades mediated against all pupils reaching the optimum level of higher order thinking.

Coursework Marks High, Examination Marks Low: Discuss

It is commonly believed that the standard of student performance in coursework tends to be higher than that achieved in formal examinations. This view was tested by analysing undergraduate performances in six subjects at four UK universities. Two measures of relative coursework performance were employed. The first is the difference between the mean coursework and examination marks for each module. The second considers the proportion of students in each module who achieve a higher mark in the coursework than in the examination. The measures showed that in English and History coursework performances are slightly higher, equivalent to one-third of one honours class (or division) while, in Biology, Business Studies, Computer Studies and Law, coursework performances are higher by as much as two-thirds of one honours class (or division). The differences observed in the latter subjects are very significant and have serious implications for parity of treatment in degree programmes where students may choose modules with contrasting modes of assessment.

Histotechnology: A New Curriculum for Current and Changing Educational Needs

This article presents a new curriculum for histotechnology, one that will provide the requisite training to meet the burgeoning demand for qualified histotechnologists in health care, research, and industry. The curriculum represents a paradigm shift from the traditional “sectioning-and-staining” approach to teaching histotechnology in that it requires students to develop competencies in cytopathology, immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy, laboratory information systems, immunofluorescence, waste management, quality assurance, in situ nucleic hybridization, critical thinking, and interpersonal skills. In addition, the curriculum provides a well-rounded education, with course work in English, mathematics, science, computer science, social studies, and management. The article also examines the steps for implementing an effective histotechnology curriculum and how such a curriculum can address common technology challenges facing histotechnologists and pathologist—now and in the years ahead. One notable difference between this proposed curriculum model and those currently in use is its scope. It is a comprehensive model that is flexible enough to facilitate both full-time and part-time study, yet it includes sufficient depth of training so students will meet the requirements for certification by the ASCP—the only body that currently certifies histotechnologists. Entry requirements for graduate and professional schools will also be satisfied.

An Interdisciplinary English/Health Connection: Promoting Health Awareness and Healthy Behaviors

Abstract The purpose of the project was to address the general lack of health education provided through this nation's middle and high school curricula. The project incorporated health-related concepts and activities into traditional English coursework for students in grades eight and nine. It was hoped that these efforts would increase students' awareness and practice of healthy behaviors. Four high school and four middle school teachers were selected to participate in the program. These teachers, working individually and cooperatively, created integrated English/health lesson plans that could be (and were) used in their classrooms without compromise to their existing English curricula. Results indicate that while teachers were challenged by this responsibility, the materials developed were nonintrusive and enjoyed by students and teachers alike. Students found the health-related materials interesting because they were relevant, and teachers enjoyed having additional lessons from which to draw. All teach...

Review Section

Book Reviews in this article:Through a Glass DarklyTeachers as Researchers The Talk Workshop Group 1982What Can Coursework Achieve? Coursework in English Seven case Studies. ed. Patrick ScottThose Who FailGone FishingIronic MysteriesThe Nature of Writing Learning to Write: Gunther Kress. 205 pages. Routledge and Kegan Paul