Academic Literacy Development Research Articles

Learning Developers as scholars: raising our voice

This mini-keynote encouraged attendees to consider their stance towards LD scholarship, including current enablers and barriers to engagement. Like many other third space professionals, learning developers’ participation in scholarship is somewhat constrained, due to the lack of contractual requirements to engage in such endeavours. Despite this, we view the development of LD’s pedagogical and theoretical knowledge base as a vehicle which will allow LD to disseminate its values and principles, beyond the confines of learning developers’ individual practice. Thus, this mini-keynote drew on key principles from the LD Scholarship Manifesto recently published (Bishopp-Martin and Johnson, 2023), a manifesto which has captured the voices of the LD community. The following questions acted as provocations for participants to consider what encourages or prevents them from joining the call to expand this growing field’s knowledge base: As learning developers, we are committed to student education and disseminating best practice beyond our field. How can scholarship support this commitment? Engagement with scholarship is endemic to the ALDinHE values, which have come to help us identify as a professional group. Thus, do you believe that practising according to those values, including an on-going commitment to our professional development is essential? If so, what may be holding you back? If Learning developers sit alongside students and other HE colleagues invested in academic literacies development, arguably our praxis can only be truly enacted if we are ourselves immersed in such development. To what extent is LD scholarship rooted in Academic Literacies? If not, what else underpins it and why?

Academic literacies as a theoretical underpinning for Learning Development support

Research into academic literacy or literacies, however the term is defined, and how the field relates to disciplinary practice, has been debated in recent decades (Lillis and Scott, 2007; Lillis, 2019). Consideration of academic literacies is also a key component of the Learning Development community as the profession has evolved and developed its own identity. Is the term defined as ‘literacy’ or ‘literacies’? Is it a core component of Learning Development practice, or is it more tied to disciplinary and curriculum-based delivery? By understanding the literature around the definition and the development and application of academic literacies, can we consider how this relates to current perceptions and understanding of the field in a Learning Development context and what impact it may have on student learning? This workshop provided participants with the opportunity to hear about current research being undertaken by the ALDinHE research virtual Community of Practice (vCoP) to investigate our current understanding of academic literacies, how they are (or it is, if considered a singular literacy) perceived across the Learning Development community, and how we might measure its impact on our practice and student learning. For simplicity within this paper, academic literacies will be referred to as a plural form. Due to the historical creation of Learning Development teams in response to sector changes in higher education, this workshop provided participants with the opportunity to hear about the current research on academic literacies. Participants were also able to discuss their own experiential views to develop a shared understanding of how we may apply this understanding to practice, and what the impact on our work may be. The workshop aimed to help define our understanding of academic literacies—both in terms of the literature and in practice—and take away ideas and examples of practice that we can apply in our own work.

Embedding academic literacies and skills into courses through graduate competency maps

The University of Bedfordshire will launch our updated Curriculum Framework in autumn 2024. A core feature will be for all courses to include a Graduate Development Pathway which spans pre-arrival, induction, first assessment, on course teaching, and beyond graduation. A central part of the pathway is a universal ‘learning to learn’ six-week induction that addresses the development of core academic literacies and skills. This is then followed by course specific graduate competency maps that outline how institutional graduate competencies are developed across units within a course. Institutional graduate competencies such as ‘communication’, ‘problem solving’, and ‘digital learning’ align to topics historically supported by our Learning Development Team. As such, it is pivotal that the Learning Development Team is involved in the development of these maps. Our approach to developing Graduate Pathways will therefore position Learning Developers at the heart of curriculum co-creation. Course teams will work in partnership with our Learning Development Team (along with Careers and Employability Advisors) to develop graduate competency maps. This empowers Learning Developers to draw upon their expertise and support the embedding of academic literacies and skills across the institution. This both positions and recognises the LD team as institutional experts in ‘learning to learn’ and mitigates the need for our LD Team to ‘fight against the notion that we are teaching ‘study skills’ in a deficit way’ (Hood, 2023, p.200) as often still seems to remain the case in the HE sector. I foresee (and hope) that ‘Learning Development for the future’ will see more universities introducing similar processes that facilitate and empower Learning Development teams to share their expertise. This in turn would mean the ‘third space’ (Holley and Biggins, 2023, p.84) typically occupied by Learning Developers will become increasingly expansive in the future.

Collaborative approaches to embedding academic literacy instruction in the curriculum: examples from UK universities

ABSTRACT The development of academic literacy is fundamental to student success in higher education. Universities offer various types of student support, ranging from generic courses to discipline-specific academic literacy instruction. The approach that has been advocated as the most inclusive and systematic is the embedding of academic literacy instruction into subject curricula. Embedding is best facilitated when English for academic purposes (EAP) specialists, with their linguistic and pedagogical expertise, work in collaboration with subject lecturers. Whilst there are several published examples of embedded academic literacy instruction led by EAP practitioners, there is still little evidence of collaborations in which subject lecturers assume some responsibility for students’ academic literacy development. Although there has been a growing trend towards collaborative and embedded activities, they remain largely invisible(Tibbetts and Chapman 2023. A guide to in-sessional English for academic purposes: Paradigms and practices. London: Routledge). This study aimed to offer detailed insights into current initiatives in UK universities and to identify factors that facilitate or constrain collaborations and institution-wide provision of embedded academic literacy support. For this purpose, we conducted open interviews with EAP leaders at fifteen universities. The findings indicate that the type of institution as well as the representation of EAP staff in departmental committees are important factors for the implementation and sustainability of collaborative and embedded academic literacy provision. Based on the findings, we propose some steps that EAP leaders can take to reduce the structural and perceptual barriers preventing the expansion of this provision across institutions.

Affordance of a learning application for supporting student’s development of academic literacy

This paper takes as its starting point the problem area that deals with how students at university can develop academic literacy. One of the methods is through learning technology. This paper examines what affordance a new developed learning technology - the study app - has for developing student learning technology. The RQ is: what are the affordances of a learning application and its integrated design of learning tools in order to support student’s development of academic literacy? The study app is an example of technology enhances learning, where technology supports operational improvement in teaching and learning because students with the study app can experience a ubiquitous learning environment, designed on basis of user studies that are designed to be integrated in student’s everyday life. The question is whether a learning technology also supports the student’s activity oriented toward developing study competences and becoming more academic literate? The background for this research is a project of development and designing an ICT based learning application for supporting student’s development of study skills. The project is supported by the Faculty of Humanities at University of Southern Denmark and is organized in a project group related to department of Design and Communication. The purpose of the learning application is that it: 1) shall supports students in developing and enhancing study skills, 2) that it is relevant and motivating for users to use, 3) that it a new proposal in relation to existing solutions. The study is based on Leontiev's theory of activity and its three levels - activities, actions and operations - which provide a systematic insight into the interaction of learners with a learning technology in order to develop their study skills. The paper examines here various learning contexts that are defined as central to study skills and which learning technology seeks to support: a general study competence, a concrete study competence and a link between study and future work. Furthermore, the learning theory on which learning technologies are designed is also examined. The paper concludes with a discussion of technology enhanced learning and which type of enhancement of learning that can be supported by learning technology.

Towards a framework of critical thinking for assessing EAP speaking

As one of the fundamental skills of the 21st century, critical thinking (CT) is a topic of considerable interest within the domain of assessing English for academic purposes (EAP). Recent literature on EAP instruction and assessment indicates that EAP has evolved beyond a strict focus on language improvement to encompass discourse competence and broader academic literacy development, with CT playing an important role in academic communication. A fundamental consideration in educational assessment is the construct that defines the knowledge, skills, or abilities to be assessed. However, CT has not received due attention in the research literature on EAP speaking assessment, thus raising a legitimate concern about its underrepresentation in the academic speaking construct. This study draws on Macqueen's (2022) distinction between theoretical, stated, perceived, and operationalized assessment constructs, with an aim to describe the EAP speaking assessment construct by including the concept of CT. By establishing alignment between what the literature indicates (theoretical), what assessment requires (stated), and how people understand assessment (perceived), a CT assessment framework is proposed to reflect how test takers experience it (operationalized). Our study contributes to a more nuanced conceptualization of CT in the context of EAP speaking, with implications for EAP speaking test development.

“My brain doesn't communicate with my hands”: navigating negotiated interaction in Swedish and Indonesian supervision

IntroductionThe importance of supervisory interaction facilitated by dialogic feedback is known to create a shared understanding between supervisors and students. However, previous studies of supervisory interaction mainly focus on exploring feedback provision as an input for specific improvement rather than as a process of interaction regardless of its discursivity. Informed by learning community theory, this study explores how thesis supervision in English as an Additional Language contexts is negotiated to identify the supervisory interaction patterns and strategies.MethodThis study applied a qualitative case study by involving six supervisory dyads (six supervisors and 15 students) in English- medium study programs. Thematic analysis was used to analyze 18 video-recorded supervision sessions from the beginning, the middle, and the end of the supervision process.Findings and discussionThe findings illuminate the negotiated interaction patterns and strategies in supervisory meetings that can be organized into three themes: (1) managing correction, (2) managing scaffolding, and (3) managing students' emotional expressions. The supervisory interaction patterns tend to take the form of a common institutional talk due to the students' desire for confirmation and suggestions. Prompting strategies through exploratory questions can scaffold students' development of argumentative skills although students' deviant responses frequently lead to supervisors' further explanation. The theoretical analysis underscores that learning community theory emphasizes the development of student's academic literacy and argumentative proficiency through dialogic inquiry. Yet, effective engagement in such inquiry necessitates prerequisite academic literacy and rhetorical competencies.ConclusionThis study highlights the need for developing student's academic literacy, research literacy, and communication skills to achieve an effective inquiry dialogue in thesis supervision.

Embedded approaches to academic literacy development: a systematic review of empirical research about impact

ABSTRACT This systematic literature review identifies evidence used to justify embedded approaches to academic literacy development. This inquiry is of direct relevance to widening participation in higher education and persistent inequity with completion rates for linguistically and culturally diverse student groups. Using the PRISMA-P checklist, 20 studies were included. Analysis focused on their research designs, types of evidence presented, pedagogic practices implemented, and journal choice. Findings show that research designs often involved questionnaire, interview, and focus group data to generate insights about student and staff perceptions. Descriptions of pedagogic practices were brief and not always related to claims about impact, and publishing targeted a variety of disciplines. These findings highlight the need for research teams with discipline knowledge and literacy knowledge so that evidence about the impacts of embedded approaches on academic performance are included, as well as complementary publications that detail the pedagogic practices contributing to change in academic performance.

The liminal space: academic literacies practitioners’ construction of professional identity in the betwixt and between

Research on third space practitioners in higher education has gained traction since the mid-2010s. However, less research has been done on academic literacy practitioners as third space practitioners, and their often-marginalised positioning at many South African higher education institutions. This is despite their integral role in student success, and the fact that many South African academic literacy practitioners support the academic literacies development of thousands of students. At the same time, many also negotiate problematic binaries in terms of institutional conceptualisations and positionings of academic literacies development. This article explores how academic literacy practitioners construct their professional identities and manage the complex tensions that are often an inherent part of these professional identities. Using qualitative data, this research explores which institutional structures and cultures surround academic literacy practitioners, and what constraining or enabling effects these have on how they perform their roles and construct their professional identities. The findings highlight that research helps academic literacy practitioners establish a professional identity and legitimise the value of academic literacies development work. Participants also spoke about the importance of communities of practice and collaboration in shaping their professional identities. Although this paper focuses on South Africa, the findings will likely be useful in other contexts where academic literacy practitioners negotiate problematic binaries while trying to construct professional identities.

Evaluating Students’ Engagement in Feedback through an Academic Literacy Approach

In the context of higher education, the development of academic literacy is crucial in enhancing students' ability to use academic language for critical thinking and information analysis. This ability serves as the foundation for effective academic writing skills. This study highlights the challenges faced by students in the Faculty of Education at Lambung Mangkurat University regarding academic literacy, including difficulties in explaining the background of the problem, formulating research objectives clearly, and developing coherent arguments. Furthermore, the importance of academic literacy practices in a social context is emphasized, where students need to identify valued communication practices within specific disciplines. The research findings indicate that learning activities are still focused on learning objectives that overlook academic literacy practices. Therefore, it is essential for educators to provide constructive feedback to students to help them develop an academic identity that aligns with teachers' expectations.

Exploring EFL Learners' Academic Literacy Development: An Ecological Perspective

AbstractAcademic literacy development is shaped by multiple individual and contextual factors that mutually interact with one another. Previous studies have identified some of the factors, but few explored their complex and dynamic interactions in students' writing practices. The study adopts a case study method to examine EFL learners' academic literacy development from an ecological perspective. Findings reveal that (1) affordances and constraints are not predetermined categories but are interactive and emergent; (2) personal traits largely shape the way learners perceive, appropriate, and interact with contextual affordances; (3) complex person‐environment interactions are generally situated within the dialectical relationship between agency and structure in connected literate activities; (4) the way students characterize and shape their relations with contextual affordances/constraints bears developmental effects. The study unveils complex person‐environment interactions in EFL learners' academic literacy development while shedding light on relevant pedagogical practices.

Half-baked essays: the embedded use of writing exemplars to encourage active learning for radiography students

This paper discusses the implementation of exemplar essays within an undergraduate first-year diagnostic radiography module to encourage active learning and the development of academic literacies. Nine essays (~400 words each) were provided over six sessions, using lecturer-guided discussion to explore the academic virtues and pitfalls demonstrated alongside assessment criteria. Exemplars were based upon a fictitious baking profession to illicit student interest and eliminate the risk of imitation or plagiarism. The quality of essays varied, with overt examples of common mistakes in spelling, essay structure and selection of appropriate literature. Upon completion of the sessions, and prior to summative assessment, students were surveyed with regard to their opinion of the teaching intervention. Feedback was obtained from 65% of the cohort (n=31/48), who reported an improvement in essay writing confidence. Students found the marking of the essays in class useful and the baking analogy was well received. Not all students found the classroom activities engaging though, with some wishing greater interactivity due to boredom and repetition. Furthermore, there was a slight reduction in pass rates and average marks across the cohort when compared to the previous module delivery. Nevertheless, there was a substantial increase in students attaining marks of 80% or more. This study highlights exemplar essays as a low-tech, low-cost option to increase assessment literacy but accepts the wide diversity in student learning preferences and experience. The efficacy of exemplar essays cannot be guaranteed, and teaching staff must be cognisant of individual student learning needs.

КОНФЕРЕНЦИЯДА БАЯНДАМА ЖАСАУДЫҢ ЕРЕКШЕЛІКТЕРІ

Abstract. The article presents the features of a scientific report accompanying a speech with an electronic presentation. An oral scientific report cannot be an improvisation, it is considered in the article on the preliminary preparation and repetition of speech with special attention to complex terms, reference statements, surnames (with the correct accent and ending), complex syntactic constructions. The article presents the information necessary for speaking to competent listeners at a student conference, exhibition. The article can be used by students, undergraduates, speakers. The purpose of the article is to create a scientific report at scientific exhibitions, conferences, symposiums, competitions of scientific papers, to accompany the presentation, to provide information on the development of academic literacy.

A Critical Review on the Second Language Academic Literacy Development in Iranian Higher Education System

A Critical Review on the Second Language Academic Literacy Development in Iranian Higher Education System

In pursuit of social justice in South African higher education: Exploring the relationship between epistemological access and the development of students' academic literacies

In pursuit of social justice in South African higher education: Exploring the relationship between epistemological access and the development of students' academic literacies

Supervisory feedback and doctoral students’ academic literacy development: the case of writing for publication

ABSTRACT This study examines how supervisory feedback facilitates doctoral students’ academic literacy development in their situated practice of writing for publication (WFP). Multiple-sourced data collected from one supervisor and his four doctoral students were analyzed, including drafts with written comments added, feedback dialogues around text development through instant messaging, and student interviews. Findings show that supervisory feedback unpacks the hidden knowledge about WFP and contributes to students’ academic literacy development in three ways, namely, familiarizing them with the conventions of the academic genre, inducting them to the social relations embedded in scholarly communication, and encouraging them to make and claim original contributions. Overall, the supervisory feedback characterized by dialogic interactions creates a productive site for students to internalize the tacit and discipline-specific knowledge in the social practice of WFP and develop as reflexive and independent scholarly writers. The findings have implications for academic writing pedagogy and feedback giving at doctoral level.

(Re)Imagining higher education: an inspirational guide for academics

We live in times of certain uncertainty with Higher Education in constant need of reflexive adaptation. The Reimagining Higher Education project, funded by the Association for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE), explored creatively and playfully the future of education. It invited the academic community to participate in workshops to reflect on the current status of Higher Education and, at the same time, to conceptualise what form a humane and integrated Learning Development, the holistic and sustainable fostering of academic literacies and practices, would take within that Higher Education system. The outcome is an open-source guide of Higher Education models, real and idealised, that potentially have the power to change perspectives and attitudes. In this short presentation, we (the project team) will showcase the guide, outlining what a more inclusive, empowering, and creative academia would look like. Our research participants have imaged the unimaginable: universities open, accessible, full of trust, care and laughter. Please join us to further reflect on the future of academia, with hope and positivity.

Impact assessment of academic support provided by tertiary learning advisors

In New Zealand higher education (HE), there is a lack of consistent ways of collecting evidence of the impact made by academic literacy support from Tertiary Learning Advisors (TLAs) on students’ academic performance, retention, and success. TLAs in New Zealand and Australia are primarily involved in providing learning support to students in post-secondary education to encourage development of their academic literacy and essential study skills. They are professional educators who advise students on issues related to academic writing and other academic skills, such as time management or exam preparation, to facilitate achievement of students’ goals of tertiary study (Griffith University, 2021). While it may be recognised that provision of learning support is desirable for a meaningful and successful HE experience for many students, hard evidence that learning support makes a difference to student retention and academic performance is difficult to find (Acheson, 2006, as cited in Breen and Prothero, 2015). This presentation sought to share an attempt to address this issue by investigating the impact of embedded academic literacy support provided by TLAs to three cohorts of students enrolled in undergraduate social work and early childhood education programs at my ITP (Institute of Technology and Polytechnic) in Auckland, New Zealand. Existing research in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom suggests that support that embeds academic literacy development in disciplines, rather than academic support that is generic and/or provided through foundation courses, represents a best practice model (Glew et al., 2019).

Attitude Towards English and Frequency of Code Switching: Implications on Grade 10 Students’ English Academic Performance

The relationship between code-switching, attitude towards English, and students’ academic performance is complex and context-dependent. To address this, the current study employed a concurrent nested mixed-method approach and investigated the relationship between Grade 10 students' attitudes towards the English language, frequency of code-switching, and academic performance. Sixty students participated in the quantitative portion, and five students took part in a focus group discussion for the qualitative portion. Data were collected using an adapted version of Bernice Anoykes’ questionnaire on Attitudes and Motivation and were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The qualitative responses of the participants were analyzed and organized into categories and themes. Results showed that the students had a moderately favorable attitude towards the English language, a high frequency of code-switching, and were approaching a proficient level in their English academic performance. The study also found that attitudes towards English and the frequency of code-switching significantly influenced their academic performance in English. Remarkably, the participants perceived their attitude towards the English language as a hindrance to learning, expressing apprehension about potential embarrassment and language anxiety. Conversely, they also regarded it as an avenue for career advancement, recognizing its potential for employment opportunities, access to knowledge, and the development of academic literacy. These findings offer important information for teachers and language learners, emphasizing the impact of attitudes towards the English and code-switching on academic achievement. The study suggests that educators promote positive attitudes, authentic language practice, and targeted instruction to enhance language learners’ proficiency and academic success in English.

From 'business as usual' to 'business unusual': Online academic literacy development for education students during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Covid-19 pandemic brought about restrictions on physical interactions, which in many ways changed how we live and work. Due to these restrictions, writing centres at universities and other educational institutions around the world had to transition from traditional ways of supporting students to online or remote methods. To save the academic year, Wits University’s teaching and learning and other student support programmes, including the Wits School of Education Writing Centre (WSoE WC), were compelled to adopt Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning (ERTL). Transitioning to ERTL meant1 reimagining student support in an online mode. This paper explores how the WSoE WC transitioned from face-to-face student consultations to offering online academic literacy support and development. The paper highlights the adaptation process in the transition, particularly how the WSoE WC dealt with the varying complexities accompanying ERTL. The main question guiding this exploration is: How did the WSoE WC negotiate the move to online academic literacy support and development during the Covid-19 pandemic? Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with the director of the WSoE WC, who steered the adoption of the online mode and the peer tutors who worked directly with students online. The findings show that transitioning to the online mode during ERTL was difficult and complex. However, collective and individual agency enabled continued student academic literacy2 support despite disruption and change. This paper contributes to the ongoing conversation around the role of writing centres at universities in South Africa and beyond, particularly during disruptions.