Student Blogs Research Articles

'Everyone is just so furiously typing': supporting student choices around digital notetaking in university lectures

University of Bristol students have indicated that 65% of them take notes digitally. As learning developers, how do we support students to take fit-for-purpose digital notes against a background of changing technology? In this study we posed two questions: What are the ways in which students currently take digital notes in lectures? What difficulties do students encounter in taking digital notes in lectures? Following formal ethical approval, we collected data using a questionnaire (n=123) and four focus groups (n=17), between January and May 2022. Participants in both included undergraduate and postgraduate students representing arts, humanities and STEMM subjects. Participation was voluntary and results were anonymised. We found that students choose a wide variety of digital tools for notetaking, in response to three interrelated aspects of the university learning environment: (1) perceived social pressure, for example the sound of typing, (2) lecture content, delivery and future assessment, and (3) affordances of digital technologies such as the comparative speed of typed notes. These themes have helped us understand the mechanisms of student notetaking choices and therefore allow us to offer relevant support. In this session we further illustrated the three main themes and presented examples of resources developed in response to them, modelling how learning developers can use these insights to support student notetaking practice: Firstly, through an open-access, online self-study resource that shares illustrative data from the research to inform student practice; secondly, a student-led workshop on OneNote, the most cited app in our student survey; and thirdly, a series of student blog posts on approaches to taking digital notes in different subject areas, as the research indicated lecture content affects digital notetaking choices. We also discussed how student notetaking practices may evolve considering emerging technologies such as generative AI tools.

Медиатизированный дискурс православного студенчества об РПЦ

The article is devoted to the analysis of the modern Orthodox conservative mediatized discourse among student bloggers on the Telegram messenger platform. The relevance of the study lies in the lack of development of both the topic of mediatization of Orthodoxy and the topic of studying Orthodox conservatism in modern sociology. The study of this phenomenon in the work took place through the prism of a conceptual approach, which received the name "mediatization of religion" in scientific sociological literature. The scientific problem is that studies of the mediatization of Orthodoxy are no longer a new field, but their number is still small. A large number of religious groups that are currently forming and functioning are outside the field of view of researchers. The figurative approach, which took shape in the German school of studying mediatization, was chosen as the research method. The figurative approach re-actualizes the concept of “figuration” by Norbert Elias and considers modern communicative figuration in media through four components: communicative practices, media ensemble, frame of relevance and constellation of actors. The communicative figuration of modern Orthodox conservatism in the Telegram messenger was taken as the basis of our study, since this platform provides opportunities for discussion on social and theological issues. The purpose of the article is to describe this communicative figuration through its four components. In this regard, the objectives of the study were: a description of the context of formation and features of the modern stage of studying the mediatization of Orthodoxy; a characteristic of the 4 components of the communicative figuration of modern Orthodox conservatism among young people. The empirical part of the study was based on a series of expert, semi-structured interviews with the authors of Telegram channels included in the youth category and who are students of higher educational institutions. In total, 30 interviews were collected from March to August 2024, of which 5 were selected for the article. The results of the study demonstrated that at the moment there is a constellation of actors of modern Orthodox conservatism, in the youth pole of which a group of students can be distinguished. Orthodox conservative students build their own identity, based on the Orthodox tradition, but only in the form of moral prescriptions. They are practically not integrated into the existing structures of the Russian Orthodox Church. The frame of relevance of the communicative figuration of Orthodox conservatism considers Orthodoxy as an integral part of modern Russian culture and humanitarian science. But in the frame, there is also an opposition to liberalism, including church liberalism, which occurs on issues of the foundations of society.

Students’ perceptions of online peer feedback in process-oriented L2 writing: A qualitative inquiry

Peer feedback has been of paramount importance in second language (L2) writing given that L2 learners especially need the facilitative role of feedback in improving their writing skills. Despite recent research highlighting the benefits of peer feedback in L2 writing, there is a call for more qualitative studies situated in classroom contexts to explore the continuous flow of peer feedback in a social community including technology-enhanced interactive social settings. This case study takes the students at a university in Turkey as the center of the peer feedback process and explores how L2 writers (n = 35) using student blogs for online peer evaluation in the naturalistic setting of an academic writing course perceive online peer feedback in L2 writing. This qualitative study adopted a case study design using the data from students’ essays (210 essays), blog-mediated peer comments (on 35 student blogs), and self-reflection papers (105 reflections). The data was analyzed through Braun and Clarke’s inductive thematic analysis. The analysis resulting in four themes revealed that peer feedback experienced in an online writing community improved students’ ability to perceive and use feedback effectively by creating opportunities for a shared understanding of peer feedback and establishing a writing community and also enhanced students’ critical thinking skills as an essential aspect of the writing process. This study provides insights into the student experience of online peer feedback in L2 writing, highlighting the importance of creating a supportive and collaborative learning environment to foster effective feedback practices and enhance the students’ L2 writing skills.

Socio-psychological features of a high school student blogger

Socio-psychological features of a high school student blogger

Aquaponics in schools: Hands-on learning about healthy eating and a healthy planet.

Our food system is giving rise to a growing social, health and environmental crisis. Much of the food consumed in the United Kingdom is cheap, nutrient-poor and highly processed, leading to under-consumption of essential foods such as grains, beans, vegetables and fruit. This has contributed to a rise in diet-related diseases, with approximately 22% of primary school leavers being overweight or obese. Food production is unsustainable with agriculture responsible for 10% of the UK's greenhouse gas emissions and intensive farming practices have led to a significant loss of soil carbon and a decline in biodiversity. COVID-19 increased inequalities in our food system. Therefore, there is an urgent need for interventions to counteract these adverse social, health and environmental impacts. Education can play a crucial role as an intervention to address challenges in the food system. We tested an innovative school initiative using portable aquaponic pods and aligned to the national curriculum, to engage pupils in food production and foster learning about sustainability, climate change and healthy eating. The evaluation, based on teacher surveys, aquapod chart data, student blogs and postcards and feedback from the development team, revealed positive impacts on students' environmental awareness, as well as sustainability and practical food production knowledge. However, the programme encountered logistical challenges and we therefore highlight future improvements to produce a curriculum programme that can be delivered at scale to enhance food education and empower pupils to drive the agenda on tackling food sustainability and climate change.

Connecting in-class and out-of-class learning: Integrating online resources and blog writing for EFL proficiency enhancement

The paper presents a study that addresses common issues in the EFL context, specifically the lack of student engagement and limited exposure to the language. The study implemented a flipped classroom approach to enhance learner engagement and improve language learning outcomes. This study involved 32 non-English majors and utilized 6 Minute English Podcasts and TED Talks as core materials, supplemented by blog writing assignments to connect in-class and out-of-class learning. Students engaged with online course materials before attending in-class discussions and worked on their blog assignments after class. Research tools included pre- and post-language proficiency tests, an end-of-semester questionnaire, student blog writings, and their reflection papers.
 The results of the Wilcoxon signed-rank test indicated a significant improvement in students' listening skills (z=-4.099, p<0.001). Regarding their performance in speaking and writing, the results of the paired t-tests showed that students demonstrated varying levels of improvement, with the most significant improvements in the writing test (p<0.001) with a large effect size (d=1.94). The findings highlight significant progress in listening, writing, and listen-to-write skills, resulting from the synergistic integration of high-quality online audio and video resources, blog writing assignments, and the flipped teaching approach. This research offers valuable insights for practitioners seeking to enhance language acquisition, particularly within the EFL context.

Intercultural competence development during the adjustment period of Indonesian students in the UK

International students must successfully adjust to cross-cultural differences in order to fulfil their academic goals while studying abroad. As a result, students must acquire new skills, especially intercultural competence, in order to properly communicate with people from other cultures. The purpose of this study is to investigate how Indonesian students in UK universities integrate various components of intercultural competence. This study sheds light on why intercultural competence is required and how it is developed. It is grounded in an ethnographic framework involving twelve student blogs and seven student interviews and observations. According to the findings of this study, the intercultural competencies required by Indonesian students in the United Kingdom can be divided into two categories: attitudes and skills. Accepting cultural differences and having an open mind are examples of necessary attitudes. Some necessary skills are the ability to learn new things about a different culture and the ability to follow the rules of the host society. Intercultural competence is distinct and complex phenomenon that have received little academic attention and hence merit additional examination. The data show that during their studies, all of the individuals had difficulty adjusting to cultural differences. According to the findings of this study, Indonesian students studying in the United Kingdom must adjust to cultural differences in order to create favourable views about living abroad. This study serves as evidence that intercultural competence is essential in this situation.

Eye-tracking Analysis: College Website Visual Impact on Emotional Responses Reflected on Subconscious Preferences

This study examined students’ behaviour on the college website and the content of information they were able to obtain. With the eye-tracking sensor, this study aims to investigate the university websites’ effectiveness, satisfaction, and efficiency and collect data regarding users' visual impacts. The research was carried out using mobile phone neuromarketing tools of eye-tracking, facial coding, and supplementary short memory post-survey. The study was focused on two web pages, the homepage, and the CARE page. The analysis results from both web pages were then compared and further discussed. The results suggest that participants mostly elicited sadness (29.55%), neutrality (33.19%), and puzzlement (13.60%) while browsing the homepage, regardless of the areas of interest (AOI). They also elicited slight disgust (4.33%), fear (3.51%), joy (5.21%), and surprise (29.55%). The heat map for the CARE page reveals that the top of the CARE page was a point of attraction for participants. The study found that participants' negative feelings were more intense than good ones concerning homepage scrolling. Also, their pleasant mood intensity increased moderately when they looked at regions with only photos in a subdued color scheme or where brighter colors were used to emphasize essential textual information such as upcoming events and student blogs. This reveals that the website's complexity further affects the cognitive load. Therefore, making it more accessible will be beneficial to students. According to the student's responses, change such as the page's design, color, and text could be implemented.

UNDERGRADUATE SELF-STUDY: DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF IMAGESETS ON STUDENT BLOGS

Undergraduate Self-study: Discourse Analysis of Imagesets on Student Blogs. Student writers’ relationship to the screen is initially grounded in their writing experiences in social media, but they come to view their course blog as a connecting space between themselves and their readership, a space which becomes one on which they self-destruct and reconstruct their identity as they learn to write (Serfaty 2004). By asking students to post a digital image of themselves, Ethna Lay initiates an important dataset, one which suggests a great deal about their relationship to writing. Through these images, students construct their independent writerly identities and simultaneously express membership in the class as a discrete discourse community. Students work collaboratively on a discourse analysis of the imageset, categorizing the class’s images as data about its relationship to writing. These imagesets are an opportunity for student writers to stage themselves; they perform how they would like to be seen (or not seen). This performing of the self is at once a private act as well as a communal and public activity (Tifentale and Manovich 2015; Rettberg 2005). The screen then has a dual nature, functioning as either a veil or mirror for student writers (Serfaty 2004). Students classify the imagesets into categories or types, which are fairly consistent across classes. Oftentimes students acknowledge the class had become its own discourse community, its deixis enabled by blogging together and by investigating their blogs, and decide that this result is only possible given the nature of the blog. The students become participant-observers in this respect, and the end result is an auto-ethnography of the pictured self in a social and academic setting. Article history: Received 8 August 2022; Revised 9 November 2022; Accepted 6 November 2022; Available online 20 December 2022; Available print 30 December 2022. REZUMAT. Studenții și auto-cunoașterea: O analiză discursivă asupra seturilor de imagini din cuprinsul blogurilor studențești. Relația studenților-scriitori începe cu experiențele lor auctoriale pe rețelele de socializare, ca mai apoi să descopere în blog (ca sarcină de curs) spațiul în care se produce conexiunea dintre ei și cititori, precum și dezasamblarea și reconstruirea identității proprii atunci când învață să scrie texte (Serfaty 2004). Trasându-le sarcina de a posta imagini cu ei înșiși, autoarea inițiază crearea unui set important de informații în virtutea faptului că acesta sugerează multe despre relația studenților cu scrisul. Prin aceste imagini studentul își reconstruiește identitatea de scriitor autonom, care își exprimă, totodată, și calitatea de membru al clasei, aceasta din urmă constituind o comunitate discursivă distinctă. Studenții realizează colaborativ o analiză discursivă asupra setului de imagini, cu imaginile clasei catalogate ca informații despre relația lor cu scrisul. Aceste seturi de imagini le oferă studenților-scriitori oportunitatea de a se pune în scenă; ei se prezintă în rolul în care își doresc a fi văzuți sau dimpotrivă. Acest joc de sine este, simultan, un act privat și o activitate comună publică (Tifentale and Manovich 2015; Rettburg 2005). Ecranul, prin urmare, capătă o natură duală, el funcționând fie ca un văl, fie ca o oglindă pentru studentul-scriitor (Serfaty 2004). Seturile de imagini sunt clasificate drept categorii sau tipuri, care se regăsesc cu relativă constanță în toate cursurile parcurse de studenți. Adesea studenții observă clasa transformându-se ea însăși într-o comunitate discursivă, deictica fiind facilitată de activitatea de blogging colaborativ și de studierea blogurilor colegilor. În final, aceștia ajung la concluzia că rezultatul se datorează tocmai naturii acestui tip de blog. Astfel, studenții devin observatori-participanți iar rezultatul final - o auto-etnografie în imagini în cadrul mediului social și academic. Cuvinte-cheie: blogging; comunitate discursivă; imagini; auto-cunoaștere; sinele auctorial

Writing Online: An Analysis on the Features of Students’ Blog Posts

Writing online has influenced the way people communicate and write. The integration of this innovative electronic device into the language classroom provided students with writing opportunities. This study aims to analyze the features of the students’ blog posts. This study employed a general qualitative approach utilizing the blog posts of the BSED second-year students enrolled in a language class, which were drawn randomly as the corpus of the study. The content analysis technique was used to characterize a student's blog post. The study revealed that the features of the students’ blog posts were blogging attitude, content, connections with the audience, and innovativeness. Student bloggers communicated to the readers with excitement, motivation, interest, or emotions. Student bloggers generated ideas, opinions, concepts, and thoughts about the topic, provided useful and important information from various sources, and took a position on the topics and concepts that were discussed. Furthermore, students communicated in innovative ways by using figurative language, idioms, and powerful words. This study concluded that blogging is a trend in writing that allows creativity and an opportunity for students to improve their writing skills. Thus, the teacher may use blogging as one of the flexible assessments that can be utilized in the new normal of teaching by evaluating the authentic work of the students. Students may also be given an infographic called "Writing Online: Improving Writing Skills through Blogging" to help them figure out what makes a good blog post.

The Plant Science Blogging Project: A curriculum to develop student science communication skills

Societal Impact StatementThe practice of writing science blogs benefits both the scientist and society alike by providing professional development opportunities and delivering information in a format that is accessible to large and diverse audiences. By designing a project that introduced upper‐level undergraduate students to science blog writing with a focus on plant biology, we piqued students' interest in science writing and the content of a popular plant science blog website. If adopted more widely, this work could broaden the scope of science education and promote the development of effective science communication skills for the next generation of scientists.Summary Successful scientists must communicate their research to broad audiences, including distilling key scientific concepts for the general public. Students pursuing careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields benefit from developing public communication skills early in their careers, but opportunities are limited in traditional biology curricula. We created the “Plant Science Blogging Project” for a Plant Biology undergraduate course at the University of Pittsburgh in Fall 2018 and 2019. Students wrote blog posts merging personal connections with plants with plant biology concepts for the popular science blogs Plant Love Stories and EvoBites. By weaving biology into their narratives, students learned how to share botanical knowledge with the general public. The project had positive impacts on student learning and public engagement. In post‐assignment surveys, the majority of students reported that they enjoyed the assignment, felt it improved their understanding of plant biology, and piqued their interest in reading and writing science blogs in the future. Approximately one‐third of the student‐authored blogs were published, including two that rose to the top 10 most‐read posts on Plant Love Stories. Some dominant themes in student blogs, including medicine and culture, differed from common story themes published on the web, indicating the potential for students to diversify science blog content. Overall, the Plant Science Blogging Project allows undergraduate students to engage with plant biology topics in a new way, sharpen their scientific communication skills in accordance with today's world of mass information sharing, and contribute to the spread of scientific knowledge for public benefit.

Empirically Examining the Effectiveness of Teaching Blogs on University Course Instruction

Blogs have the potential to be integrated as learning tools to help students learn and reflect. Many educators have incorporated the use of teaching blogs to enhance teaching and learning outcomes in higher education settings. However, research conducted to empirically examine the effectiveness of blog use in education is rare. This study intends to help fill the remaining gaps in the research; there are two main purposes: (1) to examine, using a field quasi-experiment, whether the use of teaching blogs in university course instruction enhances student learning outcomes; and (2) to empirically understand the determinants and impacts of the extent of student blog use on university’s course learning via a questionnaire analysis. Two separate studies were conducted. The experimental results of Study 1 show that using teaching blogs not only enhances learner satisfaction, but also increases university students’ learning achievement. The Study 2 results show that higher quality teaching blogs positively influence the extent of student blog use, which in turn positively influences student learning satisfaction and achievement. This study extends our knowledge and insights regarding the use of teaching blogs within the higher education domain.

Preservice Teachers’ Knowledge and Attitudes toward Digital-Game-Based Language Learning

There is a good body of literature about digital-game-based language learning (DGBL), but research has mainly focused on students as game players rather than as future educators. This paper reports on a research conducted among 154 teacher candidates at a higher-education institution in Spain regarding the adoption of digital games in education. It analyzes the participants’ knowledge of and attitudes toward digital games in foreign language learning. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered through a pre/post-test, digital game presentations, and student blog posts. The research comprised five stages associated with critical thinking skills (definition, selection, demonstration, discussion, and reflection), including a game learning module. In the first two stages, preservice teachers completed the module activities and selected different games aimed at teaching English to children in preschool and elementary education. In the last two, they illustrated, discussed, and evaluated the digital games in class following a rubric and reflected on their perception in blog posts. In this four-week research based on a mixed method and convenience sampling, quantitative and qualitative data were gathered through a pre- and post-test survey about student perceptions toward the use of video game in the classroom, class discussion, and blog posts. Statistical data analysis unveiled gender-based differences related to gameplay frequency and genre preferences. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used as a nonparametric statistical hypothesis test to compare the two sets of scores resulting from the same participants, and it showed a significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) after the treatment in two of the five dimensions in the survey about teacher candidates’ attitudes toward game usage in education, namely, usefulness (U) and preference for video games (PVG). Research findings revealed preservice teachers’ positive attitudes but lack of practical knowledge about the use of digital games in foreign-language learning.

Is it Any Wonder, I Reject You First: Pre-Pandemic Perceptions of K-12 Online Learning.

Similar to previous iterations, this action research study examined student perceptions of K-12 online learning as part of an action research project working to improve a graduate course on using internet-based instruction in the classroom. Additionally, since the data were collected prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, additional analysis of the qualitative data shines a light on why K-12 education struggled with the transition to remote teaching in the spring of 2020. Qualitative analysis of student artifacts, particularly student blog posts, revealed a general lack of awareness about the scope of online learning at the time, an evolving consensus of whether online learning was suitable for various ages, and how adults support online learning. Recommendations for future iterations of the course take these themes into account, along with how the pandemic may have already changed the opinions of future students in the course.

What just happened? Student perspectives on health promotion placements during COVID-19.

Issue addressedThe emergence of COVID‐19 forced the health industry to re‐imagine its role and drove Work Integrated Learning (WIL) practicums into virtual spaces, adding complexity for students in these programs. Studies documenting the impact of these outcomes as well as the student experience during these tumultuous times are few, and therefore this study investigated students’ lived experience using data sourced from personal observations and insights and subsequent analysis of their own narratives.MethodsThis qualitative study involved researchers applying a thematic analysis to online student blogs which documented their experiences as posted in the discussion forums. Recruitment resulted in a final dataset of 27 providing informed consent, representing a total 36% response rate.ResultsSeveral themes were identified, including: (a) a need for guidance regarding the shift from group work as assignments to teamwork as a workplace practice, (b) to further develop effective communication and technology skills, (c) learn more about productive time management and (d) further understand transitioning from student to practitioner.ConclusionsThis study affirmed that working virtually has a comparable capacity to foster positive, pre‐professional identity and thinking more as a practitioner, despite the absence of a face‐to‐face setting.So what?Findings revealed (a) what educators can expect now that approaches to WIL have expanded, (b) how to prepare students for more diverse experiences in circumstances requiring sudden change and (c) how to reconfigure the curriculum and procedures to provide more supportive resources for students and agencies alike.

ИЗПОЛЗВАНЕ НА БЛОГИНГ ЗА ПОВИШАВАНЕ НА ДИГИТАЛНИТЕ И КОМУНИКАТИВНОРЕЧЕВИ КОМПЕТЕНЦИИ В НАЧАЛНОТО УЧИЛИЩЕ

In recent decades, more and more web-based solutions are being integrated into the learning and teaching process in schools around the world. One of the most used among them for creating, storing and managing information flow is blogging. The combination of blogging in BEL (Bulgarian Language and Literature) classes is key to the development of digital and communicative speech competencies at all educational stages. There is a significant amount of research that proves that with the use of blogging a significant part of students are motivated and become better writers and readers. The article presents some of the results of a developed and tested system of BEL lessons in two experimental classes from the initial stage. For two months, students used student blogs to introduce texts from assigned tasks to literature. The web-based technology has increased students’ interest in learning, their writing and reading skills.

EFL Student Writers‘ Engagement Strategies in Technology-Mediated Communication

The pivotal role of readers/audience in helping shape students’ writing has led to attempts to engage them in their composition. This reader awareness is further enhanced with the integration of Web 2.0 technology, say blogs, into writing pedagogy. This study aims to investigate the engagement strategies EFL writers employ in their blogs, and the readers’ responses toward the strategies. In this content analysis study, twenty-seven learning English blog entries retrieved from three student bloggers were analyzed using Hyland’s (2005) and Myers’ (2010) engagement strategies. The findings reveal the student bloggers’ use of almost all the eleven engagement strategies proposed in the model albeit the extent of which varied depending on the type of the blog post, their personal background, and writing purposes. The use of such strategies as “Pronoun” and “Image” drew numerous comments from readers on the blogs, implying a strong sense of readership. It is thus recommended for EFL writing teachers to introduce varieties of engagement strategies within digitally-mediated writing environments to their students to enhance reader/writer interactions.

Reflective Writing about Near-Peer Blogs: A Novel Method for Introducing the Medical Humanities in Premedical Education

Narrative analysis, creative writing, and interactive reflective writing have been identified as valuable for professional identity formation and resilience among medical and premedical students alike. This study proposes that medical student blogs are novel pedagogical tools for fostering peer-to-peer learning in academic medicine and are currently underutilized as a near-peer resource for premedical students to learn about the medical profession. To evaluate the pedagogical utility of medical student blogs for introducing core themes in the medical humanities, the authors conducted qualitative analysis of one hundred seventy-six reflective essays by baccalaureate premedical students written in response to medical student-authored narrative blog posts. Using an iterative thematic approach, the authors identified common patterns in the reflective essays, distilled major themes, coded the essays, and conducted narrative analysis through close reading. Qualitative analysis identified three core themes (empathic conflict, bias in healthcare, and the humanity of medicine) and one overarching theme (near-peer affinities). The premedical students’ essays demonstrated significant self-reflection in response to near-peer works, discussed their perceptions of medical professionalism, and expressed concerns about their future progress through the medical education system. The essays consistently attributed the impact of the medical student narratives to the authors’ status as near-peers. The authors conclude that reading and engaging in reflective writing about near-peer blog posts encourages premedical students to develop an understanding of core concepts in the medical humanities and promotes their reflection on the profession of medicine. Thus, incorporating online blogs written by medical trainees as narrative works in medical humanities classrooms is a novel pedagogical method for fostering peer-to-peer learning in academic medicine.

Revisioning the potential of Freire’s principles of assessment: Influences on the art of assessment in open and online learning through blogging

ABSTRACT When the art of assessment in online and distributed learning is grounded in Freirean writings, instructors have the opportunity to craft a nuanced and layered learning environment where the potential for critical consciousness is enhanced through carefully codesigned assessment strategies. Patton (2017) summarized 10 pedagogical principles based on the writings of Freire, which he determined relevant as a result of their connection to critical pedagogy of evaluation. We explore a revisioning of those principles: using evaluative thinking to cultivate critical consciousness; learning resides in communities, not just individuals; critical pedagogy must be dialogical and interactive; assessment should integrate reflection, action, thinking, and emotion; and critical consciousness is co-intentional, focusing on process and product. We use them as a framework to describe what we call Freirean principles of assessment, through the application of student blogs within online and distributed assessment practices. Our intention is to share the potential of blogging, in connection with Freirean principles of assessment, when considering open assessment in higher education.

Scaffolding L2 Academic Reading and Self‐Regulation Through Task and Feedback

Research has shown that classroom‐based reading strategy training does not necessarily result in effective, self‐regulated reading behaviours when students engage with authentic academic reading in their own study contexts. In light of this problem, our study examines the effects of an instructional scaffold combined with teacher feedback, designed to foster students’ self‐regulation in authentic academic reading contexts. Over a 5‐week period, students read five academic texts and posted blog posts documenting their reading, scaffolded by a task prompt. In response, their teacher posted individualised feedback. The data comprised 75 student blog posts and 63 teacher responses. The results suggest that the task prompts and feedback supported students’ self‐regulation in different ways: while the task prompted students to reflect on their reading, teacher feedback redirected students’ attention to new ways of reading and to less superficial aspects of the task, as well as reminding them of reading behaviours they had previously engaged in successfully. The study therefore provides insights into the interplay between task and feedback and recommendations for teaching practice.