The purpose of this project was to develop theoretical constructs and instructional design elements related to improving students' ability to learn through writing. The authors used a design experiment approach to develop an instructional model to improve students' ability to use writing as a learning tool. This model, developed by Bereiter and Scardamalia, posits that a dialectic between solving rhetorical problems and solving content problems can transform the writer's knowledge. The framework initially included frequent writing in the content areas, a conception of writing as learning, education in analytic genres (i.e., arguments, explanations), development of intrinsic motivation to write, strategies for the constructive use of sources, evaluation and revision for learning, assessment designed to support self‐evaluation, and remediation of mechanics. The two phases of the study focused on argument writing and explanation writing in the content areas, respectively. Each phase included several cycles of (a) implementing the design elements, (b) monitoring students' texts for evidence of the knowledge transforming process, and (c) revising our theory‐in‐action and modifying the design elements of the framework. In a series of posttest activities, the experimental class showed a significantly greater ability to learn during writing than a comparison class, as well as significantly greater argument genre knowledge, explanation genre knowledge, and explanation text quality. الغرض من هذا المشروع تطوير البنيات النظرية وعناصر التصاميم التعليمية المتعلقة بتحسين قدرة الطلاب على التعلم من خلال الكتابة. استخدم المؤلفون نهج تجربة التصميم لتطوير نموذج تعليمي لتحسين قدرة الطلاب على استخدام الكتابة كأداة للتعلم. هذا النموذج الذي طوره بريتر وسكارداماليا يفترضان أنه يمكن للجدلية التي توجد بين حلّ المشاكل البلاغية وحل مشاكل المضمون ومفهوم الكتابة للتعلم والتعليم في الأنواع التحليلية ( أي الحجج والتفسيرات ) وتنمية الدوافع الذاتية للكتابة والاستراتيجيات للاستخدام البنّاء للمصادر والتقييم الذاتي وأخيرا إصلاح الميكانيكية. ركزت مرحلتا الدراسة على الكتابة الجدلية والتفسيرية في مجالات المضمون على التوالي. تضمنت كل مرحلة عدة حلقات (ا) تنفيذ عناصر التصميم، (ب) رصد نصوص الطلاب كدليل على العملية التحولية للمعرفة، (ج) مراجعة نظريتنا اثناء العمل وتعديل عناصر تصميم الإطار. في سلسلة من الأنشطة التي تلت الاختبارات، أظهر فصل التجربة بشكل ملحوظ قدرة أكبر على التعلم خلال الكتابة من الفصل المقارن، فضلا على معرفة أحسن بنوعي الكتابة الجدلية والتفسيرية وبجودة النص التفسيري. 本研究计划旨在发展理论建构及教学设计元素，以改善学生从写作中学习的能力。作者使用设计试验的研究方法，发展一个教学模型，以改善学生使用写作为学习工具的能力。这个由Bereiter与Scardamalia发展出来的模型认为：解决修辞学问题与解决写作内容问题两者之间的辨证关系，可以转化为写作者之知识。这理论框架最初包括：在学科范畴内之经常写作、對写作就是学习之见解、分析性体裁（即议论文、说明文）之教学、内在写作动机之培养、建设性利用资源之策略、促进学习之评价与修订、为自我评价而设计之评量，以及补救式教学之结构。本研究计划的两个阶段分别集中于学科范畴内的议论文和说明文写作。每个阶段均包括几个周期：(1)设计元素之实施(2)监测学生文本中知识转化过程之证据(3)行动中理论之修正及 理论框架设计元素之修订。在一系列的实验后测活动中，实验班在写作过程中所显示的学习能力明显地比对照班的较高，其能力在议论文体裁知识、说明文体裁知识及说明文文本质素三方面亦明显地较胜于对照班。 Ce projet avait pour but de développer des concepts théoriques et des éléments de programme pédagogique leur correspondant dans le but d'amélio...

This study examined the influence of group structures upon six groups of distributed graduate students as they pursued a six-week problem-based learning activity by communicating in an asynchronous computer conference. Henri and Rigault's (1996) content analysis framework and Howell- Richardson and Mellar's (1996) guidelines for interconnectedness of messages were used to analyze the messages. In addition, learners' perceptions of interdependence and intersubjectivity were gauged from a self-reported survey developed by the researcher. Overall comparisons revealed that group conferences with role assignment had higher levels of interconnected messages. Weekly comparisons also indicated higher perceptions of intersubjectivity and deep processing for the role assignment group during the initial weeks of the activity. Over time, however, these levels equalized across group structures.Strategies for small-group learning range from the systematic and prescriptive variety, commonly known as cooperative learning strategies, to the more democratic dialogue-based varieties known as collaborative learning strategies. These approaches have much in common: both require active student involvement; employ the principles of interdependence, that is, a mutual reliance upon one another (Johnson and Johnson 1989); and rely upon student interaction as a primary means of promoting learning. However, as Matthews and others (1995) point out, these approaches also have distinct differences, such as the "degree of involvement of the teacher … the extent to which students need to be trained to work together in groups … group formation" (36).These approaches disagree about the amount and type of structure that is appropriate for promoting complex reasoning, critical thought, and the development of problem-solving skills. Those who promote a cooperative approach generally argue that higher-order thinking occurs when learners are given the means (i.e., the structure and task specialization) with which to interactively engage in high-level discussions that lead to greater conceptual understanding (Johnson and Johnson 1989). In contrast, the collaborative camp contends that "too much structure on a task that involves higher-order thinking skills is dysfunctional because it impedes conceptually oriented interactions" (Cohen 1994). Proponents of collaborative strategies rely upon dialogic strategies where group members perceive and reconcile multiple perspectives, negotiate meaning, and build intersubjectivity, that is, a "shared collective understanding" (Bonk and Cunningham 1998, 41). Collaborative strategies are viewed as a more complementary match for groups of mature learners (Bruffee 1999) as they employ complex reasoning during a process of solving ill-structured, real-world problems (Duffy and Cunningham 1996).The effect of course structure upon the collective understanding (intersubjectivity) of small-group learning can also be cast in terms of the theory of transactional distance (Moore and Kearsley 1996). Transactional distance may ...

The rapidly evolving paradigm of technology-based education has increased the number of faculty teaching online. The role of faculty has changed from the traditional classroom instruction format to an online community of learning. Therefore, faculty development in online education becomes a critical component during this transitional period. A survey of faculty of the College of Applied Science and Technology in a midwestern university was conducted to identify their level of perceived expertise in online teaching and the priorities of areas to be addressed in faculty development sessions. Benner's five-stage sequential transformation from novice to expert was used to construct the questionnaire. Results showed that faculty who taught online perceived their level of expertise to range from advanced beginner to competent, whereas faculty who had not taught online were at the novice and advanced beginner levels. Redesigning and rethinking faculty roles emerged as the number one priority area to be addressed in continuing education sessions. Implications for faculty development for online education sessions are presented.

No abstract