This article draws on research conducted at a tertiary institution in South Africa as part of the redesigning of an English for Educational Development (EED) course to include an e-learning online discussion component. The subject material used was based on HIV/ AIDS topics that students had to debate within an online discussion forum. Framed by the concept of Multiliteracies and the Social Constructivist view of teaching and learning, this study problematizes students' experiences of the online component in an attempt to explore the potential benefits of and challenges in using e-learning in teaching and learning and the extent to which e-learning should be adopted into the EED curriculum. The benefits derived and challenges faced by the students and the writers during the implementation of the intervention are presented with the aim of generating further discussions from researchers on national and international levels. This article briefly contextualizes the study by providing some background information, theory and the research process. It then draws on a number of evaluation tools ranging from course evaluations; classroom discussions and observations; reflective notes; as well as minutes of meetings to evaluate both students and writers participation and experiences.
Context of the studyThis article reports on a project at a South African University to include e-learning as an alternate pedagogical tool into an existing English for Educational Development (EED) module as part of the redesigning of the EED curriculum. EED is a semester module that is offered to different groups of Community and Health Science (CHS) students in semester 1 and semester 2 of the academic year. The primary purpose of the EED-CHS module is to develop the academic literacy practices that students need in order to make a success of their first year courses and their subsequent studies at the University. To achieve this purpose an integrated approach is used whereby reading texts and discussion topics directly related to the disciplines of students are chosen for inclusion into the EED curriculum in consultation with the discipline lecturers. Consequently, in the revised EED curriculum students had to engage in online discussions on given topics which were related to their particular disciplines.
This paper reports on a study in which students co-constructed a rubric checklist with their lecturer and which they used to assess themselves. Data were collected by means of a student questionnaire, tutor feedback, as well as tutors' and lecturers' observations to ascertain students' experiences and opinions of the design process and of using the tool to self-assess. The findings show that co-designing the rubric checklist with students increased their motivation and enhanced students' confidence in completing the task. In addition, students ga ined enormous benefits from using the rubric checklist as a self-assessment tool. Reflecting critically on the feedback received from students and tutors the authors argue that for enhanced student engagement in the teaching and learning process they should be involved as active participants in the assessment processes. In addition, students need to learn to assess the quality of their own work early in their academic career with continuous guided practice throughout their studies with the intention of making the practice of self-assessment a norm rather than an exception, thereby creating independent reflective learners.
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