15:00-17:00 | Room 605 (6F)
Saturday Session III Adult, Lifelong & Higher Education Session Chair: Yan Yin Ho 43035 15:00-15:30 | Room 605 (6F)
Assessment of ESP Textbooks
Minako Inoue, Health Science University, Japan Implementing English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has become a popular practice in Japanese universities. One difficulty in designing and implementing ESP programs is identifying appropriate ESP textbooks. Faced with this difficulty, our university created four original ESP textbooks. The current study examines the efficacy of two English textbooks which targets second-year Physical Therapy (PT) and Welfare and Psychology (WP) majors. The aims of these textbooks are to enable students to build basic communication skills, improve other language skills, and broaden their knowledge of terms and expressions in their fields. Data included students’ final scores and their survey results, involving 100 PT and 30 WP majors. Data were stored in SPSS software and analyzed employing descriptive and inferential approaches. Findings reveal that 70% believe the ESP approach is necessary. The extensive range of proficiency levels also reveal mixed reactions on textbook contents and instructions. In terms of topic, the most popular were “spinal cord injury” in the PT textbook, and “counseling” in the WP textbook. Many believed their limited grammar knowledge impeded their comprehension of the contents. However, they favor the textbooks and instructions, claiming all their English-related skills had improved. Although the study seems to justify the efficacy of using the original ESP textbook for current instruction, it is necessary to ensure the topic contents are up-to-date and practical. In order to engender such a situation, a collaboration between specialists or faculty in the related field and language teachers is critical. 43254 15:30-16:00 | Room 605 (6F)
Using Ebooks in Higher Education Institutions in the United Arab Emirates Abdurrahman Ghaleb Almekhlafi, United Arab Emirates University, United Arab Emirates
The use of eBooks to replace textbooks is becoming very common at educational institutions worldwide. However, the effectiveness of using eBooks depends on many factors such as the design, the interactivity, the richness of content, and the users’ perceptions. The aim of this study is twofold: (1) To investigate the effect of eBooks on learning technology course content, and (2) to assess preservice students’ perceptions of the usefulness of eBooks for their course learning. A quasi-experimental three-group pretest-posttest design is used. Participants are divided into three groups: Two experimental groups and one control group. The first group used an Interactive eBook; the second group used a non-interactive eBook (a pdf version of the iBook); and, the third group used a hardcopy version of the same eBook. Participants were pre-service teachers registered in a technology course at the College of Education at the United Arab Emirates University. In addition, a post-treatment questionnaire was administered to all participants. Results did not show any significant difference in preservice achievement in the course content related to the type of book used. Furthermore, preservice teachers had a significantly more positive attitude towards the usefulness of the Interactive eBook version for content learning compared to other versions. Similarly, participants reported more advantages and fewer disadvantages for the Interactive version compared to the counterpart versions. Implications and recommendations are discussed. 41351 16:00-16:30 | Room 605 (6F)
The Meaning of Quality in Online/Blended Courses to American and Malaysian Administrators, Faculty, and Students Esther Smidt, West Chester University, United States Cecilia Yin Mei Cheong, University of Malaya, Malaysia Emily Dachroeden, West Chester University, United States Timothy Kochem, Iowa State University, United States
This presentation compares two studies investigating administrator, faculty, and student perceptions of quality in online/blended courses conducted in two different contexts, namely 1) two midsize public universities in the United States, and 2) a college in a premier public university in Malaysia. The research question explored in both studies was: What is the meaning of "quality" in an online/blended course to administrators, faculty, and students? Survey data from the three constituents in both contexts were obtained. Qualitative data analysis revealed the top eight quality features of each context (as ranked by number of references), namely 1) comparable rigor, 2) clarity, 3) interaction, 4) meets objectives or outcomes, 5) feedback, 6) availability, 7) engagement, and 8) easy to navigate and user-friendly. The results revealed similarities and differences in the rankings of the quality features between constituents and between contexts. Similarities suggested that different constituents had different priorities with regards to quality features, On the other hand, differences appeared to be based on where each institution was on their distance education trajectory, namely whether the institutions were developing or experienced distance education providers. These findings should be considered and reflected on in online course design, online teaching strategies, and online student support. 43575 16:30-17:00 | Room 605 (6F)
Bite-Sized Learning for Adult Learners: Lessons for Instructors Yan Yin Ho, Singapore University of Social Sciences, Singapore Eun-Young Yeo, Singapore University of Social Sciences, Singapore
With today’s volatile global economy, more working adults are returning to school for re-skilling or upgrading to ensure their employability. As a result, institutions of higher learning (IHLs) are seeing a shift in their student demographics, from the conventional school leavers to more working adults in the classrooms. Consequently, the IHLs need to re-strategise their teaching methods to meet the different learning needs of the adult learner. This presentation will discuss bite-sized learning; the utilisation of micro-learning activities which learners can access anytime, anywhere on their mobile devices, as one method of helping adult learners to learn more effectively and better manage their studies (Bruck, Motiwalla, & Foerster, 2012). This learning approach is appropriate for adult learners in view of the challenges they face of finding uninterrupted long stretches of study time to fit into their busy schedules given their multiple roles and responsibilities (Fairchild, 2003). Moreover, while there is literature discussing bite-sized learning in corporate training, bite-sized learning has not featured prominently in the higher education literature (Edirisinghe & Fraser, 2014). This suggests that bite-sized learning as a teaching and learning approach for tertiary education is an innovation that is worth pursuing. This presentation will discuss how bite-sized learning was piloted in an undergraduate Cognitive Psychology course for adult learners enrolled at the Singapore University of Social Sciences. Implementation strategies will also be discussed and learners’ feedback gathered from the pilot launch of this teaching and learning approach will be shared.
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