Author Archive for kathryn

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Discursivity, International Students and Representation

 

Discursivity, International Students and Representation: Walking through Different Worlds  by Margaret Kumar  is now available as part of The Learner series.

Discursivity, international students and representation: Walking through different worlds is a text that will help academics, support services staff and administrative personnel who are involved in the teaching and learning practices of international students. The question it answers is: what constitutes an international student? In relation to this it looks at strategies for internationalising the curriculum at a micro level. It also offers a new approach towards understanding the multiple subject positions of international students whilst at the same time providing an analysis of the ways in which students are identified through various forms of labelling.

Margaret Kumar PhD. currently works as the Higher Degrees by Research, Language and Learning Advisor at Deakin University. Previously she worked as an Academic and Language Skills Advisor for undergraduate, coursework postgraduate and higher degree by research international students at the University of Melbourne and Deakin University. Through her work, Margaret has presented challenging perspectives on how teaching and learning practices for international students could be mediated. She has presented dialogic models on how international students from postcolonial backgrounds are represented.

Call for Journal Editor

The International Journal of Learning seeks an editor, or team of editors, for a one-year term. This is an opportunity to make a significant contribution to what we believe is one of the leading journals in its field, the journal’s associated conference and, more broadly, the knowledge-community which the journal and conference seek to serve.

The roles of the editor are to:

  • write an introduction for the Journal volume which would be included in the first issue for the year, and possibly on the website, the newsletter and other appropriate places or for the purposes of marketing and promotion.
  • collate papers addressing a theme of the editor’s choosing into a book, to be launched at the conference at the completion of the editor’s term. The chapters may be drawn from submissions to the journal during this or recent years, and other material as considered appropriate.
  • actively solicit manuscripts for the Journal from well-known and notable members of the community—these would could be refereed if the author wished, or regarded as ‘invited papers’.
  • assist the Commissioning Editor with suggestions of supplementary peer reviewers for specific papers (and this will never be burdensome – note that the Commissioning Editor of the Journal finalizes a majority of the peer reviewer requirements based on thematic matching and ‘mutual obligation’ principles in which all author requested to review up to three other papers).
  • promote the journal throughout their network and other associated networks.
  • maintain regular communications with the community via periodical blog posts to the community website (which feeds automatically to our email newsletter, Facebook and Twitter).

The editor will be offered a complimentary electronic subscription to the Journal, free copies of the book which they edit, an electronic subscription to the book series as well as complimentary registrations to attend the conferences at the beginning and end of their term.

Qualifications

The Editor of the Journal must possess the following attributes:

  • They will have successfully obtained higher degree, and have academic teaching and scholarly research experience in an area related to the subject matter of the Journal.
  • They will have published in this or other comparable scholarly journals.

Applicants are asked to send:

  1. a cover letter outlining their interest and relevant experience, and the ways in which you would propose to enhance the profile of the journal
  2. a curriculum vitae
  3. a special theme outline: a title with paragraph explanation.

Please send applications and supporting documentation to journals@thelearner.com

The deadline for applications is 26 September 2011.

Latest Learning Journal papers

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Recently published in The International Journal of Learning:

Recently published in the Learning Journal

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Recently published in The International Journal of Learning:


Learning Journal, Volume 18, Number 1 available

learning_frontThe first issue of Volume 18 of The International Journal of Learning has now been published.

Volume 18, Number 1 contains:

Continue reading ‘Learning Journal, Volume 18, Number 1 available’

Recently published in the Learning Journal

learning_frontRecently published in The International Journal of Learning:


Latest Learning Journal Papers

learning

Recently published in The International Journal of Learning:

Learning Journal, Volume 17, Number 12 available

learning_frontThe final issue of Volume 17 of The International Journal of Learning has now been published.

Volume 17, Number 12 contains:

Continue reading ‘Learning Journal, Volume 17, Number 12 available’

Pippa Stein Award for Excellence in Educational Research in Africa

Professor Pippa Stein was a scholar and teacher at the University of the Witwatersrand who was deeply committed to education in Africa at all levels and in all subjects, although her own field was that of literacy.  She was instrumental in setting up the Africa Research Network, collaborated on research projects in South Africa and globally, and was a key member of the international Learning Conference and Journal Advisory Board. The Pippa Stein award honours her work and is intended to encourage outstanding educational research in Africa.

Congratulations to Bernard Ouma Mikume and  Samuel Ouma Oyoo the winners of the Pippa Stein Award for Excellence in Educational Research in Africa with their paper Improving the Practice of Giving Feedback on ESL Learners’ Written Compositions.

Paper Abstract: There has been increased research interest in the area of feedback in students’ written compositions since Truscott’s (1996) article that strongly argued against error correction in ESL learners’ writings. Many of these research studies have, however, concentrated on the effect of teacher written corrective feedback (WCF) on ESL learners’ writing. Little attention has been given to the use of alternative feedback strategies to supplement teacher written feedback on learners’ writing. Besides, many of these studies have been more concerned with describing students’ responses rather than trying to improve teachers’ feedback practice. This study was, therefore, aimed at improving the practice of giving feedback on ESL learners’ written compositions through use of self-correction and conferencing on ESL learners’ compositions to supplement improved teacher written feedback. The study this paper draws from employed a qualitative approach within an action research design. It used a sample of Form 3 (Year 10 equivalent) ESL class in a secondary school in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Data collected from interviews, observations, informal conversations and feedback exit slips with students and the subject teacher formed the basis of reflections and analysis. The findings show that the use of these additional strategies (self-correction and conferencing on ESL learners’ compositions) can lead to improved quality of learners’ written compositions and learners’ increased motivation and confidence in writing. This study concludes by recommending the use of these strategies to improve the practice of providing feedback on ESL learners’ compositions to improve their writing skills.


Finalists for the Pippa Stein Award

learning_frontCongratulations to all of the finalists for the Pippa Stein Award for Excellence in Educational Research in Africa: