Global Challenges: Our Attempts at a Content-Focused English Program Brent A. Jones

Konan University, Hirao School of Management Presented at JALT 2014 (GILE Forum) Tsukuba, Japan - November 23, 2014

Abstract - Global Challenges is a required content-based English course for all first-year students in our program. This presentation will focus on course design, development and delivery for this twice-a-week course, with emphasis on learning outcomes, teaching activities and assessment.

Question 1 - Where do you start when planning a new course?

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Question 2 - What are the six categories of significant learning (Fink’s Taxonomy)?

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Question 3 - Explain the concept of Backward Design with examples from a class you are teaching.

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Question 4 - Give one example of poor instructional alignment.

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Question 5 - What is the Double Whammy?

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Question 6 - What are two ideas from today’s talk that you want to follow up on?

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References Anderson, L.W. & Krathwohl, D.R. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A

revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of eductional objectives. New York: Longman. Bonk, C. J., & Zhang, K. (2008). Empowering Online Learning: 100+ Activities for Reading,

Reflecting, Displaying, and Doing. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Brinton, D., Snow, M. & Wesche, M. (2003). Content-based second language instruction. Ann

Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Brown, J. D. (1995). The elements of language curriculum: A systematic approach to program

development. New York: Heinle & Heinle. Cohen, S.A. (1987). Instructional alignment: Searching for a magic bullet. Educational Researcher,

16, 16-20. Fink, L.D. (2003). Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An integrated approach to designing

college courses. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Framework for 21st Century Learning. (February, 2012). In Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

Retrieved Feb. 1, 2012, from http:// http://www.p21.org/ Kaye, C. B. (2010). The complete guide to service learning: Proven, practical ways to engage

students in civic responsibility, academic curriculum, and social action (2nd ed.). Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing.

Liu, M. (2009). Extensive or Repeated Listening? A comparison of their effects on the use of listening strategies. Retrieved November 12, 2013 from http://lib.csghs.tp.edu.tw/05-1.pdf

Mager, Robert F. (1997). Preparing Instructional Objectives. Atlanta, GA. Center for Effective Performance.

Olson, J., Dorsey, L., & Reigeluth, C. M. (1988). Instructional theory for mid-level strategies. Unpublished manuscript.

Reigeluth, C.M. (1999). What is instructional-design theory and how is it changing? In C.M. Reigeluth (Ed.), Instructional-Design Theories and Models: A New Paradigm of Instructional Theory. (Volume II). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc.

Richie, D. (1995). Doing oral history. New York, NY: Twayne. Seels, B. B., & Richey, R. C. (1994). Instructional technology: The definition and domains of the

field. Association for Educational Communications and Technology, U.S.A. Shrock, S. & Coscarelli, W. (1989). Criterion-referenced test development: Technical and legal

guidelines for corporate training. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Van Lier, L. (1996). Interaction in the language curriculum: Awareness, autonomy, and

authenticity. London: Longman.

Websites Dr. L. Dee Fink - http://finkconsulting.info Significant Learning - http://www.significantlearning.org

Biographical Statement Brent A. Jones has taught ESL/EFL in Hawaii and Japan since 1987, and has been involved in teacher training since 2002. He has worked in corporate training programs at Sony, Mitsui Trading, Hitachi Shipbuilding, Nestle, and Sumitomo Chemicals. He was formerly the coordinator of the Business English Program at Kobe Gakuin University, and is currently the Director of Language Programs for both the Management Course and Study Abroad Course at Konan University, Hirao School of Management. His major research interests are L2 learning motivation, extensive reading, curriculum development, instructional design, content-focused approaches to language instruction, learner engagement and creativity.

Appendix 1 - Approaches to instruction (from Olson, Dorsey & Reigeluth, 1988)

Apprenticeship - an experiential learning strategy in which the learner acquires knowledge and skills through direct participation in learning under immediate personal supervision in a situation that approximates the conditions under which the knowledge will be used.

Debate - a formally structured discussion with two teams arguing opposing sides of a topic.

Demonstration - a carefully prepared presentation that shows how to perform an act of use a procedure; accompanied by appropriate oral and visual explanations and illustrations; frequently accompanied by questions.

Field trip - a carefully planned educational tour in which a group visits an object or place of interest for first-hand observation or study.

Game - an instructional activity in which participants follow prescribed rules that differ from those of reality as they strive to attain a challenging goal; is usually competitive.

Group discussion, guided - a purposeful conversation and deliberation about a topic of mutual interest among 6 - 20 participants under the guidance of a leader.

Group discussion, free/open - a free group discussion of a topic selected by the teacher, who acts only as chairman; learning occurs only through the interchange among members.

Ancient symposium - a group of 5 - 29 persons who meet in the home or private room to enjoy good food, entertainment, fellowship, and with the desire to discuss informally a topic of mutual interest.

Interview - a 5 to 30 minute presentation conducted before an audience in which a resource(s) responds to systematic questioning by the audience about a previously determined topic.

Laboratory - a learning experience in which students interact with raw materials.

Guided laboratory - an instructor-guided learning experience in which students interact with raw materials.

Lecture/Speech - a carefully prepared oral presentation of a subject by a qualified person.

Lecture, guided discovery - a group learning strategy in which the audience responds to questions posed by the instructor selected to guide them toward discovery (also called recitation class).

Panel discussion - a group of 3 - 6 persons having a purposeful conversation on an assigned topic before an audience of learners; members are selected on the basis of previously demonstrated interests and competency in the subject to be discussed and their ability to verbalize.

Project - an organized task performance or problem solving activity.

Team project - a small group of learners working cooperatively to perform a task or solve a problem.

Seminar - a strategy in which one or several group members carry out a study/project on a topic (usually selected by the teacher) and present their findings to the rest of the group, followed by discussion (usually teacher-led) of the findings to reach a general conclusion.

Quiet meeting - a 15 to 60 minute period of meditation and limited verbal expression by a group of five or more persons; requires a group of people who are not strangers to each other; is used at a point when the learners or members feel that reflection and contemplation are desirable.

Simulation - an abstraction or simplification of some specific real-life situation, process, or task.

Case study - a type of simulation aimed at giving learners experience in the sort of decision making required later.

Role play - a dramatized case study; a spontaneous portrayal (acting out) of a situation, condition, or circumstance by elected members of a learning group.

Think Tank/Brainstorm - a group effort to generate new ideas for creative problem solving; thoughts of one participant stimulate new direction and thoughts in another.

Tutorial, programmed - one-to-one method of instruction in which decisions to be made by the tutor (live, text, computer, or expert system) are programmed in advance by means of carefully selected, structured instructions; is individually paced, requires active learner response, and provides immediate feedback.

Tutorial, conversational - one-to-one method of instruction in which the tutor presents instruction in an adaptive mode; is individually paced, requires active learner response, and feedback is provided.

Socratic dialogue - a type of conversational tutorial in which the tutor guides the learner to discovery through a series of questions.

Note: There are many variations of these approaches, and different approaches are often used in combination.

Appendix 2 - Characteristics of Authentic Learning Activities Adapted from Reeves, T. C., Herrington, J., & Oliver, R. (2002). Authentic activity as a model for web-based learning. 2002 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA, USA.

Real-world relevance: Activities match as nearly as possible the real-world tasks of professionals in practice rather than decontextualized or classroom-based tasks.

Ill-defined: Activities require students to define the tasks and subtasks needed to complete the activity. Complex, sustained tasks: Activities are completed in days, weeks, and months rather than minutes or hours. They require significant investment of time and intellectual resources.

Multiple perspectives: Provides the opportunity for students to examine the task from different perspectives using a variety of resources, and separate relevant from irrelevant information.

Collaborative: Collaboration is integral and required for task completion.

Value laden: Provide the opportunity to reflect and involve students’ beliefs and values.

Interdisciplinary: Activities encourage interdisciplinary perspectives and enable learners to play diverse roles and build expertise that is applicable beyond a single well-defined field or domain.

Authentically assessed: Assessment is seamlessly integrated with learning in a manner that reflects how quality is judged in the real world.

Authentic products: Authentic activities create polished products valuable in their own right rather than as preparation for something else.

Multiple possible outcomes: Activities allow a range and diversity of outcomes open to multiple solutions of an original nature, rather than a single correct response obtained by the application of predefined rules and procedures.

Appendix 3 - Motivation (Source: Online Learning Laboratory - University of South Alabama)

The ARCS Motivation Model (Keller, 1984)

(1) Attention: Capture the learners’ interests. Make them curious to learn, and sustain their attention. - Perceptual arousal –sudden or unexpected change in environment e.g. change in voice level, humor,

piece of information, games, quizzes and even just the manipulation of something on the screen. - Inquiry arousal – create curiosity by presenting a problem, sense of mystery, use of unusual contents or

events. - Variability – change in knowledge presentation. Vary the types of content - images, sounds and text

work together. Use highly interactive learning activities and interplay instruction and response.

Theoretical Foundations - Curiosity (Maw & Maw, 1968) - Perceptual Arousal (Berlyne, 1965)

(2) Relevance: Meet the learners’ needs and goals.

- Goal orientation – use job oriented examples, explain the relevance of the instruction to the learners. Create goals, build goals.

- Motive matching – process oriented, that is, the way in which the content will be presented to the learners and connect to their experiences. Use technology to enrich the learning approach. Give multiple participant opportunities.

- Familiarity – use technology to integrate familiar situations in the classroom for example by use of graphics. Illustrate for concreteness.

Theoretical Foundations - Needs Hierarchy (Maslow, 1954; Murray, 1938) - Need for Achievement (McClelland, Atkinson, Clark & Lowell, 1953)

(3) Confidence: Help the learners believe in success.

- Learning requirements – let the learners know what is required of them. Give criteria and feedback, prerequisites, test conditions.

- Success opportunities – create a challenging but successful atmosphere. From easy to difficult, appropriately difficult level. Vary the difficulty level.

- Personal control – use techniques that give students a chance to exercise personal control and pace control. Give attributional language.

Theoretical Foundations - Self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977) - Learned Helplessness (Seligman, 1975) - Attribution Theories (Weiner, 1974; 1979)

(4) Satisfaction: Let the learners have success after the instruction.

- Natural consequences – use technology to provide examples of real life application opportunities i.e. simulated applications.

- Positive consequences – Appropriate reward and reinforcement schedule. Provide meaningful reinforcement, give optional reward package, reward for correct responses, and give judicious rewards.

- Equity – Make sure the outcome is consistent to the initial expectations. Exercise and test consistency should be observed and also reward consistency.

Theoretical Foundations - Conditioning Theory (Travers, 1977) - Cognitive Evaluation Theory (Deci, 1975)