Service Learning at National Taipei College of Business, 2012-2013＂ New Perspectives on Community, Peer-Based Education

Service learning （also known as peer learning） has received increased attention in tertiary education. By linking learning with authentic volunteer work experience, service learning bridges the gap between theoretical study and practical reality. This practice can increase students＇ professional knowledge, educational development, self-esteem, and awareness of social responsibility. Service learning became a mandatory requirement for all students at National Taipei College of Business （NTCB; now National Taipei University of Business） in 2011, and this is the focus of this study, extending into the 2012 school year. This course-based program allows undergraduate language majors to put their language skills into practice by teaching peers, and also through other volunteer work. This program has greatly benefitted undergraduate students at the school. This study will examine course data, student reports, and interviews with student teachers. The researchers have documented the implementation of the peer-mentor program at NTCB, and the learning gains experienced among students and the professors who assisted in these processes.

Applying Learning Community Theory to Oral English Teaching in Sport Institutes

Since traditional English teaching method, which merely focuses on language teaching but ignores communicative competence, severely impedes the development of students' oral ability. It is high time that English teachers took measures to find a workable and valuable teaching method which can improve students' speaking proficiency effectively. Learning community theory provides a broad space for this, for it regards learning as a process which takes place in a community where the learners are sharing their experience towards knowledge building in an interactive and cooperative way.

Topic Sentiment Analysis in Online Learning Community from College Students

Purpose:Opinion mining and sentiment analysis in Online Learning Community can truly reflect the students’learning situation,which provides the necessary theoretical basis for following revision of teaching plans.To improve the accuracy of topic-sentiment analysis,a novel model for topic sentiment analysis is proposed that outperforms other state-of-art models.Methodology/approach:We aim at highlighting the identification and visualization of topic sentiment based on learning topic mining and sentiment clustering at various granularitylevels.The proposed method comprised data preprocessing,topic detection,sentiment analysis,and visualization.Findings:The proposed model can effectively perceive students’sentiment tendencies on different topics,which provides powerful practical reference for improving the quality of information services in teaching practice.Research limitations:The model obtains the topic-terminology hybrid matrix and the document-topic hybrid matrix by selecting the real user’s comment information on the basis of LDA topic detection approach,without considering the intensity of students’sentiments and their evolutionary trends.Practical implications:The implication and association rules to visualize the negative sentiment in comments or reviews enable teachers and administrators to access a certain plaint,which can be utilized as a reference for enhancing the accuracy of learning content recommendation,and evaluating the quality of their services.Originality/value:The topic-sentiment analysis model can clarify the hierarchical dependencies between different topics,which lay the foundation for improving the accuracy of teaching content recommendation and optimizing the knowledge coherence of related courses.

Conversing in Spanish at a Seniors Center： A Brief Experience of Community-Based and Foreign-Language Learning

This pilot study explored the linguistic gains of intermediate level Spanish learners who completed community-based learning at a Spanish-speaking seniors center. Leamers had the opportunity, rare in foreign-language instruction, to discuss topics from their textbook in authentic native/non-native dyads. The interactions also allowed the seniors to fulfill an identified community needed by socializing in Spanish. Analyses of a post-service survey revealed that learners assessed the experience positively, because they spoke Spanish creatively. Seniors were described as cooperative and fun interlocutors, suggesting that age difference minimally affected the interactions. Direct observation revealed that learners managed to produce L2 Spanish output in connected speech for an extended period of time. Likewise, the seniors enjoyed a moment of socialization and first language use while sharing their views on the topics of discussion with the young visitors. Seniors＇ active participation likely encouraged learners to cope with sudden switches of topics that required negotiating for meaning and pushing the still limited interlanguages. A new service leaming study proposes to investigate the use of native/non-native dyads in Spanish in fulfilling a dual function： socialization and first language maintenance for the seniors at the center and language learning for the students.

Integrating WeChat-based Autonomous Learning Community into Improving Speaking--An Action Research Study in EFL

The purpose of this paper is to share the findings of an action research aiming at helping college students to improve their speaking by applying a WeChat-based autonomous learning community.WeChat is the most wide-spread social media platform in China.In this 10-week action research,a total of 16 participants in a Chinese university were involved.After identifying the incentive of participating in this WeChat Group speaking activity,most of which were related with pronunciation and a lack of speaking fluency practice,an action plan was developed and implemented.In this WeChat group,the participants received weekly learning material about pronunciation and speaking assignments accordingly,then they had one week to learn the pronunciation independently and prepare the oral assignments.Following this,participants submitted their voice recording in the WeChat group and were given feedback by an instructor in this group.Observations,questionnaires,and surveys were used to collect data.The results show a positive feedback from the learners on a WeChat-based autonomous learning community.The study observes(1)college EFL learners have a strong motivation;intrinsic motivation especially has a positive relationship with participants’performance;(2)students have a positive attitude towards WeChat-based autonomous learning community;(3)timely feedback from instructors is highly valued by language learners.

The Practical Path to Cultivating Innovative Talents:Implementing Cross-Disciplinary Learning Communities in Environmental Design Education

In response to the national strategy of“vigorously cultivating interdisciplinary talents and actively promoting interdisciplinary integration,”this article focuses on the nationally recognized Environmental Design program at Hezhou University’s College of Design,leveraging local industry advantages to engage in interdisciplinary integration through educational practices.Using the“Construction of the Panoramic Virtual Nature Museum of the Guizhou Crocodile Lizard at Mount Dagui”as a case study,we aim to establish a professional and interdisciplinary learning community,incorporate student-centered interactive teaching methods,boost student motivation,enhance teaching quality,nurture forward-thinking versatile innovative talents,and provide a guideline for interdisciplinary educational reform.

Investigating Social Presence in Audio and Text Online Interaction for Language Learning

This study aimed at comparing the level of social presence generated in a voice-based chat room and a text-based forum when learners tried to build personal relationships and form an online community for learning on an online language course in China. A mixed-method approach was taken for the study, drawing on data from questionnaires to find out about student perception of social presence, and postings of text messages and audio messages in the communication of the student learning process to search for students’ projected social presence in terms of affective, interactive and cohesive features. Interviews were also conducted to supplement additional information with the hope of forming a complete picture of social presence in the reality of an online learning environment. The text-based forum and the voice-based chat room were found to have a different impact on student social presence. In terms of student perception, most of them were more likely to get to know peers in the text-based forum and thus developed a sense of community in their learning process of the online course. Yet they believed that the voice-based chat room had the advantage of helping them with course learning. In the actual interaction, the voice-based chat room was more interactive although the text-based forum was more affective and cohesive. But in terms of the affective category, the problem with the existing framework in literature was that there were no prosodic features included. Therefore, in future more research is needed to probe for the relationship between prosodic sound features and social presence, and the present theoretic framework must be extended. In interviews, students explained that in the voice-based chat room prosodic features led to higher peer awareness, which further reinforced this need.

Teaching Religious Education in Schools and Adolescents＇ Social and Emotional Development. An Action Research on the Role of Religious Education and School Community in Adolescents＇ Lives

The presentation of the findings of this article is based on an action research focused on the supportive role of the school in adolescents＇ lives, whereby Religious Education＇s contribution to the social and emotional development of adolescents （11-15） is combined with the evaluation of the potential offered by a constructivist approach to the learning process. The research commenced in 2012 and is now in its third ＂year. The project is based on an intervention at a high school in an impoverished suburb of Athens and researches educational practices through interpretative-ethnographic methods. The researcher has attempted to answer the question of whether the design of the learning environments is effective not only in the learning process, but also on inter-communication and ＂connectedness＂ between the members of the learning community. The findings so far indicate a correlation between adolescents＇ emotional and social wellbeing and the school＇s approach to knowledge and learning methods, specifically in Religious Education classes. It is fair to say, however, that there exist ethnic, social and family components that are negatively related to a sense of＂connectedness＂ within the school although at the same time Religious Education as a subject is, however, found to be positively related to learning community atmosphere.

Professional Learning Communities(PLCs)of Chemistry Teachers

The models of Professional Learning Communities(PLCs)are based on principles of learning that emphasize the co-construction of knowledge by learners,who in this case are the teachers themselves.Teachers in a PLC meet regularly to explore their practices and the learning outcomes of their students,analyze their teaching and their students’learning processes,draw conclusions,and make changes in order to improve their teaching and the learning of their students.It was found that participation in a PLC influences teaching practice,so teachers become more student-centered.Moreover,the teaching culture improves as the community increases the degree of cooperation among teachers,and focuses on the processes of learning rather than the accumulation of knowledge.This enables students to be innovative,creative,and critical.In addition,trust is developed among the participants,which enables them to discuss and analyze their students’cognitive and affective problems,misconceptions,and learning outcomes.

The Forming Mechanism of Foreign language Teachers＇ Professional Development Community

Learning community is an important approach to the professional development of foreign language teachers in colleges and universities. Based on the concept of professional development community, this paper analyzes the common connotation and classification of foreign language teachers＇ professional development community, and constructs the model and forming mechanism of foreign language teachers＇ professional development community, aiming at providing enlightenment and reference for the professional development of foreign language teachers in colleges and universities

Developments of Professional Learning Communities and Challenges for Principals in Chinese Urban Middle Schools

Professional learning communities(PLCs)have seen a rapid spread all around the world over the past 30 years.Since then it has been proved that they can improve teaching quality and thereby the achievement of students,and so PLCs have attracted increasing attention especially from education systems.In China,PLCs have been developed vigorously within schools since the implementation of the‘New Curriculum Reform’in 2000.However,the west has paid scant attention to and were not familiar with them since most research in this field in China was published in Chinese.Furthermore,PLCs are influenced by contextual and cultural factors,and therefore PLCs in Chinese education systems are different from those in Anglo-American settings due to long-standing cultural differences,which require consideration.Therefore,this research will investigate the PLCs in China that may be of interest.Many recent studies have shown that,although PLCs have made significant progress in Chinese urban middle schools through the enthusiastic efforts of educators and scholars,there are still several barriers.The primary purpose of this research is to review the development of PLCs and additionally to analyse the challenges faced by the principals.

EVOLVING FROM COLLABORATING IN TEACHING——REFLECTIONS ON THE EVOLUTION OF A TEACHER PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE WITHIN A CHINESE UNIVERSITY

基于实践社群( Wenger 1998)的相关研究,本文认为知识是动态的,需通过社会参与型学习实现。本文展现了一个为促进合作而建立的教师学习型实践社群(Newmann 1996)。两年半的实地参与性研究表明该社群的内部合作结构为表达分歧和协商异议提供了渠道;其合作结构的演变对激发社群的活力和生命力发挥了重要作用:合作结构的演变有助于成员能力的提升、自我身份的构建和社群领导权的合理分配。本文强调"不同"在社群发展中的作用,它不仅可以引发对话和改变,也为合理决策提供前提,是推动成员身份演变的必备要素。本研究可为有相似兴趣的教师——尤其是具有不同国籍和资历的教师——建立专业实践社群提供参考。

Humanistic Approaches to Foreign Language Teaching

Some educators and teachers stated that the reason of the major failures in foreign language teaching was that teachers could not help their students to discover the personal meaning of the information they provided. To deal with the problem that students were regarded as containers and classroom learning was dull, humanistic approaches were put forward.

FROM TEACHER GROUP TO LEARNING COMMUNITY:TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK FOR STUDYING COLLEGE ENGLISH TEACHERS' PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Among the research of language teachers' professional development in the course of reform,most studies take a psychological or cognitive approach and largely neglect the social element in a teacher's professional growth.This paper,therefore,is intended to build up a theoretical and analytical framework for a large-scale on-going study that looks at college English teachers' professional development from a sociological and anthropological perspective.The notion of learning community constitutes the core of the theoretical framework that orients the author's understanding of the tensions and conflictions in teachers' socialization into the teacher community within the context of radical change.In particular,the literature on three dimensions of the learning process is critically reviewed,i.e.personal dimension,interpersonal dimension and organizational dimension.

Professional Learning Communities in Private Schools in Bahrain and Oman:Reflection on Two Cases

Highlights•This study explores features of professional learning community(PLC)models in the educational contexts in Bahrain and Oman.•Findings based on the case studies of PLCs in two private schools in Bahrain and Oman,and theoretical input from international PLC literature has implications for policy and practice.•Study recommends promoting PLC approaches in the Bahraini and Omani educational systems in pre-and in-service teacher training programs,adapting best international PLC practices to the specific educational contexts of Bahrain and Oman,preparing school principals to lead PLC in their schools,providing human and financial support to these communities,and making school cultures more collaborative.•This study highlights the importance of the PLC approach,expands the existing conceptual/analytical framework,demonstrates how this approach is being used in two schools,and encourages other practitioners and researchers to embrace PLC.

How Social Network Position Relates to Knowledge Building in Online Learning Communities?

Social Network Analysis,Statistical Analysis,Content Analysis and other research methods were used to research online learning communities at Capital Normal University,Beijing.Analysis of the two online courses resulted in the following conclusions:(1)Social networks of the two online courses form typical core-periphery structures;(2)Social networks of the two online courses contain“structural holes,”where some actors position themselves to become potential opinion-leaders within their social networks;(3)Actors,variously positioned within a core-periphery structure,show quite significant differences in terms of knowledge building;(4)Taking“structural holes”into account,there exist considerable differences in knowledge building between opinion-leaders and non opinion-leaders;(5)Actors in the“core”and“structural hole”positions have very different characteristics in terms of knowledge building.These actors in particular play important roles in online learning communities,impacting on the level of the constructed knowledge.

Unpacking the Relationship Between Teachers’Perceptions of Professional Learning Communities and Differentiated Instruction Practice

Purpose:This exploratory study investigates the relationship between teachers’perceptions of professional learning communities(PLCs)and their differentiated instruction(DI)practice in a Hong Kong primary education context.Design/Approach/Methods:Three subsidized primary schools participated in the study.A total of 121 teachers completed surveys regarding their perceptions of PLC engagement and DI practice.Findings:Using principal component analysis,three dimensions of PLC engagement were identified:student learning,reflective dialogue,and shared and supportive leadership.Two distinctive PLC engagement profiles were generated based on cluster analysis:high PLC engagement and low PLC engagement.Teachers’PLC engagement profiles were correlated with their DI practices.Originality/Value:The findings have implications for fostering teacher engagement in PLCs.Increased teacher participation in PLCs has great potential for promoting the use of DI.

Creating a Community of Learners in the Language Classroom

This paper reports a study designed to observe how a learning community arose when a group of learners of English focused on a common project. The students＇ task was to participate as speakers in an international conference. Undergraduate students in a course of Business English at a small private university in western Mexico worked in teams to research and develop a topic to be sent as a proposal to the conference.The study used Interaction Analysis with a qualitative focus to observe participant interactions. Video and audio recordings were supplemented with participant interviews and questionnaires. Analysis shows that in the course of the project, the students learned not only business terminology, but also how to work together.

Improving Friend Recommendation for Online Learning with Fine-Grained Evolving Interest

Friend recommendation plays a key role in promoting user experience in online social networks(OSNs).However,existing studies usually neglect users’fine-grained interest as well as the evolving feature of interest,which may cause unsuitable recommendation.In particular,some OSNs,such as the online learning community,even have little work on friend recommendation.To this end,we strive to improve friend recommendation with fine-grained evolving interest in this paper.We take the online learning community as an application scenario,which is a special type of OSNs for people to learn courses online.Learning partners can help improve learners’learning effect and improve the attractiveness of platforms.We propose a learning partner recommendation framework based on the evolution of fine-grained learning interest(LPRF-E for short).We extract a sequence of learning interest tags that changes over time.Then,we explore the time feature to predict evolving learning interest.Next,we recommend learning partners by fine-grained interest similarity.We also refine the learning partner recommendation framework with users’social influence(denoted as LPRF-F for differentiation).Extensive experiments on two real datasets crawled from Chinese University MOOC and Douban Book validate that the proposed LPRF-E and LPRF-F models achieve a high accuracy(i.e.,approximate 50%improvements on the precision and the recall)and can recommend learning partners with high quality(e.g.,more experienced and helpful).

How Teachers Learn and Change in Reciprocal Learning Space

This paper reports the impact of a new Canada and China school network on its participating teachers in the context of the Canada−China Partnership Grant Project.Eight schools formed four pairs of sister schools,and teachers in these schools created collaborations embedded in their practices.The data include interviews of teachers and principals in both countries and records of teachers’cross-cultural collaborations.Informed by the literature on teacher learning and professional learning communities,this paper shows benefits of international teacher communities.Also,it explores a new approach to research that features spatiality considerations reflecting a new trend in the comparative education literature.Focusing on teacher knowledge and practice,it shows reciprocal effects of collaboration in the international school network.Finally,this paper links the research results to the literature in a way that highlights the potential of international teacher professional learning communities and contributions of this kind of practice and research.