Aim:To gain knowledge of how adult students experienced the first year of a blended learning master programme to better understand their learning process.Methods:A qualitative,exploratory,descriptive study based on da...Aim:To gain knowledge of how adult students experienced the first year of a blended learning master programme to better understand their learning process.Methods:A qualitative,exploratory,descriptive study based on data from two focus group interviews with students attending a blended learning Master programme.Qualitative content analysis based on Graneheim and Lundman’s procedures was applied.Findings:Our analyses revealed one main theme:aspiring for competence in a multifaceted everyday life and four main categories:acquiring professional competence,struggling to manage diverse forms of communication,demanding task juggling and confused student role.Conclusions:The participants experienced that the programme enabled them to acquire professional competence relevant to practice.Despite the challenges,the programme is recommended for prospective students who live in both urban and rural areas,who are working and also responsible for children and other family tasks.展开更多
IntroductionCurrently China has a variety of English teaching methods and practices.Unhappily,however,manyChinese students’basic English is poor.English courses are overloaded and teachers’tasks are toonumerous to a...IntroductionCurrently China has a variety of English teaching methods and practices.Unhappily,however,manyChinese students’basic English is poor.English courses are overloaded and teachers’tasks are toonumerous to accomplish.Morever in order to fulfill their requirements many teachers have to abandonparts of the syllabus in order to cover all the required material.This‘cover-the lot’approach doesn’tconform to acceptable standards of good English teaching.Consequently,the results are not satisfactory.Although many teachers spend hours of effort preparing and teaching,students seem to retain less andless from their courses,and their interest in English seems to deep gradually decrease.展开更多
E-learning platforms support education systems worldwide, transferring theoretical knowledge as well as soft skills. In the present study high-school pupils’, and adult students’ opinions were evaluated through a mo...E-learning platforms support education systems worldwide, transferring theoretical knowledge as well as soft skills. In the present study high-school pupils’, and adult students’ opinions were evaluated through a modern structured MOODLE interactive course, designed for the needs of the laboratory course “Automotive Systems”. The study concerns Greek secondary vocational education pupils aged 18 and vocational training adult students aged 20 to 50 years. The multistage, equal size simple random cluster sample was used as a sampling method. Pupils and adult students of each cluster completed structured 10-question questionnaires both before and after attending the course. A total of 120 questionnaires were collected. In general, our findings disclosed that the majority of pupils and adult students had significantly improved their knowledge and skills from using MOODLE. They reported strengthening conventional teaching, using the new MOODLE technology. The satisfaction indices improved quite, with the differences in their mean values being statistically significant.展开更多
This paper will discuss the findings of students＇ needs for an EL （English language） programme at the SDE （School of Distance Education）, USM （Universiti Sains Malaysia）, Penang. English is offered as a compuls...This paper will discuss the findings of students＇ needs for an EL （English language） programme at the SDE （School of Distance Education）, USM （Universiti Sains Malaysia）, Penang. English is offered as a compulsory subject for all its students since the School＇s inception in 1971, and the subject has not moved beyond that status quo. However, in the new millennium, with USM having been selected as a research university with an apex status, the expectation of its stakeholders has increased. SDE needs to keep abreast with what is on and what is up in distance education teaching and learning so that its programmes remain relevant. It cannot remain complacent with its present courses Taking into consideration the current needs of its stakeholders within the realm of distance teaching and learning, the researchers carried out a research on the need for an EL programme. Findings show that the students agree that an English programme will help them improve their language and their upward mobility. Majority of the students will sign up for the course if it is offered. This research will provide insights for curriculum developers and lecturers at the SDE to design a new English programme tailored towards meeting the needs of their adult students展开更多
基金supported in part by Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences,Faculty of Health and Social Sciences,NO-2418 Elverum,Norway.No external funding.
文摘Aim:To gain knowledge of how adult students experienced the first year of a blended learning master programme to better understand their learning process.Methods:A qualitative,exploratory,descriptive study based on data from two focus group interviews with students attending a blended learning Master programme.Qualitative content analysis based on Graneheim and Lundman’s procedures was applied.Findings:Our analyses revealed one main theme:aspiring for competence in a multifaceted everyday life and four main categories:acquiring professional competence,struggling to manage diverse forms of communication,demanding task juggling and confused student role.Conclusions:The participants experienced that the programme enabled them to acquire professional competence relevant to practice.Despite the challenges,the programme is recommended for prospective students who live in both urban and rural areas,who are working and also responsible for children and other family tasks.
文摘IntroductionCurrently China has a variety of English teaching methods and practices.Unhappily,however,manyChinese students’basic English is poor.English courses are overloaded and teachers’tasks are toonumerous to accomplish.Morever in order to fulfill their requirements many teachers have to abandonparts of the syllabus in order to cover all the required material.This‘cover-the lot’approach doesn’tconform to acceptable standards of good English teaching.Consequently,the results are not satisfactory.Although many teachers spend hours of effort preparing and teaching,students seem to retain less andless from their courses,and their interest in English seems to deep gradually decrease.
文摘E-learning platforms support education systems worldwide, transferring theoretical knowledge as well as soft skills. In the present study high-school pupils’, and adult students’ opinions were evaluated through a modern structured MOODLE interactive course, designed for the needs of the laboratory course “Automotive Systems”. The study concerns Greek secondary vocational education pupils aged 18 and vocational training adult students aged 20 to 50 years. The multistage, equal size simple random cluster sample was used as a sampling method. Pupils and adult students of each cluster completed structured 10-question questionnaires both before and after attending the course. A total of 120 questionnaires were collected. In general, our findings disclosed that the majority of pupils and adult students had significantly improved their knowledge and skills from using MOODLE. They reported strengthening conventional teaching, using the new MOODLE technology. The satisfaction indices improved quite, with the differences in their mean values being statistically significant.
文摘This paper will discuss the findings of students＇ needs for an EL （English language） programme at the SDE （School of Distance Education）, USM （Universiti Sains Malaysia）, Penang. English is offered as a compulsory subject for all its students since the School＇s inception in 1971, and the subject has not moved beyond that status quo. However, in the new millennium, with USM having been selected as a research university with an apex status, the expectation of its stakeholders has increased. SDE needs to keep abreast with what is on and what is up in distance education teaching and learning so that its programmes remain relevant. It cannot remain complacent with its present courses Taking into consideration the current needs of its stakeholders within the realm of distance teaching and learning, the researchers carried out a research on the need for an EL programme. Findings show that the students agree that an English programme will help them improve their language and their upward mobility. Majority of the students will sign up for the course if it is offered. This research will provide insights for curriculum developers and lecturers at the SDE to design a new English programme tailored towards meeting the needs of their adult students
