We propose a decolonial pedagogy in the teaching of English Literature at the undergraduate level in postcolonial Pakistan. We argue that the English literary texts that are taught in conjunction with different supplementary materials retain a West-centric tilt that requires disbanding. Therefore, we administered carefully designed worksheets.…

The CEFR encourages teachers to resort to task-based activities in the language classroom. However, some resistance has been offered to this approach, due to lack of appropriate training and difficulty in meeting some basic practical conditions, as well as in finding resources and examples of good practices, as shown in a survey conducted within…

Over the last decade, the pedagogical approach known as mathematical modeling has received increased interest in college algebra classes in the United States. Math modeling assignments ask students to develop their own problem-solving tools to address non-routine, realistic scenarios. The open-ended quality of modeling activities creates dilemmas…

The aim of this paper is to report on an ongoing experiment in an enquiry-based approach to feedback. Over the course of four years, almost 1800 students have studied a final-year undergraduate module involving a mid-term assignment and end of module examination. Feedback on the assignment is delivered through a process which involves the…

Dialogic teaching--a pedagogical approach that involves students in a collaborative construction of meaning and is characterized by shared control over the key aspects of classroom discourse--has been largely advocated by contemporary research and theory. However, studies in the US and UK continue to document the persistence of monologic…

What do lecturers look for when marking essays? What impresses them and what frustrates them? In this paper, we present the results of a survey which asked lecturers to address these questions. Thirty-two lecturers responded to an email survey in which they listed the problems they found most frustrating when marking essays and the factors which…

Teaching computing students about the importance of evidence and about the use of empirical methods for evaluating computing technologies can be difficult, especially within dual honors undergraduate degree programs. The aims of this study were to explore the effectiveness of second-year undergraduate computing students in carrying out a…

Students' response to the feedback they receive on written assignments is an important but relatively under-researched aspect of teaching and learning. This paper presents an analysis of over 3000 written comments made on 106 assignments in three course modules in a Technology faculty, and also the results of telephone interviews with 43 of the…

Whilst there is considerable literature on feedback for students and on the use of audio feedback, literature in the area of podcasting assignment feedback (PAF) remains sparse. Partly, this may be due to a lack of clarity about what counts as feedback, the way in which feedback is located pedagogically and the relationship between feedback…

This paper explores ways in which data collected during designerly activity in a Secondary Design and Technology Classroom in the UK, can be analysed with a view to ascertaining the features of the classroom interactions which facilitate the development of designerly activity in "fledgling designers" (Trebell, 2007). The paper builds…

Social networking sites such as "Facebook" and "MySpace" have been subject to much recent debate within the educational community. Whilst growing numbers of educators celebrate the potential of social networking to (re)engage learners with their studies, others fear that such applications compromise and disrupt young people's…

This qualitative study examines perceptions and use of assignment feedback among adult beginner modern foreign language learners on higher education distance learning courses. A survey of responses to feedback on assignments by 43 Open University students on beginner language courses in Spanish, French, and German indicated that respondents can be…

This study investigated the kinds of dialogic behavior engaged in by students while studying a difficult physics course at the Open University, UK. Research objectives were twofold: (1) to document what dialogue types, mediated through which resources, were utilized by students to overcome conceptual difficulties that emerged while reading the…

This paper demonstrates that integrating research into the curriculum can help to enhance the overall student learning experience. The Bourne Stream Partnership is a local community-based project which has provided environmental & geographical science students with the opportunity to work on live projects within a variety of contexts including…

The relationship between attention to linguistic form and accuracy or to meaning and fluency in language learning has been explored by language learning researchers for many years. They point to the potential difficulties for learners in attending to form and meaning at the same time and the importance of exposure to meaningful target language…