ABSTRACT
In recent years, transnational education (TNE) has seen a surge in numbers across the world and especially in Asian countries. Although student participation is underlined in TNE universities, it can be difficult to achieve due to local students' lack of confidence in English speaking and other locally socio-cultural reasons. Reflecting on the author's teaching practice in a TNE university based in China for two years, this paper discusses the use and value of combining online forum discussion (ODF) with gamification to engage English-as-second-language (ESL) students in a BA-level social sciences module. Combining qualitative in-depth interviews, longitudinal observation and quantitative data analysis, the research explores students' motivations for ODF participation, the contribution of ODF to classroom discussion, as well as the correlation between class participation (including ODF participation) and academic performance. It argues that instructors' facilitation, involvement and the establishment of a learning community are pre-conditions for an active discussion forum to take place, which in turn improves ESL students' class participation and strengthens a sense of connection particularly valuable in the current context of Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, gamification mechanism such as badges and rewards can help to maintain students' engagement and meet their desire for recognition. In addition, ODF participation is found positively correlated with a student's academic performance on a statistically significant level.
ABSTRACT
[...]discussion" often wasn't organic in this platform and could become quite repetitive or stilted as students would offer short responses that tended to stymie a conversation before it had even started. In face-to-face classes, I always try to ensure there are opportunities for students to communicate ideas in both verbal discussion and written activities. [...]I wanted to translate over the same practice in my online asynchronous classes. Twitter provides an active forum in which educators share ideas and exchange questions about using Flipgrid in many types of classes, including foreign languages, mathematics, science, English language and literature, social studies, and much more. [...]a 2018 Pew Research Center Study found that 97% of teens interviewed used a social media platform like YouTube, Instagram, or SnapChat.
ABSTRACT
Purpose>This paper aims to detect the opportunities and problems when teaching with cases since the COVID-19 pivot to online.Design/methodology/approach>From a qualitative phenomenological approach, both authors reflect on the pivot to online case method teaching in their master’s level courses in Colombia and the Dominican Republic.Findings>The reflection allowed the authors to validate that the questions before and during the debate and the voting are resources equally valuable for discussing cases in the traditional classroom and online. However, the authors observe a pivot to teaching with cases online from the COVID-19 pandemic in aspects such as teamwork requiring more time in online class due to internet problems or students’ slowing down. The instructor’s viewing of teamwork is intermittent and causes feeling out of control. Working with cameras on or off generates different results in the students, in the teaching-learning process and in the results, which require the instructor’s good judgement decisions. The online discussion planning and organisation demand flexibility and empathy by the instructor, to promote a more significant student-student interaction, which, in the experience, is limited in the virtual environment. Finally, working with cases online generates and requires additional skills in the instructors to those of the traditional classroom.Originality/value>The study’s originality consists of identifying the main divergences between face-to-face and online teaching with the case method, from the COVID-19 pivot to online. The study’s value is to warn instructors of problems that may arise in online teaching with the case method, for which recommendations are made.