Improving Undergraduates' Critique via Computer Mediated Communication (original) (raw)
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Improving argumentation through student blogs
System, 2016
Argumentation is essential for university students and many studies have been conducted to identify the best approaches to integrate argumentation into the university curriculum. However, there is still scope for improvement, especially in the area of online learning. This study assesses the use of argumentation in student blogs that were written before and after explicit instruction/activities on argumentation in a critical writing course. A total of 100 student blogs were analyzed and compared using a scoring framework for argumentation structure. It took into consideration presence of claims, evidence and counterarguments as well as quality of argumentation. The findings showed that more than half the students were able to improve the structure and quality of argumentation in the post instruction blogs but more support is needed for the remaining students. Pedagogical strategies such as argumentation prompts and a peer-evaluation scheme are proposed to enhance argumentation in student blogs.
Fostering critical thinking and reflection through blog-mediated peer feedback
The introduction of digital literacy practices has created a tension in academia, with many academics challenging the view that critical thinking can be fostered on social networks. A quasi-experimental study was conducted on two sections of university-level writing class- rooms to determine if there were meaningful differences in the quality of writing and peer feedback generated through in-class draft workshops using traditional methods as compared to draft workshops using a blogging platform. The results indicated that blogs produced a higher quality of writing as measured by grades, f(42) = 11.512, p < .002 and acceptance scores, f(42) = 8.364, p < .006. Furthermore, blog-mediated peer workshops produced a sta- tistically significantly higher number of critical comments, f(42) = 120.438, p < .000; and directive comments, f(42) = 33.861, p < .000. There were no statistically significant differ- ences in the number of editing comments, f(42) = .001, p < .974, and traditional draft work- shops produced a statistically significant higher number of naïve comments, f(42) = 14.119, p < .001. Within the study, critical comments were found to correlate positively with learning outcomes, b = 1.115, t(41) = 2.716, p < .01. The findings suggest that blogging software improved learner performance and fostered complex literacy skills.
Writing in Public: Pedagogical Uses of Blogging in the Communication Course
The Electronic Journal of Communication, 2010
This paper explores the value of blogging in both undergraduate and graduate level communication courses. Using three different courses at an upper Midwest public university as case studies, it addresses both the positive and negative outcomes that can result from incorporating blogging into the communication curriculum. As the case studies presented illustrate, "writing in public" has the potential to increase student engagement, improve the quality of student writing, facilitate peer-to-peer learning, make the connection between theory and practice more concrete, and help students develop necessary levels of multi-media literacy. After considering the pedagogical outcomes of blogging in these communication courses, along with student feedback on their blogging experiences, the paper concludes by outlining a set of best practices for the educational use of this social media technology.
Students’ Critical Thinking And Writing Ability Reflected On Online Discussion Forum
Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Languages and Arts (ICLA 2018), 2019
The utilization of gadgets can influence student's participation on teaching and learning process. To that aim, online discussion forum is often used allowing students to engage in critical contestation of ideas. Theoritically, criticism is the process of responding to and evaluating ideas, argument, and style of others. In light of learning process especially in the tertiary level, Dasbender (2011:38) asserts that students often come across critical thinking and analysis as requirements for assignments in writing and upper-level courses. In this study, graduate students' comments on their discussion are analyzed. The analysis stems from the fact that such comments imply students' ability to think critically on the aspects of inference, deduction, recognition of assumption, interpretation, and evaluation of arguments. The comments show how well students can argumentatively write their ideas based on the aspects of clarity, logicality, flexibility and relevancy. The data are collected from online discussion forum of Advanced Sociolinguistics subject in UNP. From the analysis, it is known that students have been able to give their interpretation related to the topic being discussed. The students still need to enhance their reading in order to be able to share ideas in case of deduction and inference because these two terms require students deep understanding on certain topic based on credible theories. Besides, student's comments have reflected four indicators of argumentative writing overal.
Valensiana Ustoyo, 2018
This study examines the online peer feedback activity in facilitating critical thinking to improve writing argumentative essay for university students. It is a learning strategy utilizes technology, especially social media application Instagram in learning writing. The aim is to know process of students’ critical thinking through developing arguments in term of feedback which will help in writing an argumentative essay. The other reasons of implementation of online peer feedback to train students’ critical thinking, is to optimize students’ role as a reviewer, reduce teacher-feedback strategy which wastes time in the classroom, and increase students’ reading literacy of reading many kinds of peers’ work. Therefore, the peer feedback strategy will involve students to be more active in writing interaction in arguing critically which is able to help learning goals. This study uses qualitative method in a case study research design. Some interview questions together with students’ documents’ analysis are employed to assess the involvement of the critical thinking process based on Bloom’s questioning cognitive levels and categories of feedbacks as critical thinking result. Keywords Online peer feedback, Critical thinking, and Writing argumentative essay
L1 Educational Studies in Language and Literature, 2009
Argumentation has been acknowledged as increasingly important for both academic writing and on-line communication. This study combines some of the main results and conclusions of two different, yet complementary, research studies. Here, we aim at illustrating the contribution of the use of a platform (SCALE) conceived for the development of argumentative skills for Higher Education students in argumentative and negotiation on-line interactions and as well as written productions (opinion articles and taking notes). For the compilation and discussion of the results, we analyzed the students' on-line argumentative diagrams and interactions, as well as their individual written productions. We also analyzed the questionnaires they answered before and after the experiment, regarding their attitudes towards Information Communication Technologies (ICT), reading, annotation and writing texts, including argumentative texts. Results suggest differences related to the type of interaction in free versus structured chats. The interactions are richer and more profound in the free chats. The annotation and the graphic representation of argumentative maps, in diagrams, seem to provide evidence of the students' learning, especially as far as the argumentative structure is concerned. Also, students' performance was more productive in the on-line environments in comparison with the off-line situations.
This study seeks to investigate the effects of pedagogical blogging on tertiary students' critical thinking. The authors initially discuss the role of Socratic questions in promoting students' critical thinking through Web 2.0 tools. They further explain how blogging was incorporated into the curriculum of a course for tertiary level students enrolled in a Malaysian university. Finally, they show how qualitative and quantitative methods were used to evaluate the efficiency of Socratic questions in students' blogging and its effects on students' critical thinking. Findings suggest that implementing Socratic questions in students' blogging would help promote students' critical thinking.
This study seeks to investigate the effects of pedagogical blogging on tertiary students' critical thinking. The authors initially discuss the role of Socratic questions in promoting students' critical thinking through Web 2.0 tools. They further explain how blogging was incorporated into the curriculum of a course for tertiary level students enrolled in a Malaysian university. Finally, they show how qualitative and quantitative methods were used to evaluate the efficiency of Socratic questions in students' blogging and its effects on students' critical thinking. Findings suggest that implementing Socratic questions in students' blogging would help promote students' critical thinking.
Using Weblog to Promote Critical Thinking through Asynchronous Online Discussion
Findings from a few studies seem to indicate that weblog has positive effects on learners by inducing them to think critically (Woo & Wang, 2009; Huffaker, 2008). In view of this recent interest, this paper aims to analyse the extent of bloggers and non-bloggers" critical thinking (CT) and how different weblogging strategies affect bloggers" CT. Forty four tertiary students participated in this study. The bloggers" posts and non-bloggers" written copies from the study were coded according to Newman, Webb, and Cochrane"s (1996) CT model. In order to compare bloggers" writing reflections, four strategies were applied as follows: (a) blogging within a group with no feedback or extra influence, (b) blogging within a group with groupmates" comments, (c) sharing ideas with groupmates in the Sharing Corner at the weblog space before blogging individually in their own group, and (d) blogging to reflect on the groupmates" comments received. The results indicated that in promoting CT, blogging is seen to be more effective than traditional writing particularly if bloggers receive their group members" comments.
2008
This article reflects on the use of web logs (blogs) as an assessable component in a third year professional placement unit for public relations students. The key objective behind the use of Web2.0 technology was to encourage reflective practice via an exchange between students and thereby limit the feeling of isolation during the course of this individual tuition unit (ITU). Secondary objectives were to encourage exchange between participating students based at different, onand offshore campuses, therefore integrating an international perspective into the practice of public relations. From a unit coordinator perspective an additional objective was to create an opportunity that would aid in the early detection of potential problems and to provide a forum in which additional learning material could be provided in response to arising issues. Both challenges and opportunities are noted in this paper. Overall, the Reflective Blog trial can be described as a success, both from the staff ...