Exploring EAST - English for Academic Study Telecollaboration 1) Wider course context EAS/SMLC runs year-round and summer intensive pre-sessional courses to prepare international students to enter UofG PG programmes. The EAST project refers to the last 5-week block and covers subject- specific, ie related to science, engineering and technology (SET). ILOs include development of • subject-specific language and study skills (6.5 IELTS across skills), • plus some content knowledge. Assessments • An individual 1500-word report following a situation-problem- response-evaluation (SPRE) format on a self-selected SET topic; • An individual oral presentation summarising the report findings. 2) Literature review to inform innovations Current changes in the world pose a challenge on teachers who need to prepare their English for Specific Purposes students to ‘deal with global communicative practices online, in all their complexity’ (White, 2007). ‘Today, engineers throughout the world must take it for granted that they will work in other countries or be employed alongside people who have been trained in other countries’ (Lucena et al., 2008). ‘an ability to learn how to learn, an ability to form learning communities, and an ability to collaborate in distributed corporate settings, across countries, continents and cultures’ (Schaeffer et al., 2012). Most effective ILOs include becoming a scholar, a lifelong learner and a global citizen (Biggs and Tang, 2011). 3) Introduced innovation – EAST A group research project on the subject-specific, authentic and contextualised topic suggested by research buddies from Islamic University of Gaza (IUG). ILOs include the development of • subject-specific language and study skills (6.5 across skills) • some but highly contextualised content knowledge • transferrable skills: communication, team working, problem solving, digital literacies and intercultural awareness Assessments • An individual 1500-word report following a SPRE format on a topic suggested by IUG, researched in groups with ongoing content-oriented feedback from Gazan students • A group oral presentation summarising the report findings delivered to audiences in Glasgow and Gaza (via video link) 4) Project participants 40 students at UofG • 80% at postgraduate level • L1: mainly Mandarin and Arabic plus Thai, Korean, Italian and Portuguese 18 students at IUG • 80% at postgraduate level • Civil engineering, IT, environmental engineering, biological science, mathematics, 2 English literature • Expected to mentor Glasgow-based students during the research process 5) Project milestones Constructive feedback course for IUG students • Prior to student research telecollaboration, an online group activity sequence of 6 tasks, delivered over 2 weeks via Google Docs • The tasks followed the framework of exploration-integration-application: sharing personal experiences, considering characteristics, researching and comparing constructive and non-constructive feedback, providing feedback on students’ written samples EAST Project • IUG students submitted SET-related scenarios. • IUG and UofG students formed groups of 4-6 based on the scenario choice. • Students communicated via social media to research scenarios, ask questions and exchange ongoing content-related feedback, using subject-specific language purposefully. • UofG students submitted reports. • Groups of UofG students gave presentations to audiences in Glasgow and Gaza. • Students reflected on the project participation and outcomes. 6) Project evaluation The students were asked to evaluate the project in terms of ILOs: 57% 37% 6% 0% Communication skills Very useful Quite useful A little useful Not useful 54% 39% 7% 0% Team working skills Very useful Quite useful A little useful Not useful 56% 35% 9% 0% Problem-solving skills Very useful Quite useful A little useful Not useful 61% 28% 11% 0% Intercultural awareness Very useful Quite useful A little useful Not useful 32% 59% 9% 0% Digital literacies Very useful Quite useful A little useful Not useful 68% 30% 2% 0% General academic skills Very useful Quite useful A little useful Not useful Open comments from students • The best thing about the project has been working with a team from different countries and the ability to find solutions related to the subjects and a real situation (UofG). • I’d recommend this project to my friends because it helps you think ‘out of the schemes’ as you have to solve a real problem, not a problem written down in a book (UofG). • It was a great event in my studying life I ever seen; a lot of exercises giving me the knowledge how to be patient and insisting on researching, how to help others (IUG). Anna Rolinska & Bill Guariento English for Academic Study 7) Challenges and ways forward Technology-related: connectivity, hardware/software, electricity shortages Organisational: time/task management, thinking on your feet Motivational: imbalanced outcomes for IUG and UofG groups Extending to other disciplines, eg medical sciences, Tracking studies to evaluate longer-term impact Creating toolkits to support student partnerships This poster is interactive – the embedded QR codes will allow you to explore various artefacts, watch videos or read students’ reflections. In order to access them you need a QR code reader on your mobile device. To know more about the project, please go to the project website https://easttelecollaboration.wordpress.com or contact Anna Rolinska: [email protected]. video w e b s i t e r e s o u r c e video photo presentations scenarios