Đánh giá một khoá học tiếng anh online tại nơi làm việc tại trường cao đẳng công nghiệp huế

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself Date: 25/5/ 2016 Signature Le Thi Diep Huong i ABSTRACT This research aims to evaluate some aspects of an online English course for staff members at Hue Industrial College (HUEIC) Other aims of the study are to find out the main factors affecting the learners‟ participation in the online English course and how the affecting factors can be used to better the online English course at HUEIC The subjects for this study consist of 12 staff members of HUEIC, who participated in the online English course in the workplace The data were mainly collected through questionnaires and interviews The data collected were analyzed according to statistical frequency and percentage The research findings indicated that the learners appreciated the online English course when considering four main issues: instructional design elements, instructional activities, instructor and technical support Moreover, the main factors affecting the learners‟ participation in the online English course were revealed; therefore, many suggestions for course designers/ instructors were presented From the detailed findings, some pedagogical implications for designing and teaching an online English course were proposed Limitations of the study were pointed out and further research was suggested ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly, I would like to thank the lecturers and staff at Hue University, College of Foreign Languages, especially Ms Nguyen Thi Hai Yen – a staff member of Training Department, for helping me in my studying time I would also like to send my sincere thanks to my family and friends, especially my monitor - Ms Doan An Hien They created the best conditions and support for me to complete this thesis I would like to express my deepest thanks to my supervisor, Ms Tran Quang Ngoc Thuy, who provided me with the possibility to complete this research She has given me guidance and valuable comments as well as knowledge and skills necessary to complete this study on time She was a great help for me in the process of research and thesis writing I thank her very much Finally, I would like to thank all of the 12 research participants, who are also my coworkers, for supporting me during my research I sincerely thank you! iii TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY i ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv CHAPTER INTRODUCTION .1 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Research aims 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Research significances .2 1.5 Research scope 1.6 Organization of the research .3 CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Theoretical background when designing and teaching an online course 2.2 Course evaluation .8 2.3 Course evaluation instruments 2.4 Online learning environment (virtual world) and online participation 10 2.5 Factors affecting student participation in an online course 13 2.6 Sense of community (SoC) .14 2.7 Promoting online participation by using the term “sense of community” .15 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 17 3.1 Research approach 17 3.2 Research site and research participants 18 3.3 Instruments for data collection .19 3.3.1 Questionnaires 20 3.3.2 Interviews 20 3.4 Data analysis 21 3.5 Procedure 21 CHAPTER FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 25 iv 4.1 An evaluation on the online English course at the workplace at HUEIC 25 4.1.1 Instructional Design Elements: .26 4.1.2 Instructional activities .28 4.1.3 Teaching strategies/Instructor 30 4.1.4 Interaction 31 4.1.5 34 Technical support 34 4.1.6 Overall evaluation 35 4.2 Main factors affecting the learners‟ participation when attending an online English course in HUEIC and how the main factors affect the learners‟ participation in the online English course .35 4.2.1 Effective and transparent interface 36 4.2.2 Instructors 37 4.2.3 Sense of community 38 4.2.4 Appropriate course content which is well related to the learners’ need 38 4.3 Using the affecting factors to better the online English course at HUEIC 39 4.3.1 Effective and transparent interface 39 4.3.2 Instructors 41 4.3.3 Sense of community (SoC) 41 4.3.4 Appropriate course content which is well related to the learners’ need 43 CHAPTER CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS .45 5.1 Conclusion 45 5.2 Implications 46 5.3 Limitations 46 5.4 Suggested further research .47 5.5 Summary .47 REFERENCES 48 APPENDIX 1: The questionnaire 51 APPENDIX 2: The interview questions 54 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS HUEIC : Hue Industrial College VLE : Virtual learning environment SoC : Sense of community FAQs : Frequently Asked Questions vi CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale The use of technologies for educational purposes has been available in the support of on-campus classroom teaching, online-dependent or fully online teaching mode since 1993 (Armatas, Holt & Rice, 2003) Research suggests that the online learning environment can be used to help distance learners participate in courses with no need to move to the real classroom (Keller & Cernerud, 2002; McDonald & Reushle, 2000) Derived from the huge advantages of the internet and distance learning, institutions have used it as a very effective way of communication Hue Industrial College (HUEIC) joins this stream with its website at hueic.edu.vn and working email system at outlook.com/hueic.edu.vn, which have been used for many years In 2013, the college website and working email system were upgraded for more purposes including strengthening the connections between the departments/faculties and managing the activities of the college without papers and meeting Apart from their various functions, the college website and working email system are a very potential tool for teaching English In the academic year 2014-2015, an online English course embedded on the college website for staff members was set up In 2014, a set of standards for lecturers/officers was established by the Rector Board Accordingly, the officers are required to study English and by the year 2016, all of the staff members and lecturers are expected to have an IELTS certificate with a total score of at least 4.5 Moreover, they are required to communicate well in English especially in the working environment The purpose of this course is to enhance the English language skills of staff members in HUEIC and help them meet the standard established This new standard creates a big challenge for the officers, who hardly have chance to practice their English A project encompassing an online English course has been set up to reach that goal However, the obstacles are still remarkable and hard to overcome One of the biggest challenges is to attract them to attend the course regularly and voluntarily 1.2 Research aims This research aims to evaluate some aspects of the online English course for staff members at HUEIC Other aims of the study are to find out the main factors affecting the learners‟ participation in the online English course and to find out how the affecting factors can be used to better the online English course at HUEIC 1.3 Research questions In this study, these following research questions can be answered: How effective is the online English course in the workplace in HUEIC, evaluated by the learners? What are the main factors affect the learners‟ participation in the online English course? How can the affecting factors be used to better the online English course at HUEIC? 1.4 Research significances As mentioned earlier in the aims of the research, this research will analyze the factors that can be used as a source of motivation in learning an online English course at HUEIC It is hoped that the research brings benefits to the college in general and the learners in particular To the College: This research will meet the demand for training the high quality human resource To the learners: This research will help them to have a chance to improve their English language skills by participating in the online English course With the benefits above, the study is hoped to have some contribution to the upgrading process to become a university of the college 1.5 Research scope The research is conducted to focus on investigating the factors, which affect learners‟ participation in the online English course at HUEIC and how they can be used to better future online English courses at HUEIC 1.6 Organization of the research This research comprises five chapters Chapter 1: Introduction – this chapter provides the introduction, the rationale of the problem tackling with the topic, the background and the aim of the study, the scope and the research questions Chapter 2: Literature review and theoretical background - This chapter includes literature relevant to the research topic which is reviewed to establish the foundation of the current research Chapter 3: Methodology This chapter presents the research methodology used to conduct the research Chapter 4: Findings and Discussion - This chapter shows the research results of the research via data collection and analysis Chapter 5: Conclusion and Implications - This chapter presents some discussions, the conclusions, the implications and the limitations of the study as well as suggestions for further research CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter focuses on the literature review and theoretical background of the study It includes a number of important theoretical terms and previous studies related to the research are also be reviewed 2.1 Theoretical background when designing and teaching an online course In 1987, Chickering and Gamson established a study on “Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education” Via their research, seven principles for good teaching and learning were suggested for good practice in undergraduate education They were: Encouraging contact between students and faculty Developing reciprocity and cooperation among students Encouraging active learning Giving prompt feedback Emphasizing time on task Communicating high expectations Respecting diverse talents and ways of learning From then, the seven principles as listed above were used widely as a framework for designing, teaching and evaluating traditional, face-to-face courses In 2001, Graham, Lim, Craner and Duffy used the seven principles to evaluate several online courses Taking the perspective of a student enrolled in the courses, they developed a list of "lessons learned" for online instruction that corresponds to the original seven principles These lessons can be considered seriously to apply when designing and teaching an online English course in general and in the workplace in specific In order to have an effective and transparent interface, we need to make sure that there is an easy way to use technology that is working effectively Specifically, it is the working email that learners use almost every day A group can be created on the basis of outlook mail so that all lessons and notices can be gathered and easy to find Picture 4.3.1: A group mail on outlook.com It is important that clear instructions on how to use and access the material in the course are provided and all materials are available online 24/7 The group mail and One Drive sharing file function can be considered as the easiest way to get the materials By creating and uploading materials on One Drive with a link sent to the whole group, it can be rest assured that all the learners can get access to the course resource 40 Moreover, a FAQs sheet for the learners, which provides the direct and effective way to download the lessons from Internet as well as shows how to connect with other course-mates, is compulsory 4.3.2 Instructors Teaching strategies should reflect personal teaching method Effective strategies assist learners in achieving learning goals and objectives It is compulsory that we adopt a learner-centered teaching method for online courses The online learning environment provides more opportunities for learnercontrol and learner-centered activities Moreover, the instructor must engage students in active rather than passive learning Learning is a process of actively acquiring, processing information, and making sense of the information He is also required to provide detailed and clear instructions for course assignments and instructor notes As being an online course instructor, he needs to learn the technology and know where to find support for both teachers and your learners By assuming the role of a "facilitator/guide on the side" rather than "the center of the class", the instructor should allows students to be more in control of their learning experience and more active in this process Moreover, instructor is required to be friendly, open minded and eager to help The instructor should have an online syllabus completed prior to the beginning of a course, preferably by the first day of the course registration period In addition, the students need to be encouraged to ask questions if they are unclear as to what is needed By having a topic/ separated email on the Discussion Forum that is solely answered, a student‟s questions are beneficial to other students and also help reduce redundant course-related emails from students to instructor 4.3.3 Sense of community (SoC) The instructor need to facilitate SoC by encouraging learner–learner interaction in an online course 41 Firstly, the instructor should create a situation or a need for students to get acquainted to each other before the course commencement This enables students to establish the connections that increase their comfort when contacting one another Later, in the online course, students are open to discuss and share the information with each other because they have known each other before Secondly, collaborative group projects can encourage students to work as a team The instructor, meanwhile, should provide clear and useful direction as well as support to make sure that this teamwork will be positive and contribute to sense of community Some group projects which were used and loved by learners in the online course were: Reading an advertisement campaign of one certain collegeWriting an advertisement for the college Recording a video  uploading in the forum and get voted It is essential that learners be arranged to work in their “Familiar team”, which means their co-workers at the same Faculty/Department Moreover, it is important to give students the opportunity to contribute their brief stories about their own experiences during the discussions Not all students have to that; however, it will be beneficial for those who care and participate By sharing their own stories, learners feel closer to the class/group, which enhance the inner connections among them and lead to a strong sense of community One more thing to consider is requiring class discussions on certain topics to encourage students to negotiate meaning and to learn from one another By learning from each other, learners may improve their knowledge and recognize how useful participating in the class/group This fact can be a reason for them to participate more actively The instructor should talk to the students early about the benefits of sharing learning resources with one another Experienced online learners can support novice learners, and students with expertise or better skills can contribute to the success of peers in the class by sharing resources such as documents, research articles, etc 42 Social media (such as Facebook, Viber, etc.) can be suggested as a means of sharing resources In short, there should be opportunities for learners to interact in multiple methods with their course mates in an online environment The instructor has to use various ways to incorporate interaction among learners Therefore, an effective online course in which students have a sense of belonging and trust can surely be created 4.3.4 Appropriate course content which is well related to the learners’ need We need to build in useful exercises to give learners the experience of applying new concepts to something realistic Moreover, it is compulsory to develop exercises that provide opportunities for learners to be involved with the people, issues and activities that are an ongoing part of their own lives The recommended topics of the lessons should closely connect to their daily life/working environment For example: Topics for the Happy Hour Speaking English in the workplace are about a working day and changed based on the schedule of the college September: The opening ceremony of the academic year, Making a plan for a year… October: Teaching Policies, My week schedule November: Teacher‟s Day, My most favorite teacher, Mid term test December: Christmas, Semester examination Practical exercises can also be developed in some ways that take advantage of the online environment Online surveys or interviews could be used or students might be invited to develop a Web page as an information "resource" for a particular topic A very simple strategy for non-Web users would be to provide students with a template for their work such that the material could easily be converted to HTML and posted 43 In sum, the key point is making the course “practical” and “updated” Generally, the online course designer and instructor should keep in their minds the VOWELS* rule when designing and teaching: - Easy to Access (technology) - Open-minded and Eager to help (instructor) - Open (community) - Interesting and Updated (course content) * English vowels: A,E,I,O,U 44 CHAPTER CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS In Chapter 5, a brief summary of the main points of the study is presented Besides, some implications of designing an online English course for HUEIC staffs based on the learners‟ needs are suggested The limitations of the study and suggestions for further research are also taken into account 5.1 Conclusion This research aims to investigate the effectiveness of the online English course in the workplace at HUEIC and main factors affecting the students when attending the course Through the research, these following questions were answered: How effective is the online English course in the workplace in HUEIC, evaluated by the learners? What are the main factors affect the learners‟ participation in the online English course? How can the affecting factors be used to better the online English course at HUEIC? The first finding at Chapter completely indicated the effectiveness of the online English course taken at HUEIC 100% of the learners confirmed that it was visible to see the improvements in their English language skills They also asserted their hope to participate in the next online English course taken at the workplace Secondly, the main factors affecting the students‟ participation in the online English course were revealed They were: - Effective and transparent interfere, - Instructor - Sense of Community - Real-life related course content 45 Most significantly, via the research, some suggestions have been showed for a better course in the future 5.2 Implications In order to have an effective online English course, there are some factors to be considered Firstly, an effective and transparent interface is needed It is essential to establish an easy way to use technology and make sure that the technology works effectively Secondly, the instructor of the course has to take the role of a facilitator or a guide The instructor should allow students to be more in control of their learning experience and more active in the learning process Moreover, the instructor is required to be friendly, open minded and eager to help Thirdly, it is essential to build interaction into an online course Through purposeful use of activities that incorporate interaction among students, the instructor can create a welcoming online course in which students have a sense of belonging and trust As previously showed in the findings, the sense of community took a vital role in learners‟ online participation and it helped to enhance their willingness to study; therefore, sense of community is a valuable factor to be taken into consideration Last but not least, we need to build in useful exercises to give learners the experience of applying new concepts to something realistic Moreover, it is compulsory to develop exercises that provide opportunities for learners to be involved with the people, issues and activities that are real and practical in their daily lives 5.3 Limitations The research shows some limitations in scope, time, individual differences and researcher‟s experience that affect the quality of the research 46 Regarding the research scope, this study was carried out on a small scale of 12 staff members of HUEIC If the course were carried out with more learners in a longer time, then data collected would be more effective The most difficult issue in this study is that the research was carried out in a short time due to the college‟s lack of human resources Moreover, some other obstacles challenged the researcher were learners‟ individual differences and the researcher‟s limited experience Therefore, this research cannot avoid some shortcomings 5.4 Suggested further research This topic can be more usefully and effectively developed in future research if it is done on a larger scope with a longer time for course preparation and course design 5.5 Summary This chapter has, firstly, dealt with a summary of the main points of the research Next, limitations of the study have been presented Finally, some suggestions for further research have been made 47 REFERENCES Armatas, C., Holt, D., & Rice, M (2003) Impacts of an online-supported, resource-based learning environment: Does one size fit all? Journal of Distance Education, 24(2), 141-158 Barker, J., & Gossman, P (2013) The learning impact of a virtual learning environment: students‟ views Teen Journal, 5(2) Retrieved from: http://bit.ly/AtMwtr Brown, R E (2001) The process of community-building in distance learning classes Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 5(2), 18-35 Cashin, W.E (1995) Student ratings of teaching: The research revisited (IDEA Paper No 32) Manhattan, KS: Kansas State University Center for Faculty Evaluation and Development Chavis, D.M., & Pretty, G (1999) Sense of community: Advances in measurement and application Journal of Community Psychology, 27(6), 635-642 Cheung, W.S & Hew, K.F (2008) Examining facilitators‟ habits of mind and learners‟participation Proceeding of the 25th Int Conf Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education 2008 170-176 Retrieved January 12, 2010 from http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/melbourne08/procs/cheung.pdf Chickering, A W., & Gamson, Z (1987) Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education AAHE Bulletin, 40(7), 3-7 Gedera, D;Williams, J; Wright, N (2015) Motivation, Leadership and Curriculum design Singapore: Springer Singapore.Davies, J., & Graff, M O (2005) Performance in e-learning: Online participation and student grades British Journal of Educational Technology, 36(4), 657– 663 48 Graham, C., Cagiltay, K., Lim, B.-R., Craner, J., & Duffy, T (2001) Seven principles of effective teaching: A practical lens for evaluating online courses Retrieved from http://www.technologysource.org/article/seven_principles_of_effectiv e_teaching/ Jones, A & Issroff, K (2006) Motivation and mobile devices ALT-J Research inLearning Technology, 15(3), 247-258 Keller, C., & Cernerud, L (2002) Students' perceptions of e-learning in university education Journal of Educational Media, 27(1-2), 55-67 Kollock, P (1999) The Economies of Online Cooperation: Gifts and Public Goods in Cyberspace Communities in Cyberspace London: Routledge pp 220–239 Lipponen, L., Rahikainen, M., Lallimo, J., & Hakkarainen, K (2003) Patterns of participation and discourse in elementary students‟ computer-supported collaborative learning Learning and Instruction, 13(5), 487–509 Mackey, A & Gass, S M (2005) Second language research: Methodology and design Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Mazzolini, M., & Maddison, S (2003) Sage, guide or ghost? The effect of instructor intervention on student participation in online discussion forums Computers & Education, 40(3), 237–253 McDonald, J., & Reushle, S (2000) Engagement in Web-based Education: Designing for Models of Student Learning Indian Journal of Open Learning, 9(3), 287-297 McIntyre, S (2011) Learning to teach online: Engaging and motivating students 49 Retrieved 1, Feb, 2012, from http://www academia.edu/612888/Engaging_and_motivating_students McMillan, D.W., & Chavis, D.M (1986) Sense of community: A definition and theory Journal of Community Psychology, 14(1), 6-23 Rovai, A P (2004) A constructivist approach to online college learning Internet and Higher Education, 7, 79–93 Schwen, T M., & Hara N ( 2004) Community of practice: A metaphor for online design Designing for virtual communities in the service of learning, Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press Swan, K., Shea, P., Fredericksen, E., Pickett, A & Maher, G (2000) Course Design Factors Influencing the Success of Online Learning Proceedings of WebNet World Conference on the WWW and Internet 2000, 513-518 23 Vonderwell, S., & Zachariah, S (2005) Factors that influence participation in online learning Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 38(2), 213–230 Vrasidas, C., & McIsaac, M (1999) Factors influencing interaction in an online course, The American Journal of Distance Education, 13(3), 22–36 Woods, R H (2002) How much communication is Enough in online courses? Exploring the relationship between frequency of instructor-initiated personal email and learners' perceptions of and participation in online learning International Journal of Instructional Media, 29(4), 377-394 Wright, R.E (2006) Student evaluations of faculty: Concerns raised in the literature, and possible solutions College Student Journal, 40(2), 417-422 50 APPENDIX 1: The questionnaire Online English Course Evaluation Learner number: Date: Please put a tick after the statement that you think describe exactly what happened in the online English course in the workplace that you participated Instructional Design Elements: Prerequisites, if any, are clearly stated Any skills needed are addressed Students are asked about current proficiencies, especially in regards to computer skill level Current knowledge level of students is assessed as appropriate for course Instructional activities Utilizes active learning strategies that engage the student and appeal to differing learning styles Learning activities are linked to course objectives Content is organized by modules, units, lessons, or other meaningful architecture Course strives to create a “Community of Learners” through interaction Teaching Strategies/ Instructor Instructor assumes a facilitative role 51 Instructions for assignments are clear Syllabus is online and complete, including course expectations, goals & objectives, grading criteria, course policies Support for student questions is provided (Examples: instructor contact information , FAQ‟s, Discussion board for questions) Reviewer Comments: Interaction 4.1 Interaction among Learners Discussion Boards and/or chat available Group activities Email Orientation to technology is provided 4.2 Interaction between Learners and Instructor Instructor conveys policy on answering emails (i.e how soon students can expect response, etc Instructor communicates how will give feedback, including frequency of feedback on discussion forums, assignments, etc Instructor publishes office hours (virtual or “physical”) and contact information Feedback is evident through announcements, emails, discussion postings, or other means Instructor allows own personality to emerge through postings, notes, and other means 52 Instructor “personalizes” course for students (emails, using name, friendly tone) Reviewer Comments: VI Technical Support Students are provided information as to where to get technical help Reviewer Comments: Overall Reviewer Comments: 53 APPENDIX 2: The interview questions Please tell me one thing you liked most about this course? How would you improve upon this course? In what ways has the course contributed to your English ability? In what ways has the course contributed to your ability to use technology as a tool for learning? What was the most significant learning experience in this course? 54