A New Pedagogy Is Emerging… and Online Learning Is a Key Contributing Factor

A New Pedagogy is Emerging… and online learning is a key contributing factor. Teach Online.ca (blog),Contact North, August 4, 2020.

After the COVID-19 pandemic led to enormous numbers of students being involved in remote learning beginning in 2020, this post from Contact North asks a number of questions: What does engaged learning look like in this new environment? How can online learning produce outstanding learning experiences? It discusses what adult educators in many types of settings have found during the pandemic: that it is not practical or efficient to try to teach online the way they had in person. The authors present some of the solutions educators have identified. Although the post describes changes for post-secondary students, adult language-learning students and teachers will find the descriptions and definitions of seven key developments, three emerging teaching trends and examples of innovations relevant as well. There is a link to Contact North’s Pockets of Innovations Series that looks at what educators are doing in Ontario, across Canada and internationally. The questions at the end of the post will help readers reflect on changes they have already made to their teaching, the questions learners may be asking, and the technologies that are available to them.

Retrievable from: https://teachonline.ca/tools-trends/how-teach-online-student-success/new-pedagogy-emerging-and-online-learning-key-contributing-factor

Engagement, Technology, and Language Tasks: Optimizing Student Learning

Egbert, J.(2020). Engagement, Technology, and Language Tasks: Optimizing Student Learning. International Journal of TESOL Studies, 2 (4) 110-118.  

This paper presents six engagement facilitators that promote increased learner achievement and demonstrates how technology can be used to help with implementing the facilitators. Two examples of these facilitators are authenticity, i.e., that the task is relevant to learners’ lives; and the level of difficulty or challenge in a task, i.e., the perception that a task is doable but requires some effort. The author elaborates on each one of these. A model of language task engagement is accompanied by the suggestion that instructors start with one or more of the facilitators in their planning. The author also provides suggestions for creating tasks and using the facilitators in classroom settings.

Retrievable from: https://www.tesolunion.org/journal/details/info/8NzcudYWRh/Engagement,-Technology,-and-Language-Tasks:-Optimizing-Student-Learning