Using Cognitive Apprenticeship and Scaffolding to update IELTS writing tutorials : Using Cognitive Apprenticeship and Scaffolding to update IELTS writing tutorials Olga Kozar
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Teaching context : IELTS writing tutorials
( reason: underdeveloped IELTS infrastructure)
One-on-one
Lessons are conducted via synchronous communication tools
( skype, msn, google talk)
Or synchronous communication space (WIZIQ)
30 or 60 minutes sessions
3-4 times a week Teaching context
Goals: : As described in Part One:
IELTS—high stakes exam for my students
The goal of classes is to prepare students for the IELTS writing
Objectives:
Improve overall writing skills
Prepare students for the IELTS format
2 writing tasks in 60 minutes
a letter/ graph( 150 words)
an essay( 250 words) Goals:
Current practice : Current practice Students write the first draft
Writing conference to provide feedback
Second draft
Writing Conference 2
Assisting learners in recursive pattern of drafting
Pedagogical considerations and approaches: : Process writing
Flower and Hayes( 1981)
A working model of cognitive writing process:
There are essentially three cognitive writing processes:
Planning (deciding what to say )
Transcribing (text generation )
Revision (editing and improving existing text). Pedagogical considerations and approaches:
Analyzing the current practice in view of the Process Writing model : : Analyzing the current practice in view of the Process Writing model : Now Process Writing model
Slide 7 : The current cycle starts with a tutor setting a task and students writing the first draft independently
Assumption that adult intermediate students taking IELTS possess enough pre-writing and drafting strategies
Identifying the main issue:
Lack of pre-writing and drafting instruction :
Slide 8 : Goals of the course
Offer a step-by-step guidance in pre-writing and drafting stages of writing IELTS essays
Help students develop cognitive and metacognitive strategies necessary for a successful completion of the writing module in one hour
Incorporating pre-writing and transcribing instruction : Incorporating pre-writing and transcribing instruction ZPD: (Zone of Proximal Development) Vygotsky, 1978 .
“ Learners come to a new understanding and practices through apprenticeship to more knowledgeable others”
(Hinkel , p 26)
Instructional methods:
Cognitive apprenticeship :
Teaching the processes that experts use to handle complex tasks
Scaffolding instruction:
Providing appropriate assistance to students in order for them to achieve what alone would have been too difficult for them
Role of “ capable others” : Writing is a complex cognitive activity
Learning of complex cognitive activities
is first developed in social , collaborative contexts( more capable others—teachers or peers) Vygotsky( 1978) and others( Bruner, 1974; Wertsch, 1985)
The support from the tutor activates potential abilities , and allows learners to begin the development of new forms of knowledge Role of “ capable others”
Cognitive Apprenticeship : A theory outlining methodology for teaching complex cognitive tasks through guided learning
= making cognitive processes explicitly observable
Cognitive apprenticeship focuses on “learning-through-guided-experience on cognitive and metacognitive skills and processes”
(Collins, Brown, and Newman, 1989, p. 457) Cognitive Apprenticeship
Cognitive Apprenticeship Principles : Tasks are sequenced to reflect the changing demands of learning:
increasing complexity,
increasing diversity
Students are encouraged to reflect on differences between novices and expert performance
Development of self-monitoring and correction skills required for the problem solver to alternate among different cognitive activities
Collins, A. (1991) Cognitive Apprenticeship Principles
Cognitive Apprenticeship Instructional strategies : Cognitive Apprenticeship Instructional strategies Modeling-Coaching
Fading paradigm
( Collins , 1991)
Modeling
Expert sets the example
Coaching
Student practices skill while expert offers feedback and advice
Student articulates thought process Fading
Reflection.
Student compares their results to the expert
Exploration.
Students face new problems on their own
Scaffolding : Scaffolds are temporary
As a learner’s ability increases—the scaffolds are withdrawn
The goal –help a student to become an independent , self-regulated learner
(Hartman, 2002). In the educational setting, scaffolds may include : models, cues, prompts, hints, partial solutions, think-aloud modeling and direct instruction
(Hartman, 2002).
Important:
Structure
Clarity Scaffolding
Scaffolding for Success, Jamie McKenzie , 1999 : Provides clear direction and reduces students’ confusion
Clarifies purpose , expectations and incorporates assessment and feedback
Reduces uncertainty, anxiety and disappointment
Delivers efficiency –the work is structured, focused; efficiency in completing the activity is increased. Scaffolding for Success, Jamie McKenzie , 1999
Sequencing instruction : Sequencing instruction Sequencing instruction will be based on a progression from simple to complex tasks.
Gagné (1966) developed a technique of constructing learning hierarchies for analyzing skills:
A skill is decomposed into parts and sub-parts; then instruction is ordered from simple subskills to the complete skill.
Sequencing instruction –implementing : A complex writing task is broken down into micro areas
Pre-writing
1. Understand the question
2. Brainstorming and choosing the position
3. Creating a thesis statement
4. Supporting the statement( reasons, examples)
Drafting:
1. Parts of the essays
2. Intro
3. Body
4. Conclusion
Each of the skills is modeled , coached and practiced
(adaptation of the modeling-coaching-fading paradigm Collins, A., Brown, J. S., & Newman, S. E. ,1989). Sequencing instruction –implementing
Updated course : A series of PowerPoint presentations will be created to demonstrate and coach each of the target micro-areas
( see exemplar)
Basic materials:
PowerPoint presentations to present strategies/ skills
Worksheets( word documents) to practice a target strategy( skill) independently
Additional materials:
Sample essays/ links to websites/ online videos /online grammar quizzes and exercises
The course will follow the following cycle:
(next slide) Updated course
Implementing Cognitive Apprenticeship 2 : Implementing Cognitive Apprenticeship 2
Software/ technologies used: : Video conferencing software
(synchronous communication—for presentation and writing conferences )
PowerPoint presentations
for cognitive apprenticeship and coaching
( teaching planning and transcribing)
Word processor
as a tool to facilitate transcribing and revision cycles
Emails
( asynchronous communication for feedback and creating an audience)
*Additional: ( sample http://www.ieltsonlinehelp.com/writingstep1.html)
a website with a virtual character giving a preview of the class presentation( strategies only without the coaching part) and the additional materials ( online grammar exercises/ stress reduction Software/ technologies used:
Videoconferencing in education . Advantages. : Videoconferencing in education . Advantages. Dr. Lynne Coventry (1995) states that video conferencing has a lot to offer education because:
It eliminates expensive travel
It makes the best use of limited time
It allows genuine dialogue between all participants
It allows immediate, full two-way communication of content - verbal, pictorial objects, etc
It provides a sense of social presence
p.19 My context
Modeling:
Students get a chance to clarify/ ask questions/ more interactive
Coaching:
timed practice/ meaningful and immediate feedback
Videoconferencing in education : “The use of videoconferencing is a growing factor in education and instructional technology” (Newman, 2008, p. xvi.)
Some of the research on the use of videoconferencing for interaction in distance mode:
HIPERNET(Cambridge University)= High PERformance NEtworked multimedia for distributed language learning
RELATE (University of Exeter and the University College, London) =Remote Language Teaching
Lyceum (the Open University and used in some of its courses) Videoconferencing in education
Justifying the use of the technologies: PowerPoint Presentations ( PPP) : Benefits:
1) A good visual tool in the context of distance/ online lessons
Effectively illustrates step-by-step case studies
( cognitive apprenticeship)
Main points can be emphasized enhanced by using
graphics,
animation,
or sound
Can be used in conjunction with the interactive whiteboard to enhance learning and practice
2) Animation allows to use the PowerPoint in the way that promotes more active participation
( many educators are concerned that PowerPoint produces passive learners)
3) Can be shared / put on a website after a lesson for revision ( embedded or converted to flash movie) Justifying the use of the technologies: PowerPoint Presentations ( PPP)
Justifying the use of the technologies: Word processor : Word processor:
Many studies have shown that word processors have a facilitating effect on writing, student writers’ attitudes
(Dalton and Hannafin, 1987; Hawisher, 1987)
and revising behavior
(Daiute, 1986; Hawisher, 1987)
as well as the characteristics or their texts
(Bangert-Drowns, 1993; Cochran-Smith, 1991; Pennington 1996). Justifying the use of the technologies: Word processor
Bibliography : Bangert- Drowns, R. L.(1993). The word processor as an instructional tool: A meta-analysis of word processing in writing instruction. Review of Educational Research, 63 (1), 69-93.
Bruner, J. (1974). Beyond the information given. London: George Allen & Unwin.
Cochran-Smith, M.(1991). Learning to teach against the grain. Harvard Educational Review, 51 (3), 279- 310.
Collins, A., Brown, J. S., & Newman, S. E. (1989). Cognitive apprenticeship: Teaching the craft of reading, writing, and mathematics (Technical Report No. 403). Cambridge, MA: Bolt, Beranck, and Newman. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 284 181)
Collins, A. (1991). Cognitive apprenticeship and instructional technology. In L. Idol & B.F. Jones (Eds.), Educational values and cognitive instruction: Implication for reform (p. 121-138). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Coventry, L ( 1995) Video Conferencing in Higher Education." Institute for Computer Based Learning Available from [Accessed 06.12.2008].
Dalton, D. W., and Hannafin, M. J.(1987). The effects of word processing on written composition. Journal of Educational Research, 80, (6),338-342. Bibliography
Bibliography-continued : Daiute, C.(1986). Physical and cognitive factors in the revising process: Insights from studies with computers. Research in the Teaching of English, 20, 140-159.
Flower, L., and Hayes, J. R.(1981). A cognitive process theory of writing. College Composition and Communication, 32, 365-387.
Gagné, R. M. (1966). The conditions of learning (1st ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.
Hartman, H. (2002). Scaffolding & Cooperative Learning. Human Learning and Instruction (p. 23-69). New York: City College of City University of New York.
Hinkel ,E. ( 2005). Handbook of Research in Second Language Teaching and Learning. Erlbaum.
Newman, D.(2008). Videoconferencing Technology in K-12 Instruction: Best Practices and Trends. Idea Group Inc (IGI).
McKenzie, J. (1999). Scaffolding for Success. [Electronic version] Beyond Technology, Questioning, Research and the Information Literate School Community. Available from Accessed December 12th, 2008
Pennington, M. C.(2003). The impact of the computer in second language writing. In B. Kroll (ed.), Exploring the dynamics of second language writing, 287-310. New York: Cambridge University Press
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind and society: The development of higher mental processes.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Wertsch, J.V. (1985), Culture, Communication and Cognition: Vygotskian Perspectives, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Bibliography-continued