HLRC - Higher Learning Research Communications (E-Journal)
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A Literary Approach to teaching English Language in a Multi – Cultural Class - Room
Full text linkLiterature is not generally considered as a coherent branch of the curriculum in relation to language – development in either mother tongue or foreign language – teaching. As teachers of English in Multi cultural Indian class rooms we come across students with varying degree of competence in English language learning. Though, language learning is a natural process for natives but the Students of other languages put in colossal efforts to learn it. Despite their sincere efforts they face challenges regarding Pronunciation, Spelling and Vocabulary. The Indian class rooms are a microcosm of the larger society, so teaching English language in a manner which equips the students to face the cut-throat competition has become a necessity and a challenge for English language Teachers. English today has become the key determinant for getting success in their career. The hackneyed and stereotypical methods of teaching are not acceptable now. Teachers have no longer remained arbitrary dispensers of knowledge but they are playing the role of a guide and facilitator for the students. Teachers of English are using innovative ideas to make English language teaching and learning interesting and simple. Teachers have started using the literary texts and their analysis to explore and ignite the imagination and creative skills of the students. One needs to think and rethink the contribution of literature to intelligent thinking as well as its role in the process of teaching – learning. My paper would, therefore, be an attempt at exploring the nature of the literary experience in the present day class rooms; and the broader role of literature in life
Professor Gender, Age, and “Hotness” in Influencing College Students’ Generation and Interpretation of Professor Ratings
Full text linkUndergraduate psychology students rated expectations of a bogus professor (randomly designated a man or woman and hot versus not hot) based on an online rating and sample comments as found on RateMyProfessors.com (RMP). Five professor qualities were derived using principal components analysis (PCA): dedication, attractiveness, enhancement, fairness, and clarity. Participants rated current psychology professors on the same qualities. Current professors were divided based on gender (man or woman), age (under 35 or 35 and older), and attractiveness (at or below the median or above the median). Using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), students expected hot professors to be more attractive but lower in clarity. They rated current professors as lowest in clarity when a man and 35 or older. Current professors were rated significantly lower in dedication, enhancement, fairness, and clarity when rated at or below the median on attractiveness. Results, with previous research, suggest numerous factors, largely out of professors’ control, influencing how students interpret and create professor ratings. Caution is therefore warranted in using online ratings to select courses or make hiring and promotion decisions.
Communication Skills–Core of Employability Skills: Issues & Concerns
No full textBased on a case study conducted by the researcher on a sample of 618 UG students, this paper focuses on identifying certain flaws in the present educational communication. The researcher after presenting the data analysis of the survey, attempts to highlight the present ELT scenario and its relevance to the present day needs of the society. It also emphasizes on the need to focus on practical dimensions of learning. It substantiates that inadequate language proficiency, lack of presentation skills knowledge and unawareness about life skills are the main reasons for the educated unemployment. Finally, the researcher concludes this paper with some suggestions and recommendations which will help the learners to enhance their communication skills.
Editorial
Full text linkWe are pleased to publish five essays as part of our co-sponsorship of the MAGIC (Methods, Aesthetics, & Genres in Communication) conference organized by the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES) in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. This conference was organized by Center for Professional Communication under the aegis of the College of Engineering Studies. The purpose of the conference was to bring together academicians and researchers to deliberate and discuss upon developing communication skills. The emphasis was on empowering the workforce with effective and sustainable communication skills. The conference also supports the efforts of Skill India to help enhance the skills of its populations
Extending the Progressive Tradition to Poor Countries: The Role of Universities and Colleges
Full text linkAmerican universities and colleges have always been a bastion of liberalism and progressive thought. Historically, the academic community has supported social justice issues, given a voice to the poor, minorities and the disadvantaged, and brought to light subjects that are considered taboo elsewhere. Indeed, many social movements have either started in American universities or been energized by the actions of university students and faculty, and often with the support of university administrations. Yet, when it comes to dealing with global issues that affect poor nations, universities have not always acted as change agents. In some cases, universities have to been passive onlookers or been complacent in participating in maintaining the status quo. This essay discusses the external environmental challenges and the internal constraints that universities and colleges must grapple with in their efforts to play in the global sphere. Further, it espouses ways in which universities might contribute to the global common good through their actions externally, particularly with regard to public policy, and internally within their campuses. A particular emphasis is given to Africa
Global Learning in a New Era
Full text linkOur nation’s colleges and universities have frequently adapted their educational approaches and their relationships with society to respond to new social, economic and environmental challenges. The increasingly interconnected patterns that link together our lives on a global scale have created a new reality. Globalization offers an especially exciting and challenging blend of generational change combined with the emergence of a set of complex, multi-faceted problems created by the global context in which we all now live and work. How shall we educate our students for life in this new era? What can we expect of our graduates in a global world? The answer to these questions is straightforward but will require our institutions to make significant changes in their approach to educating their students and in their interactions with the broader communities that they serve. The approach is shaped by a clear sense of what a globally prepared graduate knows and can do, guided by clear learning outcomes exercised along a sequential pathway of experiences extending from the first year of college through to graduation. These experiences are supported by the use of engaged learning practices that draw students into work that is both personally and socially meaningful cross-disciplinary inquiry that focuses on Big Questions with the goal of finding ways to address those questions in ethical and responsible and effective ways
Empowering Engineering Students through Employability Skills
Full text linkA professional course like engineering strives to get maximum number of its students placed through campus interviews. While communication skills have been added in all the engineering courses with the aim to improve their performance in placement, the syllabus mostly concentrates on the development of four language skills. The students are not made aware of the employability skills and their significance. the increasing competition makes it imperative that apart from a regular degree certain skills are required by engineers. Industries while advertising for various posts even mention essential skills required along with the essential qualification. However skills and the significance of skills while applying for jobs or while facing interviews is a topic which is rarely given consideration while preparing for job interviews or while entering the job market. This paper intends to enlist the importance of skills and why students need to be aware of the skills they possess and how they can work on packaging their candidature around a few skills. Different profession requires different skills and if students identify their skills or acquire certain skills they can unquestionably have an added advantage in the interview and placement. Hence, this paper intends to enlist the skills, the importance of skills, ways to create awareness of individual skills specifically in engineering students who will step into the industry in near future
Students' gender bias in teaching evaluations
Full text linkThe goal of this study was to investigate if there is gender bias in student evaluations. Researchers administered a modified version of the teacher evaluation forms to 58 students (male=30; female=28) in a basic introductory communications class. Half the class was instructed to fill out the survey about a male professor, and the other half a female professor. Researchers broke down the evaluation results question by question in order to give a detailed account of the findings. Results revealed that there is certainly some gender bias at work when students evaluate their instructors. It was also found that gender bias does not significantly affect the evaluations. The results align with other findings in the available literature, which point to some sort of pattern regarding gender bias in evaluations, but it still seems to be inconsequential. DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v5i3.23
Using eportfolios to encourage responsible feedback
Full text linkThis article aims to look at the value that ePortfolios can add to business studies, specifically in the financial field. In order to answer the question, Do ePortfolios contribute to the development and enhancement of responsible feedback in the classroom?, the study analyzed the work done by postgraduate students pursuing a Master’s degree in finance. A total of 151 ePortfolios were reviewed and analyzed, and a selection of comments from students is presented in order to support the main findings of the literature review. The authors considered this approach to be appropriate in order to offer an objective analysis on existing research and how their own students’ views blend with developed literature in the area. The authors also offer their own know-how on how ePortfolios can be integrated as part of the postgraduate learning experience. The researchers identified ePortfolios as being a complementary tool that help educators and students to get a better understanding of the course material and offer students an opportunity to reflect on their own learning and course performance. They also identified a lack of research on how ePortfolios can be used as part of the students learning experience in postgraduate education specialised in finance.DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v5i3.24
Editorial
Full text linkThis edition of Higher Learning Research Communications (HLRC) features research from Chile, Spain, and the United States focused on the development of career skills and the different competencies promoted in tertiary education institutions. Since the signing of the Bologna declaration in 1999, a special emphasis has been given to the development of key competencies in higher education in Europe, and around the world. As the research published in this edition portrays, from the adoption of competency-based models in English teaching and assessment to the development of core competencies to promote alumni employability, and even promoting military cultural competency among higher education professionals in institutions that serve military service members and their families, the development of competencies has become an integral part of tertiary education.The issue opens with an invited essay, “Military cultural competency: Understanding how to serve those who serve,” by Kimberlee Bethany Bonura and Nicole Lovald, in which the authors propose that higher education professionals should acquire and develop “military cultural competency” in order to better serve the military student population. As Bonura and Lovald explain, this student population in the United States faces unique challenges, from constant moves and deployments to adapting to a civilian life after their service is over, oftentimes with special health concerns after tours of duty in active war zones. There are also challenges regarding knowledge and understanding of the benefits and special federal regulations that apply to service members and their families when they decide to enroll in a university program. It is of particular interest the fact that this student population has a higher rate of enrollment in online programs, given the special mobility circumstances that surround this student population.In terms of the development of student competencies, Oscar García and his colleagues researched whether there are differences in the competency profile of students in terms of gender and age before they graduate. In their article, “Competencies profile of undergraduate students in Madrid’s universities: Differences by gender and age,” they document there seem to be, in fact, gender differences specific to some competencies, in line with previous research. For instance, the authors found that while women obtain higher scores in organization and teamwork categories, men seem to display higher scores in leadership, adaptation to changes, initiative, problem solving, and decision-making. The authors note these results might be affected by the educational models and evaluations in Europe, which oftentimes give competencies assessments more emphasis, while other research has found women tend to do better in academic assessments.Another area where the development of skills and competencies is crucial is career training. Career development training programs can come from government agencies, corporations and consultants, or colleges and universities. In any case, Anthony and Weide have documented that the type of training program can affect career motivation in project managers and consultants, who are professionals that require complex and varied skills and competencies to succeed professionally. It is of particular interest the fact that, among the subjects interviewed in this study, the ones with technical, business, or graduate degrees saw higher education as more relevant and beneficial than those with generalized degrees.Also related to career development, the emphasis many higher education institutions are placing on English teaching and learning reflects today’s globalized world and the need for employment mobility. In his research, Astorga examined how the adoption of a competency-based model in a higher education institute in Chile helped to improve English teaching and assessment.Finally, in “Undergraduate students’ perceptions of the communication behaviors of their advisors and perceptions of relational satisfaction,” Punyanunt-Carter and Carter explore how the interpersonal communication styles of university advisors affect student satisfaction. In line with previous research, they found assertiveness and responsiveness are important in advisors in order to increase the levels of relational satisfaction with their advisee