Spinola, Jane (2014) B-learning and the teaching of writing in English in an EFL context : an action research study. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This action research study, which is composed of three cycles, aims at understanding and helping Portuguese students in an EFL context to improve their writing skills in English through a blended-learning (b-learning) writing module, using Moodle. This research contributes towards a better understanding of a research practitioner’s perspectives of an action research study. A narrative inquiry approach is used to convey the action research process through the practitioner’s eyes. It also contributes to the framework of Communities of Inquiry (CoI).

This thesis looks at b-learning, its affordances and challenges and the function of CoI within a b-learning environment and how the different components of a Community of Inquiry framework, namely Social, Cognitive and Teaching Presences, contribute, influence and enrich the learning and teaching experience. The methodology behind the learning and teaching of writing as well as the theoretical and practical development of the research methods are described within the afore-mentioned framework.

Communities of Inquiry will be seen as emerging from the data, as this research initially was not designed to include them. However, during analysis of the first action research cycle, data began to show evidence of the Community of Inquiry and it thus became part of the research and an integral part of the remaining two cycles. A Community of Inquiry’s sustenance relies on students’ engagement and interaction with the learning platform and with the people who make up the learning community and this data provides evidence for the framework in this research, which exemplifies and justifies the community of inquiry framework. Data for this thesis has been gathered using a mixed methods approach and thus the sources are varied. Interviews, questionnaires, focus groups, a research diary, class recordings and field notes and online interaction through forums, emails and messages compose the sources of the data for this research.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB1603 Secondary Education. High schools P Language and Literature > PE English
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	English language -- Study and teaching -- Portuguese speakers, Creative writing (Secondary education), Moodle, Computer-assisted instruction, Blended learning
Official Date:	June 2014
Dates:	Date Event June 2014 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Centre for Applied Linguistics
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Mann, Steve J. ; Spencer-Oatey, Helen, 1952-
Extent:	x, 403 leaves : illustrations
Language:	eng

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