Using a Massive Open Online Course to Improve Teachers' Understanding and Facilitation of Academic Arguments

• In Event: Teaching and Learning of Academic Language and Literacy for English Learners

Abstract

Introduction & Perspectives
In recent years, college and career readiness standards have encouraged a shift in teaching and learning practices away from isolated language forms and functions towards more integrated uses of language within academic content. While these changes have the potential to make content area learning more accessible to English learners (ELs), this potential cannot be realized without more effective learning opportunities for teachers seeking to support EL access to rigorous content (Santos, Darling-Hammond, & Cheuk, 2011).

Purpose
In 2014, a massive open online course (MOOC) with an emphasis on academic language and literacy in various content areas was launched, targeting teachers serving ELs. It aimed to ground teachers in student argumentation, an analytical and linguistic practice at the heart of the new standards (Stage et al., 2013).

The MOOC drew significant attention from practitioners. More than 5000 participants enrolled; it also had a higher-than-average completion rate as well as positive participant evaluations citing its novel and accessible approach to professional development regarding the language demands of ELs. But what exactly participants learned and how they transferred this learning into classrooms was less clear. The authors of this paper obtained a portion of the data from the MOOC database.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate participant learning and application of course content. This paper posits the following research questions: (1) How do teachers interpret student arguments? (2) How do teachers demonstrate learning through the use of the Argumentation Analysis Tool (AAT)?, and (3) How do they plan and implement pedagogical strategies to support student argumentation?

Methods & Data Sources
We employ a mixed-methods case study approach, with participant assignments (n=1,693) and survey questions. Additional data sources include the participating teachers’ pre- and post-assessments (n=2,341, 505, respectively), forum posts, and peer evaluations. These data sources are analyzed to elucidate teacher learning and application towards student argumentation and their language uses. Mixed analytic techniques are employed; for example, statistical regression is used to evaluate assessment scores while participants’ written reflections are open-coded and qualitatively analyzed.

Results
We found evidence that MOOC participants demonstrated significant learning gains when using the Argumentation Analysis Tool we developed. For example, peers rated participant analyses of student argumentation and their plans for instruction higher on Assignment 3 than for Assignment 1. Participants who completed the course also showed growth in how they interpreted the structure of student arguments and were able to identify essential components of student arguments. They had more difficulty, however, analyzing the role that language played in conveying key relationships among ideas. Their instructional plans and implementation attempts also tended to focus on argument structure, rather than on the role of language within argumentation.

Significance
Teachers urgently need effective, timely, and scalable learning opportunities that will help them support EL access to linguistically demanding content. The effectiveness of this particular MOOC in demonstrating gains for the high-leverage practice of argumentation has significant implications for practitioners, policy makers, and researchers seeking to improve opportunities for ELs under the new standards.

Authors

• Sara Ann Rutherford-Quach, Stanford University

• Karen D. Thompson, Oregon State University

• Claudia Rodriguez-Mojica, Santa Clara University

• Diego Roman, Southern Methodist University