Abstract:

The technological requirements of e-learning and the goals of enabling educational programmes are sometimes perceived as being at odds with each other. The challenges posed by institutional adoption of digital learning platforms, most obviously those arising from lack of Web access for students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, could be difficult to overcome. However, online education systems can also offer digital solutions that deliver focused support tailored to the needs of each individual student. This study focuses on examples of newly-adopted Web-based learning, assessment and feedback tools designed to enhance study outcomes and promote blended learning at the Tertiary Foundation Certificate Programme [TFC], The University of Auckland, New Zealand.

The TFC programme is an intensive, one-year pre-degree enabling course for students from a wide variety of educational, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. The TFC cohort comprises mostly equity groups such as Maori and Pacific Islanders (45 %), students with disabilities (20%), immigrants and refugees, mature learners, and LGBTQ+ students. The diverse make-up of the TFC cohort presents a variety of educational challenges, and the compulsory foundation English papers taught in the programme are designed to provide a corresponding range of learning support. However, with a cohort of 230 students ranging from beginner-level speakers of English as a second language to sophisticated and mature native speakers of English, the need arises for a more systematic technological solution to these challenges.

The University of Auckland’s recent adoption of the Canvas cloud-based education platform has provided the TFC educators with the digital tools necessary to mould the teaching, assessment and feedback options available to the TFC students’ individual needs. Since the introduction of Canvas in 2015, Dr. Agnieszka Zabicka has taken active part in exploring these online tools and adjusting them to best fit the specific requirements of the TFC cohort, focusing on blended learning and flipped classroom practices that improve student engagement with the course as well as their study outcomes. This study discusses the successful transition from traditional to online teaching materials, assessment quizzes and feedback options in the teaching of English grammar and punctuation as part of the TFC English syllabus.

Keywords:

Equity, e-learning, English, e-assessment, tertiary education, enabling, pre-degree, foundation, blended learning.