Browsing by Author "Armien, Mogamat Noor"
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- ItemOpen AccessLearning as acquiring a discursive identity through participation in a community: improving student learning in engineering education(Taylor & Francis, 2009) Allie, Saalih; Armien, Mogamat Noor; Burgoyne, Nicolette; Case, Jennifer M; Collier-Reed, Brandon I; Craig, Tracy S; Deacon, Andrew; Fraser, Duncan M; Geyer, Zulpha; Jacobs, Cecilia; Jawitz, Jeff; Kloot, Bruce; Kotta, Linda; Langdon, GenevIn this paper, we propose that learning in engineering involves taking on the discourse of an engineering community, which is intimately bound up with the identity of being a member of that community. This leads to the notion of discursive identity, which emphasises that students' identities are constituted through engaging in discourse. This view of learning implies that success in engineering studies needs to be defined with particular reference to the sorts of identities that students develop and how these relate to identities in the world of work. In order to achieve successful learning in engineering, we need to recognise the multiple identities held by our students, provide an authentic range of engineering-related activities through which students can develop engineering identities and make more explicit key aspects of the discourse of engineering of which lecturers are tacitly aware. We include three vignettes to illustrate how some of the authors of this paper (from across three different institutions) have applied this perspective of learning in their teaching practice.
- ItemOpen AccessStudent perspectives on group work in support of the learning of mathematics at high school and at a university of technology(Taylor & Francis, 2010) Armien, Mogamat Noor; Le Roux, KateDebates on improving performance in science and engineering at higher education institutions have stressed the need for institutions to adopt pedagogic practices appropriate for the setting. In this paper we contribute to this debate by presenting the results of empirical research conducted in a first-year foundation mathematics course for Civil Engineering students at a University of Technology in South Africa. Using the perspective of learning as participation in a community as a theoretical framework, the paper focuses on a particular type of student learning community, that is, small group work for the learning of mathematics. We use individual interviews to investigate students' perspectives on small group work in support of their learning of mathematics at high school and in the foundation mathematics course. The results suggest that students have considerable experience of working in groups inside and outside the classroom at school, and they identify conditions conducive for group work, including having a sense of belonging in a group. They value group work for providing support that may not be provided by the lecturer, for example, by obtaining alternative explanations (often in their home language), sharing ideas on problem solving, and getting immediate feedback. We argue that higher education institutions should draw on students' experience of group work and create the space for this type of student learning community both inside and outside the mathematics classroom. We also use the empirical results to develop the notion of “community” as described in the theoretical perspective of learning.
- ItemOpen AccessUnderstanding University of Technology foundation students' perspectives on their learning in mathematics, with a focus on group work(2007) Armien, Mogamat Noor; Le Roux, Kate; Breen, ChrisThis study investigates students' perceptions of their learning experiences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) as well as their perceptions of their previous high school learning experiences. Eight first time entering Black township-schooled foundation Civil Engineering students were interviewed. The students indicated that they had difficulties with the medium of instruction, English. It also appears that certain teaching and learning practices at school do not prepare students for study at a tertiary institution. Social factors, such as transport and residence issues, were also named as issues influencing students' learning. An important focus of the study was on students' perceptions of group work, since the study took place during a period in which a group work intervention was conducted in the class from which the eight participants were selected. Seven of the eight participating students in the study made use of some form of group work at high school. The students had a positive disposition towards group work at school and towards the group work intervention programme at CPUT. They also had particular views of what group work is. The study also claims that students benefited from group work and that group work had a positive effect on students' performances in Mathematics. This study advocates for and contributes to a theoretical perspective on student communities, an aspect of the community perspective (Allie et al., 2007) on student learning. Group work as a form of participation that was investigated in this study was beneficial in student learning. Thus the theoretical perspective for the study, student communities, is appropriate. The study makes a contribution to the existing theoretical perspective in that it provides some insight into the school communities from which students entering higher education come; it suggests what classroom communities at tertiary level might look like; and it argues for the importance of the development of student communities outside the classroom.