Dear all,

Please find the Teaching and Learning Development Unit updates for 2017-2018 Academic Year Fall Semester below:

1. Professional Development Activities

1.1. Common Time Sessions

There were six sessions in the fall semester and all of them were repeated so that instructors with different timetables could join. In total, 110 participants attended these sessions. We would like to thank our colleagues who gave the sessions voluntarily and the ones who attended and contributed to these sessions.
We hope we will continue sharing our ideas and expertise with each other in the future:)

You can find some photos from the sessions below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.2. Research Sessions
The group started with 8 people. However, now the number of participants is 7.

The participants have attended 5 sessions which were held on Thursdays in the morning so far:
1. Our interpretation of research & the function of the research community
2. Introduction to the basic steps of conducting a research
• The research problem and questions
3. The introduction and the purpose statement
4. Literature Review
5. Methodology

For each session there were suggested articles to read prior to the session. During the sessions, there were group discussions and hands-on-practice in order to internalize the input. And after each session the group came up with guidelines to follow in order to utilize while conducting their research.

After the sessions, participants were expected to work on their research. The tasks that they were expected to do so far are as follows:
-Thinking about the research problem (choosing & narrowing down the topic)
-Developing the research questions using the guidelines they prepare together
-Writing the introduction and the purpose statement using the guidelines we prepare
-Preparing the literature review map
-Preparing the data collection tools
Participants have received feedback on their introduction and research questions either during the sessions or during the individual conferences.

2. Extra/Co-curricular Language Development Activities

 2.a. Study Center

In 2018-2019 Academic Year Fall Semester, ScOLa Study Center was visited 219 times by our students.  The students visited the center for 111 times to get extra support on their writing skills, and 55 times to get support on their grammar & language related questions.  They also visited the center 26 times to get guidance on how to study English and how to prepare a study plan.  The center was also visited for reading and vocabulary related questions of our students.

The overview of 2018-2019 Fall Semester

Levels The number of visits
A2 60
B1 92
B2 47
UG 16 (LAW), 1 (GASTRONOMOY), 1 (ENGINEERING)
TOTAL 219
Support Areas The number of visits
Writing 111
Grammar 55
Study Skills 26
Vocabulary 11
Reading 11
Listening 3

2.b. Study Center How to Seminars

We gave seminars on the common problem areas of our students.  The first seminar was on how to study vocabulary and it was repeated three times in the third week of the course and the second seminar was on how to study writing which was repeated twice in the fourth week of the course so that all the interested students on different shifts could attend and benefit from these seminars.  Since these seminars are now part of SEC 101 course and students earn credits when they attend, the participation this year was unprecedentedly high.  More than 150 students attended the vocabulary seminar and more than 80 students attended the writing seminar.

2.c. B1 project

Although the B1 project class started with more than 115 students, 59 students completed it successfully in this module. Students were expected to attend the the sessions and complete all the oral or written tasks during and after each session as well as the final task which was shooting a short movie.

The first phase of the project started with the input sessions/tasks which provided students with the opportunity to read and listen to different views of different parties on the generational differences and challenges of teaching/working with/communicating with the new generation. All the tasks were in line with B1 level objectives and some of the tasks completed were conducting interviews with their teachers, reporting their interviews in the sessions, participating in group discussions, conducting research on the issue and presenting their findings orally in the classroom. For each task they were assessed based on the criteria that had been shared with them.

The second phase of the project started with narrowing their topics down and learning about the features of shooting an effective short movie. They were supposed to choose a problem related to teaching the new generation, to raise awareness of others on the issue and propose a solution directly/indirectly. Each week they also completed a different step (submitting project proposal, describing the characters and main scenes, writing the first draft of their scenario, etc.) and received feedback to make necessary revisions. Since they worked hard, took responsibility and managed their time effectively, they could produce great projects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can watch the movies for which we got the permission from students to publish. We hope you will enjoy them.

The links for the videos:









2.d. ScOLa Clubs

This semester we provided our students with 6 different club activities focusing on different skills ranging from speaking to wiriting.  In total, we reached around 100 students through our club activites and 38 of them were awarded with the certificate of participation since they are the regulars who attended more than half of the sessions.  With these certificates, the students were also able to receive credit for SEC 101 course. Below you can see the details regarding our clubs.  We hope to provide more club opportunities for our students in the upcoming semester.  If you would like to offer a club in one of your interest areas, please contact: esra.celik@ozyegin.edu.tr

 

A2 Speaking Club:

In this club, we met with A2 level students once a week to practice what they learnt in their classes in the previous weeks.  Every week we had a different theme in line with their in-class themes, ranging from food to entertainment, and the students had a chance to practice the newly learnt vocabulary items and grammar structures through fun and interactive games.  In total we met ten times, and the regular students who attended more than half of these sessions were eligible to receive a certificate of participation which can be used to earn credit from SEC 101 course. Out of 71 students who signed up for this club 27 of them were eligible to receive the certificate.  Below you can see some photos from club activities and the comments from the student evaluation.

 

B1 & B2 Speaking Clubs

B1 – B2 speaking clubs aim to improve speaking skills of students in weekly one block sessions. Students join these sessions voluntarily. We do not provide any extra point. Our aim is just to help them to improve their speaking skill. It is sure that regular participation is very important for their improvement and students who attend 60 % percent of the total sessions can get a certificate to use for their SEC 101. However, the students who cannot participate regularly are welcome to join us in different weeks according to their program.

The program of the club is designed according to the map of the level and the students’ needs.  This semester we have had 10 sessions for each level.  Some sessions have been designed according to topic of the units or the grammar objective of the previous week. Naturally we are not working on writing and reading skills as our goal is helping them for speaking. Additionally, speaking practice with other participants also helps the students’ listening skill.  We use various activities in terms of oral interaction. The activities are designed as individual, pair work or group work. Board games, individual speaking questions, group discussions or debates are used according our program.

Most of the students are stressful at the beginning of the sessions. But very at the beginning the students are informed about the club and how we try to help them to improve their speaking skills in a friendly and relaxed environment.  The students are given verbal feedback according to their needs but mostly we are helping them to gain confidence and reduce their anxiety.

B1 Critical Thinking Club: