genre and cognition in an mba program nigel a. caplan ([email protected])[email protected]...
TRANSCRIPT
GENRE AND COGNITION
IN AN MBA PROGRAM
Nigel A. Caplan ([email protected])
University of Delaware, USA
PhD Student, School of Education
Assistant Professor, English Language Institute
http://nigelteacher.wordpress.com
Genre 2012, Ottawa, Ontario
Competing Approaches
Genres(Social)
Cognitive Strategies(Individual)
Outline
1. Needs Analysis: Context & Culture
2. Discussion: Participation, Pragmatics, and Purpose
3. Case analysis: Coherence, Conventions, and Cognition
4. Conclusion: Activity Theory
Needs analysis: Context and Culture
• Conditional Admissions Program (CAP)• English Language Institute (English for Academic
Purposes, graduate/MBA track)• Most ELI graduate students are CAP-MBA• Almost all international MBA students come from CAP
Why don’t the Chinese speak in class?
Needs Analysis: Data• Syllabi of MBA classes• Online questionnaires for MBA faculty and international
students• Observation of an MBA class• Focus groups and interviews with MBA faculty• Focus groups with international MBA students (ongoing)• “Think-aloud” sessions with MBA faculty
Instruments available online at
http://nigelteacher.wordpress.com
(Handouts Genre 2012)
Genre System in the UD MBAReflection
Intrapersonal Discussion board post Quiz
Assessment Exam In-class (MCQ, TF, short answer, essay, mixed format) Take home (essay, short answer, case write-up)
Professor-Student Paper
Assignment Research paper Case write up Homework/problem sets Written Report Presentation slides/handouts Group Case analysis Lead case discussion Oral Report (e.g. marketing report) Article presentation Participation Class Case discussion Online (e.g. discussion board) Case write-up Pseudo Simulation Professional Resume Authentic Report/presentation to client
Under
stan
ding
lectu
res
Partic
ipatin
g in
discu
ssion
s
Partic
ipatin
g in
grou
ps
Critica
l think
ing
Asking
que
stion
s
Taking
not
es
Readin
g te
xtbo
oks
Readin
g/dis
cuss
ing c
ase
stud
ies
Speak
ing C
learly
Using
sour
ces
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Important
Neither Important nor Unimportant
Not Important
Writ
ing c
ase
stud
y re
ports
Readin
g jou
rnal
artic
les
Taking
ess
ay e
xam
s
Writ
ing s
hort
answ
ers
on te
sts
Writ
ing g
roup
pap
ers
Givi
ng g
roup
pre
sent
ation
s
Cultur
al ad
apta
tion
Writ
ing e
ssay
s ind
ividu
ally
Givi
ng in
dividu
al pr
esen
tatio
ns
Lead
ing d
iscus
sions
Taking
mult
iple-
choic
e te
sts
Writ
ing re
sear
ch p
aper
s
Social
inte
ract
ions
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Important
Neither Important nor Unimportant
Not Important
Discussion: Participation, Pragmatics, Purpose
Case Genre System (Forman & Rymer, 1999)
• The “focus [is] on practical problem solving in real situations and on engaged interaction between students and instructors.”
• The case discussion is an “agonistic approach to experiential learning … a democratic event is which the instructor serves as a facilitator and equal partner with all the students.”
Participation• A = Visible, thoughtful, and regular involvement in
class discussion. You got involved, and not just for the purpose of hearing yourself speak. Class members seemed to pay attention to what you said, and your comments almost always were appropriate to the context.
BUAD 870 Syllabus, Fall 2011
Chinese students really don’t speakAmerican Chinese Other
InternationalAll Class
N 12 (33%) 19 (53%) 5 (14%) 36
Turns per student
3.1 0.7 2.8 1.8
Silent students
1 (8%) 12 (63%) 0 13 (36%)
Author’s data from a single BUAD 870 class (approx. 90 minutes’ class discussion), Fall 2011
Case Analysis: Coherence, Conventions, Cognition
Stage Description & Function
Set Up Identify and introduce the key players, the dilemma, and opportunities (but not a summary of the case)
Diagnosis Analysis (not description) of the problem in terms of “root causes”
Recommendation Alternative solutions plus the writer’s chosen solution with justification, sometimes accompanied by a specific action plan
Reflection What did you learn from the case? How does it connect to the theories in the course?
Set up ^ Diagnosis ^ [Recommendation]n (^Reflection)
Features of the Genre
• The set-up should not summarize the case • Key words, facts, characters, and statistics from the case should be referenced
• Evidence must be presented • The case write-up exists in the context of the class
• Format and style conventions must be • Professors’ expectations may be idiosyncratic
Cognition, Creativity, Critical Thinking
• “You can get a really good grade if you have one really good idea that’s not intuitively obvious.” (faculty interview)
• “… the mindset” of a good student who “knows how it fits together” (faculty interview)
• “There is no way to isolate a social process from the minds that carry it out.” (Flower, 1994, p. 31)
A Socio-Cognitive Approach
Literate actions emerge out of a constructive cognitive process that transforms knowledge in purposeful ways. And at critical moments, this constructive literate act may also become a process of negotiation in which individual readers and writers must juggle conflicting demands and chart a path among alternative goals, constraints, and possibilities.
(Flower, 1994, p. 2)
Conclusion: MBA as Activity System
Tools (Oral and written genres)
Subjects Object Object(s)/ Outcomes (professor, Motive(s) students) ( passing grade? MBA diploma? Business knowledge?
Rules/Norms Community Division of Labor
Activity System of the MBA
Systems including undergraduate education, work experience, ELI classes, etc.
Class
Class
MBA
Work place
Nigel A. CaplanUniversity of Delaware
http://nigelteacher.wordpress.com
(Handouts Genre2012)