Catherine WuJune 19, 2011

Background Technologies have changed the

way of teaching and the role of teachers.

CMC is promoted as a language pedagogy, but the role of teachers has not yet been emphasized.

Purpose of StudyThis study is aimed to investigate

the teacher’s role in ACMC discussions in a graduate academic course.

Research Design and QuestionA qualitative research design for

analyzing ACMC transcripts from a graduate level of CMC course to answer the following question:

What is the teacher’s role in ACMC discussions?

ACMCAsynchronous communication gives learners

more time to reflect on their ideas, promotes critical thinking and is learner-centered (Bonk, 2004; Swan, 2001; Harasim, 2000; Jonassen 2000; Gunawardena et al., 1998).

ACMC enables language learners to engage in interactions with a wider range of interlocutors because ACMC is boundless by the limits of time or space (Hanson-Smith, 1997; Kitade, 2008).

Equal opportunity of participation, no turn taking (Graddol, 1989)

Teachers are multi-functional, consisting of 3major roles: (Anderson, Archer, Garrison & Rourke, 2001)1. As designer of the educational experience2. As facilitator and co-creator of a social

environment conducive to active and successful learning

3. As a subject matter expert--to ‘scaffold’ learning experiences by providing direct instruction

ParticipantsSettingStudentsTeacher

Instrument Procedure Data Collection Data Analysis

ParticipantsSetting

1. A private university in southern Taiwan2. A graduate course in CMC and foreign

language pedagogy3. Both of the ACMC discussions are

through online postings in school-provided discussion board.

Students1. 1 of the 2nd year and 8 of the 1st

year graduate students in the Department of Applied English. (8 females and 1 male)

2. 6/9 students had experiences in ACMC discussion from the previous semester.

3. 8/9 students are also working as language teachers.

Teacher1. An assistant professor with a

doctorial degree in Applied Linguistics

2. Specialized in TEFL and CMC3. Has published several research

related to CMC

InstrumentMessages from two ACMC class

discussions

ProcedureTwo ACMC discussions were hold during a

CMC course in a semester.The first ACMC discussion was hold in April

while the second ACMC discussion was in May. The students were required to post a

minimum of four messages within 3 days on a school-provided bulletin board.

All the messages are responses or comments to the weekly assigned readings related to CMC topics.

The instructor also participated in discussions.

Data CollectionThe instructor’s posted messages in

both ACMC discussions.

Data AnalysisThe data was coded and analyzed.

Some findings from the transcripts:In the teacher’s postings, he did some…1.Questioning2.Commenting3.Asking for students’ contribution4.Advising5.Showing agreement6.Summarizing/knowledge sharing7.Experiment sharingThe incidents above are listed in the descending order of its occurrence.

1. Questioning“…,why do you think face-to-face book clubs will suit your younger children? By means of younger children, how old do you mean they are?”

2. Commenting“…I really feel sad to see the project ends like that! I think the real problem is not the insufficient time or students' English proficiency. I believe it was about the lack of giving students' motivation… as well as teaching them communication skills, like common topics for conversations or communication strategies to prolong discussions.”

3. Asking for students’ contribution“…Do you mind showing us a little bit clearer demonstration, like what you actually use YouTube to teach and how you actually use YouTube?

4. Advising“I would like to add a few alternatives in order to keep students playing the same game without getting bored of it. For Assignment Prompt, we can make it like 接龍 .”

5. Showing agreement “You are right about the authors didn't specify the number of students in the advanced-level Spanish classes. It does confuse me too.”

6. Summarizing/knowledge sharing “Jones and Nuhfer-Halten's paper dealing with uses of blogs in L2 instruction proposed quite a few writing activities by using blogs.”

7. Experiment sharing“ I remember that I used YouTube to watch Britain's Got Talent and American Idols. I listened to Paul Potts' songs from his first and very ordinary-looking appearance… to his third winning try in tuxedo…”

Most of the discussions in these two ACMC activities are initiated and facilitated by the instructor.

The instructor always gave feedback or comments on students’ individual postings, especially the first ones.

As analyzed data demonstrated, there is a parallel result as Simon (2002) identified within distance education that the teacher’s role includes the technologist, process facilitator, content expert, instructional design, and manager.

The teacher also plays a role as a commentator as found in the research.