Vol 5 No 1 - May 2014

International Journal
of
Learning, Teaching
And
Educational Research
p-ISSN:1694-2493
e-ISSN:1694-2116IJLTER.ORG
Vol.5 No.1

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and
Educational Research
The International Journal of Learning, Teaching
and Educational Research is an open-access
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VOLUME 5 NUMBER 1 May 2014
Table of Contents
Facilitation across Cultures in the Online Classroom ........................................................................................................1
Karen L. Milheim
Too Sweet to be True............................................................................................................................................................ 12
Dr Claas Wegner and Stephanie Ohlberger
Computer-aided Assessment Standardisation for Writing and Oral Presentation Assessments: Design,
Development and Implementation.....................................................................................................................................26
Dr Voyce Li
Teacher Development: De facto Teacher Leaders for English Language Learners ..................................................... 35
Holly Hansen-Thomas Karen Dunlap, Pat J. Casey and Teresa Starrett
Who am I? Where am I Going? And which Path should I Choose? Developing the Personal and Professional
Identity of Student-Teachers ............................................................................................................................................... 71
Batia Riechman
The Effect of PICTK and TPACK Knowledge on ICT Instructors’ Sense ofEmpowerment ...................................... 48
Noga Magen-Nagar and Orit Avidov-Ungar
Study of Metadiscourse in ESP Articles: A Comparison of English Articles written by Iranian and English Native
Speakers ................................................................................................................................................................................ 63
Atena Attarn
Men who Teach and Leave: An Investigation into Factors that Push Men Out of the Classroom............................. 72
Dr Stephen Joseph and Dr W. Marc Jackman

1
© 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.
International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research
Vol. 5, No.1, pp. 1-11, May 2014
Facilitation across Cultures in the Online
Classroom
Karen L. Milheim
Associate Director, Academic Skills Center
Contributing Faculty, Riley College of Education and Leadership
Walden University
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract. The author explores how cultural differences manifest
themselves in online course settings, including how instructors identify
these differences and perceive their roles in the classroom with respect
to facilitating across multiple cultures. The author also analyzes how
instructors perceive the importance of culture in the classroom and how
these perceptions affect facilitation strategies. Findings point to the
significance of seeking out cultural differences early in a course and how
instructor-student interactions allow for a deeper understanding of
misunderstood issues or course content. The author describes key
strategies that are essential to identifying and facilitating cultural
awareness in the online classroom, as well as creating a safe space for
discussion.
Keywords: online learning; cultural difference; online course facilitation;
student-teacher interaction
1. Introduction
One of the benefits of online learning is the opportunity it gives students to
participate in a course or program of study regardless of where they reside. A
broad search of online course and program offerings reveals that colleges and
universities, both on-ground and online, are continuing to expand their
recruitment efforts to reach international students beyond the United States
(U.S.). The opportunity to earn a degree from a U.S.- based institution via
distance is an appealing alternative for international students; the cost-benefit of
not having to travel to an on-ground campus abroad is a good motivator for
choosing online programs.
The continued influx of international students poses unique opportunities as
well as challenges in online learning environments. Research continues to
explore factors that can positively or negatively affect a student's experience
including: language barriers and proficiency (Zhang & Kenny, 2010), course
design and instruction (Minjuan et al., 2010; Zhang & Kenny, 2010), and cultural
differences (Liu et al., 2010; Tu, 2001). Along these lines, one important area of
study focuses on the student experience in online learning and how it relates to

2
communication that occurs in the classroom, both collaboratively among
students and individually between a student and the instructor (Anderson, 2008;
Tu, 2001; Vatrapu & Suthers, 2007). For students from other cultures, in
particular, communication plays a critical role in the overall learning experience.
Online course instructors must adapt course facilitation methods in light of
cultural differences. Liu et al. (2010), for example, suggest that instructors
"incorporate features that accommodate different cultural pedagogy" and
"appreciate cultural differences" (p. 182). While this particular suggestion is
certainly noteworthy and valid, more specific direction is warranted with
respect to what types of changes should be made when working with
international students as well as the specific facilitation and communication
processes used across multiple cultures.
2. The Complexities of Online Instruction
In an online course setting, the instructor plays a critical role in many aspects of
a course, with the success of a course relying greatly on the quality of the
instructor. In a survey of over 500 instructors, instructional designers, and
college administrators, over 37 percent of participants identified teaching or
technical competency as the most significant factor that affects the success of an
online course (Kim & Bonk, 2006). An online instructor must be proficient in an
extensive range of competencies in order to be effective in the classroom,
including a high level of professionalism, the ability to socially facilitate, as well
as an overall degree of technical competency (Bawane & Spector, 2009).
A critical aspect of an instructor's role in an online course is building a learning
community among students. Anderson (2008) notes "experienced online
learning teachers must make time at the commencement of the learning
interactions to provide incentive and opportunity for students to share their
understandings, their culture, and the unique aspects of themselves" (p. 48).
Building a learning community in an online course poses unique challenges that
are not present in a traditional setting (Vesley et al., 2007). It is important for
instructors to continually find ways to build a community with their students.
In an online course, instructors also must also engage students in other ways,
such as discussion forums, rather than relying on face-to-face communication.
The balance of how to facilitate discussion boards, as well as when and how to
lead discussions, can be a complex task (Mazzolini & Madison, 2007). In
addition, as Vonderwell et al. (2007) note, assessment in online learning must
"take into account assessment as a process as well as assessment as an outcome"
(p. 323). They go on to say that it is important for assessment to be embedded in
the course, via discussion boards, peer review, and other self-regulating
activities. The complexities of the role of an online instructor are compounded
by the need to recognize student differences within the classroom. Research
indicates that the growing numbers of students from various cultures within the
online classroom warrants further exploration of strategies that are effective
when working with a global population (Yang et al., 2010).

3
3. Multiculturalism and Online Learning
An instructor's understanding a student's cultural background is important to
online learning (Cercone, 2008; Lim, 2004; Rogers et al., 2007). In order to better
define strategies for working with a multicultural student group, it is useful to
investigate culture and how it manifests itself in an online course setting. To
begin, it is helpful to explore the psychological underpinnings of how students
learn in light of their cultural norms. Notable works related to learning and
culture stem from the field of psychology and organizational learning (Hofstede,
1983; Hofstede, 1984) and recognize two types of culture -- individualistic and
collectivistic.
Individualist culture [...] awards social status to personal
accomplishments such as important discoveries, innovations, great
artistic or humanitarian achievements and all actions that make an
individual stand out. Collectivism, in contrast, emphasizes individuals in
a larger group. It encourages conformity and discourages individuals
from dissenting and standing out. (Gorodnichenko & Roland, 2011, p. 2)
Western culture is typically identified as individualistic in nature, although there
are subgroups within the U.S. that could be viewed as collectivist (Neuliep,
2012). Other individualistic countries include Germany, India, Lebanon, and
New Zealand (Fischer et al., 2009). Asian cultures, including China and Korea
are typically more collectivist in nature. These cultural dimensions play an
important role in understanding students in higher education course settings
and greatly affect how an individual learns (Hofstede & Hofstede, 2005). Using
individualism and collectivism as a framework is important for understanding
culture in online learning.
Tapaneset al. (2009) found that a student's culture heavily influenced their
perceptions of an online course, with collectivist learners feeling as though the
instructor did not consider culture when facilitating. When research frames a
particular culture as either individual or collective, it gives a clearer indication of
how a student will engage and communicate in the classroom. For example, Ku
& Lohr (2007) note that Asian cultures have a much different learning style than
their Western counterparts, with students from Asian cultures (more
collectivistic in nature) taking the time to adjust to the course format, as well as
the cultural (more individualistic) dimensions of a U.S.-based online course.
In a cross-comparison of student behaviour in online collaboration, Kim and
Bonk (2002) found that Korean students were more socially driven, Finnish
students more group focused, and U.S. students more action-oriented. In a
similar manner, culture affects motivation in learning as well. Research shows,
for example, that in an online course setting, there was a significant difference
among student motivation when comparing Korean students and U.S. students,
with Korean students tending to have less motivation and U.S. students enjoying

4
the self-satisfaction of finishing assignments and reaching goals within the
course (Lim, 2004).
In light of the complexity of the intersection of student cultures in online
learning, all of the various aspects of the online classroom, including course
facilitation, design, and delivery, have been focal points of recent research.
Researchers continue to examine new ways to facilitate discussion boards
(Rovai, 2007), use technology to engage students (Hannon & D'Netto, 2007;
Milheim, 2011), encourage collaboration (Milheim, 2011; Paloff & Pratt, 2010),
and utilize adult learning theory to more effectively approach the course design
process, overall (Cercone, 2008; Milheim, 2012) in light of individual student
cultures.
4. Purpose of the Study
Specific, tangible suggestions for online course instructors are needed with
respect to facilitating with and among students from various cultural
backgrounds in the online classroom. This study seeks to answer questions
related to how faculty can most effectively work with students from various
cultures in an online learning environment. Specifically, the questions guiding
this research study are:
 How can faculty identify potential cultural differences in an online
course setting?
 How do faculty perceive their roles in the online classroom with
respect to attending to cultural difference among students?
 What strategies do faculty use to effectively foster communication
with and among students of various cultural backgrounds?
 What is the perceived value of cultural difference in an online course,
and how do these differences affect interpersonal dynamics?
By addressing these questions, this study sought to find applicable strategies
that allow instructors of online courses to effectively facilitate across the various
cultural differences present within their respective classrooms. Forty-one
instructors of online courses completed a qualitative survey related to their
teaching practice, responding to questions relevant to communication, culture,
and course facilitation strategies in an online course setting. After an analysis of
the survey responses, multiple themes emerged that shed light onto best
practices and strategies for working with students from various cultural groups.
5. Research Procedures
5.1 Participant selection
Upon receiving appropriate approvals from the sponsoring organization's
Institutional Review Board (IRB), the study was initiated. Data collection in the
form of a short-answer, written, web-based survey occurred from December
2012 through February 2013. A total number of 41 individuals (n=41)
participated in the study. The target participants were faculty or instructors who
had taught at least one, complete online course by the time the survey was
taken. Participants self-selected to take a survey of seven open-ended questions
via an online survey website.

5
Participants were recruited in three different ways: 1) self-selection via the
sponsoring University participant pool; 2) direct e-mails from the primary
researcher to friends and colleagues outside the sponsoring University who
might have been interested and qualified to take the survey; and 3) a repeated,
monthly posting in the sponsoring institution's newsletter with a direct link to
the survey. Participants who were aware of the study were also invited to
forward the invitation to participate to their colleagues, thus creating snowball
sampling.
5.2 Data collection
At the beginning of the survey, participants were given a brief introduction to
the study. The survey questions focused on their role as an instructor in an
online setting with respect to facilitating communication across cultures. Once
data were collected, a qualitative survey analysis was conducted to determine
the common themes among responses. To do this, a color-coding approach to
identify key words, terms, or phrases was used. Another review of the survey
responses that yielded noteworthy quotes or responses that were not aligned (or
dramatically different from) the common themes was also carried out. All of the
highlighted data were inserted into an electronic database for manual cross-
comparison and further review and analysis.
6. Findings and Discussion
6.1 Identifying cultural difference
Among nearly all of the participants there was a general acknowledgement that
culture plays a critical role in the classroom. One individual stated that cultural
difference "changes the landscape of our classes when we share." Along these
lines, many agreed that it is difficult to identify cultural difference in an online
setting since the online environment gives a sense of anonymity and masking of
culture. This "masking" can have a significant impact on the communication
that occurs in the classroom. As another participant noted "there is [...] racial
cloaking that is very liberating for my faculty and students. The inability to
stereotype people quickly makes online classrooms full of opportunity to make
cultural assumptions that lead to conflict."
The anonymity offered in an online setting often makes recognizing cultural
difference a bit of a guessing game. Faculty must rely on cues and written
evidence to identify a student's cultural background. In fact, of the 41
participants, over half indicated that they seek written clues into a student's
cultural background during the early weeks of a course. These clues are
discovered through terminology, phrases, vocabulary and expressions.
In some cases, students self-identify that they are of a particular culture, or
instructors embed activities into a course that allow students to provide
examples of their culture. This makes the guessing game a bit easier, rather than
relying on assumptions or clues. As an instructor of a nutrition course noted:
"...students provide examples of how their family cultures and backgrounds
have shaped their food habits and traditions. For example, Muslim students
celebrate Ramadan once a year, and Jewish students celebrate Hanukah".

6
Another participant stated: "I have had students in classes from the Caribbean,
Africa, Europe, and Asia. Most of the time discussion of culture shows up in
examples students use to make a point about a concept we are studying in class."
Despite written and recognizable cues, it is evident that instructors often
correlate culture with certain characteristics. Throughout the survey responses, a
common theme was the evidence that previous teaching experiences affected
future assumptions related to culture, and, in some cases, correlate race with
culture as well, with one participant stating that "[...] students of color (or ones I
have reason to think are students of color) are very reticent about discussing
issues regarding race in the classroom". Another stated"that most students in my
classes who are international, or not from a more mainstream U.S. culture, tend
to make efforts to blend and not set themselves apart from mainstream
classroom culture".
In addition to identifying individual student cultures, participants noted the
importance of being aware of differences among these cultures, and what that
means to the learning community. Often, cultural differences can impact how
students interact in a course. While most agree these differences contribute
positively to the learning community, they can also impact interactions by
creating assumptions. While most participants indicate that identifying culture
is important, there were a few who felt it has no impact on the classroom, or do
not make great efforts to recognize differences. One individual wrote: "I do my
best to ignore the cultural differences among my students. I treat all students
alike". Another stated: "Cultural differences do not influence the online
classroom provided the learning objectives are met".
Overall, the survey of online instructors shows that identifying the cultural
backgrounds of students is important in the classroom. Whether there are direct
clues and indicators of culture, or a perceived assumption, instructors, overall,
strive to acknowledge these differences when entering the classroom.
6.2 Perception of role
Survey responses heavily indicate that instructors play a critical role in fostering
communication across cultures in the classroom, particularly on discussion
forums. Most of their roles in communication with and among students relate to
monitoring the discussion boards, while promoting a safe learning environment.
Several noted the importance of "encouraging interaction among all student
groups" and "creating a 'safe space' for students" in light of cultural difference.
Notably, fifteen of the 41 participants used the word "facilitate" or "facilitator" in
their response to how they view their role in the classroom. This facilitation is
done via tactics such as close management of discussion boards, correcting and
assisting with grammar, being actively responsive, and promoting a respectful
environment. The term "facilitator" is typically used in a positive manner; yet,
two participants described more of a mediation approach by being a "peace
keeper", "limiting inflammatory discussion posts", and "being an intermediary".

7
In addition to monitoring discussions and encouraging interactions, a common
theme among responses is the importance of their overall purpose to the
classroom. While activities such as monitoring discussion boards and diffusing
potential communication issues are important, instructors strive to encourage
learning. To do this, many note the importance of urging students to express
themselves and expand on their written ideas, while maintaining a mutual
respect for others. One wrote: "It's my job to pique students' interests and
challenge their thinking so they stretch a bit more and to provide them the
materials they need to do this." Another noted: "[...] beyond encouraging
communication, I find that you need to give students ideas or examples of how
to keep the conversations going. [...] the natural tendency is for students to
respond positively to one another but not to encourage further dialogue".
It is apparent that online course instructors view their roles overall as important
to fostering communication among and with students in their courses with
cultural differences affecting the way communication occurs in the classroom.
Online instructors must navigate cultural differences among students, and
survey responses indicate that this can affect the way communication occurs
during a course. A notable theme among responses was the need for sensitivity
to other cultures, and the importance of proactive strategies for fostering
communication. This includes adjusting office hours (to accommodate those
who are not in the U.S.), limiting jargon or phrases that will most likely not be
understood by ESL students, and setting standards for interaction. Proactively
changing discussion posts or clarifying lessons has also assisted instructors as
well. One notes: "In some situations, I have to reword a discussion posting or
response so that is can be appropriately 'understood'". In some cases, others
follow-up with phone calls to students if there is a clear miscommunication that
needs to be clarified.
Sometimes conflict arises in the classroom as a result of cultural differences.
When this occurs, instructors must strategize on how to effectively handle the
conflict. Two-thirds of participants cited examples of a time where culture
caused conflict in the classroom, mostly on the discussion boards. It is
interesting to note that cultural conflict did not necessarily surface as a result of
one common theme (i.e. religion, language barrier, etc.), but there was
stereotyping (of race or gender) where the instructor had to step in and diffuse
the situation. One instructor wrote:
When I taught many sections of the [Ethics] course, the assumptions of
some triggered polar opposite reactions, from different values. I tried to
first understand and respect each perspective where the point of view
did not infringe on respecting others. When having to intervene with
particularly dicey interchanges, I would sometimes ask to take them
offline with me.
Religious difference may also cause potential areas of conflict or
misunderstanding, as one participant noted:

8
Assumptions about each other point to divergence in cultural norms and
values. We have very religious students and very conservative students
who are interacting with extremely liberal, sometimes well-intentioned
but slightly bigoted individuals who have been very sheltered and who
are not exposed to people who do not look like or think like them. Those
intersections are ripe for conflict if not monitored and facilitated.
Despite the potential for conflict, instructors generally agree that cultural
differences add value to the classroom.
6.3 Value of culture
Thirty-nine participants indicated ways that culture is valuable in the classroom.
The most common reasons noted for its importance relate to the depth and
richness of learning that occurs as a result with these shared experiences, mainly
resulting on the discussion boards. As one participant noted: "different
perspectives and backgrounds of students can make for interesting and lively
discussions". Within the discussions, it is apparent that students (from an
instructor's perspective) enjoy sharing their experiences and information about
their culture, particularly as it relates to the course topic. One healthcare
instructor wrote: "Expression by students of cultural expectations regarding
societal and individual care issues often adds volumes to the discussion".
Another education instructor notes: "In my classes on learning theory the
examples they share really add to it. For example those who have experienced
colonial education in West Africa have poignant examples."
Culture also has positive influence on how students conduct themselves in a
course. Several participants note how high standards of written communication
encourage those with poor English skills to write better, and "be clear in their
language use". Recognition of culture also promotes curiosity and "different
ways of thinking and looking at the world". This is particularly apparent in
fields such as family studies, where "the range of family structures and the
wealth of experiences that students bring with them [...] becomes such a
powerful illustration of all the ways that we experience family in our
communities".
7.0 Conclusion and Recommendations
There is no doubt that culture is an important aspect of the online learning
community. How instructors recognize and conduct a course in light of cultural
differences has shown to be a critical part of their roles. With the exception of
two participants, all of the instructors who participated in this survey value their
role, and proactively engage in various strategies to support cultural difference
in the classroom. Survey results indicate there are several strategies, which can
be helpful to instructors in their online courses. First and foremost is the
importance of seeking out ways to determine a student's cultural background at
the onset of a course. Sometimes an introductory posting provides good clues.
However, instructors should be proactive, and ask students to frame responses
with specific examples from their own cultures. It is important to do this in light

9
of an open, safe environment while keeping a close watch on potentially
disruptive or narrow-minded discussion responses.
Along these lines, it is necessary to keep a "safe space" for students where they
feel comfortable communicating. This may include reaching out to students who
are not as expressive and probing into the reasons for their lack of participation.
It is also important for instructors to note general cultural differences (i.e.
individualistic versus collectivistic cultures) that may provide some clues into
how a student is conducting himself or herself in the classroom. Knowing these
potential cultural influences can assist with managing the classroom more
effectively.
Online course instructors should also proactively identify potential course
design elements that may be confusing to some students. It is important to
eliminate confusing language, clarify instructions, and review grading
requirements and assignments to avoid confusion. Students from some cultures
may not feel comfortable reaching out to the instructor or may be confused
because they are an ESL student. Proactively attending to some of these
potential issues will allow students to feel more comfortable and confident in the
classroom.
Finally, it is important for instructors to realize the value of culture in a course.
While participants of this survey, for the most part, felt culture had a positive
place in the classroom, it was evident by the survey responses that there were
varying levels of its perceived importance. Those working in healthcare and
education seemed to find more ways to incorporate cultural difference into
examples and discussion as compared to other participants. Those who are not
currently incorporating these examples into their instruction should be
encouraged to do so.
Overall, this study contributes to understanding how faculty perceive their roles
with respect to facilitating student discussion across multiple cultures in an
online course. The study identified various strategies used by instructors in light
of a diverse, multicultural classroom environment. It also broadens the
understanding of the role of culture in online learning and sheds light on how
instructors can deal with similar issues within the classroom. Moving forward,
future research should continue to explore if and how these strategies directly
affect student learning. While instructors agree on many of the tools and
methods to manage their classrooms, additional research should focus on the
specific utilization of these strategies and their direct impact on the learning
process in an online classroom.
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© 2014 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.
Vol. 5, No.1, pp. 12-25, May 2014
Too Sweet to be True
Dr Claas Wegner and Stephanie Ohlberger
Department for Didactics of Biology, Bielefeld University
Bielefeld, Germany
Abstract. Dealing with biological topics in school can be challenging for
both teachers and students despite a direct connection to their daily
lives and existing pre-knowledge. This applies to carbohydrates, which
can be treated in biology with regard to health education, making it
possible to combine the conveyance of knowledge with the practical
example of sugars and sweeteners. Carbohydrates are required for
energy production by both animals and plants. Their general molecular
construction, however, is similar. Sugars are also carbohydrates with the
most important simple ones being Glucose and Fructose
(monosaccharides). Due to their natural sweetness there are used in
foods, but since obesity and diabetes have increased dramatically in the
western countries, the discovery of synthetic sweeteners was a great
success. When developing synthetic sweeteners, factors such as toxicity,
stability and cost aside from taste have to be considered. This article
aims at giving necessary, yet simple background knowledge needed for
holding a thorough lesson or even teaching unit on the topic of
carbohydrates as exemplified by sugars. It is rounded off by suggestions
how to conduct the teaching with concrete experiments, for each of
which a worksheet is provided at the end.
Keywords: teaching unit; experiments; synthetic sweeteners; chemistry;
biology
1. Background
This section will focus on the basics of carbohydrates and sugars before
presenting specific examples of sweeteners that are commonly found in
everyone‟s life.
1.1 Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates play an important role in our lives at all levels (Gibbs, 1970, p.
164). Both plants and invertebrates rely on them for structural materials as
plants reserve carbohydrate as starch and higher animals have something
similar, namely glycogen. It supplies energy for muscular activity and is stored
in the liver. Carbohydrates have twice as many hydrogen as oxygen atoms in
their molecules, which is depicted in the general formula Cx (H2O)y,. The
molecules also have the property to form rings which can be extended to build

13
other sugars. Most importantly, we have pentoses with five carbon atoms and
hexoses with six carbon atoms. (Gibbs, 1970, p. 164).
Monosaccharides are carbohydrates that cannot be broken down in simpler
sugars. Examples for monosaccharides would be ribose or xylose for the group
of pentoses and glucose, mannose and galactose for the hexoses. Disaccharides,
accordingly, give two molecules of monosaccharides when hydrolysed;
examples are sucrose, maltose and lactose. Raffinose is a trisaccharid, thus
consisting of three monosaccharides. Every carbohydrate of more than three
molecules of monosaccharides is called a polysaccharide, such as cellulose for
instance. (Gibbs, 1970, p. 164).
Fructose is the sweetest of the hexoses and found along glucose in honey. The
hydrolysis of cane sugar yields glucose and fructose (Gibbs, 1970, p. 165),
whereas glucose is only manufactured by hydrolysis of starch (ibid., p. 166).
Sucrose, the most common disaccharide (Bruice, 2010, p. 963), is ordinary sugar
(also called table sugar) and exists solely in one form as opposed to glucose, for
example, which can be present as either α- or β- modifications (Gibbs, 1970, p.
168). Since sucrose crystallizes out of solution extremely well, it was discovered
quite early in A.D. 640 (ibid., p. 169). This kind of sugar is obtained from sugar
beets and sugar cane, with the annual worldwide production amounting to 90
million tons (Bruice, 2010, p. 963).
The glucose stores in plants and animals, starch and glycogen respectively, are
“polycondensation products of α-glucose with 1,4-linkages” (Gibbs, 1970, p.
169); the amylose-part of starch (about 20%) consists of linear molecules while
the amylopectin-fraction (about 80%) of starch is made up of branched
molecules, just like glycogen (ibid.). Starch is a major component of flour,
potatoes, rice, beans, corn and peas (Bruice, 2010, p. 964). The mixture of
amylose and amylopectin makes it a product of two different polysaccharides
(ibid.). As living cells oxidize glucose “in the first of a series of processes that
provide them with energy” (Bruice, 2010, p. 965), glycogen is the result of
converting excess glucose in that kind of polymer in order to store it. Plants
basically do the same, but convert the excess glucose to starch (ibid.).
1.2 Taste
The human taste sensory system makes for a great deal of quality in our lives
(Saulo, 2005, p. 1). Already infants favour sweetness when they get to choose
from all the basic tastes and this preference remains throughout the whole life,
which is why “sweet foods are by far the most popular treats” (ibid.).
“For a molecule to taste sweet, it must bind to a receptor on a taste bud cell of
the tongue” (Bruice, 2010, p. 970). This then causes nerve impulses and the
perception of sweetness (ibid.). Every synthetic sweetener has an individual
structure, which shows that the “sensation of sweetness is not induced by a
single molecular shape” (Bruice, 2010, p. 972). Additionally, the sensation is a
result of a complex cascade whose individual events have not been entirely
understood yet (Portmann & Kilcast, 1996, p. 291).

14
The sensation of taste relies on chemoreceptors, which bring about neural
signals once they bind to particular chemicals in the environment (Sherwood,
2005, p. 175). Next to taste (gustation), also smell (olfaction) influences the flow
of digestive juices and a person‟s appetite greatly (ibid.). Actually, these two
“chemical senses provide a „quality control‟ checkpoint for substances available
for ingestion” (ibid.).
Coming to the mechanism of tasting, the chemoreceptors are packages in taste
buds (see Figure 1), of which there are 10,000 in the oral cavity and the throat in
total; most of them, however, are placed on the upper surface of the tongue
(Sherwood, 2005, p. 175). A taste bud is made up of about 50 taste receptor cells,
which are accompanied by supporting cells (ibid.). Taste receptor cells “are
modified epithelial cells with many surface folds (microvilli)” (ibid., p. 177), so
that there is an increased surface area available to oral contents (Sherwood, 2005,
p. 177). The plasma membrane of the microvilli contains receptor binding sites
for certain chemical molecules, which, after all, only react to chemicals in
solution, so either liquids or solids dissolved in saliva (ibid.). In order to allow
for contact between fluids and the receptor cells, every taste bud has a small
opening, called taste pore (ibid.). Due to permanent contact to the environment,
taste receptors only live for about 10 days (ibid.).
Figure 1: Sketch of a taste bud (based on Sherwood, 2005, p. 171).
The taste sensation is brought about by a taste-provoking chemical, the tastant,
which produces a receptor potential as soon as it is bound (Sherwood, 2005, p.
177). This, in turn, initiates action potentials in afferent nerve fibres that lead to
the brain stem and the thalamus, before it reaches the cortical gustatory area in
the parietal lobe (ibid.). Taste signals are also sent to the hypothalamus and the
limbic system in order to evoke affective dimensions such as „pleasant‟ or
„unpleasant‟ taste and to process behavioural associations (ibid.). Even though
taste buds are able to discriminate among thousands of different taste
sensations, they are actually all just combinations of the four primary tastes

15
salty, sour, sweet and bitter (Sherwood, 2005, p. 177). A salty taste is provoked
by chemical salts like NaCl (ibid.). Sour, on the other hand, is caused by acids,
such as citric acid (ibid.). Sweetness is induced by the special configuration of
glucose (Sherwood, 2005, p. 177). Besides glucose, other organic molecules with
a similar structure (e.g. sweeteners) can interact with those particular receptor
binding sites (ibid.). A bitter taste is made for by numerous chemical groups, for
example, alkaloids or poisonous substances, which functions as a protection
mechanism (ibid.). The ability to distinguish between different tastes is based on
the receptor cells‟ response of varying degrees to all four primary tastes (ibid.).
Recently, a fifth modality of taste has come to be known as “umami”, which
resembles a “meaty, mouth-filling taste of L-amino acids such as glutamate”
(Pocock et al., 2013, p. 226). As they are especially responsive to a particular
taste, subtle differences in stimulation patterns of the taste buds result in a
distinct taste (Sherwood, 2005, p. 177).
1.3 Sweeteners
Sugars differ in their degree of sweetness, as glucose is set to be 1.00; compared
to that, sucrose has a sweetness degree of 1.45 and fructose the highest one with
1.65 (Bruice, 2010, p. 970). When it comes to developing synthetic sweeteners,
there are also factors such as toxicity, stability and cost aside from taste (ibid., p.
971). In order to be acknowledged as an alternative sweetener, the substance has
to share the taste quality of sucrose. “This implies […] a clean sweet taste, with a
quick onset and a minimum persistence” (Portmann & Kilcast, 1996, p. 291).
Among sweeteners, it is important to differentiate between nutritive and non-
nutritive sweeteners, with the former ones providing energy and the latter ones
only providing little to no energy (Shwide-Slavin et al., 2012, p. 104). A feature
of non-nutritive sweeteners is their high degree of sweetness, which can be a
several hundred to several thousand times as much as sucrose (ibid.). Even
though they are incredibly sweet, they do not really provide any calories as they
are used in such small doses (ibid.).
Saccharin was the first sweetener to be discovered and is 300 times sweeter than
glucose. It carries only little caloric value, which is why it has come to be
recognized as a substitute for sucrose. Due to its characteristics, it might help
prevent western-world problems that are caused by the overconsumption of
sugar like obesity, heart diseases and dental decay. It has also proven useful to
people with diabetes (Bruice, 2010, p. 971). Being the only non-caloric sweetener
to be prepared from sucrose, saccharin is also special since it was the first
sweetener to be found a century ago (Saulo, 2005, p. 5). Constantin Fahlberg
produced the sweetener in 1885, which made the “sweet taste affordable to poor
people” (Ahmed et al., 2010, p. 377). As a result of the commercial success of
synthetic sweeteners, sugar and sweetener industries try to prevail (ibid.).
Saccharin was a great advantage during the two world wars, when sugar supply
in Europe was short (Saulo, 2005, p. 5). Due to recent development and progress
in food industry, blends of saccharin with other sweeteners are commonly found
to compensate for weaknesses of individual sweeteners (Mukherjee & Sarkar,
2011, p. 407).

16
Polysols are also known as “sugar alcohols” and have a reduced amount of
caloric value (Saulo, 2005, p. 1). In order to achieve the appropriate degree of
sweetness, it is sometimes combined with other sweeteners and is commonly
found in sugar free cookies and candies, baking goods, toothpastes and
pharmaceuticals (ibid.). Even though they are available from fruits and
beverages, they are made commercially “from other carbohydrates, such as
starch, sucrose, and glucose” (ibid., p. 2). Due to their incomplete absorption by
the small intestine into the bloodstream, polysols have only minor effects on
blood glucose levels as compared to sucrose or glucose (ibid.). Metabolisation to
energy happens with little or no production of insulin (ibid.).
Another sweetener is Tagatose, a white, crystalline powder prepared from
lactose, which is “especially suitable as a flavour enhancer at low doses” (Saulo,
2005, p. 2). Another advantage of this sweetener is its reduced taste of bitterness,
whereas sweetness spreads rapidly (ibid.). Tagatose is mostly used in chewing
gums and mints, and also provides creaminess in dairy products (ibid.).
Trehalose, which can normally be found in honey, mushrooms, and shrimps,
and is even produced by the body, is half as sweet as sucrose (Saulo, 2005, p. 3).
It “provides sustained energy, and elicits a very low insulin response” (ibid.).
The disaccharide consisting of two glucose molecules is, for example, used in
fruit juices, nutrition bars and dehydrated fruits and vegetables (Saulo, 2005, p.
3). A very intense sweetener with 200 times the degree of sucrose is acesulfame
potassium, also referred to as “Ace-K” (Saulo, 2005, p. 3). It provides no
lingering aftertaste and is used in baking and dairy products, and also in
alcoholic beverages (ibid.).
About the same level of sweetness is contained in Aspartame, a nutritive
sweetener (ibid., p. 4). Broad usage implies enhancing fruit and citrus flavours
(ibid.). It probably was the most prominent sweetener for the past two decades
and facilitated the enormous growth of the low- and reduced-calorie market
(ibid.). Proven to be helpful for diabetic patients, it is also valuable with regard
to weight control (ibid.).
Neotame has the property of being nearly 8,000 times as sweet as sucrose and “is
used in many cooking and baking applications” (Saulo, 2005, p. 4). Sucralose
maintains exact sugar-like taste, despite being 600 times as sweet as table sugar
(Saulo, 2005, p. 5). Due to its favourable features being preserved even after long
storage and heating, it acts more and more as a replacement for sugar in several
products (ibid.). True for any low-calorie sweetener presented so far is that they
pass “quickly through the body relatively unchanged and [are] not converted to
energy” (Saulo, 2005, p. 5). They are neither recognized as a sugar or a
carbohydrate by the body (ibid.).
2. Teaching Unit
The suggested teaching activities should be seen as a tool box from which you
might pick the appropriate components suitable for your class and background,
but not necessarily as a complete and all-embracing teaching unit ready for

17
application. In order to introduce the topic “sugars and sweeteners”, a “sugar
exhibition” can be done to show the huge quantity of products that are used to
sweeten foods. Depending on the age of the class, it has to be focused on the
nutritional value of different carbohydrates, always with the aim of staying
sensitive about this topic since you might have obese or even anorexic students
to teach.
If you want to go further into human physiology, it would be advisable to draw
the connection of sugar consumption and the increase or decrease of the blood
sugar level. Diabetes is a good, reality-related topic for that purpose. The
students should be willing to engage in further research as they might be
directly or indirectly affected.
Especially with younger students it is your duty to inform them about the
relation of sugar consumption and state of health, as health education
constitutes a big part of the biology lessons particularly in primary schools. This
might include practicing reading ingredient lists on the product packaging and
trying to determine which and how much sugar the food actually contains.
In case this topic is to be taught in year eight to ten, the students could first be
occupied with extracting general information from the background information
text of this article. Of course, it has to be modified before giving it to the
students. Instead of taking notes, however, they should be able to present the
essential facts in a diagram, which highlights common properties and the
hierarchy or order plus relationships between carbohydrates in general, and
then doing the same for sugars and sweeteners.
Since there are many opportunities how to put together this teaching unit, it
might also provide a good basis for a project day centred around the topic of
nutrition, diet and health. This will be especially suitable if otherwise not
enough lessons for conducting at least some of the fascinating experiments and
at the same time giving sufficient background information can be provided. The
suggestions presented in this article show an interest in easy experiments for
students where they get more insight into chemical working and the relationship
between everyday life and chemistry as such. As the experiments are not
interconnected, you can use the method of market place learning, provided there
is adequate support by teachers or other instructed people. In the following, a
short overview of the supplied worksheets (see Appendix) is given; they also
contain explanations and solutions to some steps (printed in blue italics), which
should be of help for the teacher, but of course needs restructuring of the
worksheet as such once it should be given to the students.
2.1 Worksheet 1
This first experiment deals with the detection of glucose and fructose with the
help of two different reagents. It is important that the students know how to
work with chemical substances and instruments already; also, safety goggles
have to be used. As the background of the experiment is rather advanced, it is
more suitable for secondary school students who have had some chemistry
lessons before and are able to follow the content. Since the students have to

18
work precisely and notice a colour change, make sure that all of them know
what to expect and how to achieve it; otherwise, the experiment would have to
be repeated all over again. As a slight extension you can have the students bring
actual food and let them detect the sugar in them in a way that relates to the
usage of Fehling‟s solution as done before (second experiment on worksheet 1).
This will be especially interesting for them as it suggests a practical application
of a chemical technique.
2.2 Worksheet 2
In order to show the students how exactly sugar is obtained, this experiments
focuses on the extraction of sugar from sugar beets. Probably the students did
not even make the connection between those two products, which would result
in all the more a great introduction as you can use the student‟s fascination and
surprise. Once you prepared all the materials necessary, the experiment will take
approximately 30 minutes. However, you have to consider another one to two
days until you can really see sugar crystals. Still, it is a nice introductory
experiment, particularly since there are no dangerous reagents or the like in use,
the setup rather reminds you of working in a kitchen. This will be very helpful
to get the students accustomed to working scientifically, which should at all
times be related to writing or filling in a test protocol.
2.3 Worksheet 3
The distinction of sugars and artificial sweeteners is of concern in this
experiment. It joins together all the background knowledge given earlier in this
article. As suggested above, detailed study of that topic is not very fruitful until
approximately class ten. But once features of carbohydrates and sweeteners plus
their similarities and differences are clear and glucose or fructose have already
been detected in foods, this experiment will still take them a step further as the
chemical differences are also revealed in reality. But exactly this is why the
necessary background has to be established first; otherwise the conduction and
explanation of the experiment will be far too difficult. Due to the materials used,
the wearing of safety goggles is prescribed.
2.4 Worksheet 4
This experiment is really fun and probably most suitable for primary school
children up to class six. It does not really take much time, but depends of course
on the students and how they work. Talking about different taste zones of the
tongue is quite interesting since you taste different aromas only on certain areas
of the tongue, but actually a very broad taste sensation is achieved. In order to
make the students name and find different taste areas on the tongue, you have to
provide suitable liquids that preferably have only one taste and not a mixture of
several. As a means of recording their findings, the students should highlight the
region of a particular taste on the tongue-map on the worksheet. In the
anchoring phase you could make them combine all of them by drawing one big
image and denoting the different tastes in various colours. Even if you do this
experiment with older students, they will enjoy this activity as an introduction
to the topic; you could then deepen their understanding of the issue by working
on chemical processes happening during ingestion.

19
3. Conclusion
The topic of synthetic sweeteners relates to everyone‟s life and is therefore
particularly well suited to be treated in a teaching context. It is a great chance to
sensitise pupils with regards to their diet and it will be fun for them to learn
about a serious issue with the help of experiments. Due to the variety of
worksheets provided in this article, teachers can use them as a whole or modify
sections of them and create their own teaching unit about sweeteners taking into
consideration the essential background knowledge which is presented at the
beginning.
References
Agnes-Pockels-Labor, TU Braunschweig (2010). Zuckernachweis. Retrieved from
http://www.agnespockelslabor.de/download/nahrung/zuckernachweis.pdf
Ahmed, J., Preissner, S., Dunkel, M., Worth, C. L., Eckert, A. & Preissner, R. (2010).
SuperSweet—a resource on natural and artificial sweetening agents. Nucleic
Acids Research. 39. 377-382. doi:10.1093/nar/gkq917
Blume, R. (1994). Chemie für Gymnasien. Organische Chemie Themenheft 3. Berlin:
Cornelsen Verlag.
Bruice, P. Y. (2010). Organic Chemistry. 6th edition. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice
Hall.
Gibbs, F. W. (1970). Organic Chemistry Today. Baltimore: Penguin Books.
Mukherjee, M. & Sarkar, A. (2011). Sugar Content in Artificial Sweetener. Advances in
Applied Science Research. 2(4). 407-409.
Pocock, G., Richards, C. D. & Richards, D. (2013). Human Physiology. 4th edition.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Portmann, M.-O. & Kilcast, D. (1996). Psychophysical characterization of new sweeteners
of commercial importance for the EC food industry. Food Chemistry. 56(3). 291-
302.
Saulo, A. A. (2005). Sugars and Sweeteners in Foods. Food Safety and Technology.
Retrieved from
http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10125/12259/FST-
16.pdf?sequence=1
Sherwood, L. (2005). Fundamentals of Physiology: A Human Perspective. 3rd Edition.
Belmont: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
Shwide-Slavin, C. , Swift, C. & Ross, T. (2012). Nonnutritive Sweeteners: Where Are We
Today? Diabetes Spectrum. 25(2). 104-110.

20
Appendix: Worksheets
Worksheet 1: Detection of Glucose and Fructose
Experiment: ~ 15 min
Safety note: Due to the strong basicity of the detection reagents which will be
heated together with the sample in a water quench, you have to wear safety
goggles (risk of splashing)!
Materials: 5 test tubes, droppers, water quench, Bunsen burner, glucose,
fructose, distilled water, Fehling‟s solution, Benedict‟s reagent
Conduction:
a) Detection of Glucose and Fructose with Fehling‟s solution
A spatula‟s tip of fructose and glucose are to be resolved in 1 ml distilled water
each. Add 1 ml Fehling‟s solution drop by drop to each solution. After that, both
solutions are carefully heated in a water quench until a change of colour occurs.
b) Detection of Glucose and Fructose with Benedict‟s reagent
Prepare a glucose- and fructose-solution like you did in Experiment a). Then,
mix both solutions with each 1ml Benedict‟s reagent dropwise and heat carefully
in the water quench until a distinct change of colour is detectable.
Observation: What did you see?
A brick-red precipitate is formed in all the test tubes after heating.
Analysis:
The reducing effect of the aldehyde (glucose) and the hydroxyl groups of an adjacent
carbonyl group (fructose) cause the reduction of the complex-bound copper(II)-ions to
red copper(I) oxide in Fehling’s solution and Benedict’s reagent.
(Blume, 1994, p. 32)
Experiment: In order to check which kinds of foods contain sugar, you will
dissolve different foods in water and add Fehling‟s solution.
Safety note: Due to the strong basicity of the detection reagents which will be
heated together with the sample in a water quench, you have to wear safety
goggles (risk of splashing)!
Materials: 8 test tubes, droppers, water quench, Bunsen burner, 2 beakers,
Fehling‟s solution
Conduction: Try to dissolve the following foods in different test tubes:

21
- A tip of a spatula of honey in 2-3 cm water (in a test tube)
- A little piece of a dextrose tablet in 2-3 cm water.
- Put a sweetener tablet into the test tube and add some water.
-In another beaker, dissolve candy in water and pour about 2-3 cm of the
solution into the test tube.
- Put some jam in a test tube and add water.
- Dissolve some ketchup in water (in a beaker) and filtrate the solution through a
pleated filter before pouring 2-3 cm of the solution into a test tube.
- Dissolve biscuit crumbs in water.
- Dissolve salt in water.
While mixing the solutions, you should not forget to label the test tubes! Before
adding a good splash of Fehling‟s solution to all of the test tubes, shake them
gently to ensure dissolution. Then put them into the water quench one by one,
heat carefully and observe attentively.
Observation: Observe what happens to every solution in the test tubes and note
down your findings in the table beneath.
Food sample Observation
Honey
Dextrose tablet
Sweetener tablet
Candy
Jam
Ketchup
Biscuit
Salt
(Agnes-Pockels-Labor, TU Braunschweig, 2010)

22
Worksheet 2: Extraction of sugar from sugar beets
Experiment: ~30 min
Materials: beaker (500 ml), beaker (200 ml), knife, grater, glass blender, sieve, test
tubes, filter-device, water quench, Bunsen burner, tripod
Sugar beet, activated carbon, water
Conduction:
Peel the sugar beet and chop it with the grater. Make it boil in a 200ml-beaker
and let the beet slices dry out for 5 minutes in boiling water. After that, divide
the beet slices from the juice with a sieve. The juice has to be condensed to syrup
under constant stirring in a smaller beaker.
Dilute a sample of the syrup with water in a test tube, then shake it out with
activated carbon and filter it in another test tube. The filtrate is again condensed
in the water quench and eventually air dried. After 1-2 days the purified, white
sugar crystallises.
Analysis:
The sugar that is contained in the beets is extracted with water and the beet slices are
detached with a sieve. The contaminations are adsorbed by the activated carbon and
sugar (saccharose) remains in a crystallized form due to the evaporation of water.
(Blume, 1994, p. 33)

23
Worksheet 3: Distinguishing between sugars and sweeteners
Experiment: ~ 30 min
Safety note: In some parts of the experiment, Fehling‟s solution, potassium
hydroxide and hydrochloric acid are heated. It is absolutely necessary to wear
safety glasses (risk of splashing!).
Materials: test tubes, droppers, water quench, tripod, Bunsen burner
Glucose, saccharin, Fehling‟s solution, cerammonium-nitrate, potassium
hydroxide, concentrated hydrochloric acid, indicator paper, distilled water
Conduction: With a tip of a spatula of each (Glucose, Sorbit and Saccharin)
conduct the following three experiments:
a) Dilute the samples in test tubes in 1 ml distilled water. After that, mix
them dropwise with 1 ml Fehling‟s solution each. Carefully heat the test
tubes in a water quench for about 5 minutes and observe.
b) Dilute the samples in test tubes in 1 ml distilled water. Mix the solutions
with cerammonium-nitrate-reagent abundantly.
c) Add to the samples in test tubes 1-2 potassium hydroxide- platelets. Heat
the tubes with a Bunsen burner. During heating place indicator paper at
the testing tube mouth. The molten baths are resolved and filtered in
distilled water, once they are cooled off. Add a few drops concentrated
hydrochlorid acid to the filtrates and heat gently. After that, check the
smell by fanning with the hand.
Observation: Fill in the table with your findings!
Glucose Sorbit Saccharin
Fehling’s
solution
Red colouring No colouring No colouring
Cerammonium-
nitrate reagent
Red colouring Red colouring No colouring
Indicator paper
(Addition KOH)
neutral neutral alcaline
Smell
(Addition HCl)
No smell No smell Strong smell
Analysis:
Glucose is an aldehyde, and in combination with Fehling’s solution red copper(I)-oxide
will be formed. The hydroxyl-molecule of glucose reacts with cerammonium-nitrate,
which is commonly used for detecting alcohols.
Sorbit is a sweetener and very similar to a glucose-molecule, but instead of the glucose’s
aldehyde-group Sorbit has another hydroxyl-group. There is no reaction when adding
Fehling’s solution, but since it is a hexavalent alcohol, it reacts with cerammonium-
nitrate.
Saccharin does not bear any similarity with glucose or Sorbit. It is made of an aromatic
ring, and the NH- and SO2-groups can be detected via potassium hydroxide and

24
hydrochloric acid. The NH-group reacts with potassium hydroxide to form ammonia
(NH3). When this gas is dissolved in water, it is an alkaline solution and can be detected
with indicator paper.
NH3 + H2O  NH4
+ + OH –
If you acidify the watery solution of the alkaline molten bath, the SO2-group of the
already split saccharin-molecule is released as SO2-gas, which has a very strong smell.
(Blume, 1994, p. 32)

25
Worksheet 4: Testing the taste zones on our tongue
Experiment: In this experiment we want to find out which different tastes you
can perceive and how they relate to the position of the taste on the tongue.
Conduction: Dab a liquid with cotton sticks onto the marked spots of the tongue.
Put a cross where taste was sensed.
Important: Rinse out the mouth thoroughly with water after every flavour.
Observation:
Analysis: Draw a map of the tongue showing the different taste zones.

26
Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 26-34, May 2014
Computer-aided Assessment Standardisation for
Writing and Oral Presentation Assessments:
Design, Development and Implementation
Dr Voyce Li
The English Language Centre
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Hong Kong
Abstract. Computer-aided assessment (CAA) has been widely applied
to summative assessments in English language teaching and learning.
However, its usage is limited to computer-marked exercises, e.g.
multiple choice questions or short answers. Assessments on essay
writing or oral presentation are still lacking without human
intervention. In addition, computer-aided tools for assessment
benchmarking have been commonly neglected. This should be of
concern to IT specialists when facilitating language assessment through
technology. An online English language assessment standardisation
platform (ELCAS) was introduced to reduce discrepancies among raters.
The platform was further developed, and adopted by the English
Language Centre, Hong Kong Polytechnic University for several years,
and the project team won a Faculty Award in 2009 for its outstanding
performance in developing this online assessment benchmarking tool to
assist teachers in achieving consistency and inter-rater reliability in
grading assessed assignments. The primary contribution of this paper is
to share the ideas and design of the platform, experience of its
development, and the problems encountered during implementation
which are of interest for CAA standardisation.
Keywords: computer-aided assessment standardisation; ROLE- and
CASE-based concepts; writing and oral presentation assessments;
holistic and component grading
Introduction
In the past, when the English Language Centre (ELC) taught a very limited
variety of subjects the rater training was done in pre-assignment and pre-course
meetings. The ELC provided a website with some student scripts corresponding
to various grades as references for script markers. The activity of benchmarking
was done offline. However, in view of the substantial increase in number of
English subjects offered to host departments and the consequential
diversification of assessment needs and criteria, it had become logistically

27
impossible in terms of scheduling a large number of standardisation meetings. A
better system was needed, in which teachers could be trained individually and
asynchronously to rate scripts to an agreed standardised grade; therefore the
ELC undertook a funded project to upgrade the pre-existing online assessment
benchmarking tool to cater for the increasing complexity in achieving
consistency and reliability in grading assessed assignments by developing a
rater training functionality.
The Ideas for a Development of the System
The initial user requirements were to 1) expand the pre-existing system to cater
for more subjects and 2) add a rater training functionality to achieve assessment
standardisation for holistic and component grading. The project team looked for
suitable open source content management software for further development but
failed. Possibly, as Web 2.0 was attractive to educators, this was where software
developers focused their attention. Therefore, computer-aided tools for
assessment benchmarking were neglected. Since it was difficult to find a suitable
kit for such development, the team eventually decided to build the product in-
house.
Simple-and-flexible (SNF) is the key concept of the design for the platform. The
merit ideas are the adoption of ROLE- (Sandhu, Coyne, Feinstein & Youman,
1996) and CASE-based (Aamodt & Plaza, 1994) approaches. The ROLE
safeguards different levels of tasks to authorised users; the CASE defines
different situations to respond to the need of users. The system reacts with the
users based on the status returned by either the ROLE or CASE or both. These
two approaches maximise the flexibility for the change of user requirements. In
addition, same categories of data based on their own criteria were put into an
array with delimiters together with the record in order to 1) simplify the data
structure, 2) ease the change of criteria, and 3) reduce the access time to the
database.
The Task Flow for Subject Leaders and Markers
There are two main tasks for subject leaders and one for markers (Table 1). The
task flow first starts with a subject leader creating an assessment entry.
Secondly, markers grade the scripts selected by the subject leader of an
assessment. Lastly, the subject leader finalise the grades among all markers.
Six steps for creating assessment entry were identified in the first row of table 1
at the column of ‘Tasks of Subject Leaders’. In step 1, options for essential
assessment details are provided for subject leaders to select in order to avoid
human errors (e.g. typos). For assessment type (writing, individual or group
presentation/discussion), a selection menu for number of speakers will then
appear when group presentation/discussion is selected. For marking mode
(holistic or component), the assessment criteria and a selection menu
corresponding to the weightings of each criterion appears when component
marking is selected (Fig. 1).

28
Table 1: Task flow of subject leaders and markers
Tasks of Subject Leaders Tasks of Markers
To create assessment entry,
1. select
i. subject
ii. assignment number
iii. assessment type
iv. number of reused
scripts
v. marking mode
vi. markers
2. confirm details
3. select an existing task sheet /
upload a new task sheet to an
existing task category / upload
new task sheet to a new task
category
4. select old scripts (optional)
5. upload new scripts
6. DONE
To do nothing
To add more markers and/or scripts
(optional)
To grade and/or comment,
1. click on a script to grade
2. read the essay or listen/watch
the audio or video file
3. select a grade/component
grades for holistic/component
marking
4. accept or override the overall
grade computed with
component grades
5. give comments if needed
6. save the input and click next
script to grade
7. save intermit input if needed
8. click on the scripts whenever
for changes
9. click ‘Submit’ once all the
scripts have been graded.
To finalise grade,
1. (i & ii as markers)
2. review the grades submitted by
the markers
3. (iii - viii as markers)
4. click ‘Submit’ once all the
scripts have been finalised.
To do nothing
Check the discrepancies

29
Step 2 lets subject leaders check what they have selected in step 1 from a tidy
web form. Subject leaders are allowed either to click ‘Confirm’ to go to the next
step or make changes by clicking ‘Edit’ to go back to step 1.
Figure 1: The interface for creating a new assessment entry
In step 3, three cases and the corresponding actions were defined. Case 1: the
assessment task paper already exists in the repository – provide selection menu
for choosing, and also the selected task paper is able to be viewed to avoid any
mistake. Case 2: the task sheet is new to an existing task category – provide an
upload function to upload the new task sheet onto a particular task category.
Case 3: the task category is brand new – provide a textbox to add a new task
category, and then allow a new task sheet to be uploaded onto that task
category.
Step 4 can be skipped if the default value (pre-set ‘0’) for number of reused
scripts is not changed in step 1. Number of selection menu for the reused scripts
will appear corresponding to the number of reused scripts selected in step 1. The
selected reused scripts are able to be viewed to avoid any mistake.
Step 5 lets subject leaders upload five students’ essays (doc or pdf) or
presentations (wma or wmv) at most in one assessment if no reused script(s)
is/are selected in step 4. If some scripts have been chosen in step 4, the number
of upload will be reduced to 6 scripts at most in an assessment. For group
discussion, only one audio or video file is allowed. The maximum file size for
each upload is limited to 120MB. Step 6, the last step is to indicate the
assessment has been successfully created.

30
After the assessment has been created, the set of assessment files including the
task sheet and student scripts will be pre-loaded on the first page for the
markers selected in step 1 when they log into the system to facilitate their
grading. Since markers might change their mind after some scripts have been
marked, the system allows changes before submission, and also allows an
incomplete assessment to be saved whenever the markers need a pause.
The interface for subject leaders to finalise grades is similar to that for markers
except subject leaders can see all grades from markers for each script of the
assessment on a table to facilitate the process of standardisation. After the grades
have been finalised by the subject leaders, markers are then able to see the
finalised grades, and the grades given by other team members anonymously. It
is important in the rater training to allow raters to learn the discrepancies
without pressure. All the finalised scripts will be indexed for further
benchmarking after the current semester.
The Three Phases of Development
Performance, Cost, Time and Scope (PCTS) are the constraints of project
management that have mutual influence (Lewis, 2005). Since the Cost was fixed
and limited, the scope for the phase I development was scaled down to the
minimum in order to maintain performance under time pressure.
1. Phase I – Guinea Pig
In the academic year of 2007-08, the system only supported two tasks: grading
from markers and finalisation from subject leaders. The system allowed markers
to grade and give comments on a set of selected scripts of student writing. After
all markers had finished their grading, the subject leader finalised the grades for
the same set of student scripts, and then notified markers about the
discrepancies if there were any. All the pre-standardisation work was done
offline. The preparation work included collecting task papers and student scripts
(scanned into pdf format if the original files were not electronic), and then
uploaded onto the server manually. Once the corresponding files were ready on
the server, an assessment standardisation entry was created at the backend. The
system was rough and non-expandable at that moment.
2. Phase II – On the Track
In the second year, the project ran out of money; however, more requests came
after a review. We were requested to 1) allow subject leaders to create
assessment standardisation entries and upload the task papers and student
scripts whenever they needed, 2) support assessment standardisation on oral
presentation (recorded as videos or audios) for individuals (1-to-1: one task
paper mapped to one student recording with grades and comments) and group
discussions (1-to-many: one task paper mapped to more than one student
recording with grades and comments), 3) enhance component marking to
support various sets of assessment criteria for different subjects, and also
subjects can have different assessment criteria in different semesters, 4) support
three at most out of the same set of finalised student scripts along with some

31
new student scripts to be used for new exercises of standardisation, and 5) build
an archive with the finalised scripts for reference purpose.
Upon receiving new user requirements, the original system became inadequate -
it lacked flexibility for absorbing changes. The team, therefore, gave up the old
system and re-built it with new ideas. The ideas of ROLE- and CASE-based were
brought in. The design of the system started at the point with a database
structure. This time, the constraint of Cost was eliminated – it was absorbed by
regular working hours. We were given a more flexible time for expanding the
scope. The final platform adopted ASP.NET with C# programming language
(object oriented), and built on the top of Windows OS.
3. Phase III – Refining
All old benchmark scripts were indexed and archived as references for markers.
The scripts can be accessed on the same platform by searching by semesters
and/or subjects. In addition, the top ten markers with the least discrepancies
were listed by semesters as an achievement of rater performance. Interestingly,
forgetting of passwords was found to be a common phenomenon in each
semester. Instead of resetting password ad hoc by requests, a function to retrieve
passwords by the users themselves was introduced.
Implementation Issues
The trial run took place in 2007. After a re-construction, the platform was
officially launched in 2008. Up to now, over ten thousands assessment records
are kept from the database. Implementation is always a stage of the emergence
of unexpected issues. The issues were identified either by observation or
reported by users (the teachers), and solved immediately (for critical or minor
changes) or during semester break (for non-critical or major amendments).
However, there are still some issues that cannot be solved without human
intelligence.
 Request of changes after submission
The top issue is ‘request of changes after submission’. In order to maintain data
integrity, changes are not allowed after a process is confirmed to be completed.
For example, after an assessment entry is created. Some markers may start their
grading based on the set of task paper and scripts selected by the subject leader.
In this stage, any changes of the task paper and/or the selected scripts could
possibly affect the validity of the grades, which have already been given to some
scripts. To improve the system, deletion and amendment of the corresponding
files are still restricted before a cascading data checking done by a human.
However, subject leaders are allowed to add more markers (no limit) and/or
scripts (totally 6, it is 5 initially at most in one assessment) even the assessment
has been created. As the same token for grades finalisation, after markers have
submitted the grades for an assessment, and if the subject leader has already
started to standardise the grades, markers are not allowed making any changes
to the grades and/or comments in the assessment.

32
 File size is an issue
Besides the issue of allow-or-not-allow-changes, preparing video or audio files
for oral presentation assessments encountered far more difficulties than that for
writing. Li’s (2010) findings show that lack of essential equipment and the
complexity of recording process are the barriers of students for their
submissions of oral presentation assessments, and the ratio of submissions in
writing to recording is 7:2. We came across several problems while supporting
assessments on individual or group presentation/discussion. First, the system
received video files in extreme large size, meaning that all of these files had to be
converted into a streaming format in a lower bit rate in order to save storage at
the server side, and also shorten the start time of playing at the client side. File
size is always an issue - the system was adjusted to limit each upload to a
maximum of 120MB and to accept only .wma or .wmv file format.
 Shared video mapped to multiple students’ records
When assessing writing or individual presentation, one student script or video
file is mapped to the grade(s) or comments to this particular student. When
assessing group presentation/discussion, however, multiple upload of the same
discussion video file for the number of students in the video becomes
unpractical. To solve this problem, the program was amended to map one video
file to multiple assessment records if it is an assessment for a group of students.
The markers were told to grade the students from left to right in the order of
Student 1, Student 2 and so on. However, students were not fixed in one
position in some video files. Eventually, students were labelled as Student 1,
Student 2, … in the video files.
 Multiple subject leaders mapped to one subject
During the time when the platform was being developed, each subject was
coordinated by one subject leader. Due to the new 334 curriculum, two subject
leaders were assigned to co-coordinate one subject to share their workload.
Keeping abreast with the latest changes in pedagogy, the system was adjusted to
support more than one subject leader in one assessment by the merit of the
concept of ROLE-based.
 Multiple assessment criteria with different weightings
Under the demand of component grading, the set of assessment criteria with
fixed weightings for academic writing, which had been used for some years, no
longer fitted the assessment requirements of the subjects developed for the new
curriculum. Therefore, the database and the program were revised to
accommodate the data that was used to compute the final grades. In addition, an
option of NA was added for individual criterion. This means irrelevant to the
particular assessment and allows that criterion to be taken away from the set of
assessment criteria.
 Dual-mode marking mapped to one single assessment
At the first launch of the platform, assessments were allowed to be marked
either holistic or in components. Nevertheless, most of the assessments were
marked holistically. It was requested that some scripts which had been given

33
holistic grades, could also be later marked using component grades. In
accordance with the need of the users, the system was revised to allow holistic
and component grading for different scripts in the same assessment (i.e. holistic
for students A and B but component for student C). There has been a long
discussion as to whether holistic or component assessment mode is better to
address the issue of fair judgements and staff workload in the ELC. Finally, a
policy was introduced to require all assessments to adopt component grading in
2012.
Conclusions and Future Study
The project won a Faculty Award in 2009. Its prototype was modified in May
2010 for another project to support secondary school English teachers assessing
students’ writing and reading skills during summers in 2010 and 2011 that were
based on the criteria identified in the Curriculum and Assessment Guide issued
by the Education Bureau. Finally, this project won a Faculty Award in 2011 and
a President’s Award in 2012. To achieve such sustainable development, simple
thinking (with wide vision) and flexible action (with deep consideration) are
crucial. Based on the 6 years of experience in developing and implementing the
platform of CAA Standardisation for assessing students’ writing, reading and
oral presentation skills, I argue that the success or failure of the projects critically
depend on the direction of design at the earliest stage. The processes are
sensitive dependency on initial conditions according to the concept of Lorenz’s
butterfly effect (Lorenz, 2000). A bad or undesired initial status even could
make any rectification impossible.
Apart from the impact of design on the development process, the assessment
mode used in assessing students’ writing and oral presentation skills is another
issue affecting the quality of outcomes during the implementation. There are a
number of options for different types of rating scales; however, little research
has been conducted on how different rating scales affect rater performance
(Barkaoui, 2007). In fact, Barkaoui’s findings indicate a higher inter-rater
agreement with holistic scale than that with component scale. Also, in Schaefer’s
(Schaefer, 2008) study, a six-component rating scale was used, where some raters
tend to rate higher ability writers more harshly, but lower ability writers more
leniently. The results indicate a potential rater bias in EFL writing assessment
when component grading was adopted. Further studies on how different rating
scales affect to rater performance are worthwhile.
References
Aamodt, A. & Plaza, E. (1994). Case-Based Reasoning: Foundational Issues,
Methodological Variations, and System Approaches. Artificial Intelligence
Communications 7(1), 39-52.
Lewis, J.P. (2005). Project Planning, Scheduling & Control. 4E. McGraw Hill. ISBN 978-0-
07-146037-8.
Barkaoui, K. (2007). Rating scale impact on EFL essay marking: A mixed-method study.
Assessing Wriitng, 12(2), 86-107.
Li, V. (2010). eSelf-assessment: A case study in English language learning (Hong Kong)
for enhancing Writing and Oral Presentation Skills. Education Technology and

34
Computer (ICETC), 2010 2nd International Conference, 4, 371-375, 22-24 June
2010, Shanghai. ISBN: 978-1-4244-6367-1, DOI: 10.1109/ICETC.2010.5529662.
Lorenz, E. (2000). The Butterfuly Effect, in R. H. Abraham & Y. Ueda (Ed.), The Chaos
Avant-garde: Memories of the Early Days of Chaos Theory, World Scientific
Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., 91-94.
Sandhu, R., Coyne, E.J., Feinstein, H.L. & Youman, C.E. (1996). Role-Based Access
Control Models. IEEE Computer, 29(2), 38–47.
Schaefer, E. (2008). Rater bias patterns in an EFL writing assessment. Language Testing,
25(4), 465-493.

35
Vol. 5, No.1, pp. 35-47, May 2014
Teacher Development: De facto Teacher Leaders
for English Language Learners
Holly Hansen-Thomas
Karen Dunlap
Texas Woman‘s University
Denton, Texas, USA
Pat J. Casey
University of Texas at Arlington
Arlington, Texas, USA
Teresa Starrett
Texas Woman‘s University
Denton, Texas, USA
Abstract. This qualitative study highlighted the redefinition of roles played by
secondary-level, mainstream content-area teachers involved in an English as a
Second Language (ESL) professional development (PD) program. The researchers
examined how the practice of becoming an emerging leader in ESL, a new discipline
for many teachers, was impacted by participation in an intensive 18 month ESL PD
program. Specifically, this case study focused on the participants‘ ability to translate
newly acquired multicultural competence, second language acquisition, and ESL
teaching strategies into training sessions for their content-area colleagues. The
reflective statements from teacher participants following the delivery of what is
termed ‗turnaround training‘ revealed that the teachers experienced changes in
professional self-concept both as teacher leaders and as advocates for English
Language Learners (ELLs). This shift of teacher as leader benefits both teacher and
student, according to Barth (2011) as teacher leaders experience less isolation, have
more professional satisfaction for improving their schools and increased reflection
about their practice. This work found that through PD, teachers‘ roles shifted from
not just content expert but also to ELL expert and, indeed, advocate of ESL students.
Keywords: teachers; English Language Learners; professional development.
Introduction
The current trend in the United States‘ secondary English as a Second
Language (ESL) education is that of mainstreaming. As noted by Harper & deJong
(2009), ―ELLs [English Language Learner(s)] are increasingly placed in mainstream

36
classrooms for the entire school day‖ (p. 137) rather than spending a majority of
their day situated in specially targeted ESL classrooms. For over a decade, authors
have suggested that as the numbers of ELLs increase in the United States, more
teachers will have ELLs in their classrooms and more teachers will be called on to
meet the needs of ELLs (Duhon-Ross & Battle, 2001, as cited in Yoon, 2008). In
many geographic areas, secondary educators who are typically trained and licensed
to teach in specific subjects or content areas often find that every year they interact
with a greater number of students who speak little or no English. Many teachers
lack appropriate training to effectively teach specific academic content to students
who are not fluent speakers of English (Ballantyne, Sanderman & Levy, 2008; Scalon
& Lopez, 2012). As a result, ELLs are not getting the support needed in general
education because many teachers do not have the skills (Yoon, 2008). This lack of
support is evidenced by a persistent achievement gap – the difference between ELLs
and native speakers of English (Callahan, 2005; Ballantyne, Sanderman & Levy,
2008). Thus, this study examined the effects of a professional development project
that was aimed at ameliorating the aforementioned ESL professional development
lacuna. As such, this study meets the call as set forth by Ballantyne, Sanderman,
and Levy (2008, p. 10),
―Given the fact that the training of teachers lags behind the realities
of the classroom, these misconceptions and feelings of unpreparedness are
unsurprising. The recent increase in ELLs in U.S. classrooms has been rapid,
and teacher education and professional development has not yet caught up
with the demographic shift. There is a pressing need for education for
teachers at all stages in their careers which aims to prepare or upgrade
teachers‘ knowledge and skills in order to close the achievement gap
between linguistic minority students and their native English speaking
peers.‖
Responding to this call, this qualitative study highlights shifts in both
thought processes and role definitions experienced by secondary-level, mainstream
content-area teachers involved in an English as a Second Language (ESL)
professional development (PD) program. The focus of this study was to examine
how participation in an intensive eighteen month ESL professional development
program promoted expertise in teaching ELLs, a new discipline for many teachers.
Specifically, this study focused on participants‘ experiences as they learned about
teaching students with cultural and linguistic differences and became self-reported
ESL experts. Further, as they translated their newly acquired knowledge of
multicultural competence, second language acquisition, and ESL teaching strategies
into training sessions for their content-area colleagues, what we call turnaround
training, the teachers also became de facto teacher leaders on their campuses. As
such, this study of the participants‘ development contributed to the emerging body
of literature focused on the design of effective professional development for
teachers of ELLs (see also Hansen-Thomas, Casey, & Grosso, 2012).
The Context of the Study
The teachers who participated in this research were purposefully selected
from a group of teachers who successfully completed a professional development

37
(PD) program in ESL education. This program was funded by the U.S. Department
of Education and served inservice teachers by preparing them to work with the
ELLs in their urban secondary schools. Study findings were the result of data
collected from focus group sessions conducted with 21 members of two PD cohorts.
The participants were secondary teachers in mainstream, content-area classrooms
who had ELLs in their classes but did not consider themselves ESL specialists at the
program‘s inception.
The program was a collaborative effort between a large, urban school district
in Texas with a student population of more than 25% ELLs, and a medium-sized
Texas public university. The project, funded by an Office of English Language
Acquisition (OELA) National Professional Development grant, served practicing
teachers through two primary components. First, the teachers successfully
completed a series of three semester-long ESL-related graduate classes designed to
provide knowledge and enhance the pedagogical skills required to meet the needs
of students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. The classes,
specifically developed for secondary school content area teachers, were (1)
multicultural education, (2) second language acquisition, and (3) ESL strategies.
After completion of the 3 graduate courses, teachers were required to develop and
present training sessions to their peers – referred to herein as turnaround training.
Program faculty provided guidance in the development and presentation of the
turnaround training sessions.
The Professional Development Model
The professional development program was based on three primary
principles. First, the professional development courses were focused on the specific
needs of the teachers who were already proficient teachers in their specific content
area. Accordingly, the coursework and the turnaround training were tailored to
meet the needs of the experienced teachers who were already familiar with the
content subject and pedagogy for the general education classroom. While the
teachers who participated in the program were experienced instructors of middle or
high school subjects such as Algebra, Biology, or History; they were challenged to
teach the increasing number of students who were not proficient English speakers.
Second, the model was developed for a long and sustained training period,
which included three semesters of graduate coursework and presentation of
training sessions for their colleagues. Ongoing reflective practice was incorporated
into the professional development plan in order to guide participants in developing
greater self-awareness and, thereby, to provoke change in their professional identity
throughout the training sessions.
Third, each participant‘s learning experience culminated with turnaround
training. The participant‘s presentation of the turnaround training was designed as
independent practice and application of the knowledge and skills they had learned
in the three semesters of coursework. This structured independent practice
distinguished this model from many traditional models of PD because presentation
of the turnaround training involved in-depth planning and required teachers to
know the content, the context and their colleagues. Additionally, this model

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