The Design of On-Line Tertiary Courseware for a Blended Learning,
Project-Based E-Business Management Program in the Middle East
Arthur Rush
Accepted for publication in
The International Journal of On-Line Leaning, January 2007;
Publication in the Journal to be Announced
2
Abstract
This case study briefly explores how an on-line, multimedia learning module based on a
Cognitive Apprenticeship higher level pedagogy can positively affect students achieving
the learning outcomes of a Constructivist project-based curriculum in a blended ebusiness management program in the Middle East.
The cohort in this program are
non-native speakers of English and have significantly reduced life experience and
independent learning opportunities relative to many of their international counterparts.
The proposal of this endeavor is to support students prior to the start of the
constructivist aspects of the project itself. This paper attempts to answer the question
of which type of support is effective in giving students the scaffolding they need for
successful achievement of project learning outcomes without quashing the benefits of
working in a constructivist learning paradigm. Results from the sample questioned
reveal that such modules are useful for this cohort prior to the start of the group project
work with the important caveat that instructors participate effectively in the on-line
mentoring.
Key words: Cognitive Apprenticeship, Blended-Learning, Multimedia, Constructivist,
Project-based
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Project–based learning, grounded in constructivism for tertiary students can
provide numerous and motivating learning experiences and benefits including
independence and greater responsibility, all within a domain specific content.
However, project-based learning may present a great imposition for students with very
limited life experience and / or those students who come from non English medium pretertiary educational backgrounds where exam based assessment focuses on rote
memorization and regurgitation. For students such as these, being thrust into a
Constructivist learning environment may be liberating for a few, but intimidating and
perplexing for the majority of them.
Certainly, it is prudent to provide support for these students. A blended-learning
situation, as suggested here, may indeed be an ideal one where students can interact
with content and remain in contact with the instructors as well as the project group
members as they progress through the task.
The question then becomes one of which type of on-line support is ideal in giving
students the scaffolding they need without quashing the benefits of working in a
constructivist learning paradigm.
This paper examines how an online, content-rich, multimedia learning module
may support such students in a blended-learning, project-based scenario; specifically,
what the effects of such modules are and which aspects of Cognitive Apprenticeship,
the higher-level pedagogy on which the module is based, are useful for these students
and why.
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Literature Review:
The cohort for this case study attends an all women’s college in the Middle East.
This society’s primary and secondary schools rely heavily on rote memorization, pen
and paper exams and require few critical thinking skills, group work or independent
learning activities. They have little life experience and previous knowledge in which to
attach new concepts. Most of the students have not held jobs or been in contact with
domain of the business world. This is discussed in greater detail in the sample section.
Project or Problem-Based learning is a Constructivist paradigm which where
students are exposed to, and participate in, solving context rich problems using the
domain language and concepts collaboratively (Hung & Chen, 2001). Through this
process “similar to apprenticeship, learners gradually acquire skills of the traits, norms
and rules held by the community of practice” (Hung & Chen, 2001, p. 5). Furthermore,
Constructivist problem-based learning is at its best when tasks are ill-defined and
students take complete ownership of a problem that has no one correct solution
(Collins, 1991; Herrington, 2003; Savery, 2001; International Society for Technology in
Education).
This approach has many strengths such as allowing students to actively
construct their own knowledge both collaboratively and independently on real-world
problems and tasks (Tam, 2000). While this approach has the potential to benefit
these students greatly, the gap between where they have come from and what they
now must do is a wide one. These students are not accustomed to managing their
own time and work, learning independently, or taking responsibility for there own
learning.
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Project-based learning imposes a greater challenge for this cohort than many of
their international counterparts would experience. Not only are the students
responsible for the graduate outcomes for business, but in this program, they must
also rapidly develop the fore mentioned meta-skills required to achieve them in a
project-based curriculum.
The Cognitive Apprenticeship higher-level pedagogy is believed the most
suitable for developing an online multimedia module designed to assist the students in
bridging the gap discussed above.
These students work in a blended learning environment where they have access
to the library, facilitators and computer resources for exploration, but require
scaffolding in order to take full advantage of them. The implications for designing
web-based learning modules to support constructivist projects seem clear. Learning
modules should include authentic artefacts (in this case business related) problems or
cases with in the domain whereby students may have opportunities to work
collaboratively on solving issues in order to “pick up implicit and explicit knowledge”
(Hung & Chen, 2001, 5). As well, the module should allow for opportunities for
students to reflect on problems and articulate knowledge (Mayes, 2001).
The effects of well designed courseware may enhance this to a great extent by
using media which includes opportunities for multi-sensory channel processing of
content, opportunities for observation, exploration, feedback, reflection, repetition and
multiple representation of content (Kinshuk, n.d.; Baird, 2004; Teles, 1993). Multiple
representation of content accommodates different learning styles (Chickering &
Ehrman, 1996). Mentoring is done through the discussion boards in response to
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student articulated knowledge as well as through Chat and E-mail, in addition to some
face-to-face-sessions. This provides not only a chance for students to learn from the
mentor, but also from each other in this social learning context (Mayes, 2001).
Collins and Brown, among others, refer to Cognitive Apprenticeship as ‘making
thinking visible’. There are two types of knowledge emphasized in cognitive
apprenticeship; procedural and conceptual. This project reflects the building of
conceptual knowledge of marketing. Common themes across the literature refer to a
set of tools commonly used by facilitators implementing this approach; modelling,
coaching, scaffolding, fading articulation, reflection and exploration, which all appear
in the learning module discussed here and are vital to supporting online
apprenticeship (Teles, 1993). In addition, the sequencing of instruction, where global
skills are best put before specific skills, and tasks increase in complexity as the
module progresses, as espoused in the Cognitive Apprenticeship model, are done for
this module (Collins, 1991). Which aspects of the higher-level pedagogy have the
greatest impact on these students are investigated through research presented in this
paper.
The role of the facilitator in this project is in line with that of the Cognitive
Apprenticeship model. Omrod believes the main function of the teacher in Cognitive
Apprenticeship is “to help students become active participants in their own learning and
make meaningful connections between prior knowledge and the process of learning …
by completing tasks they can complete only with assistance” (As cited in Tam, 2000, p.
52). That is to say that the tasks are each within what Vygotsky refers to as the students
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zone of proximal development (Alpay, 2001). These are tasks that students cannot do
on their own, yet are not out of reach when assisted by peers and facilitators.
Background
The students designated for the project-based learning of the E-Business
Management program, (part of the business department) are in their second year at
the college; the first year in of their chosen specializations (after a common
foundations year).
The theoretical underpinnings for this project-based program,
according to the HCT system designers, lie closest to the paradigm of Constructivism
and the projects involve a great deal of independent research and learning,
particularly in the later semesters of the program.
Certainly, this is not a radical Constructivist environment, nor should it be, as the
students require significantly more scaffolding than their international counterparts due
to the environment and culture in which they have been raised.
This small program has no centrally sanctioned or distributed materials,
textbooks or exams; rather a canon of projects matched to graduate outcomes is all
that is available. Local colleges are left to their own devices for implementation of the
projects. During this second year, students are also preparing for, in a separate
English class, the International English Language Test (IELTS), which indicates the
current English level for which this program is designed. Despite this level of English
and the private education of a minority, the students are extremely sheltered and have
very little schema in which to attach new concepts. Many of the business students
have not actually been in a bank, yet alone have jobs, hold credit cards, purchase
things from the Internet, or have been in offices.
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The UAE’s public primary and secondary schools rely heavily on rote
memorization, pen and paper exams and require few critical thinking skills, group work
or independent learning activities.
In comparison to many societies, the women, in particular, have little
responsibility for, or authority over their own lives; with maids, drivers and other
servants doing much for many of them. Having lived in such a way, most students
have limited schema of everyday things, which severely disadvantages them in a
college setting. This is only magnified in the project-based program for which this
module is proposed.
The researching instructor in this program has been teaching this level for four
years and is a certified WebCT trainer, holds an undergraduate degree in business,
master’s degree in education (TESOL) and a master degree in education technology
and has been with the college system for eight years. As mentioned earlier, the central
system provides no materials or text books to support this program. A need for support
and scaffolding for these students seemed clear.
Several years ago, in an effort to
remedy this, the author began developing a WebCT course, assessment criteria, links
and materials to provide scaffolding for the students. The course, at this level, has gone
from fully face-to-face to a blended learning environment. The WebCT course has
grown considerably and now has a section for each project with assessment criteria,
materials and documents most of which have been developed by the author, along with
contributions from instructors that have come and gone from the program.
While the above has proved very valuable, the researcher saw on-line, multimedia
modules to accompany the projects s an efficient way to provide scaffolding and
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mentoring while fostering independent learning skills. The researching instructor has
solely designed, developed and written the content (unless otherwise referenced) for
this as well as several similar modules for other projects. At the time of this study, the
secondary instructor had been in the program for two years is a certified WebCT
designer with an undergraduate degree in business and had received training and
orientation for this particular course prior to leading any projects by the researching
instructor. She has since left the college. As many as five other instructors have been
transferred off the program or have left the Emirates in the past four years each often
having stayed only one or two semesters in the program.
Method
Students were assigned a ten-day project where they needed to create a new
product brand for an existing company. This project takes place in the first semester of
the chosen specialization of E-Business Management. The procedural knowledge
needed for building the website has already been developed in projects prior to this one.
Therefore, the focus of this project is on developing the conceptual knowledge relating
to product branding, rather than procedural knowledge of developing a website.
There are two parts to the project; an individual component and the main
project task done in groups. The individual component is the module in question, and
while it is termed individual, it remains social in nature due to the discussion board
activities within. In order to do be successful in the Constructivist group project task
which follows, students must have the conceptual knowledge of branding key
components, brand heritage and internal branding which the module is designed to
accommodate.
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The main project task requires students to create a new product brand for an
existing company, decide on some media plan elements which build and promote the
brand, and design a website which includes the product heritage, as well as
employment opportunities for the company. Students work collaboratively in groups of
three after having completed the module.
The project was launched in a face-to-face session were the project scenario,
objectives, deliverables, assessment criteria and marking rubric were explained. A
forty-five minute lecture with a PowerPoint presentation, followed by a question and
answer session was delivered. The online support module was announced as being
available and participation in the module would account for fifteen percent of the project
final mark and should be completed in sections over the first three days of the overall
project timeline. Module content delivery is online via WebCT Campus Edition.
Students in this program are issued laptops by the college which ensures a uniform
configuration. The assessment criteria and module are available in the appendices for
closer inspection.
Permission was sought from all students enrolled in the course to answer the
anonymous survey at the end of the module; one version delivered through the WebCT
survey platform, with a follow-up paper-based survey two days after. The paper-based
survey requested the same information using slightly rephrased questions. The two
data sets were cross-referenced. Students were made fully aware through discussion
postings, e-mails and on the surveys themselves that this was strictly volunteer and
would in no way affect their marks. Students were free to decline participation or to
cease participation at any time with no consequences. The surveys were completed
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after students uploaded their final draft group projects, but prior to receiving their marks.
The surveys themselves are a mixture of Likert scales and short answer questions.
Additional ethical considerations have been made. Two instructors are allocated
for this course and project responsibilities are divided between them. This program
consists of a cannon of projects; there are no exams. Instructors write/edit projects and
write assessment criteria. Instructors decide among themselves who will lead a project.
A project leader is responsible for developing the criteria, and learning materials;
delivering lessons and administering the project, including being the first point of contact
for student questions and issues and being the first marker with the other instructor
moderating marks. It should be further noted that an exception has been made in this
process for the study. While the researching instructor was the project leader for this
endeavor, he was not the first marker for this project. The project leader was
responsible for on-line and face-to-face interaction and mentoring with the students as
well as being the first point of contact for students for the duration of the project. The
secondary instructor had very little contact with the students during this time period and
served as a ‘back-up’ if the project leader could not be contacted by students outside of
the given availability times.
Sample:
The sample for the study attends an all women’s college in the Middle East and
are in the first year of their e-business management specialization after having
completed a common year. In this year, students are also preparing for the
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International English Language Test (IELTS), which indicates the current English level
for which this program is designed.
Participant Numbers
15 of the 18 students in the class chose to take the anonymous, paper-based
survey as well as the twenty-three question, anonymous survey delivered via the
WebCT platform as the final page activity of the module.
The Module: Pedagogical Considerations and Justification
Given the sample population for which this module is targeted, it was deemed
that the Cognitive Apprenticeship model was most suitable to meet the needs of the
students. The cohort, with limited life experience, is a group which appears most in
need to having expert thought made visible to them. The learning objectives of the
module have not been articulated in detail at the start of the online module, but are
clearly stated in the project and assessment criteria themselves, as the module is to
support the main learning task (the group project) rather than being the main task.
Hence, the needs analysis for the module is dictated by the centrally developed project
itself. It is presumed that the developers of the project have conducted a needs
analysis through consultation with industry and students prior to releasing the project. It
should be noted that the prescribed project was edited for clarity for use with students at
the women’s college and assessment criteria was created locally.
In previous semesters of implementing the project, students had reported
difficulty with researching, synthesizing and implementing the concepts involved within
the given and even extended timelines of the project. Students reported ‘wasting’ time
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researching irrelevant or incomprehensible sources on the subject and, while eventually
completing enough of the criteria to pass the requirements of the task, not having a
clear understanding of what they had explored or why they had done it; what Reiser
(2002) refers to as a “fragile and superficial understanding [of the concepts]” (p. 255).
Since the primary learning outcomes for the project are related to developing
conceptual knowledge of branding, the research skills element may be de-emphasized,
but not removed entirely, and the construction of the target knowledge and skills more
heavily stressed.
Clearly a need to address the situation was evident. Vygotsky’s zone of proximal
development suggests tasks be designed that are more difficult than students can
perform on their own, but can be resolved with support of models, peers and instructors.
A Cognitive Apprenticeship based module is believed best to be that support and
attempts to provide “carefully designed environment that provides instances of
collaboration, coaching, scaffolding, reflection and exploration” (Teles, 1993, p. 273). S
This model is in accordance with Mayes’ three part model of conceptualization, where
students are (1) in contact with concepts, (2) construction, where students build their
knowledge through meaningful tasks and (3) application, where students need to
engage in dialogue articulating what they have learned in a domain specific situation
and conceptualizations can be tested and reconceptualized if needed (1999). The
three-part model of Mayes is similarly supported by Teles when discussing the
interaction with models, the support of knowledge through peers and mentors and
articulating successive approximations (1993). At this point, it is believed that students
are more ready to engage in the tasks of the project itself, which reinforces their current
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hypotheses of the content and provides opportunity for construction of more conceptual
knowledge and successive approximations.
The module is divided into sections, each section concluding with a discussion
posting. Timing for the project is ten days, allowing for the initial three days for the
students to complete the module; one section per day there are three sections to the
module, each concluding with a section summary and optional self-test for students to
check progress. Students are aware that the self-test results are not reported to
facilitators. At the end of the module, students collaboratively engage in the tasks of the
project itself in groups of three. Sequencing of the module is founded on the principles
of the Elaboration theory by where simplified conditions start the learning, followed by
gradually increasing complication (Reigeluth, 1999). The module begins with salient
definitions or domain specific vocabulary which appear in the module and expert
community of practice. These words are aimed at a linguistic level students are able to
process, in contrast to what they may find doing independent research. In addition to
the glossary, the module contains interspersed ‘just-in-time’ pop up vocabulary as
shown in figure 1. A very brief branding history is mentioned followed by the first
discussion activity “Your Favorite Brand” which is a low risk posting, shown in figure 2,
designed to build schema by stimulating what prior knowledge students have about
branding.
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Fig. 1: Content-embedded pop-up vocabulary
Fig. 2: Discussion posting 1
The following section is more advanced and more intimately involved with what
are known as the key components of branding. These are explained and models and
worked cases (identified in the module as “Mini-Case Studies”, figures 3 and 4) are
presented to make expert thinking visible, followed by a discussion activity where
students must formulate the components themselves for brands of their choosing in a
discussion posting (Fig. 5). The mini-case studies are used to give students
opportunities to construct knowledge then test and defend their own conceptions (Baird,
2004). Peer-to-peer mentoring followed by facilitator mentoring and finally a facilitator’s
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discussion summary posted at the closing of the activities is done to motivate and/or
assist students who are off track, and confirm the correct hypotheses of those on track.
This strategy is in concert with Mayes (1999); “conceptual learning is an iterative
conceptualization – construction – dialogue cycle where the construction of meaning
and the testing of this against other judgments are crucial for the education software to
support [and] … the growth of understanding depends of frequent feedback, particularly
from teachers and peers” (p. 486).
Fig. 3: Worked case model of expert thinking “Mini Case Study 1: Emotional
Benefits”
Fig. 4: Worked case model of expert thinking “Mini Case Study 2; Heritage”
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Fig. 5: Interactive Flash Discussion Activity: Key Components of branding
Following this are sections relating to how brands remain successful over time
and internal branding concepts that are integral components of the project task. These
are supported with video, Flash and additional mini-case studies, linking to real world
external sites (Figs. 6-8). This strategy is to illustrate examples of expert work in the
target domain. Video and Flash courseware have been chosen to accommodate
diverse learning styles (Chickering & Ehrman, 1996) as well as to provide expert models
in the culture of practice through vicarious experience and associations with the content
(Baird, 2004).
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Fig. 6: Worked case models of expert thinking “Mini Case Study 3; Market
Positioning”
Fig.7: Flash Movie illustrating the lengthy history of this product
Fig. 8: Video illustrating the ‘relevancy component’ of branding
The module concludes with a summary of the main components followed by a
longer discussion posting requiring synthesis of these components (Figs 9, 10).
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Fig. 9: Module Summary
Fig. 10: Final synthesis discussion posting with 3 videos
The module presented here represents the most current incarnation of the
original given to the students of the study after some changes had been made as a
result of feedback from a previous three student pilot test. The pilot students were of a
similar language level, in the business department, but not in the discipline for which
this is designated. Not all of the module contents have been displayed. Copyright
permission to use the proprietary images and videos was sought.
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Table 1: Critical module components with their justification for inclusion
Component

Relationship to Cognitive Apprenticeship

Discussion activity 1: My Favorite
Brands: Post 1 original, reply to three
Schema building, peer to peer mentoring, facilitator
mentoring, reflection, articulation

Mini-case studies to real external
sites (models) (4)
Exploration, realia, making thinking visible, modeling

Discussion activity 2: Key
Components with accompanying
explanation (worked cases and
models)
Modeling, Facilitator coaching, scaffolding,
reflection, articulation, conceptualization testing
through peer to peer / facilitator mentoring

Multimedia; Flash. video
Modeling, exploration, realia, making thinking
visible, accommodating different learning styles,
vicarious experience

Links to further reading
Exploration, scaffolding, modeling

Discussion activity 3 (Final)
Three Video Advertisements
Synthesis of Concepts
Facilitator coaching, scaffolding, reflection,
articulation, conceptualization testing through peer
to peer / facilitator mentoring, synthesis of module
concepts
Sequence: Simple to complex,
synthesizing concepts, reflecting /
articulating knowledge, students
complete project tasks post module
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Modeling, coaching, scaffolding, fading; based on
Cognitive Apprenticeship and Elaboration models
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Why Blended? Why is the Module online rather than a series of class lessons?
Clark indicates that “what really matters is the quality of the instructional
message, rather than the instructional medium used” (2006, pg. 1). Therefore, he
argues, similar learning outcomes may be achieved in both environments due to a
greater importance of the message rather than its form or method of delivery (2006).
While this may be true, there are several sound reasons as to why online in certain
cases may be superior. Students writing for publication, in this case a discussion forum,
are often more careful and thoughtful when formulating responses as compared to
responding in class. This may be due, at least in part to the extended amount of time
asynchronous discussion provides for cognition, analysis and reflection (Taylor, 2001).
Taylor takes this further by stating, “The reflective and explicit nature of the written word
is a disciplined and rigorous form of thinking…[reflection] facilitates learners making
connections amongst ideas and constructing coherent knowledge structures” (p. 1).
Additionally, at least in one sense, asynchronous discussions are more
egalitarian by their very nature. More introverted students, who might not otherwise take
the risk of responding in class, may feel less inhibited by posting online responses.
Perhaps this is because asynchrony removes the pressure of the immediate response
(Wegerif, 1998) while allowing for more preparation and less affective risk from
answering in a face-to-face setting.
Online discussions may also provide students a greater opportunity to learn from
each other’s responses, perhaps more so than in a face-to-face session where full
attention may not be paid. Taylor supports this by stating, “There is no doubt that many
comments posted to asynchronous discussion groups are valuable for tuition purposes”.
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Mayes (2001) also concurs by supporting the idea of students learning vicariously from
watching other students learn. The online discussion board accommodates this by
having a public forum where students may read facilitator’s postings to questions and
responses of other students as well as their own. It has been found in this college that if
activities such as discussion postings are not assessed most students will simply
choose not to do them at all. The author found it prudent to assess the activities so that
students would be more likely to complete the postings, thus, having a greater chance
of receiving the benefits outlined above.
Another potential advantage of having resources online is accessibility. In this
sense, online resources are more permanent than the temporal nature of face-to-face
sessions. This is true for revisiting resources for exploration, available learning objects
and by re-reading comments made by students and facilitators. A related concept to
the recursive nature of online learning is that of the public nature of learning and
communication. In a typical on campus face-to-face experience, students have a class
and then, if needed, make an appointment with the instructor or call a fellow student if
s/he has a question or a problem most often only within prescribed hours. This is not so
in the virtual course, provided instructors are timely in checking and responding to
discussion forums; a rather big caveat. As well, if a student raises a question publicly
on the discussion board, rather than face-to-face, all those reading the discussion
boards may benefit from the question and answer exchange, be the exchange
facilitator- to-student or student- to-student. It would seem the online environment
fosters greater opportunities for vital communication between faculty and students and
between students and project groups (Chickering & Ehrman, 1996).
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Having the module online also has the potential to foster more independent
learning and have students take more responsibility in their learning (Reiser, 2002),
both goals of the E-Business Management program. The online module may have an
impact on increasing the quality of the process and the final product. In fact, Reiser
argues that providing scaffolding may actually make the project more difficult in the
sense that students, having received scaffolding, may produce higher quality work. This
is consistent with Chickering (1996) for instructors to have high expectations, in this
case communicated to the students through models, worked cases, scaffolding and
mentoring.
It has been postulated that this cohort is in need of greater support than their
international counterparts. The features of this online module are believed valuable for
the target cohort and support the Cognitive Apprenticeship model. The following
sections will investigate if the target students feel it is of benefit as well.
The Module: Design Considerations and Justification
The delivery platform is the college supported, WebCT Campus Edition (CE).
The courseware in question is constructed in Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 and
uploaded to WebCT CE as a Content Module. Navigation of the module is done
through the Campus Edition standard navigation buttons at the top of the screen.
Selections for the proprietary ‘Action Menu’ appearing to the right of the navigation
include; Search, Glossary, Discussions, Bookmarks and Take Notes and allow students
access at any time to course tools that are required to complete the module activities
such as discussions.
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Fig. 12: Action Menu on WebCT Campus Edition
Each segment is set so no vertical or horizontal scrolling is required at the
standard college laptop settings. Additionally, Real Media, Flash, style sheets and
layers are used and present no problems for the student’s college-configured systems.
The start of this and subsequent modules inform the user which special plug-ins are
needed, and other instructions referring to pop-up disabling software etc.
Color and images are used in motivated instances, that it to say, they are related
to and support the content being presented. Volumes can be written on the subject of
information design, use of graphics and multimedia, but such discussions are beyond
the scope of this study and need to be presented at a later time.
Results
Data is mostly qualitative in nature. Numerical analysis for this study is
supplemented by student commentary and / or mentor responses. All names and
student ID numbers are masked to retain confidentiality. Transcripts, and screen
capture appear here as they appeared in the survey results including grammatical/spelling
errors. Results and discussion appear as a combined section below.
Discussion
The survey sections were divided to address two critical aspects of the project.
Those critical elements being:

What aspects of Cognitive Apprenticeship, if any, are useful for our students?
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
How, if at all, can the online learning module assist students with project-based
blended learning?
Did the Students Use the Module?
Before proceeding with investigation of the questions above, it may be useful to
establish how much of the module students actually used. Although WebCT has a page
tracking facility, it cannot establish if a student actually read the page or simply clicked
on it. Therefore, a survey item querying this information was seen as prudent. Out of a
class of eighteen, fifteen students took the survey. Twelve of the fifteen respondents
stated they read the entire module, and all or most of the mini case studies and links,
while two said they read some and only one said she didn’t read very many. Thirteen of
the respondents stated that they had done all three original discussion postings while
only two said they had not.
Three replies for each posting activities were prescribed. Seven students reported
having read ‘a lot’ of the other student’s postings, seven responded with having read
‘some’ while one participant stated she had read only a few. Five students said they
read all of the facilitator’s replies and discussion forum summaries, five said they read
most of the facilitators postings and discussion forum summaries, four said they read
some while only one said she had read none.
With the amount of module usage established the remaining questions can now
be explored.
This data set focuses on which aspects of the Cognitive Apprenticeship model used in
the module students felt best helped them in the project. The following aspects are
considered:
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
Models and worked cases to make thinking visible

Module can build schema to fill gap of lack of experience

Exploration

Reflection and articulation

Mentoring from instructor and peers
Schema, Models and Worked Cases
The Cognitive Apprenticeship model prescribes students to be presented with
worked cases and models in order to make expert thinking visible (Collins, 1991).
Students were presented with models and worked cases to exemplify concepts. The
models included real world examples, video and Flash elements. When asked if the
above helped them understand the concepts required by the project, thirteen of the
fifteen agreed strongly that they had and two agreed somewhat. Students were
requested to explain how the models and examples helped them. Some responses
appear below:
- It help me to understand the project better by examples and in intersting way..
- it helped me to get the idea of the project more clear and that's reflect my searching
positively
- the models and examples include definitions that we did not find it in other sites.
- i remember and understand anything if it had an example. it makes making a similar
answer to a different brand much easier. thanks
- it helped me have an idea on what to write and to make sure if im on the right track
- the good thing is that the modules have information and make the topic easy to understand.
- i prefer if there were more examples . I would definelty like to have more
modules in the future because it helps the work to become much easier.
- it shows the process
These responses seem to suggest several things. Firstly, students learned from
the models and several students remarked that transferring the concepts they had
learned to the project would be helpful. This seems to indicate that the models provided
useful scaffolding to students which help them to understand what a practioner’s results
look like and perhaps most importantly, as one student mentions, it helped them to
© Arthur Rush :: 2006 :: All Rights Reserved
27
understand the process. Secondly, the responses seemed to indicate, that that due to
the correctly targeted level of difficulty of concepts and of English, students were able to
glean enough information for models and cases to enable future exploration of the
topics another espoused tenet of the Cognitive Apprenticeship model.
Exploration
Although some students above indicated a readiness to explore further, it would
seem that not a large percentage of students chose to click on the labeled ‘required’
explorative mini-case students which appear in the module within the context of a
specific topic. Five of the fifteen students agreed strongly that the above helped them
understand the concepts better. Three agreed somewhat; one disagreed strongly while
six reported they had not read them at all or not carefully enough to answer the
question.
When asked if they had read the optional ‘links to further reading’ which appear
in context of a page at the bottom, five agreed strongly that the links helped them, four
agreed somewhat, three disagreed somewhat while one indicated she did not read any
of the links. Benefiting from reading the external links was far from a universal feeling as
one student reported in a subsequent follow up question:
I don’t read all of them because some of them are too long and maybe boring
It is unknown if, or to what depth, students explored on there own after
completing the module and further research was not sought. However, in a free
response comment, one student mentioned she was happy not having to do significant
research (presumably she did some) after the module indicating that such research may
© Arthur Rush :: 2006 :: All Rights Reserved
28
be unproductive and time-consuming to the point of not being able to meet the project
deadline or objectives.
Reflection and Articulation
Cognitive Apprenticeship literature often suggests that the articulation of
knowledge and reflection is an important component of successful learning. Before
exploring to what degree students agree with this literature students were asked to what
degree they felt they were ready to post responses. Eight of the fifteen respondents
agreed strongly with the statement that they read and thought enough about the topics
prior to posting. Another six agreed somewhat while only one indicated she disagreed
somewhat. When asked if they thought the discussion activities in general helped them
learn, eight agreed strongly, six agreed somewhat and one disagreed. Examples of
student and facilitator positing may be found in appendix B.
Online Mentoring: Peer-to-Peer, Facilitator to Peer
Students were required to complete three posting activities for the module and to
respond to three other students in each activity. Although this was assessed, two of the
fifteen students who responded to the survey reported not having done all three
postings. The discussion activities were designed to build schema initially and later
allow for the co-construction of a shared knowledge community (Jonassen, 1998) where
students were supported by peer-to-peer mentoring as well as mentoring from the
instructor.
Survey questions regarding the discussion activities had two primary areas of
focus. One was to determine if students found the peer-to-peer responses useful. The
© Arthur Rush :: 2006 :: All Rights Reserved
29
other was to determine if the students found the facilitator to student responses helpful.
The peer-to-peer questions will be examined first.
Seven students reported having read ‘a lot’ of the other student’s postings, seven
responded with having read ‘some’ while one participant stated she had read only a
few. When asked if the students thought they had learned from reading other postings,
seven had agreed strongly that they had, seven agreed somewhat and one disagreed
somewhat. This information suggests that some students find peer-to-peer mentoring
at least somewhat valuable to learning as Mayes suggests students can learn from
watching others learn (2001). One student, in a follow-up question, related this:
if i don’t get the question I can see others answers and see how thye understand it
While a majority of students reported having learned from the postings of others
one student was less than pleased with the activity as indicated below.
I spent time making good posting about the module, but then see that othres copy my work and don’t spend thier
time. Not fair
This seems a common problem many students and instructors face when
assigning
discussion postings as part of the assessment.
When asked if the students read what the facilitators had posted to them
personally, to other students or the instructor’s discussion forum summaries, the results
were a bit higher. Five students reported having read all of what the facilitators had
posted, five said the read most, four read some, while one stated she had read none. In
a follow up question, students were asked how, if at all, the facilitator replies and forum
summaries were helpful. Some responses are below:
Of course it helps for many reasons. First, if the teacher reply my posting, I will feel encourged to write other
posting and reply to other students. However, if the teachers do not reply, we will feel like they do not care about
© Arthur Rush :: 2006 :: All Rights Reserved
30
what we post. Other thing is that, we care more about the teachers' reply because we want to know their opinion
about what we post. The summaries also help us to get the overall facts about the posting which will help us to
understand well.
The teachers replies are very helpful, because it prevents students from making mistaks which other students have
done and it improves the learners capability to study in a better way.
yes it help me and other students, because i feel that there is kind of contacting with me, careing and respecting.
Yes it helps a lot. Because it gives us an idea about the project and how to do many part of the project.
It makes the discussions clearer It confirms the and corrects the others Moreover The summaries gives a general
idea about the whole subject
the teacher's replies were very helpful. but in some of his replies he was sort of missunderstanding of what the
student wanted to say.
Not surprisingly, one or more students indicated they were more concerned with
what the facilitator had to say as opposed to what other students had posted, although
the previous discussion suggests that they find this of some value as well. Student’s
responses seem to reflect the desired outcomes of mentoring; teachers can scaffold
and coach students in becoming more expert in their thinking relating to the target
domain. However, one student expressed concern that the teacher did not understand
completely what some students were trying to express in their postings. Perhaps as a
downside of online, asynchronous mentoring, there is a greater chance for
miscommunication and fewer and/or delayed opportunities for clarification.
Up to this point, much of what has been discussed could have been done in faceto-face sessions. However, there is previously mentioned research that suggests that
asynchronous communication fosters better quality of reflection as it allows students
time to synthesize the new concepts. The following discussion addresses the second
question of which the study focuses.
How can the online learning module assist students with project-based learning?
The following aspects are considered.
© Arthur Rush :: 2006 :: All Rights Reserved
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1. Module can build schema in an attempt to fill gap of lacking experience and
knowledge
2. At a level they can understand (concepts understood before exploration of
external sources, attempt at project task)
a. Zone of Proximal development met
b. Made project process more productive
3. Online, developing independent learning, critical, analytical skills,
4. On-Demand learning
The Module was at a level students could understand and built schema
Students were asked if the module was at a conceptual level and a level of
English they could understand as many of their independent research attempts in the
past resulted in difficulty understanding high level native-speaker sources. Eleven of
the students agreed strongly that the module was at a level they could understand:
three agreed somewhat while one disagreed somewhat. This may suggest that future
attempts at exploration may have been more successful as they have a foundation of
schema, albeit new, on which to build. Some student responses are below:
Yes, to know many things about branding, Internal and external branding. This module has easy language that all can
understand. So for me, i found it easy to search about some points in the project rather than using other sources to find
what i want.
the language of the module was easy to understand
it was very easy to read, there were no difficult words contained, it wasn’t boring to read.
It will really be a helpful thing to have more modules like this one in the future as long as it is going to be at the same
level.
Students were asked if completing the module prior to the project assisted them
in completing the project task. Thirteen students agreed strongly that it had, two
students agreed somewhat. Results seem to indicate that students saw value in having
© Arthur Rush :: 2006 :: All Rights Reserved
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more conceptual knowledge prior to embarking on the project tasks. As a follow up
question, students were asked to respond to how it helped them. Some responses are
below.
as it made doing the project much easier and seemed fun. it seemed easy as the examples were to things we are using in
our life. we understood marketing and branding now.
yes, find information and understand what the project want from me.
It is related to the project. For example, the key components that we did it usefully in the project after we did the
discussion.
It was the main key for my work because i read them carefully and tried to follow the main steps the module represented
yes it was... to understand the project more and doing it in the right way
It help us a lot in understanding the projects
In a subsequent question participants were asked to compare the ease of this
project compared to projects in the past that had no online content component. Eleven
students agreed strongly that the process was easier, four agreed somewhat. It is
certainly not always the best intention to make projects ‘easy’ for students, however, the
term ‘easier’ here is refers to the ease and extent in which the learning outcomes are
achieved rather than a level of difficulty of those outcomes.
Some students in the class, in previous projects, complained group members
were not working at the required level and / or did not understand the project concepts
well enough to contribute productively. As the project task itself is collaborative,
students were asked if the module had any impact on their group work. Students were
asked the level to which they agreed or disagreed with this statement:
Everyone in the class was required to take this module. Please answer this question.
As a result of my teammates knowing the concepts of branding, the work went smoother
and faster and is of better quality compared to past projects.
Eleven of the participants agreed strongly and four agreed somewhat. This may
indicate, as a result of the module, more students were on track. Certainly, there may
© Arthur Rush :: 2006 :: All Rights Reserved
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be other reasons students felt this way as well such as level of interest in the project,
group dynamics and others.
The previous questions refer to data relating specifically to the utility of the
module as it is applied to the completion of the project. It may be helpful to know if the
module had an affective influence on students approaching the project. Students were
asked if they felt more confident about completing the project after processing the
module. Eleven students agreed strongly that they felt more confident, while four
agreed somewhat. This is considered vital as task confidence, “has been show to foster
success through a variety of self-fulfilling processes [and that] there is a link between
confidence and achievement” (Tafarodi, 2002, p. 650).
Overall responses in these areas suggest that the models and discussions were
of benefit to the students by building schema, providing scaffolding and provided
concepts at a level accessible to them and was genuinely helpful for students in
completing the project by having the required conceptual knowledge to do so.
Developing independent learning skills
The program for which this project is based operates, at least in this college at
this level, in a blended learning environment and one of the defined graduate outcomes
is for students to be able to learn independently. Students were asked if they felt they
needed to rely on the facilitators less for this project as a result of the online module.
Seven students agreed strongly that they relied less on the teacher, seven agreed
somewhat and one disagreed somewhat. Anecdotal evidence from the two instructors
indicated fewer calls for help during the project. However, this should not be construed
© Arthur Rush :: 2006 :: All Rights Reserved
34
as a time or resource saving endeavor, as much mentoring was done online during the
discussion activities as well as significant production time for the module itself.
Having said that, after the module concluded, it does seem to suggest that
students worked with less teacher intervention than previous projects. One reason for
this seems to point to the student experience with the module, but other factors may
have contributed as well. It may be possible that students worked better in groups, as
suggested in a previous question, and as a result need the facilitators less, or it may be
that they were more confident and able to explore on their own or simple more
interested in the project concepts or tasks.
On-Demand learning
The nature of the e-business program is one of flexibility. Students are not
always in the classroom at scheduled times, nor are the facilitators. Students are
requested and required to make appointments to see their instructors, although due to
workloads at the college, this often proves problematic for them. As previously
mentioned, classroom lessons are temporal in nature, whereas online resources are
available at anytime. It was considered important to see to what degree students felt
that the online component was important for both communication and revisiting
materials.
Students were asked if the had returned to the module to revisit materials,
activities and learning objects. Six students reported they returned to the module often,
six reported returning more than twice, one said more than once while one said never
after having completed it. In a subsequent question, one student indicated:
it is much easer than the teacher's teaching, and i can return to it when ever i want instead of asking the teacher to come
to the class.
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Participants were requested to respond to a communication related questions regarding
the on-line component. Students were asked to agree or disagree with the following
statement.
It is good to have access to my teacher and classmates while at the college, but it is also important to have a module like
this online where I can learn and communicate with my teacher and other students outside of class about the module
concepts.
Nine students agreed strongly and six agreed somewhat. The previous responses to
these questions suggest that the students see the greater availability of both materials
and communication as a benefit. In a free response question at the end of the survey,
one student had this to say:
Of course it is helpful as we could share the ideas as well as to be in touch with each others at any time so that we do
not miss or delay any important things we want to share together
It may be interesting to note, however, in a free response question at the end of the
survey, a student reported the following.
i didn’t like because i didnt have a connection with my teacher like before
The Way forward
Student feedback is invaluable to any educational institution and course.
Students overwhelmingly indicated that they would like to have more modules like this
for future projects. Several students indicated that the module was helpful, yet it could
use some improvements. One student indicated that the module was too long.
Perhaps more significantly, however, several students requested that they would like
more time to work with the module; to have more time constructing knowledge, and
interacting with peers and facilitators on the discussion board prior to the start of project
tasks. Additionally, it may be prudent to keep all student discussion postings private
until past the discussion assignment deadline, then release them for students to
© Arthur Rush :: 2006 :: All Rights Reserved
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respond as suggested by one participant. A review and possible re-evaluation of the
assessment criteria for this and other projects may be advisable.
Since the time of this first study, the course has been migrated to WebCT Vista
(now Blackboard Vista Enterprise) and this module and project has been run as a pilot
course as the college systems positions itself for full implementation. Future study with
the new platform, with the possibility of running the course system-wide may yield
interesting and different results and will be undertaken in the future.
With the apparent success of this module, two others have been created,
but more are need to support the numerous projects required in this first year of the
program. Since the completion of this study, the secondary instructor has left the
college and a new adjunct has come in who has never worked with WebCT or this
program. It is clear that the program would benefit from selecting instructors who could
stay on the program for several semesters and would be given a pre-project training
course.
Conclusion
The two main questions this paper investigates (Do the Cognitive Apprenticeship
model and blended Learning benefit students of significantly limited life experience)
seem to have been answered for this cohort with some caveats. Students reported
having opportunities to build schema, learning from worked cases and models to bridge
the gap of limited life experience were indeed of benefit. Considering where these
students have come from, in terms of their previous education system and the degree to
which they have been sheltered, this is no small feat. Students further reported
© Arthur Rush :: 2006 :: All Rights Reserved
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receiving tuition from the social aspects of peer-to-peer and facilitator to student
mentoring done online. Students further commented that they had felt they had
reflected on the concepts prior to posting and that the discussion activities in general
helped them learn.
The ability to freely communicate with facilitators and peers was also seen as
beneficial. Perhaps any cohort of students can benefit from greater access to
facilitators and peers as Chickering (1996) suggests, but it appears critical for this
cohort. Additionally, students acknowledged that having the resources, models and
links for exploration online where they can be revisited on demand was useful. This is
believed to have assisted them in developing independent learning skills as well as
analytical and synthesizing skills, neither of which had been stressed in their prior
educational experiences.
Some concerns by students about blended learning were raised and need be
addressed. Some students felt there was a lesser connection with the instructors and
some felt that public discussions offered too great an opportunity for students to copy
from each other. Perhaps the lesson here is one of making sure that facilitators have a
stronger presence in the discussion forums for this group and set tasks in such a way
that may prevent or inhibit copying, two areas that would make for compelling research.
Project-based learning for this cohort has proven difficult at times yet still appears
valuable in the end. The benefits of Constructivism are indeed numerous, but may be
unattainable for some cohorts without proper support. Students in subsequent
semesters have superficially developed some of the meta skills needed for independent
learning and greater success in project work. However, the struggle to attain this has
© Arthur Rush :: 2006 :: All Rights Reserved
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come with a significant adjustment period that seems as if it could be eased and a grasp
on the conceptual knowledge intensified. It may be possible that by providing such
modules students may produce work at higher levels of quality and acquire skills in a
shorter time frame as Reiser (2002) suggests.
The principles of Cognitive Apprenticeship and the employment of those
principles in a blended-environment seem to have had a positive effect on student
learning. Perhaps it may be better stated that the students at least perceived the
module has had a positive effect on their experience with this project as this semesters
marks have not been compared to last years; although instructors have commented
anecdotally on a higher quality of project deliverables than of semesters past. However,
other factors may have also contributed to this including the individual backgrounds of
this cohort, the dynamics of the class, work-group dynamics and others.
In the end, the student responses to the survey do indicate that the module was
helpful and an overwhelming majority of those surveyed requested that more modules
be built for future projects. It seems clear, that, at least for the first year in the program,
students do indeed benefit from modules such as these.
While the numbers for this research may be small, they may indicate that using
the Cognitive Apprenticeship model when designing and implementing online multimedia courseware may extend beyond the parameters of the study. If this methodology
has proven helpful for students from backgrounds such as presented here, can it be
assumed that students from education systems which have focused less on rote
memorization and more on critical thinking and independent learning will do even better
with such courseware? Further research.
© Arthur Rush :: 2006 :: All Rights Reserved
39
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Mayes, T., Dineen, F., McKendree, J., & Lee, J. (2001). Learning from watching others
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© Arthur Rush :: 2006 :: All Rights Reserved
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Appendix B
Project and Assessment Criteria
Creating a Brand
Scenario
You work in the new product development department for a large company in the UAE. This company
has many divisions selling many different types of products and services. The company started in
business 10 years ago, but the product they want to launch and create a brand for will be new.
Deciding on the product and how to brand it is your job. (You will choose what the industry and product
is)
They don't have a product, name or brand concept yet. They want you to research and create a product,
name and brand concept for the new division.
Goal
Create a product, brand name and concept for the new division of an existing, large company in the UAE.
Write a business report and for the CEO relating your research findings and recommendations. Provide
the company with a web site and several advertising concepts.
Remember, you are not starting your own business. Rather, you are creating a new product line for a
large company that is already in business.
Instructions
In order to achieve your goal you must submit a Management Report which documents background
research and recommendations. Your group will also need to create a small web site and some ideas for
advertisements. Justify all decisions with research and reasons.
For this project, there is an individual component worth 15% of your total mark. This mark will come
from how well you perform regarding the tasks on the WebCT learning module and discussion postings.
The remaining 85% of the mark will come from your group work surrounding the Report, Web Site and
adverts. You may divide the work among yourselves, but you should all be involved in major decisions
such as the product, the Target Market and the web site design. Your meeting minutes should reflect
decisions made by the group where everyone participated and contributed, and which individuals will be
doing which tasks.
The Assessment Criteria and Rubric will tell you specifically what you will need to do in order to achieve e
your desired marks.
Follow the criteria and rubric carefully to make sure you have completed all required tasks.
© Arthur Rush :: 2006 :: All Rights Reserved
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Assessment Criteria: Creating a Brand
1.1 Individual Components


(15%)
Learning Module and Discussion Postings:
o All Pages/links viewed, self-tests taken (4)
o 3 Postings; 2 points each
(Key component posting only is done in pairs)
Web Site Critique Posting: (5)
o Choose a group’s web site other than your own
o Discuss how well the site relates to the brand
o Discuss positive and negative design elements
o Make recommendations for improvement
o Answer: Would you buy from this company?
o Make sure your comments are not all the same as other postings
2.1 Report Format (Group: 3)
(2.5%)
Your report format should follow the agreed report criteria.
2.2 Report Content (Group: 3)
Your report should cover all of the following sections and be written in your own words:
- Cover page
- Contents page
- Executive summary
(2.5%)
o Include the name of the Company and Division
o Summarize the key findings of the report
o Include at least 2 recommendations
- Introduction
(2.5%)
o Introduce the purpose of the report and its focus
-
Marketing Terms of Reference (1 point each)
(5%)
o Briefly define and describe what marketing is
o Briefly define and describe what branding is
o Briefly discuss the importance of branding in relation to marketing
o Briefly define External and Internal Branding
o Briefly define the key components of branding
-
Definition of Target Market and Product
(15%)
o Clearly identify what your product/service is (2 points)
o Clearly identify your target market demographic, motivation,
attitudes and justify why you have chosen this target for your
product with reasons and research and reference
appropriate sources (10 points)
o Identify 3 possible competitors fully explaining why they may be a threat (3
points)
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-
Brand Key Components / Logo
o Identify how each key component relates to your brand
o Justify why you believe the above is true, referencing
appropriate sources
o Create a logo for the brand, justify your choices
o Include your logo in the report and use it on your web site
(15%)
Marketing Mix (3.75 points each)
(15%)
o Identify and recommend a marketing strategy using the marketing mix of Price,
Place, Product, and Promotion
o Justify your strategy with reasons and research and reference appropriate
sources
-
Conclusion
o Succinctly outline the main findings of your report
o Restate recommendations
(5%)
-
References
o Include at least 5 sources of information – correctly referenced
in text (1 point each)
(5%)
-
Appendix
(7.5%)
o Include:
 At least 2 meeting minutes for group (2.5)
 At least 2 promotional concepts you plan to use (5) : i.e.
- storyboard for 1 television spot - magazine advert concept
- Billboard concept
- Each concept must have a paragraph(s) describing the purpose and
justification of the advert
3. Create a Web site
o
o
(10%)
The web site design must reflect your brand’s key components
and there must be a brief document justifying your pages (5)
The following 5 pages are required: (.5 each)
 Home page
 Heritage page: The company history
 Product and service description page: your products / service
 About Us: Describes your company mission and values
 Employment Opportunities: describes the type of people you would like to
hire
DEDUCTION OF MARKS FOR UNSATISFACTORY ATTENDANCE AND PUNCTUALITY AT
MANDATORY CLASS MEETINGS AS SPECIFIED ON THE WEBCT COURSE CALENDAR:
Up to 10% will be deducted from the total allocation for this project as follows:
5% deduction for each absence from mandatory meetings/lessons for this project
5% deduction for late attendance (over 10 minutes) at 2 or more mandatory meetings/classes
© Arthur Rush :: 2006 :: All Rights Reserved
46
Assessment Rubric: Creating a Brand Group
Group Component:
Individual Component
85%
15%
Assessment Item
Rubric
Module Page views
Discussion Postings
(10)
2% All content module pages/links viewed :: All or nothing
2% All self-tests taken :: All or nothing
All discussion board requirements for quantity met :: All or Nothing
Web Site Critique
Posting (5)
Quality of answers posting to be judged on below criteria:
0 ---------------------------------------- Half ------------------------------------ Full
Opinions posted but with little or
no research mentioned or reasons
given
Format/Organization/
Professional Standard
2.5 % Possible
Executive Summary
2.5 % Possible
Terms of Reference
5% Total Possible
.5% each
Target Market: 15%

Define Product
or service (2)
Each opinion posting is
mostly clear, justified
and supported by
reasons, research
Each opinionProfessional
posting is clear,
of by
justified andstandard
supported
language
reasons, research; all and
elements
format
covered
0 ---------------------------------------- 1.75 ------------------------------------2.5
Unclear due to
language, format
poor organization
language, cover /
contents pages missing
Unclear at times due to
language, format
poor organization
language
Completely clear due to
language, format
at a professional standard
0 ---------------------------------------- 1.75 ------------------------------------2.5
Missing recommendations
Missing key findings of
report, unclear incorrect
register
Present but unclear
recommendations and/ or
findings of report,
incorrect register
Min. 2 recommendations
present/clear. Key findings of
report properly identified and
clearly written, logical order,
correct register
0 ---------------------------------------- 2.5 ------------------------------------5
Non-key words chosen, not
fully explained or incorrect
explanations
Mostly key words chosen,
mostly explained and
correctly explained and
referenced
Key words chosen,
fully explained and
correctly explained
and referenced
0 ---------------------------------------- 1.75 ------------------------------------2.5
Unclear description
/definition, several
key elements missing
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Mostly described but
may be somewhat
unclear or have a
key element missing
Fully described and
defined to degree
with no possibility for
misinterpretation
47

Identified
Target Market
(10)

Identified 3
competitors
(3)
0 ------------------------------------------ 5 --------------------------------------10
Unclear or incomplete,
or incorrect
identification/
justification; several
key elements missing
Fully identified and
justified all
components and
provided reasons for
choosing with no
possibility for
misinterpretation;
supported by
research
Fully identified and
justified all
components and
provided reasons for
choosing with no
possibility for
misinterpretation;
supported by
research
0 ----------------------------------------- 1.5 ---------------------------------------3
Key Components and
Logo (15)

Key
(10%)

Logo
(5%)
The 3 selected are not
competitors and reasons as to
why they are competitors
explained and/or elements are
missing
The 3 selected are truly
competitors and some
reasons as to why they
are competitors mostly
explained
The 3 selected are truly
competitors and reasons
as to why they are
competitors fully
explained
0 ----------------------------------------- 2.5-------------------------------------10
60% or fewer
components justified and
supported by reasons,
research
75% of components fully
justified and supported by
reasons, research
Each component is fully
justified and supported by
reasons, research
0 ---------------------------------------- 2.5------------------------------------5
Strategy / Marketing
Mix Components (20)
Logo is related not related
to brand and/or not well
justified
Logo is related somewhat
related to brand and
justified
Logo is related well to
brand and justified fully,
referencing research
when applicable
0 ----------------------------------------- 7.5 -------------------------------------15
A strategy is evident but not
well developed.
Component of the strategy are
missing and/or not justified
and supported by reasons,
research.
A mostly clear strategy is
evident and well developed.
Each component of the
strategy is fully justified and
supported by reasons,
research.
A clear strategy is evident
logical and well developed.
Each component of the
strategy is fully justified and
supported by reasons,
research.
0 ---------------------------------------- 1.75 ------------------------------------2.5
Conclusion
(2.5 possible)
Missing
recommendations
Missing key findings
of report
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Present but unclear
recommendations
and/ or findings of
report
Recommendations
present/clear. Key
findings of report properly
identified and clearly
written
48
References
(2.5) possible
.5 points for each correctly referenced in text and corresponding correctly formatted,
alphabetized entry into Works Cited page
NOTE: Reports without in-text referencing and/or Works Cited pages will
NOT be accepted
Appendices (5)
 Meeting
Minutes (2)

Promotional
Concepts (3)
0 ---------------------------------------- 1 ------------------------------------2
Minutes are not in correct
format and not at a
professional standard.
Minutes do not have
clearly defined actions
and notes those
responsible in most
instances
Minutes are in correct
format and mostly
professional standard.
Minutes have clearly
defined actions and
notes those responsible
in most instances
Minutes are in correct
format and professional
standard. Minutes have
clearly defined actions
and notes those
responsible
0 ---------------------------------------- 1.5 ------------------------------------3
Promotion concepts do
not fit the brand and
target market audience.
Description and
justification is mostly
incomplete.
Web Site: 10%

Pages (5)

Site
Justification
(5)
Promotion concepts fit
the brand and target
market audience
somewhat. Description
and justification is
mostly complete and
logical.
Promotion concepts fit the
brand and target market
audience. Description
and justification is
complete and logical.
0 ---------------------------------------- 2.5 ------------------------------------5
Pages not complete and/or
in appropriate information
on each. Presentation of
site does not match target
market and brand
Pages complete with mostly
appropriate information on
each. Presentation of site
matches target market and
brand
All pages complete with
appropriate information
on each. Presentation of
site matches target
market and brand
0 ------------------------------------------ 2.5 --------------------------------------5
Unclear, incomplete, or
weak justification; several
key elements missing
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Mostly justified all pages
and provided reasons for
choosing content and
design choices; supported
by research
Fully justified all pages and
provided reasons for choosing
content and design choices;
supported by research
49
Appendix B
The following are some example of the on-line postings.
Example 1. Discussion Forums for the three activities
Example 2. Student posting from activity 1
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50
Example 3. Teacher response 2: Off task student
Example 4. Post Discussion Activity Teacher Summary
Example of a Post Activity Discussion Summary
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51
Example 5. Peer to Peer mentoring
Example 6. Peer-to-Peer mentoring/Sharing Resources
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