Date of Completion

Fall 12-12-2016

Document Type

Open Access Capstone

Degree Name

Master of Education (MEd)

First Advisor

Carol Ann Sharicz

Abstract

New English as a Second Language (ESL) students often display confusion during their transition to UMass Boston (UMB). Despite the administrative staff’s best effort to provide students with information about the university, students still lack the relevant information about services, academic resources, the individuals, and offices of interest available to assist them in their success. Additionally, the majority of new ESL students do not adequately understand the information presented in the orientation due to their limited English proficiency. This evidence-based practice project describes the analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation of a blended orientation for new ESL students. It details how UDL principles were applied into the learning environment to support the new ESL learners’ comprehension, provide them opportunities for practice, and increase their engagement. Moreover, it presents how educational technologies were adopted to mediate contextual learning. This project evaluates at all four levels of the Kirkpatrick model. The data-collection methods used were online surveys, focus groups, structured observations, a training value questionnaire, and a job and task analysis questionnaire. Benchmarking data and a review of the literature were conducted to identify the best practices in designing orientations for ESL students.

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