GENRE AND COGNITION

IN AN MBA PROGRAM

Nigel A. Caplan (nacaplan@udel.edu)

University of Delaware, USA

PhD Student, School of Education

Assistant Professor, English Language Institute

http://nigelteacher.wordpress.com

Genre 2012, Ottawa, Ontario

Competing Approaches

Genres(Social)

Cognitive Strategies(Individual)

Outline

1. Needs Analysis: Context & Culture

2. Discussion: Participation, Pragmatics, and Purpose

3. Case analysis: Coherence, Conventions, and Cognition

4. Conclusion: Activity Theory

Needs analysis: Context and Culture

• Conditional Admissions Program (CAP)• English Language Institute (English for Academic

Purposes, graduate/MBA track)• Most ELI graduate students are CAP-MBA• Almost all international MBA students come from CAP

Why don’t the Chinese speak in class?

Needs Analysis: Data• Syllabi of MBA classes• Online questionnaires for MBA faculty and international

students• Observation of an MBA class• Focus groups and interviews with MBA faculty• Focus groups with international MBA students (ongoing)• “Think-aloud” sessions with MBA faculty

Instruments available online at

http://nigelteacher.wordpress.com

(Handouts Genre 2012)

Genre System in the UD MBAReflection

Intrapersonal Discussion board post Quiz

Assessment Exam In-class (MCQ, TF, short answer, essay, mixed format) Take home (essay, short answer, case write-up)

Professor-Student Paper

Assignment Research paper Case write up Homework/problem sets Written Report Presentation slides/handouts Group Case analysis Lead case discussion Oral Report (e.g. marketing report) Article presentation Participation Class Case discussion Online (e.g. discussion board) Case write-up Pseudo Simulation Professional Resume Authentic Report/presentation to client

Under

stan

ding

lectu

res

Partic

ipatin

g in

discu

ssion

s

Partic

ipatin

g in

grou

ps

Critica

l think

ing

Asking

que

stion

s

Taking

not

es

Readin

g te

xtbo

oks

Readin

g/dis

cuss

ing c

ase

stud

ies

Speak

ing C

learly

Using

sour

ces

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Important

Neither Important nor Unimportant

Not Important

Writ

ing c

ase

stud

y re

ports

Readin

g jou

rnal

artic

les

Taking

ess

ay e

xam

s

Writ

ing s

hort

answ

ers

on te

sts

Writ

ing g

roup

pap

ers

Givi

ng g

roup

pre

sent

ation

s

Cultur

al ad

apta

tion

Writ

ing e

ssay

s ind

ividu

ally

Givi

ng in

dividu

al pr

esen

tatio

ns

Lead

ing d

iscus

sions

Taking

mult

iple-

choic

e te

sts

Writ

ing re

sear

ch p

aper

s

Social

inte

ract

ions

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Important

Neither Important nor Unimportant

Not Important

Discussion: Participation, Pragmatics, Purpose

Case Genre System (Forman & Rymer, 1999)

• The “focus [is] on practical problem solving in real situations and on engaged interaction between students and instructors.”

• The case discussion is an “agonistic approach to experiential learning … a democratic event is which the instructor serves as a facilitator and equal partner with all the students.”

Participation• A = Visible, thoughtful, and regular involvement in

class discussion. You got involved, and not just for the purpose of hearing yourself speak. Class members seemed to pay attention to what you said, and your comments almost always were appropriate to the context.

BUAD 870 Syllabus, Fall 2011

Chinese students really don’t speakAmerican Chinese Other

InternationalAll Class

N 12 (33%) 19 (53%) 5 (14%) 36

Turns per student

3.1 0.7 2.8 1.8

Silent students

1 (8%) 12 (63%) 0 13 (36%)

Author’s data from a single BUAD 870 class (approx. 90 minutes’ class discussion), Fall 2011

Case Analysis: Coherence, Conventions, Cognition

Stage Description & Function

Set Up Identify and introduce the key players, the dilemma, and opportunities (but not a summary of the case)

Diagnosis Analysis (not description) of the problem in terms of “root causes”

Recommendation Alternative solutions plus the writer’s chosen solution with justification, sometimes accompanied by a specific action plan

Reflection What did you learn from the case? How does it connect to the theories in the course?

Set up ^ Diagnosis ^ [Recommendation]n (^Reflection)

Features of the Genre

• The set-up should not summarize the case • Key words, facts, characters, and statistics from the case should be referenced

• Evidence must be presented • The case write-up exists in the context of the class

• Format and style conventions must be • Professors’ expectations may be idiosyncratic

Cognition, Creativity, Critical Thinking

• “You can get a really good grade if you have one really good idea that’s not intuitively obvious.” (faculty interview)

• “… the mindset” of a good student who “knows how it fits together” (faculty interview)

• “There is no way to isolate a social process from the minds that carry it out.” (Flower, 1994, p. 31)

A Socio-Cognitive Approach

Literate actions emerge out of a constructive cognitive process that transforms knowledge in purposeful ways. And at critical moments, this constructive literate act may also become a process of negotiation in which individual readers and writers must juggle conflicting demands and chart a path among alternative goals, constraints, and possibilities.

(Flower, 1994, p. 2)

Conclusion: MBA as Activity System

Tools (Oral and written genres)

Subjects Object Object(s)/ Outcomes (professor, Motive(s) students) ( passing grade? MBA diploma? Business knowledge?

Rules/Norms Community Division of Labor

Activity System of the MBA

Systems including undergraduate education, work experience, ELI classes, etc.

Class

Class

MBA

Work place

Nigel A. CaplanUniversity of Delaware

nacaplan@udel.edu

http://nigelteacher.wordpress.com

(Handouts Genre2012)