In this chapter, we will inquire into a common definition of constructivism that acknowledges cognition (learning) not as a passive process of receiving information, but as an active process of making meaning, a mental construction that reframes our existing understandings from our different experiences (Olusegun, 2015). In addition, we will explore the historical roots of constructivism to identify common themes in these models through examining insights from key theorists, its strengths and possible limitations. Furthermore we will present a rationale for a ‘flipped PBL’ constructivist pedagogy that provides learners with discourse through authentic problems that enable situational and ongoing cognitive motivation by way of mastery of key concepts and the application of conceptual knowledge to a range of contexts. The uniqueness of this pedagogical approach employs flipped learning experiences to build expertise, depth of learning and problem-solving across a range of contexts to ensure breadth of application. To gain a deeper understanding of this approach, we will also look at some examples of its application in a primary and secondary context and examine the implications for its use.

This chapter will develop your understanding of the role of widening participation in Australia, specifically the pedagogical approaches outlined throughout the chapter which can be enacted to support learners from all backgrounds. These critical teaching approaches have the power to disrupt the reproduction of existing structural inequalities to enhance the educational success of learners from all sectors of Australian society.

In Australia, the educator landscape continues to be dominated by persons who are non-Indigenous, middle-class, speakers of English as their primary language and of European/Anglo cultural heritage (Daniels-Mayes 2016; Perso & Hayward 2015). When working with culturally minoritised learners, educators currently find themselves operating amid educational imperatives that are often complex and contradictory (Unsworth 2013). As foregrounded in chapters 3–5, cultural responsivity is a pedagogical approach that seeks to value, recognise and utilise the intelligence and cultural capacities that students already possess in the classroom (Morrison et al., 2019). This is a practice that requires educators to go beyond the limitations of simply being culturally aware, having cultural understanding or being culturally competent and instead seeks to tailor an educator’s practice according to learners’ unique place-based linguistic and cultural repertoires. In doing so, the eductor acknowledges through their practice that First Nations contexts are not all the same and that learners will often speak a range of differing home languages.

Questionnaire survey is among the main research instruments for data collection, where participants are required to respond by selecting from existing options or writing out answers. With the availability of easy-to-use online survey platforms that enhancing research efficiency in terms of time, cost, and access to participants, scholars have brought to bear a large number of questionnaire survey-based approaches to researching English Medium Instruction (EMI), putting stakeholders’ perspectives under the microscope. This chapter discusses how to plan and conduct a questionnaire survey study in EMI. Starting with the definition of questionnaire survey, this chapter centers on some key issues related to its use in EMI research, such as the selection of a sample frame, as well as design and distribution of questionnaire design. These issues are then exemplified in the subsequent case study of the acceptability and usefulness of collaborative writing activities in promoting university students’ online engagement.

The effect of English Medium Instruction (EMI) on language learning has been a classic and extensively discussed topic in EMI research, with various methods used to address it. One reliable method is corpus-based analysis, which provides quantitative evidence about the development of learners’ linguistic competence within an EMI context. This paper chapter aims to introduce the application of corpus-based analysis in EMI research through three tasks. Firstly, it summarizes relevant literature exploring the effects of EMI on English learning. Secondly, it elaborates on how to use corpus-based analysis to conduct relevant studies, including corpus construction, linguistic analysis instruments, and statistical analyses. Lastly, it presents an example study that demonstrates the value of corpus-based analysis in EMI research. The study examines learners’ longitudinal development of phraseological competences within an EMI course and explores the effect of textbook input on language learning. The data for the study consisted of learners’ written productions at three data collection times in the course. Learners’ phraseological competence was measured by eight measures targeting bi-grams’ and tri-grams’ complexity. The study found noticeable growth in learners’ phraseological competence with EMI education’s progression and similarities between high-frequency bi-grams and tri-grams in textbook input and learners’ written productions, proving the effect of the input on language learning.

Education continues to primarily focus on educator-directed traditional transactions of pre-determined knowledge and skills not necessarily equally accessible or transformational for all learners (Smith, 2018). In contrast, deeper learning required for transformation requires pedagogies that facilitate contextualised understandings of shared meanings. Optimal transformational learning requires thoughtful development of the self as an educator, deliberate planning of safe learning environments and pedagogical practice that enables critical thinking. A pedagogy of hospitality provides a relational and safe space, but also an intentionally welcoming and critical learning space that holistically nurtures learners. Pohl (1999) identifies that hospitality is not charity but shared humanity as pedagogy; hospitality is a form of justice that facilitates meaningful learning.

Five key outcomes of pedagogy as hospitality are discussed in this chapter: love; formation and transformation; intentional nurture; critical empowerment; and hope and justice.

This introduction sets the scene by exploring the richness of the diversity of learners and critically examines the imperative for educators within the current educational climate to employ pedagogies that transform learning experiences, particularly for those who continue to be marginalised and are increasingly disengaged from education. The aim of the introduction is to lay the foundation for the significance of supporting educators in pedagogical decisions that prioritise and are socially just and responsive to the inclusion of all learners, thereby engaging and empowering learners as active co-designers and self-regulators of respectful, meaningful and impactful learning. In scaffolding educator efficacy, the introduction encourages self-reflective strategies for sustained critique of applying inclusive, responsive, enabling and socially just pedagogical approaches within their educational practice.

Questionnaires have been widely used to tap into fine-grained themes of educational studies (see also Chapters 3, 8, and 11 of the this book). Unfitted use of parametric methods, however, would result in mistakenly interpreting ordinal scales as equal intervals, or difficulties in resolving issues such as missing raw data. Rasch measurement, as one of several item response theoretic models, is strongly suggested for application prior to the conduction of parametric statistical tests (Boone, Staver, & Yale, 2014).

This chapter starts with introducing basic facts about Rasch modelling, and discusses three study cases that applied Rasch modeling for scale development and validation.

In addition, this chapter features a step-by-step analysis procedure for data collected from a questionnaire, which is administered among 102 undergraduate students enrolled in a university located in Shanghai, China. All of the students have registered for at least one course instructed in English, which is related to their major area of study. The questionnaire was adapted from the Japanese English Medium of Instruction Attitude Scale (JEMIAS) (Curle, 2018). Multi-facet Rasch Measurement (MFRM) analysis was conducted to investigate the possible influence of students’ academic major on their attitude toward EMI, as well as the functioning of individual items on the scale. Analysis results show that students’ disciplinary background has limited influence on their attitudes. Items demonstrating different logit scales, however, provide practical implications for designing EMI courses in Chinese higher education institutions.

English Medium Instruction (EMI) researchers have called for studies that extend our understanding of EMI classroom discourse and the role of language in EMI in general (Dalton-Puffer & Smit, 2013; McKinley & Rose, 2022; Macaro, 2019). Corpus-based analytical frameworks are well-suited to analyze large amounts of naturally occurring language data and thus to provide reliable and verifiable findings about situationally defined language use such as language use in EMI contexts (see also Chapter 9, Author, this volume).

The primary goal of this chapter is to introduce the principles and practices of carrying out an additive multi-dimensional (MD) analysis (Biber, 1988; Berber Sardina et al., 2019) affording an empirically driven comprehensive linguistic analysis of variation in a register that could be applied to an EMI context. Our case study showcases the methodology using 500,000 words of text from the Singapore EMI corpus (SEMIC). Relying on the results of the MD analysis, this chapter also demonstrates how to identify text types via cluster analysis, which could provide additional information about classroom discourse. It will demonstrate show how these advanced quantitative analytical frameworks can be applied to analyze EMI classroom discourse. The chapter will also highlight practical aspects of MD analysis.

Educational settings are becoming increasingly diverse including culture, gender, ability and religious beliefs. Yet, a mono-cultural approach to teaching that prioritises some learners while excluding others continues to be adopted (Morrison et al., 2019). Building on past education declarations, the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration (Education Council, 2019) has a strong focus on equity and social justice with goal 1 calling for ‘The Australian education system [to] promote[s] excellence and equity’. Building on this, goal 2 seeks to develop ‘confident and creative individuals; successful lifelong learners; active and informed members of the community’. If we are to meet these goals, educators need to recognise and embrace the lifeworlds of all learners and use these as platforms from which new learning can build; something that is at the heart of culturally responsive pedagogies (CRP). This chapter argues that educational approaches founded on pedagogies that draw on learner’s lifeworlds, lived experiences and funds of knowledge (Zipin, 2009), foster enhanced educational engagement, achievement and wellbeing.

This chapter elaborates on ways of carrying out a comprehensive review based on searching the research literature systematically in the context of English Medium Instruction (EMI). Teaching content subjects in English is now a growing phenomenon around the world. Many researchers, teacher educators and teachers want to read and understand the latest findings of studies on EMI. A systematic review, which ‘systematically’ locates all relevant studies, evaluates these studies’ findings and synthesizes the findings that have implications for teaching and learning in EMI, can provide numerous benefits to researchers and writers. First, it draws readers’ attention to different findings about the same issues in the literature, such as the use of native languages (L1) in EMI classrooms, translanguaging pedagogy (i.e. refer to a pedagogical process of utilizing more than one language in a classroom) and learning in EMI. It can also indicate whether a consensus exists on effective ways of teaching and learning in EMI classrooms. A well-structured systematic review in which writers follow existing review protocols reduces the potential bias inherent in synthesizing research. For example, some of the standard procedures that are agreed on in the research community (e.g., PRISMA guidelines) include review teams having diversified research expertise, inter-rater reliability checking, rigorous screening procedures, data extraction, and assessment of the quality of studies. These procedures can largely eliminate bias and offer the EMI research community authoritative information about gaps in the research that need to be filled. By examining the evidence in the research, they can highlight conflicting views on the same teaching issues in the context of EMI. In this chapter, we use a case study that explores the teaching and learning issues encountered by teachers and students in EMI science classrooms, introducing different approaches to carrying out research reviews, particularly reviews that use quantitative approaches, such as systematic quantitative reviews and meta-analyses. We outline the key steps when conducting a systematic review: (1) formulating the topic; (2) locating and screening the literature; (3) evaluating the data; (4) extracting the data and assessing the study quality; (5) analyzing the data; (6) interpreting the results; (7) presenting the results; and (8) writing up the review. The implications and limitations of writing a systematic review in the EMI context are discussed.