| Falls Church Sunday Onsite Presentation Session 3

Experiential Learning

Session Chair: Emil Velinov

13:15-13:40

69997

| The Impact of Students’ Cross-cultural Differences on Global Virtual Teams Engagement

Emil Velinov, Škoda Auto University, Czech Republic

Juergen Bleicher, Dualle Hochschule Baden-Wurttemberg (DHBW), Germany

The paper focuses on the study of the emerging cross-cultural specifics of undergraduate and graduate students from five different business schools. The study aims to examine the impact of these cultural differences on the commitment of global virtual teams by investigating the students' perception of global virtual teamwork in courses related to International Business and International Management. The study covers a comprehensive dataset collected over the period of 2019-2022, which includes students from five different business schools. The results of the study indicate that cross-cultural differences, such as national cultural values, individual biases, ethical aspects, and other factors, play a significant role in affecting the students' motivation and commitment to completing tasks and assignments within the global virtual teams across the selected business schools. The paper sheds light on the importance of understanding the cross-cultural specifics of students in global virtual teams and how these differences can impact their commitment and motivation. The results of the study can help educators and businesses in developing strategies to manage and overcome cultural differences in virtual teams, ensuring their success and effectiveness in a global context.

13:40-14:05

68678

| The Impact of Teaching Lexical Bundles on the Improvement of the Writing Skill of Freshman TESOL Students

Sally Kondos, American University in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

This presentation introduces the outcome of an experimental study that investigated the impact of teaching lexical bundles on improving the writing quality of Freshman students. The presenter will give a detailed account of the research methodology, theoretical framework, and the research methods implemented in the study. Many studies investigated the relationship between competence in vocabulary and L2 writing. Although studies indicate the importance of lexical knowledge in L2 writing, more research must be conducted to confirm the correlation between specific vocabulary size and the quality of writing (Miralpiex & Muncoz, 2018). Additionally, there is a lack of research investigating the effect of teaching lexical bundles on enhancing Arabic-speaking students' language proficiency in the United Arab Emirates or the Middle East. The current study implemented referential and stance lexical bundles due to their vital role in producing more advanced sentence structure, yet it is challenging to master for L2 language learners correctly. Collocation is perceived as a continuum governed by some degree of restrictions. Lexical bundles refer to high-frequency combinations of words that frequently occur next to each other, whether in spoken or written text. Lexical bundles are incomplete grammatical structures that combine two noun phrases or a verb and a noun phrase or more phrases or clauses. The presenter will share the experimental study results and the type of lexical bundles that contributed to the enhancement of the writing skill of the study participants with the audience and the answers to the research questions.

14:05-14:30

69587

| Transforming Undergraduate Research Experiences with Experiential Learning

Rachel Burcin, Carnegie Mellon University, United States

Vishwas Mruthyunjaya, Megagon Labs, United States

John Dolan, Carnegie Mellon University, United States

Science and technology drive innovation, create economic opportunity, and are critical to national security. With increased competition globally for a skilled STEM workforce coupled with high barriers to participation in STEM, the missing millions, and the longstanding underrepresentation of some US communities, collective action is urgently needed to expand STEM education and training to meet critical workforce demands. Undergraduate research experiences, long recognized as a high-impact education practice, are critical to growing the nation's research and scientific community. However, the traditional bounded 10-week summer research model may artificially reduce the impact and outcomes for participating students, faculty, and organizations. In 2006, Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute launched a summer undergraduate research program that is constantly transforming into a global learning community that helps scholars to embark on a journey to find their space within robotics. Nearly 80% of our participating students attend graduate programs in STEM, and 95% are ultimately a part of the STEM workforce. In this paper, we will:

- Discuss how David Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory informs our student experience design - Scholars explore the nature of research (discovery, collaboration, iteration), gain exposure to multiple robotic domains, engage in service learning, discuss policies with political and community leaders, and present and publish their research results.

- Demonstrate how the four stages of experiential learning (concrete learning, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation) and learning styles are helping us create more effective communicating research modules.

- Share a toolkit for launching an undergraduate research working papers journal.

14:30-14:55

66977 | Teachers’ Voice About Virtual Reality in the Language Class

Jacqueline Zammit,

University of Malta, Malta

Virtual reality (VR) technology is growing in popularity, but little is known about the potential use of VR tools in the teaching of Maltese. The current study investigated this topic using a mixed research style. The qualitative approach and a focus group technique were used to collect information about the use of VR in language learning settings from 25 teachers. The quantitative part of the study involves conducting an online survey among the same participants to collect information on the potential effectiveness of VR technology in the Maltese environment. The study's conclusions offer insight on how well virtual reality may be used to teach and learn Maltese as a second language. Based on the findings of the NVivo thematic analysis and the quantitative information collected by employing the survey approach, the study provides a thorough assessment of the benefits and drawbacks of VR for international students learning Maltese. Teachers applaud VR for immersing students in a rich learning environment and enhancing it with essential entertainment aspects. This study shows that VR technologies are not currently being used to assist learners in learning Maltese, and there is still a lot of confusion over the norms that should guide their use in ML2 environments. The most significant components of this ambiguity will be critically discussed in this presentation, along with a variety of VR-related difficulties such as high costs, bulky headsets, and technological difficulties.