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Design-Based Research: Learning Italian At University In A Community Of Learners, Mariolina Pais Marden, Janice A. Herrington, Anthony J. Herrington

Faculty of Arts - Papers (Archive)

This paper describes a study where design-based research (DBR) is used as a framework for the design and implementation of an online community of foreign language learners, in the context of learning Italian as a second language at university. An online community of practice that included a group of second and third year students of Italian, and seven native speakers facilitators, was developed and implemented according to the principles that guide community development (Lave and Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998). For one semester community members interacted and collaborated with each other through the communication tools of an online learning management system …