Dr Dai Fei Yang

• Biography 
• Areas of Research/Teaching Expertise
• Awards and Recognition
• Publications
• Conference workshop co-presentation
• Research Interests
• PhD research topic
• Contact Details

Biography

I joined UWS in 1998 and the Student Learning Unit (SLU) in 2002. As an academic literacy lecturer I develop students' skills and knowledge in academic discourse. This is mainly conducted through workshops and collaboration with schools and colleges. An important part of my work also involves developing online learning resources and services to enhance students' experience in learning at UWS.

Prior to joining SLU I worked for the Adult Migrant English Services, NSW for 10 years and 5 years as Education Coordinator for the Adult Migrant English program at UWS.

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Areas of Research / Teaching Expertise

My teaching and learning interests fall into three key areas:

1. The application of systemic functional linguistics (SFL) and genre theories to the study of language and academic discourse in order to develop students' knowledge and skills in academic literacy. This includes the study of learning context and theory, collaborative learning in the discourse community and apprenticeship in academic reading and writing for the improvement of learning outcomes and graduate attributes. 
2. Pedagogical approach to teaching and learning in higher education, in particular the deployment of educational technology to provide flexible and blended learning. 
3. Educational design, using the pattern-based approach to develop reusable and sharable resources for the support of teaching and learning. Educational design patterns capture and share well proven experience, knowledge and practices and can be used to provide new teachers with principles and guidelines for their work. 

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Awards and Recognition

May 2006 – October 2007
I was awarded an Australian Research Council (ARC) Postgraduate Research scholarship for my PhD study at the Centre for Research on Computer Supported Learning and Cognition (CoCo), Faculty of Education & Social Work, University of Sydney.

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Publications

Goodyear, P., & Yang, D. F. (2008). Patterns and     pattern languages: Supporting understanding and performance in educational design. In L. Lockyer, S. Bennett, S. Agostinho & B. Harper (Eds.), Handbook of research on learning design and learning objects: Issues, applications and technologies. Hersyey: IGI Gobal.

Yang, D. F., & Goodyear, P. (In print). Design patterns: A   connection between systemic functional linguistics and pattern languages. In P. Goodyear & S. Retalis (Eds.), E-learning, design patterns and pattern languages. Rotterdam: SensePublishers.

Yang, D. F. (2008). Representing experience: the co-articulation of verbiage and image in multimodal text. In E. Ventola & C. Jones (Eds.), Field, Ideation & Experiential Representation: From Language to Multimodality. London: Equinox.

Yang, D. F. (2007). A pattern-based approach to teacher support. Poster presented at the 2007 Research Festival, CoCo -the Centre for Research on Computer Supported Learning and Cognition, Faculty of Education & Social Work, University of Sydney.

Yang, D. F. (2007). Digital Culture and New Learning. Co-chair of round table discussion at the 2007 Research Festival, CoCo - the Centre for Research on Computer Supported Learning and Cognition, Faculty of Education & Social Work, University of Sydney.

Yang, D. F., & Goodyear, P. (2006). Learning through online discussions:A focus on discourse analysis and language functions. In L. Markauskaite, P. Goodyear & P. Reimann (Eds.), 23rd Annual Conference of the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in
Tertiary Education: Who’s Learning? Whose Technology? Sydney: Sydney University Press.

Yang, D. F. (2005a). Multimodality: Three levels of image analysis in meaning-making. The European Systemic Functional Linguistics Conference and Workshop, 17th Meeting, 1st-4th August, 2005, King's College London, UK. PowerPoint Presentation.

Yang, D. F. (2005b). Networked learning: Language functions and design patterns. PESSA Inter-University Forum, Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney, 22 October, 2005.

Yang, D. F. (2005c). Pattern languages and genres in educational design. Learning and Academic Skills Special Interest Group, New South Wales, 29th April, 2005, University of New South Wales

Yang, D.F., & Goodyear, P. (2004). Pattern languages and genres for writing computer science discourse. In C.R. Atkinson, McBeath, D. Jonas-Dwyer, & R. Phillips (Ed.), Beyond the comfort zone: proceedings of the 21st ASCILITE Conference (pp. 339-347). Perth,
5-8 December. ASCILITE Conferences in Perth 2004.

Yang, D. F. (2003). How can learning and academic skills advisers effectively assist students online? Round table discussion paper presented at the Language & Academic Skills in Higher Education National Conference 2003, 24-25 November 2003, Flinders
University.

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Conference workshop co-presentation

Yang, D. F., & Florescu, M., & Heeley, C. (2002).  Digital mode: a new dimension in language teaching and learning. Change and continuity in the AMEP Conference, Canberra Institute of Technology, Canberra 15-17 November, 2002

2000 Project Coordinator of the UWSELC Recipe for Peace CD Rom and cookbook. (A grant project for the International Peace 2000 sponsored by the NSW Liverpool council and UWSELC.)

1997, co-writer of a training module in 'Report Writing' for the Department of Juvenile Justice, NSW.

1996, Author of I Can Say It, an English course book for beginners and self directed learning resource for the individual learning centre.

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Research Interests

• Academic literacy in higher education
• Technology and multimodal literacy in relation to e-learning
• Networked (online) learning, blended learning and educational design in higher education
• Language functions and design patterns
• Application of systemic functional linguistics (SFL), Genre theory to the analysis of multimodal and academic discourse
• SFL and web-based teaching and learning in higher education
• Website design principles in relation to web- based genres
• E-intertexuality and text/image relationship in meaning making

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PhD research topic

Improving networked learning in higher education: language functions and design patterns

To access my thesis, a hard copy is located in the Rare Book section in the Fisher Library, University of Sydney. It is also available via the digital thesis data base in Sydney University or the Australian Digital Thesis Program (ADT).