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The rise of small, skills-focused credentials, also known as micro-credentials, has garnered considerable attention in recent years. By offering micro-credentials, institutions of higher education can provide additional credential options, thereby attracting more diverse audiences beyond degree-seekers. However, amidst their growth, fundamental questions surrounding their effective design and pedagogical implementation remain. This lack of clarity may inadvertently hinder their effectiveness. To address this gap, there is a need for studies that examine the perspectives and practices of faculty involved in micro-credential development and delivery. This study employed a single-embedded case design to investigate the perceptions and practices of faculty members who implemented micro-credentials for a pilot program at a large public research university. Specifically, this study aimed to identify faculty perceptions of the assessment and credentialing affordances of micro-credentials, and strategies employed to integrate these affordances into the design of micro-credentials. In-depth interviews were conducted with faculty members representing a diverse array of academic disciplines. Findings revealed that faculty need support in recognizing and integrating certain characteristics of quality assessments when designing micro-credentials, including aligning of assessments with a micro-credential's delivery method, and integrating equity-oriented assessments into the design. These findings underscore the necessity for interventions and training programs aimed at integrating quality assessment practices into micro-credential design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reasoning words are linguistic features associated with classroom exploratory talk as students talk-to-learn, explore ideas, and probe each other's thinking. This study extends established research on use of reasoning words to a fourth- to fifth-grade literature-based English language learning context. We examined frequency and patterning of teacher and student use of reasoning words within and across two lessons purposefully selected to elucidate use of reasoning words during a close reading of a text as students grapple to make meaning and extended intertextual talk about a text that is easily accessible. Analyses and exemplifications illuminate how usage of each reasoning word functioned to introduce/link to reasoning or to prompt for reasoning. Teacher used reasoning words to mostly prompt for reasoning and student used them to introduce/link to reasoning. We found consistent use of reasoning words by teacher and students across three categories: language of possibility, reasoning links, and pressing for reasoning.

Reasoning words are linguistic features associated with classroom exploratory talk as students talk-to-learn, explore ideas, and probe each other's thinking. This study extends established research on use of reasoning words to a fourth- to fifth-grade literature-based English language learning context. We examined frequency and patterning of teacher and student use of reasoning words within and across two lessons purposefully selected to elucidate use of reasoning words during a close reading of a text as students grapple to make meaning and extended intertextual talk about a text that is easily accessible. Analyses and exemplifications illuminate how usage of each reasoning word functioned to introduce/link to reasoning or to prompt for reasoning. Teacher used reasoning words to mostly prompt for reasoning and student used them to introduce/link to reasoning. We found consistent use of reasoning words by teacher and students across three categories: language of possibility, reasoning links, and pressing for reasoning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]