In light of increasing mandates to incorporate close reading of primary source historical documents at the elementary level, this study explored the reading difficulty level of the US Constitution with preservice elementary teachers using a traditional cloze assessment procedure. While best practice pedagogy of social studies has long included thoughtful reading of primary sources, new language arts guidelines situate the analysis of primary documents within formulaic quantifiable frameworks, often problematic to the pre-service teacher. With implications for reading and social studies, this paper explores several relevant issues to both pre-service teachers and the elementary classrooms they will teach in.

This diploma thesis "Education of Pupils at Jedlička Institute and Schools" contains information about physically disabled pupils. The aim of the diploma thesis was to discover the needs and methods of physically disabled pupils' education. The research was focused on what teaching methods, didactic tools, compensation aids and other means and access to pupils are used by teachers at primary school. The diploma thesis includes an analysis of an asset of Jedlička Institute and Schools. The research uses the following methods: structured interviews with teachers and participant observation at primary school. The theoretical part of the thesis comprises kinds of physical disability, combined disability, Jedlička Institute and Schools and information about education of physically disabled pupils and pupils with combined disability. The practical part of the thesis deals with an interaction between pupils and teachers, with cerebral palsy, teaching methods and pupils' needs. The pupils need a barrier-free environment, compensation aids, support measures, support of their motivation and self-sufficiency. The teachers often explain the school work and ask questions. The pupils have individual education, verbal evaluation, marks, tests, examinations, excursions and various school courses. The teacher...

This dissertation examines the nature, scope, and significance of a new pedagogical approach to teaching of views on nature of science (VNOS) to high school students. Educational approaches based on teaching ‘correct’ VNOS continue to be dominated by the epistemology of logical empiricism and, as I will point out, these approaches are inadequate to address the issues of VNOS. I assert and the findings presented in this dissertation offer evidence that students’ VNOS are dynamic and context-based. In this research I used filmmaking to explore students’ VNOS. High school students, supported by a professional filmmaking crew, completed a short film entitled, The Shadows of Hope; this film explores the use of scientific knowledge in understanding everyday life problems. The filmmaking environment introduced simultaneously a number of contexts in which students’ VNOS were concurrently collected using mixed methods methodology. The results show that contexts sway students’ VNOS and generate a variety of the VNOS for each student. Evidence shows that there is a common, theme-based pattern to individual students’ set of VNOS. The variety of expressed VNOS seemed natural to the students, with no registered discomfort. However, in this study a contrast between students’ VNOS and their ‘school-based’ understanding of science also became apparent. This is evidence that cognitive dissonance is not sufficient to explain the full spectrum of ways in which students learn, deepen knowledge and arrive to conceptual change. I assert that including cognitive contextual expansion in our understanding of conceptual change is essential to provide a framework that allows to integrate cognitive diversity into the theory of learning, reflecting a perhaps more natural way human mind works. The project’s findings offer evidence that students’ VNOS deepened and expanded through filmmaking; students arrived to a more examined and mature VNOS while enjoying the activity of making a film. There is evidence that cooperation with a professional team provided students with a feeling of respect and pride. Filmmaking offers a robust way of learning, based on collaborative work that enlivens a large number of learning-enhancing activities. Additional resources and a Brief Guide For Teachers are added to this text to support teachers in adopting filmmaking as a unique pedagogical method. / Graduate / 0714 / 0900 / 0533 / akottova@uvic.ca

This thesis studies teachers’ and students’ conceptions of history and history teaching and aims to explain the importance of an interest in history among teachers and students of the subject. Research on teachers’ conceptions (e.g. Martin 2005) shows that the didactical question “Why?” influences the “How?” and “Why?” questions and that teachers’ thinking about their own practice is mainly influenced by their background and their experiences from teaching. Research on students’ opinions (e.g. Youth and History, 1997) shows that they enjoy history shown in films, that they appreciate museums, and that the preferred topic is 20th century history. In this thesis learning is envisaged as something individual but it is the learners’ social context that defines what is important, meaningful and interesting to learn. The research methods consist of a survey study concerning the pupils’ attitudes towards history and history education, and an interview study with their teachers about their teaching and their opinions about history in general. Nine teachers and their 217 pupils participated. It is mainly topics from 20th century that are described as interesting by both students and teachers. The teachers had different views on the didactical whyquestion, which they described either as student oriented or subject oriented. Their views on why history is important influenced their teaching methods. The student oriented teachers stated that their pupils’ needs and wishes affect their methods while the subject oriented teachers said that they give varying lessons, and have a more student active teaching, but decide for themselves what teaching methods are to be used. The subject matter is influenced by the teachers’ personal interest in history, in most cases a Eurocentric political history. This choice of content, and the teachers own interest, are explained by the historical culture of Swedish society rather than the curriculum. The teachers state that exciting stories and dramatic events related in books or films were, and still are, important to their interest in history. Their individual interpretation of what is important and meaningful in their historical culture influences teachers’ personal interest, their knowledge, and the content of their history teaching. The students’ attitudes to history are also influenced by various factors, of which history education at school is merely one.

This study is an attempt to determine the impact of teachers' attitudes on their classroom behaviour and therefore on their implementation of the Communicative Approach. A descriptive case study was conducted at six secondary schools in Harare, Zimbabwe (as ESL environment) to determine the effect of 38 O-level English teachers' attitudes on their classroom practice. Quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection, including a questionnaire, an observation instrument and a semistructured interview were used to gauge teachers' attitudes, assessing the extent to which attitudes are reflected in their classroom behaviour, and eliciting teachers' verbalisation of how they conceive of their professional task. The findings show that the effective implementation of the Communicative Approach was critically dependent on teachers' positive attitudes towards this approach in the five categories covered by this study. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (Applied Linguistics)

The aim of this thesis is to describe the conception of English language teaching at high schools in Spain. In the theoretical part the Spanish educational system is presented. It focuses on secondary level education, English teaching and the target competencies. The practical part collects and evaluates the results of my research of teaching English at two different public high schools that I have gained by my own observation and interviews with Spanish teachers. The research is primarily focused on the teaching methods and techniques, the assessment of pupils and the student´s approach to learning English. Next to the results of research there is my own critical analysis.

This master's thesis Multimedia support of teaching mathematics aims at supporting teachers in introducing innovations in teaching and support in their own teaching materials. It is dedicated to supporting the pupil in self-education. It also serves as an overview of selected resources to support the use of technology and software in teaching. This master's thesis includes examples of the use of mathematical programs in mathematics classes, and a proposal to engage pupils in teaching, by implementing the "Teach Your Fellow" project, which aims to create learning videos for pupils.

Submitted by Natassja Christie Vieira da Silva (natassjachristie@gmail.com) on 2014-09-16T18:47:12Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Service-Learning - Natassja Christie Vieira da Silva.pdf: 1554719 bytes, checksum: 8240b33bec3bbb12e4f42e82848ea4b7 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Janete de Oliveira Feitosa (janete.feitosa@fgv.br) on 2014-09-25T12:13:38Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Service-Learning - Natassja Christie Vieira da Silva.pdf: 1554719 bytes, checksum: 8240b33bec3bbb12e4f42e82848ea4b7 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marcia Bacha (marcia.bacha@fgv.br) on 2014-10-01T12:59:00Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Service-Learning - Natassja Christie Vieira da Silva.pdf: 1554719 bytes, checksum: 8240b33bec3bbb12e4f42e82848ea4b7 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-01T12:59:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Service-Learning - Natassja Christie Vieira da Silva.pdf: 1554719 bytes, checksum: 8240b33bec3bbb12e4f42e82848ea4b7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-07-12 / A temática da Responsabilidade Social está em grande discussão na atualidade, fazendo a sociedade repensar o papel das empresas e exigindo delas mais responsabilidade e envolvimento com o seu desenvolvimento. No Brasil, a discussão de questões relativas à Responsabilidade Social ganhou espaço apenas mais recentemente, em seguida ao processo de industrialização e vinda de grandes empresas para o país. Dessa forma, vem à tona uma discussão sobre o preparo dos profissionais de Administração brasileiros para trabalhar a Responsabilidade Social nas empresas e sobre a inclusão desta temática nos cursos de graduação em Administração. O desafio dessas instituições é abordar a Responsabilidade Social e a ética dentro de seus currículos, conjugando a formação acadêmica, técnica e ética dos alunos. As metodologias de ensino tradicionais levam a um esclarecimento teórico sobre o tema, no entanto não preparam os alunos para lidar com as questões de responsabilidade social na prática. Este estudo propôs o service-learning como uma metodologia de abordagem prática para o ensino de Responsabilidade Social, permitindo a aproximação entre instituições de ensino superior e comunidades, em uma experiência de aprendizado e ganho para ambas. Foram analisados neste estudo dois casos de instituições de ensino brasileiras que desenvolvem programas junto a comunidades, com o objetivo de conhecer suas práticas e estudar as possíveis contribuições que o uso da metodologia service-learning poderia trazer ao contexto educacional brasileiro, em busca da formação de profissionais mais sensibilizados às questões sociais. / Social responsibility is under much discussion nowadays, pushing the society to rethink the role of companies and requiring them more responsibility and involvement in the development of society. In Brazil, the discussion of issues relating to CSR only recently gained ground, after the process of industrialization in the country. Then, it is only natural to discuss how well prepared the Brazilian Business Administration professionals are to be engaged in CSR and how the Brazilian universities are taking this subject into their curriculum to prepare the students. The challenge of these institutions is to include social responsibility and ethics in their curriculum in a way that combines the academic, technical and ethical education of students. The traditional teaching methods usually lead to a theoretical clarification on the subject, but they do not prepare students to deal with issues of social responsibility in everyday practice. This study proposed service-learning as a methodology for practical approach to teaching social responsibility, enabling closer ties between higher education institutions and communities, a learning experience with good results for both parts. Two cases of Brazilian educational institutions which develop programs in the local community were analyzed in this study, in order to understand their practices and evaluate the possible contributions that the use of service-learning methodology could bring to the Brazilian educational context, in search of training professionals to be more aware of social issues.

This research investigates the relationship between the attitude of senior secondary mathematics educators towards school and the achievement of their learners. A literature study examined research into the relationships between an educator's attitude towards his or her school management team, colleagues, learners, parents, the subject of mathematics and the factors influencing mathematics achievement. An empirical investigation used a quantitative research design to collect data from selected senior secondary schools in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. A questionnaire was used to gather data and a statistical data analysis was conducted to calculate frequencies and test hypotheses. Findings indicated the existence of a relationship between educators' attitudes towards school and the achievement of their learners. It was therefore recommended that school managers should be very sensitive to the climate prevailing in their schools in order to encourage mathematics educators and thus, indirectly, learners in this vital subject. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Didactics)

This research project explores the views of secondary school Development Studies teachers on the subject in Swaziland. Development Studies as a school subject, was designed to integrate environmental education into the secondary school curricula in Swaziland. The study followed a qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual grounded theory design. Face-to-face individual interviews were carried out where the respondents expressed their thoughts, concerns and feelings about Development Studies as a school subject. Eight Development Studies teachers and one curriculum designer were interviewed. Only one question, followed by relevant probes was presented to the respondents. The question asked was: What do you think of Development Studies as a school subject? This study followed Tesch's approach to data analysis. The study revealed that Development Studies teachers in Swaziland were generally not trained in environmental education. Recommendations are made. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.(Environmental Ed.)