The purpose of this study was to improve problem solving attitudes and abilities in students of mathematics through the exploration of John Mason’s general problem solving strategy and the use of problem solving groups, and to document and understand this improvement process. The types of problems and tasks assigned to students as well as assessment practices were also examined. A Design-Experiment Research approach was used with thirty grade 9 students participating throughout the year-long study. A teacher-researcher journal, student problem-solving journals, and surveys were used. The study showed that using a general problem solving strategy with groups of students working together to solve problems can improve problem solving attitudes and abilities. Students made significant improvements during initial engagement of problems, in specializing and generalizing, and in communication. Almost all students expressed a more positive attitude toward problem solving and their problem solving abilities. The study demonstrates how focusing on initial stages of the problem solving process like the understanding of the problem in a group context can reach multiple learning objectives and positively impact later stages of problem solving. In addition, recommendations for classroom teachers are provided concerning the roles within the groups, the nature of beneficial problem types and student tasks, and concerning the role of the teacher as researcher of his or her own teaching practice.

Priešmokyklinio ugdymo tikslas yra atskleisti kiekvieno vaiko asmenybę, išugdyti savimi ir savo gebėjimais pasitikintį, stiprią pažinimo motyvaciją turintį mokinį. Šio magistro darbo autorė, ugdydama ikimokyklinukus muzikine veikla, pastebėjo didelius pokyčius ne tik muzikiniuose vaikų gebėjimuose. Magistro darbe iškelta hipotezė, kad muzikinis ugdymas, integruotas į priešmokyklinį ugdymo procesą, gali turėti svarios įtakos vaiko socializacijai, emocinei raidai, skatina intelekto vystimąsi, formuoja kūrybišką asmenybę. Siekiant patvirtinti šią hipotezę, buvo suformuluotas šio darbo tyrimo tikslas – atskleisti priešmokyklinio amžiaus vaikų emocinių ir kognityvinių gebėjimų ugdymo galimybes muzikine veikla. Magistro darbe numatyti šie uždaviniai: aptarti ikimokyklinio/priešmokyklinio muzikinio ugdymo bruožus; išanalizuoti priešmokyklinio amžiaus vaikų psichosocialinės raidos ypatumus; išstudijuoti emocinių bei kognityvinių gebėjimų sampratą edukologiniu požiūriu; ištirti muzikos integravimo galimybes į bendrą ugdomąją veiklą. Išanalizavus filosofinę, psichologinę ir pedagoginę literatūrą, išsigrynino problemos aktualumas. Atlikus žvalgomąjį tyrimą išaiškėjo, kad tik pusė tyrime dalyvavusių respondentų (ugdytinių tėvų) pasitelkia neformalųjį muzikinį ugdymą, kaip priemonę priešmokyklinio amžiaus vaikų emocinių ir kognityvinių gebėjimų ugdymui, nors visi jie pageidauja savo vaikams papildomos muzikinės veiklos. Atlikus trianguliacinę duomenų analizę... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The goal of pre-school fostering is to disclose personality of every child, to develop a pupil who has confidence in himself and his abilities; as well as has a strong motivation for knowledge. By developing pre-school children with the help of music activity the author of this master’s thesis noticed great changes not only in musical abilities of children. A hypothesis raised in the master’s thesis that music education integrated into preschool fostering process may have a significant impact on the child’s socialization, emotional development, fosters the development of intellect, forms a creative personality. Seeking to confirm this hypothesis, a goal of this research paper was formulated – to disclose the possibilities of developing emotional and cognitive abilities of pre-school children with music activity. The following objectives were set for in the master’s thesis: to discuss the features of pre-school/pre-primary music education features; to analyze the peculiarities of pre-school children’s psychological -social development; to study the conception of emotional and cognitive abilities in educational respect; to explore the possibilities of music integration into general educational activity. After analyzing philosophical, psychological and pedagogical literature, relevance of the issue became evident. A prospecting study revealed that only half of the respondents who participated in the survey (parents of pupils) resort to non-formal music... [to full text]

Darbe nagrinėjama lyderystės gebėjimų raiška dainuojant chore universitetinių studijų metu, kas ir kokią daro didžiausią įtaką tų gebėjimų vystymuisi bei koks pačių studentų dalyvaujančių chorinėje veikloje požiūris į lyderystę. Remiamasi mokslinės bei metodinės literatūros analize bei atliktų empirinių tyrimų duomenimis: anketinė apklausa skirta studentams, studentų dainuojančių chore stebėjimas ir pusiau struktūrizuotas interviu, skirtas chore nebedainuojantiems ir vadovaujamas pareigas užimantiems choristams. Empirinis tyrimas atliktas LEU mišriam chore „Ave Vita“, VGTU mišriam chore „Gabija“, VU mišriam chore „Gaudeamus“ bei merginų chore „Virgo“. / In the work the expression of leadership abilities while inging in the choir during university studies was examined. It was analysed who and what influences the abilities most and what is the students' attitude towards leadership. A questionaire for the students was given; an observation of the students in the choir was made; an interview of the people who do not sing in the choir anymore was given. The empiric research was made in LEU mixed choir "Ave Vita", VGTU mixed choir "Gabija", VU mixed choir "Gaudeamus" and women choir "Virgo".

Tyrimo objektas. Judamieji gebėjimai. Tyrimo tikslas. Įvertinti šuolininkų i aukštį skirtingų judamųjų gebėjimų įtaką sportiniam rezultatui. Tyrimo uždaviniai. Nustatyti jėgos greitumo, greitumo jėgos, staigiosios jėgos ir greitumo judamųjų gebėjimų įtaką sportiniam rezultatui. Tiriamieji. Tyrimas atliktas 2012 - 2013 m., buvo analizuojami 8 šuolininkai į aukštį, šuolininkų amžius (20,75 ± 1,1 m), ūgis (190,37 ± 8,87), svoris (79,62 ± 5,62 kg). Hipotezė. Labiausiai šuolininkų į aukštį sportinį rezultatą įtakos staigiosios jėgos judamasis gebėjimas Mūsų darbe buvo atlikti 8, skirtingus judamuosius gebėjimus nusakantys testai. Jėgos greitumui ištirti buvo naudojamas trišuolio iš vietos testas. Greitumo jėgai nustatyti buvo naudojami: šuolio į aukštį iš vietos, šuolio į tolį iš vietos ir 20 m bėgimo iš starto testai. Staigiajai jėgai nustatyti buvo naudojami: greito šuolio aukštyn (Drop jump), 5 kg rutulio metimo iš priekio ir 5 kg rutulio metimo per galvą testai. Greitumui nustatyti buvo naudojamas 20 m bėgimo įsigreitėjus testas. Rezultatai. Trišuolio iš vietos 2012 m. koreliacijos koeficientas (r) su varžybų rezultatais (r = 0,68), 2013 m. (r = 0,95), vertikalus šuolis iš vietos mojant rankomis 2012 m. (r = 0,68), 2013 m. (r = 0,69), šuolis į tolį iš vietos 2012 m. (r = 0,72), 2013 m. (r = 0,82), 20 m bėgimas iš starto 2012 m. (r = -0,75), 2013 m. (r = -0,77), greitas šuolis aukštyn (Drop jump) 2012 m. (r = 0,29), 2013 m. (r = 0,45), 5 kg rutulio metimas pirmyn, aukštyn 201... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The object of the study. Physical abilities. The purpose of the study. To evaluate influence of different physical abilities to high jump performance. Study tasks. Evaluate force velocity, speed force, explosive power and maximal speed influence to high jump performance. Investigatives. Study was accomplished 2012 – 2013 m., 8 high jumpers ware tested. Age of tested high jumpers (20,75 ± 1,1 m.), height (190,37 ± 8,87), weight (79,62 ± 5,62 kg). Hypothesis. Explosive power has major influence to high jump performance. In our study ware tested 8 tests, which represents different physical abilities. To investigate force velocity standing triple jump test was used. To investigate speed force (standing long jump, standing vertical jump and 20 meters sprint tests) ware used. To investigate explosive force (drop – jump, 5kg shot throw forward and from behind) tests ware used. To investigate maximal speed 20 meters sprint test with run-up was used. Results of the study. Standing triple jump 2012 m. correlation (r) with high jump results (r = 0,68), 2013 m. (r = 0,95), vertical jump with arm swing 2012 m. (r = 68), 2013 m. (r = 69), 2012 m. standing long jump (r = 0,72), 2013 m. (r = 0,82), 20 meters sprint 2012 m. (r = -0,75), 2013 m. (r = -0,77), drop jump 2012 m. (r = 0,29), 2013 m. (r = 45), 5kg shot throw forward 2012 m. (r = 0,72), 2013 m. (r = 0,93), 5kg shot throw form behind 2012 m. (r = 0,72), 2013 m. (r = 0,78), 20 meters sprint with run up 2012 m. (r = -0,64), 2013 m... [to full text]

The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that there is a link between children's musical experiences and attitudes, and their musical skills and understandings. For the purpose of the research, experience and attitudes have been measured by the National Education Monitoring Projects (NEMP) 2000 Music Survey, whilst the NEMP 2000 Assessment Results have been used to provide levels of musical skills and understandings. The first part of this study focuses on the nature of NEMP music assessment in relation to different aptitude, ability and achievement tests, and compares NEMP with various national assessments, in particular the ones used by the United States of America and Wales. The second part of the study tests the hypothesis that whether a link is present between children's musical experiences and attitudes, and the extent of their musical skills and understandings, as revealed in their NEMP survey results and scores. The analysed results should be helpful in teacher education situations in determining the balance and relationship between teaching musical skills and understandings alongside student attitudes and previous experiences. Based on the sample used in this research, correlation analyses showed that attitudes toward music do not have a strong influence on students' musical abilities. A greater number of relationships was found between musical experiences and students' NEMP scores. This result is similar to a few other attitude researches which will be briefly discussed and compared.

Three questions were investigated in the current study. First, do children with ADHD have language deficiencies in comparison to non-referred peers? Second, are there diagnostic group differences in parent and child storytelling when interacting in a joint picture-book setting or in parent reported home literacy habits? Third, are these differences related to child language scores? Parents of 25 children with ADHD and 39 comparison children, average age 7 years 6 months, told their children a story based on a wordless picture-book, and children then retold the story to an examiner without using the book. In addition, children made up two of their own stories and completed a standardized test of receptive and expressive language abilities. Children with ADHD demonstrated an expressive language deficiency compared to the non-referred children, but there was no group difference in receptive language scores. Parents of children in both groups told stories of similar length and complexity, as well as affective and responsive quality. However, for the ADHD group but not the comparison group, more positive and responsive parents told stories on a lower grade level. The length of the childs retell of the parents story did not differ across groups but children with ADHD told shorter stories when asked to make up their own stories without the external structure or salience of visual cues. Further, there were no significant group differences in the relations between parent storytelling and child language scores. The implications of these findings for understanding parent and child storytelling and language abilities of children with ADHD are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the language proficiency and critical thinking abilities of Grade 11 learners in the ACE system. This would aid to direct learners in the FET phase to enhance their critical thinking skills and language proficiency. ACE is referred to as the Accelerated Christian Education or School of Tomorrow. Accelerated Christian Education is the trade name of School of Tomorrow. The School of Tomorrow program is individualised and non-graded. It allows each learner to work on his performance and achievement level which can differ from learning area to learning area (School of Tomorrow, 1995:29). Language proficiency is of utmost importance when it comes to cognitive development within the classroom, the curriculum or life in general, especially when a learner has to learn his subjects in another language of learning and teaching (Donald, Lazarus, & Lolwana, 2005:73). According to Cummins (in McKay, 2007:2) each learner should be taught in his mother-tongue to a threshold level of proficiency in order to transfer the knowledge to the other language and ensure positive cognitive growth. If a learner is not proficient in the Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT) his academic achievement will be poor as well as his critical thinking skills. South Africa has II official languages in terms of Act 108 of the Constitution (Department of Education, I997). In the Further Education and Training phase, learners have to take two of the 11 official languages as their core majors and other languages can be taken as electives (Department of Education, 2005:11). Since parents have the right to choose their child's language of learning and teaching and are not bound by law to choose their mother-tongue, English is mainly chosen as it is seen as the language of educational and economic empowerment (De Klerk, 1995:28). However, it is emphasised by Schroeder (2004:383) and Woolfolk (2004: 179) that mother-tongue education is by far preferable. Weideman and Van Rensburg (2006:157) are of the opinion that it is better to be taught and be academically successful in one's mother tongue before choosing another language of learning and teaching. De Klerk (1995:50) asserts that a lack of language proficiency in the language of learning and teaching is a main reason for low academic performance. One of the main aims of education is to gain as much information as possible. However, information is gained through communication and communication through a language (De Bono, 1969:9). If, however, the individual is not able to understand the language with all its nuances, certain information is missed. And as information is missed, it is thrown away. A person cannot think about something he does not understand (Strydom & Du Plessis, 2000: 129). Critical thinking is necessary for every day decision making. No matter what one's circumstances, a person with good thinking skills will be more successful in life. Poor thinking causes frustration, a waste of time, ineffective use of energy and pain (Paul & Elder, 2002: xiii). A critical thinker will be able to apply the knowledge he/she has learnt in real life situations. Vygotsky (McGregor, 2007: I 0) asked the question: "Does language mirror thought or thought language or both?" In educational psychology it is generally accepted that language and thinking are interwoven (Donald, et a!., 2005 :219). The descriptive research method was used. For the purpose of this study, 10 Grade 11 learners from the ACE system were conveniently sampled. These learners included six English Mother Tongue (EMT) learners and four English Second Language (ESL) learners. For the empirical research the ELSA test was used for language proficiency and the Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Test for testing critical thinking skills. Descriptive statistics were employed to interpret the results since the sample was too small for correlations and inferences. Generally the language proficiency of the EMT learners was on a Grade level 10. The language proficiency of the ESL learners was generally also on a Grade level I 0, which is acceptable for ESL learners. Critical thinking skills such as evaluation and interpretation were overall adequately developed. However, most of the learners performed poorly with inferences. Although statistical correlations could not be made, because of the small sample, with 8 of the learners it appears as if there was a link between language proficiency and critical thinking skills. These 8 learners' language proficiency and critical thinking results were either equally good or equally poor. / Thesis (M.Ed. (Learning and Teaching)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the language proficiency and critical thinking abilities of Grade 11 learners in the ACE system. This would aid to direct learners in the FET phase to enhance their critical thinking skills and language proficiency. ACE is referred to as the Accelerated Christian Education or School of Tomorrow. Accelerated Christian Education is the trade name of School of Tomorrow. The School of Tomorrow program is individualised and non-graded. It allows each learner to work on his performance and achievement level which can differ from learning area to learning area (School of Tomorrow, 1995:29). Language proficiency is of utmost importance when it comes to cognitive development within the classroom, the curriculum or life in general, especially when a learner has to learn his subjects in another language of learning and teaching (Donald, Lazarus, & Lolwana, 2005:73). According to Cummins (in McKay, 2007:2) each learner should be taught in his mother-tongue to a threshold level of proficiency in order to transfer the knowledge to the other language and ensure positive cognitive growth. If a learner is not proficient in the Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT) his academic achievement will be poor as well as his critical thinking skills. South Africa has II official languages in terms of Act 108 of the Constitution (Department of Education, I997). In the Further Education and Training phase, learners have to take two of the 11 official languages as their core majors and other languages can be taken as electives (Department of Education, 2005:11). Since parents have the right to choose their child's language of learning and teaching and are not bound by law to choose their mother-tongue, English is mainly chosen as it is seen as the language of educational and economic empowerment (De Klerk, 1995:28). However, it is emphasised by Schroeder (2004:383) and Woolfolk (2004: 179) that mother-tongue education is by far preferable. Weideman and Van Rensburg (2006:157) are of the opinion that it is better to be taught and be academically successful in one's mother tongue before choosing another language of learning and teaching. De Klerk (1995:50) asserts that a lack of language proficiency in the language of learning and teaching is a main reason for low academic performance. One of the main aims of education is to gain as much information as possible. However, information is gained through communication and communication through a language (De Bono, 1969:9). If, however, the individual is not able to understand the language with all its nuances, certain information is missed. And as information is missed, it is thrown away. A person cannot think about something he does not understand (Strydom & Du Plessis, 2000: 129). Critical thinking is necessary for every day decision making. No matter what one's circumstances, a person with good thinking skills will be more successful in life. Poor thinking causes frustration, a waste of time, ineffective use of energy and pain (Paul & Elder, 2002: xiii). A critical thinker will be able to apply the knowledge he/she has learnt in real life situations. Vygotsky (McGregor, 2007: I 0) asked the question: "Does language mirror thought or thought language or both?" In educational psychology it is generally accepted that language and thinking are interwoven (Donald, et a!., 2005 :219). The descriptive research method was used. For the purpose of this study, 10 Grade 11 learners from the ACE system were conveniently sampled. These learners included six English Mother Tongue (EMT) learners and four English Second Language (ESL) learners. For the empirical research the ELSA test was used for language proficiency and the Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Test for testing critical thinking skills. Descriptive statistics were employed to interpret the results since the sample was too small for correlations and inferences. Generally the language proficiency of the EMT learners was on a Grade level 10. The language proficiency of the ESL learners was generally also on a Grade level I 0, which is acceptable for ESL learners. Critical thinking skills such as evaluation and interpretation were overall adequately developed. However, most of the learners performed poorly with inferences. Although statistical correlations could not be made, because of the small sample, with 8 of the learners it appears as if there was a link between language proficiency and critical thinking skills. These 8 learners' language proficiency and critical thinking results were either equally good or equally poor. / Thesis (M.Ed. (Learning and Teaching)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

The purpose of this study was to improve problem solving attitudes and abilities in students of mathematics through the exploration of John Mason’s general problem solving strategy and the use of problem solving groups, and to document and understand this improvement process. The types of problems and tasks assigned to students as well as assessment practices were also examined. A Design-Experiment Research approach was used with thirty grade 9 students participating throughout the year-long study. A teacher-researcher journal, student problem-solving journals, and surveys were used. The study showed that using a general problem solving strategy with groups of students working together to solve problems can improve problem solving attitudes and abilities. Students made significant improvements during initial engagement of problems, in specializing and generalizing, and in communication. Almost all students expressed a more positive attitude toward problem solving and their problem solving abilities. The study demonstrates how focusing on initial stages of the problem solving process like the understanding of the problem in a group context can reach multiple learning objectives and positively impact later stages of problem solving. In addition, recommendations for classroom teachers are provided concerning the roles within the groups, the nature of beneficial problem types and student tasks, and concerning the role of the teacher as researcher of his or her own teaching practice.

I den här litteraturstudien har begreppet matematisk begåvning granskats i syfte att reda ut hur matematisk begåvning bland studenter kan mätas och även, vad som kännetecknar matematiskt begåvade elever i nutid. För att besvara dessa två frågor har tyngdpunkten lagts på forskning under 2000-talet, däribland doktorsavhandlingar och vetenskapliga artiklar. Genom att göra en studie utifrån dessa kommer resultatet av denna studie klargöra hur matematisk begåvning kan mätas och ge en inblick i vad som kännetecknar matematiskt begåvade elever, alla utifrån ett forskningsperspektiv. Mina studier enas om att matematiska egenskaper som de matematiskt begåvade eleverna kan ha är olika från elev till elev och kan vara vilka egenskaper som helst som underlättar matematikundervisningen för eleverna. De flesta studierna mäter matematisk begåvning med resultatbaserade medel vilket motsäger deras egna slutsatser om att alla matematiskt begåvade elever är sin egen karaktär och både lär sig och utövar kunskap på olika vis. / In this paper, the concept of mathematical giftedness has been reviewed with the purpose of unraveling how mathematical giftedness amongst students can be measured, and also, what characterizes mathematical gifted students today. To answer those two questions, the main focus has been devoted to research carried out during the 21st century, including doctoral dissertations and peer-reviewed articles. By doing that, the result of this study will clarify how mathematical giftedness can be measured, and give an insight as to what characterize mathematical gifted students, all from a research perspective. My studies agree that the mathematical characteristics of the mathematically gifted students may differ from student to student, and may be what qualities what so ever that facilitates the teaching of mathematics to students. Most studies measuring mathematical talent with performance-based funding, which contradicts their own conclusions about all mathematically gifted students is their own character and both are learning and practicing knowledge in different ways.