This paper draws on data gathered from a large-scale, multi-year research project, Curriculum Implementation in Intermediate Mathematics (CIIM), that examines the implementation of a reform (inquiry-oriented) mathematics curriculum in Grades 7 – 10 in Ontario, Canada. To describe classroom practices and ways that teachers have been challenged and supported in implementing an inquiry-oriented approach, the data included teacher questionnaires (n =1096), focus group interviews with mathematics educators across the province, and nine case studies. While some of our data align with the research of others who show that teacher change is complex and inquiry-oriented pedagogies are slow to emerge (Frykholm, 1999; Jacobs, Hiebert, Givven, Hollingsworth, Garnier, & Wearne, 2006), we also have evidence of teachers engaged in a variety of classroom practices that involve students in inquiry-oriented mathematics learning.

This qualitative study examines the connections between teachers’ views of large-scale assessment and their classroom practice, based on a case study of Ontario teachers and the Ontario Education Quality and Accountability Office [EQAO] Grade 9 Applied Assessment of Mathematics. Large-scale assessments are a prominent aspect of the Ontario education system; given that they are also mandatory, it is imperative that their impact on teaching be documented. This study enriches the existing literature on the topic of the Grade 9 EQAO Assessment of Mathematics, and provides a more-recent portrayal of the teachers’ views of this assessment and the potential impact of these views on classroom teaching by highlighting teacher attitudes, concerns, and classroom practices.

Thesis (M. Ed. (Science Education)) -- University of Limpopo, 2018 / This study explored the science teachers' views about the nature of science and how these views influenced their classroom. The study was conducted in three public quantile-three schools in Dimamo Circuit of Capricorn District-Limpopo Province. It was a case study with twenty participants filling the open-ended questionnaire with four teachers who were observed and interviewed. The teachers were from the FET band with teaching experience ranging between one year and thirty years. The essential research questions addressed in this study are, namely: What are science teachers’ views about the nature of science? How do the science teachers’ views about the nature of science influence their classroom practices? Data were collected all the way through open-ended questionnaires, classroom observations and semi-structured interviews. The data collected were analysed through groups of themes. The four teachers observed and interviewed were grouped as one case. It was found that most of the teachers held informed views about the nature of science from both data collected from the open-ended questionnaires and semi structured interviews. There was a group of teachers whose views about the nature of science being tentative reflected uninformed views and the majority of teachers revealing uninformed views about the difference between scientific law and scientific theory. The teachers believed that theories develop into laws. There was also a majority of teachers who believed that scientific investigation follows only one universal route. It was also found that the same teachers who reflected informed views were not able to back them in their classroom practices. The majority of those teachers reflected no informed views in their classroom as such it was impossible to tell how their views influenced their classroom practices. KEY WORDS Nature of science, Classroom practice, Scientific law, Tentative, Scientific theory

Thesis (M.A.(Translation and Linguistics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2014 / This research was a case study of teachers’ conceptualizations and theories that underpin their classroom practices in a primary school in the Mankweng Township, Limpopo Province. The study sought to explore what these conceptualizations are, and what theoretical paradigms (or mix of paradigms) underpin them. However, rather than attempt to get teachers to articulate their conceptions (which may be too abstract and difficult an undertaking), teachers were required to engage with classroom practices different from their own and in the context of this engagement, confront their own beliefs about literacy and literacy development. The study also aimed to explore whether encounters by teachers with classroom practices based on sets of principles different to their own will lead them to revise their theories or principles underpinning their teaching practices. The empirical data was in the form of seven lessons by the regular teachers alongside six intervention lessons taught by the academic researchers. Key to the research design was to get teachers to critically and reflectively engage with their teaching and the teaching of others. Through the use of actual transcripts of teachers’ classroom practices and responses to the two sets of lessons as evidence, teachers’ classroom practices, actions and beliefs were made visible in this research. The data from regular lessons show a consistent yet disconcerting pattern in teachers’ classroom practices as learners were found to be writing far too little, and much of learning and teaching was predominantly oral. Teachers also seemed to lack theories of literacy teaching, and thus could not meaningfully engage their learners in academic discourse enabling them to cross the bridge between everyday knowledge and academic knowledge. Overall, the study suggests that pedagogic and content knowledge are key, in order to empower teachers with both knowledge of their disciplinary content and meaningful strategies of communicating the knowledge they have to their learners. Further current models of teacher professionalization through short training workshop do not seem to be very effective and alternative approaches need to be developed.

This descriptive case study investigated the effects of widespread availability of information technology in a fifth grade classroom using a constructivist paradigm. The same computer configuration that students used in the classroom was provided for them at home, along with an Internet dial-up connection. The technology was used as an adjunct to the classroom and was utilized when appropriate. In addition to general classroom observations, four students were chosen for closer study. Their progress was monitored throughout the year with respect to three emerging themes related to information technology use: self-directed learning, collaboration, and social interaction. The results of this study were organized into individual student stories with each theme explored. The results showed that the students used the available technology both in the classroom and at home. There was a natural fit between the requirements of the fifth grade class and the available tools. Students chose to utilize the available technology and derived new ways of doing so, particularly at home where they were totally self-directed. For the students in this study, learning became a two-way process. Skills students developed on their own were shared with their teachers and other classmates. / Ed. D.

This research study investigated the professional development of teachers as they integrate learning technologies into classroom practice. In particular, the study was concerned with the specific role of the learning technology coordinator in this professional development process. The views of classroom teachers were sought concerning factors in their professional development which they found useful together with the relevance of the role of the learning technology coordinator. So too, the views of the learning technology coordinators and principals were sought regarding effective professional development as teachers integrate learning technologies into classroom practice. Two processes were used to ascertain these views. Focus groups and interviews were conducted at the LaTTiCE (Learning and Teaching Technologies in Catholic Education) and Navigator schools. The Navigator and LaTTiCE school were specially funded pilot schools for the integration of learning technologies into classrooms. These technology rich schools provided detailed data from a specific group of people. A survey was also sent to randomly selected primary schools in Melbourne to see if similar responses would be gained from the general population of schools less privileged in terms of learning technologies and the associated professional development. Analysis of this data led to some important insights related to the professional development of teachers as they integrate learning technologies into classroom practice and to the specific role of the learning technology coordinator in this process. This study found that the main reason why teachers integrated learning technologies into classroom practice was to benefit their students and to improve their own skill levels. The important factors in the professional development of teachers integrating technology were that it was collaborative, embedded in practice, ongoing over time, had the support of the principal and was supported by a learning technology coordinator. This study focused on the role of the learning technology coordinator and found that the most important aspect of this role was related to the professional development of teachers and the coordination of the school’s technology program. These findings led to recommendations that priority be given to funding at a system level for a school based learning technology coordinator to be appointed in each primary school and that principals provide for this coordinator to focus on the professional development of teachers integrating technology into classroom practice.

The main purpose of this study is to find out how technology as a school subject is formed into pedagogical action. Issues addressed are: – How does teaching in the school subject of technology differ in terms of content and process? – How do frame factors influence teaching in technology? As analytic tools, concepts from philosophical thought on technology and education as well as frame factor theory are used to throw light on the way technology education takes shape in the practices of two primary school teachers. The philosophical concepts employed and developed have been inspired by the thinking of Martin Heidegger and John Dewey. These con-cepts are “place” and “shaping of technology,” where the shaping of tech-no¬logy involves the following phases: formulation of the assignment, analysis, visualization/construction and evaluation/reflection. The basic questions are investigated in two case studies over a period of one year. Data is collected based on ethnographic methods and consists of observations, video recordings, documentation in the form of teachers’ diaries as well as pupils’ work, taped interviews with pupils, and interviews with the two teachers both before and after the project was finished. The overall results of the study show that the two teachers, to a different degree, use place, e.g. they try to use the children’s own experiences and the surrounding environment as a starting point in their teaching. They try to organize their teaching as a process of knowledge construction instead of as a process of transmission. In that process, different forms of represen¬tation are used, such as sketches, model constructions and written docu¬mentation, with the element of model construction providing a common denominator given the availability of tools and material. Another similarity between the practices is that the children are given opportunities to work at problem solving in cases where there are no given solutions. However, they enter problems due to their own embodiment in a pedagogy of transmission, which results in the fact that the shaping of technology becomes difficult to organize. Strict borders between subjects, the fragmented timetable of the school, and the organization of the classroom space and scarce equipment and materials all influence the possibilities of teaching in technology.

The National Curriculum Statement (2002), in line with the South African Constitution (1996), views human rights, inclusivity and social justice as priorities in all learning areas of the curriculum. However, a document such as the Manifesto on Values, Education and Democracy (2001) illustrates the complexities of addressing this in practice. One of the reasons is that there are misconceptions about how the concept of 'human rights' should be interpreted in the educational realm. This study sets out to explore how primary school learners understand human rights teaching-and-learning (from a moral and value stance) and what factors influence this. The intention is to rethink and redefine human rights teaching-and-learning from a learner's perspective as well as to investigate the notion that regards human rights as 'misunderstood'. This research offers a new perspective on human rights in that it focuses on primary school learners. Therefore this study will provide another lens through which to consider human rights teaching-and-learning in classroom practice. A literature study and empirical research have been undertaken to investigate how learners understand human rights teaching-and-learning. The literature study explores ontological, epistemological and methodological perspectives of human rights teaching-and-learning. Qualitative observation, written narratives and focus-group interviews formed the bases of this empirical research. Ongoing triangulation is used to ensure that the research findings are valid and trustworthy. It seems that primary school learners do have an understanding of human rights teaching-and-learning, which is characterized by an emphasis on legal rights and the contextualisation of human rights within South African, value and educational contexts. Educational and societal factors are two of the factors that influence this understanding. It is clear that learners' understanding of human rights teaching-and-learning is not one-dimensional. However, there are certain ontological ambiguities in the views that learners hold of the significance of human rights teaching-and-learning -both within and beyond the curriculum. An indication of this is that learners' responses reveal that they are often uncertain about why they have to learn about human rights and the contexts and/or learning areas (other than Life Orientation) in which human rights teaching-and-learning should take place. Recommendations highlight the need to gain a better understanding of classroom practices so that teaching-and-learning can infuse a culture of human rights; to acknowledge that human rights teaching-and-learning should be more flexible; to use an implicit way of generating an understanding of human rights; to make human rights teaching and learning in classroom practice more authentic; and to consider 'a human rights beyond the curriculum approach'. This study also identifies areas in which further research should be done. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

The National Curriculum Statement (2002), in line with the South African Constitution (1996), views human rights, inclusivity and social justice as priorities in all learning areas of the curriculum. However, a document such as the Manifesto on Values, Education and Democracy (2001) illustrates the complexities of addressing this in practice. One of the reasons is that there are misconceptions about how the concept of 'human rights' should be interpreted in the educational realm. This study sets out to explore how primary school learners understand human rights teaching-and-learning (from a moral and value stance) and what factors influence this. The intention is to rethink and redefine human rights teaching-and-learning from a learner's perspective as well as to investigate the notion that regards human rights as 'misunderstood'. This research offers a new perspective on human rights in that it focuses on primary school learners. Therefore this study will provide another lens through which to consider human rights teaching-and-learning in classroom practice. A literature study and empirical research have been undertaken to investigate how learners understand human rights teaching-and-learning. The literature study explores ontological, epistemological and methodological perspectives of human rights teaching-and-learning. Qualitative observation, written narratives and focus-group interviews formed the bases of this empirical research. Ongoing triangulation is used to ensure that the research findings are valid and trustworthy. It seems that primary school learners do have an understanding of human rights teaching-and-learning, which is characterized by an emphasis on legal rights and the contextualisation of human rights within South African, value and educational contexts. Educational and societal factors are two of the factors that influence this understanding. It is clear that learners' understanding of human rights teaching-and-learning is not one-dimensional. However, there are certain ontological ambiguities in the views that learners hold of the significance of human rights teaching-and-learning -both within and beyond the curriculum. An indication of this is that learners' responses reveal that they are often uncertain about why they have to learn about human rights and the contexts and/or learning areas (other than Life Orientation) in which human rights teaching-and-learning should take place. Recommendations highlight the need to gain a better understanding of classroom practices so that teaching-and-learning can infuse a culture of human rights; to acknowledge that human rights teaching-and-learning should be more flexible; to use an implicit way of generating an understanding of human rights; to make human rights teaching and learning in classroom practice more authentic; and to consider 'a human rights beyond the curriculum approach'. This study also identifies areas in which further research should be done. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

The aim of this thesis is to develop knowledge about what students actually learn in lower secondary school science, regardless of intentions and policies. This is conceptualized as a study of the lived curriculum. During the last decades, new ways of organizing classroom work have evolved in Sweden. Students are to an increasing extent expected to take responsibility for what, when, and how they study. The aim of this thesis is therefore delimited to the study of which lived curriculum is constituted in such an individually organized science classroom practice. The theoretical foundation is a cultural-historical activity-theoretical perspective on human learning and development. The point of departure is that what we learn must be understood as an aspect of the activities we engage in. The research approach is ethnographic; field studies were conducted in two science classes, grades six and seven (ages 12 to 14 years old), in a Swedish midsized compulsory school during one school-year. The first result is that two different practices are discerned in the studied science classroom. One classroom practice is a criteria-based practice, where students work individually with local school criteria determining what students must be able to do in order to get a pass or a pass with distinction in the natural science subjects. The other classroom practice is a laboratory practice, where students do laboratory experiments and write laboratory reports. The second result is that students, in both practices, participate in different actions; either production and reproduction of correct answers or development of conceptual relations. These actions correspond in varying degrees to different motives; as a consequence, different scientific formation is made possible in the two different actions. A third result is that classroom practice supports student participation in the action of reproducing correct answers; while participation in the development of conceptual relations is a more risky and uncertain endeavour. However, there is evidence that students’ ways of participating can change, to a more qualified, as conditions for work change. A conclusion is that work in science classroom practice cannot, as suggested in previous research, be comprehended in terms of cultural border-crossings, between a culture of science and student cultures. Rather, work in science classroom practice must be conceptualized in terms of schooling.