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Research in team science suggests strategies for addressing difficulties that groups face when working together. This dissertation examines how student teams work in project based learning (PBL) environments, with the goal of creating strategies and technology to improve collaboration. The challenge of working in such a group is that the members frequently come from different backgrounds and thus have different ideas on how to accomplish a project. In these groups, teamwork and production of successful solutions depends on whether members consider each other’s dissimilar perspectives. However, the lack of a shared history means that members may have difficulty in taking the time to share and build knowledge collectively. The ultimate goal of my research is to design strategies and technology to improve the inner workings of PBL groups so that they will learn from each other and produce successful outcomes in collaborative settings. The field of computer supported collaborative learning has made much progress on designing, implementing, and evaluating environments that support project based learning. However, most existing research concerns students rather than instructors. Therefore, in my initial research, I explore the needs of the instructors in conducting student assessments (studies one, two). These studies identify five different group processes that are of importance from the instructors’ perspective. My subsequent research focuses on one of them, namely the process of knowledge co-construction, which is a process that instructors have significant difficulty in assessing. In order to support the assessment of the knowledge co-construction process, my research has progressed along two axes: (a) identifying conditions that support the knowledge co-construction process and its relationship to learning and knowledge transfer (studies three, four, and five), and (b) automatically monitoring the knowledge co-construction process using natural language processing and machine learning (studies six ~ nine). Studies five and eight look at a specific type of knowledge co-construction process called the idea co-construction process (ICC). ICC is the process of taking up, transforming, or otherwise building on an idea expressed earlier in a conversation. I argue that ICC is essential for groups to function well in terms of knowledge sharing and perspective taking.

This thesis examines the processes and outcomes of a composer-teacher's practice in the context of a New Zealand secondary school. The research was undertaken by the composer-teacher/researcher as a case study that integrates an investigation of the context with four action research music composition projects developed as a creative response to that context. Chapters One to Three comprise the background theory. Chapter One provides an introduction and overview of the research; Chapter Two explains and justifies the research methods. Chapter Three peels away and examines five layers of the secondary school context identified as significant in shaping the perceptions of the participants: approaching the context in a multi-layered way enabled coherent synthesis and appraisal of the relevant literature. Chapters Four to Seven comprise the four action research music composition projects. Each action research project focuses on a music score composed by the composer-teacher/researcher for a specific group of students at Macleans College, Auckland. The composition, production, and performance processes are investigated from the perspectives of all the participants. Each music project comprises a four part progression - plan (composition process), data (music score), data analysis (recordings of performances, surveys, and interviews with all participants) and reflection (feedback, and feedforward into the next project). Each phase of the research generated significant outcomes, such as the four original music scores. Chapter Eight summarizes the themes, issues, and patterns that emerged, and makes recommendations for further research. A model of co-constructive practice emerges from this research: teacher and students co-construct artistic worlds through performance. The model is not new (it is common practice, adopted by generations of musician-teachers) but is rarely acknowledged and currently un-researched. This research demonstrates the validity of the practice from both musical, and teaching and learning perspectives, and examines the strengths and limitations of the model. At its best, the creative processes co-constructed by a teacher with her students are shown to provide a crucible within which intense and creative learning experiences occur. Students of all levels of ability are shown to gain confidence in this context, and subsequently develop skills with apparent ease. The co-constructive model is limited in that it cannot meet the musical needs of all students: co-construction should be considered as one model of practice, appropriate for use in association with many others. This research provides 'virtual access' to a particular world of performance practice, revealing the secondary school context as a realm of authentic and valid musical practice.

The aim of this study was to explore learning experience of EFL elementary school students during peer-led English picturebook discussions. This study primarily addressed the following aspects: 1)elements that constituted EFL learners¡¦co-construction in terms of intersubjectivity; 2) the processes of co-construction among EFL learners; 3) the relationships between EFL learners¡¦perceptions of English picturebook discussion experience and their participation in co-construction. The present study adopted a single instrumental case study and recruited four sixth-grade EFL learners in Kaohsiung City. Procedures of data collection included observations and interviews, lasting from June 2009 (excluding July and August) to January 2010. The researcher transcribed the data and employed the constant comparative method for data analysis. In addition, the researcher adopted Matusov¡¦s (1996) idea of intersubjectivity as her analytical framework in the later stage of the data analysis. The study showed the following results. First, the four EFL learners¡¦co-construction constituted both agreements and disagreements. Second, during the processes of meaning co-construction, the four EFL learners drew on single and multiple resources to clarify confusions and extend meanings. Third, during the English picturebook discussions, the four EFL learners¡¦perceptions of peer interaction and participation towards co-construction were mutually affected. The findings of this study are consistent with Matusov¡¦s (1996) concept of intersubjectivity for revealing that some disagreements may encourage co-construction among the four EFL learners. Also, this study echoes Wertsch¡¦s (1979, 1984) idea of situation definition and demonstrates the nature of the four EFL learner¡¦s shifting perceptions when interpreting the activity of English picturebook discussions. For further studies, researchers can explore why some of the disagreements among students cannot encourage co-construction. In addition, future studies can investigate the fluctuating nature of situation definitions and the mutually affected ways of the learners¡¦situation definitions. For EFL elementary teachers who are interested in incorporating English picturebook discussions into peer-led group activities, this study provides two pedagogical implications. First, EFL teachers are encouraged to pay more attention to students¡¦ co-construction processes in peer-led English picturebook discussions, instead of only focusing on the product of co-construction. Second, EFL teachers are suggested to be aware of possible factors that can negatively affect students¡¦willingness to participate in group discussions, such as peer influence and peer pressure.

Class Meetings with a teacher and group of young children (ages 3-5) provide a forum for creative group problem solving, both establishing a community of learners and developing oral language skills. The construction of a child's oral language and problem-solving skills is far reaching and is an underlying theme in many areas of social and emotional growth including moral development, character development, conflict resolution, identification of values, self esteem, and academic improvement. The theoretical framework for this study is based on various scholarly sources including those concerned with early childhood group learning, oral language, and problem solving.During this 12 week action research study, both teacher-talk and children's problem solving strategies were addressed to answer the following research questions: What roles do teachers play in Class Meetings? What types of teacher talk are used to influence student thinking and talk within Class Meetings? What problems are identified in a Class Meeting with young children? What problem-solving strategies do young children develop within Class Meetings? The research design and methodology include videotaping, audio taping Class Meetings and transcribing these interactions with preschool children in an early childhood classroom setting.Results indicate that during this study, attendance at the Class Meetings increased, and that young children, when given the opportunity to self-select, chose to attend the Class Meetings over other available activities. Also, this study suggests that the Class Meeting model and effective teacher-talk support student oral language, the use of positive communication, problem identification, and the development of problem solving strategies. Implications for early childhood educators, teacher educators, policymakers and researchers are discussed.

Abstract In 2007 the Ministry of Education in Ontario identified Aboriginal education as one of its key priorities with the release of the First Nation, Métis and Inuit Education Policy Framework (FNMI). Improving educational outcomes and closing the achievement gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students is the focus of this policy. This study examines the policy implementation process in one school board in Ontario by focusing on how teachers in two elementary schools made sense of the policy expectations and how this sense-making impacted their professional practice. In order to examine how implementation was understood and acted upon by these teachers, the sense-making/co-construction model developed by Datnow, Hubbard, & Mehan (2002) provides the starting point for analysis. This study seeks to make visible the sense-making cues that teachers used to notice and select new information and to examine how these cues impacted teacher enactment of the FNMI policy. Sense-making theory supports the examination of change at the micro level of local policy actors; while the co-construction model with its meditational system of individual agency, organizational structure/culture, and environmental messaging contextualizes the individual sense-making of teachers within a larger social environment. The research methodology included teacher interviews designed to collect evidence of teacher sense-making during the policy implementation process, and school visits to observe evidence of school culture and structure. Interview responses of 15 elementary teachers and 2 principals were analyzed for sense-making cues. The findings revealed clusters of sense-making cues connected to three main sense-making frameworks or discourses. These discourses included the teacher as professional, equity and inclusion, and leadership and change. These findings support previous research on sense-making and policy implementation and contribute further insight into the micro processes of policy implementation, which could be leveraged to improve policy implementation. Key Words: policy implementation, teacher sense-making, leadership, co-construction model

Abstract In 2007 the Ministry of Education in Ontario identified Aboriginal education as one of its key priorities with the release of the First Nation, Métis and Inuit Education Policy Framework (FNMI). Improving educational outcomes and closing the achievement gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students is the focus of this policy. This study examines the policy implementation process in one school board in Ontario by focusing on how teachers in two elementary schools made sense of the policy expectations and how this sense-making impacted their professional practice. In order to examine how implementation was understood and acted upon by these teachers, the sense-making/co-construction model developed by Datnow, Hubbard, & Mehan (2002) provides the starting point for analysis. This study seeks to make visible the sense-making cues that teachers used to notice and select new information and to examine how these cues impacted teacher enactment of the FNMI policy. Sense-making theory supports the examination of change at the micro level of local policy actors; while the co-construction model with its meditational system of individual agency, organizational structure/culture, and environmental messaging contextualizes the individual sense-making of teachers within a larger social environment. The research methodology included teacher interviews designed to collect evidence of teacher sense-making during the policy implementation process, and school visits to observe evidence of school culture and structure. Interview responses of 15 elementary teachers and 2 principals were analyzed for sense-making cues. The findings revealed clusters of sense-making cues connected to three main sense-making frameworks or discourses. These discourses included the teacher as professional, equity and inclusion, and leadership and change. These findings support previous research on sense-making and policy implementation and contribute further insight into the micro processes of policy implementation, which could be leveraged to improve policy implementation. Key Words: policy implementation, teacher sense-making, leadership, co-construction model

Orientador: Anna Christina Bentes da Silva / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-12T03:51:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Azanha_ElizaniaFabiadeSousa_M.pdf: 949384 bytes, checksum: 9430da9bcf7800d49643e2f36633fc0b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: As interações sociais têm sido amplamente estudadas por lingüistas, no Brasil e em outros países. Da mesma forma, encontramos diversos trabalhos que exploram a questão da cognição social, procurando entender como se constroem conhecimentos partilhados e como são utilizados. Nosso trabalho fará uma tentativa de utilizar esses dois conceitos para analisar interações entre alunos do Ensino Médio sobre gêneros televisivos, a que assistiram, em situações por nós propiciadas. Gravamos matérias televisivas e selecionamos gêneros com enfoque para a informação: notícia, comentário e entrevista. Todos apresentados em jornais de grande circulação e em horário nobre, em canal aberto. Solicitamos aos alunos, divididos em três grupos, que assistissem a cada uma das matérias e em seguida comentassem o que haviam compreendido. Esse corpus foi analisado observando-se como compreenderam as matérias através das construções conjuntas de sentido que elaboraram e, ainda, quais as estratégias que utilizaram para demonstrar essa compreensão. Observamos que esses alunos, através da interação, demonstraram compreender as matérias assistidas realizando construções conjuntas, a partir de conhecimentos prévios e uso de recursos como repetições e paráfrases. Concluímos que a interação pode favorecer a construção dos sentidos do texto oral, através de negociações que os indivíduos realizaram buscando apresentar sua compreensão das matérias a que assistiram. E, ainda, que as estratégias de repetição e paráfrase podem, muitas vezes, favorecer essa compreensão por permitir aos informantes, através das retomadas enunciativas, reelaborarem os conteúdos a que assistiram com o intuito de construir novos saberes a partir dos já existentes. Não podemos ignorar o caráter avaliativo presente em muitos dos comentários elaborados pelos alunos nas diferentes interações, o que nos conduz à conclusão de que, quando conhecem o assunto a que assistem consideram-se autorizados a apresentar sua opinião a respeito desse tema. Pretendemos, com nossas análises, apresentar uma possibilidade de trabalho com alunos do Ensino Médio, a partir da mídia televisiva, que trata de gêneros televisivos como objeto de estudo e demonstram a co-construção dos sentidos nas interações propiciadas por esse gênero. / Abstract: The social interaction has been hugely studied by linguistics, in Brazil and in other countries. Likewise, we find several studies that explore the question of social cognition, looking for understanding how communal common grounds are constructed and used. Our paper will try to use both of this concepts to analyze interactions among students of high school level about television genres that they have watched in propitiated situations. We recorded some television programs and we selected genres which focus on information: news, comments and interviews. All of them were presented at newscasts of huge circulation, at nightcast, on open channel. We asked for the pupils, distributed in three groups, to watch each feature and to comment it at following, to show what they had understood. This corpus was analyzed with the goal for seeing how they had comprehended the feature through the common constructions of meaning that they elaborated and, then, which strategies they have used to show this comprehension. We noticed that this students, through the interaction, demonstrate comprehension about the features that they watched, they made common constructions, from their communal common grounds and the use of recourses like repetition and paraphrase. We can conclude that interaction can favor the construction of meanings from oral text, through the negotiation that the individuals made to show their comprehension about the features they had watched. And, still, that the strategies of repetition and paraphrases can, many times, favor that comprehension for letting to the informants re-elaborate the contents that they had watched with the deal of construct new knowledges from those that they have already have, using the enunciative resumed. We can't ignore the evaluated character that it is present at many of the comments elaborated by students in the different interactions, what carry us to the conclusion that when they know the subject that they watch they give theirselves the right to present their opinion about that subject. We intent, with our analysis, present a possibility of work with high school students, from television media, which see the television genres like object of study and demonstrate the co-construction of meanings at interactions propitiated by this genre. / Mestrado / Mestre em Linguística

<div> <div> <div> <p>Past parent-child attachment studies mainly focused on behavioral exchanges during the early years without exploring the role played by verbal exchanges. During the transition to early childhood, developing cognitive and language abilities provide a new window to examine the influence of mother-led verbal communication skills about attachment-related events, and whether those skills contribute to child attachment security. This study investigates maternal verbal communication skills (i.e., co-construction skills), their relationships with maternal sensitivity and child attachment security, and whether maternal co-construction skills add unique information to the prediction of child security, above and beyond any contributions of maternal sensitivity at 2-3 years of age. Fifty-four mother-child dyads participated in the current study. Maternal co-construction skills were assessed via a joint storytelling task; transcriptions were created and then coded using a set of three scales. Maternal sensitivity and attachment security were assessed using the Maternal Behavior with Preschoolers Q-set (MBPQS) and Attachment Q-set (AQS), respectively. Structural equation modeling was used to address the questions posed. Results indicated that maternal co-construction is not related with maternal sensitivity, though some maternal co-constructive abilities were associated with sensitivity; maternal co- construction was not a significant correlate of child attachment security at 2-3 years of age. Overall, results from this current study extend those of former research on maternal verbal co- construction skills and their relationship with mother-child attachment relationships, demonstrating that maternal language input may not start to play an important role in secure base behavior (i.e., security) until children are older. However, the association between some maternal co-construction skills and maternal sensitivity revealed the potential importance of language communication in mother-child attachment relationship. Verbal abilities were argued to be an important part in parent-child relationships and may influences child attachment longitudinally not concurrently at the beginning of early childhood.</p> </div> </div> </div>

Yes / As multinational enterprises (MNEs) increasingly disaggregate and disperse corporate headquarters (CHQ) activities, the allocation of regional management mandates (RMMs) to local operating subsidiaries is becoming more common. RMMs explicitly break with the traditional assumption of a clear separation between centralised and local decision-making. Yet we know little of how RMMs are enacted by the units involved, or how they evolve over time. Based on a case study of Unilever, we find that RMMs are inherently ambiguous, and identify circumstances under which ambiguity manifests and triggers cycles of sensemaking and sensegiving about the meaning of the mandate. These cycles result in the co-construction of the mandate by multiple units, with changes in RMM scope and governance over time. We also find that sensemaking and sensegiving are most intense among boundary-spanning middle managers. Our work challenges prevailing assumptions that mandates are largely unambiguous when assigned and are unilateral or dyadic accomplishments; demonstrates the importance of sub-unit level analysis in MNEs; and highlights the potential of structuration theory to enrich our understanding of sensemaking and sensegiving in organisations. / Funding from the Society for the Advancement of Management Studies (SAMS)