A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MA in Communication Science at the University of Zululand, 2002. / In this thesis I will apply the principles of organisational communication to school management to develop a communication model that principals can use as part of managing schools as organizations. In the first phase I will do a literature review of organizational communication to help me design a communication model for schools. In the second phase I will do an empirical survey of principals' understanding of organizational communication, and oftheir present communication practices.

This study aims to articulate a theory of teaching that accounts for both the cognitive development of the learner and the social context in which learning occurs. It contributes to discussions about a socially constructed theory of pedagogy that can inform classroom practice. It explores firstly the role of the teacher in supporting students' conceptual understanding and secondly the importance of dialogue as a means of apprenticing students into the discourse of a subject discipline. The sociocultural notion of 'scaffolding' and the way in which various 'scaffolding' strategies support students' learning are examined through the classroom data. This thesis also explores the classroom as a site of activity in which educational practice is enacted. The significance of language as a 'tool' for learning is central to this study, as is the notion of learning as a social process. Language is a mediating tool that enables a dialogic engagement that supports the development of thinking that is consistent with the goals of the teacher. Also investigated is the use of various semiotic modalities, in addition to language, to support the active co-construction of knowledge. The research is conducted in a Year 7 History class (the first year of high school) in an independent, secondary boys' high school using a case study approach. It uses observation in naturalistic settings, interviews and written documentation. A significant outcome of this research has been the identification of discourse strategies and other semiotic systems such as visual, gestural and actional cues, and examination of the ways in which they function in the discourse to support student learning in the local and immediate context. The importance of all aspects that constitute the context in which the students are learning is also affirmed in this study. Context is not merely a 'backdrop' or background to language, it is integral to the creation of meaning and field knowledge. Another major conclusion that can be drawn from this research is the distinction between scaffolding at a macro level, consisting of a planned, 'designed-in' approach to a unit of work in a subject discipline and the lessons that constitute it, and contingent scaffolding that operates at a micro level or 'at the point of need'. By applying a variety of linguistic tools drawing on Systemic Functional Linguistic theory, it has been possible to articulate the kinds of discourse and multimodal strategies that constitute the nature of scaffolding. A further finding in this research is the value of using detailed analysis of the data with different analytical tools to identify emerging patterns in the discourse and also to 'view' the same data through different 'lenses'. An additional finding is the significance of an Induction genre that provides foundational understandings about the study of History for apprentice historians. This is supported by two post-foundational lessons that form a Macrogenre. This macrogenre reinforces the application of focus questions that are fundamental to historical study and an approach to answering these questions that is consistent with the methodology of the subject. Another finding relates to the role the teacher adopts in the classroom. The classroom in this research is strongly teacher guided in terms of the development of content and ways of controlling the development of discourse. This research shows that this does not preclude the classroom from being dialogic. Even though there is a knowledge and status differential between the teacher as expert and the student as novice, the teacher provides opportunities for discussion and development of ideas about the topic. Finally, this study confirms the value of drawing on a broad range of theories to inform the research. These multiple perspectives draw from sociocultural approaches to a socially oriented theory of learning; Activity Theory, and the notion of language as a social semiotic. This range of perspectives allows for 'rich' descriptions from which to draw conclusions about effective teaching and learning practices. / This study aims to articulate a theory of teaching that accounts for both the cognitive development of the learner and the social context in which learning occurs. It contributes to discussions about a socially constructed theory of pedagogy that can inform classroom practice. It explores firstly the role of the teacher in supporting students' conceptual understanding and secondly the importance of dialogue as a means of apprenticing students into the discourse of a subject discipline. The sociocultural notion of 'scaffolding' and the way in which various 'scaffolding' strategies support students' learning are examined through the classroom data. This thesis also explores the classroom as a site of activity in which educational practice is enacted. The significance of language as a 'tool' for learning is central to this study, as is the notion of learning as a social process. Language is a mediating tool that enables a dialogic engagement that supports the development of thinking that is consistent with the goals of the teacher. Also investigated is the use of various semiotic modalities, in addition to language, to support the active co-construction of knowledge. The research is conducted in a Year 7 History class (the first year of high school) in an independent, secondary boys' high school using a case study approach. It uses observation in naturalistic settings, interviews and written documentation. A significant outcome of this research has been the identification of discourse strategies and other semiotic systems such as visual, gestural and actional cues, and examination of the ways in which they function in the discourse to support student learning in the local and immediate context. The importance of all aspects that constitute the context in which the students are learning is also affirmed in this study. Context is not merely a 'backdrop' or background to language, it is integral to the creation of meaning and field knowledge. Another major conclusion that can be drawn from this research is the distinction between scaffolding at a macro level, consisting of a planned, 'designed-in' approach to a unit of work in a subject discipline and the lessons that constitute it, and contingent scaffolding that operates at a micro level or 'at the point of need'. By applying a variety of linguistic tools drawing on Systemic Functional Linguistic theory, it has been possible to articulate the kinds of discourse and multimodal strategies that constitute the nature of scaffolding. A further finding in this research is the value of using detailed analysis of the data with different analytical tools to identify emerging patterns in the discourse and also to 'view' the same data through different 'lenses'. An additional finding is the significance of an Induction genre that provides foundational understandings about the study of History for apprentice historians. This is supported by two post-foundational lessons that form a Macrogenre. This macrogenre reinforces the application of focus questions that are fundamental to historical study and an approach to answering these questions that is consistent with the methodology of the subject. Another finding relates to the role the teacher adopts in the classroom. The classroom in this research is strongly teacher guided in terms of the development of content and ways of controlling the development of discourse. This research shows that this does not preclude the classroom from being dialogic. Even though there is a knowledge and status differential between the teacher as expert and the student as novice, the teacher provides opportunities for discussion and development of ideas about the topic. Finally, this study confirms the value of drawing on a broad range of theories to inform the research. These multiple perspectives draw from sociocultural approaches to a socially oriented theory of learning; Activity Theory, and the notion of language as a social semiotic. This range of perspectives allows for 'rich' descriptions from which to draw conclusions about effective teaching and learning practices.

This study aims to articulate a theory of teaching that accounts for both the cognitive development of the learner and the social context in which learning occurs. It contributes to discussions about a socially constructed theory of pedagogy that can inform classroom practice. It explores firstly the role of the teacher in supporting students' conceptual understanding and secondly the importance of dialogue as a means of apprenticing students into the discourse of a subject discipline. The sociocultural notion of 'scaffolding' and the way in which various 'scaffolding' strategies support students' learning are examined through the classroom data. This thesis also explores the classroom as a site of activity in which educational practice is enacted. The significance of language as a 'tool' for learning is central to this study, as is the notion of learning as a social process. Language is a mediating tool that enables a dialogic engagement that supports the development of thinking that is consistent with the goals of the teacher. Also investigated is the use of various semiotic modalities, in addition to language, to support the active co-construction of knowledge. The research is conducted in a Year 7 History class (the first year of high school) in an independent, secondary boys' high school using a case study approach. It uses observation in naturalistic settings, interviews and written documentation. A significant outcome of this research has been the identification of discourse strategies and other semiotic systems such as visual, gestural and actional cues, and examination of the ways in which they function in the discourse to support student learning in the local and immediate context. The importance of all aspects that constitute the context in which the students are learning is also affirmed in this study. Context is not merely a 'backdrop' or background to language, it is integral to the creation of meaning and field knowledge. Another major conclusion that can be drawn from this research is the distinction between scaffolding at a macro level, consisting of a planned, 'designed-in' approach to a unit of work in a subject discipline and the lessons that constitute it, and contingent scaffolding that operates at a micro level or 'at the point of need'. By applying a variety of linguistic tools drawing on Systemic Functional Linguistic theory, it has been possible to articulate the kinds of discourse and multimodal strategies that constitute the nature of scaffolding. A further finding in this research is the value of using detailed analysis of the data with different analytical tools to identify emerging patterns in the discourse and also to 'view' the same data through different 'lenses'. An additional finding is the significance of an Induction genre that provides foundational understandings about the study of History for apprentice historians. This is supported by two post-foundational lessons that form a Macrogenre. This macrogenre reinforces the application of focus questions that are fundamental to historical study and an approach to answering these questions that is consistent with the methodology of the subject. Another finding relates to the role the teacher adopts in the classroom. The classroom in this research is strongly teacher guided in terms of the development of content and ways of controlling the development of discourse. This research shows that this does not preclude the classroom from being dialogic. Even though there is a knowledge and status differential between the teacher as expert and the student as novice, the teacher provides opportunities for discussion and development of ideas about the topic. Finally, this study confirms the value of drawing on a broad range of theories to inform the research. These multiple perspectives draw from sociocultural approaches to a socially oriented theory of learning; Activity Theory, and the notion of language as a social semiotic. This range of perspectives allows for 'rich' descriptions from which to draw conclusions about effective teaching and learning practices. / This study aims to articulate a theory of teaching that accounts for both the cognitive development of the learner and the social context in which learning occurs. It contributes to discussions about a socially constructed theory of pedagogy that can inform classroom practice. It explores firstly the role of the teacher in supporting students' conceptual understanding and secondly the importance of dialogue as a means of apprenticing students into the discourse of a subject discipline. The sociocultural notion of 'scaffolding' and the way in which various 'scaffolding' strategies support students' learning are examined through the classroom data. This thesis also explores the classroom as a site of activity in which educational practice is enacted. The significance of language as a 'tool' for learning is central to this study, as is the notion of learning as a social process. Language is a mediating tool that enables a dialogic engagement that supports the development of thinking that is consistent with the goals of the teacher. Also investigated is the use of various semiotic modalities, in addition to language, to support the active co-construction of knowledge. The research is conducted in a Year 7 History class (the first year of high school) in an independent, secondary boys' high school using a case study approach. It uses observation in naturalistic settings, interviews and written documentation. A significant outcome of this research has been the identification of discourse strategies and other semiotic systems such as visual, gestural and actional cues, and examination of the ways in which they function in the discourse to support student learning in the local and immediate context. The importance of all aspects that constitute the context in which the students are learning is also affirmed in this study. Context is not merely a 'backdrop' or background to language, it is integral to the creation of meaning and field knowledge. Another major conclusion that can be drawn from this research is the distinction between scaffolding at a macro level, consisting of a planned, 'designed-in' approach to a unit of work in a subject discipline and the lessons that constitute it, and contingent scaffolding that operates at a micro level or 'at the point of need'. By applying a variety of linguistic tools drawing on Systemic Functional Linguistic theory, it has been possible to articulate the kinds of discourse and multimodal strategies that constitute the nature of scaffolding. A further finding in this research is the value of using detailed analysis of the data with different analytical tools to identify emerging patterns in the discourse and also to 'view' the same data through different 'lenses'. An additional finding is the significance of an Induction genre that provides foundational understandings about the study of History for apprentice historians. This is supported by two post-foundational lessons that form a Macrogenre. This macrogenre reinforces the application of focus questions that are fundamental to historical study and an approach to answering these questions that is consistent with the methodology of the subject. Another finding relates to the role the teacher adopts in the classroom. The classroom in this research is strongly teacher guided in terms of the development of content and ways of controlling the development of discourse. This research shows that this does not preclude the classroom from being dialogic. Even though there is a knowledge and status differential between the teacher as expert and the student as novice, the teacher provides opportunities for discussion and development of ideas about the topic. Finally, this study confirms the value of drawing on a broad range of theories to inform the research. These multiple perspectives draw from sociocultural approaches to a socially oriented theory of learning; Activity Theory, and the notion of language as a social semiotic. This range of perspectives allows for 'rich' descriptions from which to draw conclusions about effective teaching and learning practices.

Thesis (M.A.T.) -- School for International Training, 2006. / Advisor -- Susan Barduhn Includes bibliographical references (leaves 74-76).

No description available.

The rapid changes in society today have caused many a leader in different environments to admit that they feel overwhelmed by, and inadequate to face the reality that this brings along. Our society is, according to many, in a transition, or as Roxburgh (2010) calls it, in an “in-between time”. This “in-between time” can be labelled as post-modern, post-colonial, post-democratic, or whatever language seems fitting; the fact of the matter is that studies are starting to show that leaders are struggling to lead in this changing landscape. This has also become particularly true in church leadership. This issue has been visited by many practical theologians of late. What has not been done yet was to visit this problem from an Old Testament perspective and to see if the Old Testament can contribute to this issue. In this study the Old Testament prophetic book of Ezekiel is taken as case study to see if it can shed any light on the matter. Ezekiel as prophet needs to speak to an audience that is also in rapidly changing circumstances. The lives of most Judeans changed with the first Babylonian exile of 597 BCE and got worse with the final exile in 586 BCE that also included the fall of Jerusalem. Suddenly the “known” became “unknown” and the familiar surroundings and lifestyle of Judea were substituted by the unfamiliar surroundings of Babylon and life as exiles. In these times people look to their prophets and their leaders to make sense of the reality and to offer some hope for the future. Ezekiel responds to this with communication. His communication criticises and energises. His communication seems vivid and metaphorically loaded and in the end stirs up imagination. This imagination gives clarity and hope for the future. What this study therefore attempts to do is to look for the process of this communication. It tries to find the different stages that Ezekiel goes through in his communication process. Out of these stages or steps it then builds a process of communication that is suggested as a possible Old Testament perspective on a modern-day problem. In this endeavour it proposes to build a bridge between practical issues of church life, leadership in the church and Biblical Studies. / Old Testament & Ancient Near Eastern Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Biblical Studies)

The rapid changes in society today have caused many a leader in different environments to admit that they feel overwhelmed by, and inadequate to face the reality that this brings along. Our society is, according to many, in a transition, or as Roxburgh (2010) calls it, in an “in-between time”. This “in-between time” can be labelled as post-modern, post-colonial, post-democratic, or whatever language seems fitting; the fact of the matter is that studies are starting to show that leaders are struggling to lead in this changing landscape. This has also become particularly true in church leadership. This issue has been visited by many practical theologians of late. What has not been done yet was to visit this problem from an Old Testament perspective and to see if the Old Testament can contribute to this issue. In this study the Old Testament prophetic book of Ezekiel is taken as case study to see if it can shed any light on the matter. Ezekiel as prophet needs to speak to an audience that is also in rapidly changing circumstances. The lives of most Judeans changed with the first Babylonian exile of 597 BCE and got worse with the final exile in 586 BCE that also included the fall of Jerusalem. Suddenly the “known” became “unknown” and the familiar surroundings and lifestyle of Judea were substituted by the unfamiliar surroundings of Babylon and life as exiles. In these times people look to their prophets and their leaders to make sense of the reality and to offer some hope for the future. Ezekiel responds to this with communication. His communication criticises and energises. His communication seems vivid and metaphorically loaded and in the end stirs up imagination. This imagination gives clarity and hope for the future. What this study therefore attempts to do is to look for the process of this communication. It tries to find the different stages that Ezekiel goes through in his communication process. Out of these stages or steps it then builds a process of communication that is suggested as a possible Old Testament perspective on a modern-day problem. In this endeavour it proposes to build a bridge between practical issues of church life, leadership in the church and Biblical Studies. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Biblical Studies)

This study aims to investigate the foreign language anxieties Japanese international students at American universities have and the relationship between these anxieties and length of stay in the U.S. 151 Japanese international students answered a modified version of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (Horwitz, Horwitz & Cope, 1986) followed by demographic questions. The findings from the questionnaire were analyzed through SPSS 21 software. Results indicated a statistically significant relationship between students’ level of anxieties and the length of stay in the U.S. Implications for teachers and government officials in Japan, as well as for teachers and university administrators in the U.S., are discussed.

Submitted by Noeme Timbo (noeme.timbo@metodista.br) on 2018-02-16T16:14:35Z No. of bitstreams: 1 VeronicaMartins.pdf: 2071452 bytes, checksum: a9626c88fffd626b51350ed65e24f8b7 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-02-16T16:14:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 VeronicaMartins.pdf: 2071452 bytes, checksum: a9626c88fffd626b51350ed65e24f8b7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-11-24 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The central theme of this research is the pedagogical practice as reference of a formal education program. The research has as general objective to reflect on the insertion of blended learning from the angle of the teacher that acts as mediator and focuses on personalization and on technology integration to the curriculum. In relation to specific objectives, and regarding both experiences here narrated and the interlacing of the stories (participants and researcher), we analyze the points of interconnection with the challenges, the afflictions and the discoveries of a teacher in view of the use of DICT (Digital Information and Communication Technologies) in the promotion of knowledge construction. This is a qualitative investigative research elaborated in the autobiographical narrative modality and supported by hermeneutic-phenomenological approach for interpretation of learning narratives, considering that the description of phenomena leads to the essence of lived experience. With inspiration in the narrative research of Clandinin and Connelly (2011), this study is based on the theoretical principles of the biographical approach of Delory-Momberger (2012), Passeggi (2011) and Larrosa (1999), as well as on the hermeneutic-phenomenological formulation of M. Freire (2012). The theoretical contributions are based on the following authors: Horn and Staker (2015); Zabala (1998); Mizukami (1986); Moran (2015); Costa (1989); Almeida and Valente (2011); Perrenoud (2013); Santos (1994); Vieira Pinto (2005) and Vygotsky (1997). The research also presents a brief historical review of traditional school and active learning, besides covering didactic strategies of learning spaces reconfiguration and teaching challenges in the contemporary world. Technology, knowledge and personalization are contextually addressed as concept, instrument and support for the efficient use of data in blended learning, without losing sight of the application of intelligence technologies. Finally, we seek to identify the perceptions of teachers of basic education __ for example, in relation to teaching practice and technology __ from public and private networks, regarding the use of digital media in pedagogical practices and the promotion of learning using blended learning. / O tema central deste estudo é a prática pedagógica como referência de um programa de educação formal que traz como problema de pesquisa “Quais percepções emergem quando os professores da educação básica, redes privada e pública, promovem a aprendizagem com foco na personalização utilizando o ensino do ensino híbrido?” A pesquisa aqui conduzida tem como objetivo geral refletir sobre a experiência dos docentes a partir da mediação que integra, com o uso da metodologia, a tecnologia ao currículo. Em relação aos objetivos específicos, e tendo por base as experiências narradas e o entrelaçar das histórias (participantes e pesquisadora), analisam-se quais são os pontos de interconexão com os desafios, as aflições e as descobertas da docência em vista do uso da TDIC (Tecnologias Digitais de Informação e Comunicação) na promoção da construção do conhecimento. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa de cunho investigativo elaborada na modalidade narrativa autobiográfica e amparada na abordagem hermenêutico-fenomenológica para a interpretação das narrativas, considerando que a descrição dos fenômenos conduz à essência da experiência vivida. Com inspiração na pesquisa narrativa de Clandinin e Connelly (2011), este estudo apoia-se tanto nos princípios teóricos da abordagem biográfica de Delory-Momberger (2012), Passeggi (2011) e Larrosa (1999), quanto na formulação hermenêutico-fenomenológica de M. Freire (2012). Os aportes teóricos se fundamentam nos seguintes autores: Horn e Staker (2015); Zabala (1998); Mizukami (1986); Moran (2015); Costa (1989); Almeida e Valente (2011); Perrenoud (2013); Santos (1994); Vieira Pinto (2005) e Vygotsky (1997). A investigação ainda apresenta um breve recorte histórico da escola tradicional e das aprendizagens ativas, além de citar estratégias didáticas de reconfigurações dos espaços de aprendizagem e desafios da docência na contemporaneidade. A tecnologia, o conhecimento e a personalização são aqui contextualmente abordados nas qualidades de conceito, de instrumento, de linguagem e de apoio, sem perder de vista as narrativas das experiências dos participantes. Ao fim, identificaram-se as percepções – por exemplo, em relação à prática docente e à tecnologia – de professores da educação básica, das redes pública e privada, com relação ao uso dos meios digitais em práticas pedagógicas e à promoção da aprendizagem personalizada com a utilização da metodologia do ensino híbrido.

The thesis deals with social communication in economic education with special focus on actual level of students' communication abilities within selected institutions. The special attention is paid to the aspects and the competencies that are crucial to be developed. The work is divided into two parts and two related research problems. The base of the thesis lies in the application of rhetorical and social communication aspects into economic subjects in which the influence of these aspects on the quality of presentation is researched with the help of experimental method and observation. The presentation is focused on economic topic that is presented by students to their colleagues. The evaluation is focused on final quality of presentation (evaluated with the help of selected aspects). Next key part of the thesis is aimed on the development of students' ability to give the arguments in economic subject with the help of active teaching methods. The influence of active teaching methods on students' knowledge is assessed. The students are divided into two groups; the first one is taught with the help of active teaching methods, the second one via classic frontal teaching method. The knowledge of the topic is evaluated by didactic test. The fundamental meaning of active teaching methods with focus on argumentation is highlighted because of its crucial importance for future students' acting in the labour market. The importance of differences between pretest and posttest is evaluated via Paired Two Sample t-test; the importance of differences between experimental and control group via Student's t-test. The main methods used in the work are experiment, observation, scaling, survey, didactic test and statistic interpretations such a Shapiro-Wilk test, F-test, Paired Two Sample t-test, Student's t-test. On the basis of the results there will be suggested integration of rhetorical and communication aspects and of the selected active teaching methods into teaching of economic subjects. The purpose of the work is to show the importance of communication aspects integration into teaching of economic subjects and to suggest the possibilities how to develop the communication aspects.