The purpose of the "In Time On Time TESOL" website for Teachers of English to Students of Other Languages (TESOL) is to provide adult-education teachers online access to classroom managing techniques, teaching and learning strategies, and online resources based on constructivism and adult-learning theory. The instructional design and navigation structure is based on Random Access Instruction (RAI) and hypertext theory.

Social interaction is the foundation of knowledge construction in a constructivist classroom. This project proposes a mediated instruction that is based on the theory of constructivism and social interaction to help new adult immigrants successfully achieve English competence and adapt quickly to the culture of the United States.

Text in Afrikaans / No specific measuring instrument to determine the emotions of primary school Pupils exists. There is nevertheless a dire need for a reliable measuring instrument for this purpose. Initially a literature study was undertaken and emotions from the developmental stages of primary school pupils were identified and described. An existing instrument of measurement for personality, the Emotions Profile Index (EPI), was adapted and implemented as a new measurement instrument to determine the emotions of primary learners. Questionnaires were completed by the parents of 144 grade 3 and 4 pupils during an empirical investigation. The degree of reliability of the new measurement instrument is particularly high. Stanines were developed for each of the different emotions. The conclusion arrived at is that the education psychologist can implement the newly adapted EPI as diagnostic instrument and conduct the planning of his therapy accordingly / Daar bestaan nie 'n sp sifieke meetinstrument wat primere leerders se emosies kan bepaal nie. 'n Groot behoefte bestaan egter aan s6 'n betroubare meetinstrument. 'n Bestaande meetinstrument vir die meting van persoonlikheid, naamlik die Emotions Profile Index (EPI) is as nuwe meetinstrument vir die meting van emosies van primere leerders aangepas en ge"implementeer. Die vraelyste is tydens 'n empiriese ondersoek deur die ouers van 144 graad 3 en 4 leerders voltooi. Die betroubaarheid van die nuwe meetinstrument is besonder haag en staneges is oak vir die onderskeie emosies, antwerp. Die slotsom waartoe gekom is, is dat die opvoedkundige sielkundige die nuut aangepaste EPI as diagnostiseringsmiddel kan aanwend en sy terapiebeplanning hiervolgens kan doen. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Voorligting)

The general view of educators at all levels of education as well as trainers in industry, that learners do not have the ability to use their knowledge inter-curricular and holistically in their lives prompted the study. A very superficial study that was done in 2000, regarding the same problem, acted as the starting point for this study. The main purpose of the study was to determine the reasons for the general perception by educators that learners do not use their embedded knowledge in an inter-curricular manner. It also aimed to determine the most effective facilitating styles and methods that would help the learners to develop the skills to learn with the main aim to achieve learning that lasts and not just learning to pass. The use of deconstruction as a learning activity forms the biggest part of this qualitative action research project which was based on the main principles of the hermeneutic approach namely, communication followed by interpretation in order to reach understanding. The principles of narrative therapy were also used in the project. The hermeneutic approach followed in this study also allows the reader to walk the road with the participants as a narrative, first person reporting style provides rich background information regarding all the participants of the study as well as the contexts in which the actions took place. The reader will also be able to feel the closeness that existed between the educator and the learners who were part of this study. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Didactics)

A literature and an empirical study were undertaken to investigate home factors affecting the academic performance of a group of learners in three primary schools in the Brits district. From the literature it became evident that the early years of an individual's life are critical for development, especially cognitive development. Parents, as a child's primary educators have an important role to play in their child's cognitive development. By establishing a challenging and stimulating environment in which the child is exposed to a variety of experiences, the parents can enhance their child's cognitive development and by implication his/her later academic performance. Various other factors such as parental involvement, expectations, parenting style and home background were found to affect a child's academic performance. In the empirical study a group of academic achievers and underachievers were compared with regards to early cognitive stimulation received, degree of parental involvement and the quality of their homes. / Psychology of Education / M.Ed. (Specialisation in Guidance and Counselling)

Contém produto: As tecnologias de informação e comunicação (TIC) no ensino de ciências: uma conversa de professor para professor - Produto Educacional / As tecnologias de informação e comunicação (TIC) estão presentes em nossa sociedade e, cada vez mais, é desejável que elas sejam utilizadas como recursos no contexto educativo. Entretanto, para que isso ocorra, sabe-se que há inúmeros desafios e dificuldades, como deficiências na formação dos professores para o uso das tecnologias e falta de infraestrutura adequada. Nesse contexto, sentiu-se a necessidade de compreender como professores, mesmo diante desses desafios, planejam utilizar as TIC como estratégia pedagógica. Dessa forma, esta pesquisa teve por objetivo analisar as concepções de ensino e aprendizagem subjacentes aos planos de aulas para o uso das TIC desenvolvidos por professores de Ciências e Biologia que atuam na rede pública estadual do Paraná. Para isso, privilegiou-se a abordagem qualitativa e, por meio da análise de conteúdo (BARDIN, 1977), analisou-se 35 planos de aula de professores de Ciências e Biologia da Rede Estadual do Paraná que declararam usar TIC em suas aulas, relacionando-os às abordagens de ensino e aprendizagem sistematizadas por Mizukami (1986) e aos correspondentes modelos epistemológicos inerentes a cada uma delas (BECKER, 1995). Os resultados apontam que esses professores atribuem às TIC usos e significados que estão intimamente ligados às suas concepções de ensino e aprendizagem. Pela análise dos dados, há indícios de que nos planos de aula que têm o professor no centro do processo ensino-aprendizagem, o uso das tecnologias tende a ser feito da mesma maneira. Já naqueles planos que valorizam a interação professor e aluno, este assume papel ativo na construção do conhecimento mediado pelas TIC. Um dos fatores que pode estar contribuindo para essa diferença nas concepções dos professores é a formação recebida. De maneira geral, os professores pesquisados que apresentaram indícios de uma prática com características construtivistas cursaram a graduação após a segunda metade da década de 90 (período marcado pela revolução digital e disseminação dos computadores) e têm maior tempo de formação continuada na área educacional e cursos específicos sobre tecnologia. Com o intuito de contribuir com a formação docente, desenvolveu-se o produto educacional, que consiste em um material destinado aos professores de Ciências e Biologia, inspirado no uso das tecnologias em uma perspectiva construtivista. / Information and communication technologies (ICT) are present in our society and it is even more desirable that they could be used as resources in the educational context. However, to make it possible, it is known that numerous challenges and difficulties should be faced, such as deficiencies in teacher training for the use of technologies and lack of adequate infrastructure. In this context, it is necessary to understand how teachers, even those who face some challenges, plan to use ICT as a pedagogical strategy. This research, therefore, has the objective of analyzing the teachinglearning conceptions related to lesson plans that present the use of ICT in the school environment developed by Science and Biology teachers who work in public school. For this, the qualitative approach was privileged and, through content analysis (BARDIN, 1977), 35 Science and Biology lesson plans, written by teachers who work in public schools and that mentioned they have used ICT in their classes, were analyzed. The analysis related the lesson plans to the teaching-leaning approach presented by Mizukami (1986) and the corresponding epistemological models inherent to each one of them (BECKER, 1995). The results show that these teachers attribute to ICT uses and meanings that are closely linked to their teaching and learning conceptions. By analyzing the data, there are indications that in the lesson plans that have the teacher at the center of the teaching-learning process, the use of technologies tends to be done in the same way. On the other hand, in those plans that value the interaction between teacher and student, this assumes an active role in the construction of knowledge mediated by ICT. One of the factors that may contribute to this difference in teachers' conceptions is the training they have received when taking the graduation course. In general, teachers who presented a practice with constructivist characteristics attended the graduation after the second half of the 90's (period of digital revolution) and had more time of continuous training in the educational area and technology courses. With the aim of contributing to teacher training, the educational product was developed and it conconsists of a material for Science and Biology teachers, inspired by the use of technologies in a constructivist perspective.

The study attempted to determine the causes of poor performance among Grade 12 learners in tasks involving calculus, especially in cubic graphs and the application of differential calculus. The study was conducted in three schools of the Msukaligwa 1 Circuit in the Gert Sibande District, Mpumalanga Province in South Africa. Differential calculus is a branch of mathematics that is concerned mainly with the study of the rate of change of functions with respect to their variables especially through the use derivatives and differentials. Students have difficulties in learning and mastering this section of calculus as is revealed by examiners’ and moderators’ reports year after year. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible reasons for the poor performance by Grade 12 learners in calculus-based tasks, especially in cubic graphs and the application in optimisation. The study sought to investigate the causes of the poor performance by Grade 12 learners in tasks based on these two subtopics of calculus. Three schools were selected by means of purposive sampling: one former model C, one Mathematics, Science and Technology Academy (MSTA) and one other school that does not fall in either of these two categories. This enabled the study to have participants from diverse backgrounds. A qualitative research design was used. Data was collected using learners’ scripts for the three formal tasks: May common test, June (midyear) and Trial (preparatory) examinations. Only the questions involving cubic graphs and the application of calculus were part of the study. Analysis was done in order to determine learners’ challenges, common mistakes, and misconceptions, but also of good responses given by learners. / Mathematics Education / M. Ed. (Mathematics Education)

Text in Afrikaans / No specific measuring instrument to determine the emotions of primary school Pupils exists. There is nevertheless a dire need for a reliable measuring instrument for this purpose. Initially a literature study was undertaken and emotions from the developmental stages of primary school pupils were identified and described. An existing instrument of measurement for personality, the Emotions Profile Index (EPI), was adapted and implemented as a new measurement instrument to determine the emotions of primary learners. Questionnaires were completed by the parents of 144 grade 3 and 4 pupils during an empirical investigation. The degree of reliability of the new measurement instrument is particularly high. Stanines were developed for each of the different emotions. The conclusion arrived at is that the education psychologist can implement the newly adapted EPI as diagnostic instrument and conduct the planning of his therapy accordingly / Daar bestaan nie 'n sp sifieke meetinstrument wat primere leerders se emosies kan bepaal nie. 'n Groot behoefte bestaan egter aan s6 'n betroubare meetinstrument. 'n Bestaande meetinstrument vir die meting van persoonlikheid, naamlik die Emotions Profile Index (EPI) is as nuwe meetinstrument vir die meting van emosies van primere leerders aangepas en ge"implementeer. Die vraelyste is tydens 'n empiriese ondersoek deur die ouers van 144 graad 3 en 4 leerders voltooi. Die betroubaarheid van die nuwe meetinstrument is besonder haag en staneges is oak vir die onderskeie emosies, antwerp. Die slotsom waartoe gekom is, is dat die opvoedkundige sielkundige die nuut aangepaste EPI as diagnostiseringsmiddel kan aanwend en sy terapiebeplanning hiervolgens kan doen. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Voorligting)

The general view of educators at all levels of education as well as trainers in industry, that learners do not have the ability to use their knowledge inter-curricular and holistically in their lives prompted the study. A very superficial study that was done in 2000, regarding the same problem, acted as the starting point for this study. The main purpose of the study was to determine the reasons for the general perception by educators that learners do not use their embedded knowledge in an inter-curricular manner. It also aimed to determine the most effective facilitating styles and methods that would help the learners to develop the skills to learn with the main aim to achieve learning that lasts and not just learning to pass. The use of deconstruction as a learning activity forms the biggest part of this qualitative action research project which was based on the main principles of the hermeneutic approach namely, communication followed by interpretation in order to reach understanding. The principles of narrative therapy were also used in the project. The hermeneutic approach followed in this study also allows the reader to walk the road with the participants as a narrative, first person reporting style provides rich background information regarding all the participants of the study as well as the contexts in which the actions took place. The reader will also be able to feel the closeness that existed between the educator and the learners who were part of this study. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Didactics)

A literature and an empirical study were undertaken to investigate home factors affecting the academic performance of a group of learners in three primary schools in the Brits district. From the literature it became evident that the early years of an individual's life are critical for development, especially cognitive development. Parents, as a child's primary educators have an important role to play in their child's cognitive development. By establishing a challenging and stimulating environment in which the child is exposed to a variety of experiences, the parents can enhance their child's cognitive development and by implication his/her later academic performance. Various other factors such as parental involvement, expectations, parenting style and home background were found to affect a child's academic performance. In the empirical study a group of academic achievers and underachievers were compared with regards to early cognitive stimulation received, degree of parental involvement and the quality of their homes. / Psychology of Education / M.Ed. (Specialisation in Guidance and Counselling)