Magister Educationis - MEd / The purpose of this study was to investigate the difficulties encountered by the grade ten township learners with respect to the concept of electricity. More specifically, the study attempted to explore the learners’ scientific knowledge by investigating their conceptions or alternative conceptions about electricity; the influence of learners’ age, career interests and gender issues on their conceptions of electricity and; the effectiveness of concept mapping (a pedagogic tool designed by Novak in the 1970s) in facilitating the learners’ understanding of electricity. The study was premised on socio-cultural constructivism as well as meaningful learning as espoused by Ausubel (1968).A Pre-Test-Post-Test Control Group Design was adopted in the study in which two comparable groups were used. The data was analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative research methods and the instruments that were used included a conception of electricity (COET) (originally adopted and administered in the Western Cape, Northern Cape provinces and in Norway in 1999 for the purpose of Science and Technology Literacy Project (STLP) with the hope that their reliability and validity was guaranteed); selected learner interviews and evaluation forms.The summary of findings has suggested that the Grade ten learners held misconceptions about the concept of electricity even after they were exposed to intervention that included concept mapping. In terms of the gender issues, there was no significant difference in performance between the boys and girls though the females outperformed their male counterparts at both groups. The underachievement of the older learners compared to the younger ones has also surfaced and that is against expectation since a number of studies carried out earlier (see Ogunniyi (1999)) have already corroborated such findings. With respect to career interests, what the learners indicated as their future dreams, i.e. what they intend to do and become, seems to have been influenced their performance at the pre- and post-test stages.

Esta pesquisa consistiu no planejamento e execução de uma abordagem metodológica com ênfase na educação científica, para estudantes das turmas do 7º ano do Ensino Fundamental, a partir de uma vivência experimental realizada em uma escola pública municipal de Bento Gonçalves (RS), que objetivou avaliar o uso da horta escolar como um recurso para a alfabetização científica. A análise foi embasada na Teoria do Desenvolvimento Cognitivo de Piaget, a qual aponta que o indivíduo aprende manipulando o objeto de conhecimento e por meio de atividades didáticas adequadas à etapa de seu desenvolvimento cognitivo. E também na Teoria sócio-histórico-cultural do desenvolvimento das funções mentais superiores de Vygotsky, que enfatiza a interação social e valoriza a escola como espaço privilegiado do desenvolvimento científico. A escolha das duas teorias deve-se ao fato de que ambas são construtivistas e complementam-se ao promover uma concepção diferente de escola e de ação do professor. A escolha e utilização da horta escolar como um laboratório de ciênciaspode propiciar a alfabetização científica, ao promover a participação e a concentração dos estudantes nas atividades propostas, relacionando os conteúdos de Ciências e de Matemática. Neste sentido, buscou-se desenvolver instrumentos que orientem o planejamento de atividades, que promovam a vivência e a convivência dos estudantes. Neste estudo, a horta escolar revelou-se como um recurso facilitador da aprendizagem, pois favoreceu a realização e o acompanhamento de diversos experimentos realizados pelos estudantes. Tais experimentos, supervisionados pelo professor, puderam desenvolver habilidades e competências que estimularam a construção de novos conhecimentos, a partir do cultivo de hortaliças em diferentes condições experimentais. Os resultados obtidos sugerem que este é um recurso facilitador para uma abordagem interdisciplinar na educação. A interação com os colegas de classe e as atividades em equipes de trabalho determinam a participação e envolvimento dos estudantes, colaborando para a aprendizagem e a alfabetização científica e, consequentemente, resultando em sucesso escolar. / This research consists in the planning and execution of a methodological approach with an emphasis on science education, for students from classes of 7th grade of Elementary School from an experimental life held in a public school of the city of Bento Gonçalves (RS), which aimed to evaluate the use of the school vegetable-garden as a resource for scientific literacy. The analysis was based on the Cognitive Development Theory of Piaget, which points out that the individual learns manipulating the object of knowledge and through didactic activities that are appropriate to the stage of his/her own cognitive development. And also in the social-historical-cultural Theory of the development of the higher mental functions of Vygotsky, which emphasizes social interaction and values the school as a privileged space for scientific development. The choice of these two theories is due to the fact that both are constructivist and complement each other by promoting a different conception of school and teacher action. The choice and use of the school vegetable-garden, like a science lab, can provide the scientific literacy by promoting the participation and concentration of students in the proposed activities, relating the Science and Mathematics contents. Thus, we sought to develop instruments that guide the planning activities and promote the existence and companionship of the students. In this study, the school vegetable-garden turned out to be a facilitating resource of learning, as it favored the doing and follow-up of many experiments performed by the students. Such experiments, supervised by the teacher, were able to develop skills and competences that stimulated the construction of new knowledge, from growing vegetables in different experimental conditions. The results suggest that this is a facilitating resource for an interdisciplinary approach in education. The interaction with classmates and the activities in work team determine the participation and involvement of students, contributing to the learning and scientific literacy and, therefore, resulting in school success.

This research study breaks new ground in exploring differences in how managers’ reflection patterns, do or do not differ across levels of adult development as delineated by Robert Kegan’s Constructive-Developmental Theory. It was a basic qualitative study exploring upper-level managers’ thought processes and patterns of reflection in revisiting and reinterpreting episodes of conflict and change that had emerged in past organizational experiences. The purpose was to discern in what ways, if at all, those processes vary with the manager’s Stage in adult development in Robert Kegan’s adult Constructive-Developmental Theory that stipulates generally what one can reflect upon impartially as object—or what one cannot. Transcripts of fifteen Subject-Object Interviews (SOIs), that were previously conducted for the purpose of examining interviewee reasoning characteristics in relation their stage of adult development and had been professionally scored and certified for interviewee developmental level, provided the primary data for this study. These were sourced as a stratified, purposeful sample from an archival database of 148 interviews conducted by the Center of Creative Leadership between 2007-2009. Five each of the sample of 15 SOIs were selected to meet the criteria for one of three specific Stages or levels of complexity on Kegan’s adult constructive-developmental scale representing the Instrumental to Socializing transition, the fully Socializing equilibrium, and the fully Self-Authoring equilibrium. Without The managers’ individual developmental levels being revealed, the researcher blindly coded the individual SOI transcripts and inductively analyzed and synthesized the data of each to discern patterns in the interviewee’s reflection. In a final step, the known, certified SOI scores were revealed to the researcher, who was then able to explore the relationship between patterns of reflection he had discerned and the individual interviewee’s actual developmental level—in particular to see in what ways, if at all, those processes vary and are engaged in differently—or similarly—depending on the manager’s Order of Mind or Stage of Adult development as delineated by Robert Kegan’s Constructive-Developmental Theory. Mediating consideration of findings, the 5-participants-per-development-level samples were small and results thus not generalizable, and the interviews were conducted for the purpose of investigating reasoning as correlated with adult developmental level. Within that context, relatively consistent differences in patterns of reflection while either recollecting or currently reflecting upon past incidents that involved change and/or conflict were discerned in the following areas: granularity in description of emotion; recollection of inner dialogue; “stepping onto the balcony” for a changed perspective on issues; variations of “stance,” in terms of degree of self-focus rather than a relational or organizational one and demonstration of self-examination—mediated by what was at stake for the interviewee. Depending on developmental stage, current experience or, or recollection of past negative emotion could be either a prompt for self reflection or a barrier to it. Constructive-developmental theory posits different Ways of Knowing in adulthood; each denoting an internally consistent meaning-making system that shapes the ways one makes sense of and interprets experience. An in-depth descriptive analysis of the managers’ reflections within and across cases revealed different orientations toward the process of revisiting and interpreting experience with important variations across participants. To explain those individual variations, constructivedevelopmental theory (Kegan, 1982, 1984) appeared to be a valuable theoretical lens to shed light on some of the differences within and across the three different Ways of Knowing represented in the sample. This study overall supports the growing trend in the learning and development field toward paying more attention to supporting the development of leaders’ inner meaning-making structures as those will influence how they engage in, and take perspective on, their experience—and ultimately help their organizations and their members to learn. The researcher, blinded to adult developmental levels of the managers until after analyzing data for patterns of reflection, found the clusters of personally discerned patterns to closely match those that would to their subsequently revealed, certified developmental levels. This congruence suggests that Subject-Object Interviews may prove an insight-full source for further research on the difficult-to-probe subject of reflection-on-action.

No description available.

Explores the implementation of inquiry into the science classroom and presents a model for incrementally changing the traditional (behavioralist) instruction found in the science class to inquiry-based (constructivist) instructional strategies.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

published_or_final_version / abstract / Education / Master / Master of Education

Formal learning contexts often present information to learners in an inert and highly abstract form, making it unlikely that learners would ever use this information in their every-da y lives. Learners do, however, show a greater propensity for retaining information that is seen as having relevance in their lives . Constructivism is an educational paradigm that has gained popularity amongst educationists. The core tenet of this paradigm is that learners learn through interaction with their environment and that all knowledge construction is based on previous life experience. Information that is presented to learners in a contextualised form not only has a better chance of being retained in long-term memory, but also has a greater likelihood of being applied in relevant life situations. This publication deals with the research, design and delivery of important information concerning diseases that have a major impact in Southern Africa. Firstly, learners at the University of Natal, Durban were polled for their existing knowledge concerning four widespread diseases, namely HIV/AIDS , tuberculosis, malaria and cancer. Aspects of these diseases where learners demonstrated a low level of awareness were defined as the primary learning object ives for an educational 3D- immersive microworld. Areas of knowledge concerning the transmission, symptomatic expression, biology and prevention of these diseases were generally not well represented in the learner sample. Hence, information regarding these aspects is presented to learners in a contextualised form within the microworld. Motivation for learners to play in this microworld is provided by a storyline that was researched and written for the portal. In addition, the model used in the storyline design was evaluated for its effectiveness as a tool to be used in the planning of future educational games. A model, the Puzzle Process model, was proposed to inform the design of puzzle interfaces for these types of interactive learning environments, and puzzle interfaces were designed for the virtual environment according to the model guidelines. The learning environment was tested as part of the formative evaluation with a small sample of learners . The testing process made use of both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to evaluate the effectiveness of the learning environment as a possible learning tool. Comparison of pre- and post-gameplay questionnaires showed that learners gained a more indepth and richer understanding of the topics being dealt with in the portal. In particular, the puzzle objects situated in the environment stimulated learners to negotiate meanings for the puzzle interfaces and, in the process, encouraged learners to discuss the topic being dealt with. Results from this study also show that the longer learners discussed and negotiated a certain knowledge domain, the greater their increase in richness of information was for that knowledge domain after gameplay. These results highlight the importance of social dialogue in the knowledge construction process and suggest that environments like these have great potential based on their ability to encourage learners to talk to one another and their facilitators while negotiating mutually acceptable knowledge. The original Puzzle Process model, as well as the Game Achievement model and the Game Object model were modified to account for the need for social dialogue and content. These more comprehensive models are instrumental for use in future virtual world environment design. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu- Natal, Durban, 2004

The purpose of this research study is to describe and analyze the self-reported experiences of exemplary high school mathematics teachers who underwent personal and professional transformations in order to develop and use a standards-based, constructivist (SBC) teaching paradigm in their classrooms. These teachers were all past recipients of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST), an award that required them to demonstrate that their mathematics instruction was rigorous in the manner described by the NCTM standards. The following research questions are addressed: (a) What are the paths SBC secondary mathematics teachers who received the PAEMST pursued to become highly effective?, (b) What obstacles and challenges did they encounter and how were these obstacles overcome?, and (c) What sustained them on their journeys? The research methodology used to be a narrative inquiry. Following a wide survey of PAEMST recipients, five volunteer participants were chosen for the study. Data were collected from each participant using a one-to-one interview and the written section of each participant's PAEMST application. A narrative was written for each participant describing the path they had followed to become a highly effective high school mathematics teacher. The narrative was sent to each participant, and a follow-up interview was conducted via telephone amending the narrative to reflect the participant's additions and deletions. From the five amended narratives, eight themes were identified: (a) influences; (b) education; (c) professional development; (d) NCTM standards; (e) teaching style: beginning, current, or end of a career; (f) obstacles; (g) personality traits and personal beliefs; and (h) student influence. Several of the themes were supported by previous research. However, this research study discovered two new findings. First, the five participants had common characteristics and beliefs: (a) belief in their students, (b) persistence, (c) belief that professional development is vital for teacher growth, and (d) passion about mathematics and about conveying that passion to their students. The second research finding pertained to the influence that their own students had on all of the five participants. All the participants purposely sought out their students' thoughts about the classroom curriculum and about the instruction they received. The teachers considered their students part of the classroom learning community, and they honored and acted on their input. Finally, in addition to describing the trajectory of five PAEMST winning teachers, this study offers recommendations for students studying to become high school mathematics teachers, teacher educators, and educational researchers. For these students, their teaching preparation courses need to be taught adhering to the four principles of learning: activity, reflection, collaboration and community. According to this research, the model of teacher preparation courses that emphasize the teaching of the above four principles using a traditional teacher-directed method does not prepare future mathematics teachers for the use of SBC teaching in their classrooms. Suggestions about further research are addressed.

D.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / This research was done in response to the need of educational psychologists to intervene on a sensory integration level as it affects learning and behaviour, which falls within the scope of practice of educational psychologists in South Africa. The research study aimed to explore the research question: how sociodrama could be used as a therapeutic intervention to address the sensory integration of adolescents who present with mild intellectual impairment. The study is situated in the interpretivist-constructivist paradigm, using sociocultural theory as theoretical framework. I therefore commenced with the research with the assumption that the six participants each had their own cultural stories and background within which they functioned, and that they could learn from one another in the sociodramatic group setting. The sociodrama sessions were conducted at a school for learners who presented with mild learning impairments. The participants of the research study attended the bridging class of the school, where the focus is on basic literacy and mathematical skills. Thirteen sociodrama sessions were conducted, where the focus was on the development of sensory integration skills. A qualitative research approach was followed and a case study design was chosen for the inquiry. Data collection included the use of sensory profiles, a background questionnaire, context observation, participant observation, visual journals, reflections, video-recordings and an interview with the educator. I utilised the steps suggested by Braun and Clarke (2006) to thematically analyse the qualitative data and to identify themes. The aim of the research study was to firstly be of benefit to the research participants, creating sociodramatic opportunities through which their sensory integration skills could be developed. The research inquiry furthermore aimed to contribute to the field of educational psychology as it allowed for the development of knowledge on sensory integration and provides a unique therapeutic approach to develop sensory integration skills in adolescents who present with mild intellectual impairment.