Thesis (D. Phil. (Humanities)) -- Central University of Technology, Free State, 2013 / The purpose of this study was to assess the science teaching efficacy of the Physical Science teachers in the secondary schools of the Free State province of the Republic of South Africa. Quantitative and qualitative methods were employed to gather data for this study. It was aimed at determining the effect of the demographic factors and the teachers’ level of preparedness regarding content knowledge and assessment skills on science teaching efficacy. The sample consisted of 190 Physical Science teachers. Two instruments were used to collect data: (1) A self-constructed questionnaire with the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument for in-service teachers (STEBI-A) modified for this study, and (2) Semi-structured interviews. Teachers’ biographical data and level of preparedness to teach Science were assessed against the two sub-scales of Personal Science Teaching Efficacy (PSTE) and Science Teaching Outcome Expectancy (STOE). Analysis of data was by basic statistics, descriptive statistics and inferential statistics using SPSS 20.0. Qualitative data were transcribed and categorised into emerging themes. Analysis of the self-efficacy survey indicated highly positive self-efficacy beliefs expressed by most of the practising secondary school teachers in regards to Science teaching. Teachers believe in their own teaching abilities (Personal Science Teaching Efficacy beliefs) and they believe learners’ learning can be influenced by effective teaching (Science Teaching Outcome Expectancy beliefs). In addition, analyses of data on the respondents’ level of preparedness to teach Science indicated a high level of self-rated Science knowledge, with higher confidence levels in Physics than in Chemistry among in-service secondary teachers. MANOVA analysis indicated that teachers’ gender, teaching experience, professional and academic qualifications, Chemistry and Physics content knowledge, frequency of practical work, and confidence in conducting experiments played a significant role in the collective dependent variables, while the grades teachers taught, their age and learner assessments did not. Analysis further indicated that secondary school teachers with a B.Sc (Ed) degree had significantly stronger STOE than teachers with any other professional qualifications. vi There was a significant difference between males and females in the STOE sub-scale scores (F=6.139; p=0.014) with males scoring higher than females; but no significant difference between males and females in the PSTE sub-scale scores (F=5.925; p=0.667). Moreover, teachers with at most five years and at least 16 years of teaching experience had significantly higher PSTE scores than teachers with different years of teaching experience. Furthermore, analyses of the level of preparedness in conducting practical work indicated that respondents were more confident to conduct Physics experiments than Chemistry experiments. In-service secondary Science teachers believed that assessment is an important and integral aspect of teaching and learning, hence they utilised a variety of assessment modes in their classroom. It is recommended that further study should include a test in content knowledge, so that teachers can be assessed to confirm their confidence in content knowledge, rather than allowing them to rate themselves without an actual test. Moreover, qualitative studies may be conducted to support teachers’ self-report measures, such as classroom observations, in order to gain in-depth data about teachers’ efficacy beliefs. If more research is conducted on the self-efficacy beliefs of in-service Science teachers at secondary school level, the curriculum of teacher training programmes could be developed and structured further, there could be more understanding on what pre-service teachers face - this will help to understand how to motivate teachers to teach Science.

The study investigated the nature and quality of in-service education and training programmes organized for Further Education and Training (FET) mathematics teachers in the Greater Taung Area. The researcher is of the contention that more could be done to improve the process and the effectiveness of in-service training in the area. An extensive literature study provides a theoretical foundation and exposes some critical issues for effective in-service training programmes. The qualitative approach is used in the case study. The data were analysed through inductive analysis. The major research findings are that there are no formal processes of identifying the needs of mathematics teachers and further, teachers are not monitored and supervised after in-service sessions. It is recommended that the needs of teachers be identified by the school before inset. For effective monitoring and supervision of mathematics teachers after inset, it is recommended that each cluster within the Area Project Office (APO) should have a subject specialist for mathematics. / EDUCATIONAL STUDIES / MED (MATHS EDUC)

The Next Generation Science Standards represent a significant challenge for K-12 school reform in the United States in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines (NSTA, 2012). One important difference between the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996) and the Next Generation Science Standards (Achieve, 2013) is the more extensive inclusion of nanoscale science and technology. Teacher PD is a key vehicle for implementing this STEM education reform effort (NRC, 2012; Smith, 2001). The context of this dissertation study is Project Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Outreach (NANO), a secondary level professional development program for teachers that provides a summer workshop, academic year coaching and the opportunity for teacher participants to borrow a table-top Phenom scanning electron microscope and a research grade optical microscope for use in their classrooms. This design-based descriptive case study examined the thinking of secondary teachers in the 2012 Project NANO cohort as they negotiated the inclusion of novel science concepts and technology into secondary science curriculum. Teachers in the Project NANO 2012 summer workshop developed a two-week, inquiry-based unit of instruction drawing upon one or more of nine big ideas in nanoscale science and technology as defined by Stevens, Sutherland, and Krajcik (2011). This research examined teacher participants' metastrategic thinking (Zohar, 2006) which they used to inform their pedagogical content knowledge (Shulman, 1987) by focusing on the content knowledge teachers chose to frame their lessons, their rationales for such choices as well as the teaching strategies that they chose to employ in their Project NANO unit of instruction. The study documents teachers various entry points on a learning progression as teachers negotiated the inclusion of nanoscale science and technology into the curriculum for the first time. Implications and recommendations for teacher professional development are offered.

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction / Margaret Gail Shroyer / Thomas S. Vontz / A foundational mission of our public schools is dedicated to preserving a democratic republic dependent on a literate and actively engaged citizenry. Civic literacy is essential to supporting the rights and responsibilities of all citizens in a democratic society. Civic knowledge is the foundation of our citizens’ civic literacy. National Standards for Civics and Government (Center for Civic Education,1994) promote civic literacy for all students including elementary children. Therefore, understanding important civic concepts is essential knowledge for elementary educators. Civic knowledge has not been required or monitored in teacher preparation or licensure. At the time of this study, there were no comprehensive measures of elementary teachers’ civic knowledge. The purpose of this study was to investigate a project funded by the Center for Civic Education that developed a Civic Knowledge Inventory (CKI) for elementary teachers using a Delphi technique. Specifically, this study analyzed the use of a Delphi process to identify major civic constructs elementary teachers should know and to create a valid and reliable measure of elementary teachers’ knowledge of these selected civic constructs. The Delphi technique engaged eight anonymous civic scholars to work together via the Internet. Through rounds of input and feedback they identified important civic knowledge that elementary teachers should know and created a multiple-choice measurement tool aligned to these constructs. In final analysis, the Delphi panelists collectively created a map of civic concepts that included: Constitutionalism, Representative Democracy, Citizenship, Human Rights, Civic Society, Market Economy and Examples of Non-Democracy as essential constructs accompanied by an outline of related sub-concepts and elements. This outline was then used to design, improve, and ultimately select the best test items for each construct. An item analysis was completed on data produced by 89 volunteer pre-service elementary teachers to identify high performing items to be included in the CKI. Therefore, the CKI could be used to examine the extent to which teacher preparation programs adequately prepare elementary teachers to be civic educators and thus guide teacher preparation as well as related professional development initiatives.

This qualitative case study was conducted to investigated whether selected 3rd-5th teachers in a Title 1 school increased their understanding as they described and used their pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) in writing aligned with the Common Core Anchor Standards 1-6. It also examined how the teachers collaborated to advance their knowledge in the area of ELs in the classroom. Qualitative data were collected in the form of 15 participant interviews and 15 Learning Team Meeting (LTM) observations. The data from the interviews and observations were used to investigate how participants implemented the Common Core Anchor Standards (CCAS) 1-6 in their classrooms. The data also sought to examine how the participants’ collaboration in LTMs contributed to the selected 3rd-5th grade teachers’ PCK with respect to CCAS 1-6 and support for their English language learners (EL). The findings indicated that participants recognized various EL instructional strategies embedded in the subject matter of writing. Further, the data indicated that the dual language participants collaborated as an effective means for delivering various EL instructional strategies. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015 / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2017-10-19T12:00:25Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Rubervan da Silva Leite.pdf: 4442566 bytes, checksum: 7cc5035cbced8b9a29b6fa235fdbc9c6 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-10-19T12:00:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rubervan da Silva Leite.pdf: 4442566 bytes, checksum: 7cc5035cbced8b9a29b6fa235fdbc9c6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-08-28 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This research aims to identify the integration of didactic, specific and technological knowledge that a group of undergraduate students in Mathematics of the State University of Pará possess, related to the theorem of Tales. This is a qualitative research, in which the methodology was based on the application of activities so that the students had to use Geogebra software in the resolution of them. The activities were based on a sequence of progressive complexity, in which students were asked to demonstrate that their conjectures were mathematically valid. In addition, their technological know-how should be refined, so that they develop fluency in relation to the interfaces used. Integrated into these two cognitive fields, it was expected that the didactic knowledge needed to work with the theorem of Tales in teaching situations would emerge. The analyzes were carried out in order to observe the resolutions presented by each subject and to identify the extent to which the answers provided evidenced integration between three types of knowledge, in the molds proposed by TPACK. It was observed that the students presented misunderstandings related to the specific knowledge, in the same extent they indicated that they had doubts regarding the didactic and technological knowledge necessary to achieve the sequence to which they were submitted, which led to the study making recommendations in the sense that differentiated approaches for the mathematics teachers education processes of Mathematics are conceived so that the three aspects of knowledge mentioned here can be contemplated in an integrated way / Esta pesquisa tem por objetivo identificar a integração dos conhecimentos didáticos, específicos e tecnológicos que um grupo de alunos de licenciatura em Matemática da Universidade do Estado do Pará possuem, relacionados ao teorema de Tales. Essa é uma pesquisa de natureza qualitativa, em que a metodologia se baseou na aplicação de atividades de modo que os alunos tiveram que utilizar o software Geogebra na resolução das mesmas. As atividades foram baseadas em uma sequência de complexidade progressiva, em que os alunos foram solicitados a demonstrar que suas conjecturas eram válidas matematicamente. Além disso, seus conhecimentos tecnológicos deviam passar por um processo de refinamento, de modo que os mesmos desenvolvessem fluência em relação às interfaces utilizadas. Integrado a estes dois campos cognitivos, esperava-se que surgissem os conhecimentos didáticos necessários para o trabalho com o teorema de Tales em situações de ensino. As análises ocorreram no sentido de observar as resoluções apresentadas por cada sujeito e identificar em que medida as respostas fornecidas evidenciavam integração entre os conhecimentos, nos moldes propostos pelo TPACK. Observou-se que os licenciandos apresentaram equívocos relacionados com os conhecimentos específicos, na mesma medida em que indicaram ter dúvidas em relação aos conhecimentos didáticos e tecnológicos necessários para a consecução da sequência a que foram submetidos, o que ensejou que o estudo fizesse recomendações no sentido de que se concebam abordagens diferenciadas para a formação dos professores de Matemática, de modo que os três aspectos do conhecimento aqui mencionados possam ser contemplados em regime de integração

Notre travail porte sur le thème des connaissances professionnelles mobilisées par les enseignants pendant la préparation et lors de la mise en œuvre de leur enseignement. Notre étude se déroule dans le contexte de l’enseignement des sciences expérimentales. Nous y étudions les connaissances des enseignants et leurs évolutions. Notre approche théorique articule la didactique des sciences et la didactique professionnelle avec comme cadre d’analyse des connaissances des enseignants, le concept de PCK (Pedagogical Content Knowledge), les connaissances pédagogiques liées au contenu. Nous avons élaboré une méthodologie spécifique, associant le chercheur et des binômes de professeurs, afin notamment de saisir l’écart entre la préparation des enseignements et leur mise en œuvre. A partir de cet écart nous définissons des incidents critiques qui sont la base du corpus que nous analysons. Nous identifions les connaissances en jeu, et indiquons comment le concept de PCK s’articule avec celui de schème. Lorsque les enseignants traitent d’un sujet au moyen des démarches d’investigation, ils mobilisent des types de connaissances spécifiques, et mettent en place des pratiques différentes, selon qu'ils travaillent au premier ou second degré. Nous montrons qu’il y a une relation entre ces connaissances et la régulation rétroactive de l’activité qui permet à l’enseignant d’ajuster sa préparation. Nous modélisons une forme d’acquisition d’expérience. / Our work focuses on the theme of professional knowledge mobilized by teachers in their lesson preparations and implementation in class. Our study takes place in the context of the teaching of experimental sciences. We study the knowledge of teachers and the evolutions of this knowledge. Our theoretical approach articulates science education and professional didactics; it also retains, for the analysis of teachers' knowledge, the concept of PCK (Pedagogical Content Knowledge). We have developed a specific methodology, involving the researcher and teachers organized in pairs, to observe the gap between the preparation of lessons and their implementation. From this gap, we define critical incidents: they are the basis of the corpus that we analyzed. We identify the knowledge involved, and we indicate how the concept of PCK articulates with the concept of scheme. When teachers use inquiry-based science teaching (IBST), they mobilize specific knowledge and they implement different practices, depending on their work at primary or secondary school. We show that there is a relationship between knowledge and retroactive control that allows the teacher to adjust his/her preparation. We propose a theoretical model, for a form of acquisition of professional experience.

In this paper the notion of “mathematics profiles” and “instructional behaviour profiles is introduced. A brief explanation of what these profiles are and how they were constructed and represented for preservice mathematics teachers is provided. An example of one of the participants’ profiles is included as an example. The influence of the pre-service teachers’ mathematics profiles on their instructional behaviour is then discussed. This is done with regard to using the mathematics profiles as a potential tool to optimise the development of pre-service mathematics teachers’ instructional behaviour towards a more reform-oriented approach.

Views on the nature and relevance of science education have changed significantly over recent decades. This has serious implications for the way in which science is taught in secondary schools, particularly with respect to teaching emerging topics such as biotechnology, which have a socio-scientific dimension and also require novel laboratory skills. It is apparent in current literature that there is a lack of adequate teacher professional development opportunities in biotechnology education and that a significant need exists for researchers to develop a carefully crafted and well supported professional development design which will positively impact on the way in which teachers engage with contemporary science. This study used a retrospective case study methodology to document the recent evolution of modern biotechnology education as part of the changing nature of science education; examine the adoption and implementation processes for biotechnology education by three secondary schools; and to propose an evidence based biotechnology professional development model for science educators. Data were gathered from documents, one-on-one interviews and focus group discussions. Analysis of these data has led to the proposal of a biotechnology professional development model which considers all of the key components of science professional development that are outlined in the literature, as well as the additional components which were articulated by the educators studied. This research is timely and pertinent to the needs of contemporary science education because of its recognition of the need for a professional development model in biotechnology education that recognizes and addresses the content knowledge, practical skills, pedagogical knowledge and curriculum management components.

The study investigated the nature and quality of in-service education and training programmes organized for Further Education and Training (FET) mathematics teachers in the Greater Taung Area. The researcher is of the contention that more could be done to improve the process and the effectiveness of in-service training in the area. An extensive literature study provides a theoretical foundation and exposes some critical issues for effective in-service training programmes. The qualitative approach is used in the case study. The data were analysed through inductive analysis. The major research findings are that there are no formal processes of identifying the needs of mathematics teachers and further, teachers are not monitored and supervised after in-service sessions. It is recommended that the needs of teachers be identified by the school before inset. For effective monitoring and supervision of mathematics teachers after inset, it is recommended that each cluster within the Area Project Office (APO) should have a subject specialist for mathematics. / EDUCATIONAL STUDIES / MED (MATHS EDUC)