Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Many teaching and learning practices in higher education, including social work education in South Africa, tend to be characterised by a transmission mode of instruction, whereby knowledge moves from the expert educator to the student. This study investigates the extent to which an authentic learning framework can be used to improve the teaching of meso practice in social work to a class of 80 second-year students at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. A modified version of educational design-based research, was deployed which created a set of guidelines to inform future research and course design. Design-based research includes an iterative process, however, and the four-phased modified version of design-based research used in this study deploys just one roll-out of a redesigned course on meso practice, using the elements of authentic learning (Herrington, Reeves & Oliver, 2010). Phase 1 consisted of a review of the literature on meso practice education and the authentic learning framework. Phase 2 involved an analysis of practical problems identified by six educators and four field instruction supervisors, based on the way they teach and supervise students in the area of meso practice intervention. In Phase 3 the course was implemented and evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively by the student participants and four field instruction supervisors. Phase 4 consisted of a reflection on the entire process, to produce design guidelines using the elements of authentic learning and the inclusion of affect in course design. Mixed-methods research was undertaken, incorporating primarily qualitative data with quantitative data from a survey conducted with the students. Findings from this study have led to an augmented list of authentic learning elements, which includes the use of affect in meso practice and the development of guidelines for educators which have the potential to be relevant and applicable in other courses, contexts and disciplines. / NRF / Pillay, R. (2017). Crafting a meso practice course using elements of authentic learning for undergraduate social work students in South Africa. PhD thesis. University of the Western Cape

The dissertation explores the opportunities and limits of implementing constructivist elements into Czech language education. While in didactics of mathematics and sciences the perspective of constructivism has been dynamically developing, in language didactics it is an area which has not been satisfactorily dealt with. The effectiveness of a designed constructivist teaching strategy in contrast with a traditional one has been tested on a selected part of content matter of Czech syntax (relations in compound sentences) in the terrain of two classes of higher-secondary school. Constructivist teaching utilizes students' conceptions; therefore before the experiment itself, students' conceptions of the content matter were researched on one selected subject. The outcomes were then taken into account when creating the experimental strategy. It is necessary for teaching Czech that it makes use of the students' preconceptions and their natural language competence, and that teaching has a semantic- functional, or communication approach to the language phenomena taught. The results of the research suggest that it is possible to implement constructivist features into Czech language teaching successfully, and that their effectiveness in certain aspects might be higher than it is with traditional strategies. In any...

Faute de connaissances épistémologiques et socio-historiques au sujet du concept de mole et d’une transposition didactique pertinente de ce concept dans les manuels scolaires, les enseignants ne disposent pas des moyens nécessaires pour que leur enseignement soit aussi efficace qu’ils le souhaiteraient. Plusieurs recherches confirment que cet enseignement met habituellement l’accent sur l’aspect quantitatif de ce concept, néglige ses aspects qualitatifs et ne tient pas toujours compte des trois domaines du savoir en chimie : sous-microscopique, macroscopique et symbolique. L’évolution socio-historique de la mole est complexe. En 1900, Ostwald définit la mole comme étant une « masse normale ». En 1961, on reconnait la mole comme étant un concept pour compter les entités sous-microscopiques. En 1971, la mole devient l’unité de la « quantité de matière », sans toutefois que cela soit clairement mentionné dans la définition. Les diverses définitions qui se sont succédées laissent donc l’enseignant perplexe devant le choix d’une définition adéquate. De plus, les confusions linguistiques liées à l’apprentissage de la mole sont nombreuses, telles que des confusions phonétiques (mol et molécule), et des confusions symboliques (n, m, M, N. etc.). Un enseignement de la mole qui ne tient pas compte de ses aspects qualitatif et quantitatif, de l’évolution socio-historique du concept et d’un évitement des erreurs sémantiques risque de provoquer des obstacles didactiques chez les élèves. Par conséquent, l’objectif général de cette recherche de développement était d’étudier l’impact d’une formation portant sur le concept de mole donnée à des enseignants du secondaire sur l’évolution de leurs connaissances et compétences professionnelles et sur la réduction des obstacles didactiques chez les élèves. La formation a été planifiée selon un cycle de DBR (Design Based Research) qui comportait de nombreuses interactions entre l’étudiante-chercheure et les six enseignantes participantes d’une école du Liban. Ce cycle de DBR se subdivisait en cinq méso cycles dans chacun desquels l’étudiante-chercheure animait des activités de perfectionnement. Le premier mésocycleconsistait essentiellement en un microcycle d’analyse et d’exploration ; les 2e, 3e et 4e cycles comportent des microcycles de design et de conception de matériel didactique ainsi que des microcycles d’analyse, d’exploration, d’évaluation et de réflexion ; le dernier mésocycleconsistait surtout en un microcycle d’évaluation et d’exploration. Durant le premier méso cycle, l’analyse des données recueillies lors d’un groupe de discussion, d’une analyse de fiches de préparation et d’une évaluation diagnostique des apprentissages a confirmé la problématique décrite ci-dessus. Durant les trois méso cycles suivants (2e, 3e et 4e), un matériel didactique a été élaboré et mis à l’essai en classe. Chacun de ces méso cycles commençait par un retour réflexif des enseignantes ayant expérimenté le matériel didactique en classe. Par la suite, une activité de perfectionnement de synthèse était animée par l’étudiante-chercheure, une amélioration du matériel d’équipe était effectuée en équipe et une mise à l’essai par des enseignantes était réalisée en classe. Chaque mésocyclese terminait par une évaluation des résultats des élèves. Durant le dernier méso cycle, l’étudiante-chercheure a animé un groupe de discussion et des entretiens d’explicitation durant lequel les enseignantes participantes ont partagé leurs impressions au sujet des effets de la formation sur leur enseignement et sur les apprentissages des élèves. L’analyse et l’interprétation des résultats obtenus semblent montrer des effets positifs sur l’évolution des connaissances et des compétences professionnelles des enseignantes et sur la réduction des obstacles didactiques chez les élèves. Cette recherche présentait néanmoins d’assez nombreuses limites, notamment en raison du petit nombre d’enseignantes participantes. / In the absence of epistemological and socio-historical knowledge about the concept of mole and of a relevant didactic transposition of this concept in textbooks, teachers do not have the means to make their teaching as effective as they would like. Several studies confirm that this teaching usually emphasizes the quantitative aspect of this concept, neglects its qualitative aspects and does not always take into account the three areas of knowledge in chemistry: sub-microscopic, macroscopic and symbolic. The socio-historical evolution of the mole is complex. In 1900, Ostwald defined the mole as a "normal mass". In 1961, the mole was recognized as a concept for counting sub-microscopic entities. In 1971, the mole became the unit of the "quantity of substance", however without this being clearly mentioned in the definition. These various definitions leave the teacher puzzled and looking for an adequate definition. In addition, there are many linguistic confusions related to the learning of the mole, such as phonetic confusions (mol and molecule), and symbolic confusions (n, m, M, N, etc.). A teaching of the mole that does not take into account its qualitative and quantitative aspects, the socio-historical evolution of the concept and an avoidance of semantic errors may cause didactic obstacles for secondary school students. Therefore, the general objective of this development research was to study the impact of a training on the concept of mole given to secondary school teachers on the evolution of their professional knowledge and skills and on the reduction of didactic barriers in secondary school students. The training was planned according to a DBR (Design Based Research) cycle which involved numerous interactions between the student-researcher and the six participating teachers from a Lebanese school. This DBR cycle was subdivided into five meso-cycles in each of which the student-researcher conducted developmental activities. The first meso-cycle consisted essentially of a microcycle of analysis and exploration ; the 2nd, 3rd and 4th cycles include microcycles of design of didactic materials as well as microcycles of analysis and exploration, evaluation and reflection ; the last meso-cycle consisted mainly of a microcycle of evaluation and exploration. During the first meso-cycle, an analysis of the data collected during a focus group, an analysis of the preparation documents and a diagnostic assessment of learning confirmed the problem described above. During the following three meso-cycles (2nd, 3rd and 4th), a didactic material was developed and tested in class. Each of these meso-cycles began with a reflexive feedback from the teachers who had experienced the didactic material in class. Subsequently, a synthesis development activity was facilitated by the student-researcher, an improvement of the team material was carried out by the teachers and a test was conducted in class. Each meso-cycle ended with an assessment of the secondary school students’ achievement. During the last meso-cycle, the student-researcher facilitated a focus group and explanatory interviews during which the participating teachers shared their impressions about the effects of the training on their teaching and on student learning. The analysis and interpretation of the results obtained seem to show positive effects on the evolution of teachers' professional knowledge and skills and on the reduction of didactic obstacles for secondary school students. Nevertheless, this research had quite a few limitations, mainly because of the small number of participating teachers.

Shifting from traditional face-to-face education to online mode of education (or online learning)  presents several challenges, such as increased difficulty for students to get immediate feedback and  lack of social interaction. To tackle these challenges, supporting learners' self-reflection process is  seen to be crucial to help students achieve academic success. Students in higher academic institutions  are generally not exposed during their education to self-reflection, and it is a skill that teachers  consider many students lack. However, there is a lack of studies that focus on self-reflection in online  environments. In this paper we aim to investigate in what ways can online learning platforms support  university students’ self-reflection. In this study a self-reflection tool was developed for an online  environment and evaluated through a set of iterations in a mixed method approach. A total of three  iterations were conducted, with their respective evaluations. Results show that participants perceived a  clear improvement of their learning process through self-reflection. Findings also show that there are  a few requirements not present in traditional self-reflection tools, which suggest a clear need for  self-reflective methods tailored to learners' needs. / Skiftet från traditionell salsundervisning till nätbaserad kunskapsförmedling innebär många  utmaningar, t.ex. det är svårare för elever att få omedelbar feedback och de saknar socialt utbyte. För  att komma tillrätta med de här utmaningarna anses det viktigt att den som studerar får stöd genom  självskattning, för att målen för studierna ska kunna uppnås. Den som studerar på högre nivå får sällan  tillfälle till kunskapssjälvskattning under sin utbildning och lärare anser att det är kunskaper som  många studenter inte besitter. Samtidigt saknas det studier som fokuserar på självskattning i en  nätbaserad studiemiljö. I den här uppsatsen så undersöks hur utbildningsplattformar online kan främja  universitetsstuderandes självskattning. För undersökningen har ett verktyg för självskattning inom  nätbaserad undervisning utvecklats, ett verktyg som utvärderats genom en serie iterationer och  tillämpning av mixad metod. Totalt har tre olika iterationer genomförts med respektive utvärdering.  Resultaten visar att deltagarna upplevde att deras inlärningsprocess tydligt förbättrades med hjälp av  självskattningen. Svaren visar också att vissa förutsättningar saknas i traditionella  självskattningsverktyg och det i sin tur pekar tydligt på att det behövs metoder för självskattning som  är anpassade efter elevernas behov.

<p dir="ltr">This dissertation explores the integration of Quantum Information Science and Engineering (QISE) into formal K-12 curriculum through a Design-Based Research (DBR) approach. The overarching purpose is to develop a NGSS-aligned quantum-infused science curriculum unit for middle school students, aiming to enhance student understanding and engagement in quantum randomness. The study emphasizes the sequential introduction of concepts (from radioactive decay to quantum computing), interdisciplinary inquiry-based learning, and alignment of content and assessment strategies by leveraging Learning Progressions (LPs) and Hypothetical Learning Trajectories (LTs). Methods employed in this DBR study included iterative design processes, teacher feedback, and teaching experiments with 10 participant in-service middle school science teachers as well as quantitative assessment and evaluation of students’ learning and engagement data. Also, it is aimed to focus on professional development for teachers, incorporating NGSS and the Framework as the foundational guidelines. Findings highlighted the importance of teacher feedback in refining educational strategies, the challenges of teaching advanced quantum concepts at the middle school level, and the benefits of using classical physics as a gateway to introduce quantum concepts. This study is also manifestation of a structured teaching-learning pathway, guided by validation and hypothetical LPs, to support students' progression of understanding towards more sophisticated knowledge in QISE. Implications included the potential for enhancing coordination and sequencing of QISE teaching at the K-12 level, contributing to the cultivation of a diverse and quantum-savvy workforce. This DBR study hoped to set a foundation for future research endeavors, emphasizing the need for comprehensive teacher training in K-12 QISE education and the transformative power of education in fostering deeper comprehension and engagement with complex subjects.</p>

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O presente trabalho conceitualiza e aplica da noção de \"fluxo\" como a parte da intenção didática relacionada com a qualidade das transições entre atividades de uma sequência didática. O fluxo foi empregado como protoprincípio central no desenvolvimento de um curso sobre Relatividade Restrita para o Ensino Médio com base na metodologia Design-Based Research (DBR). A dinâmica de trabalho contou com a participação de pesquisadores e professores da Rede Pública do Estado de São Paulo. Reuniões de discussão, produção e aplicações da sequência didática foram organizadas conjuntamente pelo Núcleo de Pesquisas em Inovação Curricular (NuPIC) e pelo, então formado, Grupo de Atualização da Física Escolar (GrAFiE). Como resultado da pesquisa foi apresentada a comparação entre o fluxo pretendido e a fluência observada pelos alunos. Uma pesquisa auxiliar sobre a compreensão do conceito de evento também é construída e complementa os resultados obtidos. Com vistas na generalização proposta pelos pesquisadores nessa área, são apresentados o protoprincípio de fluxo como potencial motor para o desenvolvimento de sequências didáticas, o diagrama de fluxo como representação prática das intenções dos desenvolvedores e o instrumento de fluxo como método para a produção de dados. Esses elementos foram testados em um ciclo de pesquisas e são destinados ao emprego em outras sequências didáticas. / The present work conceptualizes and applies the concept of \"flow\" as part of the didactic intention related to the quality of transitions between activities of a design experiment. The flow was used as the central protoprinciple in the developiment of a course on Special Relativity for high school based on a Design-Based Research (DBR) methodology. The work has involved the participation of researchers and public school teachers of the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Meetings, production and didactic interventions were collectively organized. The comparison between the desired flow and fluency observed by the students was analyzed as a result of the research. An auxiliary research on the understanding on the concept of event is also constructed and complements the research. Looking forward the generalization proposed by researchers in this area, the protoprinciple of the flow was presented as a potential idea for the development of didactic sequences. The flow\'s diagram was presented as a practical representation of the intentions of the developers and the flow instrument has shown as a method for producing data. These elements were tested in a cycle of research and are intended for use in other design experiments.

This study used a design based-research (DBR) methodology to examine how an Instructional Systematic Design (ISD) process such as ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation) can be employed to develop a web-based module to teach metacognitive learning strategies to students in higher education. The goal of the study was twofold: (a) to examine the use of a systematic ISD process, ADDIE, to develop a web-based module that would be considered valid and effective, and (b) to use the design-based research (DBR) methodology to create relevant outcomes for practitioners in the field of IT while adding to the body of IT research. As in other DBR studies, a large amount of qualitative data was collected. DBR studies usually call for a variety of data collection instrument. In this study, a total of two interviews and twelve questionnaires were used to gather data. The outcomes of the study suggested that using a systematic approach such as ADDIE to develop a valid and effective interactive web-based module was still viable. Additionally, although the outcomes from this study did not form a basis to propose a new ISD model, it highlighted five key activities that could be added to the ADDIE process to accommodate development of a quality interactive web-based product. The five activities are as follows: (1) to conduct a detailed front-end analysis, (2) to develop a prototype early in the process, (3) to integrate formative and summative evaluations, (4) to assimilate iterations of "design-evaluate-refine" cycles throughout the process, and (5) to accommodate flexibility within the process. Furthermore, using the DBR methodology yielded results that added to the body of IT research and it provided support of the use of this methodology within the instructional technology discipline.

<p>The research presented in this thesis investigates the design challenges associated with the development and use of mobile applications and tools for supporting collaboration in educational activities. These technologies provide new opportunities to promote and enhance collaboration by engaging learners in a variety of activities across different places and contexts. A basic challenge is to identify how to design and deploy mobile tools and services that could be used to support collaboration in different kinds of settings. There is a need to investigate how to design collaborative learning processes and to support flexible educational activities that take advantage of mobility. The main research question that I focus on is the identification of factors that influence the design of mobile collaborative learning.</p><p>The theoretical foundations that guide my work rely on the concepts behind computer supported collaborative learning and design-based research. These ideas are presented at the beginning of this thesis and provide the basis for developing an initial framework for understanding mobile collaboration. The empirical results from three different projects conducted as part of my efforts at the Center for Learning and Knowledge Technologies at Växjö University are presented and analyzed. These results are based on a collection of papers that have been published in two refereed international conference proceedings, a journal paper, and a book chapter. The educational activities and technological support have been developed in accordance with a grounded theoretical framework. The thesis ends by discussing those factors, which have been identified as having a significant influence when it comes to the design and support of mobile collaborative learning.</p><p>The findings presented in this thesis indicate that mobility changes the contexts of learning and modes of collaboration, requiring different design approaches than those used in traditional system development to support teaching and learning. The major conclusion of these efforts is that the learners’ creations, actions, sharing of experiences and reflections are key factors to consider when designing mobile collaborative activities in learning. The results additionally point to the benefit of directly involving the learners in the design process by connecting them to the iterative cycles of interaction design and research.</p>

In the present study, the Cultural Adaptation Process Model was applied to an online module to include adaptations responsive to the online students' culturally-influenced learning styles and preferences. The purpose was to provide the online learners with a variety of course material presentations, where the e-learners had the opportunity to select their preferred structure for learning. The research methodology for the study is Design-Based Research (DBR), which has been identified by many prominent researchers in Instructional Technology as the most productive research approach for the field. DBR integrates different data types and data collection methods (quantitative, qualitative, and mixed) with experience in instructional development and the participants' collaboration. The study produced design principles that are expected to be useful for practitioners when adapting online courses to multicultural audiences. To provide thorough information to instructional designers, the research report includes a detailed description of each phase, an estimate of hours invested per development and testing stages, a list of outcomes found, and a set of recommendations for improving the cultural adaptation model applied. The study is expected to be valuable for educational institutions and corporations that offer online courses to multicultural groups of e-learners.