Submitted by Maike Costa (maiksebas@gmail.com) on 2016-01-13T11:37:30Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 2616875 bytes, checksum: 8bae2f31306ed3242aedb8aa81bb39c3 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-01-13T11:37:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 2616875 bytes, checksum: 8bae2f31306ed3242aedb8aa81bb39c3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-24 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This research aims to understand the sense construction of student statements in e-forums/classes of a course from UAB/UFPB Virtual, according to the dialogic theory of language from Bakhtin and the Circle, for whom the dialogism is an essential condition to the statement production. The leading issue has the objective to answer: “What dialogic relations do the students constitute, in the e-forums/classes, to the comprehension and production of senses in their texts?”. The interest in this study emerges with the researcher experience in superior courses of online distance teaching, that pointed to the need of more researches dedicated to the teaching-learning of the reading and writing processes, focusing on the formation of the responsive-active reader subject. As a research methodology, we opted for the netnographic field study because it allows the immersion of the researcher in loco to the direct observation of language actions of the researched group in different phases, propitiating the surveying, selection and analysis of data. The data were collected through the following instruments: the field diary; the AVA Moodle (1.9.3+ version); the SPRING and 04 sounding questionnaires used in the pilot phase of the research. The corpus is constituted of 50 statements produced by students, in 02 e-forums/classes, in the year of 2010, as responses to activities proposed by a discipline of a course from UAB/UFPB Virtual. Based on the bakhtinian theory – in special, the speech of others and the presumed discourse –, we elaborated the analytical categories to investigate how the voice of others is materialized in the students’ statements. The results evidence that the students interact, basically, with three social voices in the e-forums/classes: the voice of the teacher, the discussed text, and other students which participate of the virtual class. These dialogical relations constituted by students, in the analyzed e-forums, do not always influence, positively, the construction of their statements, because a fragmented reading, or even, an unclear interpretation, when reproduced, collaborate to the thematic deviation, mischaracterizing the e-forums/classes by not having the debate of opinions, but the reproduction of discourses. Among these social relations, the most expressive is the interaction “student-student”, responsible for these deviations, considering that the comprehension of “one” student influences the answer of the “other” in the e-forum/classes. We concluded that this more restrict interaction between “student-student” generate many problems of comprehension in the virtual class, since their statements interact, in their majority, only with generalized and/or fragmented ideas of the texts, creating unsatisfactory responses in relation to the comprehension of the discourses objects. Because of this, the teacher-tutor must be more present in the discussions realized in the e-forums/aula, propitiating a more ample and constructive dialogue between student-text and student-student to avoid such thematic deviations. We also noticed that the studies of Bakhtin and the Circle were significant to understand the construction of the responsive-active reader subject in the teaching-learning of Portuguese language in the online distance teaching. / Este trabajo tiene como objetivo comprender la construcción de sentidos que figuran estudiantes en foros electrónicos / clase de un curso de la UAB / Virtual UFPB la luz de la teoría de la dialógica lenguaje Bajtín y el Círculo para quien el dialogismo es un requisito previo para la obtención de la declaración. La pregunta principal es responder "Lo que los estudiantes de relaciones dialógicas son en foros electrónicos / clase, para la comprensión y producción de significados de sus textos?". El interés en este estudio surge de la experiencia del investigador en la educación superior en la enseñanza a distancia en línea donde verificaou la necesidad de más investigación dedicado a los problemas de la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de la lectura y la escritura, centrándose en la la formación del sujeto lector sensible activo. Como metodología de la investigación, optamos por naturaleza netnographic de estudio de campo por permitir la inmersión del investigador in loco para la observación directa de las acciones lingüísticas del grupo de investigación en las diferentes etapas, que proporciona la encuesta, el análisis y la selección de datos. Los datos fueron recolectados a través de los siguientes instrumentos: el diario de campo; el AVA Moodle (versión 1.9.3+); SPRING y 04 cuestionarios utilizados en la fase experimental de la investigación. El corpus analizado cuenta con 50 enunciados producidos por los estudiantes en 02 foros electrónicos / clase, en 2010, como una respuesta a las actividades de una disciplina de un curso de la UAB / UFPB Virtual. Basado en la teoría de Bakhtin - en particular, el discurso del otro y el supuesto discurso - hemos desarrollado las categorías analíticas para investigar cómo se materializa la voz del otro en las declaraciones de los estudiantes. Los resultados muestran que los estudiantes interactúan principalmente con tres voces sociales en foros electrónicos / clase: la voz del maestro, el texto discutido y otros estudiantes participantes de la clase virtual. Estas relaciones dialógicas establecidas por los estudiantes en foros electrónicos analizados, no siempre influir positivamente en la construcción de sus declaraciones porque una lectura fragmentada, o una interpretación errónea, cuando jugó colaboran para desviaciones del tema, envilecidos los foros electrónicos / clase porque no había discusión de opiniones, pero la reproducción de discursos. Entre estas relaciones sociales las más significativas es la interacción "alumno-alumno" responsable de estas desviaciones, ya que la comprensión de "un" estudiante influye en la respuesta del "otro" en el e-foro / clase. Llegamos a la conclusión de que esta interacción más restringido entre el "alumno-alumno" crea muchos problemas de comprensión en el clase virtual, pues sus declaraciones interactúan, en su mayoría, sólo con las ideas generalizadas y / o fragmentadas de textos, generando respuestas insatisfactorias a la comprensión de los objetos del discurso. Por esta razón, el profesor-tutor debe estar más presente en las discusiones en foros electrónicos / clase, proporcionando un diálogo más amplio y constructivo entre el alumno-texto y alumno-alumno para evitar tales desviaciones del tema. Además, hemos observado que los estudios de Bajtín y el Círculo fueron significativas para entender la construcción del sujeto lector sensible activo en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje de la lengua portuguesa en la educación a distancia en línea. / O presente trabalho objetiva compreender a construção de sentidos de enunciados discentes em e-fóruns/aula de um curso da UAB/UFPB Virtual à luz da teoria dialógica da linguagem de Bakhtin e o Círculo para quem o dialogismo é uma condição essencial para a produção do enunciado. A questão norteadora consiste em responder “Quais relações dialógicas os alunos constituem, nos e-fóruns/aula, para a compreensão e produção de sentidos de seus textos?”. O interesse neste estudo surge com a experiência da pesquisadora em cursos superiores no ensino a distância online, onde verificou a necessidade de mais pesquisas dedicadas à problemática do ensino-aprendizagem da leitura e da escrita, enfocando a formação do sujeito leitor responsivo ativo. Como metodologia de pesquisa, optamos pelo estudo de campo de cunho netnográfico por permitir a imersão da pesquisadora in loco para a observação direta de ações de linguagem do grupo pesquisado em diferentes fases, propiciando o levantamento, a seleção e a análise dos dados. Os dados foram coletados por meio de os seguintes instrumentos: o diário de campo; o AVA Moodle (versão 1.9.3+); o SPRING e 04 questionários de sondagem utilizados na fase piloto de pesquisa. O corpus analisado possui 50 enunciados produzidos por alunos, em 02 e-fóruns/aula, no ano de 2010, como respostas a atividades de uma disciplina de um curso da UAB/UFPB Virtual. Baseados na teoria bakhtiniana – em especial, o discurso de outrem e o discurso presumido –, elaboramos as categorias analíticas para investigarmos como a voz do outro é materializada nos enunciados dos alunos. Os resultados evidenciam que os alunos interagem, basicamente, com três vozes sociais nos e-fóruns/aula: a voz da professora, do texto discutido e de outros alunos participantes da aula virtual. Essas relações dialógicas constituídas pelos alunos, nos e-fóruns analisados, nem sempre influenciam, positivamente, a construção de seus enunciados porque uma leitura fragmenta, ou ainda, uma interpretação equivoca, quando reproduzidas colaboram para os desvios temáticos, descaracterizando os e-fóruns/aula por não haver debate de opiniões, e sim a reprodução de discursos. Dentre essas relações sociais a mais expressiva é a interação “aluno-aluno” responsável por esses desvios, tendo em vista que a compreensão de “um” aluno influencia a resposta do “outro” no e-fórum/aula. Concluímos que essa interação mais restrita entre “aluno-aluno” gera muitos problemas de compreensão na aula virtual visto que seus enunciados interagem, em sua maioria, apenas com ideias generalizadas e/ou fragmentadas dos textos, gerando respostas insatisfatórias em relação à compreensão dos objetos de discursos. Por esse motivo, o professor-tutor deve ser mais presente nas discussões realizadas nos e-fóruns/aula, propiciando um diálogo mais amplo e construtivo entre aluno-texto e aluno-aluno para evitar tais desvios temáticos. Também, evidenciamos que os estudos de Bakhtin e o Círculo se mostraram significativos para entender a construção do sujeito leitor responsivo ativo no processo de ensino-aprendizagem de língua portuguesa no ensino a distância online.

Individuals have unique ways of perceiving and organising information, which are referred to as learning styles. By becoming informed about individual learning styles the educator is in a better position to support the learner in the learning process. A descriptive correlational study was done to investigate the learning styles of nursing students at Unisa. In this research project a postal questionnaire was used to determine their learning styles. Research data were gathered on the demographic and academic profile of Unisa nursing students in order to determine their specific needs. Learning styles were correlated with various constructs (academic achievement, distance teaching, home language). It was concluded that awareness of individual learning styles is important to assure quality improvement in nursing education. Both learner and educator need to be knowledgeable of learning styles and therefore a course in learning styles was designed. / Health Studies / M.A. (Nursing Science)

Instructional design is a science that has received little attention from residential universities and educational practices. Instructional design is regarded as a prerequisite for designing, delivering and optimising flexi-learning programmes and should be part of the curricularising processes of universities. There is furthermore an increasing awareness, both internationally and nationally, of the need for distance education. The paradigm shift towards more learner centred study, independent of time and place, necessitates the redesigning and development of learning material at tertiary institutions. This study applies the parameters of instructional design and distance teaching to the field of hearing aid acoustics. The stages utilised in the instructional design of a distance teaching program for hearing aid acousticians were the following: planning through an analysis of the situation, design and development of the program, implementing the postgraduate Diploma in Hearing Aid Acoustics and the utilisation and management of the program through continuous assessment of the program. In the planning phase an analysis of the situation was conducted by means of questionnaires to the major role players, viz. hearing aid dispensers in practice and their adult and geriatric clients with a hearing loss. A total of 144 respondents were included in the study. In the planning document the expected outcomes and main traits of the potential learners were identified. The best system for the delivery of the program was also selected. The results of the analysis phase were used to develop and implement a two year post-graduate distance teaching diploma in hearing aid acoustics. A major challenge was to effectively facilitate the practical skills required of hearing aid acousticians within a distance teaching program. Selected contact periods are therefore used for practising practical skills. In the final phase of instructional design, the program was evaluated. It was indicated that instructional design is indeed a prerequisite for specifying conditions for learning, based on sound teaching principles. / Thesis (DPhil (Communication Pathology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology / Unrestricted

This essay, conducted through semi-structured interviews with five upper secondary school students, aim to analyze and understand if and how their perceived motivation to social studies changed due to distance teaching during the covid-19 pandemic as well if and how their motivation has changed since returning to school post-pandemic. The theory of self-determination works as the cornerstone which is complemented by two relational theories in relational pedagogy as well as the zone of proximal development in addition to the concept of self-regulation. The result shows that the students’ perceived motivation was affected negatively by studying and attending lectures away from the ordinary school environment, caused by a loss of interest for the subject which in turn is a result of less varied teaching as well as a loss of peer-pressure which works as a motivational factor for many of the students. However, the study also shows that their perceived motivation increased once returned during their final year of school, which in turn is a result of an increased interest in the subject caused by relational aspects such as being able to engage verbally during lectures as well as to a larger degree being able to use the teacher as well as each other as a resource to enhance their learning. These are aspects which were hindered by distance learning, which also stresses the importance of relations for enhanced learning.

In response to the covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the Swedish National Agency for Education and the Public Health Agency of Sweden recommended that all upper secondary schools in Sweden would temporarily transition to distance education. A report was simultaneously ordered by the Swedish School Inspectorate, which would monitor the effects the distance education had on Swedish upper secondary schools. The report found that many areas of the Swedish upper secondary school had suffered during the period of distance education. The purpose for this essay is to examine how the findings of the report corresponds with the experiences in German teaching at upper secondary level, one year after the publishing of the original report. An interview with a teacher of German was conducted, who had spent the last three semesters teaching German in an upper secondary school, which mostly was spent via online teaching due to the recommendations from the Public Health Agency. The findings suggest that most of the negative consequences highlighted by the report coincide with the experiences in teaching of German as a foreign language, although many of the findings also apply to other parts of the schoolsystem as well. The findings, furthermore, seem to indicate that certain aspects of what was highlighted by the report could potentially affect foreign language teaching especially, as language learning depends on interactional factors to be successful. The gradual return of present learning has also created a situation of hybrid learning, which only seem to affect certain parts of the school system, German teaching included. To combat similar situations with negative effects in the future, this essay aims to discuss ways in which to actively work towards a teaching approach that is affected to a lesser extent than have been monitored during the covid-19 pandemic. Ways in which to improve future teaching include actively fostering good motivational practices and adapting to working methods which combine the positives of both present and online teaching practices.

High school teachers have a crucial role in shaping the next generation by educating and guiding adolescents on their way into adulthood. During the COVID-19 pandemic, which entailed a sudden shift to digital teaching, the work of high school teachers was affected.  Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate how the psychosocial work environment and professional identity of high school teachers have been affected by the transition to digital teaching during the pandemic and moreover what valuable lessons they carry into future work. Theoretical concepts: The theoretical concepts that the study is based on are boundaryless work, professional identity, and the demand-control-support model from a work environment perspective. Method: This qualitative study is based on an inductive approach using semi-structured interviews. The empirical material has been compiled from ten different interviews with high school teachers that have been transcribed and processed with a thematic analysis. Results: The results show that the transition to digital teaching has had a direct impact on the psychosocial health and professional identity of high school teachers. The factors behind this are a lack of social contact between students and teachers, increased workload, and a decreased sense of control over work. Conclusion: The most notable conclusion that can be drawn from the study is that the need for social interaction between high school teachers and students is essential. The fact that school is a social place is evident, and there is no doubt that teaching in physical classrooms cannot be compared to distance teaching. / Gymnasielärare har en avgörande roll i att forma nästa generation genom att utbilda och vägleda ungdomar på väg in i vuxenlivet. Under covid-19 pandemin som innebar en plötslig omställning till digital undervisning blev gymnasielärares arbete påverkat.  Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur gymnasielärares psykosociala arbetsmiljö och professionella identitet har påverkats av övergången till digital undervisning under pandeminsamt vilka lärdomar de bär med sig in i framtidens arbete. Teoretiska begrepp: De teoretiska begrepp som studien utgår ifrån är gränslöst arbete, professionell identitet och krav- kontrollstödmodellen ur ett arbetsmiljöperspektiv. Metod: Denna kvalitativa studie utgår ifrån en induktiv ansats med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer. Det empiriska materialet har sammanställts utifrån tio olika intervjuer med gymnasielärare som sedan transkriberats och bearbetats med en tematisk analys. Resultat: Resultatet visar att omställningen till den digitala undervisningen har haft en direkt inverkan på gymnasielärares psykosociala hälsa och professionella identitet. Faktorerna bakom detta är utebliven social kontakt mellan elever och lärare, ökad arbetsbelastning och en minskad kontroll över arbetet. Slutsats: Den mest utmärkande slutsatsen i undersökningen som kan dras är att behovet av social interaktion mellan gymnasielärare och elever är essentiellt. Skolan är en social plats och att undervisningen i de fysiska klassrummen inte går att jämföra med distansundervisning råder det ingen tvekan om.

This research project reports on an empirical study on the suitability and feasibility of audio cassette lectures in solving the study problems of adult distance education students. Having reviewed relevant literature on the subject the researcher collected data through: (a) Empirical investigation by contituting a two-group (experimental/control) design. (b) Questionnaires to find out opinions of students on audio cassettes. The study reveals that there is a significnt difference between the academic achievement of students who study via audio cassette lectures in addition to textbooks and face-to-face lectures and those who study through textbooks and face-to-face lectures only. The study therefore validates audio cassette lectures in an integrated study package. Other outcomes of the study are: (a) Suggestions to l.E.M.S. authorities to introduce audio cassette lectures on l.E.M.S. part-time courses. (b) Suggestions to course organisers at 1.E.M.S. to liaise with distance education institutions to adopt their instructional strategies. / Teacher Education / M. Ed. (Didactics)

Atualmente há uma demanda crescente por aplicações hipermídia baseadas na WWW (World Wide Web), conhecidas como WIS (Web Information Systems). Esse novo tipo de aplicação apresenta requisitos adicionais aos sistemas de software clássicos, o que resulta na necessidade de investigar modelos mais adequados para apoiar o seu desenvolvimento. Em especial, os sistemas para apoio ao EaD (Ensino a Distância) baseados na Web apresentam características e requisitos ainda mais específicos. Os modelos atuais para modelagem e especificação de hiperdocumentos não são completamente adequados para representar características deste domínio, como a necessidade de acompanhamento dos aprendizes e a realização de avaliações diagnósticas e formativas. Isso motivou a proposta de um modelo para apoiar WISs voltados especificamente para EaD, denominado MDE (Modelo para Documentos Educacionais), que estende o modelo HMBS (Hyperdocument Model Based on Statecharts) para a descrição de conteúdo nesse domínio. O MDE adota como modelo formal subjacente uma variante da técnica Statecharts, cuja estrutura e semântica operacional possibilitam especificar a estrutura organizacional e a semântica navegacional de hiperdocumentos complexos. Adicionalmente, foi integrada ao MDE a técnica de mapeamento conceitual, que acrescenta um significado educacional aos grafos hierárquicos. Dessa forma, o modelo apresenta como pontos fortes a possibilidade de captar várias informações relevantes do comportamento do usuário no estudo do material disponível on-line e a disponibilização desses dados ao instrutor, como importante apoio à avaliação formativa. Como prova de conceito, foi desenvolvido o protótipo de um ambiente para autoria e oferecimento de cursos denominado ATEnA (Ambiente para Treinamento, Ensino e Aprendizagem). Esta tese apresenta também avaliações conceituais e práticas do modelo e do protótipo desenvolvidos. / There is an increasing demand for hypermedia applications based on the WWW (World Wide Web), known as Web Information Systems (WIS). These applications present specific requirements in addition to those of traditional software systems, thus fostering the need for investigating suitable models to support their development. In particular, systems for Distance Education based on the Web present very specific characteristics and requirements. Current models for hyperdocument modeling and specification are not completely suitable for representing domain specific characteristics such as the need of tracking student progress and evaluating their learning process through diagnostic and formative assessments. This scenario motivated the proposal of a model to support WISs targeted at distance education, called MDE (Model for Distance Education). MDE extends the HMBS (Hyperdocument Model Based on Statecharts) hyperdocument model to describe hypertext content in the educational domain. It adopts as its underlying model a variant of the Statecharts formal specification technique, whose organizational structure and operational semantics allows defining the organizational structure and navigational semantics of complex hyperdocuments. MDE also incorporates the technique of conceptual mapping, that adds educational meaning to hierarchical graphs. MDE’s major strengths are thus the ability to capture relevant information about user behavior when studying on-line educational material and make such information available to the teacher / instructor in order to support formative assessment of students. As a proof of concept, the prototype of an environment for authoring and offering distance courses based on MDE has been developed, called ATEnA (Adaptive Training Environment with Support for Assessment). The results of practical and conceptual evaluations of the model and system developed are also presented in this thesis.

This research project reports on an empirical study on the suitability and feasibility of audio cassette lectures in solving the study problems of adult distance education students. Having reviewed relevant literature on the subject the researcher collected data through: (a) Empirical investigation by contituting a two-group (experimental/control) design. (b) Questionnaires to find out opinions of students on audio cassettes. The study reveals that there is a significnt difference between the academic achievement of students who study via audio cassette lectures in addition to textbooks and face-to-face lectures and those who study through textbooks and face-to-face lectures only. The study therefore validates audio cassette lectures in an integrated study package. Other outcomes of the study are: (a) Suggestions to l.E.M.S. authorities to introduce audio cassette lectures on l.E.M.S. part-time courses. (b) Suggestions to course organisers at 1.E.M.S. to liaise with distance education institutions to adopt their instructional strategies. / Teacher Education / M. Ed. (Didactics)

This thesis describes a research project aimed at improving the tracing skills of first-year programming students enrolled for an introductory C++ course at an open distance learning institution by means of a tutorial in the form of a program visualization tool to teach the students to draw variable diagrams. The research was based on the findings from the BRACElet project (Clear, Whalley, Robbins, Philpott, Eckerdal, Laakso & Lister, 2011). A design-based research methodology was followed. To guide the process of developing the tutorial, a framework of 26 guidelines for developing and using visualization tools to teach programming was synthesized from the literature on computing education research CER, educational psychology and computer graphics. Guidelines were supplemented with reasons or explanations for their recommendation and considerations to be taken into account when using a guideline. The framework was enhanced by lessons learnt during the development and testing of the tutorial. The tutorial was tested and refined during two implementation cycles. Both cycles included quantitative and qualitative investigations. All students registered for the introductory module received the tool with their study material. For the quantitative investigations, students completed a questionnaire after using the tutorial. Through the questionnaire biographical data was acquired, the manner in which students used the tutorial and how they experienced using it. The responses to the questionnaires were statistically analysed in combination with respondents’ final marks. The statistical modelling indicated that the students’ biographical properties (a combination of level of programming experience, marks obtained for Mathematics and English in matric and first-time registration for COS1511 or not), had the biggest impact on their final marks by far. During the qualitative investigations students were eye tracked in a Human-Computer Interaction laboratory. The gaze replays in both cycles revealed that students’ reading skills impacted largely on their success, connecting with the findings from the quantitative investigations. Reflections on why the tutorial did not achieve its purpose; and why poor reading skills may have such a strong effect on learning to program, contribute some theoretical understanding as to how novices learn to program. / Computer Science / D. Phil. (Computer Science)