In program evaluation research, measures of realized classroom instruction are often referred to as fidelity measures. Although there is a wide consensus that fidelity measures should be grounded in the program theories guiding the intervention, there is very little explicit discussion of how to adequately represent program theories, or how to scale a measure that can be interpreted in terms of the program theories. This dissertation is an example of a construct modeling approach to fidelity measurement. Here program theory is represented as the structure, processes, and underlying constructs of the designed intervention. Observable variables were generated and scored, and the data was modeled using a Partial Credit Model. The model largely supports the distinctions in the construct map and the correspondence between construct and scale. Additional implications for observation measures of classroom interactions are discussed.

The problem which prompted this study was that of determining the causes for the drop-out of students in Spanish from first to second year at Thomas Carr Howe High School, Indianapolis, Indiana. For comparative purposes it seemed profitable to include also in the study those students who were continuing in order to ascertain any existing differences in composition.Behind this basic problem lay the fact, supported by figures compiled in the language department at Howe High School over a period of years, that approximately half the students which initiated foreign language study did not continue to a second year of that study. This evidently was not a local problem for in New England, where schools have long emphasized foreign language study, second-year enrollments have not far exceeded half the number of first-year enrollments. Although a consensus of opinion of teachers of modern foreign languages would reveal that real satisfaction of working with a language does not come to the student until the third and fourth years, and that the first two years are directed largely toward assimilating material which assists the student toward that goal, studies have shown that only about 12 per cent continue to their third year, and that approximately 60 per cent discontinue their study at the end of one year.1 Naturally these facts pose a problem for which many educators would like a solution.The information which results from this study should have value for all those who have contact with the teaching of languages at Howe High School but it is hoped that the information might also provide the impetus for studies of a similar nature at other schools and finally result in greater numbers of students continuing their modern language studies to the point that they might more completely enjoy the returns of their earlier labors.

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This research was motivated by my personal desire to learn more about reflective teaching, and by the fact that a number of local researchers in the Cayman Islands highlighted the need to accumulate a body of knowledge addressing local issues in all disciplines, including teaching and learning. The purpose of this investigation was to provide a practically adequate understanding of lesson planning, implementation, and evaluation from the perspective of selected seasoned teachers in the Islands and their use of elements of reflective teaching in these areas. This qualitative instrumental case study employed a critical-realist philosophic stance. Six broad research questions guided the study. Participants included four seasoned teachers. The field research included interviews and documentary analysis. Interviews focused on participants'experience and observations, regarding the research areas. Documents, in the form of lesson plans, were used to confirm or make findings, more or less plausible. Interview transcripts were analysed to determine similarities and differences in respondents' perspectives, and issues warranting further attention. I ended the study by summarising what I perceived was the respondents' practically adequate understanding of the areas being researched. In addition, I made two major conclusions, regarding reflective teaching. One, how the respondents carried out their role as lesson planners, implementers, and evaluators, resulted from a dynamic relationship between their teaching philosophy and/or belief, personal choice, mood and the varied contextual constrains such as administratively decreed policies and heavy workload. I then made a case for the relevance and importance of reflection in coping with, understanding, and effectively using this relationship in the teaching/learning process. Two, the respondents employed their practical knowledge or experience of what works,and generally, they were found to exercise degrees of reflectivity that is, being 'more or less'reflective about their teaching. Limitations of the study were stated and avenue for further work suggested.

Libyan in-service teachers of English with poor INSET provision and low-resourced school environments stand to gain a great deal from Internet-based Continuing Professional Development (I-CPD). The aim of this exploratory and descriptive study was threefold: first, to understand current practices and conditions pertaining to CPD provision for Libyan teachers; second, to explore the potential of Internet-based CPD for Libyan teachers through a bottom-up informal approach; third, to develop an I-CPD model appropriate for the Libyan context. A mixed-method interventionist case study approach formed the methodological framework of the research. Fact Finding (Phase 1) was carried out to scout the field using a teachers' questionnaire and semi-structured interviews at six language schools in Tripoli. In the Case Study (Phase 2) a typical language institution with in-house Internet access was selected to deliver a progressive intervention course designed to meet the needs of teachers in low-resourced school contexts, but with access to public Internet cafés. Eight case teachers were engaged in problem-based learning to enhance their Internet skills, then using instructional, peer and task support teachers were engaged in blended learning via a web-based Yahoo Group. A ten-week long Extended Case Study (Phase 3) merged Case members from Phase 2 with other teachers from Libya and the UK, forming a larger online group (60 participants) facilitated by a web-hosted Virtual Learning Environment (Merlin). The Fact Finding phase revealed an overall intermediate level in Internet skills and encouraging attitudes towards I-CPD. A more organised petroleum sector emerged, where professional development was assigned higher priority than in the public or private sectors. The Case Study data showed moderate teacher participation in blended learning while task responses reflected minimum engagement with tasks, and little critical reflection. The low response in the Extended Case Study phase prompted attention to the possible causes of low online participation. In addition to generic barriers to asynchronous online learning, such as lurking and the lack of time, underlying context-specific causes have emerged which point to what is termed intellectual-error phobia (ie-phobia) within unbonded groups: while teachers readily participated in low-level tasks, when faced with high-order group-based tasks, they admitted fear of posting trivial responses that were archived and perhaps criticised by other teachers. To minimise ie-phobia and encourage online interaction, a blended multi-dimensional support model is proposed in which f2f orientation and social cohesion precede Internet-based learning that adopts progressive online activities, thus gradually fostering teacher independence and promoting sustainable I-CPD that is holistic and optimised.

Developing effectiveness in learning is the goal of teaching. In order to achieve this goal and to bridge the gap between teaching and learning in the EFL classroom, SLA researchers in the past decades have become increasingly interested in pedagogical conceptions, such as Learner-centredness, Communicative Language Teaching, and Task-Based Language Learning (TBL). In particular, research into TBL pedagogy has had an important influence on the field of English language teaching in recent years in the West. However, there have been few studies into TBL in the EFL classroom in Macau. Thus, this study explores whether or not task-based learning pedagogy could be beneficial to Chinese tertiary learners of English. Based on the philosophy of constructivism, the study aimed to investigate Chinese tertiary learners’ beliefs about and motivations for English learning through research carried out before, during and after the implementation of a specially designed programme of task-based English teaching. Twenty-four undergraduate learners from different regions of China were investigated by quantitative instruments (i.e., BALLI, and Motivation Questionnaire) and qualitative instruments (i.e., field-notes, ‘motivation’ graphs and notes, learner diaries, and follow-up interviews) before, during and after the 15-week task-based EFL programme. Both quantitative and qualitative findings reflected that the learners’ self-concept beliefs and intrinsic motivation for English learning were increasingly enhanced by the task-based EFL programme, thus convincingly demonstrating that task-based learning pedagogy was beneficial to Chinese tertiary learners of English. The thesis concludes with a consideration of the implications of such task-based learning pedagogy for further research.

This study evaluates the effectiveness of a Cooperative Learning intervention upon the mean peer acceptance levels of all children (N=54) within two Year four classes in a mainstream primary school in the North West of England. A pre-test post-test non equivalent groups quasi-experimental design is employed, with the dependent variable, peer acceptance, measured by the 'Social Inclusion Survey' and the 'Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire'. Inferential analysis in the form of 'Gain Score Analysis' supports the initial hypotheses, demonstrating that children within the experimental group were, on average, significantly more accepted at post-test by both their same sex and opposite sex peers, in relation to both the 'work' and 'play' contexts, than children within the no intervention control group. Furthermore, children within the experimental group self-reported, on average, significantly greater levels of 'prosocial behaviour' and significantly reduced 'peer problems' at post-test than children in the control group. It is concluded that the Cooperative Learning intervention employed for this study may be considered effective in enhancing mean peer acceptance levels, reducing 'peer problems' and enhancing 'prosocial behaviours' within the context in which this study was conducted. Methodological limitations, ethical concerns and implications for future research and professional practice are also considered.

The first part of this study describes the synthesis of a research framework (known as the Transformation Framework) via the analysis of existing literature on technology-related transformation in learning and teaching. The Framework identified five Foundations that were desirable for any implementation of technology in an educational setting and also described three broad types of transformation that might be expected to occur (Institutional, Material and Behavioural). The remainder of the thesis contains a description of the application of the Framework to three science courses in the College of Science and Engineering at a large Scottish university at a point in time when they were attempting to initiate some transformation in learning and teaching, at least in part through the introduction of new technologies. The Framework was used to construct a series of specific interview questions that were designed to illuminate each possible area of transformation. Interviews were then conducted with the Undergraduate Deans who were responsible for the overall initiative of which these courses formed a part and the organisers of each of the three courses (Courses A, B and C). The interview questions were then used to construct an online survey that was used to poll the lecturers and teaching assistants involved in the delivery of each course. Finally, anonymised course marks were obtained for the three courses covering the years before, during and after the innovations were introduced. Using the Framework as a reference, the data sources were then analysed, primarily using NVivo (qualitative data) and SPSS (quantitative data), in order to identify where there may have been transformation perceived or observed, and the evidence supporting the existence of any such transformation was evaluated. Any identified transformations were then analysed further to ascertain any specific contribution that technology may have had to such change. The results provided broad support for the notion that the transformations that may occur are highly context-dependent, and are often influenced by the Foundations that are in place at the time. Course A could be described as “innovation-ready” and as such there was evidence to suggest that the technologies used had several Institutional, Material and Behavioural transformative effects. Course B was more cautious and perhaps less prepared, and yet some Institutional, Material and Behavioural transformations were observed, largely in those areas that were well attended at the Foundation stage. The Course C implementation was done at short notice, and hence with little preparation and as such was very low-key and only limited Material and Behavioural transformations were evident as a result. The research as described above highlights the fact that transformation is far more likely to occur if the proper Foundations have been put in place first, and the technology forms part of an implementation that is well thought-out by the organisers, well supported by the powers-that-be and well accepted by all those who will engage with it. The Framework itself has proved to be a useful and robust guide for this kind of study and it should have value in many different contexts in the future. Applications include not only the evaluation of existing implementations of technology in the classroom but also the planning and preparation of such implementations, informing both the design of a particular course and the choice of technology to achieve specific results.