The world of literacy has expanded alongside technology, and new literacies are being used as an alternative or an addition to traditional text. By including video gaming as literacy, the connection can be made between students' multimodal world outside of school with the world of literacy they encounter in school. This study took two approaches of a content study and a case study. A collective case study was used to examine the gaming experience of participants with three commercial video games falling into three separate genres: Sims FreePlay (simulation); Halo 1 (first person shooter); and World of Warcraft (role playing game). The 15 gamers were placed into three sets of five participants for each video game, and interviews were conducted to explore the gaming experience in relation to stance and transaction, which are major components of Louise Rosenblatt's reader response theory. Limited research has been conducted regarding reader response theory and the new literacies; by using the reader response lens, the gaming experience was compared to the reading experience to add the new literacies to the existing literature on reader response. As a way to look at both the text and the experience, a content study examined three mainstream video games to establish literacy content by using Zimmerman's gaming literacy theory. Even though this theory is useful by detailing elements found in video games and not traditional literature, literary value cannot be fully assessed unless the theory is developed further to include other components or discuss how the depth of the components can relate to literary value. The literature does not currently contain substantial research regarding how to assess the literary value of video games, so this study begins to add to the present literature by demonstrating that at least for these games the presence of the components of the theory can be evaluated. This analysis of both the game and the experience demonstrated substantial parallels between the gaming experience and the reading transaction as well as looking at the viability of using gaming literacy theory to evaluate literacy value.

This research was motivated by introduction of the topic of evolution in the Grade 12 curriculum in South African schools in 2008. Overseas research shows that evolution is a very controversial topic to teach, raising serious concerns for teachers. The need for appropriate professional development was urgent, but many Life Sciences had been dissatisfied with government workshops they had attended in preparation for the new curriculum. Furthermore, the teachers were sceptical about their ability to explain the theory of evolution because they did not have adequate content knowledge to teach the subject. Curriculum change theory dealing with „stages of concern‟ suggests that teachers implementing a new curriculum move through a series types of concern, and that if their initial concerns are not addressed teachers will be slow to move on to more task-related matters. This study aimed to identify the early concerns and needs of teachers who had to teach evolution for the first time in a new Life Sciences school curriculum, in order to provide crucial information for service providers who have to design appropriate support workshops. Data were gathered using seven activity-based questionnaires, from a convenience sample of two groups of teachers (n = 45 and n = 74) from various districts in Gauteng, attending 2007 and 2008 in-service training workshops on the teaching of evolution. The data were analyzed using open coding and frequency counts. The data revealed that teachers had concerns on different levels, the majority of concerns identified being „self-concerns‟ dealing with personal worries and need for information. Late concerns were less prevalent. A further analysis of self-assessed knowledge levels of teachers as well as actual levels (based on definitions of biological evolution provided by the teachers and results of an evolution quiz designed to diagnose possible misconceptions) was done. The data showed that the knowledge of most teachers was poor, and that many teachers over-estimated the adequacy of their own knowledge. This information is useful for the teachers themselves, curriculum developers and those involved in professional development.

NAVORSINGSVERSLAG voorgele ter gedeeltelike vervuiling van die vereiste vir die graad MAGISTER IN NATUURWETENSKAPPE in die FAKULTEIT NATUURWETENSKAPPE aan die UNIVERSITEIT VAN DIE WITWATERSRAND. / There is widespread concern over some of the problems encountered in the teaching of Euclidean Geometry in secondary schools and also over the fairly negative attitudes experienced by pupils towards Geometry. This piece of research was designed to improve attitudes of Std.9 pupils towards Euclidean Geometry by making use of guided discovery and the integration of the history of Mathematics into the teaching method used. The latter was done in order to humanise the subject and to make it more interesting to pupils who otherwise experience it as very rigid and abstract. Active participation of pupils in developing the Geometry was central to the method employed. The outcome of the research was positive. It showed that attitudes towards Geometry can be improved if a deliberate attempt to do so is made. The results of this research suggest guidelines by which the teaching of Euclidean Geometry in secondary schools could be improved. / AC 2018

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, South Africa. 14 October 2014. / Research investigations indicate that note-taking and note-making are related to academic performance. This study investigated four factors, in a first-year biology course at a South African University, that influence student note-making practices, and determined whether the quality of notes is related to their approach to learning and their academic performance. The factors that were assessed included: the impact of social and cultural capital of first and second generation students on their expectations of the University academic environment; the students’ experience with their construction of notes at school; the level of detail on slides provided by lecturers, the access that students had to slides on the intranet, and the influence of English as a first or second language. The study commenced at the beginning of semester two 2009 and ended after semester one 2011. Student questionnaires, interviews of students and lecturers, assessment of notes made, and test and examination results were interrogated and sample lectures were video-recorded. The study identified that the students’ high school experience in constructing notes provided the platform for these practices when they entered University. Second-generation students had a more accurate expectation of their ownership for their notes and learning in first year, and of the grades that they received compared to the expectations held by first generation students. Additionally data analysis lead to the inference that self-regulated students, who personalised their notes, performed better than the underprepared students, who learnt solely from the lecturers’ slides; but this statement is not a blanket generalisation. Two lecturers from each semester were interviewed before they commenced lecturing, and one each of their lectures was video-recorded for analysis with student notes. Findings indicated that the amount of detail that lecturers provided on presentation slides stemmed from their conception of the students’ role in learning. When skeletal lecture slides (i.e. slides containing only keywords or key points) were presented then students perceived that they needed to take ownership in constructing their notes, whereas when slides appeared to be detailed they saw them as a ‘complete’ set of notes, and reported being less attentive in class. In both cases students hardly noted any information other than that presented on the slides. Students had access to slides on the intranet in the first semester of each year, but not in the second semester. Although students reported that they were more attentive in class when they did not have access to slides on the intranet, there was only a slight difference in the students’ grades between semesters. In the first study cohort (i.e. 2009), first-language students performed better than second-language students, but performance evened out when an intervention, which used writing as a means to promote critical thinking, was provided in 2010 and 2011. The findings presented in this study would be useful to lecturers who wish to understand how students’ use and reconstruct their class notes during the process of learning. The findings could also be of benefit to student support programmes that seek a practical tool (the writing intervention) to deepen the students’ approach to their learning.

"Although there are some subjective opinions supporting the hypothesis that geometrical and topological topics are teachable at the elementary school level there is the need for definitive research which can answer the following questions: 1. What factors relate to a student's achievement with geometrical and topological topics? 2. At what grade levels are certain topics learned with a high degree of efficiency in terms of time and expended effort? 3. Which geometrical and topological topics are appropriate at various grade levels in terms of these topics serving to clarify and simplify other types of mathematical concepts? The primary purpose of this study was to investigate some factors which might serve as predictors of pre-determined levels of success with respect to some selected topics in geometry and point set topology, when taught to fifth-, sixth- and seventh-grade pupils via a programmed text"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "August, 1963." / "Submitted to the Graduate School of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy." / Advisor: E. D. Nichols, Professor Directing Dissertation. / Includes bibliographical references.

This dissertation examines the role of musical training in scribal education and its implication for Ben Sira’s pedagogy. Chapter One surveys the scholarship regarding the function of hymns in the book of Sirach and their role in Ben Sira’s pedagogy. I contend that answers to the former has been too textually oriented, and the latter has discounted the pedagogical value of hymns. I propose that one should take seriously Ben Sira’s command for his students to sing and the predominance of hymns in the book as indicative of the education he provided. I suggest that a comparative study with ANE and Greco-Roman education models and hymns from the Dead Sea Scrolls will accentuate the role of hymnody in ancient education. Chapter Two, “Singers of Wisdom in the Ancient Near East and Greco-Roman World,” explores the role of music in scribal education in the ancient world in general. In particular, I examine the evidence for scribal training in songs in Old Babylonian and Neo-Assyrian scribal practices, the use of chanting and “verse points” in scribal singing in Ancient Egypt, and the equation of musical acumen with education in fifth-century Athens. Utilizing Hadot’s concept of “spiritual exercises” in philosophical schools, I suggest that hymnody as a pedagogical tool for sophists and presocratic sages provides a helpful model for songs in Ben Sira’s pedagogy. Chapter Three, “Singers of Wisdom in Israel and the Second Temple Period” narrows the exploration of music in ancient education to ancient Israel. This chapter utilizes music archaeology and a close textual analysis of the Hebrew Bible and Dead Scrolls. Particularly important is the predominance of the lyre and double-pipe in Iron Age II and the Greco-Roman period and the emergence of the Levites as singers and teachers in the Second Temple period. This tradition of singing teachers carries over in the Dead Sea Scrolls in the office of the maskil and allusions to singing teachers in the Teacher Hymns of the Hodayot. Chapter Four, “Ben Sira as a Singer of Wisdom” turns to Ben Sira’s construction of the teacher in which the depiction of the scribe as a singer is quite pervasive. I explore the implications behind Ben Sira’s command for the reader to sing with a lyre and stringed instruments in Sir 39:15, the allocation of praise to the wise in Sir 14:20-15:10, and the touting of his prophetic authority in the wisdom hymn in Sirach 24. These passages have much in common with the singing office of the maskil, the Teacher Hymns in the Hodayot, the Levitical scribes in Chronicles, and the scribal depiction of David in Sir 47:8-10 and 11Q5. These parallels suggests that Ben Sira is drawing on a common model of the teacher in the Second Temple period. I also demonstrate the possibility that the hymn in Sir 39:12-35 functioned as a school exercise whereas the hymn in Sirach 24 functioned as a public demonstration of Ben Sira’s wisdom in order for him to attract new followers/students. Chapter Five, “Singing Teachers, Singing Students,” explores the role of hymns in the composition and reception of the book of Sirach. I contend that the Hymn to Creation (42:14-43:33) and the Praise of the Ancestors (44:1-50:24) function teleologically and are mosaics of terms from previous passages in Sirach. Whereas the Hymn to Creation represents the composition of a new hymn by Ben Sira’s disciples based on older hymns, the latter is an imaginal liturgy that influenced later Jewish poetic traditions, particularly the ʿAvodah poetry, through its performance in a festival setting. The continued use of hymns by Ben Sira’s students also explains the additional hymns and colophons in Sirach 51, particularly in MS B from the Cairo Genizah, in which the Hymn of Divine Names in Sir 51:12a-o utilizes the Amidah. Chapter Six, “Did Ben Sira Sing in Class” offers a concise conclusion to my dissertation along with its broader themes. This dissertation as a whole demonstrates: (1) the importance of music in ancient pedagogy; (2) the influence of the Levitical scribal singers on Jewish pedagogy in the Second Temple period; (3) the pedagogical use of hymns in the Second Temple period in general, in which comparisons between Ben Sira and the Dead Sea Scrolls often demonstrate shared rhetorical strategies, and (4) the centrality of music in Ben Sira’s pedagogy and the depiction of his sagely persona. Overall, I contend that the hymnic and didactic discourse flourished together in Ben Sira’s pedagogy, which helps explain his reception as both a proto-rabbi and singer in later Jewish tradition. This dissertation also demonstrates a cross-pollination between Hellenistic and Hebraic thought at the level of pedagogical practice and forces us to rethink ancient learning in a more embodied and less text-focused way. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Religion in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2017. / June 12, 2017. / Ben Sira, Dead Sea Scrolls, Hymnody, Levites, Music, Pedagogy / Includes bibliographical references. / Matthew Goff, Professor Directing Dissertation; Charles Brewer, University Representative; David Levenson, Committee Member; Nicole Kelley, Committee Member.

Ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) is a culturally relevant parenting practice commonly used within African American families to teach children about their cultural heritage and prepare them for discrimination experiences. There is an abundance of literature exploring ERS within the adolescent and young adult developmental stages, however few studies have investigated ERS during early childhood. A further understudied area is the relation between ERS and other socialization strategies that African American parents use to raise well-adjusted children. As such, guided by Garcia Coll's eco-cultural framework, the purpose of this study was to investigate ERS and other socialization strategies, identified in the five domains of socialization, used among rural, low-income African American parents of three-year-olds. First, frequencies of ERS were conducted to determine the amount of ERS that these African American parents use with their young children. Results indicated that nearly half of the mothers (47.7%) reported using some ERS. Next, latent profile analysis was used to identify profiles of ERS, as well as profiles of all five domains of socialization. Results indicated two profiles for ERS (Unengaged and Early Engagers) and two profiles for the five domains of socialization (Non-Race Specific Socialization and Multifaceted Socialization). Mothers in the Unengaged profile were characterized by low scores on all three ERS dimensions (cultural socialization, preparation for bias and promotion of mistrust), while mothers in the Early Engagers profile were characterized by more ERS than those in the Unengaged, specifically focusing on cultural socialization and preparation for bias. Compared to those in the Early Engagers profile, mothers in the Unengaged profile were more likely to report not having enough money, greater gender role stereotyping, and more social support. For the socialization profiles, mothers in the Non-Race Specific Socialization profile were characterized by socialization variables similar to the sample mean, while the mothers in the Multifaceted Socialization profile were characterized by utilizing more ERS, engaging in more family activities and discipline strategies, and displaying less sensitivity than the mothers in the Non-Race Specific Socialization profile. Compared to those in the Multifaceted Socialization profile, mothers in the Non-Race Specific Socialization profile indicated not having enough money, greater gender role stereotyping, and fewer discrimination experiences. Findings for this study suggest that African American mothers are using ERS with their young children, and they incorporate ERS along with other important socialization strategies. Implications for researchers and clinicians were addressed. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2017. / March 24, 2017. / African American families, Ethnic-racial Socialization, Parenting, Socialization / Includes bibliographical references. / Melinda Gonzales-Backen, Professor Directing Dissertation; Eric Stewart, University Representative; Lenore McWey, Committee Member; Ming Cui, Committee Member.

Alexander Pushkin, the father of Modern Russian literature, has influenced every great contemporary Russian writer. His timeless poetry and insightful prose solidify him as a leading voice in Russian culture. During his lifetime, Pushkin dealt with racism and discrimination because his African great-grandfather, Abram Gannibal. In combating negative framing of his identity and his ancestry, Pushkin reveals a defense and reclamation of self seldom seen in contemporaries of his day. In asserting ownership over his ancestry, he takes back his narrative and dignity. Through his literary works, Pushkin shows how he navigated his blackness in a world that sought to undermine it. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. / Spring Semester 2018. / April 23, 2018. / Abram Gannibal, Alexander Pushkin, Black, Blackness, Gannibal, Pushkin / Includes bibliographical references. / Lisa Ryoko Wakamiya, Professor Directing Thesis; Robert Romanchuk, Committee Member; Nina Efimov, Committee Member.

The goal of this treatise is to examine elements of jazz pedagogy that can be applied to improve musicianship in the undergraduate classical lesson setting. I have identified areas of classical pedagogy that would benefit most from these elements and have corroborated them with information from respected classical pedagogues. These concepts are addressed by examining both the classical and jazz pedagogical traditions and determining which approaches from the jazz methodology are conducive to supplementing the undergraduate classical lesson experience. I have provided suggestions for adapting and implementing these methods, with examples of supplemental exercises that may be incorporated by classical teachers included at the end of each section. The aspects of pedagogy that were chosen for this research were aural skills, harmonic awareness and application, and improvisation. More specific topics relevant to each to each of these are discussed within each chapter. All of the above are areas in which jazz musicians typically excel, so I studied their pedagogical methods to see what could be applied to the classical lesson structure for undergraduates. I conducted the research for this project primarily through interviews with pedagogues and performers of each style. Further evidence was gathered through lesson observations and examination of syllabi, articles, dissertations, and books. / A Treatise submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Music. / Summer Semester 2018. / May 1, 2018. / Clarinet, Classical, Jazz, Lessons, Pedagogy / Includes bibliographical references. / Jonathan Holden, Professor Directing Treatise; William Fredrickson, University Representative; Deborah Bish, Committee Member; Jeffrey Keesecker, Committee Member.

自2001年推行課程改革以來，課程發展議會和教育局力倡以「探究學習」作為中國歷史科的教學策略；與此同時，香港考試及評核局亦引入「歷史資料題」作為本科公開考試的評核題目，可見其受重視之程度。初中中國歷史科雖仍然沿用1997年頒佈的課程文件，然而不論是教科書的編寫，或是教師的日常課堂教學，亦加入了歷史探究和史料學習的元素。本研究透過與來自六所中學的十二位任教初中中國歷史科教師和三十一位中三級學生的訪談，檢視歷史探究和史料學習在香港初中中國歷史科的實踐概況。綜合而言有三項重要發現。 / 第一，課程變革下，香港中學的教學範式起了巨大轉變，一方面帶動教師反省本科教學的本質；另一方面促進學科教師能接納和掌握以學生和能力為本的教學範式和策略。再加上新高中學制施行，加劇學科之間的競爭，修讀中國歷史科學生人數銳減，直接影響學科的生存空間。以上各項變化，引發歷史探究和史料學習在初中中國歷史科的開展，正反映教師在回應課程和新高中學制改革下「審時度勢」的課程實踐。 / 第二，研究發現教師在教學層面實施這種模式時，產生理念與實踐之間落差。究其原因是源於歷史探究理念與中國傳統史學之間的張力，以及教師對歷史知識與探究能力之間關係的理解。這反映在實踐過程中，未有充份注意學科本身的特質，形成張力，甚至衝突，導致在教學層面產生兩難局面。在課程實踐過程中，教師從中判斷取捨和調適，結果在實踐程度時有所限制，因時、因人而形成差異。 / 第三，研究亦探討學生在這種學習模式下學習結果，就知識方面而言，他們對於理解歷史時序、變遷和因果關係的概念都傾向以「個別」事件、線性發展過程和史實知識為主，未能充份運用這些概念建構「歷史圖像」，解說複雜交錯的歷史現象。技能方面，香港中國歷史科課程和教學當中，缺乏全面培養和提高學生的中國語文理解和表達能力的策略，影響學生理解和應用歷史資料的能力。同時，學生表示對掌握史實知識較有信心，但對史論知識和歷史探究方法卻拿捏不足。態度方面，學生認為學習歷史能與自己生活處境結合，成為理解當前社會各種現象的對照，同時，歷史探究可增加學習歷史的興趣。 / 就上述三項發現，再參考相關歷史探究與史料學習的理論文獻和實證研究，本研究提出兩項建議。對課程設計者而言，課程組織要突破編年體與議題取向的兩極爭議，課程內容則要協助學生釐清歷史概念涵義，建立歷史圖像觀念。對課程實踐者而言，其一是宜嚴謹而有系統地將歷史思維能力和學生認知階段配合起來並作出規劃，設定各年級需達致的學習目標，並在課堂活動設計貫徹執行，以喚起學生持久學習歷史的內在動機。其二是建立歷史探究與史料學習的課堂常規，協助學生克服學習難點 。 / "Enquiry study" has been advocated by Curriculum Development Council and Education Bureau as a teaching strategy in secondary Chinese History since the curriculum reform launched in 2001. Also, the "data-based question" was introduced as an assessment question type in the public examination of Chinese History. Although the junior secondary Chinese History teaching is still following the curriculum document of 1997, the historical enquiry and source-based study elements have been included to the textbook and daily teaching practice. This research interviewed 12 junior secondary Chinese History teachers and 31 S3 students from six secondary schools in order to examine the implementation of the historical enquiry and source-based study in junior secondary Chinese History in Hong Kong. The three major research findings are as follows. / First, there is a teaching paradigm shift under the curriculum reform. This not only promotes teachers’ self-reflection on the nature of the subject they teach, but also facilitates their adoption and mastery of the student-centered and generic skill-based teaching paradigm and strategy. In addition, given the dramatic drop in the number of students taking Chinese History under the new senior secondary reform, the competition among subjects has become more intense. The survival of Chinese History as a subject has become a critical concern of subject teachers. In response to the above changes, the historical enquiry and source-based study was initiated as a "pragmatic approach" to the curriculum change and new senior secondary reforms. / Second, there is a discrepancy between the philosophy and the implementation of historical enquiry and source-based study in classroom teaching. Such discrepancy was originated from two factors namely: "the tension between the philosophy of enquiry and the traditional Chinese historiography" and "the relationship between historical knowledge and competence in making enquiry study". It was revealed that the tensions and conflicts were formed due to inadequate understanding of the nature of the subject. In order to deal with this dilemma, teachers may exercise more professional judgment and adaptation in their classroom teaching. However, the effectiveness of implementation is subject to personal and contextual differences. / Third, the research has examined the students’ learning outcomes through historical enquiry and source-based study. In knowledge aspect, students have shown understanding of the concepts of chronology, change, and cause and effect in an individual historical event, a linear historical process and historical facts. Yet, they cannot use these concepts to construct a holistic "historical picture" to explain the complicated historical phenomena. In skills aspect, the relative lack of Chinese interpretive and expressive skills training in Chinese History teaching has limited in the students’ understanding and use of the historical sources. Moreover, students have shown more confidence in handling factual knowledge than in historical interpretation and enquiry competence. Finally, for the attitude aspect, students hold the view that learning history can help them to understand the interactions, diversities and rapid changes in today’s world. Besides, historical enquiry can arouse students’ interest in studying history. / Based on the above research findings together with reference to the literature review and empirical studies of historical enquiry and source-based studies, two recommendations are proposed. For the curriculum developers, they should break through the polarised conflict between chronological framework and theme-based curriculum organisation. Also, they should clarify the implication of historical concepts and, build the concept of ‘historical picture’. As for the curriculum implementers, teachers should try to sustain students’ motivation through a well-planned school-based history curriculum with clear learning objectives developed in line with the history thinking capacities and cognitive development of students at different stages. Moreover, teachers can help students to overcome their learning difficulties in by institutionalising the regular teaching and learning practices of historical enquiry and source-based study. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / 區寶文. / Parallel title from added title page. / Thesis (Ed.D.) Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2015. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 206-216). / Abstracts also in English. / Ou Baowen.