The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of the physics instructors, major-physics students, and nonmajor-physics students regarding actual teaching performance and effective teaching performance. The sample consisted of a total of 56 physics instructors, 120 major-physics students, and 120 nonmajor-physics students at eight public universities in Thailand. A total of 53 physics instructors or 94.64 percent, 101 major-physics students or 84.17 percent, and 107 nonmajor-physics students or 89.17 percent responded in this study. Multivariate analysis of variance, univariate analysis, one-way analysis of variance, and multiple regression were used in the follow-up assessment, with the .05 level of significance. The physics instructors, major-physics students, and nonmajor-physics students perceived actual teaching performance in class to be significantly different from effective teaching performance. The three groups rated actual teaching performance on every factor to be less than sffective teaching. There was a significant difference between the physics instructors' perceptions and the major-physics students' perceptions regarding actual teaching performance, and also there was a significant difference between the physics instructors' perceptions and the nonmajor-physics students' perceptions regarding actual teaching performance. However, there was no significant difference between major-and nonmajor-physics students' perceptions regarding actual teaching performance. There was no significant difference among the perceptions of the physics instructors, major-physics students, and nonmajor-physics students regarding effective teaching performance. The variables of sex and the highest degree were the significant predictors of the physics instructors' perceptions regarding actual teaching performance. The variable of GPA was the significant predictor of the nonmajor-physics students' perceptions regarding actual teaching performance.

The purpose of this case study was to describe and further understand how faculty are being prepared and developed to teach web-based courses at a college in Florida. The study examined practices used by the college in preparing their faculty to teach online. Faculty preparation and development were defined as any activity which expands knowledge about how to teach web-based courses. Broward College was chosen as the site of study. Utilizing the qualitative case study approach, the researcher collected and analyzed data during the Fall 2009 academic semester. Data collection methods included interviews, observations of faculty development workshops as well as online classrooms, and document analysis. The study revealed Broward College's method of preparing faculty to teach online. Faculty are prepared to teach online through the Instructional Technology Department. This method focuses heavily on professional development workshops that directly correlate with the types of online classes offered at the college. Faculty are also prepared to teach online through the use of consultants, known as e-associates, as well as other follow-up support. This was an educational leadership study that focused on preparing faculty to teach online. Florida's community colleges are becoming baccalaureate degree-granting colleges, and as enrollments increase, so will the demand for online classes. In turn, college faculty need to be prepared to teach online. This study emphasizes the importance of leadership, administration, and support needed in order to successfully prepare faculty to teach online. / by Stephanie Arsht. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography.

Healing in education is both an ancient and an emerging idea. Approaching students as whole beings with a need for balance and health of their mental, emotional, spiritual and physical selves is not a common teaching practice in North American educational systems, but one which has had some success and demanded research.<p> This research study examined one teacher's approach to working with at risk students in an integrated school-linked services collegiate. It documented her practices and beliefs about teaching at-risk students, and explored the interactions and strategies she used with these students.<p> This was a qualitative case study, a tradition which allowed the researcher to observe the natural teaching conditions of the teacher participant, selected by the researcher for her superior reputation of working with at-risk students. The study, conducted by one researcher, took place in an urban Saskatchewan high school during five weeks in May and June of 2002. The methods used to collect that data were semistructured interview, classroom observation and document analysis. Use of these methods served to triangulate the data. A reflective journal was also kept by the researcher. Data analysis was done inductively, through a search and discovery of themes in the written records, data were then reduced, organized and a description of the case written.<p> Based on the findings of the study, the researcher concluded that the teacher participant used a healing approach to teaching and endeavoured to make her classroom a place of learning and healing. Her emphasis on students as whole people combined with her unique character, beliefs, practices, and talents harmonized into practicing this approach with her students. Extending love and showing care to interact and form relationships with students was the basis of her practice. A variety of teaching strategies were employed to reach and help heal students. Building a safe and caring classroom and establishing a sense of community in the classroom and school for her students supported the healing approach. Accessing on-site human support services for students through referrals was a great asset to the teacher. The healing approach was underpinned by the teacher participant's belief in holistic teaching and the necessity for hope, honesty and respect in her students and herself.<p> The study allows for increased understanding about healing and its potential for use in public education. A number of recommendations for teacher practice were made as a result of the findings of the study.

Healing in education is both an ancient and an emerging idea. Approaching students as whole beings with a need for balance and health of their mental, emotional, spiritual and physical selves is not a common teaching practice in North American educational systems, but one which has had some success and demanded research.<p> This research study examined one teacher's approach to working with at risk students in an integrated school-linked services collegiate. It documented her practices and beliefs about teaching at-risk students, and explored the interactions and strategies she used with these students.<p> This was a qualitative case study, a tradition which allowed the researcher to observe the natural teaching conditions of the teacher participant, selected by the researcher for her superior reputation of working with at-risk students. The study, conducted by one researcher, took place in an urban Saskatchewan high school during five weeks in May and June of 2002. The methods used to collect that data were semistructured interview, classroom observation and document analysis. Use of these methods served to triangulate the data. A reflective journal was also kept by the researcher. Data analysis was done inductively, through a search and discovery of themes in the written records, data were then reduced, organized and a description of the case written.<p> Based on the findings of the study, the researcher concluded that the teacher participant used a healing approach to teaching and endeavoured to make her classroom a place of learning and healing. Her emphasis on students as whole people combined with her unique character, beliefs, practices, and talents harmonized into practicing this approach with her students. Extending love and showing care to interact and form relationships with students was the basis of her practice. A variety of teaching strategies were employed to reach and help heal students. Building a safe and caring classroom and establishing a sense of community in the classroom and school for her students supported the healing approach. Accessing on-site human support services for students through referrals was a great asset to the teacher. The healing approach was underpinned by the teacher participant's belief in holistic teaching and the necessity for hope, honesty and respect in her students and herself.<p> The study allows for increased understanding about healing and its potential for use in public education. A number of recommendations for teacher practice were made as a result of the findings of the study.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Views of teaching: implications for the didactic training of mathematics teachers. School mathematics teaching is an essential learning area in South African schools. Owing to persistent traditional positivist-based views and approaches, it still suffers from a variety of teaching-learning problems. Various national attempts have already been made to develop an effective teaching-learning program for school mathematics. Prominent researchers reveal that the failure of teaching-learning programmes often have to be attributed to the lack of an underlying grounded didactic theory. Therefore this study focused on the development of a grounded teaching-theoretical framework for school mathematics teaching. A further problem regarding school mathematics is that its teaching and learning traditionally are viewed from a narrow school subject disciplinary perspective. Therefore this study departed from a general didactic-theoretical perspective, creating the opportunity to approach and solve problems from a wider angle. A constructivist-based post-positivist view of effective teaching was developed, before entering the field of school mathematics. In this way an integrated ontologicalcontextual view of teaching was developed in terms of six identified ontological essential features, and their contextual coherence, namely: intention, teacher, leamer, interaction, content and context. Contrary to traditional positivist views, no causal relationship between teaching and learning was imposed, and teaching was not qualified in terms of learning products. Instead, teaching was characterised and qualified on ontological grounds, departing from the phenomenon itself. In this way the limitations of positivist process-product views of teaching could be identified, explained and overcome. Alternatively, a dynamic integrated view of teaching as a human act, directed at the facilitation of relevant and meaningful learning, was grounded and developed. Based on this general ontological-contextually based view, a specific ontologicalcontextual view of effective school mathematics teaching was grounded and developed. To this end a variety of prominent contemporary views of and approaches to school mathematics, and its teaching and learning, needed to be analysed in a critical way. According to this analysis school mathematics, and its teaching and learning should be viewed and approached from a constructivist-based dynamic change-and-grow perspective as human acts. In addition, it could have been proved that the perspective concerned can facilitate the treatment and solving of the currently experienced teaching-learning problems. This requires the reconsideration, from a similar perspective, of the current school mathematics curriculum, as well as the preservice didactic training of mathematics teachers. Specific implications of the developed ontological-contextual view of effective school mathematics teaching were identified, and practically tested in the corresponding preservice didactic training situation in the North West Province. Based on this an integrated model for the training concerned was formulated. It was found that the current training largely contributed to the continuation of traditional views of and approaches to school mathematics teaching, and its essential features. From the developed integrated ontological-contextual perspective definitive proposals regarding the transformation of school mathematics teaching and the corresponding didactic training were made and motivated. Further areas for investigation and development, resulting from this study, were identified, as well. This study aimed at investigating, and revealing for further exploration, the specific and broadening interaction between the general teaching and subject didactical fields and research, particularly in the two contexts of effective school mathematics teaching and the corresponding preservice didactical training. A particular attempt was made to accomplish this in a grounded and integrated way, to the benefit of both fields. / Thesis (PhD)--PU for CHE, 1998.

With the acceptance of Outcomes-based Education (OBE) in South Africa, the emphasis shifted from a teacher-centred to a learner-centred instruction approach. The learner-centred teaching approach of OBE is based on the social constructivistic teaching view. This view is based on the fundamental acceptance that people construe knowledge through interaction between their existing knowledge and beliefs and new ideas or situations within a social environment or milieu. It is thus essential that future Geography education students receive training in a similar manner as that which is expected of them as future practising teachers. Lecturers' and students' beliefs and perceptions of how instruction must take place, in the majority of cases, still support the traditional direct instruction approach where lecturers transfer knowledge to students mainly through formal lectures. The acceptance of the social constructivistic teaching approach for the training of Geography education students implies that the beliefs of lecturers and students as well as their roles in the teaching learning process, must change. This means that the purpose of contact time between lecturer and students must necessarily change. Contact time should not just be used by the lecturer for presenting content. It is the task of the Geography lecturer to create a learning environment where students are actively involved in cooperative learning environments in the learning process. The lecturer acts as facilitator, guide, enabler and fellow-explorer in the learning process. Contact sessions must be used to offer the students the opportunity to report back on the learning assignments and activities or to reflect on what has been learnt. Continuous formative assessment takes place during contact and non-contact times to give quick feedback on learning. The lecturer and students are involved in the assessment process. Clear assessment criteria must be compiled by the lecturer in cooperation with students so that the students will know precisely what is expected of them. Together with the learner-centred teaching approach, certain universities worldwide have been obliged to decrease contact time between lecturer and student. Reasons for this can mainly be ascribed to an increase in student numbers and to effectively vii manage the lecturers' time so that more time can be spent on research. The lecturer is supposed to design and plan a specific module so that the set learning outcomes could be achieved within the reduced time. Different guidelines are identified in the context of reducing contact time so as to ensure the effective achievement of learning outcomes. The lecturer should prepare, plan and manage contact time. Students must also accept larger responsibility for independent learning and attain some of the learning outcomes during non-contact times. To support students during non-contact times and to guide them in the attainment of learning outcomes and completion of assignments, students must make use of resource-based learning. The interactive study guide and work planning, as developed and compiled by the lecturer, is necessary for providing students with assistance and guidance so that students know precisely what is expected of them, what resources to use and when. It is furthermore necessary that the assessment strategies, that are used in the teaching of Geography, support the decrease in contact time. Bigger responsibility is given to students in the assessment process and is included in self and peer group assessment of and feedback to assignments. The Geography education lecturer involved in the development of the different Geography modules must make sure that over-assessment does not take place, but that students are exposed to multiple assessment methods. Decision-making by university management on decreased contact time was probably taken without considering the full implications for learner-centred teaching. This study is an attempt to implement a learner-centred teaching approach in the Geography training of education students within the optimising of contact time between lecturer and students. A concept model for the Geography training of education students was developed to ensure the successful attainment of learning outcomes. The perception and attitudes of the students regarding the concept model in Geography-training within the optimising of contact time was analysed, after which the examination results of the students were compared with results of previous years. From the information required in the literature as well as in the implementation of the concept model in Geography training, criteria and strategies for the effective training of Geography teachers in the optimising of contact time were developed. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

In the years before 2004 teacher training was presented through two routes, one, the degree route through the university or two, a diploma route through a teachers training college. Where universities acted as autonomous institutions having control of their administrative and academic activities the colleges of education were administered and controlled by the government through the Department of Education. This included the setting and assessment of the curriculum. The role of the lecturers in the teacher training colleges was simply to present the prescribed syllabus to the students. Drastic changes were implemented by the government in 2004. In its restructuring programme the government made two major changes to teacher training. Firstly, they closed all the colleges of education and moved the departments into a university or a technikon. The technikons eventually became Universities of Technology. Secondly, they changed the four year teacher‟s diploma to a four year degree in education. The impact of this restructuring meant that lecturers were now in an autonomous environment in which they were expected to develop a syllabus for the Bachelor of Education degree course on their own. This research investigates the process that the lecturers applied in designing a suitable syllabus for the Bachelor of Education (Engineering Graphics and Design) degree and how it relates to the process that the theory advocates should be used. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

This study investigated the challenges of managing learner discipline. A case study was conducted in two schools, the secondary and the primary schools in Pinetown District in KwaZulu Natal. The aim of this study was to investigate what challenges educators face in the management of learner discipline. This qualitative study was set in the interpretivist paradigm. The research tools compromise of semi-structured interviews and documents review. The theoretical frameworks that inform this study are behavioural modification model by Skinner, (1992), The Choice theory by Glasser, (1998) and assertive discipline model by Canter, (2007). International and local literature that foregrounds and supports the study were reviewed. Analysis of different contexts was made to inform the challenges of managing learner discipline problems in schools. The findings of this study revealed that teachers from very different schools, primary and secondary, felt that learners were becoming more unruly and less respectful than they used to be in the past. They further stated that the lack of discipline among learners makes it impossible to teach effectively. Educators identified some of the challenges they face such as bullying and intimidation, sexual harassment, drugs and alcohol abuse and carrying of dangerous weapons to schools. Furthermore, the findings revealed that lack of parent involvement in school, home and family background, abuse of various types, balance between learner rights and responsibilities, peer pressure, the role of media and politics were the biggest cause of disciplinary problems. Educators suggested that alternatives measures to corporal punishment were not very effective in curbing learner indiscipline in schools. They found it difficult to choose and implement the correct alternatives to corporal punishment. Some of the recommendations based on the findings are that, at the beginning of the school year, the principal and educators should orientate learners about the code of conduct and school rules. Rules and the consequences of breaking them should be clearly indicated to learners during assembly. Active parental involvement in the lives of their children is crucial for the management of discipline at school. Teachers should acquaint themselves and learn to know learner home backgrounds in order to understand learners they are dealing with. In-service workshops for all teachers across the country to be trained in alternatives to corporal punishment should be organised by the Department of Education. Professional support i.e. psychologists or educational counsellors should be increased to support schools. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.