Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2005. / Supervisor: Paul E. Resta. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 274-280).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2006. / Title from title screen (site viewed April 27, 2007). PDF text: ix, 160 p. : ill. UMI publication number: AAT 3232072. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

This is a small-scale research study on the discovery method of teaching history through the medium of small-group discussion. The study begins with a brief outline of the theoretical background to these topics, as well as of some of the extant research in the field. The class selected for the study is the standard seven class of a boys' high school. After the researcher has instructed the whole standard in an historical area which is unfamiliar to the pupils, twelve groups of three each are selected and withdrawn from the rest of the class, one group at a time. These thirty-six pupils become the "experimental" group; the rest of the pupils become the "control" group . The groups are selected according to different intellectual criteria and presented with stimulus material of one of three kinds, which is intended to aid them in their discourse. Each group is given the same set of three questions to discuss and, without further assistance by the researcher, the discussion takes place. This is recorded on audio-tape. After all the group discussions have been recorded, an assessment test is given to the whole standard, both experimental and control pupils. At the end of the school term a compulsory examination question is inserted in the history examination. The statistical data forthcoming from these assessments are correlated and the results analysed. Meanwhile, transcripts of all the group discussions have been made and these are analysed on a qualitative basis in terms of the groups' intellectual composition and according to the type of stimulus material used, and the results are recorded. The concept of "leaderless" groups is briefly discussed in the light of the dealings of the various groups in the study. The researcher finally feels justified in concluding that small groups are an ideal medium for the handling of evidence- based learning in history. He also has certain observations to make on the performance of groups of mixed (as opposed to homogeneous) ability as well as on the success of certain types of stimulus material towards initiating profitable discussion.

M.Ed. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

As a history teacher at Kuyasa High School in the Ciskei and afterwards as history method lecturer at the University of Fort Hare, visiting a large number of schools regularly for purposes of practice teaching with groups of students, I became aware of the problems encountered when history is taught to mixed ability groups. By far the most glaring problem is that of teaching methods. Teachers are in doubt concerning the teaching methodology to be adopted in classes where the spread of ability is wide. They face considerable difficulties in developing a role for themselves both in the classroom and in relation to their colleagues. The often noted tendency of teachers is to isolate themselves and guard the privacy of their classroom life. This realisation prompted me to undertake this study. The aim of this study is twofold. Having large classes in Ciskeian secondary schools, it is obvious that the spread of ability within classes is wide. The teachers then would have to form groups within the class. The first aim, therefore, is to develop and apply a reading comprehension test, with passages of varying difficulty. The performance of pupils in the test will serve as a guide when the children are put into groups. Secondly, I intend suggesting group activities which could be done by history pupils in such groups (Preface, p. iii)

This study was motivated by the writer's belief that youngsters do have a tendency to group, and that this propensity, no matter how emphemeral and vacillating it may be at times, should be taken into account in the design of teacher strategies. Grade four students were assigned to two groups at random, and then, in one group, subgroups of four students were randomly made up. All students were instructed by film loops for three days on writing an equation for a division problem. On the fourth day of the experiment, the students wrote a criterion test of twenty-five division problems. The investigation of student-student interaction was done by comparing the effects of instruction to groups of four students with those of instruction to the individually taught students. A two-tailed t-test was used to test the significance between the means of the two groups and a F-test was employed to test the difference in the variances of the two groups. There was no significant difference between the individual-taught group and the group-taught group in terms of either mean or variance. The conclusion was drawn that the use of small groups to teach students to write equations for division problems did not improve the instruction. But it was felt that further research using different dependent variables is both warranted and desirable. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate