Thesis--Wisconsin. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 295-304).

No description available.

Fundamentally, the goals of education are not unlike the goals of medical therapy; that is, to facilitate a desired change in an individual. In medicine, the prerequisite to the selection of any therapeutic regime is the diagnostic process — the identification of the antecedent states of an individual which must be taken into account in the attainment of the intended state. The educational analogue to the medical diagnostic process is the process of identifying the antecedent knowledge, skills, values or attitudes possessed by students entering a course which may influence the process of attaining, or the attainment of, the course goals. The educational analogue of the therapeutic regime are the instructional strategies which take the antecedent conditions into account and which are directed at the fulfillment of course goals. In education however, feasible methods have hot been identified for taking these antecedent conditions into account. In selecting teaching strategies in most classroom situations, it is not practical to take these conditions into consideration on an individual basis. Nor is it useful to consider class averages on these variables, since students vary so widely in terms of them. This study, working in the context of science education, and dealing with affective variables, developed a procedure for providing knowledge of antecedent affective variables in a form permitting their effective utilization in the process of selecting instructional strategies. More specifically, the purpose of this study was to develop a theoretically based and methodologically sound systematic procedure (generically "the Procedure") for (1) identifying, describing, and reporting the degree of pro-ness or con-ness of affective antecedents deemed to be important to science instruction and (2) identifying teaching strategies which take these antecedent conditions into account and which are directed toward science teaching outcomes in the affective domain. The general approach taken by the Procedure is to identify and describe subgroups of students within a class in terms of similar sets of antecedent affective responses to objects which reflect pro-ness or con-ness toward the affective ratings inherent in the affective goals of a course. Instructional strategies for these subgroups can then be selected or provide a rational basis for changing those antecedent ratings which are most incongruent with the desired affective ratings reflected in the affective goals. The affective goals are identified within a clear and accurate statement of the rationale for a course. Measurements of the degree of students' pro-ness or con-ness on the affective responses of concern are obtained through the use of the Semantic Differential technique. The Q-analysis technique, a technique for categorizing people, is employed to identify the subgroups of students. The educational value of the Procedure rests upon its ability to meet an important educational need in a practical way — specifically its ability to provide a clear description of affective antecedents in a form permitting their effective utilization in the process of identifying teaching strategies directed toward the fulfillment of affective goals. In this study, the results of the application of the Procedure to an introductory university physics course supported the general effectiveness of the contribution of each component of the Procedure in meeting this need. There is concern however (1) that additional data need to be gathered supporting the validity of the Procedure, and (2) that the time and monetary demands associated with the Q-analysis and Semantic Differential techniques might limit the feasibility of the Procedure in some educational settings. Recommendations and guidelines regarding future applications of the Procedure are provided, including recommendations regarding validity studies and the use of less costly alternatives to the SD and Q-analysis components. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

本研究的研究目的是提供英文老師如何在課堂上有效運用合作教 學，並提供老師在處理合作學習分組上一些適當、 有用的建議。本研究以一班台北市高職二年級學生為對象，以四種合作教學法應用在他們英文課上，並將實驗劃分為兩階段—同質學習能力小組及異質學習能力小組。藉此探討不同學習能力的學生對不同能力分組方式，有何感受及差異。此外，本論文亦深入探討合作學習在學生情意領域上的影響， 比照他們在不同分組階段後的感受及成效。 資料蒐集方式包括兩份主要問卷調查，分別於不同分組階段後實施，及學生週誌、課堂觀察、及訪談。資料分析方式為量化的描述性統計及質化內容分析法。研究結果摘要如下： 一. 高成就學生偏好同質學習能力分組，並在社會技巧及英語學習上，顯著優於其他同學。 二. 低成就學生偏好異質學習能力分組，實施合作教學後，對於學習意願、上課態度上，有明顯進步。 三. 實施合作教學後，大部分學生在英語學習、學習興趣、態度、及社會技巧、人際關係上，皆有提升。 / The purpose of the study is to examine the effect of different groupings of Cooperative Learning on an English class of vocational high school students in Taiwan. Cooperative Learning is one of the teaching techniques applied in EFL classrooms, proved to be effective in promoting students’ academic achievement, affective domain as well as improving students’ interpersonal relationship. Although many EFL teachers in Taiwan have adopted cooperative learning to their teaching, not all of them paid attention to the grouping criteria. This study aims to investigate which ability grouping, heterogeneous or homogeneous, can bring most benefits to the students in their English learning and affective domain. In other words, this study tries to probe in the effectiveness of cooperative learning, by students’ perception, whether their learning attitude, achievement and social skills are enhanced through cooperative learning. And the relationship between different ability levels of the students and their preference for different groupings is also investigated. The grouping criteria, based on the participants’ academic achievement, divide the experiment into two stages—heterogeneous grouping and homogeneous grouping. Four cooperative learning methods are applied in the class—Students Team Achievement Division (STAD), Teams-Games-Tournaments (TGT), Learning Together (LT) and Jigsaw. Forty-two students, taught by the researcher, from the 2nd year class at a vocational high school in Taipei, have participated in this study. By conducting questionnaires after the two stages of different groupings and oral interviews at the end of the experiment, the researcher collected and analyzed the data. The findings of the study indicate that high-ability students prefer to work with the similar-ability peers, while low-ability ones prefer to work in heterogeneous groups. The participants are positive toward the effectiveness of cooperative learning in promoting their English learning, learning attitude and social skills. By running SPSS, the statistical results also show significant difference that high-achieving students are satisfied with the improvement of their social skills and English learning more than the students of other levels when they are placed in homogeneous groups. The study not only provides EFL teachers with an effective framework of applying cooperative learning in English class, but also offers teachers appropriate and useful suggestion in adopting different groupings. Based on the above results, some pedagogical implications for English teachers and suggestions for learning strategy instructions are provided at the end of the study.

The debate on how students of different abilities should be organised and taught is probably as old as the introduction of formal schooling. It has generated a lot of debate in the past and continues to do so in the present millennium. This debate has invariably divided the world of educational research into two distinct camps. On one hand are proponents of ability grouping who claim that this grouping approach creates homogeneity which make it possible to tailor teaching to individual needs and thus raise achievement. On the other hand, are the exponents of mixed-ability grouping, who argue that ability grouping denies equality of educational opportunities to many young people, limiting their life chances and increasing social segregation. However, there is an emerging trend which posits that teachers should view students' mixed-abilities as an asset, which if properly exploited can result in effective instruction for the benefit of all students regardless of their many individual differences. This emanates from the realisation that there are different types of intelligences, and that it is not always possible for an individual student to posses all the types of intelligences. Therefore, students from diverse backgrounds, endowed with multiple intelligences, can help one another understand the content better as they will perceive the content from their diverse experiential backgrounds. This qualitative study concerned itself with investigating how mixed-ability grouping can be optimised for effective instruction at the junior secondary school level in Botswana. The study made use of literature study, focus groups, follow-up interviews and lesson observations. Major findings were that teachers are not optimising mixed-ability grouping for effective instruction. Instead, teachers have problems in teaching mixed-ability classes, with most of their teaching being teacher-centred. However, teachers can optimise mixed-ability grouping through the use of student-centred instructional strategies such as cooperative learning, small-group instruction, peer teaching and student research. Gifted students could be catered for through curriculum compaction, enrichment and extension work, while mentally challenged students could be offered remedial work. These cited teaching strategies are differential and they make use of the diverse abilities found in mixed-ability classes. / Educational Studies / D.Ed. (Didactics)

No description available.

This research aims to explore the attempted implementation of mixed ability grouping in junior high schools in Taiwan and the challenges generated by individuals and groups to this policy. The mixed-ability grouping policy in Taiwan has been disputed for nearly thirty years, but the disputes have never been examined from a wider perspective that considers the evolution of the policy and the contexts the policy process resides in. This study thus attempts to understand the process of the mixed-ability grouping policy from a contextualised, politicised, long-term perspective within which not only the ideological and practical debates, but the contexts that shape the conflicts over time, are taken into consideration. The study is grounded in an analytical framework that allows for the exploration of the politically-driven mainstream educational ideologies, the power relationships between policy actors, and the cyclical policy process. The research methods adopted consider the timeframe, the contexts, the multiple policy actors and the interactions among policy actors and between contexts and policy actors within the policy. Documentary analysis is adopted to trace the policy process, the conflicts within, and the political, cultural, economic and societal contexts of the policy from its inception to today whilst a questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews are utilized to understand the attitudes and actions of educational authorities and school educators. Case studies are conducted in two junior high schools in order to learn about the dynamics, the conflicts, and the considerations of grouping practice within individual schools. The key findings of this thesis are as follows. First, the mixed-ability grouping policy in Taiwan has existed through two different political regimes, within which the different mainstream educational ideologies and power distribution among policy actors contribute to the distinctive policy process, interpretations of disputes and patterns of conflicts. Second, although the first-line educators recognise the advantages of mixed-ability grouping regarding discipline and resource distribution, their perceptions of pupils’ ability and teaching are in line with the assumptions of streaming, which contribute to educators’ conflicting attitudes and actions towards the mixed-ability grouping policy. Third, the senior high school entry system and the actions of parents and junior high schools together shape a hidden educational market within which the ‘disguised forms’ of streaming, such as the establishment of special classes, are valued by market players. The senior high school entry examination also profoundly influences educators who internalise the values embodied in the examination and perceive pupils’ ability and their own teaching mainly in terms of examination results.