The aims of this paper are to present some of the findings about the creation and utilization of online assignments and choice of support software for several calculus classes at Simon Fraser University (SFU) by considering the needs and perspectives of the instructors, students, and administrators. The term online assignment is used for a set of problems that are posted, submitted, graded, and recorded electronically through a course learning management system (LMS) of choice. The purpose of this note is to contribute to the discussion about a common question detected among research papers on the theme of online assignments; how can technology be used in teaching so that students benefit the most? Questions are provided to guide an instructor in choosing online assignment problems, and a list of necessary skills is supplied for an instructor to be able to deal effectively with this pedagogical tool.

The main purpose of the present study is to investigate how students and teachers of Spanish as a modern language perceive homework. Although appearing to be a frequently used tool in the Swedish school (Skolverket, 2014), not a lot of thorough investigations have been conducted regarding Spanish homework in upper secondary schools in Sweden. Given that the current Swedish course plan proposes that the students are more involved in their own learning (Skolverket 2011), getting to know their opinion on the subject could be useful for teachers making decisions regarding homework. Therefore, the objectives of this research are a) investigate possible dependencies between students’ attitudes towards homework and variables such as gender, grade and level, and b) determine if there are any differences of opinion regarding frequency and type of homework preferred amongst teachers and pupils.  With the aim of finding out the opinions and preferences from both groups, an inquiry was given to teachers and pupils of modern language Spanish classes in upper secondary schools in the south of Sweden. These inquiries constitute of closed questions, on the basis of the quantitative method. In order to find possible associations between a positive attitude towards homework and other variables, the statistical analysis Fisher’s exact test was used.  The results obtained from the questionnaires indicate that certain variables can influence students’ view and opinion on Spanish homework. Firstly, it is shown that the girls who participated in the study tend to view Spanish homework in a more optimistic way. The same results were found when observing the students from higher levels or with the grade B or higher. Secondly, regarding the preferences of homework, both teachers and students who participated in the study agreed that glossary words are their preferred type of homework. However, the results also indicated a difference of opinion in respect of frequency, as the students preferred twice a month, and the teachers once a week.  Due to the scarcity of studies concerning preferences and attitudes towards homework, as well as the importance of understanding the students’ opinions (Skolverket, 2011), it is suggested that the topic is studied on a more thorough level, while also investigating other possible factors and dependencies. / A continuación, se presenta un estudio cuyo tema principal son los deberes escolares, los cuales Cooper define como cualquier tipo de tarea que les da el profesor a los alumnos para que trabajen con ella fuera de clase. A pesar de ser una herramienta frecuentemente usada en la escuela sueca (Skolverket, 2014), no se han investigado en gran medida los puntos de vista del profesorado y de los alumnos respecto a las tareas de español como lengua moderna en el bachillerato. Debido a que el plan de curso sueco propone que los estudiantes deben estar más involucrados en su aprendizaje, el conocer la opinión de estos con relación a las tareas, puede ser útil para el profesor a la hora de tomar decisiones relacionadas con los deberes. Por eso, los objetivos principales de la investigación que se plantean son a) investigar si existe alguna dependencia entre la actitud de los estudiantes respecto a las tareas con variables como el género, la nota y nivel , y b) averiguar si existen diferencias entre la opinión de ambos grupos en cuanto a la frecuencia y tipo de deberes. Con el fin de llegar a conocer las opiniones y preferencias de ambos grupos, se ha repartido una encuesta a los estudiantes y a los profesores de clases de español como lengua moderna en bachilleratos en el sur de Suecia. Las encuestas están constituidas por preguntas cerradas, por lo cual se ha partido de lo que se define como un método cuantitativo. Se ha llevado a cabo, además, un análisis estadístico llamado Fisher’s exact test, para hallar posibles asociaciones entre una actitud positiva hacia los deberes con otras variables. Los resultados obtenidos de los cuestionarios indican que sí pueden influir algunas variables en el cómo perciben los estudiantes las tareas de español. Se observa, en primer lugar, que las chicas tienden a percibir las tareas de español de una manera más optimista, junto con los estudiantes del nivel alto o con la nota A o B. En lo referente a las preferencias de los deberes, tanto el profesor como el alumno están de acuerdo de que el glosario es su tipo elegido de deber, aunque los maestros prefieren tenerlos semanalmente, mientras que el alumnado opina que dos veces al mes es óptimo. Dada la escasez de estudios respecto al tema y la importancia de conocer las opiniones del alumnado (Skolverket, 2011), se sugiere que se investigue el aspecto de los deberes de forma más profunda, investigando otros posibles factores y correlaciones.

This study investigated the relationships between diverse variables and secondary school pupils' Mathematics achievement. It also dealt with the relative contribution of each variable to Mathematics achievement and the significance of differences in Mathematics achievements when pupils' gender and home background as well as teachers' experience, gender, education, in-service education, homework assignment and testing frequency are taken into account. A questionnaire was administered on 163 standard 8 pupils. I The most important findings of this study were: {1) There was a significant relationship between pupil variables and Mathematics achievement. (2) Pupil variables, particularly self-concept, contributed significantly towards the variance in Mathematics achievement. (3) Pupils who wrote tests often (more than once per term) achieved significantly less than students who wrote tests less often / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

The importance of a collaborative engagement between parents and teachers in order to enhance learning in the classroom is so great that the two parties seem inseparable. In this study the teachers indicated that they need the assistance of the parents of the learners whom they teach for them to do well. On the other hand, the parents are also keen to lend a helping hand, since it is the future of their children which is at stake. The challenge that emerges from this situation is that, more often, there is a breakdown in communication. The teachers and parents blame each other, especially when the learners do not perform well at the end of a year. The teachers will say the parents did not do anything to help their children with their schoolwork, while the parents will insist that the teachers failed to do their work. It is of utmost importance to stop the blame-game, but rather to seek ways in which both groups can help the learners to do well in the classroom. The teachers need to inform the parents how they (the teachers) expect them to play their part in helping their learners with their schoolwork. Informing parents about their roles and how they may play them is very important, because then the parents will be able to meet the teachers’ expectations, whereby teaching and learning will be facilitated. The ultimate beneficiaries will be the learners, because they will receive education which is well-coordinated by both the teachers and the parents. The collaboration between teachers and the parents will be guided because the kind of parental involvement will be an informed one. The engagement between teachers and parents will yield good results, because in the process they will help each other to find strategies that will assist the learners in the classroom. This study intends to ascertain from the teachers how they expect the parents to help their children with their schoolwork. It seeks to establish what the teachers’ perceptions are regarding parental involvement, that is, what they think it is, and how they think it should be. Two teachers from two primary schools in the Mogalakwena District of Limpopo Province were used in order to collect the data. These teachers clearly indicated that, indeed, the parents can be of great help, because they can touch some aspects that the teachers cannot reach in the lives of the learners. x They, however, also suggested ways in which the parents are supposed to help their children with schoolwork. The study also explored ways how the roles that the parents must play are communicated to the parents. The researcher’s aim was to explore the teachers’ expectations of parental involvement, and also possible ways in which it can be communicated to the parents.Recommendations were made to the policymakers to refer to when they draw up policies for the governance of schools. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

Out of the debate in Swedish media about homework, the idea for this study was born. The idea was to investigate the popular belief of many foreign language teachers which suggest that homework glossing is a necessity in the English classroom for pupils vocabulary acquisition, while other assumes this method doesn’t lead to knowledge that last. Therefore, the purpose for this study was to examine how learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) manage to learn new words when they received glossing as homework and when they studied the words in a context during class. Furthermore, out of the argument that homework stress pupils and lowers their interest and motivation for the subject, a secondary purpose was to find out pupils’ opinions about learning new words through glossing as English homework. The study was focused on two teaching methods for vocabulary acquisition: the traditional teaching method designed to teach vocabulary by giving glossing as homework, and teaching new words during class with a focus on teaching the new words in context. Through the survey of these two different methods for vocabulary learning and an empirical study with two primary school classes in which these two methods were put on test, contrary to the expectation that learning words through homework glossing wouldn’t lead to vocabulary knowledge that last, the results of the empirical study showed that the group which received glossing as homework, did better on both test than the group which studied the word in context. Similarly, the data results showed the average pupil had a positive attitude to vocabulary homework as for the most part they felt it benefited them to study this method because of the effects of learning.

The theme of the thesis is the beginning of the school attendance and possible problems associated with this child development milestone. The theoretical part is focused on theoretical approaches to development of the child, the developmental level of pre-school and early school aged children. The next section deals with maturity and school readiness. Next chapter is devoted to the child's entry to the school. There we consider the various factors that might influence the first year pupil being successful at school and also how he feels at school. The theme of the empirical part is homework and the interaction between parents and school children in preparing for school. The research is the part of the international project briefly introduced in the text. The qualitative study follows the performance of homework, children's attitudes to homework and how children perceive their parents help with their homework. In the quantitative study we test the degree of statements of parents and children on issues related to homework, help with homework and attitudes to homework match. Key words: homework, home preparation for school, parents, pupil, cooperation, parental support, preschool age, school age

Både nationella och internationella undersökningar visar att svenska elevers studieresultat i fysik har försämrats. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka om elever kan få bättre studieresultat om deras arbete enligt kursplaneringen kontrolleras kontinuerligt så att de är i fas med planeringen. Genom att kontrollera kontinuerligt får man dels möjlighet att upptäcka elever som halkar efter men också hur bra undervisningen har tagits emot av eleverna. Undersökningen gjordes i två parallella gymnasieklasser som läste grundkursen i fysik och pågick mellan två provtillfällen. Båda klasserna hade samma lärare, kursbok, kursplanering och prov. Ur planeringen valdes några grundläggande uppgifter och tilldelades ena klassen medan den andra utgjorde kontrollgrupp. Testgruppseleverna fick sina lösningar kontrollerade och fick återkoppling. Effektstorleken av interventionen bestämdes och jämfördes med referensgruppens. Resultatet visade att testgruppen hade fått bättre studieresultat efter ingreppet. Även om resultatet är signifikant så är det för osäkert med tanke på antalet elever (16 st) som deltog i studien för att kunna generaliseras. Eftersom deltagandet i undersökningen var frivilligt och icke-betygsgrundande så var antalet inlämningar inte så många som det hade förväntats. Arbetet är tidskrävande både ur elev- och lärarperspektiv men synliggör varför lärare bör kontrollera sina elever och hur detta kan genomföras. / Swedish and international studies show that Swedish students' results in physics have deteriorated. The aim of this study is to investigate whether students can achieve better study results if their work according to the course planning is checked continuously so that they are in phase with the planning. By continuously checking, one gets the opportunity to discover students who are lagging behind but also to see how the teaching has been absorbed by the students more generally. The study was done in two parallel upper secondary classes studying the basic course in physics and occurred between two test periods. Both classes had the same teacher, course book, course plan and exams. A few basic tasks where selected and assigned from the course plan and given to the test group but not to the control group. The test group students got their solutions checked and got feedback. The effect size of this intervention was measured and compared to the control group. The result showed that the test group had achieved a better result after the intervention. Even if the result was significant, it is too uncertain to be generalized, in view of the small sample size (16 students) who participated in the study. As participation in the survey was voluntary and non-grading, the number of submissions was not as many as it had been expected. The approach is time consuming both for teacher and student, but it makes visible why teachers should check their students and how this can be implemented.

No description available.

The dissertation studies how 16 Swedish middle-class parents understand and form their parenthood in everyday life. The focus is set on how they involve themselves in their children’s care and education, and how parental identities are negotiated in relation to cultural norms on parenthood. The analysis is based on qualitative methods, in particular interviews and participant observation with video camera in eight families. The study, which is inspired by poststructuralist perspectives on identity formation, shows that the informants position themselves in relation to a norm on involved parenthood, which is negotiated differently depending on social context and gender. The dissertation includes four empirical studies. The first focuses on the subjectivities and dilemmas that are created by parents’ strategies to manage time and childcare. The strategies render everyday life more effective, but the parents also want to be child-centered, which forces them to balance between positions as involved and uninvolved parents. The second study examines how the fathers negotiate their involvement in household work, childcare and time with children. To great extent, they follow the discourse on gender-equal and involved fatherhood, but they at times resist it through drawing on notions of child-centeredness, kinship, and a gendered division of labor. The third study focuses on how parents and teachers negotiate children’s education and rearing. Study four shows how the parents position themselves as involved parents in relation to their children’s homework. In conclusion, the dissertation shows that the parents idealize time spent with the children, but that in everyday life it is hard to get this time. Instead, much time is spent for the child, that is, doing household work and childcare. In both cases, time is child-centered, but time with the child is by the parents seen as “more” involved time. / Avhandlingen studerar hur 16 svenska medelklassföräldrar förstår och utformar sitt föräldraskap i vardagen. Särskilt fokuseras på hur de engagerar sig i sina barns omsorg och skolgång, samt hur föräldraidentiteter förhandlas i relation till kulturella normer kring föräldraskap. Analyserna är baserade på kvalitativa metoder, med intervjuer och deltagande observation med videokamera i åtta familjer. Studien, som är inspirerad av poststrukturalistiska perspektiv på identitet, visar att informanterna positionerar sig i relation till en norm om engagerat föräldraskap. Denna förhandlas dock i relation till kön och social kontext. Avhandlingen omfattar fyra delstudier. Den första fokuserar på de subjektiviteter och dilemman som skapas av föräldrarnas strategier för att hantera tid och barnomsorg. Strategierna effektiviserar vardagen, men föräldrarna vill samtidigt vara barncentrerade, vilket gör att de måste balansera mellan positioner som engagerade och icke-engagerade föräldrar. Den andra delstudien undersöker hur männen förhandlar sitt engagemang i hushållsarbete, barnomsorg och tid med barnen. De följer till stora delar den samhälleliga diskursen om jämställt och engagerat faderskap, men omdefinierar den genom att dra på föreställningar om barncentrering, släktskap och könsarbetsdelning. I den tredje studien undersöks hur föräldrar och lärare förhandlar om barns utbildning och fostran. Delstudie fyra visar hur föräldrarna positionerar sig som engagerade föräldrar i förhållande till sina barns läxor. Avhandlingen visar sammanfattningsvis att föräldrarna idealiserar tid som spenderas med barnen, men att det i vardagslivet är svårt att få denna tid. Istället ägnas mycket tid för barnet, det vill säga hushållsarbete och barnomsorg. I båda handlar det om barncentrering, men föräldrarna uppfattar tid med barnet som ”mer” engagerad tid.

This study investigated the relationships between diverse variables and secondary school pupils' Mathematics achievement. It also dealt with the relative contribution of each variable to Mathematics achievement and the significance of differences in Mathematics achievements when pupils' gender and home background as well as teachers' experience, gender, education, in-service education, homework assignment and testing frequency are taken into account. A questionnaire was administered on 163 standard 8 pupils. I The most important findings of this study were: {1) There was a significant relationship between pupil variables and Mathematics achievement. (2) Pupil variables, particularly self-concept, contributed significantly towards the variance in Mathematics achievement. (3) Pupils who wrote tests often (more than once per term) achieved significantly less than students who wrote tests less often / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)