This multiple case study explores issues of equity in science education through an examination of how teachers' reasoning patterns compare with students' reasoning patterns during inquiry-based lessons. It also examines the ways in which teachers utilize students' cultural and linguistic resources, or funds of knowledge, during inquiry-based lessons and the ways in which students utilize their funds of knowledge, during inquiry-based lessons. Three middle school teachers and a total of 57 middle school students participated in this study. The data collection involved classroom observations and multiple interviews with each of the teachers individually and with small groups of students. The findings indicate that the students are capable of far more complex reasoning than what was elicited by the lessons observed or what was modeled and expected by the teachers, but that during the inquiry-based lessons they conformed to the more simplistic reasoning patterns they perceived as the expected norm of classroom dialogue. The findings also indicate that the students possess funds of knowledge that are relevant to science topics, but very seldom use these funds in the context of their inquiry-based lessons. In addition, the teachers in this study very seldom worked to elicit students' use of their funds in these contexts. The few attempts they did make involved the use of analogies, examples, or questions. The findings from this study have implications for both teachers and teacher educators in that they highlight similarities and differences in reasoning that can help teachers establish instructional congruence and facilitate more equitable science instruction. They also provide insight into how students' cultural and linguistic resources are utilized during inquiry-based science lessons. / Graduation date: 2013

Considering the context of large city schools, this study explores what variables in a kindergarten classroom may impact the process of children’s engagement with nature. In particular I examine the central role of children and teacher in co-constructing their own unique understanding, knowledge, and attitude towards the natural world. In this study, I examine nature-child’s connection considering the complexity of nature beyond a pre-packaged concept (Louv, 2007) and avoiding a linear identification of a cause and effect relationship between children’s learning experiences and nature, (Kellert, 2005). This qualitative case study is based on extensive classroom observations, in which 20 kindergarten children and their teacher participate. The children’s direct, indirect, and vicarious experiences with nature are documented using digital photography, video-audio recording, and collection of artifacts. I interview the classroom teacher two times and invite the parents to fill up a questionnaire about their children’s experiences with nature outside the school time. I use the techniques and procedure of the grounded theory to analyze the data. A comparative analysis of the five learning episodes demonstrates four major factors that when all woven together encourage and sustain the children’s engagement with nature. These factors are: investigating children’s meaningful and autotelic questions, encountering and experiencing nature in familiar contexts, developing emotional bonding, and having sufficient time. The findings show the crucial role of the classroom teacher in creating five main conditions to engage the children in the process of each inquiry. She offers the children many opportunities to use their prior skills and knowledge, take responsibility of their own learning, and experiment with learning as a process. She often responds positively to the children’s learning endeavours and communicates her high confidence and expectations for them. This study makes an important contribution to the field of early childhood education and environmental education by demonstrating the possibilities and challenges in actively and holistically engaging children with nature in school settings. The findings shed light on our understanding of children and teacher’s sense of ownership and motivation as two driving forces of learning.

Considering the context of large city schools, this study explores what variables in a kindergarten classroom may impact the process of children’s engagement with nature. In particular I examine the central role of children and teacher in co-constructing their own unique understanding, knowledge, and attitude towards the natural world. In this study, I examine nature-child’s connection considering the complexity of nature beyond a pre-packaged concept (Louv, 2007) and avoiding a linear identification of a cause and effect relationship between children’s learning experiences and nature, (Kellert, 2005). This qualitative case study is based on extensive classroom observations, in which 20 kindergarten children and their teacher participate. The children’s direct, indirect, and vicarious experiences with nature are documented using digital photography, video-audio recording, and collection of artifacts. I interview the classroom teacher two times and invite the parents to fill up a questionnaire about their children’s experiences with nature outside the school time. I use the techniques and procedure of the grounded theory to analyze the data. A comparative analysis of the five learning episodes demonstrates four major factors that when all woven together encourage and sustain the children’s engagement with nature. These factors are: investigating children’s meaningful and autotelic questions, encountering and experiencing nature in familiar contexts, developing emotional bonding, and having sufficient time. The findings show the crucial role of the classroom teacher in creating five main conditions to engage the children in the process of each inquiry. She offers the children many opportunities to use their prior skills and knowledge, take responsibility of their own learning, and experiment with learning as a process. She often responds positively to the children’s learning endeavours and communicates her high confidence and expectations for them. This study makes an important contribution to the field of early childhood education and environmental education by demonstrating the possibilities and challenges in actively and holistically engaging children with nature in school settings. The findings shed light on our understanding of children and teacher’s sense of ownership and motivation as two driving forces of learning.

The ability to interpret and apply experiences, or cases (Kolodner, 1993; 1997) is a skill (Anderson, et. al, 1981; Anderson, 2000) that is key to successful learning that can be transferred (Bransford, Brown and Cocking, 1999) to new learning situations. For middle-schoolers in a project-based inquiry science classroom, interpreting and applying the experiences of experts to inform their design solutions is not always easy (Owensby and Kolodner, 2002). Interpreting and applying an expert case and then assessing the solution that results from that application are the components of a process I call case use. This work seeks to answer three questions: 1. How do small-group case use capabilities develop over time? 2. How well are students able to apply case use skills in new situations over time? 3. What difficulties do learners have as they learn case use skills and as they apply case use skills in new situations? What do these difficulties suggest about how software might further support cognitive skill development using a cognitive apprenticeship (Collins, Brown and Newman, 1989) framework? I argue that if learners in project based inquiry classrooms are able to understand, engage in, and carry out the processes involved in interpreting and applying expert cases effectively, then they will be able to do several things. They will learn those process and be able to read an expert case for understanding, glean the lessons they can learn from it, and apply those lessons to their question or challenge. Furthermore, I argue that they may also be able to transfer interpretation, application, and assessment skills to other learning situations where application of cases is appropriate.

Orientadora: Profa. Dra. Fernanda Franzolin / Coorientadora: Profa. Dra. Roberta de Assis Maia / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do ABC, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ensino, História, Filosofia das Ciências e Matemática, Santo André, 2018. / Este trabalhou teve como objetivo, investigar a percepção das meninas nos Anos Iniciais do Ensino Fundamental sobre a possibilidade de atuação das mulheres como cientistas, quais são as suas preferências de temas para estudo relacionados às Ciências Naturais, além de elaborar e implementar ações de ensino, voltadas para fomentar mais a sua participação na referida disciplina, analisando o impacto das atividades propostas, comparando as suas interações no cotidiano escolar e durante a intervenção. Para atender tal objetivo, foi elaborada e aplicada uma sequência didática investigativa, em 2016, durante um projeto de extensão universitária, do qual participaram 85 crianças do quarto ano do Ensino Fundamental, de escolas públicas da região do ABC paulista. A atividade extensionista foi elaborada a partir de elementos identificados na literatura, apontados com potencial de estimular o engajamento das meninas nas atividades de ensino concernentes aos temas das Ciências Naturais. Tais elementos foram categorizados, auxiliando a atuação das mediadoras e a investigação dos registros avaliativos escritos e videogravados do projeto de extensão. Os dados foram analisados quanti e qualitativamente. Nos levantamentos iniciais realizados nas escolas, as meninas apresentaram um comportamento mais passivo nas aulas de Ciências, ainda que tenham apontado interesse por temas dessa área. Ademais, em geral, elas têm a concepção da possibilidade da mulher como Cientista, o que foi menos evidenciado no caso dos meninos. Durante a sequência didática foram realizadas entrevistas pelas crianças na universidade, com cientistas mulheres e homens, que apresentaram como é realizado o seu trabalho, o que criou novos referenciais femininos para as crianças. As mediadoras propiciaram a interação mais equitativa dos estudantes nas atividades e, além disso, foram desenvolvidas atividades investigativas, que despertaram a curiosidade e o interesse sobre os fenômenos abordados e apresentaram a forma de trabalho dos cientistas. Nessas práticas, as meninas tiveram maior participação. Possivelmente, contribuem para esse resultado três fatores as ações das mediadoras que contemplaram as categorias estabelecidas para promover a participação mais equitativa das meninas, a aprendizagem no projeto de extensão e o ensino por investigação. / Through the reflections on the participation of the girls in relation to the scientific subjects, this work was intended to investigate how to promote and to arouse the interest of this clientele by the subjects related to Sciences. In order to meet the aforementioned objective, in 2016 a didactic investigative sequence was elaborated, which was applied during a university extension project, for 85 children from the Early Years of Elementary School, from public schools in the ABC region of São Paulo. For the elaboration of the teaching actions, the conditions and / or methodologies pointed out in the literature have been identified in the literature with the potential to promote the greater participation of the girls in the teaching-learning activities in the science classes, which were categorized and considered as point of reference. the activities of the mediators in extension activities and also to investigate the results of these actions. Written evaluative records of the project were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. In the initial surveys carried out in the schools, the girls presented a more passive behavior in the classes of Sciences, although they have indicated interest by subjects of this area. In addition, in general, they have the conception of the possibility of the woman as Scientist, which was less evidenced in the case of the boys. During the didactic sequence interviews were carried out by the children at the university, with female and male scientists, who presented how their work is done, which created new female references for the children. In addition, research activities were developed that aroused curiosity and interest in the phenomena addressed and presented the way the scientists work. In these practices, the girls had greater participation.

The purpose of this project was to develop a handbook of inquiry activities that can be used in high school Earth sciences.

<div> <div> <div> <p>Previous work has identified the many difficulties that students experience in learning abstract concepts in STEM. Past studies have also identified the critical role that emotions play on students' motivation to learn. As new learning technologies are developed, they enable visualizing complex scientific concepts which can be non-visible thus assisting students' understanding of abstract ideas as well as improving their motivation as they learn. This study investigated two learning technologies and compared them to examine 1) their effectiveness on learning concepts of electricity in physics and 2) the interplay between learning with technology and emotions. Participants were randomly assigned to either Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) with a computer simulation or Game-Based Learning (GBL) with a computer game which addressed concepts of electricity in physics. During the experiment, students in the IBL condition explored materials by using the computer simulation and posed hypotheses and questions on their own with a guiding worksheet for IBL. Students in the GBL condition played an educational computer game following the guiding worksheet while they were meeting challenges created by the game with a guiding worksheet for GBL. Students' learning gains were assessed by comparing their pretest and posttest scores. Emotions were self-reported after the posttest by responding to a survey that measured 6 emotional scales that students may perceive during the experiment. The study found that both IBL and GBL enhanced students' understanding of given concepts. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the two conditions in terms of learning gains. Students in the IBL achieved higher mean learning gains, whereas students in the GBL showed that they were more engaged. At the same time, students in the GBL perceived more confusion and frustration compared to students in the IBL. <br></p> </div> </div> </div>

The creation of an instructional genius hour framework for classroom implementation is an objective of this study. Currently, genius hour educators use a wide variety of frameworks. Some genius hour educators do not follow a set framework, yet others continually modify their genius hour frameworks. This study draws attention to the need to create an instructional framework for classroom implementation. This study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with five of the most respected genius hour educators. For the purposes of this study, each individual educator was treated as a separate case study. During the semi-structured interviews, genius hour educators shared their personal experience with implementing genius hour, their personal philosophies and ideas related to genius hour, their recommendations regarding genius hour implementation, and their recommendations regarding genius hour frameworks for classroom implementation. Moreover, this study also conducted two observations of genius hour classrooms in action. These classroom observations offered data related to genius hour educational philosophy and the need for a genius hour framework. This study recommends that educators use an instructional framework when implementing genius hour. A framework will have a positive effect on the performance of genius hour because of the added structure and clarity it provides for students and educators. It is recommended that educators choose a framework, and modify it in order to best serve the academic needs of their particular genius hour programme. This study moves beyond the genius hour framework by identifying major themes that genius hour educators should consider when implementing genius hour in the classrooms. Alongside the importance of the framework model, the common themes of front-loading, learning from failure, developing passion, and mentoring emerged from the interviews and observations. In essence, this study developed a framework model, game time, based around the importance of incorporating the aforementioned themes. The findings within this study offer an understanding of the importance of using a genius hour framework for classroom implementation. This study envisions that educators can use the research gathered in order to create an optimal genius hour framework for classroom implementation. This offers a framework for classroom implementation, which should be individualized in order to best suit the classroom specific needs. / Hierdie studie het die skepping van ʼn genie-uur-onderrigraamwerk vir klaskamer-implementering ten doel. Tans gebruik genie-uuropvoeders ’n wye verskeidenheid raamwerke. Sommige genie-uuropvoeders volg nie ’n vasgestelde raamwerk nie, terwyl andere voortdurend hul genie-uurraamwerke verander. Hierdie studie vestig aandag op die behoefte om ʼn onderrigraamwerk vir klaskamerimplementering te skep. Hierdie studie is uitgevoer deur middel van halfgestruktureerde onderhoude met vyf van die mees gerespekteerde genie-uuropvoeders. Vir die doeleindes van hierdie studie is elke individuele opvoeder as ’n afsonderlike gevallestudie behandel. Gedurende die halfgestruktureerde onderhoude het genie-uuropvoeders hul persoonlike ervarings van die inwerkingstelling van genie-uur, hul persoonlike filosofieë en idees oor genie-uur, hul aanbevelings vir genie-uurimplementering, en hul aanbevelings vir genie-uurraamwerke vir klaskamerimplementering gedeel. Verder het hierdie stude ook twee waarnemings van genie-uurklaskamers-in-aksie uitgevoer. Hierdie klaskamerwaarnemings het data in verband met genie-uuronderwysfilosofie en die behoefte aan ’n genie-uurraamwerk opgelewer. Hierdie studie beveel aan dat opvoeders ʼn onderrigraamwerk gebruik wanneer hulle genie-uur in werking stel. ’n Raamwerk sal ’n positiewe uitwerking op die uitvoering van genie-uur hê as gevolg van die bykomende struktuur en duidelikheid wat dit aan studente en opvoeders bied. Daar word aanbeveel dat opvoeders ’n raamwerk kies en dit aanpas ten einde die beste in die akademiese behoeftes van hul betrokke genie-uurprogram te voorsien. Hierdie studie beweeg verder as die genie-uurraamwerk deur belangrike temas te identifiseer wat genie-uuropvoeders kan oorweeg wanneer hulle genie-uur in die klaskamers in werking stel. Afgesien van die belangrikheid van die raamwerkmodel het die algemene temas van voorkantlading, leer uit mislukking, ontwikkeling van passie en leidinggewing uit die onderhoude en waarnemings na vore gekom. Hierdie studie het wesenlik ’n raamwerkmodel ontwikkel, genaamd speeltyd, wat gebaseer is op die belangrikheid daarvan om die voorgenoemde temas te inkorporeer. Die bevindings van hierdie studie bied ʼn begrip van die belangrikheid daarvan om ’n genie-uurraamwerk vir klaskamerimplementering te gebruik. Hierdie studie stel in die vooruitsig dat opvoeders die navorsing sal gebruik wat ingesamel is om ʼn optimale genie-uurraamwerk vir klaskamerimplementering te skep. Dit bied ’n raamwerk vir klaskamerimplementering, wat geïndividualiseer behoort te word om die beste in die spesifieke behoeftes van elke klaskamer te voorsien. / Ukwakhiwa kohlaka lokufundisa ngendlela ye-genius hour oluzosetshenziswa ekilasini yiyona njongo yalolu cwaningo. Njengamanje, othisha abalandela indlela yegenius hour basebenzisa izinhlobonhlobo zezinhlaka. Abanye othisha abalandela indlela yegenius hour abasebenzisi izinhlaka ezibekiwe, kodwa abanye bayaqhubeka nokulungisa izinhlaka zabo zegenius hour. Lolu cwaningo luveza isidingo sokwakhiwa kohlaka lokufundisa oluzosetshenziswa ekilasini. Lolu cwaningo lwaluqhutshwa ngokuxoxisana okuhleliwe nothisha abahlanu abahlonishwa kakhulu begenius hour. Ngokwenjongo yalolu cwaningo, uthisha ngamunye wayethathwa njengowahlukile kwabanye abasetshenziswe ocwaningweni. Ngenkathi kuqhubeka izingxoxo ezihleliwe, othisha begenius hour baxoxa ngabahlangabezana nakho uma beqalisa ukusebenzisa igenius hour, imigomo abayilandelayo kanye namasu ahambisana negenius hour, izincomo zabo mayelana negenius hour kanye nezincomo zabo ngezinhlaka zegenius hour ezizosetshenziswa ekilasini. Phezu kwalokho, lolu cwaningo luphinde lwabuka kusetshenziswa igenius hour kabili emakilasini ngenkathi eqhubeka. Lokhu kubhekwa kwamakilasi kwaveza imininingwane eqondene nemigomo yezemfundo yegenius hour kanye nesidingo sohlaka lwegenius hour. Lolu cwaningo luncoma ukuba othisha basebenzise uhlaka lokufundisa uma beqala ukusebenzisa igenius hour. Uhlaka luzoba nomphumela omuhle ekusebenzeni kwegenius hour, ngenxa yokwakheka okwengeziwe kanye nokucacisa, ihlinzekela abafundi nothisha. Kunconywa ukuba othisha bakhethe uhlaka, balulungise kahle ukuze luhambisane nezidingo zezemfundo zohlelo lwabo oluthile lwegenius hour. Lolu cwaningo luhamba ludlulele ngale kohlaka lwegenius hour ngokuhlonza izingqikithi okufanele othisha begenius hour bacabange ngazo uma beqala ukusebenzisa igenius hour emakilasini. Ngaphandle kokubaluleka kwesimo sohlaka, izingqikithi ezejwayelekile zokufundisa ngokuhlahla indlela, ukufunda ngokwehluleka kuqala, ukukhula kothando kanye nokwalusa kwavela ezingxoxweni nasekubukeni. Empeleni. lolu cwaningo selwakhe isimo sohlaka, isikhathi semidlalo, okuncike ekubalulekeni kokuhlanganisa lezi zingqikithi ezibaliwe. Okutholakele kulolu cwaningo kunikeza ukuqonda kokubaluleka kokusebenzisa uhlaka lwegenius hour ekilasini. Lolu cwaningo lubona ukuthi othisha bangasebenzisa imininingwane etholakale ocwaningweni ukwakha uhlaka lwegenius hour olusebenza kahle oluzosetshenziswa ekilasini. Lokhu kuhlinzeka uhlaka oluzosetshenziswa ekilasini, okumele lwenziwe lusebenzele umuntu ngamunye ukuze luhambisane kahle nezidingo zekilasi ngalinye. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum and Instructional Studies)

Researchers conceptually recommend inquiry-based learning as a necessary means to alleviate the problems of learning but this study has embarked on practical implementation of inquiry-based facilitation and learning in Euclidean Geometry. Inquiry-based learning is student-centred. Therefore, the teaching or monitoring of inquiry-based learning in this study is referred to as inquiry-based facilitation. The null hypothesis discarded in this study explains that there is no difference between inquiry-based facilitation and traditional axiomatic approach in teaching Euclidean Geometry, that is, H0: μinquiry-based facilitation = μtraditional axiomatic approach. This study emphasises a pragmatist view that constructivism is fundamental to realism, that is, inductive inquiry supplements deductive inquiry in teaching and learning. Participants in this study comprise schools in Tshwane North district that served as experimental group and Tshwane West district schools classified as comparison group. The two districts are in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. The total number of students who participated is 166, that is, 97 students in the experimental group and 69 students in the comparison group. Convenient sampling applied and three experimental and three comparison group schools were sampled. Embedded mixed-method methodology was employed. Quantitative and qualitative methodologies are integrated in collecting data; analysis and interpretation of data. Inquiry-based-facilitation occurred in experimental group when the facilitator probed asking students to research, weigh evidence, explore, share discoveries, allow students to display authentic knowledge and skills and guiding students to apply knowledge and skills to solve problems for the classroom and for the world out of the classroom. In response to inquiry-based facilitation, students engaged in cooperative learning, exploration, self-centred and self-regulated learning in order to acquire knowledge and skills. In the comparison group, teaching progressed as usual. Quantitative data revealed that on average, participant that received intervention through inquiry-based facilitation acquired inquiry-based learning skills and improved (M= -7.773, SE= 0.7146) than those who did not receive intervention (M= -0.221, SE = 0.4429). This difference (-7.547), 95% CI (-8.08, 5.69), was significant at t (10.88), p = 0.0001, p<0.05 and represented a large effect size of 0.55. The large effect size emphasises that inquiry-based facilitation contributed significantly towards improvement in inquiry-based learning and that the framework contributed by this study can be considered as a framework of inquiry-based facilitation in Euclidean Geometry. This study has shown that the traditional axiomatic approach promotes rote learning; passive, deductive and algorithmic learning that obstructs application of knowledge in problem-solving. Therefore, this study asserts that the application of Inquiry-based facilitation to implement inquiry-based learning promotes deeper, authentic, non-algorithmic, self-regulated learning that enhances problem-solving skills in Euclidean Geometry. / Mathematics Education / Ph. D. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education)

The aim of this study is to report findings of inquiry into the role that problem-based approach can play in the teaching and learning of Technology in Thabo-Mofutsanyana District in Qwaqwa. This study followed qualitative research methods and ethnographic design informed by the researcher’s desire for the study to be conducted from firsthand knowledge generated in the research setting. The researcher interviewed Grade 9 Technology teachers and experts, observed teaching and learning in two participating and two non-participating secondary schools in Murray & Roberts Technology Olympiad and analysed Technology teachers’ lesson plans and workschedules, portfolios and files of Grade 9 Technology learners. Key findings that this study produced include: PBL is a need in the teaching of Technology; learners function at a higher level of thinking; learners treat concepts at higher and deeper level; learners become more motivated and learners are able to discover theories and make inventions. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Didactics)