University of Macau / Faculty of Education

Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, School of Education, 1994. / Includes bibliography. / Introduction ; The research question and the professional context of the inquiry -- Literature review: substantive survey -- Literature review: methodological survey -- Research method -- The prgamatics of feedback -- An ethnographic portrait of supervision -- Perceptions of mitigation -- Conclusion. / This research project investigates the language of supervisory conferences. A grounded theory approach is taken to the analysis of data drawn from teacher educators in TESOL (Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages) in their feedback discussions with teachers following observed lessons.--Supervisory talk is investigated within a linguistic framework of politeness theory: while the supervisory role includes the obligation of criticism, the act of criticism is constrained by the face-to-face encounter of the supervisory conference. A central construct is the notion of fragility: the supervisory conference-an event which is equated with the talk that achieves it - is considered to be inherently fragile. The aim of the project is to investigate the language so as to uncover the source of the fragility.--Findings suggest that the perceived tension derives from a tug-of-war of essential elements: while the supervisory position affords discoursal power (the right to raise and pursue topics, take long turns, drive the discourse etc), the fa-threatening nature of the event obliges supervisors to resort to social/strategic skills to protect the teacher's face, as well as their own. The textualisation of this restraint takes the form of linguistic mitigation - devices rooted in syntax and semantics that allow supervisors to undercut the force of their own assertions. Mitigation is posited as the means by which supervisors resolve the clash-of-goals that is central to their role. However, mitigation is risky because it may interfere with message clarity.-- The product of the grounded study is a typology of utterance-level mitigation. The typology has three macro-categories (syntactic, semantic and indirectness) and fourteen sub-categories.-- The study was triangulated through an ethnographic investigation of supervisory concerns about feedback; and through an experiment designed to gauge teachers' perceptions of variously mitigated supervisory language. Findings from both studies corroborate the central tenet by contributing images of supervision that support the clash-of-goals thesis.--The projected applied outcome is in supervisor training where, it is suggested, strategic training delivered in a framework of politeness theory would reduce the unwitting dependence on mitigation and hence the risk of message distortion.--Suggestions for further research conclude the study. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / 413 leaves

O presente trabalho articula a formação de professores de Língua Portuguesa, a prática de reflexão linguística em sala de aula e o constructo teórico da Linguística Cognitiva (LC). Para tanto, esta tese constitui-se de duas partes relacionadas, mas independentes. Na primeira, desenvolve-se uma pesquisa qualitativa com grupo focal, da qual participaram quatro alunas de um curso de Letras, as quais estavam – no momento da pesquisa – cursando a disciplina de Estágio de Docência de Português 1. O objetivo da primeira parte é investigar como os professores em formação inicial participantes da pesquisa entendem e propõem o trabalho com as formas linguísticas em seus projetos de estágio. Para isso, a pesquisadora realizou observação participante ao longo das aulas presenciais da disciplina de Estágio de Docência de Português 1, além de propor encontros de avaliação conjunta do pré-projeto e do projeto final das participantes. Os encontros foram gravados em áudio e, posteriormente, transcritos. Ao final da primeira parte, analisam-se o conteúdo temático das interações e os documentos relacionados ao estágio das participantes. Esta primeira parte se torna relevante para a construção de entendimentos que guiam a segunda parte da tese. Entre esses entendimentos, encontram-se (i) a necessidade da construção de mais relações entre as disciplinas teóricas de Linguística e a futura prática docente dos professores em formação, (ii) a importância da realização de intervenções (individualizadas e coletivas) para que os professores em formação estabeleçam articulações entre o que estudaram ao longo do curso e a sua prática docente e para que se vejam e ajam como profissionais reflexivos e (iii) a configuração do estágio como um espaço de reflexão sobre a própria ação. Na segunda parte, investiga-se em que sentido a prática de reflexão linguística pode se beneficiar dos pressupostos da LC, buscando atender aos entendimentos oriundos da primeira parte desta tese. É feita, então, uma revisão de conceitos da LC – noções de língua, construals, embodiment, categorização, conhecimento enciclopédico e construções – e, em seguida, são discutidas as suas implicações para a realização da prática de reflexão linguística. A fim de ilustrar as relações propostas, são apresentadas situações de aulas de língua portuguesa, as quais foram vivenciadas pela pesquisadora. Ainda na segunda parte desta tese, analisa-se o trabalho sobre “metáfora” proposto por duas participantes da primeira parte deste estudo, a fim de apresentar uma situação em que a LC pode informar a definição de uma forma linguística. Ao final da segunda parte desta tese, apresenta-se um continuum entre “ações já debatidas em estudos sobre a prática de reflexão linguística no ensino de línguas” e as “novas ações para a prática de reflexão linguística no ensino de línguas inspiradas por entendimentos da LC”. Concluiu-se que o estabelecimento de relações entre os pressupostos da LC e a prática de reflexão linguística é produtivo, uma vez que desloca o foco da “forma” para a “significação” e aponta caminhos alternativos para a abordagem de determinados usos da língua. / The present work articulates Portuguese teachers training, the practice of linguistic reflection in language classes, and the theoretical framework of Cognitive Linguistics (CL). In order to achieve such goal, this thesis consists in two independent, but related, parts. In the first one, a qualitative research with focal group is developed. Four students of a Language graduation course, who were attending the Curricular Teacher Training discipline, took part on the study. The goal in this first part is to investigate how the training-teachers who participated in this study understand and propose the work with linguistic forms in their teaching projects. To do so, the researcher has done a participant observation during the Curricular Teacher Training discipline classes and has had meetings with the participants in order to analyse their initial and final teaching projects. The meetings were audio-recorded and, later, transcripted. At the end of the first part, the thematic content of the interactions and documents related to the participants’ teacher training practice are analysed. This first part is relevant because it produces insights which guide the second part of this dissertation. Among these insights, it is important to mention (i) the necessity of constructing more relations between the Linguistics disciplines and the teaching abilities, (ii) the importance of doing different (collective and individual) interventions in order to help teachers in initial training to articulate what they have studied during their undergraduation course and their professional practice; so they are going to be able to see themselves and to act as reflexive professionals; and (iii) the constitution of the Curricular Teacher Training discipline as a space of reflection about the action itself. The second part of this work aims at investigating how the practice of linguistic reflection could benefit from the CL assumptions. In order to do so, some CL concepts are reviewed – the notions of language, construal, embodiment, categorization, encyclopaedic knowledge, and constructions – and, then, their implications to the practice of linguistic reflection are discussed. After this, some Portuguese classes’ situations are presented to illustrate the proposed relations. Also in the second part, the work about “metaphor” developed by two participants of the first part of this thesis is analysed, in order to present one situation in which CL can inform one linguistic form definition. To finish the second part, a continuum between “actions that have already been discussed by other studies about the practice of linguistic reflection” and “new actions to the practice of linguistic reflection inspired by the CL assumptions” is presented. It was concluded that the establishment of relations between the CL assumptions and the practice of linguistic reflection is worthwhile, because it changes the focus from “form” to “meaning” and points out new ways to deal with some language usages.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:32:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2012-10-25Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T21:04:45Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 bedran_pf_dr_sjrp_parcial.pdf: 169118 bytes, checksum: 79d00ad7a0b39de7f353e5cc60318179 (MD5) Bitstreams deleted on 2015-06-30T11:22:10Z: bedran_pf_dr_sjrp_parcial.pdf,. Added 1 bitstream(s) on 2015-06-30T11:23:06Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000707195_20171025.pdf: 158158 bytes, checksum: cc55a07a519c28739851f0b199ff2ae1 (MD5) Bitstreams deleted on 2017-11-06T13:12:12Z: 000707195_20171025.pdf,. Added 1 bitstream(s) on 2017-11-06T13:13:00Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000707195.pdf: 1730355 bytes, checksum: f4e9a9302b2b24d7e1124cea175a0e2c (MD5) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Baseando-se na necessidade de compreender a formação inicial de professores de línguas no e para o contexto virtual a partir da constituição de uma comunidade de prática (CdP), a presente pesquisa objetivou investigar os recursos humanos, metodológicos e tecnológicos que foram utilizados por uma professora-mediadora e por professores em formação inicial na configuração de uma CdP e se e como estes recursos possibilitaram o desenvolvimento de uma prática reflexiva por parte dos envolvidos. O referencial teórico que fundamentou este trabalho foram as pesquisas sobre formação pré-serviço de professores na contemporaneidade sob uma perspectiva sociocultural, CdP e formação tecnológica do professor. Para realizar essa pesquisa qualitativa de cunho etnográfico, contamos com a participação de seis brasileiros professores-aprendizes de italiano como LE e uma professora-mediadora formadora de professores de uma universidade pública do interior paulista. O contexto de investigação foram as sessões de mediação realizadas por meio do chat do Windows Live Messenger, de encontros presenciais, do uso de videoconferência do aplicativo Oovoo e por meio do ambiente wikispaces (wiki). Essas sessões configuraram-se como uma prática coletiva e um ambiente propício para o desenvolvimento de uma CdP, em que se buscava abordar questões vinculadas à experiência prática dos professores-aprendizes enquanto professores de sua língua materna e aprendizes de língua estrangeira. Os resultados obtidos, a partir da triangulação dos dados e das perspectivas, mostraram que o uso de instrumentos e ambientes tecnológicos e dos recursos humanos, metodológicos e tecnológicos constituíram um verdadeiro habitat tecnológico que serviu de base para o desenvolvimento da CdP, em que se buscava instigar o desenvolvimento... / Based on the need to understand the initial education of language teachers in and for virtual context through the settlement of a community of practice (CoP), the present study aimed to investigate the human, technological and methodological resources that were used by a mediator and teachers in initial education in the setting of a CoP and whether and how these resources enabled the development of reflective practice on the part of those involved. The theoretical basis that underpinned this work was contemporary research on pre-service education of teachers from a sociocultural perspective, CoP and teacher technology training. To accomplish this qualitative ethnographic research, we had the participation of six Brazilian teachers-learners of Italian as a foreign language and one mediator teacher educator at a public university in São Paulo. The research context were the mediation sessions conducted through chat on Windows Live Messenger, face to face meetings, use of videoconferencing at Oovoo and through wikispaces (wiki). These sessions represented a collective practice and an environment conducive to the development of a CoP, as they sought to address issues related to the practical experience of teachers-learners as teachers of their mother tongue and foreign language learners. The results obtained from the triangulation of data and perspectives showed that the use of technological tools and environments and human, methodological and technological resources represented a real technological habitat that served as the basis for the development of the CoP, which sought to encourage the development of reflective practice. The characteristics of the tools and environments used to perform the mediations were instrumental in determining their use or the continuity of use by community members, as well... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

O presente trabalho articula a formação de professores de Língua Portuguesa, a prática de reflexão linguística em sala de aula e o constructo teórico da Linguística Cognitiva (LC). Para tanto, esta tese constitui-se de duas partes relacionadas, mas independentes. Na primeira, desenvolve-se uma pesquisa qualitativa com grupo focal, da qual participaram quatro alunas de um curso de Letras, as quais estavam – no momento da pesquisa – cursando a disciplina de Estágio de Docência de Português 1. O objetivo da primeira parte é investigar como os professores em formação inicial participantes da pesquisa entendem e propõem o trabalho com as formas linguísticas em seus projetos de estágio. Para isso, a pesquisadora realizou observação participante ao longo das aulas presenciais da disciplina de Estágio de Docência de Português 1, além de propor encontros de avaliação conjunta do pré-projeto e do projeto final das participantes. Os encontros foram gravados em áudio e, posteriormente, transcritos. Ao final da primeira parte, analisam-se o conteúdo temático das interações e os documentos relacionados ao estágio das participantes. Esta primeira parte se torna relevante para a construção de entendimentos que guiam a segunda parte da tese. Entre esses entendimentos, encontram-se (i) a necessidade da construção de mais relações entre as disciplinas teóricas de Linguística e a futura prática docente dos professores em formação, (ii) a importância da realização de intervenções (individualizadas e coletivas) para que os professores em formação estabeleçam articulações entre o que estudaram ao longo do curso e a sua prática docente e para que se vejam e ajam como profissionais reflexivos e (iii) a configuração do estágio como um espaço de reflexão sobre a própria ação. Na segunda parte, investiga-se em que sentido a prática de reflexão linguística pode se beneficiar dos pressupostos da LC, buscando atender aos entendimentos oriundos da primeira parte desta tese. É feita, então, uma revisão de conceitos da LC – noções de língua, construals, embodiment, categorização, conhecimento enciclopédico e construções – e, em seguida, são discutidas as suas implicações para a realização da prática de reflexão linguística. A fim de ilustrar as relações propostas, são apresentadas situações de aulas de língua portuguesa, as quais foram vivenciadas pela pesquisadora. Ainda na segunda parte desta tese, analisa-se o trabalho sobre “metáfora” proposto por duas participantes da primeira parte deste estudo, a fim de apresentar uma situação em que a LC pode informar a definição de uma forma linguística. Ao final da segunda parte desta tese, apresenta-se um continuum entre “ações já debatidas em estudos sobre a prática de reflexão linguística no ensino de línguas” e as “novas ações para a prática de reflexão linguística no ensino de línguas inspiradas por entendimentos da LC”. Concluiu-se que o estabelecimento de relações entre os pressupostos da LC e a prática de reflexão linguística é produtivo, uma vez que desloca o foco da “forma” para a “significação” e aponta caminhos alternativos para a abordagem de determinados usos da língua. / The present work articulates Portuguese teachers training, the practice of linguistic reflection in language classes, and the theoretical framework of Cognitive Linguistics (CL). In order to achieve such goal, this thesis consists in two independent, but related, parts. In the first one, a qualitative research with focal group is developed. Four students of a Language graduation course, who were attending the Curricular Teacher Training discipline, took part on the study. The goal in this first part is to investigate how the training-teachers who participated in this study understand and propose the work with linguistic forms in their teaching projects. To do so, the researcher has done a participant observation during the Curricular Teacher Training discipline classes and has had meetings with the participants in order to analyse their initial and final teaching projects. The meetings were audio-recorded and, later, transcripted. At the end of the first part, the thematic content of the interactions and documents related to the participants’ teacher training practice are analysed. This first part is relevant because it produces insights which guide the second part of this dissertation. Among these insights, it is important to mention (i) the necessity of constructing more relations between the Linguistics disciplines and the teaching abilities, (ii) the importance of doing different (collective and individual) interventions in order to help teachers in initial training to articulate what they have studied during their undergraduation course and their professional practice; so they are going to be able to see themselves and to act as reflexive professionals; and (iii) the constitution of the Curricular Teacher Training discipline as a space of reflection about the action itself. The second part of this work aims at investigating how the practice of linguistic reflection could benefit from the CL assumptions. In order to do so, some CL concepts are reviewed – the notions of language, construal, embodiment, categorization, encyclopaedic knowledge, and constructions – and, then, their implications to the practice of linguistic reflection are discussed. After this, some Portuguese classes’ situations are presented to illustrate the proposed relations. Also in the second part, the work about “metaphor” developed by two participants of the first part of this thesis is analysed, in order to present one situation in which CL can inform one linguistic form definition. To finish the second part, a continuum between “actions that have already been discussed by other studies about the practice of linguistic reflection” and “new actions to the practice of linguistic reflection inspired by the CL assumptions” is presented. It was concluded that the establishment of relations between the CL assumptions and the practice of linguistic reflection is worthwhile, because it changes the focus from “form” to “meaning” and points out new ways to deal with some language usages.

O presente trabalho articula a formação de professores de Língua Portuguesa, a prática de reflexão linguística em sala de aula e o constructo teórico da Linguística Cognitiva (LC). Para tanto, esta tese constitui-se de duas partes relacionadas, mas independentes. Na primeira, desenvolve-se uma pesquisa qualitativa com grupo focal, da qual participaram quatro alunas de um curso de Letras, as quais estavam – no momento da pesquisa – cursando a disciplina de Estágio de Docência de Português 1. O objetivo da primeira parte é investigar como os professores em formação inicial participantes da pesquisa entendem e propõem o trabalho com as formas linguísticas em seus projetos de estágio. Para isso, a pesquisadora realizou observação participante ao longo das aulas presenciais da disciplina de Estágio de Docência de Português 1, além de propor encontros de avaliação conjunta do pré-projeto e do projeto final das participantes. Os encontros foram gravados em áudio e, posteriormente, transcritos. Ao final da primeira parte, analisam-se o conteúdo temático das interações e os documentos relacionados ao estágio das participantes. Esta primeira parte se torna relevante para a construção de entendimentos que guiam a segunda parte da tese. Entre esses entendimentos, encontram-se (i) a necessidade da construção de mais relações entre as disciplinas teóricas de Linguística e a futura prática docente dos professores em formação, (ii) a importância da realização de intervenções (individualizadas e coletivas) para que os professores em formação estabeleçam articulações entre o que estudaram ao longo do curso e a sua prática docente e para que se vejam e ajam como profissionais reflexivos e (iii) a configuração do estágio como um espaço de reflexão sobre a própria ação. Na segunda parte, investiga-se em que sentido a prática de reflexão linguística pode se beneficiar dos pressupostos da LC, buscando atender aos entendimentos oriundos da primeira parte desta tese. É feita, então, uma revisão de conceitos da LC – noções de língua, construals, embodiment, categorização, conhecimento enciclopédico e construções – e, em seguida, são discutidas as suas implicações para a realização da prática de reflexão linguística. A fim de ilustrar as relações propostas, são apresentadas situações de aulas de língua portuguesa, as quais foram vivenciadas pela pesquisadora. Ainda na segunda parte desta tese, analisa-se o trabalho sobre “metáfora” proposto por duas participantes da primeira parte deste estudo, a fim de apresentar uma situação em que a LC pode informar a definição de uma forma linguística. Ao final da segunda parte desta tese, apresenta-se um continuum entre “ações já debatidas em estudos sobre a prática de reflexão linguística no ensino de línguas” e as “novas ações para a prática de reflexão linguística no ensino de línguas inspiradas por entendimentos da LC”. Concluiu-se que o estabelecimento de relações entre os pressupostos da LC e a prática de reflexão linguística é produtivo, uma vez que desloca o foco da “forma” para a “significação” e aponta caminhos alternativos para a abordagem de determinados usos da língua. / The present work articulates Portuguese teachers training, the practice of linguistic reflection in language classes, and the theoretical framework of Cognitive Linguistics (CL). In order to achieve such goal, this thesis consists in two independent, but related, parts. In the first one, a qualitative research with focal group is developed. Four students of a Language graduation course, who were attending the Curricular Teacher Training discipline, took part on the study. The goal in this first part is to investigate how the training-teachers who participated in this study understand and propose the work with linguistic forms in their teaching projects. To do so, the researcher has done a participant observation during the Curricular Teacher Training discipline classes and has had meetings with the participants in order to analyse their initial and final teaching projects. The meetings were audio-recorded and, later, transcripted. At the end of the first part, the thematic content of the interactions and documents related to the participants’ teacher training practice are analysed. This first part is relevant because it produces insights which guide the second part of this dissertation. Among these insights, it is important to mention (i) the necessity of constructing more relations between the Linguistics disciplines and the teaching abilities, (ii) the importance of doing different (collective and individual) interventions in order to help teachers in initial training to articulate what they have studied during their undergraduation course and their professional practice; so they are going to be able to see themselves and to act as reflexive professionals; and (iii) the constitution of the Curricular Teacher Training discipline as a space of reflection about the action itself. The second part of this work aims at investigating how the practice of linguistic reflection could benefit from the CL assumptions. In order to do so, some CL concepts are reviewed – the notions of language, construal, embodiment, categorization, encyclopaedic knowledge, and constructions – and, then, their implications to the practice of linguistic reflection are discussed. After this, some Portuguese classes’ situations are presented to illustrate the proposed relations. Also in the second part, the work about “metaphor” developed by two participants of the first part of this thesis is analysed, in order to present one situation in which CL can inform one linguistic form definition. To finish the second part, a continuum between “actions that have already been discussed by other studies about the practice of linguistic reflection” and “new actions to the practice of linguistic reflection inspired by the CL assumptions” is presented. It was concluded that the establishment of relations between the CL assumptions and the practice of linguistic reflection is worthwhile, because it changes the focus from “form” to “meaning” and points out new ways to deal with some language usages.

Orientador: Angela Kleiman / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-06T10:22:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tapias-Oliveira_EvelineMattos_D.pdf: 1497034 bytes, checksum: 6756d0bb5e78494c6a8c0394bdb68913 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Resumo: A presente tese de Doutorado conduz análise lingüístico-enunciativo-discursiva de diários produzidos por alunos universitários, iniciantes no curso de Letras, buscando evidências da sua construção identitária profissional no mundo figurado do Ensino Superior. Os dados dos diários foram obtidos em uma pesquisa-ação, em que as vivências ocorridas nas atividades partilhadas em sala forneceram subsídios para autopercepção dos alunos (desde o que aprendiam, em que medida, até como o faziam ¿ com dificuldade, facilidade, assombro). Os objetos de análise (os enunciados dos diários) mostram os alunos configurando-se em professores de várias maneiras. Uma delas refere-se ao posicionamento dos sujeitos (pelo uso das pessoas verbais, do tratamento mais ou menos cerimonioso) nos diários. O modo como vêem a si mesmos (sua imagem) também configura a imagem (ethos) de seu interlocutor nos diários, geralmente seu professor. Esses posicionamentos assumidos acabam por configurar, inclusive, o próprio gênero que está sendo escrito pelos sujeitos nos diários, no seu estilo e forma. Os dados também evidenciaram que a construção identitária não é incólume, nem fácil, nem sem problemas; pelo contrário, os sujeitos apresentam diferentes vozes em orquestração, em seus enunciados. A orquestração muda ao longo do tempo nas percepções dos sujeitos. Escolha lexical, adjetivos e comparações, entre experiências presentes e passadas, são as evidências principais. Além disso, foi analisada a relação dos sujeitos com o saber (como um objeto a ser possuído, uma atividade a ser partilhada, ou uma forma de ser e de agir na profissão), em suas metáforas e referenciações. Investigamos, também, o que significa, para os sujeitos, ser professor. Na modalidade deôntica, na assertividade e nos verbos de processo mental com caráter volitivo, os sujeitos tecem novas imagens profissionais para si, diferentes das de seus antigos professores. A prática diarista, em razão dos resultados obtidos, configura-se um instrumento cultural útil, por prover os sujeitos de um espaço-tempo para reflexão e verbalização de suas idéias e pensamentos, cada um a seu ritmo, o que os ajuda na própria construção identitária profissional e faz com que haja a possibilidade da constituição de novos mundos / Abstract: The present thesis develops a linguistic-discursive analysis of diaries, produced by freshmen language college students. The aim is to detect evidences of their professional identity construction as teachers in the figured world of Higher Education. In the diaries, subjects tell of their perception about their own learning in activities they were enrolled in their Portuguese language classes. They also tell of their quest, their discoverings and difficulties in the process. Data (their utterances in the diaries) analysis shows students becoming teachers from the very beginning in a manifold of ways. One of these ways is their positioning in the diary that we can perceive, for instance, by verb tense voice and formality. By positioning themselves according to an image (ethos) they have for themselves, they also show the image they have of their teacher ¿ the person usually addressed to in the diaries. By the constitution of these imagined personae, subjects constitute genres as far as style and form are concerned. Data analysis also shows that identity construction is not a safe and easy path. Subjects have different voices in orchestration while they utter. This orchestration changes over time in the subjects perceptions. Adjectives, word choice, and comparisons between what is new to them and what previously took place in their education are the main evidences. The relation students have with knowledge (as an object, as an action and as a way of being) is also studied in metaphors and in ways of referring to it. The research also deals with what for the students, constitutes being a teacher. Using deontic mode and assertivity, as well as verbs in the mental process expressing will, the beginners build for themselves a new image of being a teacher, different from that of their past teachers. According to the results, diary practice is understood as a cultural tool to help students, since it provides a privileged space and time for thinking out and wishing for a different more engaged and responsible future teacher practice, making it possible for new worlds to come about / Doutorado / Linguistica Aplicada / Doutor em Linguística Aplicada

The current qualitative study focuses on how teachers perceive the Response to Intervention (RtI) framework for English learners, specifically assessments and the instructional decision-making process. RtI serves as a framework to help “close the gap” and create a more equitable environment for struggling English learners (Florida Department of Education, 2008). The current study explored elementary school general education teachers’ perceptions and understanding of the RtI process for English learners. Eight elementary general education teachers participated in two interview sessions each to address what general education teachers know about the RtI process for English learners, how teachers report their interpretation of policies and procedures with respect to instruction and assessment of English learners, how teachers feel about their understanding of RtI, and how teachers feel about their understanding of instruction and assessment for English learners. Teacher participants shared their knowledge of the importance of progress monitoring and data collection during the RtI process. Participants reported that progress monitoring and data collection were used to inform instructional decisions for English learners. Participants also provided insight into a shift in teacher accountability related to data collection and progress monitoring. Teacher participants addressed elements of the RtI process: three tiers of RtI, evidence-based interventions, data and data collection, and progress monitoring. Based on teacher responses, teachers monitor student progress, but find some elements of progress monitoring unclear. Participants expressed concern about measuring student progress and the means used to demonstrate growth and to compare struggling students to the performance of peers in the same grade level. The RtI framework includes targeted interventions for struggling students, and participants perceive that RtI helps to identify students with disabilities earlier. Participants reported benefits and drawbacks related to RtI. The participants specifically focused on the collaborative problem solving team as a beneficial support system for teachers navigating the RtI process. Teachers reported perceptions on language acquisition and learning disabilities, adjustment time for English learners, assessments for English learners, parental involvement and experiences, instruction for English learners, and professional development and support for the instruction of English learners. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

In recent years, the information and communication technologies (ICT) have made important contributions to the teaching/learning process. New thoughts and means of interaction are commonly involved student/pupil, pupil/teacher. Today, it has been realized, with access to the Internet, the blog comes being used in schools as an educational orientation, mainly with purpose for greater integration between students and teachers. When it comes to schools, I observed individual authorship, blogs or even collective authorship, as built, for example, for teachers and students. This inevitable connectivity, we will look at how this interface has interfered in the process of teaching/learning in a public school of the city of Maceió/AL. The survey reflects on the relationship between the technology and the training of teacher, combining their practices to the theories studied. The text is divided into two chapters. In the first, we can observe some theoretical aspects ranging from setting up a blog for the realization of research, bypassing productions that had used the blog as an object of study and the methodology used in the research. In the second chapter, we present data collected and the various interpretations concerning the use of the interface in the teaching/learning of the English language, with regard to the study and understanding of the lexicon on the part of students. We also present interviews well in the target language, now in mother tongue and our interpretations and understandings about learning of students using the blog as an interface. The sample is a teacher of the English language and with the 22 students that make up the class. In this perspective, we will evaluate the use of blogs has contributed effectively in the educational process, taking into consideration the wealth of material found in this virtual environment, mainly by the expansion of traditional notions of reading and writing in contemporary social practices. / Nos últimos anos, as Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação (TIC) têm dado importantes contribuições ao processo de ensino/aprendizagem. Novos pensamentos e meios de interação têm comumente envolvido aluno/aluno, aluno/professor. Hoje, tem-se percebido que, com o acesso à Internet, o blog vem sendo utilizado nas escolas como mais uma orientação pedagógica, principalmente com fins para uma maior integração entre alunos e professores. No que tange às escolas, já se observam blogs de autoria individual, ou mesmo de autoria coletiva, como os construídos, por exemplo, por professores e alunos. Nessa inevitável conectividade, analisaremos como essa interface tem interferido no processo de ensino/aprendizagem em uma escola pública da cidade de Maceió/AL. A pesquisa busca refletir acerca da relação entre a tecnologia e a formação crítica do professor, aliando suas práticas às teorias estudadas. O texto está dividido em dois capítulos. No primeiro, podemos observar alguns aspectos teóricos que vão desde a criação de um blog para a realização da pesquisa, perpassando por produções que já haviam utilizado o blog como objeto de estudo e chegaremos à metodologia utilizada na pesquisa. Já no segundo capítulo, apresentamos dados coletados e as várias interpretações em relação ao uso da interface no ensino/aprendizagem de língua inglesa, no tocante ao estudo e à compreensão do léxico por parte dos alunos. Apresentamos também entrevistas realizadas ora na língua alvo, ora na língua materna e nossas interpretações e entendimentos sobre a aprendizagem dos alunos usando o blog como interface. A amostra dá-se com um professor da disciplina de língua inglesa e com os 22 alunos que compõem a turma. Nessa perspectiva, avaliaremos se o uso dos blogs tem contribuído de maneira efetiva no processo educativo, levando em consideração a riqueza de material encontrado nesse ambiente virtual, principalmente pela ampliação de noções tradicionais de leitura e escrita dentro das práticas sociais contemporâneas.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study focuses on the effect of a reading strategy instruction research intervention on teachers and learners in Grade 4 to 6 at a primary school in the Western Cape. Literacy levels for South African Intermediate Phase learners remain at a disturbingly low level and Systemic Evaluation Assessments performed by the Department of Education show that reading, and more specifically reading comprehension, is a serious area of concern. A closer look at the Revised National Curriculum Statement and in-service as well as pre-service teacher training courses reveals that while teachers are trained to teach reading, very little, if any, focus is placed on training them how to teach comprehension. With a growing trend towards English as language of instruction for multilingual, non-English first language learners, the need to equip learners with ways of constructing meaning from texts becomes ever more crucial. This study addresses the need for reading comprehension through the use of reading strategies – conscious tools that readers can be taught to improve their individual meaning-making efforts during the reading process. The study implements reading strategies through an intervention based on pre-selected reading strategies set within a structured teaching approach which aims to provide teachers (and learners) with adequate guidance and support for implementing reading strategies. Through a case-study design this study utilises a mixed-method methodology for gathering both quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data serve to provide baseline data of selected reading-related abilities for learners before the start of the intervention, and to provide comparative data for specific measurements taken before and after the intervention. The qualitative data, gathered through classroom observations, unstructured interviews and obtaining samples of learners‘ work, provide rich, in-depth data about how teachers and, to a lesser extent, learners took on reading strategy instruction, and what factors influenced them in the process. This study found that a multitude of factors affect the uptake of strategy instruction as part of everyday teaching practice, and, furthermore, that teachers and learners move through distinct phases in their uptake of reading strategy instruction. While the study highlights a number of issues that are important to reading strategy instruction in Grades 4 to 6 in South Africa, a few of the more pertinent issues are the following: (1) teachers seem to need specific basic knowledge of language and texts for effective reading strategy instruction to take place (and very little, if any, research seems to address this issue), (2) the frequency of reading strategy instruction seems crucial to its success – the more often, the better, (3) engagement with teachers over a longer period is necessary for effective change in their instructional methods to take place, and (4) the gap between research and practice (that which is taught in classrooms) remains considerable. The findings of this study, while specific to reading strategy instruction, contribute to the rapidly-growing body of knowledge on reading comprehension instruction, (particularly within a multilingual environment) and teacher development from the basis of research that is focused on changing teacher practice. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie fokus op die uitwerking van ‗n intervensie oor die onderrig van leesstrategieë op Graad 4 tot 6 onderwysers en leerders by ‘n Wes-Kaapse laerskool. Die geletterdheidsvlakke van Suid-Afrikaanse leerders in die Intermediêre Fase bly kommerwekkend laag, en Sistemiese Evalueringstoetse wat deur die Departement van Onderwys gedoen is, toon dat lees, en meer spesifiek leesbegrip, ‘n ernstige bron tot kommer is. Wanneer in meer detail gekyk word na die Hersiene Nasionale Kurrikulumverklaring, asook na die opleidingskursusse van diensdoenende onderwysers en onderwysstudente, blyk dit dat hoewel onderwysers geleer word hoe om lees te onderrig, daar min, indien enige, fokus geplaas word op die onderrig van leesbegrip. Met die toename in die gebruik van Engels as taal van onderrig vir meertalige, nie-Engelssprekende eerstetaal-leerders word dit al hoe meer belangrik dat leerders weet hoe om betekenis uit tekste te skep. Hierdie studie maak gebruik van leesstrategieë om die behoefte aan leesbegrip aan te spreek – leesstrategieë is metodes wat leerders kan aanleer om bewustelik toe te pas om hul individuele pogings tot betekenisskepping te verbeter. Die studie implementeer leesstrategieë d.m.v. ‘n intervensie wat van voorafgeselekteerde leesstrategieë gebruik maak en waarvan die opleiding sodanig gestruktureer is dat onderwysers (en leerders) die gepaste leiding en ondersteuning gebied word vir die implementering van leesstrategieë. Die studie gebruik ‘n gevallestudie-ontwerp tesame met ‘n ‚gemengde-metode‘ metodologie wat vir die insameling van beide kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe data voorsiening maak. Die kwantitatiewe data verskaf basisdata oor geselekteerde leesverwante vermoëns vir leerders voor die aanvang van die intervensie, en dien as vergelykbare data vir spesifieke metings voor en na die intervensie. Die kwalitatiewe data, wat ingesamel is deur klaskamerwaarnemings, ongestruktureerde onderhoude en voorbeelde van leerders se werk, verskaf ryk, diepgaande data oor hoe onderwysers en, tot ‘n mindere mate, leerders die onderrig van leesstrategieë aangeneem het, en watter faktore hulle in hierdie proses beïnvloed het. Hierdie studie het bevind dat ‘n verskeidenheid faktore ‘n invloed het op die aanvaarding van strategie-onderrig as deel van alledaagse onderrigpraktyk, en veral dat onderwysers en leerders deur spesifieke fases beweeg in hul aanvaarding van leesstrategie-onderrig. Hoewel die studie lig werp op verskeie belangrike kwessies vir die onderrig van leesstrategieë in Graad 4 tot 6 in Suid-Afrika, is ‘n paar van die meer pertinente kwessies die volgende: (1) dit blyk dat onderwysers spesifieke basiese kennis van taal en tekste nodig het vir effektiewe onderrig van leesstrategieë (en dat min, indien enige, navorsing skynbaar hierdie kwessie aanspreek), (2) die gereeldheid van leesstrategie-onderrig blyk kritiek tot die sukses daarvan te wees – hoe gereelder, hoe beter, (3) betrokkenheid by onderwysers oor ‗n langer tydperk is nodig om te verseker dat hulle hul onderrigpraktyk verander, en (4) die gaping tussen navorsing en realiteit (dit wat in klaskamers onderrig word) blyk steeds aansienlik te wees. Hierdie studie se bevindinge, hoewel spesifiek gerig op die onderrig van leesstrategieë, dra by tot die snelgroeiende kennisveld oor die onderrig van leesbegrip (veral in ‘n meertalige omgewing) en die ontwikkeling van onderwysers vanuit die oogpunt van wat vereis word om onderrigpratkyk te verander.