This action research study aimed to improve teaching and learning of argumentative writing through a process-genre approach. Learners were carefully guided through the processes of writing the argumentative genre, with the focus being on teaching of the genre and on the structural conventions of writing arguments. Participants were a class of grade nine learners who speak English as a first language. They were chosen for this study as Grade Nine is a crucial year for writing development before learners enter the senior phase and are met with heightened expectations in the curriculum, that often they struggle to meet, as their writing has not been sufficiently developed to an academic level. The focus of writing in Grade Nine is on narrative and prose, so this writing intervention, in which a teaching module was developed in collaboration with the 1eamers, aimed to broaden their writing skills and provide them with a head start in leaming the fine art of argumentation, as this is a useful skill to acquire for purposes even beyond the classroom. Genre theorists advocate the importance of teaching genres to leamers at a young age, as it allows them access into different communities of discourse, as they become aware and understand the conventions held by a patiicular community, and realize the purpose of different styles of writing for effectively communicating, which prepares them to meet the expectations of their audience. Teaching the structures of different genres therefore allows the writer, and the audience, a framework for understanding the text. The process approach has been widely used by educators as it focuses on explicit teaching of writing processes that are fundamental to leamers' development in writing. Learners need to be carefully guided from the initial stages, to the more complex stages (especially in argumentative writing which has been deemed the most complex genre for learners to master) in order to understand the complexities of constructing an essay in a cohesive way, as they need to consider multiple aspects of writing, such as the linguistic features, rhetorical features and structural features of the genre and unify them into a sound argument. This takes time, practice and revision, and extensive feedback is required. The process-genre approach proved to be successful in this study, as leamers showed remarkable improvements in their writing from the initial stages of writing to the final drafts of their essays. The findings revealed that explicit teaching of genres and structural elements of writing is vital for ensuring learners' development. Learners require modelling of the genre, scaffolding and careful guidance through step-by-step processes in order to build confidence and express their ideas effectively in written text. The findings indicate the relevance of using the process-genre approach for teaching and learning and that teaching and learning writing is indeed a process that needs more time and practice that is cUiTently allocated in the curriculum.

abstract: Using a sociocultural framework, this dissertation investigated the writing processes of 31 ESL learners in an EAP context at a large North American university. The qualitative case study involved one of the four major writing assignments in a required first-year composition course for ESL students. Data were collected from four different sources: (a) A semi-structured interview with each participant, (b) process logs kept by participants for the entire duration of the writing assignment, (c) classroom observation notes, and (d) class materials. Findings that emerged through analyses of activity systems, an analytical framework within Vygotskian activity theory, indicate that L2 writers used various context-specific, social, and cultural affordances to accomplish the writing tasks. The study arrived at these findings by creating taxonomies of the six activity system elements - subject, tools, goals, division of labor, community, and rules - as they were realized by L2 writers, and examining the influence that these elements had in the process of composing. The analysis of data helped create categories of each of the six activity system elements. To illustrate with an example, the categories that emerged within the element division of labor were as follows: (a) Instructor, (b) friends and classmates, (c) writing center tutors, (d) family members, and (e) people in the world. The emergent categories for each of the six activity system elements were then examined to determine if their effects on L2 writing were positive or negative. Overall, the findings of the present study validate arguments related to the post-process views that an explanation of L2 writing processes solely based on cognitive perspectives provides but only a partial picture of how second language writing takes place. In order for a more comprehensive understanding of L2 writing one must also account for the various social and cultural factors that play critical roles in the production of L2 texts. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. English 2012

The case study, which is described in this thesis, is concerned with two aspects of second language teaching and learning, namely process writing and 'teacher development'. Ten Zulu speaking, English second language teachers in Durban, Natal, participated in a series of process writing workshops. Before the workshops, they were given opportunities to reflect, in interviews, upon their own past and present writing practices. After the workshops there were follow-up interviews to elicit their further understanding of what is involved in writing. The workshop materials were compiled and written by the researcher. The aims of the research project were, in summary, the following: to let the teachers, who are teachers of writing in their classrooms, become participating writers themselves; to make the process writing workshops be a reflective activity through which the participants would develop as teachers. The entire case study is positioned within critical theory, as a philosophical framework, in which the teachers' reflections upon their writing experiences is seen as emancipatory practice. The research project was small scale and predominantly qualitative. A narrative, 'explanation-building' analysis of the entire findings forms the major part of the thesis. The writing workshops gave the teachers in this study occasion to experience process writing; furthermore they were enabled to reflect in detail on their experiences. It is suggested that teacher training colleges and in-service courses incorporate the 'writing workshops for teachers ' concept, as an activity for growth and development. Further research may take the form of long term action research into how teachers who have attended such workshops implement the insights they have gained in their classrooms.

In this collection of free verse lyric poems I have drawn inspiration from childhood memories, as well as from the natural world and encounters with the people around me. Each poem focuses on a small moment, presenting an emotive portrait of a memory or an experience. These small moments lead, cumulatively, to deeper insights into myself and the world around me. The collection is divided into four seasons, in part because the work is strongly influenced by the natural world, but also because the progression of the seasons mirrors something of the personal journey reflected in the poems.

abstract: This project examines how writing teachers of multilingual students conceptualize their pedagogical practices. Specifically, it draws on work in teacher cognition research to examine the nature of teacher knowledge and the unique characteristics of this knowledge specific to the teaching of second language writing. Seeing teacher knowledge as something embedded in teachers’ practices and their articulation of the goals of these practices, this project uses case studies of four writing instructors who teach multilingual students of First-Year Composition (FYC). Through qualitative analysis of interviews, observations, and written feedback practices, teachers’ goals and task selection were analyzed to understand their knowledge base and the beliefs that underlie their personal pedagogies. Results from this study showed that while participants’ course objectives were primarily in alignment with the institutional goals for the course, they each held individual orientations toward the subject matter. These different orientations influenced their task selection, class routines, and assessment. This study also found that teachers’ understanding of their students was closely tied with their orientations of the subject matter and thus must be understood together. Findings from this study support a conceptualization of teacher knowledge as a construct comprised of highly interdependent aspects of teachers’ knowledge base. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Linguistics and Applied Linguistics 2017

abstract: This project investigated second language writing teachers’ writing assessment literacy by looking at teachers’ practices of electronic writing portfolios (e-WPs), as well as the sources that shape L2 writing teachers’ knowledge of e-WPs in the context of multilingual First-Year Composition (FYC) classrooms. By drawing on Borg’s (2003) theory of teacher cognition and Crusan, Plakans, and Gebril’s (2016) definition of assessment literacy, I define L2 teachers’ writing assessment literacy as teachers’ knowledge, beliefs and practices of a particular assessment tool, affected by institutional factors. While teachers are the main practitioners who help students create e-WPs (Hilzensauer & Buchberger, 2009), studies on how teachers actually incorporate e-WPs in classes and what sources may influence teachers’ knowledge of e-WPs, are scant. To fill in this gap, I analyzed data from sixteen teachers’ semi-structured interviews. Course syllabi were also collected to triangulate the interview data. The interview results indicated that 37.5 % of the teachers use departmental e-WPs with the goal of guiding students throughout their writing process. 43.7 % of the teachers do not actively use e-WPs and have students upload their writing projects only to meet the writing program’s requirement at the end of the semester. The remaining 18.7 % use an alternative platform other than the departmental e-WP platform, throughout the semester. Sources influencing teachers’ e-WP knowledge included teachers’ educational and work experience, technical difficulties in the e-WP platform, writing program policies and student reactions. The analysis of the course syllabi confirmed the interview results. Based on the findings, I argue that situated in the context of classroom assessment, institutional factors plus teachers’ insufficient knowledge of e-WPs limit the way teachers communicate with students, whose reactions cause teachers to resist e-WPs. Conversely, teachers’ sufficient knowledge of e-WPs enables them to balance the pressure from the institutional factors, generating positive reactions from the students. Students’ positive reactions encourage teachers to accept the departmental e-WPs or use similar alternative e-WP platforms. Pedagogical implications, limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are reported to conclude the dissertation. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Linguistics and Applied Linguistics 2018

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / A presente tese teve por objetivo analisar se a Aprendizagem Cooperativa constitui-se fator de evoluÃÃo psicogenÃtica da lÃngua escrita de alunos com deficiÃncia intelectual em contexto de sala de aula comum. Analisou se existiam diferenÃas na evoluÃÃo da escrita silÃbica entre os alunos com deficiÃncia intelectual que participaram das sessÃes de Aprendizagem Cooperativa e aqueles do grupo controle. Investigou tambÃm se esses sujeitos apresentaram comportamentos prÃ-ativos durante as sessÃes de produÃÃo escrita em contexto de cooperaÃÃo em sala comum. Nosso estudo teve uma abordagem qualitativa, utilizando como base teÃrica-metodolÃgica a organizaÃÃo estrutural da Aprendizagem Cooperativa fundamentada por Johnson, Johnson (1991, 1997, 1999). A tese tem como fundamentaÃÃo teÃrica os pressupostos sÃciointeracionista de Vygotsky, principalmente quanto a importÃncia da interaÃÃo e do conceito de mediaÃÃo para a aprendizagem dos alunos em grupo; os estudos sobre a psicogÃnese da lÃngua escrita referendados por Ferreiro e Teberosky; e as concepÃÃes acerca do funcionamento cognitivo das pessoas com deficiÃncia intelectual. Participaram do estudo seis sujeitos com deficiÃncia intelectual, quatro constituindo o grupo experimental e dois o grupo controle. Os sujeitos frequentavam trÃs escolas municipais de Fortaleza, nos 2 e 3 anos do Ensino Fundamental I, e o Atendimento Educacional Especializado. O desenvolvimento da pesquisa contou com nove procedimentos, dentre eles a aplicaÃÃo de prÃ-testes e pÃs-testes de escrita, e a realizaÃÃo de 35 sessÃes de produÃÃo de texto em grupo com cada sujeito do grupo experimental, perfazendo um total de 140 sessÃes. Os dados revelaram que, de modo geral, os sujeitos do grupo experimental desenvolveram habilidades sociais para tratar e superar as adversidades de natureza socioafetivas existentes ao longo das sessÃes, bem como para posicionarem-se nos grupos como protagonista de sua escrita. Os resultados mostraram que os sujeitos que participaram das sessÃes em grupos apresentaram comportamentos ao encontro da proposta da Aprendizagem cooperativa, promovendo, sobretudo, a emergÃncia de atitudes prÃ-ativas durante a construÃÃo dos textos coletivos, de modo que estes sujeitos refletissem sobre o sistema de escrita. Os prà e pÃs-testes revelaram mudanÃas de nÃveis conceituais na lÃngua escrita dos quatro sujeitos do grupo experimental, e regressÃes conceituais nos nÃveis de escrita dos sujeitos do grupo controle. Os dados indicam que a Aprendizagem cooperativa constituiu-se uma abordagem estrutural aplicÃvel em sala comum junto aos sujeitos com deficiÃncia intelectual de modo a promover a evoluÃÃo psicogenÃtica dos quatro participantes do estudo. A experiÃncia oportunizou tambÃm aos sujeitos momentos de reflexÃo em grupo acerca do sistema de escrita, fazendo inferÃncias e buscando de forma autÃnoma soluÃÃes para suas duvidas e questionamentos, aspecto que certamente contribui para a evoluÃÃo desses sujeitos. / This thesis aimed to analyze the Cooperative Learning constitutes psychogenetic evolution factor of the written language of students with intellectual disabilities in the context of common classroom. Examined whether there were differences in the evolution of syllabic writing among students with intellectual disabilities who participated in the sessions of Cooperative Learning and those in the control group. Also investigated these subjects had proactive behavior during production sessions written in the context of cooperation in the common room. Our study had a qualitative approach, using as a theoretical and methodological basis of the structural organization of the Cooperative Learning supported by Johnson, Johnson (1991, 1997, 1999). The thesis is the theoretical foundation sociointeractionist assumptions of Vygotsky, especially as the importance of interaction and the concept of mediation for learning group students; studies on the written language of psychogenesis countersigned by Ferreiro and Teberosky; and conceptions of the cognitive functioning of people with intellectual disabilities. Participated in the study six subjects with intellectual disabilities, four composing the experimental group and two control groups. ubjects attended three public schools in Fortaleza, in the 2nd and 3rd years of elementary school, and the Educational Service Specialist. The development of the research included nine procedures, including the application of pre-tests and writing post-tests, and performing 35 text production group sessions with each subject of the experimental group, a total of 140 sessions. The data revealed that, in general, subjects in the experimental group developed social skills to deal with and overcome the adversities of social-affective nature existing throughout the sessions and to position themselves in groups as the protagonist of his writing. The results showed that the subjects who participated in the sessions in groups showed behaviors of cooperative learning proposed the meeting, promoting, above all, the emergence of proactive attitudes during the construction of the collective texts, so that these subjects reflect on the system writing. Pre- and post-tests revealed changes of conceptual levels in the written language of the four subjects in the experimental group, and conceptual regressions in writing levels of the subjects in the control group. The data indicate that the cooperative learning constituted a structural approach applicable in the common room with intellectual disabilities with subjects in order to promote the development of psychogenic four study participants. The experience provided an opportunity also to subjects moments of reflection group on the writing system, making inferences and seeking autonomously solutions to your doubts and questions, an aspect that certainly contributes to the evolution of these subjects.

Orientadores: Vera Lucia Xavier Figueiredo, Sandra Augusta Santos / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Matematica, Estatistica e Computação Cientifica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-03T22:36:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Lima_GabrielLoureirode_M.pdf: 2893595 bytes, checksum: 2f0291ab4d03400c688381be8d87c52a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2004 / Resumo: Este trabalho encaminha um estudo do calculo variacional para compreender e situar seus problemas classicos, reinterpretando-os, quando possivel, em outros contextos e buscando desdobramentos. Foram abordados os problemas claassicos, os problemas isoperimetricos, as condições necessarias e as condições suficientes para a existencia de extremos, a minimização de funcionais convexos e a teoria de Hamilton-Jacobi. Muitos exemplos foram incluidos com a finalidade de compreender a matematica envolvida e torna-la mais atraente. Para finalizar, foram apresentadas propostas de projetos, com as quais os professores podem abordar alguns conceitos fundamentais do calculo variacional com seus alunos / Abstract: This work presents a study of the variational calculus, focusing on the understanding and interpretation of its classical problems and related developments. The isoperimetric problems, the necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of an extreme, an overview of the minimization of convex functionals, and aspects of the Hamilton-Jacobi theory are approached as well. Examples are included, along the whole text, to illustrate and provide better appreciation of the theoretical development. Finally, suggestions of student research projects concerning fundamental concepts of the variational calculus are presented. / Mestrado / Mestre em Matemática

The aim of this study is to analyse essays written in English by Swedish pupils and to map the most common errors made in written communication. The grammatical features selected for the analysis are prepositions, articles, verb forms, subject-verb agreement and word order. Furthermore, the errors will be grouped and ranked according to the Obligatory Occasion Analysis not only to assess the pupils’ development but also to help the teachers to prepare for their lesson planning.

This is a story of a quest that begins on a wall of history at a cemetery where Steve Biko was buried. The main character is the writer, who is partly the author, partly a fictionalised everyman. He is on a journey of self-discovery, while at the same time questioning contemporary South Africa.