Worldwide, toy libraries are regarded as a non-centre-based early childhood education programme. In South Africa the majority of young children live in poverty and do not have access to early learning opportunities and play materials before entering formal schooling. This study investigated how toy libraries provide play-based learning opportunities for young children. Seven toy library sites located in five South African provinces (Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and North West) participated in the study. The participants consisted of toy librarians, managers and parents. The toy librarians were selected purposively, applying the criterion that play-based early learning sessions were provided to children younger than six years. The research methodology employed was qualitative, and an interpretivist paradigm informed the multiple case study design. The conceptual framework was based on learning and systems theories informing how young children learn. The toy library operations and play-based early learning session characteristics inform the framework of quality standards for toy libraries. The data production strategies included focus group discussions of photographs, document analysis and observations of play sessions. The group discussion and observation transcriptions, documentation and photographs were analysed by means of coding. Three themes, namely young children and learning, toy library operations and play-based early learning, and nine sub-themes emerged that include academic learning, 21st century skills, administration, play materials, services, challenges, developmentally appropriate practice by toy librarians, play-based learning pedagogy indicators and characteristics of play-based learning. The findings indicate that toy libraries provide access to play-based early learning sessions to young children. However, a variety of developmentally and culturally as well as age-appropriate play materials and play-based early learning sessions that include a variety of play opportunities are required. In addition, the framework of quality standards for toy libraries was enhanced as a result of the study. This framework provides guidance on how to operate a toy library which includes, apart from lending toys, play-based early learning sessions in its services. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Early Childhood Education / PhD / Unrestricted

This degree project is a quantitative study of dialogues and speaking exercises in twelve EFL textbooks used in secondary schools in Sweden. The chosen textbooks are from the four textbook series Happy, Time, Whats’s Up? and Wings Base Book. The aim is to investigate if there is any over-representation of female or male characters in the textbook dialogues. We will be looking at four different typologies, namely the number of initiated dialogues, turns taken, number of characters and words used. Previous research concerning classroom interaction, scholastic performance, textbooks and textbook dialogues is included to provide some background into this area. The findings show over-representation exists in all the textbook series in various degrees of both female and male characters. This degree project maps the over-representation of female and male characters both in the four textbook series and the twelve individual textbooks. Our results will show that while a textbook series might over-represent one gender it does not necessarily mean that the individual textbook within that series over-represents the same gender. The findings make it clear that educators need to be aware of gender-biased textbook dialogues in order to be better equipped to ensure equal opportunities for all learners.

Many schools advocate for addressing the diverse needs of students through a multi-tiered model of prevention and intervention known as the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework. This framework often incorporates the use of universal screening to obtain data concerning students' academic and/or social-emotional and behavioral needs. School teams are expected to design and implement tiered strategies in response to data concerning students' social-emotional needs; this can be a challenging facet of MTSS. To aid in this endeavor, this qualitative study elicited school psychologists' recommendations for (a) tiered interventions that target secondary students' social-emotional competency needs and (b) professional learning opportunities that may be helpful in responding to the data from a district-designed social-emotional competency survey. Participants included 15 school psychologists from a school district in a northwestern state in the United States. Two focus groups were conducted using a video conferencing online platform. Focus group transcripts were used to identify emergent themes that were relevant to the purpose of the research. Four primary themes were identified as being important in designing, implementing, and meeting secondary students' social-emotional competency needs: (a) instruction, practice, and reinforcement in each social-emotional skill; (b) the building of staff-student and student-student relationships; (c) staff efforts being consistent, integrated, simple, and unified; and (d) adaptation of fundamental interventions by tier and social-emotional skill. To date, it is believed that school psychologists' ideas concerning tiered social-emotional interventions in response to data are not a part of the extant literature. The findings of this study build upon the current literature concerning the importance of collaboration, prioritization, alignment, explicit instruction, and professional learning opportunities in addressing students' social-emotional needs, suggesting that school psychologists are familiar with and apply current, verifiable research to their practice. The results of this study can aid school and district teams in designing, implementing, and meeting secondary students' social-emotional competency needs.

Damit Schüler:innen in der Lage sind, an einem zunehmend durch Naturwissenschaften geprägten Alltag teilzuhaben, ist es nötig, dass sie über eine naturwissenschaftliche Grundbildung verfügen. Diese steht in engem Zusammenhang mit einem wissenschaftlich adäquaten Verständnis von Modellen und deren Funktion als Medium zur Kommunikation bereits bekannter Sachverhalte sowie als Methode zur Generierung neuen Wissens. Upmeier zu Belzen und Krüger haben für den Biologieunterricht ein Kompetenzmodell der Modellkompetenz entwickelt, innerhalb dessen zwischen den Teilkompetenzen Eigenschaften von Modellen, Alternative Modelle, Zweck von Modellen, Testen und Ändern von Modellen differenziert wird, die in drei Niveaus graduiert sind. Eine hoch ausgeprägte Modellkompetenz zeichnet sich durch die Fähigkeit aus, über die hypothetischen und erkenntnisgenerierenden Eigenschaften von Modellen zu reflektieren. Für die Förderung einer entsprechenden Modellkompetenz sind Kenntnisse darüber bedeutend, in welchen Niveaus und in welchem Umfang sich die Modellkompetenz von Schüler:innen über mehrere Schuljahre entwickelt. Vor diesem Hintergrund verfolgt die Studie das Ziel, zu untersuchen, inwiefern die im Kompetenzmodell aufgeführten Niveaus eine Entwicklung von Modellkompetenz beschreiben. Dies wurde für die Teilkompetenzen Zweck, Testen und Ändern von Modellen bei zwei Kohorten in einem Längsschnitt von der siebten bis zehnten Jahrgangsstufe bei n = 380 Schüler:innen untersucht. Insgesamt sprechen die Befunde dafür, die im Kompetenzmodell der Modellkompetenz erläuterten Niveaus als Entwicklungsniveaus aufzufassen, die eine Kompetenzentwicklung über mehrere Schuljahre beschreiben und die Veränderung von Kompetenzstrukturen aufzeigen. Für die Klärung der Frage, inwiefern die Niveaus darüber hinaus Stufen darstellen, die im Zuge einer Progression in einer festgelegten Reihenfolge durchlaufen werden, sind weitere Untersuchungen sinnvoll. / In order that high-school level students are able to participate in an everyday life increasingly shaped by science, it is necessary that that they have a certain level of basic scientific literacy. This scientific literacy is closely related to an adequate understanding of models and their function as a medium for communicating already-known facts as well as a means for generating new knowledge. Upmeier zu Belzen and Krüger developed a framework for modeling competence for biology education. They identify five aspects: nature of models, multiple models, purpose of models, testing models, and changing models, each of which is differentiated in three levels. A highly developed modeling competence is characterized by the ability to reflect on the hypothetical character of models and their importance as tools for scientific inquiry. With the intention of fostering an adequate understanding of models and modelling, it is important to gain insight into how students’ abilities develop over time. This study investigates to what extent the theoretical levels of model competence describe different degrees of competence in student learning progression. This is explored for the three aspects purpose of models, testing models, and changing models through a longitudinal study with n = 380 students in grades seven to ten. The findings suggest that the levels of the framework for modeling competence should be regarded as developmental levels that describe a development in student competence over several school years. Yet there is still a research gap regarding the extent to which these levels additionally represent successive levels in a continuous development of competence.

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Increasing the number of students of color in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields is critical for America’s economic, technological and scientific advancement, yet many are less likely to enter or persist. National efforts to decrease racial differences in STEM have been ongoing but their outcomes have not markedly broadened participation. Under-examined is the role of students’ STEM-specific identities, such as their math identity, on their STEM outcomes. Qualitative findings suggest learning mathematics is a racialized form of experience where students’ math identities and educational opportunities are shaped by race-based narratives of math ability. However, this hypothesis has not been tested with rigorous empirical evidence. Moreover, the role of students’ learning opportunities on actual outcomes is unclear. Using data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS: 09), this study examines the role of math identity and other math attitudes in racial differences in four STEM-related outcomes: advanced math course enrollment, math behavioral and emotional engagement, and STEM career aspiration. Guided by a sociological perspective, I also examine the degree to which students’ school-contexts effect their outcomes and experiences. Lastly, drawing from intersectionality theory, I offer insight into how the inclusion of race and gender interactions change model results. The findings suggest that there are racial differences in mathematics identity, behavioral and emotional engagement, and school characteristics. However, math identity was not a significant predictor of math course enrollment and had little impact on the other outcome variables when student background and school characteristics are considered. The findings also illustrate how learning opportunities are allocated in ways that mirror the race-based hierarchy of math ability. I conclude by describing the study’s implications for policy and future research. / Urban Education

Syftet med denna forskningsöversikt var att undersöka vad aktuell forskning säger om hur en kompetensutveckling kan införas i en organisation för att få resultat/effekter för medarbetare på individ, grupp- och organisationsnivå. Detta utifrån den föränderliga värld vi lever i idag där organisationer står inför ständiga förändringar. Forskningsöversikten gjordes utefter 10 vetenskapliga artiklar. Resultaten visade att det är viktigt att inventera kompetensen i organisationen och göra en planering. Även kommunikation och reflektion sågs som framgångsfaktorer.

Abstract The aim of charter schools is to provide equal learning opportunities for all children, particularly those with disabilities; the results, though, are mixed. Some charter school students fare better than traditional school students, while others do worse. The exception is students with disabilities, where they excel and outperform in the charter school environment. This is not the case with San Bernardino City Unified School District charter school students with disabilities. Not only do they not outperform their regular education peers, but actually regress in their academic performance.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:39:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 745.pdf: 779382 bytes, checksum: dedd462fafcc61f05576747bf5e8c2bb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005-03-11 / This work is inserted in an investigative line, guided by a cognitive learning framework, seeking to understand how speech, in the teaching environment, has impact upon the learning process of students. Using as outline suggested questions from the teacher in participative lectures and the reactions to the students responses, this investigation aimed to answer two questions: a) How does the analysis of the interaction teacher-student in participative lectures enable the identification of possible learning opportunities? b) Which are the variables involved in the process that go from the intentions in teaching practice, to the opportunities of learning offered? To proceed in this analysis, we have sought reference in social-historical psychology authors regarding the caracterization of the thought process and the structure of scientific knowledge ( Petrovsky, 1980; Vygostky, 1993 ); authors who, using as a starting point social-historical psychology, have developed concepts and interpretations on the functions of speech in learning activities ( Scott, 1998; Mercer, 1996; Wegerif et al, 1999 ); authors who deal with forms of relationship in regard to knowledge, as they materialize in the teaching environment ( Edwards, 1997 ). This work is characterized as a descriptive-analytic study of a biology teacher; of qualitative nature, presented in case study format. The data was collected thru means of observation and registry of given lectures as well as an interview with the teacher. Results indicate that the identification of learning opportunities offered by the teacher, by means of interventions, can only be comprehended if articulated to the logics of context ( structure of scientific concepts ) and interaction ( structure of participation, that is, the implied rules that guide the students and teacher s participation in their speech during class). These opportunities sometimes don t correspond to the ones idealized /verbalized by the teacher, as they suffer influence of many variables in the process of materialization in class. Among these are the ones related to the basis of knowledge of the teacher in teaching skills, in terms of knowledge of a specific area as well as in the pedagogic area. A correct articulation between the two types of knowledge can enable a more adequate one between the teacher s interventions and the mental processes necessary to the elaboration of certain scientific knowledge by the students. Beyond that, results also show the utility of theoretical structures, deriving from concepts such as scafolding ( Bruner et al, 1976, apud Scott, 1998 ) for the analysis of concrete situations in teacher-student interaction during participative lectures. / Este trabalho está inserido em uma linha investigava que, pautada em uma abordagem cognitivista da aprendizagem, procura compreender como a fala, nas situações de ensino, têm impacto sobre o processo de aprendizagem dos alunos. Tendo como recorte as questões propostas pelo professor em aulas expositivo-participativas e as suas reações às respostas dos alunos, esta investigação procurou responder a duas questões: a) Como a análise da interação professor-aluno em aula expositivo-participativa possibilita que se identifiquem as oportunidades de aprendizagem oferecidas? b) Quais as variáveis envolvidas no processo que vai das intenções de ensino às oportunidades de aprendizagem oferecidas? Para proceder a esta análise, buscamos referências em: autores da psicologia sócio histórica a respeito da caracterização do processo de pensamento e da estrutura dos conhecimentos científicos((Petrovsky, 1980; Vygotsky, 1993); autores que, tendo como ponto de partida a psicologia sócio-histórica, têm desenvolvido conceitos e interpretações sobre as funções da fala em atividades de aprendizagem (Scott, 1998; Mercer, 1996; Wegerif et al, 1999); autores que tratam das formas de relação com o conhecimento tais como se materializam em sala de aula (Edwards, 1997). Este trabalho caracteriza-se como um estudo analítico-descritivo, de natureza qualitativa, apresentado sob a forma de um estudo de caso de um professor de Biologia. Os dados foram coletados por meio de observação e registro das aulas ministradas e entrevista com o professor. Os resultados indicam que a identificação das oportunidades de aprendizagem oferecidas pelo professor por meio de suas intervenções só podem ser compreendidas se articuladas as lógicas do conteúdo (estrutura dos conceitos científicos) e da interação (estrutura da participação, ou seja, as regras implícitas que regem a participação de alunos e professor no discurso em sala de aula). Estas oportunidades, muitas vezes, não correspondem àquelas idealizadas/ verbalizadas pelo professor pois, em seu processo de materialização em sala de aula, sofrem a influência de muitas variáveis, dentre elas as relacionadas à base de conhecimentos do professor para o ensino , tanto em termos de conhecimentos do âmbito específico, quanto do âmbito pedagógico. Uma correta articulação entre estes dois tipos de conhecimento podem levar a uma adequada articulação entre as intervenções do professor e os processos mentais que são necessários à elaboração de determinados conhecimentos científicos pelos alunos. Além disso, os resultados também demonstram a proficuidade de construções teóricas oriundas de conceitos como scafolding (Bruner et al, 1976, apud Scott, 1998) para a análise de situações concretas de interação professor-alunos em aulas expositivo-participativas.

Auch nach Jahren stetiger Förderung sind digitale Lernangebote an deutschen Hochschulen noch immer nicht so etabliert wie klassische Formate der Hochschullehre. Während die Bedeutung bspw. von Didaktik oder institutioneller Verankerung für die Akzeptanz dieser Angebote häufig diskutiert wird, wird der Gebrauchstauglichkeit bisher kaum Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt. Der Beitrag untersucht deshalb die Usability und den wahrgenommenen Nutzen eines modulbegleitenden Onlinekurses aus Sicht der Studierenden und stellt hierbei einen bedeutsamen Zusammenhang fest.