The level of fluency in the genre specific language of schooling, also known as Academic English (AE), determines students’ success in school. Government agencies that legislate school policies therefore give teachers the directive to conduct education in ways that promote communicative abilities in academic English across all curricula. While the acquisition of an AE register entails hard work for native English-speaking students it presents an enormous challenge for English language learners (ELLs) who are faced with the triple burden of leaning basic interpersonal communicative skills (BICS) in addition to content knowledge and academic English. Classroom practices, teachers’ training, and students’ cognitive abilities are predictive factors in the successful acquisition of academic English by ELLs. This literature review, which draws on cognitive theory in addition to systemic functional linguistics theory, contributes to the topic of how to most effectively teach AE to ELLs in English speaking classrooms. The results from seven peer reviewed research sources indicate that teaching practices differ depending on the nature of the subject, but that systemic learning theory, scaffolding, and contextual awareness are reoccurring elements. Furthermore, the results imply that there are challenges including that ELLs constitute a very heterogeneous student body with varying cognitive abilities that require a variety of teaching approaches. In addition educators’ attitudes, competences and training in teaching AE across all curricula pose a challenge to the quality of instruction. Further research on the topic could involve making actual classroom observations in addition to conducting teacher interviews in schools that have content and language integrated learning in Sweden to explore what instructional methods are used to teach AE in CLIL- education.

O ensino de Física no Brasil passa por muitas dificuldades. Cabe ao professor a tarefa de buscar novas metodologias de ensino para tornar as aulas mais interativas e atraentes para os alunos, como forma de despertar maior gosto pela aprendizagem das ciências em geral. É imprescindível também desenvolver o poder de crítica dos alunos na formação de conceitos através da socialização entre alunos e professores e da interação com o meio em que o aluno vive, sempre visando à obtenção de uma aprendizagem potencialmente significativa. Diante deste quadro e embasados nas teorias de mediação e de interação social de Vigotski e na teoria de aprendizagem significativa de Ausubel e Novak, buscou-se desenvolver atividades em Física Térmica utilizando modelagens computacionais criadas com os programas Modellus e Excel como recurso complementar às aulas de Física. Também foram produzidos gifs animados não interativos explorando algumas situações e um hipertexto, incluindo textos de apoio utilizados, principalmente, como recurso de pesquisa extraclasse. Este projeto foi aplicado ao longo dos meses de março a agosto de 2006 em três escolas particulares de Porto Alegre: Colégio São José de Murialdo, Colégio Santa Inês e Escola Maria Goretti, envolvendo seis turmas de segundo ano do Ensino Médio, em um total de 182 alunos. O material elaborado abordou os tópicos sobre termometria, dilatação térmica, calorimetria, curvas de aquecimento, processos de transmissão do calor, gases ideais e termodinâmica. Os conteúdos foram organizados em sete módulos didáticos, com a seguinte estrutura: um texto de apoio, as modelagens utilizadas, um guia de atividades com orientações para sua utilização e questionamentos acerca do conteúdo. Em todos os módulos foi incluída uma seção denominada Física no Cotidiano, com questões que buscam relacionar os assuntos trabalhados no ambiente escolar com situações vivenciadas pelo aluno no seu dia-a-dia. As atividades eram trabalhadas em duplas ou em trios de alunos, o que promoveu uma maior interação social e trocas de experiências na construção do conhecimento; ao professor cabia o papel de mediador da atividade. O material instrucional foi sendo disponibilizado, gradualmente, em CD-ROM e em página da Web das escolas com o objetivo de fazer com que os alunos se detivessem em cada um dos módulos de forma a alcançar um amadurecimento no conteúdo correspondente. O produto deste trabalho será publicado na série Hipermídias de Apoio ao Professor de Física, para que outros professores possam utilizá-lo com seus alunos. / In order to overcome the difficulties in the physics teaching, the instructors must use new methodologies thus providing more attractive and interactive classes to motivate their students. To contribute to a meaningful learning it is worth to promote a critical and contextualized formation of concepts by socializing the students with their own environment. To accomplish these goals this proposal presents activities‟ guides on Thermal Physics, developed in association with computer simulations as a complementary resource to high school regular classes. Such approach is based on the meaningful learning theory of D. Ausubel and J. Novak and the social‟s interaction theory of L. Vigotski. It has been applied during the first quarter of the school year of 2006 to 182 students, of six classes of the second year of three High Schools at Porto Alegre, RS: Colégio São José de Murialdo, Colégio Santa Inês and Escola Maria Goretti. The addressed subjects are calorimetry, thermal dilatation, heat transfer, matter phase changes, ideal gases properties and general concepts in thermodynamics, organized in seven didactic modules consisting of a text, the computer simulations, an activity guide with questions about the subject and, also, a section where the Physics issues developed in classroom are related with the students‟ daily life situations. To deeper social interaction, the students were grouped in pair or trios working with the teacher mediation. The instructional material has been gradually displayed in a CD-ROM and in the Schools web pages to allow the students focusing on one subject at a time. The present work is to be published in the series Hipermídias de Apoio ao Professor de Física, of Instituto de Física of UFRGS, in order to give other teachers access to the proposal material.

Os estudos dos processos cognitivos propiciam um cenário promissor para a realização de pesquisas visando uma maior compreensão de como o funcionamento do cérebro pode favorecer a educação, possibilitando o desenvolvimento de novas teorias e abordagens que estimulem a aprendizagem. O presente trabalho abordará principalmente como se dá a aquisição, o armazenamento, processamento e a recuperação do conhecimento do ponto de vista da neurociência e de que forma o mapa conceitual (MC) pode mapear o conhecimento do indivíduo. O MC pode ser utilizado tanto como uma estratégia de aprendizagem para a compreensão de conceitos-chave bem como as relações entre estes quanto para promover o pensamento crítico do indivíduo. É uma representação gráfica bidimensional cuja estrutura permite organizar visualmente as relações entre conceitos que podem ser indicadas por palavras, frases e símbolos. É usado para facilitar o aprendizado ao hierarquizar os conceitos por meio de construções significativas para o indivíduo. Os conceitos aparecem nas caixas e as relações nas linhas que os unem: a dois conceitos conectados chamamos de proposição. Durante a construção de um MC o indivíduo exercita a sua capacidade de estabelecer relações entre o conhecimento que já tem e o adquirido no decorrer da aprendizagem ao representar graficamente os conceitos sobre um determinado assunto. / The study of cognitive processes provide a promising scenario to research aimed at better understanding of how the functioning of the brain may promote the education, enabling the development of new theories and approaches that encourage learning. This work will mainly occurs as the acquisition, storage, processing and retrieval of knowledge from the viewpoint of neuroscience, and how the conceptual map can map the knowledge of the individual. The conceptual map (CM) can be used both as a strategy of learning for the understanding of key concepts and relations between them and to promote critical thinking of the individual. Two-dimensional graphical representation, the CM allows visually organize the relationships between concepts. This structure from the wider concepts up to less comprehensive and relations between them can be indicated by words, phrases and symbols. It is used to facilitate the learning concepts ranking by building significant to the individual. The concepts appear in the boxes and lines that unite them: two concepts connected call proposition. During the construction of a CM, the individual exercises its ability to establish relationships between knowledge that he has already acquired in the course of learning to represent graphically the concepts of a particular subject.

The role of Social Networking Sites (SNSs) is coming under increased scrutiny as their online prowess grows. The objective of this research work is to investigate the students’ perception of this reality and try to understand their understanding of the SNSs potential for learning. The theory of Social Presence provides the academic impetus as the main conceptual framework for the study. Students of the Virtual University, Pakistan, were interviewed to understand their sense making of the SNSs role as platforms for learning in a virtual setting. The results highlight the importance of social presence dependent on myriad other factors, significant in their own right but extremely potent when they act together and thus influence the role of SNSs as virtual online conduits. It also indicates that our understanding of these networks, in the context of online learning especially in a developing country environment is still in its infancy and the numerous external environmental factors equally play a significant impact on the students’ perception of the role of these SNSs.

In this work, we study two problems: first is one of the central problem in learning theory of learning sparse parities and the other k-Vector-SUM is an extension of the not oriousk-SUM problem. We first consider the problem of learning k-parities in the on-line mistake-bound model: given a hidden vector ∈ {0,1}nwith|x|=kand a sequence of “questions” a ,a ,12··· ∈{0,1}n, where the algorithm must reply to each question with〈a ,xi〉(mod 2), what is the best trade off between the number of mistakes made by the algorithm and its time complexity? We improve the previous best result of Buhrman et. al. By an exp (k) factor in the timecomplexity. Next, we consider the problem of learning k-parities in the presence of classification noise of rate η∈(0,12). A polynomial time algorithm for this problem (whenη >0 andk=ω(1))is a longstanding challenge in learning theory. Grigorescu et al. Showed an algorithm running in time(no/2)1+4η2+o(1). Note that this algorithm inherently requires time(nk/2)even when the noise rateη is polynomially small. We observe that for sufficiently small noise rate, it ispossible to break the(nk/2)barrier. In particular, if for some function f(n) =ω(logn) andα∈[12,1),k=n/f(n) andη=o(f(n)−α/logn), then there is an algorithm for the problem with running time poly(n)·( )nk1−α·e−k/4.01.Moving on to the k-Vector-SUM problem, where given n vectors〈v ,v ,...,v12n〉over the vector space Fdq, a target vector tand an integer k>1, determine whether there exists k vectors whose sum list, where sum is over the field Fq. We show a parameterized reduction fromk-Clique problem to k-Vector-SUM problem, thus showing the hardness of k-Vector-SUM. In parameterized complexity theory, our reduction shows that the k-Vector-SUM problem is hard for the class W[1], although, Downey and Fellows have shown the W[1]-hardness result for k-Vector-SUM using other techniques. In our next attempt, we try to show connections between k-Vector-SUM and k-LPN. First we prove that, a variant of k-Vector-SUM problem, called k-Noisy-SUM is at least as hard as the k-LPN problem. This implies that any improvements ink-Noisy-SUM would result into improved algorithms fork-LPN. In our next result, we show a reverse reduction from k-Vector-SUM to k-LPN with high noise rate. Providing lower bounds fork-LPN problem is an open challenge and many algorithms in cryptography have been developed assuming its1 2hardness. Our reduction shows that k-LPN with noise rate η=12−12·nk·2−n(k−1k)cannot be solved in time no(k)assuming Exponential Time Hypothesis and, thus providing lower bound for a weaker version of k-LPN

This cross-sectional study aimed to generate an exploratory functional model of deliberate self-harm (DSH) occurring among a South African student population (n = 603) using Principle Component Analysis (PCA). A battery of instruments, including the Deliberate Self-Harm Inventory (DSHI) and the Functional Assessment of Self-Mutilation (FASM) were administered to students. Following Nock and Prinstein’s (2004) four-factor model on the functions of DSH, self-reported reasons for DSH on the FASM were conceptualised in light of the reinforcement mechanisms of social learning theory. PCA revealed a four-factor model for the reasons students engaged in DSH, constituent of the following components: social positive reinforcement, social negative reinforcement, automatic reinforcement, and reinforcement regarding self-image. A unique factor manifests in the self-image reinforcement component, suggesting divergence in the functions of DSH between student and adolescent populations. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Psychology / unrestricted

From a fresh data science perspective, this thesis discusses the prediction of coronary artery disease based on Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) from the Ontario Heart Genomics Study (OHGS). First, the thesis explains the k-Nearest Neighbour (k-NN) and Random Forest learning algorithms, and includes a complete proof that k-NN is universally consistent in finite dimensional normed vector spaces. Second, the thesis introduces two dimensionality reduction techniques: Random Projections and a new method termed Mass Transportation Distance (MTD) Feature Selection. Then, this thesis compares the performance of Random Projections with k-NN against MTD Feature Selection and Random Forest for predicting artery disease. Results demonstrate that MTD Feature Selection with Random Forest is superior to Random Projections and k-NN. Random Forest is able to obtain an accuracy of 0.6660 and an area under the ROC curve of 0.8562 on the OHGS dataset, when 3335 SNPs are selected by MTD Feature Selection for classification. This area is considerably better than the previous high score of 0.608 obtained by Davies et al. in 2010 on the same dataset.

This diploma thesis examines the participation of Czech regional actors in the transnational and interregional branches of the INTERREG program in 2007-2013, using organizational learning theory. It focuses on learning processes on individual, group, and organizational levels. To a smaller extent, it also examines dissemination of knowledge towards other actors on the local and European level. The aim of the thesis is to find out whether these learning processes take place on all the mentioned levels and also to uncover the main obstacles of these processes. The method of the research is a questionnaire survey combined with semi-structured interviews. The research reveals that both individual and group learning take place during the projects. The most common barriers are complications stemming from differing environments of the actors (different political, institutional, legal, or administrative environments). Organizational learning takes place as well, but to a smaller extent than learning on the preceding levels. The main problem is the preservation of tacit knowledge. The research also suggests that effective dissemination of knowledge towards other local actors takes place as well. However, the relevance of the final project outcomes for other EU actors appears to be rather low.

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Thesis (M.Ed. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education)) -- University of Limpopo, 2020 / The purpose of this is to investigate how teachers go about for the development of Creative Thinking Skills (CTS) in a grade 9 technology classroom. The introduction of technology in the South African curriculum by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to develop CTS through the Design Process (DP) as the cornerstone of the learning area. Technology as a learning area should provide learners with opportunities to solve real-life problems, in the process developing their CTS (DBE, 2011). In the 21st century, CTS have been seen as skills that are crucial across the spectrum of day to day activities. However; it appears to be very complex for technology teachers to enhance the teaching and learning of CTS in a technology classroom. The literature suggests that technology teachers tend to suppress the development of learners’ CTS by limiting the process of teaching and learning to low order thinking cognitive levels rather than high order cognitive levels. This study employed a qualitative research enquiry, purposive sampling was used for the selection of the relevant participants. Qualified technology teachers who teach grade 9 technology with at least three years’ experience in teaching technology were considered. Data collection was obtained through interviews, observation and document analysis. The research finding showed that teachers lack the understanding of policies, particularly CAPS hence they continuously compromise its implementation hindering with the development of CTS of learners as it is envisaged in the CAPS document. Furthermore, the research findings reveal that the teacher has a little or no understanding of what is creative thinking (CT) and what it entails, hence they did not unpack what is it exactly that they do to support the development of learners CTS in a technology classroom This study recommends that technology teachers be familiar with the CAPS document and implement it correctly without any compromise. Furthermore; understanding of the design process is of vital importance to teachers as it is the cornerstone of teaching and learning, particularly the development of CTS of learners. Technology teachers need also to have a clear understanding of what CT is and what it entails, that will assist to arouse their CT and help to develop the CTS of learners in a technology classroom.