Neben der Frage nach der leistungssteigernden Wirkung von sogenannten "Ich-kann"-Checklisten auf die Metakognitionsstrategien der Schülerinnen und Schüler, geht die Arbeit auch den Fragen nach, welche Schülerinnen und Schüler "Ich-kann"-Checklisten nutzen, in welcher Form und unter welchen Kontextmerkmalen sie am wirksamsten sind. Dabei handelt es sich um Listen mit festgelegten, fachlichen und überfachlichen Kompetenzen einer bzw. mehrerer Unterrichtseinheiten, die in Form von „Ich-kann“-Formulierungen für Schüler geschrieben sind und die Aufforderung einer Selbst- und Fremdeinschätzung beinhalten. Blickt man in die Veröffentlichungen der letzten Jahre zu diesem Thema und in die schulische Praxis, so ist eine deutliche Hinwendung zur Entwicklung und Arbeit mit „Ich-kann“-Checklisten und Kompetenzrastern zu erkennen. Umso erstaunlicher ist es, dass diesbezüglich so gut wie keine empirischen Untersuchungen vorliegen (vgl. Bastian & Merziger, 2007; Merziger, 2007). Basierend auf einer quantitativen Erhebung von 197 Gymnasialschülerinnen und -schülern in der 7. Jahrgangsstufe im Fach Deutsch wurde über einen Zeitraum von zwei Jahren diesen übergeordneten Fragen nachgegangen. Die Ergebnisse lassen die Aussagen zu, dass "Ich-kann"-Checklisten insbesondere für Jungen ein wirksames pädagogisches Instrument der Selbstregulation darstellen. So fördert die Arbeit mit "Ich-kann"-Checklisten nicht nur die Steuerung eigener Lernprozesse, sondern auch die Anstrengungsbereitschaft der Schülerinnen und Schüler, mehr für das Fach tun zu wollen. Eine während der Intervention erfolgte Selbsteinschätzung über den Leistungsstand mittels der "Ich-kann"-Checklisten fördert dabei den freiwilligen außerunterrichtlichen Gebrauch. / This paper examines the performance enhancing effect of so called “Can Do” checklists on the metacognitive strategies of 13 to 14 year old Gymnasium students. This study analyzes which students actually use “Can Do” checklists, in what form they apply them, and the specific circumstances in which they appear to be most effective. These checklists define fundamental, subject-specific, and interdisciplinary competencies that are formulated into written “Can Do” lessons that require both self-assessment and third-party assessment. The increasing development and application of “Can Do” checklists and performance metrics is clearly seen both in the recent scholarly papers that address this issue and in classroom practice. The fact that this trend is emerging despite the lack of empirical studies is particularly surprising (e.g. Bastian & Merzinger, 2007; Merzinger, 2007). These salient questions were examined through analysis of a two-year quantitative survey that monitored two consecutive classes of 197 Gymnasium students in their German class during their 7th academic year. The results of this study indicate that “Can Do” checklists are an effective pedagogical tool for self-evaluation especially for boys. Applying this methodology both fosters self management of the learning process and motivates the student to invest more effort into the subject. The benefits of continuous performance self-assessment using “Can Do” checklists also transfer voluntarily beyond the classroom.

Este trabalho tem por objetivo sistematizar orientações curriculares e pedagógicas para o nível avançado de português como língua adicional (PLA) embasadas na concepção de uso da linguagem como prática social (CLARK, 2000), na perspectiva bakhtiniana de gênero do discurso (BAKHTIN, 2010a) e na convicção de que o objetivo do ensino de línguas é contribuir para a participação mais confiante e autoral dos educandos em esferas de uso da linguagem em que já atuem e em outras nas quais desejem/necessitem atuar (SCHLATTER; GARCEZ, 2012). Parto do que está proposto como progressão curricular para os níveis básico e intermediário no Programa de Português para Estrangeiros da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (PPE) (KRAEMER, 2012), que se baseia na mesma concepção teórico-metodológica adotada aqui. Para compreender o que tem sido descrito como proficiência e objetivos de ensino de língua portuguesa em nível avançado, discuto quatro documentos da área de ensino e avaliação, a saber, o Quadro de Referência para o Ensino de Português no Estrangeiro (GROSSO et al., 2011), os Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais (BRASIL, 1998), os Referenciais Curriculares do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (SCHLATTER; GARCEZ, 2009; FILIPOUSKI et al, 2009) e as especificações do Certificado de Proficiência em Língua Portuguesa para Estrangeiros – Celpe-Bras (BRASIL, 2006). Além disso, no intuito de verificar como é trabalhado o nível avançado no ensino de PLA, analiso três livros didáticos de nível avançado – Português Via Brasil (LIMA; IUNES, 2005), Português para estrangeiros: nível avançado (MARCHANT, 1997) e Panorama Brasil: Ensino do Português como Língua Estrangeira Voltado para o Mundo dos Negócios (PONCE et al, 2006) – e a atual apostila da disciplina de Estudos Avançados do Texto do PPE (RAMOS et al, 2009/2010). Nos documentos e nos materiais, aponto: como é organizada a progressão; qual é a metodologia de ensino proposta; quais são os conteúdos e os objetivos em nível avançado. A partir da análise, apresento possíveis objetivos de ensino para um curso de nível avançado de PLA e os princípios orientadores para o planejamento de unidades didáticas nesse nível, ilustrando-os em uma unidade didática criada por mim. Este trabalho pretende contribuir com orientações curriculares e pedagógicas para o ensino de PLA em nível avançado e com uma proposta de referência para a elaboração de unidades didáticas como subsídios para o planejamento de projetos pedagógicos de nível avançado que tenham como objetivo ampliar a participação em diversas práticas sociais que se fazem em língua portuguesa de modo mais autônomo, autoral, confiante e crítico. / This work aims to systematize pedagogical and curriculum guidelines for the advanced level of Portuguese as an additional language (PAL) based on the conception of language use as social practice (CLARK, 2000), Bakhtin's perspective of speech genre (BAKHTIN, 2010a) and the conviction that the goal of language teaching is to contribute for a more confident and authorial participation of students in spheres in which they already perform and in which they need/ would like to perform (SCHLATTER; GARCEZ, 2012). The bases for the guidelines are the educational goals and the curricular proposal for the Program of Portuguese for Speakers of Other Languages of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (PPE) (KRAEMER, 2012), informed by the same theoretical and methodological perspectives adopted here. In order to map what has been described as advanced proficiency in Portuguese and advanced PAL teaching objectives, four documents related to Portuguese teaching and assessment are studied, namely the European Framework for Teaching Portuguese Abroad (GROSSO et al. 2011), the National Curriculum Parameters (BRASIL, 1998), the State Standards for Portuguese/English/Spanish Language, Arts and Literacy (SCHLATTER; GARCEZ, 2009; FILIPOUSKI et al, 2009) and the specifications of the Certificate of Proficiency in Portuguese for Speakers of Other Languages – Celpe-Bras (BRASIL, 2006). Moreover, in order to verify how the advanced level is dealt with in PAL teaching proposals, three advanced level textbooks – Português Via Brasil (LIMA; IUNES, 2005), Português para estrangeiros: nível avançado (MARCHANT, 1997) and Panorama Brasil: Ensino do Português como Língua Estrangeira Voltado para o Mundo dos Negócios (PONCE et al, 2006) – and the current unpublished worksheets and lesson plans designed for Advanced Portuguese Studies at PPE (RAMOS et al, 2009/2010) are analyzed. The analysis of the documents and textbooks focused on the organization of the curricular progression, the teaching methodology, the contents and the objectives for advanced Portuguese. Based on the results of the analysis, PAL teaching objectives for advanced levels and guiding principles for designing teaching units are proposed. A worksheet for an advanced Portuguese class was created to illustrate how to plan a lesson based on the guidelines proposed. This work aims to contribute with curriculum and pedagogical guidelines for advanced level PAL teaching and with a reference proposal for the design of lesson plans whose goals are to engage students in educational projects and foster their participation in various social practices in a more autonomous, authorial, confident and critical way.

Submitted by ANA MARIA MINICI MIRIO null (anamirio@bol.com.br) on 2016-10-11T18:10:19Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana_Mirio dissert final.pdf: 6720046 bytes, checksum: d1795baa94ed4d0ec2e08605ca3e4cff (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Juliano Benedito Ferreira (julianoferreira@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2016-10-14T17:40:35Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 mirio_amm_me_ia.pdf: 6720046 bytes, checksum: d1795baa94ed4d0ec2e08605ca3e4cff (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-14T17:40:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 mirio_amm_me_ia.pdf: 6720046 bytes, checksum: d1795baa94ed4d0ec2e08605ca3e4cff (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-08-22 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Diante do crescente destaque do processo da mediação cultural no contexto das instituições museológicas brasileiras, as questões relativas à formação do educador/mediador, que é o profissional responsável por estabelecer este processo, adquiriu uma distinta importância. Trabalhando como educadora/mediadora em diversas instituições culturais desde 1997, com passagens também como professora do ensino formal, a autora pretendeu apresentar um trabalho relatando sua experiência como professora do curso Técnico em Museologia, na ETEC/Parque da Juventude, responsável pelos componentes curriculares “Mediação em Museus” e “Laboratório de Práticas de Mediação em Museus”. Com o objetivo de elencar os assuntos e as estratégias pedagógicas que poderiam contribuir para uma maior qualificação do profissional Técnico em Museologia, os questionamentos surgidos a respeito dos temas teóricos e práticos, a forma de apresentação e articulação entre eles, além da sua adequação aos profissionais que irão desempenhar seu trabalho em museus de diferentes tipologias, foram os principais desafios para a elaboração do plano de aulas, colocado em prática ao longo do segundo semestre de 2013 até o segundo semestre do ano de 2015. O trabalho relatado foi desenvolvido com cinco turmas atendidas no período especificado e aborda as quatro vertentes práticas desenvolvidas, a saber: temas das aulas - teoria e prática- e a bibliografia sugerida; parcerias com instituições culturais, orientação dos trabalhos de conclusão de curso e palestras com profissionais da área da Educação em Museus. / Given the increasing empashis put on the cultural mediation process in the context of Brazilian museological institutions, the questions relative to the training of the educator/mediator; that is, the professional responsible for establishing the mediation process; acquired a distinct importance. Working as an educator/mediator in a multitude of cultural institutions since 1997, and having worked, also, as a formal education teacher, the author intended to present a paper portraying her experience as a teacher in the Technical course of Museology, at ETEC/Parque da Juventude, responsible for the curricular components Mediation in Museums and Laboratory of Mediation Practices in Museums. In order to list the subjects and pedagogical strategies that could contribute to a larger qualification of the professional museology technician, the questions arisen about the topics, both theoretical and practical, the form of presentation and articulation between them, as well as its suitability to the professionals that will perform their work in museums of different typologies, were the main challenges regarding the formulation of a lesson plan, put in practice from the second semester of 2013 to the second semester of the year 2015. The work reported was developed alongside five classes tended to during the specified period and covers four practical lines formulated, the themes of each lesson - theoretical and practical - and the suggested bibliography; the partnerships with cultural institutions, the orientation of course completion assignments and the lectures with professionals from the Education in Museums field.

Este trabalho tem por objetivo sistematizar orientações curriculares e pedagógicas para o nível avançado de português como língua adicional (PLA) embasadas na concepção de uso da linguagem como prática social (CLARK, 2000), na perspectiva bakhtiniana de gênero do discurso (BAKHTIN, 2010a) e na convicção de que o objetivo do ensino de línguas é contribuir para a participação mais confiante e autoral dos educandos em esferas de uso da linguagem em que já atuem e em outras nas quais desejem/necessitem atuar (SCHLATTER; GARCEZ, 2012). Parto do que está proposto como progressão curricular para os níveis básico e intermediário no Programa de Português para Estrangeiros da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (PPE) (KRAEMER, 2012), que se baseia na mesma concepção teórico-metodológica adotada aqui. Para compreender o que tem sido descrito como proficiência e objetivos de ensino de língua portuguesa em nível avançado, discuto quatro documentos da área de ensino e avaliação, a saber, o Quadro de Referência para o Ensino de Português no Estrangeiro (GROSSO et al., 2011), os Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais (BRASIL, 1998), os Referenciais Curriculares do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (SCHLATTER; GARCEZ, 2009; FILIPOUSKI et al, 2009) e as especificações do Certificado de Proficiência em Língua Portuguesa para Estrangeiros – Celpe-Bras (BRASIL, 2006). Além disso, no intuito de verificar como é trabalhado o nível avançado no ensino de PLA, analiso três livros didáticos de nível avançado – Português Via Brasil (LIMA; IUNES, 2005), Português para estrangeiros: nível avançado (MARCHANT, 1997) e Panorama Brasil: Ensino do Português como Língua Estrangeira Voltado para o Mundo dos Negócios (PONCE et al, 2006) – e a atual apostila da disciplina de Estudos Avançados do Texto do PPE (RAMOS et al, 2009/2010). Nos documentos e nos materiais, aponto: como é organizada a progressão; qual é a metodologia de ensino proposta; quais são os conteúdos e os objetivos em nível avançado. A partir da análise, apresento possíveis objetivos de ensino para um curso de nível avançado de PLA e os princípios orientadores para o planejamento de unidades didáticas nesse nível, ilustrando-os em uma unidade didática criada por mim. Este trabalho pretende contribuir com orientações curriculares e pedagógicas para o ensino de PLA em nível avançado e com uma proposta de referência para a elaboração de unidades didáticas como subsídios para o planejamento de projetos pedagógicos de nível avançado que tenham como objetivo ampliar a participação em diversas práticas sociais que se fazem em língua portuguesa de modo mais autônomo, autoral, confiante e crítico. / This work aims to systematize pedagogical and curriculum guidelines for the advanced level of Portuguese as an additional language (PAL) based on the conception of language use as social practice (CLARK, 2000), Bakhtin's perspective of speech genre (BAKHTIN, 2010a) and the conviction that the goal of language teaching is to contribute for a more confident and authorial participation of students in spheres in which they already perform and in which they need/ would like to perform (SCHLATTER; GARCEZ, 2012). The bases for the guidelines are the educational goals and the curricular proposal for the Program of Portuguese for Speakers of Other Languages of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (PPE) (KRAEMER, 2012), informed by the same theoretical and methodological perspectives adopted here. In order to map what has been described as advanced proficiency in Portuguese and advanced PAL teaching objectives, four documents related to Portuguese teaching and assessment are studied, namely the European Framework for Teaching Portuguese Abroad (GROSSO et al. 2011), the National Curriculum Parameters (BRASIL, 1998), the State Standards for Portuguese/English/Spanish Language, Arts and Literacy (SCHLATTER; GARCEZ, 2009; FILIPOUSKI et al, 2009) and the specifications of the Certificate of Proficiency in Portuguese for Speakers of Other Languages – Celpe-Bras (BRASIL, 2006). Moreover, in order to verify how the advanced level is dealt with in PAL teaching proposals, three advanced level textbooks – Português Via Brasil (LIMA; IUNES, 2005), Português para estrangeiros: nível avançado (MARCHANT, 1997) and Panorama Brasil: Ensino do Português como Língua Estrangeira Voltado para o Mundo dos Negócios (PONCE et al, 2006) – and the current unpublished worksheets and lesson plans designed for Advanced Portuguese Studies at PPE (RAMOS et al, 2009/2010) are analyzed. The analysis of the documents and textbooks focused on the organization of the curricular progression, the teaching methodology, the contents and the objectives for advanced Portuguese. Based on the results of the analysis, PAL teaching objectives for advanced levels and guiding principles for designing teaching units are proposed. A worksheet for an advanced Portuguese class was created to illustrate how to plan a lesson based on the guidelines proposed. This work aims to contribute with curriculum and pedagogical guidelines for advanced level PAL teaching and with a reference proposal for the design of lesson plans whose goals are to engage students in educational projects and foster their participation in various social practices in a more autonomous, authorial, confident and critical way.

Este trabalho tem por objetivo sistematizar orientações curriculares e pedagógicas para o nível avançado de português como língua adicional (PLA) embasadas na concepção de uso da linguagem como prática social (CLARK, 2000), na perspectiva bakhtiniana de gênero do discurso (BAKHTIN, 2010a) e na convicção de que o objetivo do ensino de línguas é contribuir para a participação mais confiante e autoral dos educandos em esferas de uso da linguagem em que já atuem e em outras nas quais desejem/necessitem atuar (SCHLATTER; GARCEZ, 2012). Parto do que está proposto como progressão curricular para os níveis básico e intermediário no Programa de Português para Estrangeiros da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (PPE) (KRAEMER, 2012), que se baseia na mesma concepção teórico-metodológica adotada aqui. Para compreender o que tem sido descrito como proficiência e objetivos de ensino de língua portuguesa em nível avançado, discuto quatro documentos da área de ensino e avaliação, a saber, o Quadro de Referência para o Ensino de Português no Estrangeiro (GROSSO et al., 2011), os Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais (BRASIL, 1998), os Referenciais Curriculares do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (SCHLATTER; GARCEZ, 2009; FILIPOUSKI et al, 2009) e as especificações do Certificado de Proficiência em Língua Portuguesa para Estrangeiros – Celpe-Bras (BRASIL, 2006). Além disso, no intuito de verificar como é trabalhado o nível avançado no ensino de PLA, analiso três livros didáticos de nível avançado – Português Via Brasil (LIMA; IUNES, 2005), Português para estrangeiros: nível avançado (MARCHANT, 1997) e Panorama Brasil: Ensino do Português como Língua Estrangeira Voltado para o Mundo dos Negócios (PONCE et al, 2006) – e a atual apostila da disciplina de Estudos Avançados do Texto do PPE (RAMOS et al, 2009/2010). Nos documentos e nos materiais, aponto: como é organizada a progressão; qual é a metodologia de ensino proposta; quais são os conteúdos e os objetivos em nível avançado. A partir da análise, apresento possíveis objetivos de ensino para um curso de nível avançado de PLA e os princípios orientadores para o planejamento de unidades didáticas nesse nível, ilustrando-os em uma unidade didática criada por mim. Este trabalho pretende contribuir com orientações curriculares e pedagógicas para o ensino de PLA em nível avançado e com uma proposta de referência para a elaboração de unidades didáticas como subsídios para o planejamento de projetos pedagógicos de nível avançado que tenham como objetivo ampliar a participação em diversas práticas sociais que se fazem em língua portuguesa de modo mais autônomo, autoral, confiante e crítico. / This work aims to systematize pedagogical and curriculum guidelines for the advanced level of Portuguese as an additional language (PAL) based on the conception of language use as social practice (CLARK, 2000), Bakhtin's perspective of speech genre (BAKHTIN, 2010a) and the conviction that the goal of language teaching is to contribute for a more confident and authorial participation of students in spheres in which they already perform and in which they need/ would like to perform (SCHLATTER; GARCEZ, 2012). The bases for the guidelines are the educational goals and the curricular proposal for the Program of Portuguese for Speakers of Other Languages of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (PPE) (KRAEMER, 2012), informed by the same theoretical and methodological perspectives adopted here. In order to map what has been described as advanced proficiency in Portuguese and advanced PAL teaching objectives, four documents related to Portuguese teaching and assessment are studied, namely the European Framework for Teaching Portuguese Abroad (GROSSO et al. 2011), the National Curriculum Parameters (BRASIL, 1998), the State Standards for Portuguese/English/Spanish Language, Arts and Literacy (SCHLATTER; GARCEZ, 2009; FILIPOUSKI et al, 2009) and the specifications of the Certificate of Proficiency in Portuguese for Speakers of Other Languages – Celpe-Bras (BRASIL, 2006). Moreover, in order to verify how the advanced level is dealt with in PAL teaching proposals, three advanced level textbooks – Português Via Brasil (LIMA; IUNES, 2005), Português para estrangeiros: nível avançado (MARCHANT, 1997) and Panorama Brasil: Ensino do Português como Língua Estrangeira Voltado para o Mundo dos Negócios (PONCE et al, 2006) – and the current unpublished worksheets and lesson plans designed for Advanced Portuguese Studies at PPE (RAMOS et al, 2009/2010) are analyzed. The analysis of the documents and textbooks focused on the organization of the curricular progression, the teaching methodology, the contents and the objectives for advanced Portuguese. Based on the results of the analysis, PAL teaching objectives for advanced levels and guiding principles for designing teaching units are proposed. A worksheet for an advanced Portuguese class was created to illustrate how to plan a lesson based on the guidelines proposed. This work aims to contribute with curriculum and pedagogical guidelines for advanced level PAL teaching and with a reference proposal for the design of lesson plans whose goals are to engage students in educational projects and foster their participation in various social practices in a more autonomous, authorial, confident and critical way.

5 TITLE: A priori analysis as a part of teacher's lesson planning AUTHOR: Mgr. Hana Nováková DEPARTMENT: Department of Mathematics and Mathematical Education SUPERVISOR: Prof. RNDr. Jarmila Novotná, CSc. This thesis focuses on a priori analysis as a part of teacher's lesson planning. The theoretical background consists of the Theory of didactical situations in Mathematics (TDSM). In TDSM, the a priori analysis is seen as one of the teacher's tools that he/she has when planning a lesson. The goal of the thesis is to analyse differences between a priori analysis as described in TDSM and the reality in teacher's practice, to compare lesson plans of experienced teachers with those of students and demonstrate the significance and application of a priori analysis in teacher's and researcher's practice. The thesis consists of three parts, theoretical, experimental and applicational. In the theoretical part, the main concepts of TDSM linked with a priori analysis are explained and the issue of teacher's lesson planning is presented. The experimental part starts with a pre-experiment. Its results contributed to precise the structure of a priori analysis for further use. During the main experiment, the lesson plans of experienced teachers were compared with those of pre-service teachers. The differences and the...

The thesis aims to cover the musical work of Jiří Pavlica for young listeners and performers and to find how it could be used during music classes for children in the first years of elementary school. The theoretical part of the thesis includes Jiří Pavlica's biography, the description of the author's and performer's work for children and its relation to folklorism. The theoretical part includes also four methodologies of how to work with a folk song in the elementary school. In the practical part eight preparations for model music lessons are presented, the preparations having been devised using the four methodologies. The thesis includes also testing and commenting on the actual applicability of the preparations.

This study sought to investigate the impact of pre-service primary school English language teachers’ training on their post-training practice. A constructive research paradigm and qualitative method were used in the study. The participants were selected purposively, and final year pre-service primary school English trainee teachers were used to collect the research data. The data were collected in the year 2016. To collect the data, an interview schedule, an observation guide and document analyses were used. The interviews and the observations were recorded and later transcribed. The transcribed data were coded, categorized according to their similarity, and then these categories were further collapsed into themes. The findings showed that the primary school ELT trainee teachers did not have sufficient understanding of the ELT methods offered during their training which led to poor practice, as revealed in their independent teaching. Some of the reasons for the trainees’ poor understanding and practice mentioned were that the training system was not supported by the reflective teaching method, and the support of ICT. In addition, there was a significant waste of time budgeted for the course time for the completion of the training program. In relation to time, the practicum time the students stayed in the primary school during independent teaching was not sufficient to give them hands-on practice. Moreover, they did not get the required support from the school mentors and the training college supervisors. Due to these constraints, almost all the participant trainee teachers demonstrated poor performances during the lesson delivery, which indicated that they did not understand the principles of the ELT methods / English Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (English)

The study of landscape structure and configuration is firmly established as integral to the continued advancement of ecology. The configuration of resource patches can have far-reaching implications for biodiversity, metapopulation dynamics, community structure, and habitat quality. Human activities, such as forestry, agriculture, and residential construction alter patch configuration by breaking larger patches into smaller fragments. This frequently results in pronounced, unforeseen consequences for species. The fragmentation and shrinking of habitat patches can lead to changes in the environmental conditions within the remaining patches (e.g., degradation), prompting responses from local populations. These responses can, in turn, cause changes to the metapopulation structure on large spatial scale.<br>I examined the relationship between the degree of habitat fragmentation (edge density), and forewing lengths of the ebony jewelwing damselfly (Calopteryx maculata Beauvois, Odonata: Calopterygidae). I used correlated random walks to determine the biologically relevant landscape area over which forest fragmentation was calculated. Then, I used Moran’s I to determine the spatial scale of wing length response to fragmentation. I found that wing lengths increased with edge density. I also found that wing lengths were spatially autocorrelated at distances below 5 Km. These findings suggest that damselflies adapt to changes in forest fragmentation at a relatively small spatial scale.<br>Next, I assessed the slime mold Physarum polycephalum’s usefulness as a microcosm of dispersal in fragmented landscapes. Slime mold plasmodia were placed in dishes with oat patches of varying sizes and distances. The probability of each patch type being colonized first was compared to predictions of patch occupancy based on C. maculata. Patches that were nearer or larger were likely to be colonized before patches that were more distant, or smaller. Observed patch occupancy matched model predictions when only patch distance was varied, but not when patch size was varied. These results suggest that P. polycephalum has the potential to serve as a useful microcosm of dispersal in patchy landscapes. However, more testing is needed to develop the microcosm system. <br>Finally, a lesson plan was developed to teach high school students about the concepts of landscape ecology and connectivity. An emphasis was placed on using active learning techniques, which have been demonstrated to result in greater understanding than traditional lecture formats. The lesson plan incorporates an education boardgame, Humans & Habitats, that I developed to illustrate how the conflicting goals of resource managers impact habitat connectivity. It also incorporates a scientific inquiry activity that uses P. polycephalum to test predictions about the effect of altered connectivity. The lesson plan and materials will be available to members of the public, free of charge.<br><br>

The democratic era in South Africa has led to the introduction of a wide-ranging series of teaching and learning policies aimed at school reform. The study aimed at establishing how these policies are implemented by educators in selected schools. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to gather information from educators, members of the School Management Teams and learners through in-depth individual and focus group interviews as the main data collection methods. Critical discourse analysis was used to examine participants‟ spoken words and the content of relevant documents such as lesson plans in detail. Comparisons were drawn and similarities identified through the coding, categorisation and condensation of data. The researcher interpreted the displayed data. A discussion of the main themes was presented and supported by quotations by participants. Findings indicate that there have been only few changes in terms of how educators teach; some educators conceded that they had not changed the way they teach since the introduction of new curriculum and assessment policies. The role played by learning outcomes in teachers‟ lesson planning was uneven. Members of School Management Teams demonstrated diverse views on teaching and learning policies. Learners who are taught in their home language encounter few difficulties in learning; this is not the case with learners who are taught through medium of a second language and thus lack the necessary language proficiency necessary for academic achievement. A shift from teacher-centred to learner-centred approaches to teaching is still required: that is, a shift from teaching to learning to enhance thinking and reflection which accommodates and draws on learners‟ prior knowledge and experiences. Class sizes should be reduced to enable effective educator and learner interaction. Educators‟ interest, tolerance, innovativeness and competency in the subject matter will help sustain learners‟ interest in the learning activities. Policy makers should explore professional development from viewpoint of the participating educators in order to identify the most effective strategies to support and change educators‟ classroom practice where necessary. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)