M.Tech. (Education) / Students of human anatomy at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), seem unable to appreciate the relevance of human anatomy as a basic science and the role it will play in their future clinical practice. They complain about the 'massive volume' of learning material, the need to memorise copious amounts of factual information, the insufficient time allocation for the learning content, and the difficulty of the subject. These complaints led the teachers to take corrective measures, however with limited success. It was therefore decided to undertake this study to investigate the learning approaches students adopt and the possible influence that learner motivation and teaching approaches may have on them, as it seemed that the learners' lack of appreciation may be related to the way they approach their studying of anatomy. The main research question that directed the study was "What is/are the possible relationship(s) between student motivation, teaching approaches and learning approaches of the second-year Anatomy Chiropractic and Homoeopathy students and teachers?" In answering the research question my objectives were to explore the students' and teachers' perceptions about their learning and teaching respectively. In order to reach the objectives, a qualitative research approach was adopted for the study as I wanted to explore the lived experiences of participants and gain information rich data of the naturally occurring situation. I purposively chose seven learners and three teachers as the sample to be interviewed. Data was collected by individual interviews about the views students and teachers had about their learning approaches and teaching approaches, respectively. In addition, I asked students about their motivation towards their studies. The data was analysed using qualitative content analysis and was coded and categorised to develop themes from the transcribed interviews. Some of the findings revealed that student learning approaches were informed by memorisation, searching for meaning of learning material, assessment, time, task requirement and workload in Anatomy. A further finding of the study was that students were motivated by ambition, application of knowledge, passing assessments and workload in the Anatomy course. Students were found to be lacking motivation towards their studies. It was further established that the leaching approaches for Anatomy were focused on assisting students and encouraging meaningful learning. Finally, I found that intrinsic motivation led students 10 adopt a deep learning approach while extrinsic motivation led them to surface learning approach when studying Anatomy.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

D.Ed. / Societal structures are undergoing drastic changes at present. In the modern technological community, increasing pressure is placed on the child to achieve, particularly in the scholastic field. The urgent need for higher scholastic achievement makes greater demands on both the educator (parent and teacher) and the child. A positive self-concept can provide the motivation which could lead to higher scholastic achievement, but the way in which the child plans and uses his time, and works towards future success, may be of the utmost importance for high average scholastic achievement. Against this background, the aim of this research was to investigate selfconcept and time-concept within an educational context. The study probed the issue of whether there is a difference between the self -concept and time-concept of pupils with a high average scholastic achievement and those of pupils with a low average. Further, the possible relationship between the self-concept and the time-concept of these pupils was investigated. To achieve this goal, the research was based on seven sub-goals. The first three of these goals were realised by investigating a theoretical framework regarding the self-concept and time-concept of pupils within an educational context, and also by educationally founding self-concept, time-concept and scholastic achievement. An empirical investigation was undertaken on the basis of the theoretical framework mentioned. Standard six, eight and ten pupils who were enrolled at an Afrikaans-medium and an English-medium high school in the Roodepoort area falling under the ex-Transvaal Education Department, as well as such pupils at an English-medium high school in the Johannesburg area, falling under the ex-Department of Education and Training, were involved in the investigation. A structured questionnaire in Afrikaans and English was developed on the basis of the above-mentioned self-concept and time-concept by adapting and refining already existing instruments. In accordance with the fourth sub-goal, this questionnaire, consisting of two instruments, was used to investigate the pupils' self-concept (instrument one) and timeconcept (instrument two). The approach followed for analysing and interpreting the data entails six steps. The data on self-concept and time-concept were analysed separately in steps 1, 4 and 5. In step 1 the validity and reliability of the measuring instruments were investigated. First order factor analytical procedures and item analyses were applied respectively in this regard. In each case only one variable (scale), namely self-concept and time-concept, was identified in this way. In step 2 the calculation of the correlation between the average percentage of the previous examination (biographical information) and the calculated average percentage (from information in Annexure C) was done on the basis of the data obtained from the Afrikaans-medium high school. This calculation was aimed at using the data from the questionnaire (obtained from the one English-medium high school that failed to provide the information required in Annexure C) for further statistical analyses. Step 3 entailed the determination of the cut-off points for pupils with a high average and those with a low average in scholastic achievement. Two groups of pupils were thus identified, namely the group of pupils with a high average scholastic achievement and the groups of pupils with a low average. The variables (number of factors) of self-concept and time-concept that could be used in the further analyses of the data, were identified by means of a prime factor analysis (PFA1), together with a Doblimin rotation method identified in step 4. The variables of self-concept and time-concept were subsequently used to conduct multi-variable and single variable analyses according to step 5 on the data of the pupils. These analyses were aimed at establishing whether there was a difference between the self-concept and the time-concept of the pupils with a high average and those of the pupils with a low average in scholastic achievement. The Hotelling T 2 test and MANOVA were used to test multi-variable hypotheses. The Student's t-test, ANOVA and the Scheffe test were used to test the single variable hypotheses. In step 6 of the analyses a canonical correlation analysis was performed on the data to establish whether there were statistically significant relationships between the self-concept and the time-concept of the pupils with a high average scholastic achievement. The same procedure was followed to determine whether there were statistically significant relationships between the self-concept and the time-concept of the pupils with a low average scholastic achievement. The findings obtained from all these analyses are stated briefly: There is, in fact, a difference between the self-concept and time-concept of pupils with a high average scholastic achievement and those with a low average. With regard to self-concept, the pupils with a high average have a more positive academic self, a better relationship with family and relatives, a more supportive religious orientation and a better attitude towards values than the pupils with a low average in scholastic achievement. With regard to time-concept, the pupils with a high average are more future-oriented, more conscientious in their time management, experience less anxiety about the future and are less focused on the present than the pupils with a low average in scholastic achievement. With regard to the relationships between the self-concept and the timeconcept of the pupils, the findings include the following: * Pupils with a high average scholastic achievement - there is a relationship between academic self, relationship with family and - relatives, social relations, religious orientation, physical self, negative experience of frustration, attitude towards values and future orientation, conscientious time management, negative in anxiety about the future, independent utilisation of time and contentment with the present and the past. Pupils with a low average scholastic achievement - there is a relationship between academic self, relationship with family and relatives, social relations, religious orientation, physical self, attitude towards values and future orientation, conscientious time management, time-consciousness, focus on the present, independent utilisation of time and contentment with the present and the past. On the whole, it would therefore appear that two variables of the timeconcept, namely anxiety about the future and focus on the present, can give rise to an inability to achieve a high scholastic average. It could therefore be in the interest of the child that the educators (parents and teachers) should make every effort to foster a positive selfconcept and a future-oriented time-concept in the child. The emphasis should be placed on planning and working towards a future goal. In addition, it should also be stressed that the enjoyment of the moment should be exchanged for future success.

While research on peer feedback in L2 writing has proliferated over the past two decades, not much is known about how EFL writers, driven by their motives and situated within their social, cultural and historical contexts, participate in group peer feedback of L2 writing. To fill such an important void, the present study investigates six Chinese EFL university students’ participation in group peer feedback activities of L2 writing from a sociocultural and activity theory perspective. Based on sociocultural theory and activity theory in particular, the present study proposes a tentative group peer feedback activity system model and explores Chinese EFL writers’ motives for participating in group peer feedback, how their motives influence group interaction and text revisions, and how they employ mediating strategies to facilitate group interaction and realize their motives during group peer feedback activities. / The study adopts a case study approach with a multiple-case design and collects multiple sources of data including video recordings of peer feedback sessions, semi-structured interviews, stimulated recalls, and drafts of student texts. Six Chinese EFL university students were selected through purposive sampling to participate in the study. Data analyses indicate that EFL students’ group peer feedback activities are driven and defined by their motives and mediated by their social, cultural and historical contexts. The findings revealed four major types of student motives for group peer feedback activities in the writing classroom: (1) feedback-giving and the learning process; (2) feedback-receiving and the learning product; (3) fixing errors in writing; and (4) getting the job done, which were shaped by a myriad of individual and sociocultural factors such as students’ personal belief systems, their secondary education experiences and the exam-oriented learning culture and education system. The study also found that student motives for peer feedback have great influences on students’ stances for group peer feedback and the patterns of group interaction, as well as the text revisions. Driven by different motives, the students were involved in different peer feedback systems in which they took different stances for peer feed-back and interacted differently with their group members, even though some of them were working in the same group and of similar English proficiency level. The study also reveals four major types of mediating strategies in peer feedback activities of L2 writing: artefact-mediated, rule-mediated, community-mediated, and division of labour-mediated strategies. The six students made use of these mediating strategies at different levels to realize their motives in the peer feedback activities. / Informed by the peer feedback activity system and the major findings of the present study, a tentative model to conceptualize the effective peer feedback activity in the EFL writing classroom has been proposed, which serves as a tentative conceptual and pedagogical model for research and practice in peer feedback of L2 writing. This study contributes new knowledge to the field by relating students’ motives to other key elements in peer feedback such as mediating strategies, peer stances, group interaction and student revisions of L2 writing, yielding a deepened understanding of students’ participation in and engagement with peer feedback in EFL writing. / 儘管在二語寫作領域有大量研究關注同伴回饋，但鮮有研究者探討外語寫作學習者如何在其動機的驅使下和社會文化環境的影響下參與小組同伴回饋活動。鑒於此，本研究在社會文化理論和活動理論的基礎上，構建了外語寫作小組同伴回饋活動系統，並以該活動系統為概念框架探究六位中國外語寫作學習者的小組同伴回饋動機，分析其與小組交互和文本修改的關係。本研究還探討外語寫作學習者如何採取仲介策略輔助小組交互和實現回饋動機。 / 本研究採用多案例個案研究的範式，通過目的性抽樣原則，從中國大陸某大學選取六位英語寫作學習者作為被試，收集了多種形式的資料，包括同伴回饋錄影、半結構性訪談、刺激性回憶和寫作文本資料。資料分析顯示外語寫作學習者的小組同伴回饋活動由學生的動機驅使，並受到學生所處的社會文化環境影響。研究發現四種類型的同伴回饋動機：（1）回饋給予與學習過程型；（2）回饋接收與學習結果型；（3）修改文本錯誤型；和（4）完成任務型。這四類同伴回饋動機是在學習者個體因素（如學生的信念、中學學習經歷等）和社會文化因素（如考試取向的教育環境等）的交互影響下形成的。本研究還發現回饋動機對學習者的回饋立場、小組交互模式及其文本修改都會有一定的影響。在不同類型動機的驅使下，即使學習者來自同一小組或英語水準相當，他們也嵌套于不同的同伴回饋系統中，其回饋立場和交互模式也會有所不同。研究還揭示出學生在小組同伴回饋中採用四種仲介策略實現其回饋動機：人工製品仲介策略、規則仲介策略、社群仲介策略和任務分工仲介策略。 / Yu, Shulin. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2014. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 255-275). / Abstracts also in Chinese. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on 21, December, 2016). / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only.

In this inquiry, I used a qualitative-portraiture approach to examine the social, cultural, and psychological influences on piano students' decisions to continue taking piano lessons. I collected data between 1997 and 2002. Data types included field notes, interpretive memos, audiotaped and videotaped piano lessons, audiotaped one-on-one interviews and retrospective interviews, email messages, and written documents. The main sources of data used for analysis were transcribed videotapes of piano lessons in the music studio and interviews with the teacher and three of her promising students. I drew on Vygotsky Halliday, and Wenger's theoretical frameworks to conceptualize my understanding of the social, cultural, and psychological issues that influence promising music students' commitment to learning music. I used Vygotsky's social-psychological-developmental theory of learning and Halliday's social theory of language to portray the significance of piano students' experiences in a music studio, their relationships with their teacher, and the teachers' use of language in the decision. Vygotsky's perspective on volitional-affective tendencies provided a framework for understanding how students' abilities to cope with their emotions influenced them to continue their music studies. I drew on Halliday's concept of Register to analyze the transcribed videotaped lesson data sets. I used Wenger's notion of Community of Practice to portray the social, cultural, and historical characteristics that play a role in motivating students to learn music. I found that being socialized into the music community, developing musical competencies, becoming a self-regulated learner, and being able to cope with the emotional experiences of playing and performing shape students' decisions to continue piano lessons. The results of my findings support that teachers influence their students' decision to continue their music studies by socializing them into the practices

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the impact of differentiated instructional techniques on non-traditional, adult student engagement in an RN-BSN completion program course. Differentiated instructional techniques have been a staple method of teaching in K-12 education for a number of years. Differentiated instruction (DI) is a means of teaching students by considering learning preferences and by offering options for meeting course requirements. Non-traditional, adult learners have varied life experiences as well as learning needs. This study addressed how and why engagement of the adult learner in a nursing course was affected by using common differentiated instructional techniques such as model-building, tiered assignment, and literature circles. The study was conducted using case study method. A purposeful sample of non-traditional, adult learners enrolled in an RN-BSN health promotion nursing course was taken. Data were collected via participant observation and field notes, faculty interview, participant journals, open-ended questionnaires, researcher notes, and focus group transcript. Tiered assignments (blog and family assessment) and literature circle postings were also reviewed. Thematic content analysis (TCA) was employed for data analysis. Five major themes emerged from the data: valuing the student, framing, learning environment, non-traditional teaching techniques, and behaviors of engagement. Each major theme was composed of several subthemes. Subthemes associated with valuing the student included personhood, voice of the student, self awareness, choice, and skills related to Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences. The second theme of framing was connected with the subthemes of making meaning and context. The third theme of learning environment entailed subthemes of safety, freedom, structure, and forced engagement. The fourth theme of non-traditional teaching techniques included “Out-of-the-box” thinking, control over learning, and self-directed learning. The final theme of behaviors of engagement was comprised of subthemes of enjoyment, ownership, accountability, motivation, and creativity. Findings of the study indicated that each of the differentiated instructional techniques had a positive impact on student engagement. The subthemes served to identify specific aspects of the DI techniques that were found to be most beneficial for the non-traditional, adult learner. / Department of Educational Studies

It is widely assumed that participation in study abroad contributes to developing second language (L2) proficiency, as well as related outcomes such as higher levels of L2 learning motivation and intercultural competence. However, empirical studies into the outcomes of participation in study abroad have been affected by a series of methodological limitations, including complete reliance on participant self-assessment, the omission of longitudinal design elements, failure to control for non-equivalent comparison groups where these are included and insufficient sample sizes for testing programme effects. Thus, the present study investigates further the impact of studying abroad with the EU's ERASMUS programme on the participants' overall L2 proficiency, their self-efficacy and anxiety in using the L2 with native and non-native speakers and on their self-motivation to continue learning the L2. To this end, a longitudinal mixed methods design was employed in which 143 German university students who applied for an ERASMUS exchange with a British university for the academic year 2012-2013 and were either accepted or rejected/ withdrawn formed the abroad and comparison groups. All students completed C-tests of overall English language proficiency and questionnaires that inquired into the students' mobility history, their L2 learning background, L2 motivation, intergroup attitudes and aspects of the study abroad experience itself. Both instruments were administered online at the onset of the study abroad period (September 2012), one term into the programme (December 2012) and prior to the students' return (either December 2012 or June 2013). This predominantly quantitative group-level study served to establish the outcomes of participation in study abroad for the students' linguistic and motivational development. Repeated interviews with a sub-sample of 15 participants served to illuminate the observed outcome patterns in terms of the motivational dynamics during study abroad, as well as common factors associated with individual differences in linguistic development. The results of the study show that during the first 3 months abroad the ERASMUS students made significantly higher gains in overall English proficiency than the group of potentially mobile students who continued to study at home. The effect of the learning context was large and highly significant (p =.001), even after the influence of pre-existing participant characteristics on the students' proficiency development was controlled for. During the subsequent 6 months of the study abroad period, however, progress among the ERASMUS group slowed and the between-group differences were no longer significant. The participants' L2 proficiency level at programme entry emerged as the strongest predictor of overall L2 proficiency gain, explaining up to 31.5% of the variance. The students' attitudes towards their own national group, their perceptions of self-efficacy and feelings of anxiety when using English in social interactions, the perceived present-future L2 self-discrepancy and gender explained another 13.6% of the variance in overall L2 proficiency gain. Learner-external factors, including participation in English language instruction, participation in clubs and societies, the number of academic contact hours and type of enrolment, and free time spent with co-national peers, including friends and family back home explained a further 10.9%. The qualitative analysis of the students' accounts provided further insights into the ways in which these factors play out in L2 learning abroad, as well as into the students' perceptions of aspects of studying abroad that contributed most to their linguistic development. Regarding the motivational impact of the study abroad experience, the study found that ERASMUS students tended to develop significantly higher levels of self-efficacy in using English in social interactions as compared to the group of potentially mobile students who continued to study at home, while both the levels of perceived present-future self-discrepancy and English use anxiety with native and non-native speakers fell during the first 3 months abroad. While the overall impact of the study abroad experience on the students' motivation to continue learning the L2 was perceived as positive by the vast majority of participants, a decline in learning motivation was observed for most students after the initial 3-month period. The qualitative analysis showed that this decline can be plausibly explained by developments in the students' English self-concept that occurred in response to the study abroad experience. Evidence-based recommendations are made regarding ways in which the linguistic and motivational development of ERASMUS students can be more effectively supported by higher education institutions.

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This qualitative research study examined developmental reading instructors' reported use of metacognitive reading strategies as well as what other approaches they used to improve and increase the reading comprehension of their struggling adult readers. The researcher collected data using two interviews per participant and document analyses. Although studies have deemed metacognitive reading strategies effective in increasing the reading comprehension of struggling readers, the results indicated that the participants did not typically instruct their struggling adult readers in the use of metacognitive reading strategies. The implications for the study were related to instructional practice in developmental reading courses, policy changes, and struggling readers. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

by Hui Na-na, Anna. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-122). / Text in English; Questionnaire also in Chinese. / by Hui Na-na, Anna. / LISTS OF FIGURE & TABLES V / Chapter CHAPTER 1 - --- INTRODUCTION / Chapter 1.1 --- Background of the study / Chapter 1.1.1 --- Approaches to Creativity --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1.2 --- Motivational Orientation and Creativity --- p.4 / Chapter 1.1.3 --- Relationship between Classroom Environment and Creativity --- p.6 / Chapter 1.1.4 --- Relationship between Classroom Environment and Motivational Orientation --- p.9 / Chapter 1.2 --- Research Questions --- p.12 / Chapter 1.3 --- Significance of the Study --- p.13 / Chapter CHAPTER 2 - --- LITERATURE REVIEW / Chapter 2.1 --- Conception of Creativity / Chapter 2.1.1 --- Definition of Creativity --- p.15 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- Factors of Creativity --- p.17 / Chapter 2.1.3 --- Distinction between Creativity and Intelligence --- p.18 / Chapter 2.2 --- Approaches to Creativity / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Creative Personality --- p.20 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Creative Product --- p.21 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Creative Process --- p.23 / Chapter 2.2.4 --- Creative Press (Environment) --- p.25 / Chapter 2.2.5 --- More Integrative Approaches to Creativity --- p.26 / Chapter 2.2.6 --- An Approach to Studying Creativity in Writing --- p.31 / Chapter 2.3 --- Creativity and Classroom Environment / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Environmental Stimulants of Creativity in the Classroom --- p.32 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Environmental Inhibitors of Creativity in the Classroom --- p.35 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- Teachers' and Peers' Judgment of Creativity and Social Validation of Students' Creativity in the Classroom --- p.36 / Chapter 2.4 --- Conception of Motivational Orientation / Chapter 2.4.1 --- Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivational Orientation --- p.38 / Chapter 2.4.2 --- Orientation as Trait and Involvement as State --- p.39 / Chapter 2.5 --- Motivational Orientation and Classroom Environment --- p.41 / Chapter 2.6 --- Motivational Orientation and Creativity --- p.45 / Chapter 2.7 --- Hypotheses of the Study --- p.47 / Chapter CHAPTER 3 - --- METHOD / Chapter 3.1 --- Operational Definitions of Variables / Chapter 3.1.1 --- Operational Definition of Creativity --- p.49 / Chapter 3.1.2 --- Operational Definition of Motivational Orientation --- p.49 / Chapter 3.1.3 --- Operational Definition of Classroom Environment --- p.50 / Chapter 3.2 --- Subjects --- p.50 / Chapter 3.3 --- Instruments / Chapter 3.3.1 --- The Consensual Assessment of Creativity --- p.51 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Motivational Orientation Scale --- p.52 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Classroom Environment Questionnaire --- p.53 / Chapter 3.3.4 --- Behavioral Characteristics of Students --- p.55 / Chapter 3.4 --- Procedure / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Pilot Study --- p.55 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Main Study --- p.56 / Chapter Chapter 4 - --- results / Chapter 4.1 --- Reliabilities of Instruments / Chapter 4.1.1 --- Consensual Assessment of Creativity --- p.58 / Chapter 4.1.2 --- Motivational Orientation Scale --- p.61 / Chapter 4.1.3 --- Classroom Environment Questionnaire --- p.62 / Chapter 4.1.4 --- Behavioral Characteristics of Students --- p.65 / Chapter 4.1.5 --- Mean Scores and Standard Deviations of Instruments --- p.66 / Chapter 4.2 --- Relationships Among Product Creativity and Other Variables / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Objective and Subjective Judgment of Creativity --- p.67 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- "Students' Product Creativity, Students' Behavioral Characteristics and Peer Nomination of Creativity" --- p.70 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Behavioral Characteristics of Students and Students' Motivational Orientation --- p.73 / Chapter 4.2.4 --- Product Creativity and Students' Motivational Orientation --- p.73 / Chapter 4.2.5 --- Students' Behavioral Characteristics and Their Perception of Classroom Environment --- p.73 / Chapter 4.2.6 --- Product Creativity and Students' Perception of Classroom Environment --- p.74 / Chapter 4.2.7 --- Students' Motivational Orientation and Their Perception of Classroom Environment --- p.77 / Chapter 4.2.8 --- Students' Perception of Classroom Environment and Others' Perceived Measures of Students' Creativity --- p.78 / Chapter 4.3 --- "Sex Effects of Variables on Behavioral Characteristics of Students, Peer Nomination of Creativity and Self-Perception of Creativity" --- p.79 / Chapter 4.4 --- Prediction of Students' Product Creativity / Chapter 4.4.1 --- Students' Product Creativity Predicted by Objective and Subjective-Creativity Variables --- p.84 / Chapter 4.4.2 --- Students' Product Creativity Predicted by Students' Perception of Classroom Environment --- p.86 / Chapter 4.4.3 --- Students' Product Creativity Predicted by Students' Self-Perception of Motivational Orientation and Creativity --- p.87 / Chapter 4.4.4 --- Students' Product Creativity Predicted by Teachers' Observation of Behavioral Characteristics and Peer Nomination of Creativity --- p.89 / Chapter 4.4.5 --- Students' Product Creativity Predicted by all Independent Variables --- p.91 / Chapter 4.5 --- Summary of Findings / Chapter CHAPTER 5 - --- discussion / Chapter 5.1 --- Implications and Directions for Future Research / Chapter 5.1.1 --- Social Validity of Students' Creativity --- p.96 / Chapter 5.1.2 --- "Students' Creativity, Motivational Orientation and Behavioral Characteristics of Students" --- p.98 / Chapter 5.1.3 --- Students' Creativity and Classroom Environment --- p.100 / Chapter 5.1.4 --- Students' Self-Perception of Creativity --- p.102 / Chapter 5.2 --- Limitations of the Study --- p.104 / references / Appendices