Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of West Florida, 2006. / Title from title page of source document. Document formatted into pages; contains 135 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Twenty-first century youth have been privy to regular exposure to digital technology, both in their schools and in the home, which has resulted in a change of both lifestyle and educational practice from that enjoyed by prior generations. Parallel to the technology market trajectory that has arguably influenced the psychological and psycho-social development of contemporary youth is the burgeoning industry of learning technology. Integration of such technology into South African schools is relatively in its infancy when compared to global initiatives, and has sparked debate as to the place of technology within education in a country fraught with divided resources. In consideration of the influence of technology on education, research which investigates the motivating role of technology upon learning, particularly from the perspective of the learners themselves, is amiss. This study aimed to discover the extent to which technology tools used in education motivate the twenty-first century South African learner to learn, and whether the use of such technology would create a more engaging, relevant educational environment. In order to investigate the topic, exploratory qualitative research as underpinned by the constructivist paradigm and within a social constructivist theoretical framework was conducted as a case study. Purposive sampling was employed to select Grade 11 learners in order to gain their perspectives and those of their teachers who bear witness to their learning at one private co-educational high school in the Western Cape. Qualitative content analysis was utilised to interpret the data collected from a semi-structured focus group interview conducted with eight learners, as well as from learner and teacher questionnaires which provided valuable contextualisation for the focus group interview. The research findings from the study indicated that the learner participants could identify the role of intrinsic motivation to learn, and demonstrated awareness of the factors that contributed to the facilitation thereof, of which learning technology played a prominent role. The participants noted the importance of the complementary role of learning technology; a means to an end and not an end in itself. Important considerations were highlighted, such as the potential for distraction, personal learning preferences, and conceptualisations of learning required for technology to be successfully integrated into the twenty-first century learning environment. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In teenstelling met vorige generasies word die jeug van die 21ste eeu gereeld blootgestel aan digitale tegnologie, tuis sowel as in hul skole, wat ‘n verandering in beide hul leefstyl en die onderwyspraktyk tot gevolg het. Parallel aan die baan van ontwikkeling van die tegnologiemarkte, wat ʼn betwisbare invloed het op die sielkundige en psigososiale ontwikkeling van die hedendaagse jeug het, is die ontluikende industrie van leertegnologie. Die integrasie van sulke tegnologie in Suid-Afrikaanse skole is nog in sy kinderskoene as dit vergelyk word met globale inisiatiewe en dit het debat oor die plek van tegnologie in ‘n land met oneweredig verdeelde hulpbronne ontlok. As die invloed van tegnologie op opvoeding in ag geneem word, is navorsing wat die motiverende effek van tegnologie op leer ondersoek, veral vanuit die perpektief van die leerders self, beperk. Die doel van hierdie studie was om vas te stel tot watter mate tegnologiese hulpmiddels in die onderwys die Suid-Afrikaanse leerder van die 21ste eeu motiveer om te leer en of die gebruik van sulke tegnologie ʼn meer deelnemende, relevante onderwysomgewing sal skep. Hierdie verkennende, kwalitatiewe gevallestudie binne die konstruktivistiese paradigma het sosiale konstruktivisme as die onderliggende teoretiese raamwerk gehad. Doelbewuste steekproefneming is uitgevoer om die Graad 11 leerders uit 'n enkele private hoërskool in die Wes-Kaap te selekteer om sodoende hul perspektiewe asook dié van hul onderwysers, wat van hul leerproses kan getuig, te bekom. Data is deur middel van ʼn semi-gestruktureerde fokusgroeponderhoud asook vraelyste aan beide die leerders en onderwysers ingesamel, wat waardevolle kontekstualisering vir die fokusgroeponderhoud voorsien het. Die ontleding van die navorsingsdata is met behulp van kwalitatiewe inhoudsanalise uitgevoer. Die bevindings van hierdie studie het aangedui dat die leerderdeelnemers die rol van intrinsieke motivering om te leer kon identifiseer en hulle het ʼn bewustheid getoon vir die faktore wat dit bevorder. Leertegnologie het ʼn prominente rol gespeel in hierdie faktore. Die deelnemers het gewys op die belangrike komplementêre rol van leertegnologie; ʼn weg tot ʼn doel en nie die doel self nie. Belangrike oorwegings is uitgelig, soos die potensiaal vir aandagafleiding en ook persoonlike leervoorkeure en konseptualiserings van leer benodig vir suksesvolle integrasie van tegnologie in die 21ste eeuse leeromgewing.

Submitted by Suelen Reis (suziy.ellen@gmail.com) on 2013-05-13T19:16:15Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Gesiel Silva.pdf: 902907 bytes, checksum: 3da0290b49d43551dfdda00827211045 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Rodrigo Meirelles(rodrigomei@ufba.br) on 2013-05-16T17:27:41Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Gesiel Silva.pdf: 902907 bytes, checksum: 3da0290b49d43551dfdda00827211045 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-05-16T17:27:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Gesiel Silva.pdf: 902907 bytes, checksum: 3da0290b49d43551dfdda00827211045 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Este trabalho de pesquisa investiga os efeitos e a importância da autonomia no ensinoaprendizagem de língua inglesa e de que maneira ela contribui para o surgimento ou o desenvolvimento da motivação no estudante. Investiga, também, como isso se relaciona com o uso de estratégias e quais são os tipos de motivação atuantes no comportamento dos educandos, capazes de levá-los a serem independentes e sujeitos transformadores da sua realidade. Para tanto, foram realizadas entrevistas, observações de aulas e aplicação de questionários em duas instituições - uma pública e a outra particular - com o objetivo de verificar, na prática, se os fenômenos de insatisfação e do prazer pelo aprendizado de inglês estão diretamente relacionados às estratégias utilizadas pelos aprendizes e se fortalecem a sua motivação para o exercício da sua autonomia. Discute-se a seguir como as estratégias podem ser usadas para facilitar o aprendizado e a convivência entre alunos e professores na sala de aula com vistas a obter um envolvimento maior com os conteúdos, com os colegas e com a instituição, reforçando a capacidade de tornar os educandos seres críticos e reflexivos sobre a sua prática e as dos outros. Trata-se de um estudo apoiado, principalmente, nos depoimentos dos estudantes, que visa a analisar o contexto em que exercem o seu aprendizado, suas dificuldades e aproveitamento e o que fazem para mudar suas posturas e ações diante dos desafios relacionados à aula de inglês e às exigências sócio-culturais. No marco teórico, serão apresentadas e discutidas idéias de autores como Dale Schunk, Diane Houghton, Dick Allwright, George Snyders, Jean Piaget, Rebecca Oxford, Lieslie Dickinson, Linda Davidoff, Marli Moreira, Myron Dembo, Paulo Freire, Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais, Philip Riley, Zotan Dörney, entre outros. Busca-se dimensionar a importância da autonomia, que é vista aqui como um conjunto de atitudes, posturas, valores e planejamento, em etapas, das tarefas com vistas a um aprendizado mais consistente e duradouro e um comprometimento com os objetivos e o respeito à alteridade. E, com isso, avaliar como tudo se relaciona com a motivação e as estratégias produzidas pelos educandos na aprendizagem da língua inglesa e na contextualização desses conhecimentos. / Salvador

Educational Studies / (M. Ed. (Specialisation in Guidance and Counseling))

The main objective of this study was to determine the effect of technology on attention and concentration within the South African classroom. The theoretical investigation showed the link between focus, attention and concentration. It also revealed the importance of motivation in order to capture the attention of the learner in the classroom. The life-world of the learner is often far removed from the classroom learning context. During the empirical investigation, lessons were conducted with and without the presence of technology in order to ascertain whether a difference in attention and concentration would elicit different results. An ANOVA procedure indicated that there is a significant difference between the average achievements of a group of learners exposed to technology during a lesson, compared to a group not exposed to technology; there is a significant difference between the average attentions of a group of learners exposed to technology during a lesson compared to a group not exposed to technology; there is a significant relationship that exists between motivation and concentration; and that a significant relationship exists between motivation and attention in Mathematics. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Psychology of Education)

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:24:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2008-02-27Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:52:09Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 kawachi_cj_me_arafcl.pdf: 1001624 bytes, checksum: 79f1ef0c3c86ebc87ba69034e49f3860 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O objetivo deste estudo é verificar as potencialidades da música como recurso didáticopedagógico na aula de língua inglesa. Acreditamos que o uso da música pode contribuir para o envolvimento dos alunos com atividades na língua-alvo, influenciando positivamente na motivação dos estudantes, que, diante da situação de desprestígio do ensino de inglês, acabam se desinteressando pela aprendizagem. A investigação foi realizada em duas séries do ensino fundamental e uma série do ensino médio de uma escola da rede pública de ensino. Os dados foram analisados com base na bibliografia da área, à luz das teorias de motivação, educação musical e abordagens de ensino. Os resultados obtidos foram positivos confirmando a hipótese deste trabalho de que é possível despertar o interesse dos aprendizes por meio da música, já que esta é uma distração reconhecidamente apreciada por adolescentes. Assim, partindo de um recurso motivador para esses alunos, foi possível elaborar atividades que atingissem o objetivo principal deste trabalho, isto é, a utilização da música como recurso significativo no processo de ensino-aprendizagem de inglês como língua estrangeira na rede pública. Esta pesquisa pode contribuir com estudos relacionados à produção de material didático na medida em que, com o auxílio da música, foi possível elaborar atividades que estimularam as quatro habilidades da língua – leitura, escrita, fala e compreensão auditiva, desenvolvendo, também, o trabalho com vocabulário, aspectos gramaticais e interpretação de texto, mantendo-se, durante as aulas, uma associação entre o conteúdo delas e o recurso estudado. / The aim of this study is to verify the potential of music as a pedagogic resource in the English class. We believe that the use of music may contribute to students’ involvement with the activities in the target language, as it positively influences in students’ motivation which is sometimes affected by the feeling of disregard that surrounds English classes in Brazil, often leaving students uninterested in learning. The investigation was done with two classes of the elementary school and with one group of high school. The data were analyzed based on the bibliography of the area, considering the theories of motivation, musical education and teaching methodologies. The results were very positive and confirmed the hypothesis of this study, that it is possible to awake students’ interest through the use of music, since this is an important hobby appreciated by teenagers. Therefore, with the use of a motivating resource for these students, it was possible to develop activities that reached the main goal of this study, that is, the use of music as a significant resource in the process of teaching and learning English as a foreign language in public schools. This research can contribute to studies about the production of teaching material because, with the aid of songs, it was possible to develop activities that stimulated the four language skills – reading, writing, speaking and listening. Moreover, we could improve the work with vocabulary, grammar aspects, text comprehension, trying to keep during the classes an association between their content and the resource studied.

Thesis (MTech (Education)-- Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2007 / The school principal as educational leader is the key person in the implementation of curriculum change in schools and plays a vital role in motivating staff members in this regard. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the school principal in regard to motivating educators during the implementation of new curricula. The principal's role as motivator is investigated in Chapter 2 on the basis of a number of motivation theories and techniques. Chapter 3 investigates the management function of the principal in regard to curriculum change. A questionnaire was devised on the grounds of the literature study and an empirical study (Chapter 4) was done with a group of primary school teachers and school principals employed by the Western Cape Education Department. From the literature review and empirical studies the following roles of the principal to motivate staff members, emerged: • Improvement of group morale • Empowerment of staff members • Delegating of tasks • Creating a positive school climate. The following tasks of the school principal are important during the implementation of curriculum change: • Creating a climate for change • Effective communication • The development of human potential. Curriculum change has a negative impact on the motivation and perception of teaching for many teachers. The findings of this study show that educators argue that the school principal should be the motivator of staff in this regard.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment for the degree MASTERS IN EDUCATION in the FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SCIENCES, 2010 / Motivation is an important element in reading success. There is a concern that many learners are not choosing to read on their own and that independent reading opportunities during the school day appear to be diminishing. Research suggests that if children do not read on their own, they may lose some reading ability. The Department of Education conducts systemic evaluation tests to determine the literacy and numeracy levels of Grade 3 and Grade 6 learners in South Africa. These tests reveal that a high proportion of learners are scoring below the required level for the grade. There are a number of reasons why the learners are not performing at the required level for the grade but educators are determined to improve learners’ reading and comprehension skills. Many educators therefore ask, “How do I get my learners to read?” Not all learners are reluctant to read. Some learners do show an eagerness to read and write and they enjoy reading. These engaged readers are intrinsically motivated and value reading. In contrast, disengaged readers are inert and inactive and avoid reading. Often extrinsic measures such as punishment or rewards would coerce these learners to read. The aim of this study is to determine which teaching practices would motivate learners in a grade 6 class to read. Key theories which underpin this study are social constructivism, social learning theory and socio-cultural learning theory. Qualitative data and quantitative data were collected from interviews and questionnaires. The research tool which was used to measure the learners’ self concepts as readers and the value of reading is referred to as the Motivation to Read Profile (MRP). The MRP was devised by Gambrell, Palmer, Codling and Mazzoni (1996:520). Because the study followed an action research model, an intervention strategy was implemented which allowed the researcher to measure effects and to reflect on teaching practices and reading methodology.