This thesis investigates the question: Can Experience Design be applied to create a perception shift from elderly as a burden to elderly as a resource for society? This is done by researching the social norms about ageing and the aged in Swedish society. To conduct this research I put together a focus group of 7 people with different professional backgrounds and ages ranging from 23 to 74. In four workshops I used design-led research methods to research these “mental models”. Using participatory theatre techniques we investigated the personal view of the ageing process. And through discussions and design thinking we articulated the often unspoken social norms. In the workshops we defined our current social norms regarding ageing as Aged Thinking. A counter philosophy was developed called Ageless Thinking. In order to create a change in mindset from Aged Thinking to Ageless Thinking a tool was developed called the Enticon. With this tool people can show what their focus is in life right now regardless of their chronological age. The Enticon was introduced at the Konstfack Spring Exhibition 2013 and also as a web based application.

The development of a creative personality is becoming more and more significant in the rapidly changing world. The aim of this work is to reveal the peculiarities of 5 –7 year old children verbal and nonverbal creative thinking. In the first (theoretical) part problems of creativity and creative thinking are analysed. In the second (practical) part the results of research on the indices of verbal and nonverbal creative thinking of pre – school children (5–7) are analysed. The object of research – creativity of 5 – 7 year children and education of creativity. The aim of research – to reveal the peculiarities of 5 – 7 year old children verbal and nonverbal creative thinking. The tasks of research: 1) to analyse the indices of creativity among girls and boys; 2) to analyse the indices of creativity among 5 and 7 year old children; 3) to analyse the indices of creativity among children from Vilnius and Alytus. Hypothesis: 1) girl's and boy's verbal and nonverbal creative thinking indices are equal; 2) 5 year old children are conditionally more creatable then 7 year old children; 3) creativity of the 5 and 7 year old children differ due to the place of residence: children from Vilnius are conditionally more creatable then children from Alytus. The research proved that the first hypothesis wasn’t confirmed. The girl's nonverbal creative thinking indices are higher then boy's. The boy's verbal creative thinking indices are higher than girl's. The second hypothesis was fully... [to full text]

This research investigated whether completing an introductory GIS course affects college students' spatial literacy as defined by spatial habits of mind, spatial concepts and thinking skills, and critical spatial thinking. This study employed three tests (spatial habits of mind inventory, spatial concepts and skills test, critical spatial thinking oral test) to measure students' performance on these three elements. Furthermore, this research investigated the relationship among the components. Pre- and post-tests were conducted at the beginning and the end of the 2010 fall semester, and Texas A&M undergraduate students participated in the research. The following four research questions were examined. The first research question investigated whether GIS learning improves spatial habits of mind (n = 168). Five sub-dimensions of spatial habits of mind (pattern recognition, spatial description, visualization, spatial concept use, and spatial tool use) were identified. Overall, GIS students' spatial habits of mind were enhanced. However, variations existed when considering students' performance by dimension. The second research question explored whether GIS learning affects students' understanding and use of spatial concepts and thinking skills (n = 171). This research found that the GIS course was beneficial in improving students' spatial cognition. Students increased their understanding of key spatial concepts and applied conceptual understanding into wider contexts with advanced spatial thinking skills. The third research question examined the effects of a GIS course through interviews on the three sub-dimensions of critical spatial thinking: data reliability, spatial reasoning, and problem-solving validity (n = 32). The quantitative analyses indicated that participants developed their ability regarding these three sub-dimensions of critical spatial thinking. In particular, their ability to assess data reliability and problem-solving validity improved, an effect not likely to be enhanced by other coursework. Findings from qualitative thematic analysis confirmed these quantitative outcomes. The final research question probed the relationships among the three components of spatial literacy. Pearson?s correlation coefficient, a 3D space (termed "score space" in this study), a test for independence, and an exploratory factor analysis suggested that the three components are positively correlated. However, more research is necessary to confirm the results reported in this study.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the language proficiency and critical thinking abilities of Grade 11 learners in the ACE system. This would aid to direct learners in the FET phase to enhance their critical thinking skills and language proficiency. ACE is referred to as the Accelerated Christian Education or School of Tomorrow. Accelerated Christian Education is the trade name of School of Tomorrow. The School of Tomorrow program is individualised and non-graded. It allows each learner to work on his performance and achievement level which can differ from learning area to learning area (School of Tomorrow, 1995:29). Language proficiency is of utmost importance when it comes to cognitive development within the classroom, the curriculum or life in general, especially when a learner has to learn his subjects in another language of learning and teaching (Donald, Lazarus, & Lolwana, 2005:73). According to Cummins (in McKay, 2007:2) each learner should be taught in his mother-tongue to a threshold level of proficiency in order to transfer the knowledge to the other language and ensure positive cognitive growth. If a learner is not proficient in the Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT) his academic achievement will be poor as well as his critical thinking skills. South Africa has II official languages in terms of Act 108 of the Constitution (Department of Education, I997). In the Further Education and Training phase, learners have to take two of the 11 official languages as their core majors and other languages can be taken as electives (Department of Education, 2005:11). Since parents have the right to choose their child's language of learning and teaching and are not bound by law to choose their mother-tongue, English is mainly chosen as it is seen as the language of educational and economic empowerment (De Klerk, 1995:28). However, it is emphasised by Schroeder (2004:383) and Woolfolk (2004: 179) that mother-tongue education is by far preferable. Weideman and Van Rensburg (2006:157) are of the opinion that it is better to be taught and be academically successful in one's mother tongue before choosing another language of learning and teaching. De Klerk (1995:50) asserts that a lack of language proficiency in the language of learning and teaching is a main reason for low academic performance. One of the main aims of education is to gain as much information as possible. However, information is gained through communication and communication through a language (De Bono, 1969:9). If, however, the individual is not able to understand the language with all its nuances, certain information is missed. And as information is missed, it is thrown away. A person cannot think about something he does not understand (Strydom & Du Plessis, 2000: 129). Critical thinking is necessary for every day decision making. No matter what one's circumstances, a person with good thinking skills will be more successful in life. Poor thinking causes frustration, a waste of time, ineffective use of energy and pain (Paul & Elder, 2002: xiii). A critical thinker will be able to apply the knowledge he/she has learnt in real life situations. Vygotsky (McGregor, 2007: I 0) asked the question: "Does language mirror thought or thought language or both?" In educational psychology it is generally accepted that language and thinking are interwoven (Donald, et a!., 2005 :219). The descriptive research method was used. For the purpose of this study, 10 Grade 11 learners from the ACE system were conveniently sampled. These learners included six English Mother Tongue (EMT) learners and four English Second Language (ESL) learners. For the empirical research the ELSA test was used for language proficiency and the Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Test for testing critical thinking skills. Descriptive statistics were employed to interpret the results since the sample was too small for correlations and inferences. Generally the language proficiency of the EMT learners was on a Grade level 10. The language proficiency of the ESL learners was generally also on a Grade level I 0, which is acceptable for ESL learners. Critical thinking skills such as evaluation and interpretation were overall adequately developed. However, most of the learners performed poorly with inferences. Although statistical correlations could not be made, because of the small sample, with 8 of the learners it appears as if there was a link between language proficiency and critical thinking skills. These 8 learners' language proficiency and critical thinking results were either equally good or equally poor. / Thesis (M.Ed. (Learning and Teaching)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the language proficiency and critical thinking abilities of Grade 11 learners in the ACE system. This would aid to direct learners in the FET phase to enhance their critical thinking skills and language proficiency. ACE is referred to as the Accelerated Christian Education or School of Tomorrow. Accelerated Christian Education is the trade name of School of Tomorrow. The School of Tomorrow program is individualised and non-graded. It allows each learner to work on his performance and achievement level which can differ from learning area to learning area (School of Tomorrow, 1995:29). Language proficiency is of utmost importance when it comes to cognitive development within the classroom, the curriculum or life in general, especially when a learner has to learn his subjects in another language of learning and teaching (Donald, Lazarus, & Lolwana, 2005:73). According to Cummins (in McKay, 2007:2) each learner should be taught in his mother-tongue to a threshold level of proficiency in order to transfer the knowledge to the other language and ensure positive cognitive growth. If a learner is not proficient in the Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT) his academic achievement will be poor as well as his critical thinking skills. South Africa has II official languages in terms of Act 108 of the Constitution (Department of Education, I997). In the Further Education and Training phase, learners have to take two of the 11 official languages as their core majors and other languages can be taken as electives (Department of Education, 2005:11). Since parents have the right to choose their child's language of learning and teaching and are not bound by law to choose their mother-tongue, English is mainly chosen as it is seen as the language of educational and economic empowerment (De Klerk, 1995:28). However, it is emphasised by Schroeder (2004:383) and Woolfolk (2004: 179) that mother-tongue education is by far preferable. Weideman and Van Rensburg (2006:157) are of the opinion that it is better to be taught and be academically successful in one's mother tongue before choosing another language of learning and teaching. De Klerk (1995:50) asserts that a lack of language proficiency in the language of learning and teaching is a main reason for low academic performance. One of the main aims of education is to gain as much information as possible. However, information is gained through communication and communication through a language (De Bono, 1969:9). If, however, the individual is not able to understand the language with all its nuances, certain information is missed. And as information is missed, it is thrown away. A person cannot think about something he does not understand (Strydom & Du Plessis, 2000: 129). Critical thinking is necessary for every day decision making. No matter what one's circumstances, a person with good thinking skills will be more successful in life. Poor thinking causes frustration, a waste of time, ineffective use of energy and pain (Paul & Elder, 2002: xiii). A critical thinker will be able to apply the knowledge he/she has learnt in real life situations. Vygotsky (McGregor, 2007: I 0) asked the question: "Does language mirror thought or thought language or both?" In educational psychology it is generally accepted that language and thinking are interwoven (Donald, et a!., 2005 :219). The descriptive research method was used. For the purpose of this study, 10 Grade 11 learners from the ACE system were conveniently sampled. These learners included six English Mother Tongue (EMT) learners and four English Second Language (ESL) learners. For the empirical research the ELSA test was used for language proficiency and the Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Test for testing critical thinking skills. Descriptive statistics were employed to interpret the results since the sample was too small for correlations and inferences. Generally the language proficiency of the EMT learners was on a Grade level 10. The language proficiency of the ESL learners was generally also on a Grade level I 0, which is acceptable for ESL learners. Critical thinking skills such as evaluation and interpretation were overall adequately developed. However, most of the learners performed poorly with inferences. Although statistical correlations could not be made, because of the small sample, with 8 of the learners it appears as if there was a link between language proficiency and critical thinking skills. These 8 learners' language proficiency and critical thinking results were either equally good or equally poor. / Thesis (M.Ed. (Learning and Teaching)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

While the challenge of improving young North Americans’ civic engagement seems to lie in the hands of schools, studying alternative ways of teaching citizenship education could benefit the current educational system. In this context, free schools (i.e., schools run democratically by students and teachers), guided by a philosophy that aims at engaging students civically through the democratic activities that they support, offer a relatively unexplored ground for research. The present inquiry is a case study using tools of ethnography and drawing upon some principles of complexity thinking. It aims at understanding students’ citizenship education experiences during democratic activities in a Canadian free school. It describes many experiences that can arise from these activities. They occurred within a school that operated democratically based on a consensus-model. More precisely, they took place during two kinds of democratic activities: class meetings, which regulated the social life of the school, and judicial committees, whose function was to solve conflicts at the school. During these activities, students mostly experienced a combination of feelings of appreciation, concernment and empowerment. While experiencing these feelings, they predominantly engaged in decision-making and conflict resolution processes. During these processes, students modified their conflict resolutions skills, various conceptions, and their participation in democratic activities and in the school. Based on these findings, the study concludes that students can develop certain skills and attitude associated to citizenship education during these activities and become active from a citizenship perspective. Hence, these democratic activities represent alternative strategies that can assist educators in teaching about citizenship.

This thesis is an auto-ethnographic study of teaching methods proposed to be effective in developing thinking skills that advance meaning making in my middle school art classes. The study explored the use of Visible Thinking Routines Ritchart et all, 2001) and Art Investigations (Herz, 2010) in middle school art classes.Reflections and other field texts reveal the extent to which I found these methods effective in guiding students to develop higher order thinking skills that support more meaningful outcomes in art and could be beneficial in other areas of their lives.

Thesis (M.I.T.)--The Evergreen State College, 2007. / Title from title screen viewed (6/25/2008). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 66-70).

Thesis (Ed. D.)-- Boise State University, 2009. / Title from t.p. of PDF file (viewed June 22, 2010). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 77-84).

The diploma thesis deals with problems of algorithmization and programming at elementary schools. It examines the influence of teaching the basics of programming in Scratch on the development of pupils' algorithmic thinking and their ability to develop logical thinking and problem solving. The theoretical part deals with the definition of related concepts and the relation of programming to the key competencies defined by the RVP ZV. The practical part evaluates the experience with the teaching of pupils of the 5th and 6th grades of elementary school within the pedagogical experiment, whose aim was to study the influence of teaching with the use of the visual programming language Scratch on the development of pupils' algorithmic thinking.