No description available.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to gain insight into how children in preschool meet and experience number and problem solving in mathematics and to explore how the preschool teacher stimulates and supports children in their learning and development during this process. In order to obtain views on how this appears in kindergarten, I chose to start out from preschool teachers' perceptions and the image I got from several observations, in various nursery classes. To carry out my research, I chose to conduct observations and interviews. I made several observations in four nursery classes in two kindergartens. In addition I interviewed four preschool teachers from these two kindergartens. The essay has a socio-cultural perspective as theoretical basis. The result shows that children face and experience number and problem solving continuously in various everyday situations and contexts, for example during the play as well as gatherings and activities, during meals, etc, through language and concepts and different mathematical aspects. It also suggests that the preschool teacher's role is crucial for children's learning in these situations and this learning process. The preschool teacher's role is to be close to the children and to challenge their mathematical thinking in different situations to understand number and solve problems and to be attentive and make the children's learning visible in everyday life to give the children positive experiences of mathematics. / Syftet med denna studie var att få en inblick i hur barn i förskolan möter och upplever tal och problemlösning inom matematiken, samt att undersöka hur förskolläraren stimulerar och stödjer barnen i deras lärande och utveckling under denna process. För att få syn på hur detta sker i förskolan, valde jag att utgå ifrån förskollärarnas uppfattning och den bild som jag fick av flera observationer på olika barnavdelningar. För att kunna genomföra min undersökning valde jag att utföra observationer och intervjuer. Jag genomförde flera observationer på fyra olika barnavdelningar i två förskolor. Dessutom intervjuade jag fyra förskollärare från dessa två förskolor. Uppsatsen har ett sociokulturellt perspektiv som teoretisk utgångspunkt. Resultatet visar att barnen möter och upplever tal och problemlösning kontinuerligt i olika vardagliga situationer och sammanhang, som i leken, i samlingen, på måltiderna, etc, genom språk och begrepp och i olika matematiska aspekter. Det framkommer även att förskollärarens roll är avgörande för barns lärande i dessa situationer och under denna läroprocess. Pedagogens roll är att vara nära barnen och att utmana deras matematiska tänkande i olika situationer för att de ska förstå tal och lösa problem, samt att vara uppmärksam och synliggöra barns lärande i vardagen för att ge barnen positiva erfarenheter av matematiken.

Pain catastrophizing emerges in the literature as one of the most important psychological determinants of both pain itself and the negative outcomes commonly associated with it. However, despite decades of research confirming the impact of catastrophizing, there are still areas that remain unexplored or in which the surface has only been scratched. The overall aim of this dissertation was to expand existing knowledge about catastrophizing and to advance the theoretical framework around the concept. The role of catastrophizing was explored in three distinct areas: during pain in childbirth, in exposure treatment for back pain patients, and in a problem solving context. The findings from the three studies confirmed the vital role of catastrophizing in these areas. Firstly, catastrophizing played a critical role in pain in childbirth; women who catastrophized reported labor pain as more intense and the subsequent recovery period as longer than women who did not catastrophize. Secondly, catastrophizing was identified as a moderator of treatment effect in exposure in vivo for back pain patients with pain-related fear; patients who catastrophized were not helped by the exposure. Thirdly, catastrophizing played a role in a problem solving context; although this is in line with contemporary models such as the misdirected problem solving model, the results suggested a somewhat different pathway to this previous model. Taken together, these findings underscore the instrumental role of catastrophizing in diverse areas and imply a need for catastrophzing to be assessed and addressed in clinical contexts. In addition, the findings highlight a need for further development of the theoretical framework around catastrophizing as well as treatment interventions that directly target catastrophizing. Based on these needs, a new model of catastrophizing was proposed – a model of catastrophizing from a process perspective. In this model, the proposed function of catastrophizing is to down-regulate negative affect, as a form of internal avoidance. The model is a complement to existing theoretical models and provides a framework for developing treatment interventions that directly target catastrophizing, for example by problem solving skills training. Successful interventions for people who catastrophize would lead to several gains – for the individual in less suffering and increased ability to handle pain problems, and for society as a whole in reduced costs for health care for these individuals.

This study examined the effects of specially designed thinking journal activities that have been attributed with encouraging reflective thinking, on instruction using generic, or content-free problem solving software. Sixty-three fourth grade students participated in four instructional sessions using a software package called Moptown Hotel. Students completed separate posttests that measured (1) performance on problems of the same kind as those used in instruction, and (2) transfer of skills to other kinds of problems. Scores of students who wrote thinking journals prior to testing were compared with scores of students who did not. Results indicate that students who wrote thinking journals performed the same as students who did not when tested on problems similar to those practiced in class. Tests in which students transferred their skills to word problems, however, produced significant differences. There was no significant difference between scores when averaged over all four weekly occasions. However, for the final session alone, students who wrote thinking journals scored higher on tests of problem solving transfer than students who did not (p < .01). The study also examined the relationship between the degree of metacognitive thought displayed in students' journal entries, and their measured problem solving ability. Results indicate that students who had higher average reflectivity scores also had higher average problem solving performance and transfer scores (p < .05). It was also noted that the significant relationship between reflectivity and scores of problem solving ability was only observed in male students. It was concluded that under the right conditions, and for the right kinds of problems, thinking journal writing can help students understand their own thinking processes, resulting in improved problem solving behavior. The study also raises the question of whether there are differences between the ways that male and female students apply metacognitive awareness gained through journal writing experiences.

Children, 12 to 24 months of age, were presented with three tasks: two detour problems and a spatial task. The aim of the study was to assess the performance on each task and to consider the relationship between performance on the two detour problems and the relationship between spatial knowledge and detour ability. The two detour tasks (the lever task and the bent wire task) shared a common feature in that the object rather than the subject had to be moved in the detour. The results of the lever task indicated that age, experimental group (three lever designs were used) and the sex of subjects were influential variables. Analysis of the bent-wire data showed that as hypothesised age was the most important variable, accounting for qualitative and quantitative differences in performance. The results from the detour tasks were discussed with reference to the attainment of skilled behaviour and the relationship between cognitive development and detour ability. Spatial task results indicated that performance was related to age and that the type of error recorded was also related to the age of the subject. The hypothesised relationship between the two detour tasks was not supported by the data. Furthermore, the anticipated relationship between detour ability and spatial knowledge failed to emerge. These results were discussed in relation to the issue of developmental synchrony and the structuralist's view of development.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Physics / N. Sanjay Rebello / Calculus is used across many physics topics from introductory to upper-division level college courses. The concepts of differentiation and integration are important tools for solving real world problems. Using calculus or any mathematical tool in physics is much more complex than the straightforward application of the equations and algorithms that students often encounter in math classes. Research in physics education has reported students’ lack of ability to transfer their calculus knowledge to physics problem solving. In the past, studies often focused on what students fail to do with less focus on their underlying cognition. However, when solving physics problems requiring the use of integration, their reasoning about mathematics and physics concepts has not yet been carefully and systematically studied. Hence the main purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate student thinking in-depth and provide deeper insights into student reasoning in physics problem solving from multiple perspectives. I propose a conceptual framework by integrating aspects of several theoretical constructs from the literature to help us understand our observations of student work as they solve physics problems that require the use of integration. I combined elements of three important theoretical constructs: mathematical resources or symbolic forms, which are the small pieces of knowledge elements associated with students’ use of mathematical ideas; conceptual metaphors, which describe the systematic mapping of knowledge across multiple conceptual domains – typically from concrete source domain to abstract target domain; and conceptual blending, which describes the construction of new learning by integrating knowledge in different mental spaces. I collected data from group teaching/learning interviews as students solved physics problems requiring setting up integrals. Participants were recruited from a second-semester calculus-based physics course. I conducted qualitative analysis of the videotaped student conversations and their written work. The main contributions of this research include (1) providing evidence for the existence of symbolic forms in students’ reasoning about differentials and integrals, (2) identifying conceptual metaphors involved in student reasoning about differentials and integrals, (3) categorizing the different ways in which students integrate their mathematics and physics knowledge in the context of solving physics integration problems, (4)exploring the use of hypothetical debate problems in shifting students’ framing of physics problem solving requiring mathematics.

D.Ed.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Johannesburg 2016. / This dissertation investigates grit “passion and perseverance” for a long-term goal and growth mindset in grade 11 high school students as they code a non-trivial pro-gramming project in Java over a six-week period. Students are often challenged by the complexities of programming and can be overwhelmed when they encounter errors causing them to give up and not persevere. The programming project includes scaffolding with frequent feedback to increase the motivation of students. The study used mixed methods research that used both quantitative and qualitative data to find answers to the research questions. Whilst the correlation between grit, mindset and the project results were moderate, that students submitted their project numerous times showed an indication to perseverance. The data gathered from the interviews further indicated that the students’ perseverance led them to employ their own prob-lem-solving strategies when they encounter problems. / MT 2017

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in fulfilment of the partial requirement of the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2012 / Campaigns to educate people on how to use and manage energy responsibly are on the agenda of energy producers, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) and the government of South Africa. Until recently, publications on energy conservation programmes to inform these groups on best practice have been non-existent. This paper reports on an energy conservation programme, “Energy Dialogues” primarily aimed at offering information as well as influencing pro-environmental attitudes and consequently the behaviour of grade 11 learners in the Gauteng province of South Africa. The Energy Dialogues was conducted in a non-formal learning environment. Learners on the programme were challenged to propose various forms of ‘action taking’ to promote Energy Dialogues amongst their peers, in their school, at home, and in their community. Seven out of twenty schools met the challenge. The research project captured the social interaction among learners during the “Energy Dialogues” programme. A survey confirmed that learners still possess alternative ideas with regards to energy use and management after classroom instruction. While learners have significant knowledge of the causes and consequences of poor energy usage, this does not translate into change in behaviour. Creating an environment of group learning may influence the learners’ lifestyle choices. Learners are more inclined to align themselves with the values of a group. An active learning framework of the Energy Dialogues gave learners an opportunity to take personal responsibility for the environment. They redefined their culture, physically engaged in activity and spoke the language of the educator. While the learners’ visit to DEC was a one-time occurrence, and the findings cannot be generalised, this study may inform future longitudinal research which would offer information of the causal relationships of the components influencing sustainable practices.