published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Education

Prior to independence in Namibia in 1990 the education system of the day did not encourage the majority of Namibian learners to explore and investigate the wonder of the natural and physical world. The post independence education system has nurtured the study of the sciences and has emphasized participation, problem solving and independent studies. The inclusion of projects and other independent studies has been regarded as a key vehicle to develop scientific understanding and competencies related to this understanding. However, very few studies have hitherto investigated the teachers’ understanding and implementation of projects in the Namibian context. This study investigates how Grade 10 Life Science teachers understand and implement projects in selected schools in Namibia. The study focused on two teachers in two schools, a combined and a senior secondary school in the Oshikoto educational region of Namibia. The research was conducted through an interpretive case study aiming to gain a better understanding about the implementation of projects in schools. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, classroom observation and document analysis. The findings indicate that despite the focus on projects in the Life Science syllabus and broad curriculum, policy documents do not give detailed guidelines on how projects should be planned, organized and assessed. The results revealed that knowledge about projects and their implementation is primarily informed by practical activities rather than the critical enquiries or investigations required by the Life Science curriculum policy. The study also revealed that despite the in-service training received by the two teachers participating in this study on syllabus interpretation, it is apparent from the findings that project work in these in-service programmes was neglected. This has further hampered teachers’ understanding and implementation of projects. The findings of this study point to a need for project guidelines as well as in-service programmes in this area if the stated nature and role of projects in the context of Namibian education policy is to be achieved.

The presented master thesis is focused on an integration of plant alkaloids' curriculum into education process at eight-year grammar schools or their equivalent at primary and secondary schools. The aims of the thesis are to provide a basic data about plant alkaloids, to specify an integration of the plant alkaloids into the curricular documents and to select specific and suitable methods for teaching of the alkaloid topic at schools. These teaching methods were practically verified at the Karel Čapek's Grammar School at Dobříš by using author's proposals of the school lesson, the project teaching and laboratory exercises. In the terms of benefits for students, it has been verified that the teaching of plant alkaloids using the teaching project and the laboratory exercises, can be performed more efficiently than those during an "ordinary" school lesson. Key words: plant alkaloids, teaching methods, teaching lesson, project method, laboratory exercise, biology, chemistry

The multiple case study investigated levels and types of transfer observed in a K-8 STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) academy in a project-based learning (PBL) environment. The academy was constructed two years prior to the study and conducive to PBL instruction. The students and teachers were in the second year of using PBL in the subject of science at the time of the study. The grade levels observed were second, fourth, and sixth grade and each grade level had three PBL units examined from the beginning to the end of the unit. The nine case studies, from the three different grade levels, were observed to identify Haskell's levels and types of transfer as determined by project requirements, observation of students, completed projects, and student interviews. The findings from this study showed that while projects moved the students beyond knowledge acquisition to application of knowledge in completed projects such as books, films, dances, etc., higher levels of transfer and more types of transfer were not evident. Therefore, based on the results of this study, the evidence of lower levels of transfer suggests that the PBL units, though inventive and potentially valuable to student learning, were not designed for higher levels of transfer.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

周玉霞. / Thesis (doctoral)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 219-237). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Zhou Yuxia.

Five experienced primary school teachers were involved in the study. In-depth interviews and non-participatory observation were used to collect data. Based on thick description of five cases individually and a comprehensive comparison among them, the research revealed: (1) Teacher trainers need to take a multi-dimensional view to study the difficulties teachers encountered in implementing reform initiatives; (2) Teacher learning should take account of both "teacher" and "learning". The research highlighted that teacher professional development and personal growth are closely interrelated; (3) In different sectors (such as, the starting point of learning, the learning task, learning methods, the learning approach, learning progress and learning support), as well as at different levels, (such as, supportive vs. accelerative), teacher-change agency partnerships may have a positive influence on teacher learning. However, the professional capacity of the change agency, and the unique needs of the school played a crucial role in shaping the efficacy of the relationship between both partners and also the level of teacher learning. / Over the last decade, educational reformers in Hong Kong have targeted teacher development and learning as a key area of need. As part of this movement, different external change agencies began developing partnerships with school as attempts to enhance the quality of teacher professional development. Such partnerships have operated for a number of years, but, to date, their efficacy has been largely unexplored. This research, taking teachers' implementation of project learning as an example, aims to explore the impact of teacher-change agency partnerships on teacher learning. The study is important in helping educators to better understand the difficulties teachers face when engaging in changes and also teachers' learning need. This research also reveals the effects of teacher-change agency partnership and its impact on teacher learning. This study can shed lights on ways of curriculum change and teacher development. / The research posed four questions: (1) What difficulties do teachers face while carrying out project learning in school? (2) What kind of learning did teachers experience while involved in the teacher-change agency partnership? (3) Within the context of educational change, did teacher-change agency partnerships have an impact on teacher learning? (4) What do teacher-change agencies need to consider if partnership is to achieve positive results? / To conclude, based on the five personal narratives and with reference to relevant literature review, the research suggested that a broader discussion is needed in the area, and recommended a conceptual framework which may guide further development. / 朱嘉穎. / 論文(哲學博士)--香港中文大學, 2005. / 參考文獻(p. 283-298). / Adviser: Hin-wah Wong. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-07, Section: A, page: 2444. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts also in English. / School code: 1307. / Lun wen (Zhe xue bo shi)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue, 2005. / Can kao wen xian (p. 283-298). / Zhu Jiaying.