Denna masteruppsats syftar till att bidra med kunskap om lärares lärande och undersöka deras användning av kulturella redskap i en aktionsstudie. I studien undersöks processen i ett arbetslag där universell design för lärande (UDL) presenteras och diskuteras som en möjlig stödstruktur för undervisningen i form av en aktionsstudie. Målet med den är att bidra med kunskapsbildning om hur undervisning kan planeras och utformas med hjälp av den systematik UDL bidrar till.  För att kunna besvara studiens frågeställningar genomfördes en aktionsstudie med tre lärare på en F–6 skola. Studien är genomförd med en kvalitativ metod där loggboksanteckningar från aktionsstudiens sessioner utgör en del av empirin, åtföljd av enskilda, reflekterande intervjuer. Deltagarna undervisade två klasser i ett tre–lärarskap på ett mellanstadium och diskuterade och reflekterade över texter och filmer om universell design för lärande (UDL) under sex sessioner.   Resultaten från aktionsstudien visar hur språket och kommunikationen förändrades under sessionerna, vilka möjligheter och hinder för implementeringen av UDL som identifierades och inställningen till forskningsbaserade arbetssätt utkristalliserades. Hur deltagarna använde sig av kulturella redskap i sitt eget lärande likväl som i sin undervisning framkommer också som ett resultat av denna studie. / This master thesis aims to contribute with knowledge about teachers´ learning and investigate their use of linguistic tools in an action research study. In this, where UDL is presented and discussed as a possible scaffolding structure, the process in a team of teachers at a middle school is investigated. The aim of the action research study is to create knowledge about how the systematic work with UDL can contribute to the planning and forming process of teaching.   In order to answer the research questions in the study, an action research study was conducted with three teachers at a middle school. The study is conducted with a qualitative method, in which field notes from the sessions in the action research study is one part followed by separate, reflective interviews with the participating teachers. The participating teachers were teaching in two classes in a grade at a middle school and have during six sessions discussed and reflected on texts and films about Universal Design for Learning (UDL).   The results from this action research study showed how the use of language and communication changed during the sessions, which possibilities and obstacles could be identified in implementing UDL and how the attitude towards research based approaches could be seen. How the participants used sociocultural tools in their own learning as well as in their teaching can also be seen as a result of this study.

Postsecondary teaching and learning must be reoriented to equip learners with the knowledge, skills, and values they will need for creating a more sustainable world. This action research study examined the effects of implementing the Bums model of sustainability pedagogy in university courses taught by the researcher. This model is comprised of five key dimensions: (1 )Content; (2)Perspectives; (3)Process; (4)Context; and (5)Design. The Burns model of sustainability pedagogy seeks to: (1) increase learners' systemic understanding of complex sustainability issues (Content); (2) provide learners with opportunities to think critically about dominant paradigms, practices and power relationships and consider complex ecological and social issues from diverse perspectives (Perspectives); (3) enhance learners' civic responsibility and intentions to work toward sustainability through active participation and experience (Process); (4) increase learners' understanding of and connection with the geographical place and the community in which they live (Context); and (5) utilize an ecological course design to create transformative learning (Design). This pedagogical model reflects education as sustainability, a transformative learning process through which learners' values and perspectives change so that they are able to embrace sustainability and take action for change. Findings revealed that through the use of sustainability themes, students came to understand sustainability Content concretely, personally, and multidimensionally. Students understood multiple Perspectives and power relationships through experiential learning, through relationships with one another, by hopeful examples, and by learning to think critically. Due to a participatory and experiential learning Process, students expressed intentions to buy locally and to act directly for sustainable change. Through a focus on Context, students experienced stronger connections to their local community. A self-reflective teaching process and relational learning was important to the Design of a transformational learning process. The results show that the Burns model of sustainability pedagogy can be adapted to university courses in various disciplines. This study contributes to the field of sustainability education by providing an example ofan effective model for teaching sustainability at the university level. In order to prepare diverse learners for leadership roles in a sustainable world, attention must be focused on integrating transformative sustainability pedagogy throughout postsecondary education.

An evaluation of the spiritual experience of South African expatriates living in or migrating to other African countries, as a process of practical theology, established that expatriates do not isolate themselves from their churches in South Africa (SA). SA churches only make provision for traditional missionary outreaches and do not make provision for the SA expatriates, black or white, living in these African metropolitan areas. The subjects studied included SA expatriates, the relationships between SA churches, local African churches and expatriates, the act of migration, repatriation and its challenges together with the spiritual and social impact on individuals, marriages and families. A topical view implicates a direct relationship between fieldworkers, missionaries and chaplains deployment into African countries from SA. Furthermore, from research it is implied that the church in SA remains the spiritual home and resource centre of the migrant. The practical theological call for a realignment of mission praxis is vital and is linked to Christ’s parable of the ninety nine sheep, whilst one is lost (Matthew 18:12-14; Luke 15:4-7). This analogy produces the direct requirement of the Church to reconstruct missions to encompass combined support for their congregants in SA, the ninety nine, and those expatriates living in other African countries, the one. The missions to Africa should no longer be missions that only seek to convert African tribes to Christianity, but rather to serve Africans and others immigrating to countries on the continent. Church resources for SA expatriates would be made available when a visionary change occurs at the planning stages of strategies for African missions. Proposed mission strategies should include cell church, care group and discipleship models geared for missions and the African expatriate terrain. A realistic strategy that harmonises resources within the church to serve those abroad shall ensure positive impact on the spirituality, family and marriage of the expatriate. Finally two challenges are laid before the SA church, one, to continue with missions in Africa according to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ, Matthew 28:19-20, with the second, to combine the expatriate discipleship models into its mission strategies. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D. Th. (Practical Theology)

An evaluation of the spiritual experience of South African expatriates living in or migrating to other African countries, as a process of practical theology, established that expatriates do not isolate themselves from their churches in South Africa (SA). SA churches only make provision for traditional missionary outreaches and do not make provision for the SA expatriates, black or white, living in these African metropolitan areas. The subjects studied included SA expatriates, the relationships between SA churches, local African churches and expatriates, the act of migration, repatriation and its challenges together with the spiritual and social impact on individuals, marriages and families. A topical view implicates a direct relationship between fieldworkers, missionaries and chaplains deployment into African countries from SA. Furthermore, from research it is implied that the church in SA remains the spiritual home and resource centre of the migrant. The practical theological call for a realignment of mission praxis is vital and is linked to Christ’s parable of the ninety nine sheep, whilst one is lost (Matthew 18:12-14; Luke 15:4-7). This analogy produces the direct requirement of the Church to reconstruct missions to encompass combined support for their congregants in SA, the ninety nine, and those expatriates living in other African countries, the one. The missions to Africa should no longer be missions that only seek to convert African tribes to Christianity, but rather to serve Africans and others immigrating to countries on the continent. Church resources for SA expatriates would be made available when a visionary change occurs at the planning stages of strategies for African missions. Proposed mission strategies should include cell church, care group and discipleship models geared for missions and the African expatriate terrain. A realistic strategy that harmonises resources within the church to serve those abroad shall ensure positive impact on the spirituality, family and marriage of the expatriate. Finally two challenges are laid before the SA church, one, to continue with missions in Africa according to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ, Matthew 28:19-20, with the second, to combine the expatriate discipleship models into its mission strategies. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D. Th. (Practical Theology)

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The cyber Peer-Led Team Learning (cPLTL) workshops are a synchronous online adaptation of the educational intervention PLTL, in which students, under the guidance of undergraduate peer facilitators, collaboratively solve problems in small groups. The purpose of this parallel convergent mixed methods study was to assess the impact of implementing cPLTL in an organic chemistry course on students’ workshop experiences, performance, and development of curved-arrow formalism skills. Statistical analyses revealed comparable attendance rates, distribution of course grades, and achievement on American Chemical Society First-semester Organic Chemistry Exams. However, plotting workshop grades by AB, C, and DFW grade groupings revealed that PLTL students earned more successful grades than their cPLTL counterparts (91% vs 77% ABC grades). Utilization of a new curved-arrow formalism analytic framework for coding student interview artifacts revealed that cPLTL students were statistically less likely to successfully draw the product suggested by the curved-arrows than their PLTL classmates. Both PLTL and cPLTL students exhibited a comparable incidence of relational to instrumental learning approaches. Similarly, both PLTL and cPLTL students were more likely to exhibit a common Scheme for Problem-Solving in Organic Chemistry (SPOC) than having dialogue that could be characterized by Toulmin’s Argumentation scheme. Lastly, implications for faculty are suggested, including: developing more explicit connections concept, mode, and reasoning components of understanding curved-arrow formalism for organic chemistry students; optimizing graphical collaborative learning activities for online learners; and developing online students’ sense of community.