Doctor of Education / This thesis is situated in the research field of systemic functional linguistics (SFL) in education and within a professional context of multiliteracies for academic purposes. The overall aim of the research is to provide a metafunctional account of multimodal and multisemiotic meaning-making in print and electronic learning materials in first year science at university. The educational motivation for the study is to provide insights for teachers and educational designers to assist them in the development of students’ multiliteracies, particularly in the context of online learning environments. The corpus comprises online and CD-ROM learning resources in biology, physics and chemistry and textbooks in physics and biology, which are typical of those used in undergraduate science courses in Australia. Two underlying themes of the research are to compare the different affordances of textbook and screen formats and the disciplinary variation found in these formats. The two stage research design consisted of a multimodal content analysis, followed by a SF-based multimodal discourse analysis of a selection of the texts. In the page and screen formats of these pedagogical texts, the analyses show that through the mechanisms of intersemiosis, ideationally, language and image are reconstrued as disciplinary knowledge. This knowledge is characterised by a high level of technicality in image and verbiage, by taxonomic relations across semiotic resources and by interdependence among elements in the image, caption, label and main text. Interpersonally, pedagogical roles of reader/learner/viewer/ and writer/teacher/designer are enacted differently to some extent across formats through the different types of activities on the page and screen but the source of authority and truth remains with the teacher/designer, regardless of format. Roles are thus minimally negotiable, despite the claims of interactivity in the screen texts. Textually, the organisation of meaning across text and image in both formats is reflected in the layout, which is determined by the underlying design grid and in the use of graphic design resources of colour, font, salience and juxtaposition. Finally, through the resources of grammatical metaphor and the reconstrual of images as abstract, both forms of semiosis work together to shift meanings from congruence to abstraction, into the specialised realm of science.

The purpose of this thesis is to identify typical patterns of career destinations for young women and men in relation to their high school science preparedness. This is an empirical structural study that documents the way high school academic capital is turned (or not) into human capital for science and engineering professions. The study uses ten years of longitudinal data on educational and career paths of British Columbia high school graduates of the Class of '88. Correspondence analysis and other descriptive statistics provide a picture of students' participation in mathematics and science senior high school courses and post-secondary academic programs. School course choices, post-secondary educational attainment, specialization fields are correlated to respondents' high school science preparedness, parental education and gender. A major finding of this study is that high school science preparedness opens greater opportunity for students to attend and succeed along abroad range of post-secondary pathways. Still, thesis findings confirm the existence of a "leaking" phenomenon along the physical sciences and engineering post-secondary pipeline, especially for women as well as men with non-university educated parents. Equity in access and outcomes is discussed in relation to respondents' possession of cultural and academic capital, and in relation to gender inequality that persists within school and post-secondary institutions, the science community and society at large. Implications for further research emerge from the literature review and the interpretation of thesis findings. Longitudinal research needs to explore more directly the reasons why many young women and men who excelled in science at the high school level depart from the science pipeline sooner or later. A major conclusion is that the "critical mass" approach that directs attention toward creating a large supply pool to feed the science pipeline by encouraging more young women to enter the field of science is still a unilateral numerical strategy, and more has to be done to improve the retention and advancement of talented women interested in science. This thesis reinforces the need for an analysis of the culture of the science community and a revision of the leaking science pipeline concept that should be replaced by a more open non-linear model of science careers.

This study sought to explore some of the ways in which assessment itself needs to be treated as a feature of equity and transformation in post-apartheid South Africa. How can the classroom become a level playing field for all, not just in terms of admission and changes to the overall composition of the student body, as well as staffing, but in relation to the curriculum itself, of which assessment is a part? In a multilingual, multicultural country like South Africa, which also carries a lot of political baggage, one has to agree that assessing all students in the same way does not mean, assessing all students equally. To assess all students in the same way, regardless of their proficiency in English and only in the mode of writing, is to ignore the wealth of diversity and potential among our student population. The ESL students in this study repeatedly indicated that they cannot express themselves adequately in writing in English and that "the expression of the examiners" and the "wording of the questions" pose a problem in the written assessments. They often find out after a paper "what a question meant" or what the examiner intended. EFL students too experienced problems with "ambiguity" and "unclear expression" of the examiners. This qualitative study introduced an oral component into the present tertiary assessment structures in Science. The private nature of the written assessments does not permit interaction between student and examiner or invigilator during an examination. This means that both student and assessor in turn have to rely on their own interpretation of the written word without consulting with each other. Oral assessments on the other hand, permit live interaction. Both candidate and assessor can seek clarity from each other. Rather than grappling with understanding of each others' English, the focus can rightfully move to assessing the student's knowledge of content. As the study endeavoured to devise a relatively new form of assessment for the South African context, it required tools and techniques that would provide for exploration and that would allow for modification along the way. An action research approach was therefore used. This study took on what might be described as a 'hybrid' version of action research in order to investigate how as an instructor in Language Education, I could bring about change in assessment in Science. Individual and group oral assessments were conducted with undergraduate students at two tertiary institutions, viz. a technikon and a university, in KwaZulu-Natal. The assessments were conducted in three phases. The first phase of the assessments adapted oral assessment practices used by South African and international Science educators. The second and third phases investigated 'closed' structures devised for the individual and group oral assessments within a South African tertiary context, respectively. After each phase of the assessments, feedback from the participants was analysed and comments and criticisms were addressed. Collaboration with the participants yielded harmonious working relationships, successful administration of the assessments, and valuable contributions from the students and assessors, especially with regard to the design of the oral assessment grid. Five main sources of data were generated in this study, viz. from the focus group discussions with the assessors and the students, the student and assessor questionnaires, and the assessment sessions. Triangulation, and more specifically, data triangulation was employed to ensure reliability and validity or consistency and comparability of the oral assessments. Incorporating an oral component to the assessments meant that students could reap the benefit of the higher mark in either the written or the oral mode. Students were grateful that the assessments "tested two different sides of a person" and that if they could not express themselves adequately in writing, they could "fall back on the orals". Assessors were unanimous that "apart from promoting understanding, the oral assessments provided many other benefits for assessors and students". They therefore hailed the mixed-mode of assessments as a "win-win situation" for all the participants. The study concludes with recommendations and implications for the reform of language policy and assessment practices in tertiary education, and the need for further work in tertiary classrooms where teachers embark upon action research. / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

This study implemented an experimental introductory CS course for non-CS majors focusing on two pedagogic factors: 1) the use of a visual blocks programming language known as App Inventor for Android (AIA) and 2) the adoption of SBL as the main teaching methodology. Participants included 30 undergraduates enrolled in two introductory CS courses; the experimental course (CS116) and a traditional lecture oriented CS course. The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) was implemented in both courses at several stages. Statistically significant differences were found in the Control of Learning Beliefs, Help Seeking, and Intrinsic Motivation scales, were CS116’s participants scored higher rates. In CS116, entry and exit interviews were conducted as well as a mind maps analysis. Their results showed a positive response to the pedagogic factors, positive attitudes towards CS, and an improvement in the understanding of CS. The majority of participants did very well and showed creativity with not one student failing the course. They found the experimental course to cultivate collaboration, creativity, and motivation to learn. The experimental approach was found have a positive effect on students’ motivation, achievement, and attitude towards CS. / Department of Computer Science

Doctor of Education / This thesis is situated in the research field of systemic functional linguistics (SFL) in education and within a professional context of multiliteracies for academic purposes. The overall aim of the research is to provide a metafunctional account of multimodal and multisemiotic meaning-making in print and electronic learning materials in first year science at university. The educational motivation for the study is to provide insights for teachers and educational designers to assist them in the development of students’ multiliteracies, particularly in the context of online learning environments. The corpus comprises online and CD-ROM learning resources in biology, physics and chemistry and textbooks in physics and biology, which are typical of those used in undergraduate science courses in Australia. Two underlying themes of the research are to compare the different affordances of textbook and screen formats and the disciplinary variation found in these formats. The two stage research design consisted of a multimodal content analysis, followed by a SF-based multimodal discourse analysis of a selection of the texts. In the page and screen formats of these pedagogical texts, the analyses show that through the mechanisms of intersemiosis, ideationally, language and image are reconstrued as disciplinary knowledge. This knowledge is characterised by a high level of technicality in image and verbiage, by taxonomic relations across semiotic resources and by interdependence among elements in the image, caption, label and main text. Interpersonally, pedagogical roles of reader/learner/viewer/ and writer/teacher/designer are enacted differently to some extent across formats through the different types of activities on the page and screen but the source of authority and truth remains with the teacher/designer, regardless of format. Roles are thus minimally negotiable, despite the claims of interactivity in the screen texts. Textually, the organisation of meaning across text and image in both formats is reflected in the layout, which is determined by the underlying design grid and in the use of graphic design resources of colour, font, salience and juxtaposition. Finally, through the resources of grammatical metaphor and the reconstrual of images as abstract, both forms of semiosis work together to shift meanings from congruence to abstraction, into the specialised realm of science.

Part of the transformation of education in South Africa emphasises the need to address historical barriers that have been impeding access into institutions of learning, and the need for empowering stakeholders democratically. Improving institutional responsiveness and focusing on Science, Technology, and Engineering and increasing the number of university graduates are amongst the more prominent strategies for changing the educational, socioeconomic, and political landscape within a global context. This research, as the first cycle of an action research project, explores collaborative group work with a group of science students at a Vista University campus (that is now part of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University) as a contribution to institutional, professional, and personal responsiveness. The treatise traces my development as a novice researcher within an evolving action research context that became a terrain for facilitating a collaborative approach to learning. I describe my personal experience and the experiences of my co-researchers as collaborative partners, the systemic influences considered during the study, and the process of action research that encouraged movement from feelings of apprehension and inadequacy to feelings of anticipation and excitement regarding collaborative interactive learning and development opportunities. For the co-researchers and me an action research process in an interpretivist paradigm was not just suited to an exploration of collaboration, but also evolved into a vehicle for interactive teaching and learning, in a collaborative and student-centred way. Giving voice and being listened to, having perspectives validated, engaging in learning that could accompany academic and personal growth, and an acute sense of being empowered are ingredients that participants, and institutions of learning, can continue building on and building with along evolving spirals of life-long learning and meaning making.

The purpose of this thesis is to identify typical patterns of career destinations for young women and men in relation to their high school science preparedness. This is an empirical structural study that documents the way high school academic capital is turned (or not) into human capital for science and engineering professions. The study uses ten years of longitudinal data on educational and career paths of British Columbia high school graduates of the Class of '88. Correspondence analysis and other descriptive statistics provide a picture of students' participation in mathematics and science senior high school courses and post-secondary academic programs. School course choices, post-secondary educational attainment, specialization fields are correlated to respondents' high school science preparedness, parental education and gender. A major finding of this study is that high school science preparedness opens greater opportunity for students to attend and succeed along abroad range of post-secondary pathways. Still, thesis findings confirm the existence of a "leaking" phenomenon along the physical sciences and engineering post-secondary pipeline, especially for women as well as men with non-university educated parents. Equity in access and outcomes is discussed in relation to respondents' possession of cultural and academic capital, and in relation to gender inequality that persists within school and post-secondary institutions, the science community and society at large. Implications for further research emerge from the literature review and the interpretation of thesis findings. Longitudinal research needs to explore more directly the reasons why many young women and men who excelled in science at the high school level depart from the science pipeline sooner or later. A major conclusion is that the "critical mass" approach that directs attention toward creating a large supply pool to feed the science pipeline by encouraging more young women to enter the field of science is still a unilateral numerical strategy, and more has to be done to improve the retention and advancement of talented women interested in science. This thesis reinforces the need for an analysis of the culture of the science community and a revision of the leaking science pipeline concept that should be replaced by a more open non-linear model of science careers. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

Today’s world of work, especially in highly specialized knowledge-based industries such as scientific communications, is increasingly complex. Leaders are challenged to drive growth through innovation. Cross-functional teams are challenged to bring innovative ideas to life. Despite a growing body of literature on team learning, current research does not extend to this highly specialized setting, especially around how innovation is implemented by cross-functional teams. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to discover how one cross-functional innovation team within a scientific communications agency learns, performs, and contributes to team and organizational outcomes, specifically what learning conditions are present and what behaviors are adopted. The research revealed how team members characterized their experience of cross-functional innovation teaming; what the team members perceived to be the optimal organizational and team learning conditions; what kinds of behaviors team members adopted to optimize their learning and performance; and what types of learning outcomes the team achieved. For cross-functional teams implementing innovative projects, conclusions were that: (1) successful implementation is facilitated by the organization’s approach to innovation, specifically their strategy and their support for cross-functional teams; (2) optimal learning conditions for the team are a shared aspirational vision, a climate of psychological safety, and innovation-responsive operating principles; (3) psychological safety and innovation-responsive operating principles facilitate innovation team behaviors of experimenting, crossing boundaries, and collaboration; (4) cross-functional innovation team leadership is emergent and may come from multiple sources based on the expertise of the team members and what leadership functions are most needed when; and (5) team outcomes include implementation of a new product, discovery of new ways of working, and team member satisfaction. Knowing this helps to determine what team learning models and research are most relevant to innovation teams in this practice setting and what additional practices or supports might be helpful to guide these kinds of cross-functional innovation teams and their organizations to greater success.

The purpose of this study was to understand one case of undergraduate inquiry-based science instruction through the words and actions of college science faculty. The case details the progression of curriculum development and implementation of Frontiers of Science. The specific aim of this study was to examine how a team of multi-disciplinary college science faculty created an inquiry-based course, centralized around scientific Habits of Mind, for undergraduate non-science majors. The participants for this study included four faculty instructors. I found the instructors’ course goals—(a) teaching students how scientists do science, and (b) using multi-disciplinary content to develop students’ content knowledge of the big ideas in science—were consistent with my field observations and the students’ evaluations of their experience in the course. This study also documents novel Communities of Practice (CoP) within the science faculty and Science Teaching Fellows (STFs). Cognitive Apprenticeship occurred between the faculty to the more novice STFs and helped to increase pedagogical skills as well as refine formal and informal assessments. This study is the one of first to document college science instructors centering their instruction around the scientific Habits of Mind to teach multidisciplinary science content in both large lecture format (500+ students) and smaller seminars (20 students) using inquiry-based activities.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between anxiety reducing teaching methods and computer anxiety levels and learning gain of students in a college level introductory computer course. Areas examined were the computer anxiety levels of students categorized by selected demographic variables, the learning gain of students categorized by selected demographic variables, and anxiety levels and learning gain of students after completion of the course. Data for the investigation were collected via the Standardized Test of Computer Literacy (STCL) and the Computer Opinion Survey (CAIN), developed by Michael Simonson et al. at Iowa State University. The nonequivalent pretest/posttest control group design was used. The statistical procedure was the t test for independent groups, with the level of significance set at the .05 level. The data analysis was accomplished using the StatPac Gold statistical analysis package for the microcomputer. Based upon the analysis of the data, both hypotheses of the study were rejected. Research hypothesis number one was that students in a class using computer anxiety reducing teaching methods would show a greater reduction in computer anxiety levels than students in a traditional class. Hypothesis number two was that students in a class using computer anxiety reducing methods would show a greater learning gain than students in a traditional class. This research revealed that there was no statistically significant difference in the computer anxiety levels or the learning gain of students between the control group and the experimental group.