The current thesis is a theoretical and empirical investigation of the foreign language classroom, conducted from a cross-national comparative perspective. The study is based on quantitative and qualitative data which were collected from students and teachers of German in selected universities of Ukraine and Australia. The following research questions were formulated: 1. What are the structure and objectives of the German language program at Ukrainian and Australian universities? 2. What are the peculiarities of the German language curriculum and teaching methodology in the universities of Ukraine and Australia? 3. What are students’ motives to study German in Ukraine and Australia? 4. What are students’ and teachers’ perceptions of the curriculum, content and teaching? 5. How do students themselves evaluate their present language skills, and those expected to be acquired by the end of the course? 6. What are the advantages and disadvantages in both education practices? / Each country’s distinctive social and pedagogical factors, such as language policy, attitudes towards languages and pedagogical tradition were taken into account. / The research was conducted at universities in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Lviv (Ukraine) and Melbourne (Australia). A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was adopted which included student and teacher questionnaires, interviews, classroom observations and study of departmental programs and policy documents. In general terms, it was revealed that: Substantial differences exist in areas such as curriculum, teaching methods and approaches, content and student motivation for studying German. Although education systems in Australia and Ukraine are different, learners in both countries have similar aims and expectations from their language course, and their perceptions of a good language course are also similar. Students in both countries expressed an urgent need for an increase in the communicative component and greater exposure to practical, up-to-date lexical and grammar material in order to be able to communicate effectively. In Australia there is a mismatch between the course objectives and content outlined in the program and what is really taught in the class In Ukraine, a shift has occurred towards more practice-oriented and integrated language learning/teaching; however there is a great need for the creation of better conditions for acquisition of communicative skills and up-to-date vocabulary.

The role of teacher immediacy and its impact upon student learning within the traditional classroom has been established within the instructional communication discipline in the past 30 years. In recent years, with the advent of computer-mediated distance education (i.e. online courses), some researchers have attempted to apply the same theories and measures of concepts without making the distinction between actual teacher behavioral indicants of immediacy and student perceptions of immediacy, nor recognizing that there may be a different number of variables involved between a single lesson presented online and an entire course presented over a period of time. Building upon previous models, the Short-Term Motivational Model of Learning was proposed and tested, using survey results from 229 undergraduate students who completed an online lesson presented in six different formats, and who were tested for learning outcomes. In comparison to a direct measure of learning outcomes (number of correct test answers), it was found that the Perceived Cognitive Learning Scale correlated highly with the direct measure, while the Learning Loss Scale did not. Three of the three study hypotheses were supported. Hypothesis one proposed that higher student perception of immediacy would correlate with higher student state motivation and was supported. Hypothesis two proposed that higher student trait motivation would correlate with higher student state motivation and was supported. Hypothesis three proposed that higher student state motivation would correlate with higher student cognitive learning. Student cognitive learning determined through three measures: the Perceived Cognitive Learning Scale, pretest-posttest scores differences, and the Learning Loss Scale. Using the Perceived Cognitive Learning Scale, hypothesis three was supported. Using the pretest-posttest scores differences, hypothesis three was supported weakly. Using the Learning Loss Scale, hypothesis three was also supported weakly. In testing whether teacher behavioral indicants of immediacy, student perception of immediacy and student trait motivation would explain significant variance in student state motivation in a single lesson presented online, trait motivation failed to be a predictor. Subsequently, in testing whether all of these variables would explain significant variance in student cognitive learning (and using each of the three measures of student cognitive learning), trait motivation again failed to be a predictor. In general the results support the idea that perceived learning is affected by the degree of motivation as affected by immediacy. While an attempt to vary degrees of immediacy was not fully successful, results also suggest that adding audio to online lessons may not produce significant gains in learning when compared to text-only presentations.

This mixed methods study was designed to examine the effectiveness of the HearBuilder Phonological Awareness software program on the acquisition of phonological awareness in African-American preschool children. Additionally, the researcher investigated the relationship between the independent variables of student engagement, student motivation, student behavior, and student attendance on the dependent variable of acquisition of phonological awareness as measured by the gain score. Descriptive statistical analyses were used to describe, summarize, and interpret the data collected. After examining the aforesaid variables, the researcher found there were no significant relationships between the gain scores and any of the independent variables. But there were useful significant relationships between the independent variables of student motivation, student engagement, and student attendance. The researcher also examined the differences between the pretest and posttest for the experimental and control groups combined. A significant difference was found between these two tests suggesting that the HearBuilder Phonological Awareness software program was effective in improving student’s performance in the experimental group. There was no significant difference, however, between pre and posttest based on gender. So while one can see the effectiveness in the HearBuilder Phonological Awareness program based on the difference between the pre and posttest, the reason does not lie in the variables selected as independent variables, but in other variables not included in the study such as instructional strategies. Finally, the researcher investigated the difference in the performance of the experimental group and the control group as measured by the mean gain scores. Key results revealed that the experimental group scored higher than the control group on the HearBuilder Phonological Awareness posttest as measured by the gain score. Early Childhood administrators can utilize this investigation as a vehicle to advance their instructional leadership skills and teachers can improve their pedagogical practices.

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Gerald Bailey / The purpose of the study was to research, develop, and validate a step-by-step guide for museum and public school partnerships that wish to create motivational standards-based curriculum materials in high school social studies. Museum and Public School Partnerships: A Step-by-Step Guide for Creating Motivational Standards-Based Curriculum Materials in High School Social Studies was developed using the research and development methodology of Borg and Gall (1989). The research and development process used in this study included seven steps: 1) research analysis and proof of concept, 2) product planning and design, 3) preliminary product development, 4) preliminary field testing, 5) revision of the prototype, 6) main field testing, and 7) revision of the final product. A prototype of the guide was produced and then evaluated by museum and public school experts in the preliminary field test. Revisions were made to the guide based on their feedback. The guide was then distributed to practitioners in the main field test. The reviewers in the main field test were museum staff or high school history educators; or museum, curriculum, or technology directors in the United States. Feedback from the main field test was used to create the final product. Major conclusions of the study were: a) there was a lack of literature specifically for museum and public school partnerships that wished to create motivational standards-based curriculum materials for high school social studies, b) museum and public school personnel benefit from quality resource step-by-step guides, c) educational guides developed through research and development methodology offer museum and public school personnel practical and valuable products for improving education, d) a step-by-step guide is a useful tool when museums and public schools partner to create motivational standards-based curriculum materials for high school social studies, e) this study produced the first step-by-step guide for museums and public schools that wish to partner to create motivational standards-based curriculum materials for high school social studies.

The goal of this study was to analyze the impact of instructional format and pedagogical approach on students' learning and motivation within the introductory communication course. Three hundred eighty-five students participated in this study within one of four contexts: face-to-face instruction with service-learning, face-to-face instruction without service-learning, blended instruction with service-learning, and blended instruction without service-learning. A series of MANOVAs was utilized for the study. Results of the study, possible explanations for the results, limitations, and guidelines for future research are presented.

This study aimed to investigate in what ways a group of Swedish teachers and students of English at upper secondary school can provide and maintain motivation for learning English when required to transfer their teaching from the physical classroom to online mode. Two questionnaires were answered by 46 upper secondary school students and eight English teachers. The questionnaires were supplemented with separate interviews in which six students and two teachers participated. The questionnaires were analysed using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis model (2006), while the data resulting from the interviews was analysed through a phenomenological approach inspired by Amedeo Giorgi’s four-phase phenomenological method described in Phenomenology and Psychology Research (1985). The result of the study showed that students are motivated to learn English if they have a functioning relationship with their teacher, if they have friends who motivate them, and if lessons vary in format. However, when transferred to online mode, motivation was difficult to sustain. The students’ primary source of motivation, in the form of physical- and social connections was lost. Both students and teachers experienced online education as time-consuming.

and keywords Acid-base process PowerPoint presentation for secondary schools Abstract: At the present time, the requirements for the quality of nature sciences education in secondary schools are steadily increasing. However, the time approbation for teaching is relatively limited. Using presentations is going to be a possible way to increase the effectiveness of educational process and to take the full advantage of teaching methods which have positive effect on the motivation and activation of students. The goal of this Diploma work is to create a collection of teaching presentations in the MS PowerPoint application with a view to a part of general chemistry, i.e. the theme Acid-base process in the curriculum for four-year grammar schools or alternatively for higher years of longer grammar schools. These presentations are processed to be used in the real chemistry lessons in secondary schools. The subject matter of the curriculum is divided into five chapters, one chapter corresponds to one presentation. In order to facilitate the orientation of potential user every presentation is provided with an accompanying text. The electronic version of presentations is attached to Diploma work. Keywords: secondary school chemistry, general chemistry, acid-base process, student motivation, PowerPoint presentation

This study investigates whether there is a relationship between student motivation and Focus on Form (FonF) frequency in English language teaching (ELT), with a focus on Swedish upper secondary school. The goal is to identify potential patterns of inefficiency in ELT that may need remediation, and to investigate potential benefits of promoting student motivation in ELT. The theoretical framework encompasses second language acquisition (SLA), FonF, ELT, corrective feedback and student motivation, including theories regarding intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Previous research includes findings regarding reactive and pre-emptive FonF, as well as motivational strategies. The applied methods include a questionnaire for self-evaluation regarding the students’ motivation in regard to English learning, and structured classroom observations. Three groups of students partook in the study: two groups attending an academic upper secondary school program, and one group attending a vocational upper secondary school program. One lesson á 55 minutes per group was observed. The results indicate that pre-emptive FonF occurs more frequently in groups with high intrinsic motivation, suggesting a potential relationship.

Detta arbete är en kunskapsöversikt över hur lärare kan motivera sina elever att hitta viljan attprata engelska i klassrummet med hjälp av sina engelsklärare. Syftet med denna studie är attta reda på vad forskningen säger om vilka metoder som är framgångsrika att använda iklassrummet, och mer specifikt, att besvara frågeställningarna: “Hur motiverar engelskläraresina elever att hitta viljan att prata engelska i klassrummet? samt “Vad är framgångsrikt attanvända i klassrummet? För att besvara frågeställningarna och uppnå studiens syfte har visystematiskt tagit fram, analyserat och sammanställt vetenskapliga studier om ämnet. Våracentrala begrepp i kunskapsöversikten är följande: engelska som andraspråk, WTC (Viljan attkommunicera), lärandemetoder, klassrumsmiljö och motivation.Vårt resultat mynnade ut iåtta stycken tematiserade underrubriker: WTC (Viljan Att Kommunicera), de sex faktorernasom påverkar språklärares WTC, kommunikationsstrategier, lärandemetoder, klassrumsmiljö,lärarkompetens, motivation/demotivation och elevinflytande. Vi kommer i vårtexaminationsarbete II att samla in empirisk data om hur elever i mellanstadiet årskurs 4-6undervisas i att prata engelska i klassrummet. Vi kommer med hjälp av intervjuer ochobservationer med både lärare och elever samla in ett underlag om vad de anser vara deviktigaste komponenterna i att finna motivation i att lära sig prata engelska i klassrummet.

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