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Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Science (Science Education), 1996. / This study explores ways in which first-year mathematics students use calculator as a tool of semiotic mediation. Twenty students out of a class of one hundred were loaned a graphic calculator for the academic year and were encouraged to use these during support tutorials. at year-end seven students (four with graphic calculator, three without) were audio-taped while solving a mathematical problem aloud in an interview situation. Also statistical data comparing graphic calculator and non-graphic calculator students' performance on a set of five questions was collected. The qualitative analysis of the interview data suggests that the calculator functioned primarily as a tool which amplified the zones of proximal development of the students, increasing efficiency and speed, rather than a semiotic which had been internalised. The quantitative analysis of the statistical data failed to support this notion of amplification. It is suggested that the add-on status of the graphic calculator undermined the possibility for statistical significance on this amplification effect.

by Vivien Fong. / Thesis (M.A.Ed.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1988. / Bibliography: leaves 270-281.

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In EFL contexts like China where research and application of findings in the field of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) is still in its infancy, graduate students are in urgent need of support in developing their academic literacy, especially in terms of academic writing and research article writing skills under the forces of globalization of education. This study sets out to develop a contextualized EAP genre-based approach to scaffold novice academic writers and examine its impact through assessment tasks and analysis of students’ uptake. The theoretical traditions of ESP research article (RA) genre analysis (e.g. Swales, 1990, 2004; Swale & Feak, 2004) and lexical bundle studies (e.g. Biber & Barbieri, 2007; Hyland, 2008)are drawn upon and two dimensions of building blocks of academic discourse are conceptualized: the top-down dimension (i.e., genre schematic structuring) and the bottom-up dimension(i.e. general and move-specific academic lexical phrases). Then, the Sydney School genre-based Teaching and Learning Cycle and corpus-informed explicit bundle instruction were incorporated into the ESP genre-based framework to generate a new theoretical and pedagogical model taking into consideration the needs of the local context. In order to evaluate this innovative course thoroughly in a natural and intact classroom, careful triangulations of data were achieved. A mixed-methods programme evaluation framework was developed with two major components, namely an intervention study and individual case studies. In terms of the average gains of the whole class, there was significant improvement in the receptive test of knowledge of genre and bundles after the course. In addition, the instruction significantly narrowed the achievement gap among the high, mid and low starting level students. Most importantly, the increase in the appropriate use of lexical phrases in rewriting suggests the effectiveness of the course in enabling active production. Regression analysis further indicated a strong relationship between the development of bundle knowledge and that of genre and genre-specific features. The rich descriptions of the two student cases delineate the different learning trajectories of learners of distinct starting levels. Although the low starting level learner showed much slower in-class uptake, her active engagement and integration of knowledge in the rewriting task by drawing on various resources has increased her understanding of the RA genre. The high starting level learner with satisfactory in-class uptake, however, suffered from lots of textual borrowing in writing due to her high expectation of academic content but lack of corresponding genre and linguistic competences. The fact that both learners exhibited a strong lack of basic linguistic resources to verbalize their sophisticated thinking in the rewriting task pointed to the importance of developing the linguistic aspects in the initial stage of genre knowledge development in EFL contexts, which has been neglected in previous studies focusing on ESL contexts. The careful investigation of the instructional context has led to detailed discussions of a few prominent issues in the pedagogical design, in particular, the importance of focusing on the role of “task” in curriculum and pedagogical design in future research of genre-based pedagogy. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

This study investigates what classroom participants do with literary texts and how literary texts are pedagogically recontextualized through classroom activities in L2 tertiary literature classrooms. Premised upon the pedagogic processes of decontextualization and recontextualization that take place in the meaning-making practices of the literature classroom, the current study examines the process of literary text recontextualization via the multimodal partnership of vocalization and gesticulation. Through this process, esoteric literary meanings requiring specialist knowledge are transformed into mundane meanings from one semiotic-institutional domain to another, where the literary text qua cultural artifact is recontextualized via first-order languaging by dint of pedagogic activities. To understand the real-time first-order languaging dynamics (Thibault, 2011a) that enable the pedagogic recontextualization of literary texts to take place, a micro analytical toolkit grounded in qualitative multimodal interaction analysis is used. This toolkit draws upon the concept of the Growth Point (McNeill & Duncan, 2000) in conjunction with Systemic Functional Grammar (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004) and McNeill‘s (1992) theory of language and gesture. Classroom observation and video recording in university literature classrooms in Hong Kong and Taiwan provide multimodal data on students‘ languaging behaviours when they engage with literary texts in classroom talk. In order to make links with second-order socio-cultural norms that regulate first-order classroom interactivity (Thibault, 2011a), Bernstein‘s (1990) sociological theory of recontextualization in education is re-thought from the distributed language view (Cowley, 2011; Steffensen, 2011; Thibault, 2011a). Maton‘s (2007) Legitimation Codes of Specialization and Hunter‘s (1988) Foucaultian analysis of literature education (Foucault, 1972, 1985/1984) also inform the conceptual framework. The findings indicate the stability of the textual and lexicogrammatical constructions that function as second-order constraints and the variations in gesture use in its embodied coordination with speech in the pedagogic process of literary text recontextualization through different pedagogic activities. The semantic cohesive relations of Elaboration, Extension, Enhancement, Engagement, and Equipment, fostered by different gesture types together with their corresponding linguistic constructs in the recontextualized texts, demonstrate that the semiotic integration of speech and gesture comprise a single languaging system in the meaning-making process. Based on the production of literary meaning in moral judgement, the specialized consciousness of the ethical self is raised, with ethical subjects constituted through processes of subjectivity, self-reflexivity, and self-confession in the process of literary interpretation and appreciation. The conceptual framework integrating macro- and micro-levels of analysis manifests its theoretical originality by establishing both the methodological framework for multimodal interaction analysis and the cognitive framework for languaging dynamics. The understanding of the meaning-making process in the first-order languaging dynamics suggests that language is an embodied multimodal process. This major conclusion stimulates a re-thinking of important aspects of classroom interaction that have received little attention. Hopefully, the analysis and findings in the current study illustrate the significance of English literature education and suggest new directions for multimodal research in classroom interaction studies. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The EAP written multiple trait rubric used in the City University of Hong Kong is believed to be of central importance to formative and high-stakes summative assessment in the institution. Crucial to both of these roles are the perceptions and interpretations of the key stakeholders: teachers and students. The learning and test scores deriving from the rubric are filtered entirely through these stakeholders. Investigating the perceived effects of the rubric on the EAP assessment's validity, reliability and student learning (three key strands revealed in testing literature) is seen as being essential as proof of the rubric's value. This paper presents an analysis of teacher (n=25) and student (n=123) perceptions of an EAP rubric, investigating core elements of both, comparing them, and probing into whether teachers' interpretations of rubrics influence their students. A mixed-methods study seeks to determine perceptions through combining qualitative analysis of interview data with quantitative analysis of questionnaire responses. Key elements of rubrics and how they both impact and are impacted by stakeholder perceptions are discussed. Findings indicate several strong trends in student and teacher perceptions of the rubric, and tentatively illustrate how teachers may affect their students. Arguments are made for a greater focus on standardising the teaching and learning of the rubric, for greater realisation of the learning potential of the rubric, and for investigating the appropriacy of certain domains and wordings. / published_or_final_version / Applied English Studies / Master / Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics

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This thesis argues that an AS model in computer science needs to be independent of a BS model because their student populations are distinct. The first two years of a BS model cannot be successfully copied in the AS environment. The AS model curriculum must begin at a different level while also providing competencies comparable to those in the first two years of a BS curriculum.Three questions had to be addressed before an AS model could be formulated. 1) What is an AS in computer science? Specific attention was given to the AA, AAS, BA and BS degrees, along with computer engineering, information systems, systems analysis and data processing majors. 2) How does the student population of the AS differ from other degrees? Compared to their BS counterpart, the AS population is weighted toward female, older, ethnicly diverse, mobile, part-time, remedial students who have additional responsibilities. 3) Lastly, is there a need for standardization? An unequivocable yes was the answer. After exploring these questions a model was presented.The proposed model attempted to address the primary goals of the educational, industrial and accreditation organizations (AACJC, ACM and CSAB). A very explicit description of the model was followed by two implementations. / Department of Computer Science