The purpose of this study was to evaluate the current status of the implementation of Benin's new elementary science curriculum. The study used the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM), a model designed to evaluate the implementation of educational innovations. Specifically the study attempted to ascertain teachers' concerns about the science curriculum, the levels of use of the curriculum and the degree to which the curriculum components were implemented. The CBAM Stages of Concerns questionnaire and structured Levels of Use interview were used to collect data respectively on teachers' concerns and level of use. An Innovation Configuration checklist was developed to measure teachers' patterns of use with respect to each of the curriculum key components. The study was directed toward 57 third and fourth grade teachers involved in the implementation of the new curriculum. Findings of the study indicated that teachers have their most intense concerns in the information, personal, and collaboration areas. Regarding teachers' level of use of the science curriculum, the majority of teachers were still trying to solve mechanical problems such as material gathering, lesson planning, and time management. With respect to curriculum components, fundamental components, such as teaching methodology and evaluation technique, were not implemented at the acceptable level. These findings have implications for research and staff development programs for a successful implementation of the science curriculum. Specific plans for improvement include structuring training programs to meet individual teacher needs and concerns, establishing an efficient support system, and providing resources and materials. / Graduation date: 1997

There is no abstract available for this thesis.

There is no abstract available for this dissertation.

The present study is a qualitative one concerning classroom language activities in a foreign language classroom. Studies in language education have in recent years focused on the integration of language and content as one possible way to benefit the students both linguistically and cognitively. Among the research efforts on a content-based approach., Mohan's (1986) Knowledge Framework (KF) provides a systematic way to organize classroom activities combining language and content. However, it is believed by some people that a content-based approach can only apply to learners above the beginning level and that beginners' language classes should be organized solely around language categories. The present study attempts to investigate the feasibility of adopting a content-based approach in a regular Chinese as a foreign language class for young beginners by examining the on-going process of classroom language activities organized around Mohan's KF. The empirical evidence provided by the study indicates that it is feasible to apply a content-based approach in teaching a foreign language to young beginners in normal classroom situations: (1) By engaging in activities organized around the KF, the students in the study used Chinese (though in combination with English) in their interactions, seemed to understand the topics or content of the activities they were engaged in, were involved in certain thinking processes, and represented knowledge structures with graphics; (2) The study shows that classroom activities on a chosen topic can lead to the systematic use of features of language by foreign language students at the beginning level, in the ways indicated by the KF analysis of the topic. In providing an analytical description of the on-going process of classroom language activities around the KF, how the KF was adopted, and how the teacher and the students worked with the KF, the study further supports the argument empirically that the principles underlying the KF apply not only to learners above the beginning level, but also to learners who are beginners; not only to second language learners, but also to foreign language learners. On the basis of the study, suggestions on program improvement and recommendations for further research are considered. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate

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Research Report submitted to the School of Education,Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree in Master of Education (Inclusive Education) July 2019 / NG (2020)

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No description available.

This small scale exploratory research project investigated the grounding of rational number concepts in informal, everyday life situations. A qualitative approach was taken to allow for the identification and then in depth investigation, of issues of importance for such a grounding of rational number understanding. The methodology followed could be seen as a combination of grounded theory and developmental research. And the data was generated through in-depth and clinical interviews structured around a number of grounded tasks related to rational numbers. The research comprised three cycles of interviews that were transcribed and then analysed in detail, interspersed with periods of reading and reflection. The pilot cycle involved a single grade three teacher, the second cycle involved 2 grade three teachers and the third cycle involved 2 grade three children. The research identified a number of different perspectives that were all important for the development of a fundamental intuitive understanding that could be considered personally meaningful to the individual concerned and relevant to the development of rational number concepts. Firstly in order to motivate and engage the child on a personal level the grounding situation needed to be seen as personally significant by the child. Secondly, coordinating operations provided a means of developing a fundamental intuitive understanding, through coordination with affording structures of the situation that are relevant to rational numbers. Finally, goal directed actions that are deliberately structured to achieve explicit goals in a situation are important for the development of more explicit concepts and skills fundamental for rational number understanding. Different explicit structures give rise to different interpretations of rational numbers in grounding situations. In addition to these perspectives, it became evident that building and learning representations was important for developing a more particularly mathematical understanding, based on the fundamental understanding derived from the child's grounded experience. The conclusion drawn in this research as a result of this complexity, is that to achieve a comprehensive and meaningful grounding, children's learning of rational numbers will not follow a simple linear trajectory. Rather this process forms a web of learning, threading coordinating operations for intuitive development, interpretations for explicit grounding and representations to develop more formal mathematical conceptions.