Nesta pesquisa analisamos duas atividades práticas, envolvendo alunos do terceiro ano do Ensino Médio, que fazem parte de uma sequência de Ensino de Física Moderna. Na primeira das atividades, os alunos observam e analisam os espectros da luz proveniente de determinadas lâmpadas com o auxílio de espectroscópios construídos com redes de difração provenientes de pedaços de CD, e na outra, buscam identificar quais elementos químicos estão presentes em algumas estrelas, comparando espectros hipotéticos destas com os espectros de alguns elementos químicos. Na Sequência de Ensino adotada, essas atividades estão localizadas exatamente no momento de transição entre a Física Clássica e a Moderna e servem para introduzir o Modelo Atômico de Bohr e a quantização dos níveis de energia como explicação para os espectros de emissão e absorção da luz. Buscamos analisar \"se\" e \"caso ocorra\" como os alunos se apropriam das linguagens científicas e de termos técnicos durante a realização das duas atividades práticas, bem como a presença de indicadores da Alfabetização Científica. Também procuramos analisar as estruturas das argumentações presentes na aula. Por fim, analisamos o envolvimento dos alunos com as atividades. Para tanto, fizemos uma revisão sobre as linguagens científicas, destacando a linguagem verbal/oral, a gestual e de manipulação e sobre estrutura de argumentação no Ensino de Ciências baseados no Modelo de Toulmin (1958), Van Eemeren et al. (1987) e adaptações para esses modelos em trabalhos como os de Jiménez Aleixandre (1998), Villani e Nascimento (2003), Capecchi (2004) e Carmo (2006). As análises foram feitas a partir das transcrições das aulas gravadas em DVD. Tais análises remetem à importância das linguagens científicas e das argumentações para acompanhamento do processo cognitivo em sala de aula. Indicam também a importância que deve ser dada às linguagens para compreensão do processo ensino-aprendizagem, bem como a necessidade de perguntas que estimulem a argumentação por parte dos alunos. / In this research we analyze two practical activities, involving students from the third year of high school, which are part of a sequence of Teaching of Modern Physics. In the first activity students observe and analyze the spectra of light from certain lamps with the aid of spectroscope diffraction networks built with pieces of a CD. The second one seeks to identify which elements are present in some stars, comparing theoretical spectra of it with the spectra of some chemical elements. Following the Education adopted, these activities are located exactly at the transition between the Classical and Modern Physics and are useful to introduce the Atomic Model of Bohr and quantization levels of energy as an explanation for the emission and absorption of the spectra of light. We examined whether, and if it occurs, as students are aware of scientific language and technical terms during the performance of both practical activities and the presence of indicators of scientific literacy. We also seek to analyze the structures of the arguments in the class. Finally, we analyzed the involvement of students with the activity. Thus a scientific language review was made highlighting the verbal/oral language, the gestural and handling ones and on the structure of argument in science education based on the Toulmin Model (1958), Van Eemeren et al. (1987) and adaptations to these models in studies such as Jiménez Aleixandre (1998), Birth and Villani (2003), Capecchi (2004) and Carmo (2006). The tests were made from transcripts of lessons recorded on DVD. These tests refer to the importance of language and scientific arguments for the monitoring of cognitive process in the classroom. They also show the importance of languages to understand the teaching-learning process and the need for questions that encourage reasoning by students.

Esta Dissertação tem por objetivo analisar a ressignificação do conceito de transformação presente na estrutura cognitiva dos educandos de primeiro ano de Ensino Médio, de uma escola da rede pública estadual da cidade de São Paulo, sendo 53 alunos do ano de 2006 e 83 alunos do ano de 2007. Para tanto, o elemento norteador das atividades propostas para coleta de dados, foi o material instrucional intitulado PROQUIM, desenvolvido na década de 1980, conforme as teorias construtivistas. O mesmo foi utilizado porque promove a construção do conhecimento a partir de atividades desenvolvidas individual e coletivamente, possibilitando ao professor a mediação entre o conhecimento já instituído e a construção do conhecimento escolar, onde é sabido da existência de relações colaborativas entre educandos e educadores. Assim, para atingir o objetivo proposto nesta investigação de abordagem qualitativa, a pesquisadora observou por meio do método dialético que as relações dialógicas mantidas entre educandos e educadores influenciaram os processos de ensino e aprendizagem, facilitando a inclusão de novos atributos ao conceito que estava sendo referenciado, promovendo assim, o desenvolvimento de ações mais reflexivas para a resolução de situações propostas. Deste modo, as atividades que foram sendo apresentadas aos alunos partiram da existência de um conhecimento mais abrangente, para o estabelecimento de conceitos mais específicos. Portanto, estes adolescentes foram expostos a conflitos cognitivos, em suas zonas de desenvolvimento proximal, estabelecendo uma relação colaborativa entre seus pares e a professora na procura pela construção do conceito verdadeiro. A formação do conceito na estrutura cognitiva passa por diversas etapas até o estabelecimento de sua concepção, ou seja, quando o conceito ainda não está estabilizado no pensamento, o sujeito procura observar, macroscopicamente, as características do objeto sob estudo para depois poder atribuir-lhe características mais específicas. Com efeito, estes conflitos cognitivos permitiram que a pesquisadora observasse as mensagens dos educandos, que expressavam suas concepções a respeito do conceito de transformação e sua crescente modificação através das relações colaborativas ocasionadas pela busca do conhecimento. Desta análise conclui-se que parte dos educandos conseguiu estabelecer relações distinguíveis entre os aspectos dos sistemas sob processo de transformação, antes e após a modificação ter-se sucedido. Outra parte dos educandos demonstrou a necessidade de outros contextos de aprendizagem, a fim de favorecer o estabelecimento em suas estruturas cognitivas, do conceito de transformação dos materiais. / This thesis aims to analyze the reclassification of the concept of this processing in the cognitive structure of students of first year of high school, a public school in the state of São Paulo, with 53 students in 2006 and 83 students from years 2007. To this end, the guiding element of the proposed activities for data collection, was the instructional material titled PROQUIM, developed in the 1980s, as constructivist theories. It was used because it promotes the construction of knowledge from activities carried out collectively and individually, allowing the teacher to mediate between the knowledge already established and the construction of school knowledge, which is known of the existence of collaborative relationships between educators and students. So to achieve this goal, this research a qualitative approach, the researcher observed through the dialectical method that kept the dialogical relations between educators and influence the processes of teaching and learning by facilitating the inclusion of new attributes to the concept that was being referenced thus promoting the development of more reflexive actions to resolve situations proposed. Thus, activities that were being presented to students from the existence of a more comprehensive, for the establishment of more specific concepts. Therefore, these adolescents were exposed to cognitive conflicts in their zones of proximal development, establishing a collaborative relationship between peers and the teacher in finding the true construction of the concept. The formation of the concept in cognitive structure goes through several stages until the establishment of its design, ie, when the concept is not yet stable in thought, the subject tries to observe macroscopically, the characteristics of the object under study to be allowed to assign specific characteristics. Indeed, these cognitive conflicts enabled the researcher observed the students\' messages, expressing their views about the concept of transformation and change through its growing collaborative relationships caused by the pursuit of knowledge. From this analysis it appears that some of the students managed to establish relations between distinguishable aspects of systems in the transformation process, before and after the change have been successful. Another part of the students demonstrated the need for other learning contexts to promote the establishment of cognitive structures, the concept of transformation of materials.

The purpose of this study was to determine the learning styles of Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students and associate degree Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) students and identify any association between their learning styles and examine the association between gender and age by learning style. Participants included 337 DPT and PTA students attending CAPTE accredited institutions with doctoral DPT or associate PTA programs in Tennessee and southwest Virginia. The Felder (1996) and Soloman Index of Learning Styles (ILS) was used to determine learning style preferences within 4 learning style dimensions (active-reflective, sensing-intuitive, visual-verbal, and sequential-global). Demographics included program of study, gender, age, ethnicity, and highest level of education. Participants were 18-63 years (mean age 25.87, standard deviation 5.62, median age 24); 205 (60.8%) DPT students, 132 (39.2%) PTA students; 205 (60.8%) female, 132 (39.2%) male. Five research questions with 20 null hypotheses were evaluated using Cross-tabulated tables with frequency counts, percentages, and chi square tests. Statistical significance was established using an .05 alpha. Only 1 null hypothesis was rejected (Ho51: There is no difference in the active-reflective learning style among PTA students by age). There was no significant difference between the learning styles of DPT and PTA students. Participants were found to be balanced on the active-reflective dimension, sensing on the sensing-intuitive dimension, visual on the visual-verbal dimension, and balanced on the sequential-global dimension; preferences were toward the active, sensing, visual, and sequential learning styles. This study demonstrated that DPT and PTA students have a balanced learning style with a strong preference toward active, sensing, visual, and sequential. Therefore, teaching methods should provide an instructional environment that addresses these learning style preferences. The student’s awareness of his or her learning style will enable the learner to capitalize on strengths and develop areas of weakness. This ability to employ effective learning strategies will equip an individual for the challenges of his or her chosen profession and lifelong learning.

Classroom-based projects are insufficient, in of themselves, when preparing students for positions in the digital media field today. David Kolb and Roger Fry argue that effective learning entails the possession of four different abilities: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization and active experimentation.2 Encouraging students to participate in community-based projects outside the classroom can help build the necessary skill sets in learning how to work in a real-world environment. Community-based learning teaches the student on three distinct levels: intellectually, socially, and emotionally including feelings, values, and meanings. Digital Media students should involve themselves in community projects to exercise their skills and broaden their experience. Working on community-based projects allows them to build their portfolio while affording the opportunity to start working under the constraints of actual projects with timelines and budgets. Students learn what an individual’s time is worth, what mistakes can cost, and how to deal with a client. Students also learn how to manage a real world project with deadlines. This paper describes our approach in having students come together to enhance their digital media skills by contributing in the development of a community-based animation festival. This paper also addresses how students learned to plan and manage a festival event while working with a community-based organization.

Thesis (M.ED.) --University of Limpopo, 2008 / The Department of Education language policy states that all official languages may be used in the teaching and learning at South African schools. The department of Education has adopted an Additive Multilingualism as an approach to teaching. English is however, still being used as the language of learning and teaching, even to the learners who are not mother-tongue speakers of the language. This study explores the question of whether code-switching aids or impedes teaching and learning in Mathematics. The problem arises when learners encounter concepts in Mathematics which are written in English and need to be explained in English. Learners often struggled to understand these concepts with the results that educators resort to using their home language to try to explain what these concepts mean. To understand the nature of this problem and how it affects teaching and learning, a qualitative research was undertaken. Two secondary schools in the Sekgosese East Circuit were purposefully sampled for this study. The purpose of the study was to explore the role of code-switching in the teaching and learning of concepts in Mathematics and its effects on the acquisition of Mathematics. The findings revealed that the school were code-switching was applied performed better in Mathematics than the school where code-switching was not employed. The study recommended that educators should use the learners’ home language in instances where their knowledge of English impedes them to convey the meaning clearly.

Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2006. / The purpose of this study was to determine the impact that alternatives to corporal punishment had on the culture of teaching and learning at Lepato High School in the Limpopo Province. The methods used for data collection involved the use of questionnaires, personal interviews and participation observation. The findings indicated that implementing alternatives to corporal punishment without proper support from all stakeholders in education was disastrous for this school. This study further revealed that parental involvement in education is necessary for the successful application of alternatives to corporal punishment in schools. The study findings will make a positive contribution to the improvement of the handling of disciplinary problems in various schools especially in the Limpopo Province and South Africa in general.

Thesis (M.A. (Translation and Linguistics Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2013 / This research looks at the perceptions of parents and teachers about the learning and teaching of Setswana. It looks at Setswana not only as a subject but also as a first language that learners speak at home. It is said that learners have a negative attitude about learning their mother tongue, so this study aims at looking whether parents and teachers are indeed aware of this attitude o if there is an attitude at all. It also intend to indicate whether parents and teacher have a way of discouraging these learners about learning their mother tongues. Since English is seen as the most prestigious language parents may feel that their learners have to be competent in English or they will not achieve much or anything. As teachers teach the language that learners do not appreciate, how do they deal with discouraged learners? Most of all it plans to demonstrate and/or advice learners, parents and teachers about the importance of learning mother tongue in school especially now that they are in high school where by they are capable of making decision about what future path do they want to take. The research tools that are used are questionnaires and interviews. There is a selected number of parents and teachers that will participate. The teachers will answer questionnaires while parents will be interviewed. The data will be analyzed textually also with the help of the SPSS software. The data will be analyzed and interpreted as what they mean for the research and how they have helped that study as a whole and also how they can help further studies if there are any. This study aims to reach the department of education so that maybe they can be able to revise the curriculum of Setswana or maybe change the content. Most importantly it intends to show learners that mother tongue is not a dead end as they make it out to be. They may be as successful with language as they can be with other professions.

Growing pressure is being placed upon educational institutions as students, employers and governments look at the economic, demographic and technological environments of the present, expecting them to have the answers for the future. Many institutions are turning to information and communication technology (ICT) for some of these answers. The focus of this study is two fold - the use of ICT in teaching and learning by teaching staff within an Australian tertiary institution (Curtin University of Technology) and the mechanisms the University has established in order to realign themselves with the information age. At certain stages these two coincide to provide an insight into the organisational culture and teaching environment of one Australian University. The key research questions that guided this study are as follows: How are Curtin University teaching staff utilising ICT in their teaching and learning?; What is the relationship between the ICT behaviour of a University's teaching staff and the strategies used to implement the University's ICT strategic planning initiatives?; What is an appropriate model for future implementation of ICT into teaching and learning at an Australian university? A combination of qualitative (interview and case study techniques) and quantitative (survey and Likert-type instruments) methods was employed. Overall, this study can be described as longitudinal in nature, relying upon such tools as observation, interviews and survey instruments, to collect data at appropriate points in time from the various samples. Since it has already been acknowledged that such change takes time, the study focused specifically on those changes which occurred during the two academic years (1999-2000) at Curtin University of Technology. / It appears that the critical mass stage for integrating ICT into teaching and learning has been reached by the teaching staff involved in the Curtin survey sample. The most common teaching mode adopted by the survey sample is the traditional lecture and tutorial (workshop or laboratory) mode. However, the data revealed that over the 16 month period of the study there was a large increase in the use of Web-based material for teaching and learning. The data revealed that a number of factors emerged which affected the adoption of ICT. These factors included: leadership across the university, attitude toward the use of ICT; the perceived benefits of adopting ICT in teaching and learning; incentives, modeling mechanisms, the provision of adequate support structures; the time factor; training; facilities and resources. The reflective monitoring system utilised in this study (the TracIT reports) revealed the changes in ICT behaviour and the changes in the ICT environment, as well as the source of initiation of the change. It appears that most of the 'real changes' which occurred in the teaching practice of the case study sample were individually driven, with some others being influenced by their own Department/School or by student pressure. The study also found that the adoption of ICT into the working environment of a university teacher significantly increases the workload of individual staff. The existence of transformational leadership across all levels of the University was identified as a major factor in the promotion and adoption of ICT and ultimately the development of a truly professional learning community. / From the extensive data collected in this longitudinal study an empirical model or framework, the "Curtin University Professional Learning Community Model", was introduced. Many of the teaching staff at Curtin University involved in this particular study have clearly demonstrated their commitment to the adoption of ICT for teaching and learning. The detailed case study data has also revealed that many of the teaching staff possess professional attributes which would be admired and valued in any university. Universities are facing the challenge of identifying what role ICT will play in the future of higher education and how to implement the appropriate strategies which will meet these needs. This study has found that the key to meeting the challenge seems to be to harness strategies that lead to the development of a professional learning community. The Curtin University Professional Learning Community Model has identified the key elements which need to be in place if the use of ICT for teaching and learning is to be not only adopted, but sustained and more importantly, effective in the teaching and learning process. This study has clearly revealed that it is only through the synergy of university commitment and individual commitment that real change can actually take place, the change in this case being the adoption of ICT in teaching and learning practices. The strategies suggested by the empirically derived model can begin this journey to a truly professional learning community.

This thesis aims to contribute to the understanding of research higher degree supervision and thereby its enhancement. My study departs from the current emphasis on issues of practice to offer a set of scholarly understandings embedded in the beliefs that supervisors and candidates hold about supervision and closely related academic mailers. It is aligned with the movement over the past two decades towards concentrating on understanding why teachers and students behave in particular ways, rather than describing what they do and how they do it. I draw on the literature of research higher degree (RI-ID) supervision, the conceptual framework of beliefs research and Gadamer's concept of the hermeneutic circle to argue that supervision is best understood as a plexus of closely related educational beliefs about research, teaching, learning and supervision. Research from this perspective acknowledges supervisions plural, multifunctional character and its holistic nature. The beliefs construct recognises the powerful effect that individualsibeliefs and attitudes have on the way they define educational tasks, make related decisions and prefer to act. Thirty-four participants from one engineering faculty were interviewed about their beliefs about the four components of the supervision plexus. Entire transcripts were coded, using a three-phase, inductive method of analysis incorporating constant-comparative techniques and conceptual field principles, to reveal individuals integrated thinking about the whole process of supervision. This method ensures that the findings remain embedded in the data and retain the richness of individual experience. I identified four different core tendencies to the plexus, based on two bipolar frames - controlling/guiding and task-focussed/person-focussed kinds of beliefs. The result is four global orientations to supervision: controlling/task-focussed, controlling/person-focussed, guiding/task-focussed and guiding/person-focussed. Subcategories accommodate individuals whose beliefs differ in specific aspects but whose focal beliefs fit the global group. Each orientation is elaborated by an orientation belief profile - an integrated system of beliefs about the aspects of the plexus that are common to the individuals in that category iso the profiles describe the orientations as much as they describe the individuals in each category. The beliefs in each profile are organised into six belief clusters and different dimensions of the beliefs describe each orientation. To show the location, density and type of inter-linkages among beliefs and belief clusters orientation webs were drawn. The four webs exhibit a high degree of interconnectedness among beliefs, confirming my contention of a supervision plexus of co-dependent and logically interrelated components. Research findings indicate that practitioners beliefs about teaching are central and powerful in determining their supervisory goals and their predisposition towards particular pedagogical approaches to achieving them. With this advanced understanding of the pedagogy of supervision, a case is built for viewing research higher degree supervision as a teaching activity within the university, and positing its management as a 'joint portfolio' between the teaching and learning centre and the research centre of the university. Other findings are that controlling/task-focussed beliefs are generally favoured by RI-ID candidates and that guiding/person-focussed beliefs more commonly describe the way supervisors think about supervision. Although their strategic enactment may differ according to circumstance, beliefs were found to be consistent across contexts. The supervisors role in shaping candidates' beliefs is seen to be diminished by the influence of candidates' preexisting beliefs about teaching. The study establishes a variety of understandings about supervision within this one engineering faculty, suggesting that pedagogical understandings may be more powerful than disciplinary expectations and attitudes as determinants of supervisory behaviour. The view of RI-ID supervision discussed in this thesis builds on the earlier research in meaningful ways that enhance our understanding of the process as a whole. The thesis provides possibilities for linking that research with more fruitful and rewarding doctoral experiences for supervisors and candidates.

This thesis study set as its objective to investigate the effect of a comprehensive intervention to develop strategic learners on participating teachers and students. The intervention, named CORE Program for Strategic Teaching and Learning, was implemented throughout the entire curriculum by every teacher in Grades 7 - 12 in the Classical School. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methodology was used for the study. Grade 7 students were chosen for research purposes. Teacher participants included both certified and non-certified individuals, all with degrees in their area of instruction, whose experience ranged from none to decades. The student population was atypical, as it was composed of very highly-achieving and above average students in a private school. A review of the literature was made in an attempt to determine the critical elements of strategic learning and the necessary components for a successful intervention. Metacognition, self-regulation, self-efficacy, attribution for success, learning goal orientation, motivation, volitional control, and learning strategies were found to be interactive processes within strategic learning. Borrowing from chaos theory, strategic learning was viewed as a complex web of interacting influences, from which one could not extract a particular element to examine. Therefore, the study attempted to implement an intervention that would affect all of the above-named skills and attitudes exemplified by strategic learners. Teachers involved accepted the intervention and utilized it within their teaching, showing progress in ease of inclusion with years of experience in the program. The study data showed that the intervention had a generally positive student learning effect on 17 out of 21 items surveyed, with statistical significance determined for five items. The intervention was equally effective with very high-achieving students as well as with the lowest achieving students in the population studied.