In Egypt, the school educational system has been suffering a deteriorating quality over the last few decades. Since the revolution that took place in Egypt in 2011, political tensions and conflicts have consumed so much energy and time, making it hard for Egyptians to focus on development. Therefore, through this doctoral study that follows an action based methodology, I aim to contribute to the current efforts to improve the Egyptian educational system. In this study, I introduced an intervention that draws upon the principles of school improvement, reform strategies and non-positional teacher leadership. This is done through adopting and adapting the ‘teacher-led development work’ (TLDW) approach. In this study, a group of 50 teachers from four different Egyptian schools took part in the programme for one academic year. Through this programme I supported them to lead innovations in their classrooms and schools as a whole. Each teacher/participant was expected to initiate and lead a development project that improves teaching and learning in their schools, and other teachers could benefit from as well. Data was collected throughout the academic year to continuously monitor and adapt the programme, and to explore what the programme made possible and the conditions that made it possible. The programme usefully supported teachers in taking action that had a positive impact on the students, teachers and school as a whole. However, the most significant impact observed was on the participating teachers themselves: their professionality, self-confidence and self-efficacy that underpinned growth in their own skills and pedagogic repertoires. There were a set of conditions that were required for this programme to have an impact. Practitioners and policy makers interested in educational reform through teachers could benefit from considering these factors in their own development.

Over the past several years, much research has investigated the role of pre-task planning, including solitary, group, and teacher-led planning, on the variables of complexity, fluency, and accuracy in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research. (Foster & Skehan, 1996; Gaillard, 2013; Geng & Ferguson, 2013). Additionally, other studies have investigated L2 learners' use of paragraphs and/or the role of conjunctions, i.e. transition words and expressions, in developing ideas and increasing cohesion (Mendelson, 2012; Rass, 2015). A gap remains, however, in seeing how pre-speaking and transition word activities together can promote proficiency in terms of text type, i.e. the move from word level speech and producing strings of sentences to paragraph level discourse. This study seeks to fill this gap by examining two teaching methods, namely Prelude to Conversation, or pre-speaking (Thompson, 2009), and transition word activities, to investigate the effect that these teaching methods have on increasing complexity and fluency among Intermediate-level learners of French. Complexity was measured by investigating the sub-components of total transition words, taught transition words, total clauses, words per clause, and total words. Fluency was measured by investigating the sub-components of time duration (total minutes) and words per minute. Furthermore, a case study illustrates the implications of increases in complexity and fluency for text type. Subjects were recruited from third semester French courses at Brigham Young University and were subsequently divided into three groups with each group receiving a different teaching method: Group 1 received transition word pre-activities, Group 2 received pre-speaking with a focus on content and forms needed to respond to the task, and Group 3 received a combination of both teaching methods. The study lasted four weeks with a Pre-Test in week one, followed by two weeks of treatments before completing the Post-Test in the fourth week. During the second and third weeks, each group received their respective treatments before responding to prompts that were identical for each group. Following the data collection, the speech samples were transcribed and analyzed for the sub-components of complexity and fluency. Results show, when comparing the Pre-Test to the Post-Test, that pre-speaking has a broader impact on complexity and fluency, either alone or when combined with transition word activities, impacting in particular total clauses, total words and response duration. When transition word activities were taught alone, there were greater gains in the use of taught transition words. The findings also demonstrate that even simply practicing providing oral responses regardless of treatment did help learners make overall increases that led to Post-Test responses (without scaffolding) that did not return to Pre-Test levels.

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Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2008. / Title from title screen (site viewed Nov. 25, 2008). PDF text: vi, 94 p. : ill. ; 2 Mb. UMI publication number: AAT 3315205. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

abstract: The purpose of this dissertation was to document the teaching practices and underlying intentions of teachers in a Waldorf early childhood program in relationship to integrative movement and its connections to learning for the kindergarten through grade three learner. Current concerns about unhealthy sedentary lifestyles and the decreasing emphasis on physical activity/movement in public schools are growing. This dissertation explores current educational research related to the effects of movement on cognitive processing and the potential effects of movement on learning, particularly in a Waldorf-based early childhood program in which movement is integrated into all aspects of learning (including all academic subjects). This dissertation includes a literature review of current research and theory, and a qualitative micro-ethnographic case study of a Waldorf-based early childhood program that involved teacher observations and interviews. Key findings: the Waldorf-based early childhood program provided practical methods for (1) encouraging various modes of free play intended to enhance a child's physical, social/emotional and academic development, (2) integrating teacher-led movements into the daily curriculum, (3) utilizing movement to aid cognitive processing and prepare students for more sedentary academic work, (4) integrating remedial work into the daily classroom curriculum, and (5) utilizing intentional movement to help a child learn to embody stillness as a means of focusing attention and energy. Movements integrated into the curriculum by the teachers created observable positive effects on the students: eagerness to participate, recall, extending focus and attention, and creating social awareness and cooperation. Conclusions: (1) Waldorf-based education programs may provide practical examples and theoretical perspectives relevant to the creation of an integrated and comprehensive movement-based curriculum for the early childhood learner, and (2) The Waldorf teachers studied provide a counter-position to early childhood teaching practices that utilize movement as a break from sedentary learning. This study revealed the effects of imposing or integrating stillness into a movement-rich curriculum. Future recommendations include more comprehensive research on Waldorf-based educational programs and educational research that reaches beyond movement's potential positive or negative effect on a student's academic progress to study in more depth how and why movement impacts learning for the young child. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Curriculum and Instruction 2012

For Maldives, an island nation consisting of over 1190 islands, eLearning is the ideal form of delivery for higher education students on the 200 inhabited islands. This study explores Maldivian college students’ and their institutes’ eLearning readiness. Mixed methods research has been conducted using two questionnaires (one for the students and one for the lecturers) and semi-structured interviews. One hundred and eleven students from two private higher education institutes completed the questionnaires, 10 students were selected for interviews out of which 9 completed the interview. Students’ technological skills, access to technology and learning abilities, as well as their level of eLearning efficacy, are measured and further explored through interviews. Their lifestyle and family and workplace environments’ conduciveness for eLearning is explored. Similarly, 45 lecturers completed the questionnaire to obtain lecturers’ and institutes’ readiness for online teaching. The responses from the questionnaires allow exploration of Maldivian higher education students and institutes’ readiness for eLearning. Lecturers’ readiness is assessed by their skills and abilities to support eLearning students. Readiness of institutes are explored using semi-structured interviews with 2 senior staff from each college. The role of the three elements of the Community of Inquiry Framework: Cognitive Presence, Teaching Presence and Social Presence, in eLearning, is also explored through questionnaires and interviews. The research study’s findings are significant as it is the first research in the Maldives to provide such a case in support of eLearning readiness in higher education. The research study supports the transferability of the findings to comparable colleges and student populations in the Maldives.

Research has explored the impact of various planning types (i.e. different ways to help students prepare for a language task by, for instance, giving them time and/or specific instructions) on the fluency, complexity, and accuracy of second language learners (e.g., Ellis, 2009). However, results have been mixed and studies have never investigated the impact of pre-speaking activities such as those proposed by Thompson (2009), a teacher-led planning focusing on both form and content with students. Previous research suggests that this type of planning could benefit students: Foster & Skehan (1999) believe that teacher-led planning is effective in comparison to other planning types, and Sangarun (2005) demonstrated the benefits of planning involving both content and form instead of planning focusing on content or form only. Moreover, because anxiety negatively impacts the production of second language learners (Horwitz, Horwitz & Cope, 1986), this study also examines whether planning activities can reduce student anxiety during speaking tasks. To this end, the present study examines the impact of three different planning conditions, namely no planning, solitary planning and Thompson's teacher-led planning, or Prelude to Conversation, on the fluency (measured through total duration of the speech sample, words per minute, and pauses per minute), complexity (measured through the words per utterance), accuracy (measured through the percentage of errors), and anxiety level (measured through anxiety scales) of 37 students performing short speaking tasks. Subjects were all enrolled in first semester French classes and were divided into three groups that rotated through the three planning conditions, each group starting with a different planning type in the cycle. Each week, the speaking task was common across all subjects, but depending on the group, the treatment was different. Their performance level during the speaking task and their anxiety level were compared for each treatment. Results show that planning has an impact on the fluency, complexity, and accuracy of the students but not on their anxiety level. Findings also show that pre-speaking has a more positive influence on the quality and the quantity of production of the students than solitary planning and no planning. Task and pre-task anxiety influenced the anxiety level of the students, demonstrating the role that specific tasks can have on student performance no matter how teachers try to prepare them for the tasks. Results also suggest that more personal-oriented tasks, e.g., student schedules, will elicit better responses than more outward-oriented tasks, e.g., school systems, cultural differences. This study also supports previous research that has shown the importance of creating a classroom where the anxiety is low.

Teacher-led sensory play pedagogy, which specifically focuses on the sensopathic senses, has the potential to facilitate sensory processing in Grade R (Reception Year) children in preparing them for the transition from informal to formal schooling. In this study the complexity of the nature of this inquiry became evident when the body of scholarship was found not to reveal one single framework that represents play pedagogy, sensory integration and best early childhood practices. A variety of theories are available, but not a unifying conceptual framework that integrates cross-disciplinary knowledge systems to inform a scientific research process. Constructing an encompassing teacher-led sensory play pedagogy framework requires the integration of key principles of renowned and trusted grand theories of play, sensory play and play-based pedagogies with international best practice to preserve and advocate the importance of sensory play and learning in the early years. The newly conceptualised framework that represents the phenomenon had to be implemented using scientific research principles. Interpretivism as methodological paradigm guided the entire research process from selecting participants and sites to data generation, analysis and interpretation. The nature of the phenomenon justified a qualitative mode of inquiry with a multiple case study approach. The selection of the research sites as well as the participants warranted a purposive sampling technique. The five sites and ten participants represent teaching communities and learning environments that value sensory play as pedagogy when implementing South Africa’s national curriculum. The conceptual framework informed the construction of sensopathic pathways for indoor and outdoor learning environments. They served as a real-time exposition with actively engaged children. The teacher-participants observed this engagement and expressed their observations and interpretation through semi-structured interviews and reflective journals. To ensure quality data, the participants were given access to a cloud-based data generation application (app) with which they captured their experiences, impressions and thinking textually and visually. Member checking and a reliable audit trail were ensured by empowering the participants to capture their experiences as first-hand raw data themselves. The analysis of the data sets is aimed at determining how the conceptual framework informs teacher-led sensory play pedagogy. Therefore, I conceptualised an a priori coding framework using a deductive derivation of themes (statements), categories and codes to make sense of the data sets. A pivotal part of the study was to scrutinise how the conceptual framework inspired the integration of sensory processing and sensory play activities, as well as how teacher-led activities introduced sensopathic play opportunities to children in an informal learning environment. The importance of aligning sensopathic play experiences with the intended curriculum is key in preparing children for the transitions from Grade R to Grade 1. The interpretation of the analysed data sets indicated that the nature of this phenomenon is more complex than anticipated, as children demonstrated a dire need for a sensory play programme whether they had been diagnosed with sensory processing deficiencies or not. In other words, sensory play pedagogy that stimulates sensory processing, self-regulation and problem-solving skills readies children for formal schooling. The newly conceptualised framework affirms that teacher-led sensory play pedagogy can be incorporated into teachers’ daily school programmes and the national curriculum in South African preschools. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / pt2021 / Early Childhood Education / PhD / Unrestricted

Denna licentiatuppsats har studerat kommunikationsmönster och beslutsfattande i relation till lärarens undervisningsmetoder med ambitionen om att undervisa från ett mer frågebaserat och elevcentreratperspektiv. Studien är genomförd enligt principerna för en självstudie. Resultatet av kommunikationen i min undervisning bestäms av vem som ska fatta de olika besluten. Om jag äger alla beslut kommer det också att leda till att jag äger nästan all kommunikation med och feedback till mina elever. Det leder också till mer lärarcentrerade undervisningsmetoder. Resultatet av möjligheterna att förändra en praktik är att det inte finns något motstånd bland eleverna att undervisa på ett mer elevcentrerat och frågebaserat sätt. Normer är föränderliga och genom att undervisa på ett mer varieratsätt finns även möjligheter att fortsätta ett yrkesspråk inom idrott. / Knowledge is expressed in different forms – such as facts, understanding, skills, and familiarity – which require and interact with each other. Therefore, teachers cannot unilaterally emphasize one or the other form of knowledge, which means that teachers are challenged to master a variety of possible ways of teaching. The dominant language in physical education teaching comes from sports, and there is no language that puts into words the goals that teaching in school should have. Research in Sweden also emphasizes that when the institutions of school and sport meet, it is sport that sets the agenda. This means that physical education teaching has a way of being organized that is similar to club sport activities and its content with different sports. Today's curriculum is too multidimensional to use only one teaching method (Ferry & Olofsson, 2009; Schenker, 2011; Hedberg, 2014; Nyberg & Larsson, 2014, 2016; SueSee & Barker, 2019). The aim of the study is to use self-study as a method and student-centered and question-based teaching strategies in combination with the teacher-centered and instruction-based teaching methods that dominate today. Which communication patterns and which decision-making can be discerned in relation to the chosen teaching methods?How do the students describe the experience from the course with a focus on the teacher’s communication and the design of the teaching?The study took place in a course in physical education and health specialization in ice hockey in Sweden during eight months. The students in the study were all boys between 16 and 19 years old and were interviewed before and after the observed teaching. During the course, the teacher’s communication during the lessons was recorded with a microphone. All teaching in the study has been categorized according to Kirk’s (1996) five teaching methods in order to distinguish who makes decisions, how the teaching is organized and what kind of communication and feedback that dominates. The empirical material has been analyzed using the theory of practice architecture. This theory is about understanding the practice and its changes, and what enables or hinders the development of the practice (Kemmis et al., 2014). The outcome of the communication in my teaching is determined by who makes the different decisions. If I as a teacher own all decisions, it will also lead to me owning almost all communication with and feedback to my students. It also leads to more teacher-centered teaching methods. When I plan the teaching based on the fact that the students should also decide, I also invite them to communicate more. This communication can be between me and the students or between the students. The study indicated that there was no resistance among students to a more student-centered and inquiry-based teaching. Norms are changeable, and by teaching in a more varied way there are also opportunities to develop a professional language in physical education.

Student Number : 0317854T - MEd research report - School of Education - Faculty of Humanities / School effectiveness and school improvement research is a worldwide phenomenon that has inspired a great deal of literature. This report examines teachers’ perceptions of a teacher-led curriculum development initiative currently effective in independent schools in the Gauteng Province of South Africa, and it describes strategies for implementation for interested schools. It is a programme that focuses school improvement back into the classroom, with teachers leading the changes at their site of practice. The Gauteng Independent Schools Curriculum Development Initiative (GISCDI) is a teacher-led initiative. Qualitative research generates an understanding of how the mechanisms of this initiative impact on the lives of teachers and students. It provides detailed explanations of teachers’ perceptions of change in actual classroom practices, pedagogy and curriculum implementation by entering into conversations with selected participants. It considers the changes in light of reflective practice, after involvement in the GISCDI. The report accesses the different methodologies the teachers implemented in their classrooms, after the teacher-led interventions were presented to them. It also considers the concepts of teacher leadership, trust, distributed leadership and collegiality as being the core elements to initiating, implementing and sustaining change in practice, to benefit student learning and improving schools.