Thesis (MEd)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. / Much of today’s classroom learning, particularly in the senior primary phase, focuses on activities whereby learners acquire facts and rules, employing only the lower levels of cognition: knowledge, comprehension and application (Sonn, 2000). In order to bridge the gap between the real and the ideal (Hartley, Bertram & Mattson, 1999) with regards to the development of critical and creative thinking, educators need to be trained and provided with the necessary tools and relevant teaching strategies to better align their teaching to the requirements of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). This research developed quantitative and qualitative instruments to investigate Grade 6 teachers’ understanding of creative and critical thinking before and after a professional learning community (PLC) intervention. The implementation of the PLC involved the Creative Problem Solving (CPS) programme’s generating tools, and was guided by Bourdieu’s social field theory. The aim of the intervention was to consider the shifts and changes that teachers might make in their teaching practices to purposely include the development of creative and critical thinking skills in their pedagogy. A pragmatic paradigm was utilized, focusing on methodological flexibility with the use of an explanatory sequential mixed method approach. Although this small, convenient sample excludes any statistical evidence, it does reflect that given time and support, teachers’ pedagogical habitus (see Feldman & Fataar, 2014) is adaptable. The meaningful, cooperative approach of the PLC and the development of creative and critical thinking skills, through the use of the creative problem solving programme, created the platform for change.

Thesis (M Ed.) -- University of the North, 1981 / Refer to the document

Thesis (MEd)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2019. / The objective of initial teacher education is to prepare teachers to teach effectively in schools. The quality of schools of a country depends on the quality of teachers (Femin-nemser, 2001). Provision of good teachers is, thus, crucial for the quality of teaching in schools. This research seeks to explore newly qualified teachers experiences of learning to teach and how it supports their classroom practices. A mixed method study with an interpretivist emphasis was conducted with teachers, who were in their first year of teaching. Data generation ensued through questionnaires and discussions whereby only some aspects of these were used to complement the main data generation which was the focus groups. Pedagogic Content Knowledge is a knowledge base that allows teachers to effectively pass their content knowledge on to students. Drawing on existing literature, a conceptual framework was developed. The study used the content analysis method where data was categorised according to the themes. The findings show that the Newly Qualified Teachers found their Initial Teacher Education to have had both positive and negative influences on their classroom practices. The heavy administrative duties, adapting to school contexts, relationships with people of influence like lecturers during Initial Teacher Education and mentor teachers, teaching practice (which had the most profound influence on their classroom practice) and the professional knowledge and skills as taught during Initial Teacher Education all played a part in supporting the classroom practices of Newly Qualified Teachers. The implications for policy makers, initial teacher education providers and mentor teachers therefore suggest some adjustment to the structure of Initial Teacher Education programs that would enable improving the development of Pedagogic Content Knowledge including enhanced involvement of schools in Initial Teacher Education to support classroom practice of Newly Qualified Teachers.

Bibliography: leaves 94-102.

In this study I explored the variety of educational opportunities available in museums. Next, I examined the museum education programs in the Portland, Oregon area and described what types of opportunities are available to teachers. Finally, I made suggestions for teachers on how to best access museum programs and for museum educators on how to best reach teachers. Interactions between schools and museums exist on a variety of levels. From limited interactions to collaborative programming, schools and museums have found ways to work together to accomplish their joint goal of education. Museums offer self-guided or guided tours, curriculum packets, teacher education programs, access to collections or informational programs related to special exhibits. Some museums and schools have developed deeper relationships in which each give and receive help carrying out their missions. I interviewed museum educators at nine museums in Portland and the surrounding areas. I asked questions regarding the types of programs available, especially focusing on programs suitable for school groups or those that might be helpful to teachers. The programs available in the Portland area vary by institution. Each museum, historic home or zoo offers unique programs on a variety of topics. While history predominates, science, math, social studies and art are readily available. Teachers should be able to supplement nearly any classroom topic. Teachers should take the time to get to know the educators in the institutions. Overall, the key for an individual teacher seeking museum education for students is to ask what is available. The programming at most institutions is flexible, especially when there are traveling or temporary exhibitions. Teachers should get onto mailing lists so they will be notified when special or new programs are available. Also, teachers need to keep in contact with the museum educators. Developing a personal relationship will prove invaluable for a teacher who is trying to fill a gap in a unit or supplement his or her curriculum. Museum educators will benefit from time spent analyzing where their current programs meet state guidelines or focusing planning on meeting specific state common curriculum goals (CCGs) when designing new programs. Schools are reorganizing their curriculum to meet state standards and museum personnel would be wise to do the same. / Graduation date: 2000

The purpose of this study was to understand the individual experiences of four adult literacy practitioners, Anne, Bill, Candy, and Emily, in the first cohort of the Oregon Field-Based Cohort Master's Program. This program, which Oregon established in 1993 as one venue of professional development for adult literacy and English as a Second Language practitioners, was developed jointly by the Office of Community College Services of the state Department of Education and Oregon State University. The inquiry proceeded from three assumptions. First, effective professional development must be grounded in understandings about how practitioners learn. Second, an understanding of practitioners' learning is attainable only through intensive examination of individual experiences. And third, practitioners' accounts of their learning experiences are legitimate sources of knowledge; they are, in fact, the only accessible avenues for investigating individuals' learning. Transcripts of in-depth interviews and participants' cumulative portfolios were coded and analyzed in the first phase of data analysis to produce stories which integrated Anne, Bill, Candy, and Emily's own words with metaphors they created to frame their experiences. Each story reconstructs a practitioner's construction of the emotional, intellectual, and material experience of learning in a cohort. Together, they represent the uniqueness and complexity of adults' learning. In the second phase of analysis, the stories were compared to reveal relationships of similarity and difference among them. The cross-case analysis generated five themes around the self as learner, the contribution of dissonance to reconstruction of meaning, personal transformations in an academic setting, increased confidence as an outcome of graduate study, and stance as a contributor to the variability and complexity of adults' experiences of learning in a formal setting. The final chapter drew directly on the themes to make suggestions for planning and practice and pose questions which might be used to focus conversations or frame future research about adult learning, graduate programs, or staff development for adult educators. Specific topics included authentic learning situations, reflection, graduate cohorts, collaborative learning, adult learners' stances toward learning situations, distance delivery and professional networks for adult literacy practitioners, and evaluation of professional development programs. / Graduation date: 1998

Afhandlingen 'videreuddannelse af lærere - muligheder og positioneringer i arbejdet' undersøger betydningen af videreuddannelse af skolelærere, når de er tilbage på deres skoler efter endt videreuddannelsesforløb. Det undersøges, hvad lærerne oplever at lære, hvilke former for viden, der oparbejdes og hvordan disse vidensformer har mulighed for at genlæres i praktisk handling og blive til viden for praksis. Det undersøges ligeledes, hvordan lærerne har mulighed for at positioneres sig som videreuddannede lærere blandt ikke-videreuddannede-lærere, og de vanskeligheder der kan opstå i den proces. Tilgangen til undersøgelsen er socialkonstruktivistisk og der redegøres for metodologiske overvejelser med henblik på transparens. Teoretisk anlægges en kulturpsykologisk læringsforståelse og et samhandlingsteoretisk fokus. Hermed konstrueres blikke på læringsforståelser og læringsudbytte i et videreuddannelsesperspektiv tilligemed tydeliggørelser af de relationelle forhold, der er af betydning for etablering af en position som videreuddannet. Med henblik på at udforske en hermeneutisk inspireret metode, analyseres det empiriske materiale ad to omgange; først en 'delanalyse', ud fra en tematisk inddeling. Derefter finder en 'helhedsanalyse 'sted. Analysen betragter interviewene som hele fortællinger og anvender dermed en narrativ tilgang. De to analyser sammenholdes og muliggør en samlet forståelse af undersøgelsens komplekse genstand: Hvilken betydning har videreuddannelse for praksis. Afhandlingen kan konkludere, at videreuddannelsen tillægges stor, især personlig, betydning. Når der opstår problemer, opstår de i mødet med skolens dagligdag - i mødet, hvor lærerne står med et vidensoverskud, som der ikke findes anvendelse for på skolen.

Research studies indicated that differences in cognitive processing style influence individual behavior on various types of tasks. This study investigated the effect of the cognitive style dimension, field independence-dependence, on the metacognitive functioning of individuals involved in three problem tasks which varied in inherent structure. Twenty-six subjects were randomly selected from a pool of one hundred and two pre-service teachers who completed the Group Embedded Figures Test to determine levels of field independence-dependence. Subjects were asked to verbalize their thinking while solving three types of problems. The think aloud protocols were analyzed using a coded analysis technique. The Checklist of Metacognitive Behavior (CMB) was the classification system developed to perform the coded analysis. The CMB contained four major categories: planning, monitoring, evaluation and affect. Criterion behaviors in each category were identified in the protocols from surface language structure. Behaviors identified in the protocol analysis were assigned points. Analysis of variance was used to compare mean scores from the CMB for total and category scores on each problem. Significant differences were found between field independents and field dependents for total and category scores on problem one, the puzzle-type problem. No differences were found between the groups on the semi-structured and ill-structured problems. Field independents exhibited a greater number and variety of monitoring and evaluation behaviors on the structured problem. Cognitive style preference had no significant impact on the type and number of metacognitive behaviors observed on the semi-structured and ill-structured problems. / Graduation date: 1990

Organizations leading education reform of the 1980's have challenged teacher education programs at colleges and universities across the nation to improve the subject matter content preparation of teachers. Past methods of program development and techniques to assess teacher's knowledge competence have been one-sided in their approach. New research studies on expert vs novice teachers show that expert teachers are more efficient in carrying out standard patterns of instruction. This nation's mathematics community has engaged in a revitalization of mathematics curricula. Traditional mathematics is being transformed to become a powerful science. Using the growing body of research, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics have developed standards for improving the teaching and learning of mathematics. Oregon's Department of Education has also established standards to meet the needs of a changing mathematics curricula and the challenges of a changing society. This study identified the specific content knowledge taught in the mathematics curricula within colleges and universities which offer four, five or fifth year teacher education programs. It then compared these findings against teacher identified origins of elementary, middle and high school teachers' mathematics content knowledge relative to the Essential Learning Skills of Oregon. It was found that teachers' content knowledge of the Essential Learning Skills of Oregon was not directly related to their preparation as teachers; at the elementary and high school levels, there was no direct relationship found between teachers' degrees and their teaching assignment; there was no apparent relationship between teachers' knowledge of the Essential Learning Skills of Oregon and graduation from an Oregon college or university; there was no apparent relationship between teachers' lack of knowledge of the Essential Learning Skills of Oregon and graduation from a non-Oregon college or university. / Graduation date: 1990

The recent focus on transition from school to working life has created a growing concern in Oregon about teachers with elementary certification as their initial certification who earn a special education certificate and teach students with disabilities in secondary settings. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship among initial certifications (elementary, secondary, and K-12), where Oregon high school special education teachers received the major part of their transition skills training, and their self-perceived needs for further transition skills training. The population for the study consisted of 213 secondary special education teachers of students with mild disabilities from throughout Oregon. The instrument was a survey-type questionnaire that included 14 transition skill competencies for teachers. Subjects were first asked where they received the major part of their training in each of the transition competency skills. Next, they were asked to rate their self-perceived needs for further training in each of the transition skills. The instrument design was validated through a Delphi procedure. Data were collected during the spring of 1987 and the fall of 1988. No significant statistical relationships were found between initial certification and where teachers received the major part of their transition skills training, or their self-perceived needs for further training. However, three major implications became apparent from the data. First, decisions regarding coursework could be examined at the preservice level. Next, opportunities for preservice teachers to participate in team decision-making activities should be examined. Lastly, personnel inservice preparation programs at the district level should be examined to ensure that transition skill competencies for teachers are included. Recommendations included follow-up studies to find out if the size of school, type and level of endorsement, major and minor fields of study and years of teaching may have an effect on transition skills training of secondary teachers. / Graduation date: 1992