The pass rate of first-year university mathematics students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (Pietermaritzburg Campus) has been low for many years. One cause may be weak algebra skills. At the time of this study, revision of high school algebra was not part of the major first year mathematics course. This study set out to investigate if it would be worthwhile to spend tutorial time on basic algebra when there is already an overcrowded calculus syllabus, or if students refresh their algebra skills sufficiently as they study first year mathematics. Since it was expected that remediation of algebra skills would be found to be worthwhile, two other questions were also investigated: Which remediation strategy is best? Which errors are the hardest to remediate? Five tutorial groups for Math 130 were randomly assigned one of four remediation strategies, or no remediation. Three variations of using cognitive conflict to change students’ misconceptions were used, as well as the strategy of practice. Pre- and post-tests in the form of multiple choice questionnaires with spaces for free responses were analysed. Comparisons between the remediated and non-remediated groups were made based on pre- and post-test results and Math 130 results. The most persistent errors were determined using an 8-category error classification developed for this purpose. The best improvement from pre- to post-test was 12.1% for the group remediated with cognitive conflict over 5 weeks with explanations from the tutor. Drill and practice gave the next-best improvement of 8.1%, followed by self-guided cognitive conflict over 5 weeks (7.8% improvement). A once-off intervention using cognitive conflict gave a 5.9% improvement. The group with no remediation improved by 2.3%. The results showed that the use of tutorintensive interventions more than doubled the improvement between pre-and post-tests but even after remediation, the highest group average was 80%, an unsatisfactory level for basic skills. The three most persistent errors were those involving technical or careless errors, errors from over-generalising and errors from applying a distorted algorithm, definition or theorem. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

Many studies evidence the importance of metacognition in successful learning. Metacognitive skills improve the academic outcomes of learners. Additionally, metacognitive skills build lifelong learning skills, which are transferable to employment and other contexts. As such, developing metacognition in students is of great value to universities as society as a whole. This study explores the perceptions of lecturers and student teachers in a College of Education at a University in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) regarding the presence and promotion of metacognitive skills at the University in which the study took place. The study spanned three departments in the College, namely Kindergarten, Special Education, and Art Education. The study employs an interpretive research approach and case study methodology to gather this rich understanding of lecturers’ and students’ perceptions. Data were collected from twelve lecturers and twelve undergraduate students through a combination of lecture room observations, semi-structured interviews, and group interviews. The most significant finding emerging from this study is the lack of lecturer participants’ knowledge regarding metacognition generally. My study found that skills such as planning, monitoring, and evaluating skills were sometimes present in their teaching, but were not used to engage students in thinking metacognitively or developing their own metacognitive abilities. I found that metacognition was not present consistently or intentionally in lecture rooms. The findings further exposed some obstacles which could inhibit the promotion of metacognition in higher education in KSA. For example, traditional methods of rote learning were shown to discourage metacognitive thinking. Large student numbers and lecturers’ lack of time could prohibit lecturers from investing in teaching metacognitive skills to their students. Students’ apathy towards anything other than memorising facts to pass examinations and acquire grades could also demotivate them to learn valuable skills like metacognition without comprehensive changes to educational norms. The study identified multiple ways in which metacognition could be promoted in higher education in KSA. For example, diversifying teaching practices to include more active learning methods such as discussion and questioning would be more effective than the current prevalent method of lecturing and learning by memorising. Lecturers could role-model metacognitive skills to their students by incorporating metacognition into their own practice, and thus incorporate it into existing courses. Students could be motivated to develop metacognitive skills by discovering the benefits to them of metacognition on both their academic success and their future careers. The study’s findings supported the importance of including metacognition in higher education and advocating it to students as a valuable skill. Thus, there is a need to establish mechanisms or frameworks for integrating metacognition into higher education in KSA, and communities of practice which support the development of metacognitive skills among lecturers and student teachers who will be the teachers of tomorrow. I therefore offer a model with recommendations for practical uptake to expedite this, and support it with this study's evidence.

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2016-02-11T12:16:49Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Vera Lúcia Reis da Silva_.pdf: 1436723 bytes, checksum: dd2a983f783c6d6d5ba82a0036d349da (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-02-11T12:16:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Vera Lúcia Reis da Silva_.pdf: 1436723 bytes, checksum: dd2a983f783c6d6d5ba82a0036d349da (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-11-23 / FAPEAM - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas / Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo principal compreender o processo de construção de professores iniciantes na docência universitária, em tempos de expansão e interiorização da rede pública ocorrida no Brasil, na primeira década do século XXI. Tomou como lócus a Universidade Federal do Amazonas, mais especificamente, para os dados empíricos, o Campus de Humaitá. Na perspectiva para essa compreensão foi desenvolvida uma investigação qualitativa, ouvindo, através de narrativas, quatro docentes de áreas distintas, que atenderam aos critérios definidos pelo estudo, na condição de iniciantes na carreira universitária, com não mais de cinco anos de experiência nesse nível de ensino. Essa escolha possibilitou melhor configurar a abrangência do objeto de estudo. Para a interpretação dos dados foram utilizados os princípios da Análise de Conteúdo. Os aportes teóricos tiveram como base principal os estudos de Cunha; Pimenta e Anastasiou; Veiga; Nóvoa; Marcelo Garcia; Vaillant; Mayor Ruiz; Larrosa e Lucarelli, entre outras contribuições que fundamentaram os temas centrais. Na perspectiva de alcançar o objetivo proposto, algumas questões foram norteadoras, em especial as relacionadas aos percursos de formação dos professores; estímulos que tiveram para a escolha profissional e influências de sua condição de estudantes, a partir das aprendizagens feitas com seus ex-professores, bem como compreender o impacto da formação acadêmica na sua profissionalidade. Procuramos, também, desvendar se receberam apoio institucional para essa fase de inserção e que importância atribuem a um possível movimento nessa direção. Ampliando ainda mais os estudos, provocamos as narrativas sobre as principais experiências que marcaram a trajetória inicial da docência e o que significaram para as suas práticas cotidianas. Interessou, também, ao estudo, compreender o valor que atribuem à didática universitária e como as estratégias de formação e de desenvolvimento profissional podem ser mobilizadas para fortalecer a docência. Os resultados evidenciaram que as expressões ―choque com a realidade‖; ―solidão pedagógica‖; ―aterrissa como podes‖; ―nada ou afunda-te‖ são capazes de caracterizar o vivido pelos professores nos seus anos iniciais na Universidade, pois não encontraram acolhimento de forma sistematizada, com apoio institucional. Assistematicamente, tiveram auxílios de colegas e aprenderam principalmente na prática, com seus alunos, através do ensaio e do erro. Entretanto, a condição de iniciantes não os impediu de assumirem funções burocrático-administrativas entendidas, por eles, como promotoras de amadurecimento profissional. O dinamismo, a reflexão sobre as práticas e o compromisso com a formação dos estudantes estiveram presentes nas narrativas dos docentes, evidenciando que se seu processo de construção se alicerça, principalmente, nos modelos e nos contramodelos trazidas das suas trajetórias acadêmicas. Trata-se de um saber cultural que parece responder aos desafios que enfrentam, mas sem uma base teórica que fortaleça a necessária profissionalidade. Na dinamicidade da prática docente, os professores estão se construindo de forma singular, se refazendo e configurando uma identidade própria de ser professor. Entretanto, a fragilidade da formação para a docência e a insipiência do apoio institucional no ambiente acadêmico retarda e afeta a construção da profissionalidade, que se situa mais numa responsabilidade individual, do que como parte das políticas públicas que sustentam a expansão da educação superior pública no país. / This research has the main objective of understanding the development process of teachers beginning in the job of teaching in the university, in times of expansion and growing of the public universities in the countryside, that happened in the first decade of the 21st century. It took place in the Federal University of Amazon, most specifically, for empirical data, the Campus in the city of Humaitá. In the perspective for this comprehension it was developed a qualitative investigation, listening, through narratives, four professors in different fields, that fit the criteria defined by the study, in the condition of initiating the career in teaching at the university, with no more than five years of experience in this level of teaching. This choice allowed to characterize better the coverage of the object of study. For the data interpretation it was used the principles of content analysis. The main theoretical base came from the studies from Cunha; Pimenta e Anastasiou; Veiga; Nóvoa; Marcelo Garcia; Vaillant; Mayor Ruiz; Larrosa e Lucarelli, among other contributions that fundament the central themes. In the perspective of fulfilling the proposed objective, some questions were very important, especially the ones related to the path crossed by the teachers in their study period becoming a professor; stimuli they had for chosing their professional career and influences of their student condition, from what they learned with their own ex-teachers and also understand the impact of the academic learnings in their professionality. We also tried to find out if they received any institutional support to this induction time and what is the importance they attribute to possible movement in this direction. Amplifying even more the studies, we provoked the narratives about the main experiences that marked the initial trajectory of teaching and what these experiences meant to their daily practice. It, too, interested the study to comprehend the value that these teachers attribute to the university didactics and how the career and professional development strategies could be mobilized to strengthen their teaching. The results showed that expressions as ―reality chock‖, ―pedagogic loneliness‖; ―land as you can‖, ―swim or sink‖ are capable to characterize what the teachers lived in their first years of teaching in the university, because they systematized welcoming. Informally, they got help from their colleagues and learned in the practice, with their student through trial and error. But still, the beginner condition didn´t prevent them to take responsibility for bureaucratic-administrative roles, understood by them by promoting the professional maturation. The dynamism, the reflection about the practice and the commitment with the students development were present in the narratives of the professors, showing that their process of building the bases, mainly in the models and contramodels brought in their academicals trajectory. It is about a cultural knowledge that seems to respond to the challenges that they face, but without a theoretical base which strengthens the necessary professionality. In the teaching practice dynamics, the teachers are building in a unique way, redoing themselves and creating their own identities of being a teacher. The fragility, though, of their preparation for teaching and lack of institutional support in the academic environment postpones and affects the professionality, that takes place more in an individual responsibility than as part of public policies that support the expansion of superior education in Brazil.

In the theoretical part of the thesis I am going to focus on the theoretical problems of teaching practice at universities and its role in the preparation of future teachers. In the practical part I will use questionnaires and interviews to seek features of a good faculty school, and try to specify areas that demand more support to faculty schools from the Faculty of Education. The practical part will be supplemented by case study. KEYWORDS Faculty school, university faculty school, university primary school teacher, school authorities, teaching practice

Im Kontext eines weitestgehend befristet angestellten akademischen Mittelbaus und einer temporären Förderung von Lehr-Lern-Konzepten aus Drittmitteln benötigen Hochschulen Strategien zur Institutionalisierung von Lehrinnovationen. In unserem Beitrag stellen wir dar, was eine nachhaltige Verstetigung bedeutet, welche Verstetigungsszenarien eintreten können und wie unterschiedliche Akteur_innen zu einem Gelingen beitragen können. Unter Berücksichtigung der Beschreibungen von Hochschulen als „loosely coupled systems“ (Weick 1976; Orton & Weick 1990) kommt der Hochschuldidaktik dabei die Rolle der professionellen Vermittlerin zu, um über Dialogprozesse Übergaben zu fördern und perspektivisch eine Übergabekultur herzustellen.

Evidence-based educational policymaking has become a global phenomenon (Wiseman, 2010). According to the Institute of Education Sciences, evidence-based education is "an integration of the professional wisdom and the best available empirical evidence on making decision about how to deliver instructions" (IES, US Department of Education, 2012). This suggests that best practice requires teachers to ensure that instructional strategies and programs implemented in their classroom have been studied in scientific experiments to determine their effectiveness. The general public, as well as practicing teachers, holds an assumption that educators have knowledge as to what is evidence-based education. However, this is not always the case. The objective of this these include: to document how pre-service teachers access research findings and what types of findings they use in their practice, to identify the purposes of its utilization, to identify the factors that influence research utilization, and to ensure the accessibility of the findings of this study. The population for this study will be pre-service teachers at a large public higher education institution and one state college. In order to meet these objectives I conducted a survey, a pre-service teacher focus group, and an interview with faculty. Research findings will impact pre-service teacher preparation programs and increase our understanding of the link between the researchers and educators.

Makala hii inachunguza hali ya somo la isimu ya lugha linalofundishwa katika nyingi ya idara za Kiswahili vyuoni vikuu nchini Kenya. Inaangazia matatizo yanayotinga kufana kwa somo hili. Inahitimiza kwa kupendekeza kwamba iwapo matokeo mazuri yatapatikana na wanafunzi wa somo hili, yafaa matatizo yanayokwamiza somo hili yatatuliwe, hasa kwa upande wa usawazishaji wa istilahi, tafsiri, uzito wa kozi na mengineyo. Makala hii inapendekeza kuwa ni muhimu kila chuo kikuu kiunde kamati ya kuchunguza jambo hili.