Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 62-68). Also available in print.

This study set out to establish and record headteachers’ and teachers’ perceptions of the role of collegial teams in enhancing continuous instructional improvement. The concept collegial teams is based on the collegial model. The model advocates that for instructional improvement, teachers ought to work together as colleagues. The study began by investigating whether the participants had the basic understanding of collegial teams in the first place. It then established whether the teams exist in the selected schools. It proceeded to find out how these teams operate and whether they play any role in enhancing continuous instructional improvement. Furthermore, the study solicited respondents’ perceptions of the obstacles that hinder the operation of the teams. Lastly, the study made effort to obtain respondents’ recommendations on how best to improve the operation of the teams. This study has found that headteachers and teachers perceive collegial teams as playing a very significant role in enhancing continuous instructional improvement. The degree of the role was found to hinge on the headteacher’s attitude and support of the teams. These two elements in turn determined the degree of the teachers’ empowerment by the headteacher. Empowerment in this study is synonymous with treating teachers as professionals. Where empowerment prevailed, professional interaction arid collaboration tended to prevail also. The latter seem to result in the deepening of subject content and increasing diversification of teaching strategies as teachers work together zmd share ideas. The ultimate result of teachers’ working as colleagues was noticeable improvement in students’ performance. However, contextual factors tended to affect some teams negatively more than others apparently depending on each team’s ‘mastery’ of group dynamics. Finally, among others, two key recommendations were made; in school A, working on the master time- table in order to accommodate peer evaluation was recommended. In school B, it was recommended that teamwork be built on the good elements of the teacher assessment form over which teachers have no control.

Thesis (M.A. (Psychology) - Rhodes University, 2000.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 205-233). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

The purpose of this thesis was to show that cooperative learning strategies are suitable teaching techniques for the instruction of undergraduate music theory. Literature in music theory pedagogy has concentrated primarily on content-based teaching issues and offers little information on the range of teaching techniques available for promoting student learning. Many instructors may be relying on traditional teaching methods with which they are familiar-lectures, lecture-demonstrations and teacher-led discussions-to instruct tonal theory classes and may not be aware of cooperative learning or its potential usefulness as another instructional strategy. The body of this thesis is divided into three main sections. The opening section demonstrates how traditional teaching methods alone fail to meet many learning needs of students and points to cooperative learning strategies as one alternative method that addresses these needs. In the next section, cooperative learning is further defined in order to differentiate it from traditional group work. The third and largest section contains ten sample lesson plans based on topics central to first- and second-year tonal harmony courses. Each lesson includes at least one cooperative learning technique and a discussion of why the particular technique was applied to the topic. Instructors of tonal harmony who are looking for additional teaching strategies that actively involve the learners should consider using cooperative learning. The sample lesson plans offered in this thesis illustrate how these techniques may be used either briefly in conjunction with more traditional methods or on their own in more extensive activities. Variety within cooperative learning strategies has also been demonstrated by providing techniques ranging from simple, user-friendly ideas for the inexperienced, to more complex and challenging activities requiring higher levels of experience and collaborative skills. A selected bibliography is included to assist readers in becoming familiar with some of the resources available to those who use cooperative groups for instruction.

Much confusion surrounds the term 'self-directed learning', which presently describes a process, a goal, a teaching technique, and an outcome of that teaching. As a process, the literature concentrates mainly on how individuals learn, with little reference to groups that can be as selfdirected as individuals. The purposes of this study were: (a) to reduce conceptual confusion by creating a typology distinguishing different processes of self-directed learning; (b) to explore the phenomenon of group self-directed learning; and (c) to illustrate the effect of environment on learning, and the complex learning dynamics in group settings. This project arose somewhat differently from typical doctoral research. Data from two unrelated field studies conducted for other purposes, completed before this thesis work began, each illustrated self-directed groups learning informally in the contexts of community action and innovative small workplaces. A subsequent review of the literature indicated a lack of attention to this form of group learning, and the field studies were then re-analyzed from this perspective. As a result of the literature review and data re-analysis (1) a typology emerged from the literature review that divides the process of self-directed learning into three forms, each of which is context sensitive but between which learners can continually move back and forth; (2) it appears that the term 'autodidactic' can apply to specific groups which are both self-organized and self-directed in their learning efforts; and (3) that the term 'autodidaxy' as presently defined is as conceptually confusing as the term 'self-directed learning'. This confusion is reduced by the typology proposed by this thesis. Minor findings indicate two continuing problems. The first is reluctance by some to accord non-credentialed learning the value it deserves, and the second is the difficulty often encountered in transferring knowledge from the site of learning to the site of application. This study concludes that 'informalizing' some formal curricula, and encouraging self-directed learning at all levels and in all contexts, may provide some of the tools necessary for living and learning in the twenty-first century.

In this thesis I explore the effect of introducing group work as one of the methods of teaching and learning in Business Administration I at the Durban University of Technology. Introducing group work was also an attempt to satisfy the needs of the workplace and at the same time incorporate the critical cross-field outcomes in the teaching of this particular subject. I explore the benefits and problems of using group work in higher education. The study was conducted at the Durban University of Technology Riverside Campus with a sample of Business Administration I students, Business Administration III students as well as three lecturers in the Department of Office Management and Technology who lecture at the Durban Campus. The research involved the implementation and the reflections of exposing students to group work over the two cycles. The study was developed with the aim of using more innovative teaching methods than just lecturing. Learners were engaged in the group work project which involved searching for information as a group, doing group presentations, evaluating the presentations and reflecting on the whole process. After analysis of data collected, the process was revised and implemented again with another group of students in the second cycle followed by analysis of long term implications of group work. An exploration of the lecturers' perceptions of using group work as a teaching method was also done. Data was gathered from observations, questionnaires, focus group interviews and analysis of students' test results. Results indicated that despite some problems associated with this method, there is scope for considering a variety of approaches to teaching of the subject Business Administration I, and group work can be one of the methods used. The findings showed that staff and students held positive perceptions on group work, and there were similarities in the benefits of using group work in education as identified by students, lecturers and the literature. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

This research report encompasses the development and implementation of a cooperative learning project over four cycles of action research. The context for this research is eleven business communication classes, primarily comprised of Black South African adult learners using English as an additional language. The project was developed in response to national recurriculation for Outcomes Based Education and Curriculum 2005, integrating aspects of the old English syllabus in a meaningful series of business communication activities that gave learners opportunities to interact with and visit local companies. Learners engaged in the project in groups and compiled various written responses, correspondence and reports in group portfolios. The project culminated in a group business presentation where the whole class learned about the company visited and peer groups joined the lecturer in the summative assessment process. The project aimed to empower students in a number of ways, using techniques such as peer-mediation, code-switching, genre-teaching and textual scaffolding. A study guide was produced in the second cycle of action research. The study guide was revised for the third and fourth cycles in response to reflections on student feedback and using Technikon Natal and the South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE) criteria. Data was collected using student reports and assignments, questionnaires and journals. Analysis of the data and the study guides was reflexive and guided further implementations. A fifth cycle is anticipated where the multiliteracies pedagogy will be applied to the activities of the project and the study guide will be transformed into an interactive learner workbook accordingly. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2006. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 44-06, page: 2513. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-111).