The use of kinaesthetic experiences associated with dance to support learning of curricular mathematics has been little represented in the available literature. Maths Dance is an approach to teaching and learning mathematics through dance and movement. The objectives of the study are related to assessing the impact of Maths Dance on students’ cognitive, affective and physical developmental areas in preschool and primary school settings. The investigation of the case study on Maths Dance took place in London, UK, with the participation of four teaching staff members, who were interviewed in detail, and thirty students of Reception, Year 2 and Year 3 classes, out of which eleven students were interviewed. All thirty students were observed once during three Maths Dance sessions, one session per each age group.      Based on a qualitative research approach, the data are analysed and discussed below around seven themes in relation to the theories of constructivism, Dienes’s theory of learning mathematics, Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences and educational neuroscience. According to the main findings, students and teaching staff members express positive attitudes regarding most aspects of the research questions. Specifically, Maths Dance is believed to improve students’ maths skills, critical thinking and creativity, as well as enhance student motivation, socio-emotional and motor skills. The pleasant nature of the activities is also highlighted, an element that is believed to make this method adequate for students of low achievement in maths.  However, the small sample size, in addition to the fact that Maths Dance has recently started being implemented in schools, does not permit generalization of the results.

Recent studies on human cognition have presented credible evidence that learners are not tabula rasa as previously conceived by traditional theorists, rather they enter new lessons with some preconceptions, most of which are resistant to change in spite of teachers' efforts to assuage them. As such the challenges confronting science educators and educational psychologists are to understand the nature of learners' preconceptions, designing and implement appropriate instructional interventions that would enable the learners become aware of and reconcile their conceptions that are inconsistent with accepted views of science. Several perspectives have been advocated on how learners' preconceptions can be modified through instructions. While traditional theorists subscribe to substitution of inaccurate conceptions with accurate ones, the constructivists identify with giving the learners autonomy to inquire and re-evaluate their own ideas. The former has been confronted with widespread criticism and is becoming less and less tenable. This research identifies with the latter. Conceptual change entails restructuring of ideas. It is a cognitive process that involves change in attitude toward learning. Based on the theoretical assumption that learning is facilitated through teaching that give the learners autonomy search to new ideas, verify them, and restructure existing ideas, I developed a model of conceptual change from where I deduced the four sub variables of the conceptual change that this study explored. The sub variables include formulation of ideas, search for new ideas, review of meaning, and transfer of knowledge. My assumption was that conceptual change can be facilitated through instructions that engage learners in experiences relevant to the four sub variables that I have mentioned. This conceptual framework served as my reference point for the designing of the Constructivist Teaching Model that consists of four instructional phases. Judging that I was resident and working in Seychelles as a teacher trainer at a time I developed the Constructivist Teaching Model, I chose to implement and evaluate it first in Seychelles. Hence this study is titled `The implementation and evaluation of a constructivist intervention in secondary school science teaching in Seychelles'. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the constructivist teaching model as an intervention to facilitate conceptual change. Basically, there are two main aims of this study. First, to investigate to what extent the constructivist teaching model facilitates conceptual change. Secondly, to investigate if the paradigms shift from the traditional method to the constructivist method of science teaching is welcomed in Seychelles. This study was carried out in two phases Pretest and Evaluation. Pretest was aimed at identifying the weaknesses of the initial version of my model of constructivist teaching with a view to eliminate those weaknesses to further strengthen the model. In a nutshell pretest was a step taken to enhance the validity of the model. Evaluation on the other hand was aimed at making a judgment whether a difference actually exists between the learners that received constructivist instruction and those that received traditional lecture instruction in terms of the four sub variables of conceptual change. To enable for this judgment necessitated an experiment. The experiment was conducted with a total of six secondary schools selected from the ten secondary schools on the island. The participants included 178 learners, 6 science teachers and 8 independent persons. The learners were constituted into three Bands; 1, 2 and 3. Each Band consisted of a Control group and an Experimental group. Altogether six groups were formed, with 3 Control groups and 3 Experimental groups. There were 59 learners in Band 1, comprising of 29 learners in the Control group and 30 learners in the Experimental group; Band 2 comprised a Control group of 25 learners and an Experimental group of 28 learners; and Band 3 consisted of 33 learners in each group. The learners in Band 1 were used for pretest that lasted for five week. The learners in Bands 2 and 3 were used in the evaluation that lasted for thirteen weeks. The groups were non-equivalent, suggesting that randomisation was not possible as the learners were in intact classes. Learners in the experimental groups received constructivist instruction while their counterparts in the control groups received traditional lecture instruction. Both groups were exposed to the same experimental conditions except in the methods of teaching. Data was collected through teacher interviews, independent observation, measurement of learners' achievement, and analysis of documents. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Qualitative data was analysed on the basis of content or meaning of the information given by the respondents. Following the design of this study the performance and achievements of learners that received constructivist instruction were compared with their counterparts who received traditional instruction. Guiding this study are two main assumptions. The first is the assumption of equality of the variance, and the second is the assumption of normality of the distribution. The results of Levene's test of equality of variances indicated a violation of the assumption of homogeneity of the variances of TI and CI groups while the results of test of skewness and kurtosis give the indication of normality of distribution of scores in both groups. The results of descriptive statistics analysis showed that the learners who received constructivist instruction performed better than the learners that received traditional instruction in terms of formulation of ideas, search for new ideas, review of meaning, and transfer of knowledge. The results of inferential statistics showed that the difference in the means of the two groups on each of the sub variables of conceptual change is significant. This evidence indicates that my model of constructivist teaching produced an effect measuring 0.86 and a power of 0.85 based on Cohen's Blueprint, and a reliability of 0.72 based on Cronbach's test of internal consistency. Besides statistical evidence, analysis of the opinions of science teachers who implemented the Constructivist Teaching Model in their respective classes and the independent persons who observed teaching and learning in both the experimental and control groups showed a preference for the constructivist approach over the traditional approach. On the grounds of the evidence gathered through observation and measurement this study concludes that the constructivist approach to science teaching is more effective than traditional lecture approach in facilitating the ability of secondary school learners in Seychelles to reconstruct ideas. This study also found that science educationists in Seychelles welcome the paradigm shift from the traditional approach to the constructivist approach. / Educational Studies / D. Educ. (Psychology of Education)

<p>У докторској дисертацији најпре је сагледана теоријска основа програмиране наставе и проучена њена заступљеност у настави географије. Након тога је&nbsp; реализовано педагошко истраживање са паралелним групама (експерименталном и контролном) током кога је сагледана ефикасност примене програмиране наставе у настави географије у односу на традиционалну наставу. Експеримент је&nbsp; реализован на узорку од 194 ученика. Инструменти примењени у истраживању су иницијални&nbsp; тест, финални тест и ретест. Сва три теста су обухватала питања из три нивоа знања: основни ниво, средњи ниво и напредни ниво. Осим тестова знања инструмент коришћен у истраживању је анкета за ученике Е групе и наставника географије о примени и ефикасности програмиране наставе у основној школи. Статистичка обрада података добијених натестовима знања и анкетама извршена је применом програмског пакета SPSS 21.0. Експериментално&nbsp; су&nbsp; доказани знатно&nbsp; бољи резултати ученика Е групе на тестовима знања (финалном тесту и ретесту) у односу на ученике К групе. Ученицима је учење географије&nbsp; програмираном наставом било занимљивије, више су научили, и није им било тешко и напорно. Учење географије програмираном наставом помогло им је да боље разумеју градиво из географије. Резултати показују да би наставници географије волели да имају више могућности за примену програмиране наставе, за коју сматрају да је занимљивија за ученике, да их подстиче на учење и да је&nbsp; динамичнија, у односу на традиционални тип наставе.</p> / <p>U doktorskoj disertaciji najpre je sagledana teorijska osnova programirane nastave i proučena njena zastupljenost u nastavi geografije. Nakon toga je&nbsp; realizovano pedagoško istraživanje sa paralelnim grupama (eksperimentalnom i kontrolnom) tokom koga je sagledana efikasnost primene programirane nastave u nastavi geografije u odnosu na tradicionalnu nastavu. Eksperiment je&nbsp; realizovan na uzorku od 194 učenika. Instrumenti primenjeni u istraživanju su inicijalni&nbsp; test, finalni test i retest. Sva tri testa su obuhvatala pitanja iz tri nivoa znanja: osnovni nivo, srednji nivo i napredni nivo. Osim testova znanja instrument korišćen u istraživanju je anketa za učenike E grupe i nastavnika geografije o primeni i efikasnosti programirane nastave u osnovnoj školi. Statistička obrada podataka dobijenih natestovima znanja i anketama izvršena je primenom programskog paketa SPSS 21.0. Eksperimentalno&nbsp; su&nbsp; dokazani znatno&nbsp; bolji rezultati učenika E grupe na testovima znanja (finalnom testu i retestu) u odnosu na učenike K grupe. Učenicima je učenje geografije&nbsp; programiranom nastavom bilo zanimljivije, više su naučili, i nije im bilo teško i naporno. Učenje geografije programiranom nastavom pomoglo im je da bolje razumeju gradivo iz geografije. Rezultati pokazuju da bi nastavnici geografije voleli da imaju više mogućnosti za primenu programirane nastave, za koju smatraju da je zanimljivija za učenike, da ih podstiče na učenje i da je&nbsp; dinamičnija, u odnosu na tradicionalni tip nastave.</p> / <p>Theoretical basis of programmed instruction and its representation in&nbsp; geography&nbsp; teaching&nbsp; was examined in the&nbsp; dissertation.&nbsp; Afterwards,a pedagogical study with parallel groups(an experimental&nbsp; one&nbsp; and&nbsp; a&nbsp; control&nbsp; one)&nbsp; was realized during which the efficacy of programmed instruction in&nbsp; geography&nbsp; teaching in relation to traditional teaching&nbsp; was&nbsp; perceived. The experiment was carried out on a sample of 194 students. The instruments&nbsp; used in the research are&nbsp; an&nbsp; initial test,&nbsp; a&nbsp; final test and&nbsp; a&nbsp; retest. All three tests included questions from the three levels of knowledge: basic level, intermediate level and advanced level. In addition to&nbsp; the tests of knowledge, the&nbsp; instrument&nbsp; which was&nbsp; used in the research&nbsp; was&nbsp; a survey for&nbsp; E group&nbsp; students and geography teachers on the implementation and effectiveness of programmed instruction in elementary school. Statistical analysis of data obtained in these tests and surveys was carried out by applying the software package SPSS 21.0.Significantly better results&nbsp; of&nbsp; E group students on achievement tests (the&nbsp; final test and&nbsp; the&nbsp; retest) were experimentally demonstrated&nbsp; in comparisonto students in K group. The students&nbsp; found&nbsp; learning geography&nbsp; through programmed&nbsp; instruction&nbsp; more interesting, they learned&nbsp; more, and&nbsp; it was not either&nbsp; difficult&nbsp; or hard for them. Learning geography&nbsp; through programmed&nbsp; instruction&nbsp; helped them understand the geography material better. The results show that geography&nbsp; teachers would like to have more opportunities for the implementation of programmed instruction which they&nbsp; find&nbsp; more interesting for students&nbsp; and they also think thatit encourages them to learn and is more dynamic compared to the traditional type of teaching.</p>

The aim of this research was to examine the extent to which the pedagogical practices of Business Studies teachers in Botswana junior secondary schools conform to pedagogical practices recommended for imparting practical business skills relevant to the world of work. It also aimed to identify the strengths and weaknesses of teachers’ current practices with a view to proffer a teaching model that would help to maximize learner acquisition of business skills and competencies. Literature related to the pedagogy of business education subjects was reviewed to give a general conceptual and methodological foundation for the investigation. An overview of the methodological approaches and the qualitative research design selected for application to the study were provided including the data-gathering procedures and the conceptual framework that supported and informed the research. The major findings of the study were that Business Studies teachers subscribe mainly to the transmission paradigm of teaching. Teachers’ failure to use constructivist pedagogies prescribed in the syllabus were attributed to a multiplicity of challenges they face in their day-to-day practices. The challenges that beset the pedagogy of business subjects emanate from a variety of sources such as the scarcity or non-availability of teaching materials and resources, a congested syllabus and problems associated with striking a balance between the theoretical and practical aspects of the subject. Teachers indicated that the Business Studies syllabus is too long and with the little time allocated to teach it on schools timetables, it is impractical to expect them to complete the syllabus using constructivist teaching approaches which they perceive as pedagogically burdensome and time-consuming. Despite the teachers’ constraints in creating constructivist learning environments, the use of an entrepreneurial pedagogy in the form of the mini enterprise whereby students are involved in setting and running a concrete enterprise is prevalent. The study concluded by suggesting a pedagogical model, based on the findings, to improve Business Studies curriculum delivery. It was also recommended that support structures aimed at monitoring and ensuring that the delivery of business education is done according to the stipulated business curriculum standards be put in place. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

Tidigare forskning visar att det knappt finns forskning om vilken undervisningsform som lämpar sig för implementering för yngre elever i kemi. Frågan om att hitta en undervisningsmetod som ökar elevernas prestationer i kemi är en utmaning i det moderna skolsystemet. Fortsättningsvis visar forskning att laborationer inte var en lämplig undervisningsform som introduktion för ett naturvetenskapligt lärande i de lägre åldrarna, men det saknas gedigna empiriska bevis som stödjer detta påstående. Därför, i den föreliggande studien, undersöks laboratorie- och traditionella undervisningsmetoder på ämnet vattnets aggressionsformer. Denna studie involverade 50 deltagare som är grundskoleelever i årskurs 3. Data samlades in med ett för- och eftertest. Resultatet av denna studie visade ingen uppenbar skillnad i testpoängen mellan jämförelse- och experimentgruppen. Resultaten visade även att den laborativa undervisningsmetoden gav ett bättre utfall på elevernas förståelse på mikronivå. Till skillnad från experimentgruppen kunde den traditionella undervisningen nämna vattnets fasomvandlingar mycket mer än vad laboratorieundervisningen kunde. Avslutningsvis, visade studien ingen tydlig skillnad i testpoängen mellan jämförelse- och experimentgrupp. / Previous research shows that there is hardly any research on teaching methods suitable for implementation for younger students in chemistry. The issue of finding a teaching method that increases student achievement in chemistry is a challenge in modern school systems. Research shows that laboratory work was not a suitable form of teaching as an introduction to chemistry at younger ages, but there is a lack of solid empirical evidence to support this claim. Therefore, in the present study, the laboratory and traditional teaching methods are examined on the topic of water's state of matter. The research involved fifty participants that are primary school students in grade 3. Data was collected using a pre-test and post-test. The results also showed that the laboratory teaching method improved students' understanding at the micro-level. Unlike the experimental group, the traditional teaching could mention water phase transformations much more than the laboratory teaching could. The outcome of this study showed no evident difference in the test scores between the comparison and experimental groups.

There is an ongoing debate about what teaching practices are the most effective ones in order to improve student performance. However, little is known about the impact across countries and literature is highly inconclusive. In this work, we extend the portfolio of countries and provide evidence about the role of modern and traditional teaching practices on students' test scores in 43 countries. Our analysis is performed in two steps and is a typical example of hierarchical linear modelling (HLM). In the first step, we perform student fixed effect method to account for majority of selection issues. We identify a positive, negative or no effect of modern or traditional teaching methods on student performance. These results are priceless for policy makers suggesting that there is no one-fits-all-approach towards modern or traditional teaching methods to order to improve students' test scores. As a great variation is observed, we continue further and investigate what country characteristics could explain these differences across countries. Bayesian model averaging (BMA) method supports us in a model uncertainty and a particular variable selection. Our findings indicate that cultural dimension uncertainty avoidance, which describes country's rigidity in behaviour and institutions, assists in explaining...

This study aims to investigate the effects of cooperative learning on pupils’ knowledge and development with a particular focus on concepts and conceptual understanding in mathematics. By employing both qualitative and quantitative research methods, the study compared the effectiveness of cooperative learning to traditional teaching approaches in grade 4. The following question was formulated to research the aim of this study: <li aria-level="1">How does pupils’' understanding of concepts in mathematics differ after traditional teaching compared to teaching with cooperative learning in grade 4? Svanelid’s (2014) three aspects were used as an analysis model in this intervention study. With the analysis model, teachers can assess whether pupils have understood various mathematical concepts. The results of the aim showed that cooperative learning had a significant positive impact on pupils’ learning and their understanding of geometrical concepts. Through collaborative activities and interactive discussions, pupils actively participated in the learning process, leading to improved comprehension and retention of geometric concepts. However due to introduction of methodological weaknesses and potential biases the results can not be considered as statistically sound. The study indicated development in pupils’ learning and understanding of mathematics. In an attempt to pursue the main aim of this study, traditional teaching and cooperative learning were used as teaching techniques for pupils to study the development of their learning. After each teaching method, tests were used to identify the results of the analysis. The results indicated progression in the pupils’ learning by using cooperative teaching. Teachers are encouraged to further investigate cooperative learning techniques in their lessons as it potentially can increase pupils’ learning. More research is needed to establish a correlation between the use of cooperative learning in the teaching of mathematical concepts.

<p>У докторској дисертацији је најпре анализирано теоријско утемељење корелације (интердисциплинарности) и њена заступљеност у настави природних наука, а затим заступљеност и реализација еколошких садржаја у средњим школама у Србији.<br />На основу те анализе дошло се до сазнања да је&nbsp; због&nbsp; познавања еколошких појмова у животу савременог човека и њиховог бољег разумевања и усвајања од стране ученика неопходно применити ефикасније моделе њихове реализације у средњим школама. Сходно томе&nbsp; је обављено педагошко истраживање у коме је наставна тема&nbsp; Екологија, заштита и унапређивање животне средине&nbsp; у другом<br />разреду гимназије друштвено-језичког смера, реализована током 13 часова применом различитих модела наставе у експерименталној (Е) и контролној (К) групи. Ова наставна тема је у Е групи обрађена интердисциплинарним приступом (корелацијом појмова из биологије, географије, хемије, физике и<br />математике), а у К групи традиционалном наставом. Узорак истраживања чинило је 150 ученика из две гимназије у Београду. Истраживање је реализовано школске 2011/2012. и&nbsp; 2012/2013.&nbsp; године, након чега су анализирани његови резултати.<br />Експериментална и контролна група ученика уједначене су на почетку истраживања на основу општег успеха ученика на полугодишту, оцена из биологије, географије, хемије, физике и математике и на основу резултата иницијалног теста знања из биологије. Након обраде наставне теме&nbsp; Екологија, заштита и унапређивање животне средине&nbsp; на различите начине у Е и К групи извршено је финално тестирање, а затим и ретестирање ученика обе групе. За утврђивање значајности разлика у постигнућу ученика Е и К групе на<br />сва три теста примењен је t тест. За сва три теста израчунати су статистички параметри: број ученика (N), аритметичка средина (М), стандардна девијација (SD), стандардна грешка (SЕ) и граница значајности (p). За испитивање ефекта интеракције фактора тестирање и фактора група, коришћена је комбинована анализа варијансе (Mixed-design ANOVA). За поновљена мерења у циљу испитивања значајности разлика у постигнућу ученика током различитих тестирања, у оквиру сваке групе ученика (Е и К) спроведена је<br />анализа&nbsp; варијансе за поновљена мерења (ANOVA). Поменута мерења односила су се на целину теста и&nbsp; когнитивне домене.<br />Ученици Е групе су остварили знатно бољи успех на финалном тесту (просечно 70,60 поена) и на ретесту (просечно 57,60 поена) од ученика К групе (просечно 51,80 поена на финалном тесту и 40,60 поена на ретесту) од максимално остварљивих 100 поена. Резултати финалног теста и ретеста су показали да&nbsp; је<br />применом модела интердисциплинарног учења садржаја из екологије у гимназији остварен већи ефекат на квантитет и квалитет знања ученика Е групе у односу на традиционални приступ њиховог учења у К групи.<br />Они су такође показали да су знања ученика стечена повезивањем појмова из биологије, географије, хемије, физике и математике олакшала не само разумевање нових&nbsp; појмова из екологије, већ омогућила њихову интеграцију и формирање функционалних знања.<br />Остварени резултати ученика Е групе на финалном тесту и ретесту у односу на ученике К групе&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; указују на потребу&nbsp; веће заступљености интердисциплинарног модела у настави&nbsp; екологије, биологије и других природних наука у односу на традиционалну наставу. У прилог томе су и изражени поз итивни ставови ученика у Е групи према интердисциплинарном моделу учења биологије (екологије).</p> / <p>U doktorskoj disertaciji je najpre analizirano teorijsko utemeljenje korelacije (interdisciplinarnosti) i njena zastupljenost u nastavi prirodnih nauka, a zatim zastupljenost i realizacija ekoloških sadržaja u srednjim školama u Srbiji.<br />Na osnovu te analize došlo se do saznanja da je&nbsp; zbog&nbsp; poznavanja ekoloških pojmova u životu savremenog čoveka i njihovog boljeg razumevanja i usvajanja od strane učenika neophodno primeniti efikasnije modele njihove realizacije u srednjim školama. Shodno tome&nbsp; je obavljeno pedagoško istraživanje u kome je nastavna tema&nbsp; Ekologija, zaštita i unapređivanje životne sredine&nbsp; u drugom<br />razredu gimnazije društveno-jezičkog smera, realizovana tokom 13 časova primenom različitih modela nastave u eksperimentalnoj (E) i kontrolnoj (K) grupi. Ova nastavna tema je u E grupi obrađena interdisciplinarnim pristupom (korelacijom pojmova iz biologije, geografije, hemije, fizike i<br />matematike), a u K grupi tradicionalnom nastavom. Uzorak istraživanja činilo je 150 učenika iz dve gimnazije u Beogradu. Istraživanje je realizovano školske 2011/2012. i&nbsp; 2012/2013.&nbsp; godine, nakon čega su analizirani njegovi rezultati.<br />Eksperimentalna i kontrolna grupa učenika ujednačene su na početku istraživanja na osnovu opšteg uspeha učenika na polugodištu, ocena iz biologije, geografije, hemije, fizike i matematike i na osnovu rezultata inicijalnog testa znanja iz biologije. Nakon obrade nastavne teme&nbsp; Ekologija, zaštita i unapređivanje životne sredine&nbsp; na različite načine u E i K grupi izvršeno je finalno testiranje, a zatim i retestiranje učenika obe grupe. Za utvrđivanje značajnosti razlika u postignuću učenika E i K grupe na<br />sva tri testa primenjen je t test. Za sva tri testa izračunati su statistički parametri: broj učenika (N), aritmetička sredina (M), standardna devijacija (SD), standardna greška (SE) i granica značajnosti (p). Za ispitivanje efekta interakcije faktora testiranje i faktora grupa, korišćena je kombinovana analiza varijanse (Mixed-design ANOVA). Za ponovljena merenja u cilju ispitivanja značajnosti razlika u postignuću učenika tokom različitih testiranja, u okviru svake grupe učenika (E i K) sprovedena je<br />analiza&nbsp; varijanse za ponovljena merenja (ANOVA). Pomenuta merenja odnosila su se na celinu testa i&nbsp; kognitivne domene.<br />Učenici E grupe su ostvarili znatno bolji uspeh na finalnom testu (prosečno 70,60 poena) i na retestu (prosečno 57,60 poena) od učenika K grupe (prosečno 51,80 poena na finalnom testu i 40,60 poena na retestu) od maksimalno ostvarljivih 100 poena. Rezultati finalnog testa i retesta su pokazali da&nbsp; je<br />primenom modela interdisciplinarnog učenja sadržaja iz ekologije u gimnaziji ostvaren veći efekat na kvantitet i kvalitet znanja učenika E grupe u odnosu na tradicionalni pristup njihovog učenja u K grupi.<br />Oni su takođe pokazali da su znanja učenika stečena povezivanjem pojmova iz biologije, geografije, hemije, fizike i matematike olakšala ne samo razumevanje novih&nbsp; pojmova iz ekologije, već omogućila njihovu integraciju i formiranje funkcionalnih znanja.<br />Ostvareni rezultati učenika E grupe na finalnom testu i retestu u odnosu na učenike K grupe&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ukazuju na potrebu&nbsp; veće zastupljenosti interdisciplinarnog modela u nastavi&nbsp; ekologije, biologije i drugih prirodnih nauka u odnosu na tradicionalnu nastavu. U prilog tome su i izraženi poz itivni stavovi učenika u E grupi prema interdisciplinarnom modelu učenja biologije (ekologije).</p> / <p>The doctoral dissertation first analyses the theoretical foundation of correlation (interdisciplinarity) and its use in teaching natural sciences, then the use and implementation of environmental content in high schools in Serbia.</p><p>Based on this analysis, it was discovered that due to the importance of environmental concepts in the life of modern man, it is necessary to implement more efficient learning models in high schools in order to facilitate better understanding and&nbsp; acquisition by students. Therefore, pedagogical research was conducted during which the unit&nbsp;&nbsp; Ecology and Environmental Protection and Enhancement&nbsp; was taught to the second-grade students of social sciences-languages stream in 13 lessons by applying different teaching models in the Experimental (E) and Control (C)&nbsp;groups. This unit was done in the E group through an interdisciplinary approach (correlating concepts from biology, geography, chemistry, physics and mathematics), and in the C group using a traditional approach. The study sample consisted of 150 students from two high schools in Belgrade. The survey was conducted in academic&nbsp; years 2011/2012 and 2012/2013, after which the results were analysed.</p><p>At the beginning of the research the experimental and control groups were equal in terms of students general success at the end of the term, grades in biology, geography, chemistry, physics and mathematics and the results of the initial biology test. After the unit Ecology and Environmental Protection and Enh ancement was done in different ways in the E and C groups, students in both groups were given a final test and then retested. The t -test was used to determine the importance of differences in results in the E and C groups in all three tests. Statistical parameters were calculated for all three tests: number of students (N), arithmetic mean (M), standard deviation (SD), standard error (SE) and the limits of significance (p). To analyse the effect of the interaction between a testing factor and group factor,&nbsp; a combined variance analysis was used (Mixed-Design ANOVA). Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted within each group of students (E and C) to analyse the importance of differences in results of the various tests. The above measures were related to the whole test and cognitive domains.</p><p>Students from the E group achieved better results in the final test (70.60 points average) and retest (57.60 points average) than students from the C group (51.80 points average in the final test and 40.60 points in the retest) of maximum 100 points. Results of the final test and retest showed that the model of interdisciplinary learning of environmental content in high schools had a greater impact on the quantity and quality of knowledge in the E group compared to the traditional approach used in the C group. They also showed that the students&#39; knowledge acquired by linking concepts&nbsp; from biology, geography, chemistry, physics and mathematics facilitated not only the understanding of new environmental concepts, but also their integration and formation of functional knowledge.</p><p>The results achieved by the E group students in the final test and retest compared to the C group suggest that the interdisciplinary model should be used more in teaching ecology, biolo gy and other natural sciences than the traditional approach. This is supported by positive attitudes of E group students towards the interdisciplinary model&nbsp; of learning biology (ecology).</p>

One major challenge facing mathematics education in South Africa in general and Limpopo in particular, is learners’ underachievement and lack of motivation to learn the subject. Some studies have shown that one of the topics that learners dread is linear functions. Many teachers also find it difficult to teach the topic effectively. Studies in other parts of the world have advocated the integration of graphing software with the teaching and learning of functions to enhance learners’ learning of mathematics. This study therefore investigated the effect of integrating GeoGebra graphing software into the teaching of linear functions on the achievement of Grade 9 learners. The study was guided by APOS theory which, in accordance with constructivist theories, posits that an individual needs to construct the necessary cognitive structures in order to make sense of mathematical concepts. A total of 127 Grade 9 learners from four schools in a circuit in Mopani district of Limpopo Province participated in the study which followed a pretestpost- test quasi-experimental study design. Two schools, namely B (35 learners) and D (33 learners) formed the experimental groups while school A (31 learners) and school C (28 learners) were the control groups. Data were collected using an achievement test and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The pretest results showed that the groups were of comparable cognitive abilities. The post-test results showed that there was a significant difference between the mean scores of the experimental groups and control groups. There were also statistically significant differences between group treatment means (p < .05). Bonferroni post-hoc test results showed that there were no statistically significant differences between treatments A and C. The results showed that the learners in the two control groups were of comparable cognitive abilities. The implications of the findings are discussed and recommendations made. / Mathematics Education / M. Sc. (Mathematics Education)