Responding to Student Writing: Strategies for a Distance-Teaching Context identifies viable response techniques for a unique discourse community. An overview of paradigmatic shifts in writing and reading theory, 'frameworks of response' developed to classify response statements for research purposes, and an overview of research in the field provide the theoretical basis for the evaluation of the empirical study. The research comprises a three-fold exploration of the response strategies adopted by Unisa lecturers to the writing of Practical English (PENl00-3) students. In the first phase the focus falls on the effect of intervention on the students' revised drafts of four divergent marking strategies - coded correction, minimal marking, taped response and self assessment. All the experimental strategies tested result in statistically-significant improvement levels in the revised draft. The benefits of self assessment and rewriting, even without tutorial intervention, were demonstrated. The study is unique by virtue of its distance-teaching context, its sample size of 1750 and in the high significance levels achieved. The second phase of the research consisted of a questionnaire that determined 2640 students' expectations with respect to marking, the value of commentary, their perceptions of markers' roles and their opinions of the experimental strategies tested. Their responses were also correlated with their final Practical English examination results. The third phase examined tutorial response. The framework of response, developed for the purpose, revealed that present response strategies represent a regression to the traditional product-orientated approach to writing that contradicts the cognitive and rhetorical axiological basis of the course. There is thus a disjunction between the teaching and theoretical practices. The final chapter bridges this gap by examining issues of audience, transparency, ownership, timing of intervention and training. The researcher believes that she has successfully identified practical and innovative strategies that assist lecturers in a distance-teaching context to break away from old response blueprints. / English Studies / D.Litt. et Phil. (English)

Family Therapy training programmes have recently come to appreciate the importance of addressing the personal growth of the trainee-therapist, in addition to the traditional focus on skill development. Suggestions in the available literature on how this "person-of-the-therapist" issue could best be addressed, represent almost exclusively the ideas of authorities (authors, clinicians and trainers) in the field of systemic therapy. Constructivist thought endorsed by the UNISA training programme, encourages and values different viewpoints. According to this view, students and faculty co-construct the training process. The aim of this study is therefore to present the voice of the trainee. Several training contexts, the essential qualities of the different supervisory relationships and difficulties encountered, are explored from the trainee's perspective. It is hoped that this "inside story" about the author's experiences on her journey toward becoming a psychotherapist, will engender sensitivity for and a deeper understanding of the complexity involved in training the person of the therapist. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

As stated before, it appears that the sixth grade students at San Jose Catholic School would benefit from reading skills practice that would give them the opportunity to become more involved in the learning process. This project is designed to implement cross-age tutoring at San Jose Catholic School with an entire sixth grade class tutoring a second grade class in reading. The goal of the project is to improve the attitude toward reading of the sixth graders. Attitudes before and after tutoring will be rated on a slightly modified version of the Estes Attitude Scale. It is expected, though it will not be formally measured, that both groups of students will also improve their reading skills. The second graders' skills should improve because of receiving individual help and attention, the sixth graders' skills should improve because they will be applying their reading skills in a real-life and useful situation.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship of participation and involvement in an undergraduate student success program to academic success and persistence among students in three programs sponsored by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB): the G-Force Collegiate Work-Study Mentorship Program, the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) for Higher Education (AHE) program, and the THECB work-study program. The sample was identified using data from the THECB during the 2009-2013 academic years. Compared to THECB work-study students, significantly more AHE and G-Force students persisted toward graduation while engaged in the program (p < .001). ANOVA indicated that AHE students had a higher average GPA compared to G-Force and THECB work-study students, controlled for gender, race/ethnicity, pre-program GPA, and length of time in the position. Regression analyses found no statistically significant relationship between program associations and persistence towards graduation or GPA. Results suggest that although participation in a peer leadership programs such as AHE and G-Force encourage greater academic achievement and persistence, there is no direct relation to the achievement of these outcome variables. Implications of the study suggest the need for a deeper analysis into elements of peer leadership programs that contribute to student success, an expanded analysis of outcomes across a wider range of demographic variables, and an exploration of peer leadership programs across campuses for comparison of persistence and GPA outcomes.

The purpose of this research study was to examine the effectiveness of training for college work study students who participated in an America Reads program, which was designed to help at-risk children struggling with reading. Two groups participated in this research study. One group of college tutors had minimal training in reading strategies at the beginning of the study and the other group of college tutors had continuous training and feedback throughout the study. The research study sought to answer the following questions: 1) Will training for college student tutors in the area of reading, more specifically in the strategies and skills, help improve their comprehension and vocabulary? And 2) Will training for college student tutors in the area of reading, more specifically in strategies and skills, significantly improve the comprehension and vocabulary scores of the children being tutored? This was a quasi-experimental research design, used to examine the effectiveness of training college students participating in the America Reads program. The tutors were pre-and post-tested, measuring both their vocabulary and comprehension knowledge at the beginning and the end of the study. The children being tutored were also pre- and post-tested, measuring both their vocabulary and comprehension knowledge at the beginning and the end of the study. The statistical analysis for this design was the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The ANCOVA was used to handle the main threat to the internal validity of this research design, due to the fact that the tutors for the control and experimental group were not selected randomly. The tutors and the children were randomly assigned to two groups. The control group of tutors received minimal training (11 hours) and the experimental group received the same minimal training with extra (21 hours) weekly training added. The study began in October 1999 and ended in December 1999. The tutoring sessions were 1 ½ hours long, three days a week. The training for the experimental group was for 1 ½ to 2 hours weekly. The results from this study found no significant difference between the control and experimental groups on comprehension, as measured by the assessment instruments. The results from this study did find, however, a significant difference between the control and the experimental groups on vocabulary, as measured by the assessment instruments.

O desenvolvimento de habilidades cognitivas de análise, síntese e avaliação, diretamente ligadas à capacidade de raciocínio crítico, constitui um importante objetivo do processo educacional, há décadas a educação contábil é criticada pela deficiência de seus egressos na aquisição e no uso dessas habilidades. Algumas críticas estão diretamente relacionadas ao conteúdo tecnicista da formação (currículo), outras se referem à metodologia aplicada nas salas de aula (pedagogia). O cenário atual, de avanços tecnológicos, cria um ambiente de constantes mudanças a profissão contábil, sendo necessário que haja mudanças na forma e no conteúdo dos cursos para acompanhar essas mudanças. O corpo doutores e pesquisadores em Contabilidade, não é suficiente para protagonizar essa mudança, e o uso de tecnologias podem auxiliar. Diante desse cenário o presente estudo buscou identificar em que medida os sistemas tutores adaptativos auxiliam o estudante de Contabilidade no desenvolvimento das habilidades de raciocínio crítico, propondo um framework para desenvolvimento de Sistemas Tutores Adaptativos ao Raciocínio Crítico em Contabilidade (STARCC). Como resultado o presente estudo desenvolveu um método de classificação do nível de raciocínio crítico em estudantes da disciplina de História da Contabilidade, com base nos logs de acesso do sistema de apoio ao ensino; do processamento da linguagem natural dos textos produzidos para a disciplina; e no índice Flesch-Kincaid de legibilidade dos materiais produzidos. Analises demonstram que o modelo classifica os estudantes com acurácia de 86,20% em relação ao processo realizado por um professor. Entretanto os resultados precisam ser analisados com cuidado, dado que o modelo deve ser testado e melhorado em outras disciplinas e, em outro conjunto de dados, para que possa ser fonte confiável de classificação do nível de raciocínio crítico dos estudantes. Como sugestão de pesquisas futuras pode-se comparar os resultados do modelo de classificação, baseado em inteligência artificial, dessa pesquisa com os resultados de testes consagrados pela literatura, como por exemplo o California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST); o Ennis-Weir Critical Thinking Essay Test (EWCTET). O framework STARCC, mostrou-se útil para elaboração de sistemas de apoio ao processo de ensino e aprendizagem no curso de História da Contabilidade e pesquisas futuras devem submetê-lo a testes em relação a atributos como: facilidade, utilidade e custo benefício em utilizá-lo / The development of cognitive abilities of analysis, synthesis and, evaluation, directly linked to the capacity for critical thinking, is an important objective of the educational process, for decades accounting education has been criticized for the deficiency of its graduates in the acquisition and use of these skills. Some criticisms are directly related to the technical content of the training (curriculum), others refer to the methodology applied in classrooms (pedagogy). The current scenario, of technological advances, creates an environment of constant changes in the accounting profession, being necessary that there are changes in the form and the content of the courses to follow these changes. The body doctors and researchers in Accounting are not enough to star in this change, and the use of technologies can help. Given this scenario, the present study sought to identify the extent to which adaptive tutors systems help the Accounting student in the development of critical reasoning skills, proposing a framework for the development of Adaptive Tutoring Systems for Critical Thinking in Accounting (STARCC). As a result the present study developed a method of classifying the level of critical reasoning in students of the discipline of Accounting History, based on the access logs of the teaching support system; of the processing of the natural language of the texts produced for the discipline; and the Flesch-Kincaid Index of readability of the materials produced. Analyzes show that the model classifies the students with an accuracy of 86.20% in relation to the process performed by a teacher. However, the results need to be carefully analyzed, since the model must be tested and improved in other disciplines and in another set of data so that it can be a reliable source of classification for students\' critical reasoning level. As a suggestion of future research, it is possible to compare the results of the artificial intelligence-based classification model of this research with the results of tests established in the literature, such as the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST); the Ennis-Weir Critical Thinking Essay Test (EWCTET). The STARCC framework has proved to be useful for the elaboration of support systems for the teaching and learning process in the course of Accounting History and future research should subject it to tests in relation to attributes such as ease, utility and cost benefit.

A literatura em formação docente tem sido pródiga em traçar perfis e características de bons professores, mas a formação docente que tem sido realizada apresenta muitas dificuldades em atingir esses objetivos. O que pode estar faltando? Os objetivos desta investigação centram-se em descrever e analisar a dinâmica geral de um programa de desenvolvimento profissional, com foco nas ações do formador, e conectar seus objetivos e ações no programa, em sentido amplo, com o quadro teórico disponível em formação docente. Nossa análise se compõe de duas partes. Na primeira, procedemos a uma caracterização geral do grupo de formação, incluindo a forma de abordagem dos conteúdos pelo formador, as tarefas designadas aos participantes e os objetivos gerais, explícitos tanto quanto implícitos, do programa. Na segunda parte da análise, apresentamos três dimensões da prática docente sobre as quais o formador atua: planejar, conduzir a aprendizagem e avaliar os resultados. Identificamos três saberes e ações transversais a todos os episódios de formação, que poderiam ser consideradas como metas maiores do programa: a reflexão sobre a prática, o exercício da autonomia docente e a compreensão da teoria construtivista. Conectamos essas metas com as formas de atuação do formador. Desenvolvemos nossas conclusões em termos de encontrar os necessários e essenciais presentes nesse grupo de formação, que proporcionam os bons resultados em termos da modificação das práticas docentes: o formador trabalhou a partir da prática docente de cada professor, começou todo o ensino pela atitude de ouvir o professor e cultivou abertura de espírito para incluir como conteúdos e atividades de ensino o que fosse necessário para auxiliar o desenvolvimento tanto profissional quanto pessoal dos participantes do programa. Unindo esses necessários e como as modificações pretendidas na prática docente são profundas e enraizadas nas próprias crenças epistemológicas dos professores e em suas decorrentes traduções em metodologias de ensino percebemos como um ponto essencial que o formador agiu, no programa, em consonância com as ações esperadas dos professores, ou seja, ele ensinou através do próprio exemplo, proporcionando a vivência necessária para uma mudança de paradigma sobre as ações educacionais. Verba volant, exempla trahunt. / The literature in teacher education has been generous in determining profiles and characteristics of good teachers, but the teacher formation that has been carried out faces many difficulties in attaining those aims. What can be missing? The objectives of this research center in describing and analyzing the general dynamics of a program of professional development, focusing the actions of the tutor, and connecting his objectives and actions in the program, with the theoretical framework in teacher education. Our analysis is composed of two parts. In the first, we perform a general characterization of the formation group, including the ways of approaching the topics, the tasks designated to the participants and the general objectives, both implicit and explicit, of the program. In the second part of the analysis we present three dimensions of the teacher practice about which the tutor acts: planning, conducting learning and evaluating the results. Weve also identified three dimensions that are transversal to all formation episodes, and which could be considered as broader aims of the program: the reflection about the practice, the practice of autonomy and the comprehension of the constructivist theory. Weve connected these aims with the tutors procedures. Weve developed our conclusions in terms of finding the necessaries and essentials present in this formation group, which provide the good learning results and the modification of teachers practices: the tutor worked departing from the real practice of each teacher, began all teaching by the attitude of listening to the teacher and cultivated an open spirit to include as contents and teaching activities what is necessary as an aid to the participants both professional as personal development. Uniting these necessaries and because the intended modification in the teachers practices are profound and rooted in their own epistemological beliefs and consequent translations into teaching methodologies we saw as an essential point that the tutor acted, in the program, in coherence with the expected practice of the teachers, i.e. he taught also through his own example, so the participants would also live the new approach and paradigm of education. Verba volant, exempla trahunt.

Cognitive Science is interested in being able to develop methodologies for analyzing human learning and performance data. Intelligent tutoring systems need good cognitive models that can predict student performance. Cognitive models of human processing are also useful in tutoring because well-designed curriculums need to understand the common components of knowledge that students need to be able to employ. A common concern is being able to predict when transfer should happen. We describe a methodology first used by Koedinger that uses empirical data and cognitively principled task analysis to evaluate the fit of cognitive models. This methodology seems particularly useful when you are trying to find evidence for“hidden" knowledge components, which are hard to assess because they are confounded with accessing other knowledge components. We present this methodology as well as an illustration showing how we are trying to use this method to answer an important cognitive science issue.

A literatura em formação docente tem sido pródiga em traçar perfis e características de bons professores, mas a formação docente que tem sido realizada apresenta muitas dificuldades em atingir esses objetivos. O que pode estar faltando? Os objetivos desta investigação centram-se em descrever e analisar a dinâmica geral de um programa de desenvolvimento profissional, com foco nas ações do formador, e conectar seus objetivos e ações no programa, em sentido amplo, com o quadro teórico disponível em formação docente. Nossa análise se compõe de duas partes. Na primeira, procedemos a uma caracterização geral do grupo de formação, incluindo a forma de abordagem dos conteúdos pelo formador, as tarefas designadas aos participantes e os objetivos gerais, explícitos tanto quanto implícitos, do programa. Na segunda parte da análise, apresentamos três dimensões da prática docente sobre as quais o formador atua: planejar, conduzir a aprendizagem e avaliar os resultados. Identificamos três saberes e ações transversais a todos os episódios de formação, que poderiam ser consideradas como metas maiores do programa: a reflexão sobre a prática, o exercício da autonomia docente e a compreensão da teoria construtivista. Conectamos essas metas com as formas de atuação do formador. Desenvolvemos nossas conclusões em termos de encontrar os necessários e essenciais presentes nesse grupo de formação, que proporcionam os bons resultados em termos da modificação das práticas docentes: o formador trabalhou a partir da prática docente de cada professor, começou todo o ensino pela atitude de ouvir o professor e cultivou abertura de espírito para incluir como conteúdos e atividades de ensino o que fosse necessário para auxiliar o desenvolvimento tanto profissional quanto pessoal dos participantes do programa. Unindo esses necessários e como as modificações pretendidas na prática docente são profundas e enraizadas nas próprias crenças epistemológicas dos professores e em suas decorrentes traduções em metodologias de ensino percebemos como um ponto essencial que o formador agiu, no programa, em consonância com as ações esperadas dos professores, ou seja, ele ensinou através do próprio exemplo, proporcionando a vivência necessária para uma mudança de paradigma sobre as ações educacionais. Verba volant, exempla trahunt. / The literature in teacher education has been generous in determining profiles and characteristics of good teachers, but the teacher formation that has been carried out faces many difficulties in attaining those aims. What can be missing? The objectives of this research center in describing and analyzing the general dynamics of a program of professional development, focusing the actions of the tutor, and connecting his objectives and actions in the program, with the theoretical framework in teacher education. Our analysis is composed of two parts. In the first, we perform a general characterization of the formation group, including the ways of approaching the topics, the tasks designated to the participants and the general objectives, both implicit and explicit, of the program. In the second part of the analysis we present three dimensions of the teacher practice about which the tutor acts: planning, conducting learning and evaluating the results. Weve also identified three dimensions that are transversal to all formation episodes, and which could be considered as broader aims of the program: the reflection about the practice, the practice of autonomy and the comprehension of the constructivist theory. Weve connected these aims with the tutors procedures. Weve developed our conclusions in terms of finding the necessaries and essentials present in this formation group, which provide the good learning results and the modification of teachers practices: the tutor worked departing from the real practice of each teacher, began all teaching by the attitude of listening to the teacher and cultivated an open spirit to include as contents and teaching activities what is necessary as an aid to the participants both professional as personal development. Uniting these necessaries and because the intended modification in the teachers practices are profound and rooted in their own epistemological beliefs and consequent translations into teaching methodologies we saw as an essential point that the tutor acted, in the program, in coherence with the expected practice of the teachers, i.e. he taught also through his own example, so the participants would also live the new approach and paradigm of education. Verba volant, exempla trahunt.