abstract / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

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published_or_final_version / abstract / Architecture / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

This study is intended as a contribution and upliftment to pedagogy in South- African Intermediate Phase Classrooms. The thrust of this dissertation revolves around attempts to unravel, intermediate phase educators’ perceptions and knowledge of co-operative learning, and to ascertain, to what extent co-operative learning enhances learning, in intermediate phase classrooms. Through a process of simple random sampling, three intermediate phase educators were selected as a sample for this research. An observation schedule was used to ascertain whether co-operative learning was being practised in the intermediate phase classrooms. Through my observation and discussion thereafter with the educators, it was clear that co-operative learning was not being used as a teaching strategy in the intermediate phase classrooms. Furthermore, these three educators, indicated to me that they were not knowledgeable on co-operative learning and were not exposed to this pedagogy at all. I presented a workshop on co-operative learning, to these educators. Thereafter, they practised this type of pedagogy in their classrooms for three weeks, after which they were interviewed. This sought to provide an insight into intermediate phase educators’ perceptions and knowledge of cooperative learning, as well as to see the extent to which co-operative learning enhances learning. This dissertation encapsulates the findings of the study conducted with educators, with regards to co-operative learning. Findings of the study, indicated that intermediate phase educators, perceived co-operative learning as a significant pedagogy that will enhance the culture of learning and teaching in the intermediate phase class. Furthermore, they indicated that cooperative learning assists intermediate phase learners to achieve a range of academic, as well as social outcomes. Conclusions and recommendations, emanating from the study, list the significance of the use of co-operative learning in intermediate phase classrooms. According to Johnson and Johnson (1994) “ The ability of all students to learn to work co-operatively with others is the keystone to building and maintaining stable marriages, families, careers and friendships ”. Education is the forefront of any nation. It is therefore incumbent on educationists to ensure that schools promote the culture of teaching and learning, in pedagogical styles, that develops the learner holistically and prepares him for society at large. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

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.

In the literature on adults, there is an abundance of studies in which there are clear gender differences in the overt expression of vulnerability. Significantly more females than males have been found to express vulnerability. Similar findings have been reported in the adolescence literature, indicating that these gender differences begin much earlier than adulthood. However, the age at which these gender differences occur is not known because few studies have investigated these behaviors in early or middle childhood. The primary focus of this study was to determine if there are gender differences in young children's help-seeking behavior and at what age these differences emerge. The type of help children sought and the orientation of their statements were also examined. Sixty-four preschoolers and kindergarteners from lower and upper-middle socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds were engaged by 1 male or 1 female researcher on 4 non-sex-typed tasks. Key variables that were examined were the number of requests for help, latency to request help, types of request, and types of orientation. The results of this study revealed that, between 3 and 6 years of age, girls sought help more often and more rapidly than boys. Children from lower SES backgrounds sought significantly more help than children from upper-middle SES backgrounds. Similarly, preschoolers sought help more often and more rapidly than kindergarteners. Females made significantly more direct requests whereas males made significantly more references of having difficulty with the tasks. Furthermore, preschoolers made significantly more statements that were oriented to the experimenter and task. Lastly, the results revealed clear gender differences that emerge as early as 3 years of age. These findings are important because help-seeking behavior is related to achievement (Lee, 1997; Ryan, Patrick, & Shim, 2005). Therefore, training boys who are avoidant help-seekers to seek appropriate help as well as training psychologists, teachers, and parents to identify those who are avoidant help seekers may help children increase their academic performance and experience success in school.