The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of participation in Read 180, a teacher-mediated, computer-mediated reading instruction program, on the reading proficiency of 4th and 5th grade English Language Learners. The students who participated in the Read 180 program scored below the 25th percentile on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). Cultural-historical activity theory guided the research. Research questions for the study were answered with quantitative and qualitative methods. The questions asked were: 1. What are the effects of participation in Read 180, a teacher-mediated computer-mediated-integrated learning system that provides reading instruction, on the growth in reading proficiency of a group of participating English Language Learners? 2. What are the effects of participation in Read 180, a teacher-mediated computer-mediated integrated learning system that provides reading instruction, on the reading achievement of a group of participating English Language Learners when compared with the reading achievement of a group of English Language Learners with similar characteristics receiving reading instruction supported by a reading basal program? 3. How does the mediated structure of Read 180, a teacher-mediated, computer-mediated integrated learning activity system that provides reading instruction and surrounding activity systems interact to affect learning? Data analysis revealed that the fourth and fifth grade experimental group significantly improved their proficiency on the Scholastic Reading Inventory. Analysis of pre- and post-test scores obtained with the Florida Comprehensive Assessment (FCAT) of fourth and fifth grade experimental and control groups were not statistically significant. Qualitative findings indicated that the organization of classroom instruction had a significant impact on the quality of instruction. A discussion of the findings presents several implications and recommendations for future research on teacher-mediated, computer-mediated reading instruction.

This research was designed to examine the role of the physical properties of the mathematical tools, in children’s learning in the context of adding two fractions. My two research questions were: (1) How does the feedback from the mathematical tools play a mediating role between the physical actions of the child with respect to the mathematical affordances of the tools and the child’s thinking about and learning and knowing of solving addition of fractions problems? And (2) What role is played by mathematical tools in the emergence of a Zone of Proximal Development during the child’s solving of addition of fractions problems? To address these questions, I interviewed 13 grade 7 students in Ottawa, Ontario, in groups of two and in three rounds of 30-minute interviews per group. The results showed that the physical properties of the tools play a role in how children perceived the mathematical affordances of the tool, attached mathematical meaning to the tools, created mathematical artefacts and solved the addition of fractions problems. Moreover, the findings show that in children’s interactions with mathematical tools, at times, the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) emerged, with the guidance provided by the tools. I conclude that children’s interaction with the tools provided them the possibility of learning newer forms of reflections, expressions and actions in relation to adding two fractions. This learning was a result of a complex and intertwined relationship between the immediate physical properties and affordances of the tool, the traces of the thoughts of the designer of the tools, as well as the children’s previous knowing of fractions. With this study, I extend the Vygotskian notion of the more knowledgeable other within the ZPD to include not only agents (children and adults) but also tools.

This study aimed to investigate elementary school EFL teachers¡¦ use of scaffolding strategies for enhancing EFL students¡¦ cognitive engagement, and to examine whether the teachers¡¦ beliefs correspond to their strategy use. The three main focuses of the study included: 1) the types of scaffolding strategies used by elementary English teachers to enhance EFL students¡¦ cognitive engagement; 2) the processes of using these scaffolding strategies; 3) the teachers¡¦ beliefs in using these scaffolding strategies. The present study utilized an exploratory-explanatory case study design. Two elementary English teachers participated in this study. Data were collected from interviews and classroom observations during late-August to mid-October 2007. The researcher carried out all the interviews and classroom observations after she got the two teachers¡¦ permission to participate in this study. Five hours of interviews and eleven hours of classroom observations were collected from one teacher, while one and a half hours of interviews and nine hours of classroom observations were collected from the other. The interview data were audio-taped and then transcribed word by word. The classroom observation data were video-taped, and the useful parts were transcribed word by word. The researcher adopted constant comparative method and the template approach for data analysis. The process of data analysis with the use of constant comparative method included categorizing the types of scaffolding strategies from the collected data and analyzing the two elementary English teachers¡¦ beliefs of using scaffolding strategies. In addition, Gallimore and Tharp¡¦s (1990) six teaching strategies were used as a template to confirm that there was no missing code in the data analysis process. The three major findings of this study are as the following: 1) the two elementary English teachers in this study believed that cognitive engagement is classified into three categories: attention, memory, and critical thinking; 2) the two elementary English teachers in this study used scaffolding strategies in different ways to help students achieve different categories of cognitive engagement; 3) the two elementary English teachers¡¦ different beliefs of cognitive engagement played an important role in their use of scaffolding strategies, and they guided students to achieve different levels of cognitive engagement in class based on their beliefs. The findings of the present study, in general, respond to EFL teachers¡¦ perceptions of ZPD (Vygotsky, 1978) and scaffolding (Wood, Bruner, & Rose, 1976) which pointed out the importance of teacher¡¦s role in assisting students¡¦ second language learning. The expected findings discussed are as the following: 1) similar scaffolding strategies for enhancing students¡¦ cognitive engagement found in the present study were recognized in previous studies; 2) teachers¡¦ beliefs played an important role in teachers¡¦ use of scaffolding strategies. Unexpected, or interesting findings discussed are as the following: 1) one teacher in the present study believed that cognitive engagement was a sequential concept; 2) the two teachers in the present study showed different perceptions of the role of EFL teacher in initiating students¡¦ critical thinking; 3) The two teachers in the present study were not aware that students could be active listeners or learners in class; 4) The two teachers in the present study put more emphasis on students¡¦ memory of vocabulary and sentences than on critical thinking. Three pedagogical implications are suggested in this study: 1) Elementary English teachers need to be aware that critical thinking of some students¡¦ might need assistance from teachers; 2) elementary English teachers need to be aware that step-by-step assistance is more likely to help students achieve critical thinking; 3) teacher education should provide related courses about cognitive engagement, and practice teachers should learn how to assist students in engaging cognitively in English class. Finally, this study suggests three directions for further research: 1) the future study should investigate on teachers¡¦ beliefs or perspectives on using scaffolding strategies in class; 2) the future study should take students¡¦ perspectives into account to identify the effectiveness of scaffolding strategies in enhancing EFL students¡¦ cognitive engagement; 3) the future study should take parents¡¦ expectation or perceptions of English teaching into account to investigate how parents¡¦ expectations and feedback influence teachers¡¦ scaffolding strategies.

The purpose of this study was to attempt to enhance performance in the Australian Mathematics Competition of a group of Western Australian Year 9 students, to a level beyond that which they might have been expected to attain, through the use of a heuristic-based intervention technique using Vygotsky's zone of proximal development principle.Since 1978, students of mathematics in Australian high schools have been meeting the challenge of the Australian Mathematics Competition. This national competition aims to provide students with a sense of achievement in mathematics and to emphasise the importance of this subject in the high school curriculum.Vygotsky's zone of proximal development refers to the difference between a student's actual developmental level and the student's potential developmental level given adult assistance. In effect, this means that while students may achieve to a plane commensurate with their actual developmental level, they will progress into their zone of proximal development with assistance and their level of achievement will rise. Vygotsky's concept of Intervention coupled with Siegler's concept of heuristic-based strategy learning provided a methodology suitable for enhancing and maximising developmental effects in this study.The study involved three distinct stages: the preparatory phase, the treatment phase and the concluding phase.In the preparatory phase, student's actual developmental levels were determined based on their performance in the 1979 Junior level Australian Mathematics Competition paper. This data facilitated identifying the paths that learning should follow in order that students' problem solving skills should improve. During this phase, students also attempted an Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) test entitled 'Test's of Reasoning in Mathematics' (TRIM). This measure was used to monitor expected development ++ / in mathematics reasoning ability for students over the period of the study.The treatment phase involved the students in over 35 hours of instruction which exposed them to a heuristic-based intervention technique designed to enhance their performance in problem solving. Students practised various problem solving techniques and the Australian Mathematics Competition ittself became the focus for improved performance.An index of improvement was provided in the concluding phase of the study by scores obtained from the treatment group on the 1982 Intermediate level Australian Mathematics Competition paper. Scores were significantly higher than the national average of either the Year 9 or Year 10 groups. The second ACER 'TRIM' test verified that the students achieved their expected development in mathematics reasoning ability during the study.The implication of this result is that the practice of restricting students to year groups or courses on the basis of age should be examined in the light of the Vygotskian principle.

Good student evaluations are not always the measure of a successful class, and in spite of my consistently high student evaluations, I knew something had been lost in my classes. In an effort to revitalize my teaching, to increase both student participation and instructor satisfaction, I undertook an experiment in which I taught two sections of the same literature survey differently. One class was taught as I had, of recent years, been teaching: primarily lecture. The second class was decentralized: circled seating arrangement, all participants (including me) seated, and a required student literary response journal. Change is much easier decided upon than implemented. Instructor discomfort when climbing out of teaching ruts can be strong enough to impede progress (temporarily) but is a sure sign of growth Although the decentralized classroom increases a sense of vulnerability, it also increases camaraderie. Class discussion can and does veer in unexpected directions but also leads to unanticipated insights and increased student involvement with the material. The instructor's job becomes more complicated because although there must be latitude for a range of responses, the class discussion must not be allowed to drift totally off topic. Thus, the instructor must have the restraint to allow students to express and defend their ideas, and must not rein in apparent misdirections too quickly. To do so would risk stifling student involvement and precluding significant new insights. One casualty of increased student participation in discussion is the amount of material that can be covered. The physical arrangement of a class in a circle encourages student discussion, but that decentralization is really more a function of attitude than of physical space. An essential component of the successful discussion class is the student literary response journal. The journal encourages students to focus on and wrestle with the reading assignment. In the process they can hone their analytic skills, preview and practice articulating their ideas, generate ideas for formal essays, and receive private, non-threatening encouragement from the instructor. / Ed. D.

Poor learner performance in mathematics is consistently observed throughout the education system in South Africa and starkly pronounced in historically disadvantaged schools in historically disadvantaged environments. Despite interventions such as nofee paying policy, a National Strategy for Mathematics, Science and Technology and National School Nutrition Programme, poor learner mathematics performance remain endemic. Learner achievement studies have mainly focused on identifying individual characteristics, ignoring the protective processes that promote mathematical resilience. This study aims to explore how disadvantaged learners in disadvantaged environments learn mathematics in the Further Education and Training band. A two-stage or phased sequential exploratory mixed-method design, with the qualitative phase preceding the quantitative phase was anchored within the socioecological resilience perspective. The study framework that draws from the work of Vygotsky, Carroll and Skovsmose, focuses on the dynamic interactions between learners and the connection between the home and the school. In this framework, learner mathematics achievement is a means towards the learner’s foreground. Mathematical learners who displayed improvement in their mathematical achievement, as identified by their previous achievements within the Further Education and Training band were targeted in this study. A total of nine Grade 12 learners (five boys and four girls) learning mathematics in disadvantaged environments from Johannesburg West and Johannesburg Central Education Districts were purposively selected for Phase 1 and one-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with them. A questionnaire that was supported by findings from the interviews was administered to 461 respondents (55% (253) female and 45% (208) male) learning mathematics in Grade 10, 11 or 12 in Phase 2 to develop a Mathematical Resilience Scale within a South African context. Thematic analysis and exploratory factor analysis are the two main data analysis techniques sequentially utilised in the study. Results of this study reveal a variety of processes undertaken by mathematical learners to develop mathematical resilience. These processes include access to social-relationships that give rise to the use of assessment feedback as a learning strategy for learning mathematics. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / PhD / Restricted

The purpose of this position paper is to propose a comprehensive theoretical model of what can and does occur in the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) to extend thinking, learning and construction of meaning within a shared reading activity setting, including the development and emergence of language, literacy and social skills. By incorporating Lev Vygotsky's sociocultural perspective, Jean Piaget's dialectical learning, and the concepts of metacognition, mindfulness, and mind-mindedness, a model depicting the dynamics of a shared reading activity is proposed. Implications for research and practice are discussed, including suggestions for future research and ways to foster effective teaching practices. / Master of Science

The purpose of this study is to find out how five-year-old children describe air and its properties from a sociocultural perspective. Semi-structured group interviews with children two and two were performed with artifacts to give the children something to discuss around. As artifacts were a plastic bag, balloon pump, balloon, scale, pinwheel and soap bubbles used. The children show ability to use air and other concepts related to air, an example being blow, to describe the activities connected to the artifacts. The children can describe the properties of air with the help of artifacts and each other and the properties described were air exists, take up space, can be captured, be moved, weigh, is invisible, can be used as a force and is everywhere. The children did not relate the contents of soap bubbles to air. / Syftet med undersökningen är att ta reda på hur femåringar beskriver luft och dess egenskaper utifrån ett sociokulturellt perspektiv. Semistrukturerade gruppintervjuer med barn två och två genomfördes där artefakter valdes för att barnen skulle ha något att diskutera kring. Som arte-fakter användes en påse, ballong, ballongpump, våg, vindsnurra och såpbubblor. Barnen visar att de kunde använda begreppet luft och andra begrepp kopplade till luft så som exempelvis blåsa, för att beskriva aktiviteterna kopplade till artefakterna. Barnen visade även att de kan förklara luftens egenskaper med hjälp av artefakterna samt varandra och egenskaperna som förklarades var: luft finns, tar plats, kan avgränsas, förflyttas, väger, är osynligt, kan verka med en kraft och finns överallt. Barnen visade ingen koppling att såpbubblor innehåller luft.

The aim of this study is to investigate the opportunities for oral language development that teachers offer pupils during lessons in Swedish in grade 3. The following questions guided the study: how do teachers perceive that they offer the pupils opportunities for oral language development in their teaching and what possibilities for oral language development do teachers offer pupils? The methods used to answer the questions are interview and observation of two teachers in two different classrooms. In all, two interviews and four observations were conducted. An observation schedule was used during the observations and the interviews were semi-structured, based on the same questions. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. The collected material showed that the oral activities which the teachers said they offered their pupils were working in pairs or small groups, whole-class conversations and drama. The teachers said that they interacted with the pupils through taking turns and asking questions. The activities the teachers offered their pupils during the four observations were whole-class conversations led by the teacher, structured conversations in small groups and spontaneous conversations among pupils and between pupils and teacher, and interactive book reading. The interactions used by the teachers took the form of speech, questions and body language. The conclusion of the study is that teachers must have more tools for taking advantage of opportunities to let the pupils develop their oral language. The view of what oral language development can involve should also be broadened.

Syftet med det här examensarbetet är att undersöka hur sex förskolor arbetar med barn som har annat modersmål än det svenska språket. Vi har efterforskat vilka metoder förskolor använder för att stödja barnens språkutveckling och den kulturella identiteten. För att ta reda på det har vi använt oss av en kvalitativ intervjustudie med pedagoger på förskolor. Vi har valt att göra intervjuerna i Stockholms innerstad och förorter, där pedagoger på förskolorna har erfarenhet av att jobba med barn som har ett annat modersmål än svenska. Vårt mål med studien är att granska om de arbetar olika i Stockholms innerstad i jämförelse med förorter till Stockholm och i sådana fall, på vilka sätt. Vårt resultat visar att alla förskolor använder sig av olika strategier men att ingen av dem har tillgång till modersmålsstöd. Alla pedagoger använder sig av redskap som böcker och de använder sig av bilderna i böckerna för att få en visuell bild tillsammans med barnen. Språk är ett annat redskap som används regelbundet i pedagogernas arbete.