Recent political and social changes in South Africa have created the need for culture-fair tests for cross-cultural measurement of cognitive ability. This need has been highlighted by the professional, legal and research communities. For cognitive assessment, dynamic assessment is more equitable because it involves a test-train-retest procedure, which shows what performance levels individuals are able to attain when relevant training is provided. Following Binet’s thinking, dynamic assessment aims to identify those individuals who are likely to benefit from additional training. The theoretical basis for learning potential assessment is Vygotsky’s concept of the zone of proximal development. This thesis describes the development, standardisation and evaluation of the Learning Potential Computerised Adaptive Test (LPCAT), for measuring learning potential in the culturally diverse South African population by means of nonverbal figural items. In accordance with Vygotsky’s view, learning potential is defined as a combination of present performance and the extent to which performance is increased after relevant training. This definition allows for comparison of individuals at different levels of initial performance and with different measures of improvement. Computerised adaptive testing based on item response theory, as used in the LPCAT, is uniquely suitable for increasing both measurement accuracy and testing efficiency of dynamic testing, two aspects that have been identified as problematic. The LPCAT pretest and the post-test are two separate adaptive tests, hence eliminating the role of memory in post-test performance. Several multicultural groups were used for item analysis and test validation. The results support the LPCAT as a culture-fair measure of learning potential in the nonverbal general reasoning domain. For examinees with a wide range of ability levels, LPCAT scores correlate strongly with academic performance. For African examinees, poor proficiency in English (the language of teaching) hampers academic performance. The LPCAT ensures the equitable measurement of learning potential, independent of language proficiency and prior scholastic learning and can be used to help select candidates for further training or developmental opportunities. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

Cette thèse est fondée sur la nécessité de répondre aux difficultés d'enseigner les sciences en prenant en compte la singularité de l'élève et en donnant du sens aux apprentissages. Aujourd'hui, la ou les didactique (s) ne réponde (nt) que partiellement à cette problématique. Pour preuve, il existe toujours une catégorie d'élèves en difficulté voire en échec scolaire. Nous proposons ici une didactique instrumentale actualisée qui propose de répondre à cette situation.Celle-ci prend appui sur la théorie instrumentale de Vygotski qui mentionne que le développement culturel tire le développement biologique, que l'élève se construit par les concepts et que le langage est un des premiers instruments psychologiques qui instrumente la pensée. Partant d'un projet interdisciplinaire en sciences physiques et éducation physique et sportive, avec comme thème le concept d'atome, nous proposons de mettre en œuvre cette nouvelle didactique, en nous appuyant sur l'analyse des conceptions de 660 élèves de la 5ème à la terminale S sur l'objet considéré, en travaillant dans une Zone de Plus Proche Développement (ZPPD). L'activité maîtresse a été minutieusement choisie de façon à être adaptée et adaptable à l'ensemble des élèves, en identifiant les transformations des niveaux de savoir d'un élève, dans la cognomorphose et la cognogénèse, au cours de son apprentissage. Quatre expérimentations en collège et lycée ont été menées et ont permis de rendre compte des modes de pensée des élèves à chaque étape de l'apprentissage. Elles ont montré la pertinence de l'utilisation d'une carte conceptuelle, désignée d'étayage par Bruner, spécialement conçue et adaptée à des élèves des cycles 3 et 4 du collège et du lycée. Cette thèse, qui utilise pour étayer ses propres conclusions, des expérimentations et des méthodes liées directement aux principes de la didactique instrumentale qu'elle veut promouvoir, en plus de sa volonté de faire progresser la recherche dans ce domaine précis, a pour vocation d'apporter une réelle utilité professionnelle pour les enseignants de sciences / This dissertation is based on the need to respond to the difficulties of teaching science by taking into account the singularity of the learner, but also by giving sense to learning. Nowadays, didactic(s) only partially respond(s) to this problem. Evidence of it is that there are always a number of learners in difficulty or even failure at school. What we suggest is an updated instrumental didactic as a response to that situation.It is based on Vygotski's instrumental theory, which mentions that cultural development enriches biological development, and that learners construct themselves via concepts, and that language is one of the first psychological instruments that organizes human thought.Starting from an interdisciplinary project in Physical Sciences and Physical Education, with the concept of atom as a theme, we propose to implement that new didactic, based on the analysis of the conceptions of 660 secondary school goers from 1st year to 7th year (math mention) on the object of learning, working within their Zone of proximal development (ZPD).The main activity was carefully selected so as to be adapted and adaptable to any learner. To make it so we identified the changing levels of a student's knowledge in cognomorphosis and cognogenesis during their learning. Four experiments both in lower and higher secondary school were carried out and enabled us to account for the modes of thought of the students at each stage of the learning. They have shown the relevance of the use of a mind map, designed as a scaffolding device by Bruner, and specially designed towards learners in first and second year of lower secondary school as well as the higher secondary school.This dissertation, which, to back up its very own conclusions, uses experiments and methods directly related to the principles of the instrumental didactic that it wishes to promote. Besides it has for vocation to promote research in that specific field, and bring a real professional usefulness to science teachers

Abstract This study examined microgenetic changes in mother-child behaviors while they collaborated on a cognitive task that involved planning shopping routes around a table model of a grocery store across 4 trials. Sixty- eight mother-child dyads were randomly assigned to two conditions in which the goals of the task differed. In the experimental condition (n = 32) mothers were encouraged to help their child prepare for a solitary posttest and the dyad was informed they would be timed. In the control condition (n = 36), dyads were simply asked to work together. Research suggests that maternal instruction is most effective when matched to the child’s learning needs. While working with children on a collaborative planning task, it was expected that mothers would change their level or style of instruction as they became more aware of the child’s skill at the task. Specifically, mothers were expected to decrease their level of support behaviors and control across trials. For children, it was expected that they would become more engaged and more responsible for task completion across trials. Results suggested that as mothers and children became familiar with the task, mothers decreased their use of instructional behaviors. Also, that mothers in the experimental condition used more controlling behaviors across trials. Patterns of association emerged between mother’s control behaviors and child uncooperative behaviors, as did mother’s support behaviors and child engagement behaviors. These results suggest that mother-child behaviors may exhibit change due to factors other than the goals of the task itself, such as intersubjectivity (a shared understanding of the task at hand) and shared responsibility, which in turn may be influenced by shared social history (the extensive prior experience that the partners have had with one another in a social- historical context). Keywords: children, dyad, intersubjectivity, mothers, planning, sharing responsibility

DEd / Department of Curriculum Studies / Multi-grade teaching is a situation where one teacher teaches several grades together in one class. This phenomenon is common in both developed and developing countries. However, the problem is, in South Africa there is no multi-grade policy in place, curriculum and materials are written for mono-grade schools, pre-service and in-service training for teachers are geared at a mono-grade classroom. Consequently, teachers are not trained in appropriate multi-grade teaching and learning strategies; this may affect learner performance at such schools. It has been indicated that there is a dearth of research in the teaching and assessment practices in multi-grade setting in the literature, especially in Africa. This mixed methods study is based on the implications of peer tutoring as a teaching and learning strategy in English First Additional Language (FAL) for Grade 5 multi-grade learners’ performance. The purpose of this study was to determine implications of peer tutoring as a multi-grade teaching and learning strategy on Grade 5 learner performance in Vhembe District in Limpopo Province of South Africa. The study used mixed-methods design and concurrent Triangulation approach where both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to collect data concurrently. Quantitative data were collected through quasi experimental design and surveys while qualitative data were collected using scheduled interviews. The six week one-on-one peer tutoring programme was designed to assist grade 5 learners to read and spell proficiently as a supplemental instruction. The literature review revealed that peer tutoring as a teaching and learning strategy has been effectively used mostly in monograde schools. The study sample consisted of 77 grade 5 learners from four random sampled multi-grade schools whose first language (L1) or home language (HL) is Tshivenda but learnt through English as a Second language (L2) or First Additional Language (FAL), 4 teachers and 4 principals. Two schools served as treatment group v while two served as control group. Both groups took a pre-test and post-test; only the treatment group received peer tutoring intervention. The mixed method approach involved collected quantitative data through learners’ pretests, post-tests and spelling activities during the peer tutoring intervention. This was to compare the grade 5 learners’ results of those who had participated in the peer tutoring intervention with those in the control group. Both teachers and principals and learners completed a questionnaire on multi-grade teaching and peer tutoring. The findings revealed that: 1. The peer tutoring group performed better than the control group. 2. Peer tutoring might possibly be an effective teaching and learning strategy for multi-grade teaching. 3. Both teachers and principals expressed the need for in-service training workshops in teaching and learning strategies specifically for multi-grade teaching. 4. They also revealed that pre-service training should provide training courses on multi-grade teaching to prepare prospective teachers. The study recommended the following: The Department of Education should develop a multi-grade policy. In-service training workshops should train multi-grade teachers in appropriate multi-grade teaching and learning strategies. Institutions of higher learning should provide pre-service training in multi-grade strategies, infuse some multi-grade modules into their teacher training programmes and provide short courses on multi-grade teaching.

Följande studie presenterar hur verksamma lärare för årskurs 1–3 beskriver sitt arbete för att gynna den muntliga utvecklingen samt läs- och skrivutvecklingen för flerspråkiga elever. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten utgörs av det sociokulturella perspektivet, med särskilt fokus på stöttning och proximal utvecklingszon. Materialet består av åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer med lärare på fem skolor och i fyra kommuner. Det insamlade materialet har transkriberats och sedan analyserats med hjälp av en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Studiens resultat visar att samtliga lärare använder elevens förstaspråk som resurs i svenskundervisningen både för muntlig utveckling och läs- och skrivutveckling genom varierade arbetssätt. En likhet i lärarnas svar är att samtliga lärare arbetar med stöttning i undervisningen, till exempel bildstöd, cirkelmodellen och digitala hjälpmedel. En skillnad i lärarnas svar var att några beskrev att de använde sig av lekar och rörelser i undervisningen för de flerspråkiga eleverna, medan andra lärare inte nämner att de använder den typen av arbetssätt.

I denna kunskapsöversikt är syftet att undersöka hur det sociala samspelet jämfört med ettpragmatiskt förhållningssätt kan främja språkutveckling i SO-undervisningen. Detta hargenomförts genom att jämföra olika vetenskapliga artiklar. Artiklarna vi valde att undersöka,hämtades från olika databaser, Ebsco, Eric och Google Scholar. Vi valde att bryta ner detsociala och det pragmatiska förhållningssättet i mindre lärandemetoder för att kunnaundersöka vad forskningen säger om språkutvecklande arbetssätt inom SO-undervisningen.Kunskapsöversiktens resultat och slutats visar att det sociala samspelet och det pragmatiskaförhållningssättet kompletterar varandra och går att koppla samman.

Thesis (M.A. (Language (Education)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / The impact of the switch in LoLT between Grade 3 and 4 has been the subject of much research in South Africa which results in grade 4 low pass rate. What constitutes a problem is that during this transition from Sepedi to English as LOLT, most learners are linguistically not ready to make this leap (Heugh, 2006; Maswanganye, 2010). The change of the language of learning and teaching from Sepedi to English in Grade 4 is problematical because of the challenges in adjusting to the use of English as LOLT (Macdonald, 1990; Alexander, 2005; Heugh, 2006; Maswanganye, 2010). The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of English First Additional Language on learners‟ academic performance in Grade 4 at a primary school. A qualitative research approach was adopted in this study due to the fact that this study was explanatory and descriptive in nature. This study used a qualitative case study research design and qualitative interpretive paradigm which allowed the researcher to gather information through observations and interviews. This study was guided by sociocultural theory developed by Vygotsky (1978) because it emphasizes that teachers can use strategies to create classroom conditions that foster learning by modeling, scaffolding and the development of the learners‟ zone of proximal development (ZPD). The study used inductive thematic data analysis method to analyse data collected from observation schedule and interviews. The findings showed that learners‟ hindrance concerning reading and writing in the English language is home based factors because of socioeconomic factors. This study shows that less teacher training also poses challenges to English reading development as they do not have sufficient knowledge on reading strategies to deal with the transition of grade 4 learners from Sepedi to English First Additional Language as a language of learning and teaching. The study recommends training of teachers on how to teach reading and implementation of additive or bilingualism for the subsequent language policy development in South African education system should be considered.

No description available.

Syftet med detta examensarbete är att undersöka vilka undervisningsmetoder som används av verksamma svensklärare i grundskolans klassrum för att utveckla elevernas läsförståelse i ämnet svenska men också hur och varför lärarna använder just dessa metoder. Denna undersökning bygger på svar inkomna från utskickade frågeformulär. Dessa frågeformulär bestod av tio frågor som besvarades av fyra verksamma lärare runt om i Sverige. Examensarbetet utgår från det sociokulturella perspektivet där diskussion och interaktion i par, samt stöttning, är centrala delar. Denna studies analysdel har använt en tematisk analys som resulterat i olika huvudteman. De tre huvudteman som behandlas är följande: cirkelmodellen, kooperativa strategier och stöttning. I dessa teman framkommer det att lärare använder sig av en mängd olika metoder i undervisningen med läsförståelse. Dessa metoder innehåller mycket elevaktiva övningar där eleverna gemensamt med läraren utvecklar sin läsförståelse inom ämnet svenska. I resultatet framkommer det även hur lärarna använder dessa metoder. / The purpose of this degree project is to investigate which teaching methods are used by Swedish teachers in primary school classrooms to develop the students' reading comprehension in the subject of Swedish, but also how and why the teachers use these particular methods. This survey is based on responses received from questionnaires sent out (see appendix 2). These questionnaires consisted of ten questions and were sent out to four active teachers around Sweden. The degree project is based on the socio-cultural perspective where discussion and interaction in pairs, as well as support, are central parts. The analysis part of this study has used a thematic analysis which resulted in different main themes. The main themes covered are the following: The circle model, Cooperative strategies and adaptations. In these themes, it appears that teachers use a variety of methods in teaching reading comprehension. These methods contain student-active exercises where the students develop their reading comprehension together with the teacher. The results section also shows how the teachers use these methods.

Syftet med den här studien var att undersöka vilka arbetssätt lärare upplever bidrar till att elever känner motivation till läsning av skönlitteratur samt att ta reda på vilka utmaningar lärare står inför i det arbetet. Studien genomfördes med en kvalitativ metod med semistrukturerade intervjuer med tio informanter. Den tidigare forskningen som ligger till grund för studien handlar om hur skönlitteratur och läsning hänger ihop, hur läsning och motivation hänger ihop samt hur lärare arbetar med läsning. Studiens teoretiska grund bygger på den sociokulturella teorin av Lev Vygotskij samt expectancy-value theory som är grundad av Jacquelynne Eccles och hennes kollegor. Det resultat som studien visade var att lärarna som deltog i studien har flera metoder för att försöka ge eleverna motivation till läsning av skönlitteratur som placering, arbete med val av böcker, använda yttre aktörer och högläsning. De utmaningar som lärare upplever beskriver de som arbetet mot hemmen, elevens sociala situation, gruppstorleken samt dynamiken i gruppen. / The purpose of this study was to explore what working methods teachers consider having a contribution to the feeling of motivation in students regarding reading fiction and also what challenges teachers face with this work. This study was conducted using a qualitative method with semi-structured interviews with ten informants. The previous research that is the foundation for this study reflects how reading of fiction and reading are connected, how reading and motivation are connected and how teachers work with reading in the classroom. The study's theoretical basis is based on the sociocultural theory of Lev Vygotsky and expectancy-value theory, which was founded by Jacquelynne Eccles and her colleagues. The result of this study showed that the teachers that were participating used multiple methods in their work trying to motivate students to read fiction. Among these are placement in the classroom, thought into choosing books, the usage of external actors and reading aloud. The challenges that teachers face are described by the informers in this study as the collaboration with the home, the students social situation, group size and the dynamic of the group.