The purpose of this study was to compare instructional effectiveness of traditional animal dissections and computer simulation dissections related to student achievement and attitudes.

An increasingly large body of literature sees disconnection from nature as central to the convergent social-ecological crisis, rooted in anthropocentric ontologies. This study explored the potential for embodied, sociomaterial nature-based activities to engender shifts in children’s perceptions of, and sense of connectedness with, nature. Equally it explored how children’s socio-cultural-historical value positionings (SCHVP) mediated their perceptions of, and connectedness with, nature. The nature-based activities, spread over five-day camps, were located at Hobbiton-on-Hogsback, a centre that has existed for decades to provide experiential learning and graded exposure to natural spaces, aiming to increase environmental knowledge and nature-connection. The experiences of two groups of children from wide-ranging socioeconomic and socio-cultural backgrounds in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa were explored using interpretive case study methodology. Through semi-structured interviews and focus groups with selected children (aged 10-14) and the Hobbiton staff members who worked with them, as well as participant observation, data were collected and analysed thematically. This study was guided by a layered theoretical framework that included Deep Ecology as an under-labourer, and Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) as a substantive, analytical framework. Interactions between participants’ SCHVP and the sociomateriality of the nature- based activities were analysed in relation to the children’s nature-perceptions and sense of Connectedness-With-Nature. The findings highlight both the importance of the children’s SCHVP and the sociomateriality of the nature-based activities in mediating their prior perceptions of, and connectedness with nature. The nature-based activities acted as a primary stimulus for developing environmental empathy, awareness and pro-environmental intentions. In essence, Hobbiton acted as a primary ‘seed planter’ towards greater feelings of Connectedness-With-Nature. However, recommendations are put forward for more decolonised, ethics-oriented and sociomaterial design of Hobbiton’s nature-based activities, with an emphasis on integrating children’s SCHVP into the pedagogical-design process in relation to the sociomaterial elements of the nature-based activities. Emically integrating the children’s multiplicities of knowing, doing, valuing and being into the pedagogical-design process could contribute to the decolonisation of nature-based experiences in such contexts cultural, socio and political diversity.

M.Ed. / Wildlife areas are considered by many to be "wilderness" islands, which do not have anything to do with the local communities surrounding them. These areas are seen as elitist. The Kruger National Park is no exception to these thoughts. Due to its immense size, many neighbours of the park have over the years been ignored. A questionnaire was given to 127 of the neighbours along the southern boundary of the park to determine the environmental literacy of these neighbours. The neighbours sampled were from informal and formal settlements and tourist destinations such as lodges and hotels. From the results it was found that there was very little difference between these neighbours in terms of their environmental literacy. An environmental education model was proposed in order to address the lack of knowledge or misconceptions that the neighbours held about the environment.

This project offers a nature program that can be implemented into youth camp programs. Outdoor Residential Camp programs offered by youth organizations provide an outdoor camp experience for many children in the communty. Many offer participants resident summer camp programs which is a perfect venue for the outdoor experience. Children exposed to outdoor experiences develop a greater sense of responsibility to the natural environment around them. The schools are not doing enough to educate youth about the natural environment. This project was written specifically for the Azalea Trails Girl Scout Camp located in the San Jacinto Mountains of Southern California however, it could be adapted to be used at any residental camp setting.

The purpose of this project is to help at-risk Latino youth through environmental education programs. An integral aspect of this project included hands-on and interactive experiences at several education sites throughout the State of California. These site visits included the following institutions: Yosemite Institute, Chapman Ranch, Orange County Outdoor Science School, University of Southern California, Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies, Catalina Island Camps, Camp Oaks, Wildlands Conservancy (Oak Glen), St. James Reserve, and Alvarado-Jensen Ranch.

This thesis provides opportunities for second grade students to explore, study, and apply critical thinking skills in reference to the local wildlife and current environmental issues.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Education / Master / Master of Education

A report on a research study presented to The Department of Social Work School of Human and Community Development Faculty of Humanities University of the Witwatersrand In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Social Work March, 2016 / The annual Conference of Parties (COP) held on the 7th-8th of December 2015 made it obvious; the environment is changing and urgent action is needed globally. Globally for the reason that damage done to the environment in one region, may have impacts in other regions. In regards to Africa and in specific South Africa, water as a finite resource is no more available as it was decades ago. This fact needs to be addressed with urgency, as human survival heavily depends on water – especially in Africa (UN Water, 2006). A part of the literature review will be dedicated to challenges related to water and its consequences for the African continent. The core of this study will be to highlight the importance of water for human beings and what can be done to raise awareness. Further, a quantitative study in Kliptown (a suburb area in Soweto suffering from water scarcity); by means of a survey was undertaken to understand more about children’s behavior in regards to water. The purpose of the research was to raise the knowledge of 10-13 year old learners and members of the Kliptown Youth Program (KYP) on the value of water and to assess their awareness on environmental friendliness as well as their daily water management. The intervention took place at Kliptown, with members of the KYP; a nongovernmental organization supporting in lifting children out of poverty. A pre and a post questionnaire was conducted as well as short video clips shown to KYP members, explaining water scarcity and climate change; supported by some recommendations on how to save water in their current environment. Random sampling has been applied to 24 members out of the population of 119 grade 5-7 members, ranging between 10-13 years of age. Respondents were of mixed genders. Data collection of the survey was cross-sectional and has been performed by means of pen-andpaper. The whole intervention with the filling out of the questionnaires, including the video clips and short presentation took about 90 minutes. Data has been interpreted by using descriptive statistics. The outcome provided information on the environmental friendliness of KYP members aged 10-13, their knowledge on the importance of water as well as their pro activeness in regards to the environment and water. Further the study tried to find out whether there is a difference of responses in regards to gender. The outcome of the study will be shared with the Director of KYP to be informed and probably implement recommendations of the study. The outcome of the study revealed that children do not know much about water, however, are interested in knowing and doing more to get acquainted to the topic. / MT2017

阮偉忠. / 據手稿本影印. / Thesis (M.A.)--香港中文大學硏究院敎育學部. / Ju shou gao ben ying yin. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 141-154). / Ruan Weizhong. / Thesis (M.A.)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue yan jiu yuan jiao yu xue bu. / 序言 / 論文摘要 / Chapter 第一章 --- 緒論 / 引言 --- p.1 / 活動教學的發展過程 --- p.4 / 研究動機與目的 --- p.12 / Chapter 第二章 --- 有關文獻評述 / 創造力 --- p.19 / 創造力與智力 --- p.22 / 創造力與教學條件 --- p.26 / 創造力與性別 --- p.35 / 創造力與社會經濟地位 --- p.42 / 創造力與學校級別 --- p.47 / Chapter 第三章 --- 研究設計 / 名詞定義 --- p.51 / 假設 --- p.52 / 研究樣本 --- p.53 / 研究工具 --- p.55 / 預試 --- p.60 / 測驗安排 --- p.62 / 評分者之間的信度 --- p.66 / 資料收集與分析 --- p.68 / 研究的限制 --- p.69 / Chapter 第四章 --- 研究結果 --- p.72 / 摘要 --- p.115 / Chapter 第五章 --- 討論與建議 / 討論部分 / 教學法差異 --- p.119 / 性別差異 --- p.130 / 社經地位差異 --- p.132 / 級別差異 --- p.134 / 建議部分 / 研究方面 --- p.135 / 教學措施方面 --- p.137 / 參考書目 / 中文部分 --- p.141 / 英文部分 --- p.149 / 附件 --- p.155

本論文透過兩項研究，探討家長與幼兒在家進行數字棋盤遊戲時，應如何與幼兒互動，以培養幼兒的數字感及學習數學的興趣。 / 研究1旨在檢視香港幼兒數字感的發展趨勢，以及不同級別幼兒參與數字棋盤遊戲的能力。此外，研究1會考察家長與幼兒進行數字棋盤遊戲時的表現，並探究其與幼兒數字感及學習數學的興趣的關連。因此，研究1收集51名香港三至六歲幼兒在八項數字感測試的得分，以及其學習數學的興趣水平，並邀請這些幼兒與其家長進行一個數字棋盤遊戲。研究結果發現，在不少數字感測試項目中，各級別幼兒之間都存有顯著的差異。一般而言，低班幼兒已具備參與數字棋盤遊戲的能力。當家長與幼兒進行數字棋盤遊戲，並輪至他們移動棋子時，他們很少邀請幼兒參與其中。雖然「辨讀棋子移動後所停留方格中的數字」、「辨讀棋子移動時所經方格中的數字」及「辨識棋子移動後所停留方格中的數字與其他數字的關連」三項行為在家長與幼兒互動時甚少出現，但有關行為的出現程度與幼兒部份數字感元素有著正向的關連。 / 研究2旨在了解當家長接受親子活動策略訓練後，家長定期與幼兒進行數字棋盤遊戲，能否培養幼兒的數字感及學習數學的興趣。因此，研究2以實驗形式，邀請四組共91位家長與其低班幼兒在家進行不同的親子活動 (經訓練的遊戲組、遊戲組、紙筆練習組，以及控制組)，然後比較各組幼兒在前後測的表現。研究結果發現，對數學能力非特別優異的幼兒而言，數字棋盤遊戲與紙筆練習兩者均能提升幼兒數字序列背誦及兩位數字認讀的能力。當家長接受訓練後，家長定期與幼兒進行數字棋盤遊戲，更能提升幼兒加法運算的能力。不論家長接受訓練與否，定期與幼兒進行數字棋盤遊戲能培養幼兒學習數學的興趣。 / 歸納以上研究結果，本論文顯示家長可透過與幼兒在家進行有關數字的活動，培養幼兒的數字感及學習數學的興趣。然而，不少家長與幼兒進行有關活動時，往往未有充分把握教學機會。因此，家長有需要接受有關方面的訓練。 / Through two related studies, this dissertation investigated how parents should interact with their preschool children during home numeracy activities, such as number board game playing, so as to promote children’s number sense and interest in mathematics. / In Study 1, I examined Hong Kong preschool children’s number sense development and their competence in playing number board game. Furthermore, I investigated whether parents had utilized number board game playing experiences to foster their preschool children’s number sense and interest in mathematics. The relations of the prevalence of various numeracy-related events during number board game playing to children’s number sense and interest in mathematics were also explored. Fifty-one Hong Kong three- to six-year-old preschool children were first tested on eight number sense tasks (including object counting, rote counting, missing number, numeral identification, numeral writing, numerical magnitude comparison, addition, and subtraction). Their interest in mathematics was also measured. Then, parents of these children were asked to play a number board game with their children in dyads. The parent-child interactions during the game were coded and analyzed. Results showed that third year kindergarteners (K3) performed better than second year kindergarteners (K2) on all number sense tasks except object counting and rote counting. K2 children performed better than first year kindergarteners (K1) on all number sense tasks except addition and subtraction. Usually, by K2, children could start to play number board games. When parents played number board game with their preschool children, they seldom elicited children’s participation during their turns to move the token. The events “announcing the final number“, “announcing the numbers passed through“, and “stating the numerical relations of the final number to other numbers only rarely occurred, though the prevalence of these events was positively associated with some components of children’s number sense (e.g., numeral identification, numeral writing, addition, and subtraction). / In Study 2, I investigated the extent to which offering a training program to parents on strategies of interacting with preschool children during number board game playing, together with regular playing of number board games with children, could promote children’s number sense and interest in mathematics. Ninety-one K2 children and their parents were recruited as participants; and an experimental design that involved the pre-test-post-test comparisons of four conditions (i.e., the game with a training condition, the game condition, the exercise condition, and the control condition) was used. Results showed that among children who were not very skilled in mathematics, number board game playing shared some similar educational benefits with completing mathematics exercises from books, such as promoting children’s rote counting and two-digit numeral writing skills. When parents received training, number board game playing could even promote children’s addition skills. No matter whether parents received training, number board game playing could promote children’s interest in mathematics. / Findings of these two studies suggest that home numeracy activities, such as number board game playing, can promote preschool children’s number sense and interest in mathematics. Nevertheless, parents may not be aware of the opportunities to incorporate numeracy into these activities. Therefore, training of parents is needed. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Cheung, Sum Kwing. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 195-211). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese. / Acknowledgements --- p.iii / List of Tables --- p.vi / Abstract --- p.x / Chapter Chapter One --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter Two --- Study 1 --- p.47 / Method --- p.51 / Results --- p.62 / Discussion --- p.105 / Chapter Chapter Three --- Study 2 --- p.120 / Method --- p.127 / Results --- p.141 / Discussion --- p.173 / Chapter Chapter Four --- General Discussion --- p.184 / References --- p.195 / Appendix --- p.212