Kritická místa matematiky na základní škole (Analýza didaktických praktik učitelů - lineární rovnice) Critical Areas of Mathematics at the Primary School (Analysis of Teachers' Didactic Practices - Linear Equations) Abstract The goal of the diploma thesis is to describe didactic practices used by primary teachers when teaching linear equations, seen as one of the critical moments of primary school mathematics. First, semantic and structural models of linear equations and ways of teaching linear equations as suggested by selected textbooks for primary schools are described. Next, on the basis of literature review, pupil' problems and types of mistakes they make in this area are given. My research consisted of semistructured interviews with five experienced mathematics teachers and observations of their lessons. The interviews and observations were transcribed and the transcriptions were analysed by techniques of grounded theory. It was found out that the teachers use common didactic practices as well as their own which they develop. The practices, models which the teachers use when teaching linear equations, approaches to introducing equivalent operations, as well as a list of critical places within linear equations are the main results of the work. Keywords: Linear equations, models, pupils' problems,...

1 Abstract The goal of the diploma thesis was to identify and describe didactic practices of selected experienced mathematics teachers, used in the teaching of indirect proportion, to make an analysis of the most used textbooks from the point of view of teaching indirect proportion, to select suitable problems which diagnose pupils' knowledge of indirect proportion and to identify pupils' strategies and their mistakes in solving them. Indirect proportion is first described from the point of view of curricular documents and of Czech pupils' results in this area in both national and international surveys. The pupil's knowledge gaining process is characterised from the point of view of didactic constructivism. Next, ways and conceptions of teaching indirect proportion as provided by selected primary textbooks are given. The content analysis of textbooks was made and compared to results of similar studies. Next, the thesis deals with some results of international research on proportional thinking and solving strategies for problems on proportion which are then used as a starting point of my own research on pupils' strategies for problems on indirect proportion. The next part of research consists of semi-structured interviews with experienced teachers, observations of their lessons and analysis of their pupils'...

This mixed-method study investigated the impact of graphing calculator use on high school calculus students' reasoning skills through calculus problems when applying to concepts of the definite integral and its applications. The study provides an investigation of the effects on reasoning when graphing calculators are used, since it is proposed that, through reasoning, conceptual understanding can be achieved. Three research questions were used to guide the study: (1) Does the use of the graphing calculator improve high school calculus students' reasoning ability in calculus problems applying the definite integral? (2) In what specific areas of reasoning does use of the graphing calculator seem to be most and least effective? and (3) To what extent can students who have used the graphing calculator demonstrate ability to solve problems using pencil and paper methods? The study included a quantitative, quasi-experimental component and a qualitative component. Results of the quantitative and qualitative analysis indicate that (1) graphing calculators had a positive impact upon students' reasoning skills (2) graphing calculators were most effective in the areas of initiating a strategy and monitoring progress (3) students' reasoning skills were most improved when graphing calculators were used together with the analytic approach during both instruction and testing and (4) students who used the graphing calculator performed equally as well in all elements of reasoning as those who used pencil and paper to solve problems.

Our society has become less physically active (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010) and less connected to nature than ever before (Berger & Mcleod, 2006). Spending leisure time indoors, technological advancements, urban living, and car dependent communities have led to these changes (Dustin, Bricker, & Schwab, 2010; Hansen-Ketchum, Marck, & Reutter, 2009; Norman & Mills, 2004). As a result, physical health and mental health is deteriorating (Dustin et al., 2010; Maller, Townsend, Pryor, Brown & Leger, 2005). Physical activity and nature can each produce mental and physical health benefits; some approaches such as adventure-based counseling and wilderness therapy already incorporate these elements. A promising alternative approach using physical activity and nature has received attention in recent years. Walk and talk therapy has been described as an intervention that combines counseling, walking, and the outdoors (Doucette, 2004). Despite, a small number of therapists using the approach (Gontang, 2009), anecdotal research (Hays, 1994), and a description of the approach (Doucette, 2004), little is known about walk and talk therapy. In this qualitative study 11 therapists were interviewed about their experiences with walk and talk therapy. Main themes of the study suggested characteristics, a procedure, reasons walk and talk therapy evolved, limitations, outcomes, and a framework for practice for walk and talk therapy. Therapists believe walk and talk therapy is beneficial for clients as well as therapists. Implications for therapists, researchers, and counselor educators are provided.

This thesis is about students’ approaches to learning (SAL) in computer science education. Since the initial development of SAL instruments and inventories in the 70’s, they have been used as a means to understand students’ approaches to learning better, as well as to measure and predict academic achievement (such as retention, grades and credits taken) and other correlating factors. It is an instrument to measure a student’s study strategies – not how “good” a student is. A Swedish short version of Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) was used to gather information on whether we, through context and content, encouraged sustainable study behaviour among our students. ASSIST was used in two distinct situations: 1) Evaluation and evolvement of an online programming course design, and 2) Engineering education in media technology and computer science in a campus environment where approaches to learning has been evaluated and studied over time during the five year long programmes. Repeated measurements have been analysed against factors predicting academic achievement, and have been evaluated on a cohort level (not individual) in order to clarify patterns rather than individual characteristics. Significant for both projects was that a surface approach to learning correlated negatively with retention. Students who adopted a combination of deep and strategic approach to learning performed better in terms of grades, ECTS credits completed and perceived value of the education. As part of developmental tools it can be beneficial to use ASSIST at a group level in order to see what kind of approach a course design or a programme supports among the students. / <p>QC 20161028</p>

Usage-based approaches to Second Language Acquisition (SLA) hold that grammatical development can at least in part be explained by a trajectory from initially entrenched formulaic chunks of linguistic material through partially abstract low-scope patterns to abstract constructions. Although earlier empirical research found little to support such a trajectory, more recent research suggests that when the methodological focus is on the breakdown of tokens not on the acquisition of abstract morphology formulaic chunks do seem to develop into at least low-scope patterns. What is not clear from these later studies, however, is why users select tokens from the environment, how these selections are repurposed to meet communicative needs and what grammatical development may be the result of such repurposing. Drawing on insights into usage-based approaches to SLA in general, and specifically predictions that the analogical processing of similar tokens can explain in part a trajectory from tokens in the linguistic environment to abstract constructions, this study investigates whether intervention in the form of task demands and written task productions can drive the selection and repurposing of task-relevant input, and whether such repurposing may influence the development of past-counterfactual constructions in instructed SLA. The study uses a classroom-based pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental design with pre-sessional university students in intact classes (n=92). Out of the three groups in the study, one group were exposed to instances of past counterfactuals which were identical to the forms needed for task completion in terms of function and lexical items (Literal Group). A second group were exposed to instances which called for the same function but different lexical items for successful task completion (Analogous Group), while a third group were not exposed to input. Results show that the analogous processing of task-relevant tokens led to positive and significant gains on most acceptability judgment and production test measures. Regression models further show that the selection of tokens explained very little variance, while analogical processing, operationalised as the repurposing of tokens to fit task demands, explained a significant amount of the variance in the same models. These findings highlight the importance of analogical processing in SLA and the significant implications such processing has for cognitive accounts of SLA and for second language teaching.

Student Number : 8109673 - MSc research report - School of Science Education - Faculty of Science / Many students fail the Fundamental Algorithmic Concepts course, in first year Computer Science at the University of the Witwatersrand. To obtain an understanding of why this occurs, the learning styles and learning approaches of the students studying the course and the relationship of these concepts with student grades were researched. A predominately qualitative paradigm was used, supplemented with quantitative data. Two research designs were selected: a survey to get a broad overview of the sample and an ethnographic design to provide an in-depth description of a small group. Existing instruments were used for the survey, namely Felder and Soloman’s Index of Learning Styles and a learning approach diagnostic test that was constructed in South Africa. An interview with open-ended questions was used for the ethnographic research. Contrary to expectations, the results of the study indicated that the adoption of a deep learning approach did not imply success. The findings suggest that a strategic learning approach may be required to achieve good grades. In contrast to other studies, over 65% of the sample population were black students. It was found that black students tend to adopt a deeper learning approach than the rest of the students. From a learning style perspective there was some new evidence to indicate that the more intuitive or global a student was, the deeper the approach the student adopted to learning. A large percentage (over 80%) of the population were visual learners and an unusually high percentage (over 60%) were reflective learners. The lecturer should match the workload and assessment methods with the desired learning approach of the students. The lecturer should also encourage the students to adopt a strategic learning approach where appropriate. In addition, the lecturer should pay particular attention to incorporating teaching styles that accommodate students with visual and active learning style preferences.

In order to enhance teaching it is important to understand how students learn. The aim of this study was to discover the interventions needed to enhance the support offered by teachers and tutors in a Business Accounting programme to develop in students an intrinsic motivation and deep learning strategy which could be used later in life in other areas of study. The data came from a number of sources, including the Biggs’ revised two-factor Study Process Questionnaire: R-SPQ-2F, administered to students. The second source was tutors’ responses to a set of questions, and the third source was an interview held with an experienced tutor. In the main, the data was analysed using phenomenographic methodology. The study yielded valuable insights into the tutorial context and tutors’ perceptions of the factors that hinder or enhance student learning.

A proposta de uma abordagem de ensino que contemple discussões sobre interações Ciência - Tecnologia - Sociedade (CTS) vem ganhando cada vez mais interesse e destaque na Educação Científica no Brasil. Aliado a isso, têm crescido as pesquisas sobre esse tema, cujo aumento e diversidade apontam para a necessidade de estudos de revisão bibliográfica sobre essa produção. Nessa perspectiva, o objetivo deste trabalho é acompanhar esse movimento, identificando e caracterizando possíveis abordagens CTS presentes na Educação Científica brasileira. Para tanto, optou-se pela construção de uma matriz de referência, constituída por planos de análise de diferentes naturezas, compostos por parâmetros que representam, de forma sistematizada, as diferentes abordagens. Metodologicamente, o trabalho de investigação compreende dois encaminhamentos complementares: um de base empírica e o outro de aproximação teórica. Do ponto de vista empírico, foi analisada a produção CTS recente na área de Pesquisa em Ensino de Ciências. Paralelamente, do ponto de vista teórico, o aprofundamento de referenciais teóricos subsidiou a identificação de parâmetros relevantes para a constituição da matriz de referência específica para análise das abordagens CTS. Dentre os resultados, destacam-se os dois planos de análise identificados e seus respectivos parâmetros. O primeiro plano relaciona-se às perspectivas de discussão das relações CTS, sistematizadas em três parâmetros: Racionalidade Científica, Desenvolvimento Tecnológico e Participação Social. O segundo plano relaciona-se às perspectivas educacionais, sistematizadas em três propósitos que envolvem o desenvolvimento de Percepções, Questionamentos e Compromissos Sociais. A partir da articulação entre esses planos e parâmetros foi possível reconhecer e situar intenções e, além disso, explicitar razões para as escolhas, encaminhamentos, limites e potencialidades de diferentes abordagens CTS. / The proposal for a teaching approach that includes discussions about Science - Technology - Society (STS) interactions is gaining increasing interest and emphasis in the Scientific Education in Brazil. Allied to this, the research about this subject has grown, whose increase and diversity point to the need for studies of literature review on this production. In this perspective, the objective of this study is to follow this movement, identifying and characterizing possible STS approaches present in the Brazilian Scientific Education. To this end, we chose to build a reference array consisting of plans of analysis of different natures, composed of parameters that represent, in a systematic manner, the different approaches. Methodologically, the research work comprises two complementary referrals: one of empirical base and the other of theoretical approach. From the empirical point of view, we analyzed the recent STS production in the area of Research in Science Teaching. In parallel, from the theoretical point of view, the deepening of theoretical frameworks supported the identification of relevant parameters for the constitution of specific reference array for analysis of the STS approaches. Among the results, we highlight the two levels of analysis identified and their parameters. The first plan it is related to the prospects of discussions of the STS relations, systematized in three parameters: Scientific Rationality, Technological Development and Social Participation. The second level it is related to the educational prospects involved, systematized in three purposes that involve the development of Perceptions, Questions and Social Commitments. From the relationship between these plans and parameters was possible to recognize and locate intentions and, furthermore, explain reasons for choices, referrals, limits and potential of different STS approaches.

Ces dernières décennies, de nouvelles techniques d’anesthésie-analgésie locorégionales ont permis d’améliorer la prise en charge post-opératoire. Cependant, les anesthésiques locaux (AL) exposent les patients à un risque de toxicité systémique potentiellement fatale. La première étude est une étude rétrospective ayant inclus des cas potentiels de toxicité systémique aux AL. Cette étude a montré que, face à l’importante variabilité pharmacocinétique des AL observée, l’interprétation des concentrations est difficile. Sa contribution au diagnostic clinique est limitée aux prélèvements précoces après les signes de toxicité.La deuxième étude porte sur la pharmacocinétique de la lidocaine administrée en anesthésie locale tumescente. Il s’agit de la première description de sa pharmacocinétique dans cette indication. Les concentrations restent faibles pendant la durée de suivi. La modélisation par approche de population a permis de décrire le processus d’absorption systémique de la lidocaine après l’injection d’une solution tumescente. La troisième étude porte sur 10 patientes ayant reçu une infusion cicatricielle de ropivacaine de 40 heures. Il s’agit de la première description pharmacocinétique de l’infusion cicatricielle de ropivacaine dans cette indication. La modélisation a montré que l’absorption systémique de la ropivacaine est retardée et la concentration maximale est atteinte 2 heures après la fin de la perfusion. Les études rapportées dans cette thèse ont exploré les propriétés pharmacocinétiques des AL. L’objectif de ces travaux est de contribuer à une meilleure connaissance des thérapeutiques et de contribuer à une meilleure prise en charge des patients. / New locoregional anaesthetic techniques have permitted an improvement of care. However, local anaesthetics (LA) expose patients to systemic toxicity risks. It is essential to set guidelines for the use of these techniques. A retrospective study includes cases of suspected LA systemic toxicity. Systemic toxicity of LA occur when a large amount of LA reaches the systemic circulation. This thesis shows that the interpretation of plasmatic concentrations remains difficult because of the significant pharmacokinetics variability in the different nervous blocks. The second study deals with the population PK of lidocaine administrated in tumescent local anaesthetic. It is the first description of lidocaine PK is performed in this indication. The lidocaine concentrations remain low during the whole time of the operation. The modelling approach has allowed to highlight the slow systemic absorption process of lidocaine after injection of a tumescent solution. The third study focuses on the PK of ropivacaine administrated via continuous wound infusion in 10 women. It is the first time that the PK of ropivacaine administered using wound infusion is described. The modelling approach shows that systemic absorption of ropivacaine delayed and the maximal serum concentration is reached 2 hours after the end of ropivacaine infusion. These studies explored the PK properties of LA used as an anaesthetic or analgesic drug. The objective of this work is to contribute to a better knowledge of therapeutics and a better handling of patients.