Not available / text

Not available / text

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

This investigation is a case-study of adolescent literacy practices and some of the texts arising from them. Forty-five texts were initially analysed for their generic structure and semiotic composition from within the traditions of the sociolinguistic paradigm. Findings from these two processes of analysis were then reinterpreted from a Deleuzean perspective with the aim of opening out otherwise imperceptible generative forces implicated in differences between the creation of online texts such as MXIT instant messages; Facebook texts and emails, and traditional print-and-paper school based writing. The context for the study was a Pietermaritzburg government girls’ only high school. A mixed-methods approach was used throughout the research process. The sample of twelve learners was purposefully selected from across two grade 9 classes to whom subject-English was taught. The core component of the data is a single writing exercise in which the pupils were asked to write a film appraisal as 1) a MXIT or SMS message; 2) an email; 3) a Facebook message and 4) a conventional film review. There are two major findings from this study. First, in some contexts, adolescents demonstrate a high degree of differentiated control over the structural, linguistic and semiotic composition of their writing in English; second, in online literacy, there is a complex configuration of motivating contextual variables that teenagers co-opt. These generate dynamic forces that serve adolescents’ own social and affective purposes and which can supersede, subvert or cooperate with the stated purpose of a genre. A Deleuzean framework helps reveal the complex processes underlying adolescent literacies and enables the beginning of an interrogation of the pedagogic implications of recent innovations in communication technology and practices. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

This investigation, into the efficacy of LEAP, as exemplified by Breakthrough to Literacy, as the main strand in a mixed method for the teaching of beginning reading, was motivated by the following considerations: 1. Breakthrough to Literacy has been and is being used with tremendous success not only in Great Britain, where it was launched, but also in Canada and Australia, and increasingly in South Africa. 2. A pilot investigation by Professor P T Pienaar revealed that the incidence of reading retardation among the South African Indian pupils at all levels in Primary Schools was high. 3. Reading is a very important, if not the most important aspect of language learning and, in turn, language plays a dominant role in the total curriculum of Junior Primary pupils. 4. The Department of Indian Education is introducing the "mixed Breakthrough method" referred to above on an increasing scale. If the present trend is maintained LEAP will become the sole method for the teaching of beginning reading. The investigation comprised the following: 1. The use of Experimental and Control classes at two different schools. LEAP as exemplified by Breakthrough to Literacy, was used in Experiment classes while the Look-and-Say Method, as exemplified by the Let's Learn to Read Series, was used in the Control Classes. 2. The use of questionnaires to obtain information on the pupils and their families. 3. Personal observations of the work of the teachers and pupils in the Experimental and Control classes. 4. The use of questionnaires to elicit the opinions of various teachers who had experience of LEAP and the Look-and-Say Method used by the classes in the study. 5. Tests of the reading and creative writing abilities of pupils in the Experimental and Control classes. The overall results show: 1. That pupils taught by LEAP, as exemplified by BL, got a better start to reading than pupils on the "Look-and-Say" method, as exemplified by LLR. Breakthrough pupils also performed better in reading "new" material. 2. That "Breakthrough" pupils not only wrote more but also wrote better in respect of both content and style. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1981.

The purpose of the study was to determine if social studies achievement and positive attitudes about social studies would increase when the traditional single textbook approach was supplemented by a related work of children's literature. Two intact classes were randomly assigned to the treatment group which received instruction based on the regularly adopted textbook and the trade book My Brother Sam Is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier. Two randomly assigned classes composed the control group and received instruction based on the textbook only.The participants in the study were filth grade students at an urban magnet school. Each of two teachers served as instructors working with one control class and one treatment class. The instruments used were the Attitudes Toward Social Studies instrument and the Macmillan test written for the unit of instruction entitled The Colonies Become a Nation. Pretests and posttests were administered to students in each group to assess differences in mean gain scores between groups in both attitude and achievement. In order to determine if the difference between mean gains between the two groups was significant, t-tests were used. An analysis of variance and the Tukey HSD multiple comparison procedure were used to determine how the four sections differed in attitude toward social studies and which differences were significant.There was no significant difference in mean social studies achievement gains between the treatment group and the control group. A significant difference in mean attitude gains between control and treatment groups was found. The results of the t test showed a significant mean gain in positive attitudes about social studies favoring the control group. Evidence from the analysis of variance and the Tukey HSD multiple comparison procedure indicated that the positive attitude gain was linked to the Hawthorne Effect. / Department of Elementary Education

The purpose of this study was to investigate to what extent constructivist classroom characteristics existed in ELT Methodology II courses in ELT departments. Secondly, the aim was to explore the extent to which constructivist learning activities and evaluation strategies were perceived to be useful by the students and the instructors. Thirdly, the study also attempted to find out the extent to which the students and the instructors in ELT departments had constructivist conceptions of learning and teaching. Finally, it was aimed to find out whether students&rsquo / perception of constructivist classroom characteristics differed according to certain variables such as university, sex, type of high school the students graduated from, expected average score in the course and perceived competency in English. Subjects of the study involved 410 students taking ELT Methodology II course (&Ouml / zel &Ouml / sretim Y&ouml / ntemleri II) during 2001-2002 academic year in ELT departments of four universities (Middle East Technical University, Gazi University, &Ccedil / ukurova University and Dicle University) and 15 instructors teaching this course at these universities. Data were collected between May &ndash / July 2002 through administration of a questionnaire (Constructivist Classroom Characteristics Questionnaire) to the students, interviews with the students and the instructors and observation of students&rsquo / microteaching practices in ELT Methodology II classes. Data analysis was carried out through both quantitative (frequencies, means, standard deviations, one-way ANOVA) and qualitative analysis techniques. The results of the study indicated that majority of the students and the instructors perceived the classroom characteristics to be constructivist although there were a few differences in their perceptions. Observations of microteaching also showed that classroom characteristics were constructivist with respect to the variety of the learning activities used by the students, feedback procedures in the classroom and negotiation and cooperation among the students. Secondly, both the students and the instructors perceived constructivist learning activities and evaluation strategies to be more useful compared to the traditional ones. Thirdly, majority of the students and the instructors held either cognitivist or constructivist conceptions of learning. On the other hand, the students were behaviorist in their conceptions of teaching while the instructors were constructivist. Finally, the results indicated that perception of constructivist classroom characteristics differed according to universities, expected average score and perceived competency in English whereas it did not differ according to student sex and the type of high schools the students graduated from. The results revealed that the learning activities, evaluation strategies, students&rsquo / learning experiences and instructors&rsquo / roles in the classroom should be reconsidered and improved in order to make ELT Methodology II classes more constructivist in nature.

Graduation date: 1993

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 141-147).

Thesis (M.I.T.)--The Evergreen State College, 2007. / Title from title screen viewed (4/10/2008). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-78).