This study identified variations in the learning trajectories of Tier II students when learning equivalent fraction concepts using physical and virtual manipulatives. The study compared three interventions: physical manipulatives, virtual manipulatives, and a combination of physical and virtual manipulatives. The research used a sequential explanatory mixed-method approach to collect and analyze data and used two types of learning trajectories to compare and synthesize the results. For this study, 43 Tier II fifthgrade students participated in 10 sessions of equivalent fraction intervention. Pre- to postdata analysis indicated significant gains for all three interventions. Cohen d effect size scores were used to compare the effect of the three types of manipulatives—at the total, cluster, and questions levels of the assessments. Daily assessment data were used to develop trajectories comparing mastery and achievement changes over the duration of the intervention. Data were also synthesized into an iceberg learning trajectory containing five clusters and three subcluster concepts of equivalent fraction understanding and variations among interventions were identified. The syntheses favored the use of physical manipulatives for instruction in two clusters, the use of virtual manipulatives for one cluster, and the use of combined manipulatives for two clusters. The qualitative analysis identified variations in students’ resolution of misconceptions and variations in their use of strategies and representations. Variations favored virtual manipulatives for the development of symbolic only representations and physical manipulatives for the development of set model representations. Results also suggested that there is a link between the simultaneous linking of the virtual manipulatives and the development of multiplicative thinking as seen in the tendency of the students using virtual manipulative intervention to have higher gains on questions asking students to develop groups of three or more equivalent fractions. These results demonstrated that the instructional affordances of physical and virtual manipulatives are specific to different equivalent fraction subconcepts and that an understanding of the variations is needed to determine when and how each manipulative should be used in the sequence of instruction.

The purpose of this study is to examine the teachings of rhetoric’s in schools, more specifically within the Swedish subject; furthermore it examines how Swedish teachers work with rhetoric in the Swedish subject on a practical basis. The study also highlights teachers' approaches to the curriculum for high school. The method I have used to conduct this study, have been to use interviews and inductive ethnography.   The teachers whom have been interviewed in my study have similar understandings of what oral presentations actually are, but their idea of what the term rhetoric stands for however differs. Teachers have received similar training in rhetoric; however, they have different experiences within it. This has contributed to the difference in teachers' approaches to rhetoric. However, teachers' education in rhetoric is not sufficiently comprehensive in relation to the requirements of the curriculum considering rhetoric. A reason to this is that neither rhetoric nor oral preparation has been a required subject in the education of the teachers. Many teachers have on their own studied rhetoric to complete the requirements of the curriculum.   Generally, these teachers work with rhetoric as independent parts of the Swedish subject. But there is a desire that rhetoric must also be integrated into other subjects. Thus, students will have more opportunities to come into contact with rhetoric and can translate the theory of rhetoric into practice in different contexts. Shared by all six teachers is the opinion that they work with rhetoric in a way that they attach both oral and written parts in rhetoric. Through various methods, exercises and facts, students can thus achieve a sense of self-confidence, which they could use when they speak to different audiences in different contexts. Students also become aware of the power of the spoken word. This also contributes to language learning and language development with the students.

This thesis deals with the issue of extremist manifestations of youth and the impact of these occurrences on the societal climate in the class. The first part of this thesis defines the terms and analyzes the current situation of the problem. It displays the intolerant attributes typical to extremist attitudes, the main current extremist streams and ways of disseminating extremist ideas. The aim of the second part is a case study conducted on the sample of a class. At first there is a selection of a sample class and a choice of the methodology of the study. Subsequently the thesis explains the obtained results. These results are then analyzed, interpreted and compared with expectations.

Syftet med detta examensarbete är att undersöka mellanstadieelevers förståelse av idiomatiska uttryck samt huruvida de känner igen idiomatiska uttryck till sin form och jämföra detta inom ämnena svenska och engelska. Vidare ämnar detta examensarbete att undersöka om det finns någon åldersprogression sett till elevernas förståelse av idiomatiska uttryck samt undersöka hur lärare arbetar med idiom. För att undersöka dessa frågor har en enkätundersökning samt intervjuer med lärare genomförts. Enkätundersökningen genomfördes på två olika skolor i Mellansverige, där totalt 196 elever från årskurs 4–6 deltog. Intervjuerna genomfördes på respektive skola med totalt fem legitimerade lärare. Undersökningen visar att förståelsen för idiomatiska uttryck, generellt sett, är relativt låg där elevernas förståelse för svenska idiom är högre än förståelsen för engelska idiom. Progressionen gällande engelska idiom följer en mer linjär utvecklingskurva medan progressionen gällande svenska idiom avtar efter årskurs fem. I ämnet svenska uppvisar eleverna en större förståelse för idiomens form, hur ett uttryck är uppbyggt, än betydelsen av dessa medan i ämnet engelska uppvisar eleverna motsatt resultat, det vill säga, större förståelse för idiomens betydelse än form. Resultatet visar att lärare i både ämnet svenska och ämnet engelska arbetar med idiomatiska uttryck i liten utsträckning. I ämnet svenska arbetar lärarna sporadiskt med idiom, i stort sett endast när det uppkommer i skönlitterära texter som eleverna läser och de få gånger det förekommer i läromedel. I ämnet engelska är arbetet med idiomatiska uttryck något mer planerat och strukturerat. / The purpose of this study is to investigate and compare middle school student’s understanding of Swedish and English idiomatic expressions. Furthermore, this study aims at investigating whether there is any age progression in the understanding of idioms and examine how teachers work with idiomatic expressions. The study was conducted at two different schools and a total of 196 students from year group 4 - 6 participated in a questionnaire survey and a total of five legitimized teachers was interviewed. The study shows that the overall understanding of idiomatic expressions is relatively low. However, the understanding of Swedish idioms is higher than the understanding of English idioms. The progression of English idiom comprehension follows a more linear development curve, while the progression of Swedish idiom comprehension decreases after year five. In Swedish, students show a greater understanding of the idiomatic form, how an expression is structured, rather than the actual meaning of the expression. In English idiomatic comprehension, the study shows that the students have a greater understanding when it comes to the meaning of the expression rather than the form. The result of the interviews shows that teachers, in both subjects, works with idiomatic expressions to a small extent. Swedish teachers work sporadically when idioms occur in fictional texts or when they appear in other educational materials. English teachers, on the other hand, work with idiomatic expressions in a more planned and structured way.

International negotiation competitions are not a new phenomenon. These competitionshave been growing in popularity worldwide and have several pedagogic benefits forthe participants. Unfortunately, so far have been targeted only to students from the lawor business fields excluding students from other fields, including the humanitarianstudents. These students are likely to follow a career where negotiations play a keyrole, nevertheless, they are not well prepared for it. The purpose of this thesis is toexplore these benefits and the transferability of these competition models to thehumanitarian sector. This thesis, therefore, seeks to answer the research question“What benefits can international negotiation competitions have for participants?” and“Could students in the humanitarian sector benefit from negotiation competitionsadapted to the challenges they are likely to face?”. The study comprises of bothquantitative and qualitative methodological approaches. An analysis of existingliterature was undertaken alongside a pre-study survey to humanitarian students, 15expert interviews and an online survey to participants to negotiation competitions.The thesis presents the opinions of a variety of experts and participants in negotiationcompetitions and reveals several benefits of participation in such events. Thesebenefits include: skill development, multicultural environment, simulation of realemotions, feedback from judges, networking opportunities and promotion of the field.The findings also suggest that the transferability of this model to humanitarian studentscould be not only possible but beneficial, yet some barriers could arise. Explanation ofpossible barriers to this implementation and possible solutions to mitigate them aredisclosed.

As dificuldades epistemológicas e metodológicas do ensino de Cálculo Diferencial e Integral em cursos do ensino superior presenciais, a rápida evolução tecnológica (tanto em hardwares como em softwares) e o avanço aparentemente irreversível do ensino a distância, constituíram uma grande motivação para este trabalho. Analisando as dificuldades na construção de significados no estudo do Cálculo como em Barufi (1999), sua natureza epistemológica em Rezende (2003), e metodologias usadas na Educação à Distância, apresentam-se as idéias da natureza artificial de Simon (1981), as tecnologias da inteligência de Lévy (1993), as mediações sobre a técnica de Ortega y Gasset (1963), culminando no conceito do coletivo humans-with-media, como em Borba e Villarreal (2005). Pretende-se alargar os passos, verificando-se os limites e possibilidades do uso de novas Tecnologias da Informação (TI´s) no ensino do Cálculo Diferencial e Integral, aplicáveis tanto no ensino Presencial como na Educação à Distância, no coletivo humans-with-media. A expectativa é a de que uma nova fase da técnica tem início, uma fase em que a separação homem/técnica é impossível. Não se trata mais da técnica e o humano, ou o humano e a técnica, mas do humano midiático. Tanto um (o humano) quanto o outro (a técnica) são atores no processo de construção do conhecimento. Sendo assim, não é mais possível abrir mão do uso das tecnologias informáticas no estudo do Cálculo Diferencial e Integral. Faz-se necessária a compreensão de sua importância na construção dos significados 9 num curso de Cálculo para o coletivo humans-with-media, e também trabalhálas, as tecnologias, como recurso potencial na mediação das dificuldades de natureza epistemológica existentes nos eixos sistematização/construção, variabilidade/permanência, global/local, discreto/contínuo, finito/infinito e construção/significação. / The epistemological and methodological difficulties in teaching Differential and Integral Calculus in graduate classrooms, the rapid technological advancements in both hardware and software and the apparently irreversible growth of distance learning constituted a major inspiration for this work. Analyzing the difficulties in giving meaning to the study of calculus as in Barufi (1999), its epistemological nature in Rezende (2003) and the methodologies used in Distance Education, this paper explores the ideas of artificial nature in Simon (1981), the intelligence technologies of Lévy (1993) and the debate over the technique of Ortega y Gasset (1963) to culminate with the concept of the collective humans-with-media as in Borba and Villarreal (2005). The present study intends to expand the boundaries by verifying the limits and possibilities of using new Information Technologies (IT\'s) to teach Differential and Integral Calculus courses to real and virtual students within the collective of humans-with-media. It suggests a new phase is beginning, where it is impossible to separate the technique from the human being, where there is no longer a technique and a human being, but only a media oriented individual who merges with the technique to become combined actors in the process of building knowledge. In this sense, it is impossible to relinquish the use of information technologies in the study of Differential and Integral Calculus. It is imperative to understand the importance of these technologies in giving meaning to the study of Calculus by 13 the collective humans-with-media and explore these technologies as a potential resource to overcome the epistemological difficulties found in the axes systematization/construction, variability/permanence, global/local, discrete/continuous, finite/infinite and construction/meaning.

As dificuldades epistemológicas e metodológicas do ensino de Cálculo Diferencial e Integral em cursos do ensino superior presenciais, a rápida evolução tecnológica (tanto em hardwares como em softwares) e o avanço aparentemente irreversível do ensino a distância, constituíram uma grande motivação para este trabalho. Analisando as dificuldades na construção de significados no estudo do Cálculo como em Barufi (1999), sua natureza epistemológica em Rezende (2003), e metodologias usadas na Educação à Distância, apresentam-se as idéias da natureza artificial de Simon (1981), as tecnologias da inteligência de Lévy (1993), as mediações sobre a técnica de Ortega y Gasset (1963), culminando no conceito do coletivo humans-with-media, como em Borba e Villarreal (2005). Pretende-se alargar os passos, verificando-se os limites e possibilidades do uso de novas Tecnologias da Informação (TI´s) no ensino do Cálculo Diferencial e Integral, aplicáveis tanto no ensino Presencial como na Educação à Distância, no coletivo humans-with-media. A expectativa é a de que uma nova fase da técnica tem início, uma fase em que a separação homem/técnica é impossível. Não se trata mais da técnica e o humano, ou o humano e a técnica, mas do humano midiático. Tanto um (o humano) quanto o outro (a técnica) são atores no processo de construção do conhecimento. Sendo assim, não é mais possível abrir mão do uso das tecnologias informáticas no estudo do Cálculo Diferencial e Integral. Faz-se necessária a compreensão de sua importância na construção dos significados 9 num curso de Cálculo para o coletivo humans-with-media, e também trabalhálas, as tecnologias, como recurso potencial na mediação das dificuldades de natureza epistemológica existentes nos eixos sistematização/construção, variabilidade/permanência, global/local, discreto/contínuo, finito/infinito e construção/significação. / The epistemological and methodological difficulties in teaching Differential and Integral Calculus in graduate classrooms, the rapid technological advancements in both hardware and software and the apparently irreversible growth of distance learning constituted a major inspiration for this work. Analyzing the difficulties in giving meaning to the study of calculus as in Barufi (1999), its epistemological nature in Rezende (2003) and the methodologies used in Distance Education, this paper explores the ideas of artificial nature in Simon (1981), the intelligence technologies of Lévy (1993) and the debate over the technique of Ortega y Gasset (1963) to culminate with the concept of the collective humans-with-media as in Borba and Villarreal (2005). The present study intends to expand the boundaries by verifying the limits and possibilities of using new Information Technologies (IT\'s) to teach Differential and Integral Calculus courses to real and virtual students within the collective of humans-with-media. It suggests a new phase is beginning, where it is impossible to separate the technique from the human being, where there is no longer a technique and a human being, but only a media oriented individual who merges with the technique to become combined actors in the process of building knowledge. In this sense, it is impossible to relinquish the use of information technologies in the study of Differential and Integral Calculus. It is imperative to understand the importance of these technologies in giving meaning to the study of Calculus by 13 the collective humans-with-media and explore these technologies as a potential resource to overcome the epistemological difficulties found in the axes systematization/construction, variability/permanence, global/local, discrete/continuous, finite/infinite and construction/meaning.

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