Human behaviour in educational contexts can be facilitated and supported by technology enhancements. This thesis considers a virtual 3D world as one such technological enhancement and explores its use in supporting technology acceptance in pre-service teacher education. The adaptation of different educational technology tools can often be challenging for teachers due to negative perceptions, lack of experience and a fear of technology. This thesis investigates the role that immersion within virtual environments can play to change perceptions, increase experience with and overcome fears associated to adopting technologies in the classroom. For this reason, this thesis asks the following questions: What factors and indicators show a positive influence on the participants’ perceptions of learning technologies? Do the virtual world (VW) activities encourage more VW connections and interactions inside the VW? What are the pre-service teachers’ reflections on learning in the VW setting? How is the learning experience in the VW applied to the real world classroom practice? This study focuses on the use of classroom technologies in a pre-service teaching program at the University of Malta. PreVieW (Pre-service teachers Virtual World experience) is evaluated using quantitative, qualitative and social network analysis (SNA). The combination of these three methods is used to measure the extent of the VW’s influence as a medium in affecting the participants’ perceptions about classroom technologies and their behavioural intentions to adopt technology during teaching. The results show that the VW experience has an overall significant positive effect on the self-reported perceptions of technology. Factors affecting this result are perceived ease of use, experience and attitude, whilst social network graphs show that VW activities are responsible for social group formations. Participants attribute the strengths of PreVieW to its flexibility and learner-centric activities whilst finding the technical setup as challenging. Participants reflect on the cultural differences in the understanding of teaching and learning in the VW as opposed to a traditional classroom. Findings lead to a deeper understanding of the human-computer interactions in a VW set in a formal learning experience. Following this a model is recommended proposing the integration of a VW experience in a teacher education program together with a number of propositions to enrich learning in a 3D VW.

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Im Flipped Classroom werden die traditionell im Klassenraum durchgeführten Aktivitäten, i. d. R. die Inhaltsvermittlung, zuhause durch Videoaufzeichnungen des Vortrages durch den Lehrenden vollzogen (Vorbereitungsphase). Dem gegenüber werden die Aktivitäten der traditionellen Hausarbeit, i. d. R. die Vertiefung der Inhalte, in den Klassenraum verlagert (Präsenzphase) ([La00]). Während die Lernenden dabei Inhalte in Diskussionen, Experimenten, Fallstudien etc. vertiefen, agiert der Lehrende als Moderator oder Lernbegleiter. Das Flipped Classroom Model, im deutschen Raum insb. unter dem Synonym des Inverted Classroom Models bekannt, findet zunehmend Anwendung in der US-amerikanischen (siehe dazu z. B. [Ber12]) und britischen Sekundärbildung sowie in der deutschen Tertiärbildung (siehe dazu z. B. [Ha12], [Ha13], [Gro14]). Darüber hinaus gibt es derzeit vielfach Forschungsbestrebungen, welche z. B. die Evaluation des Modells ggü. traditionellen Lehrformen untersuchen, die pädagogische sowie technische Aufbereitung der Videos vorantreiben, den Einsatz in verschiedenen Fachdisziplinen beleuchten oder Erfahrungsberichte und Best Practices kommunizieren (z. B. [Sch12], [Lo12], [Ta13], [Sah14], [Ko14]). Es gibt mehrere Gründe, warum das Model diese Popularität in der Forschung erlangt hat und vielfach Anwendung in der Lehre findet. Studierende werden angesprochen, indem Medien genutzt werden, die sie gewöhnt sind. Dazu gehören Mobile Endgeräte und Plattformen wie Youtube ([Ber12]). Hinzu kommt, dass Videos in der Vorbereitungsphase auf die individuelle Lerngeschwindigkeit angepasst werden können: Schwierige Stellen können wiederholt angeschaut und Einfache übersprungen werden ([Ber12]). Darüber hinaus sind Studierende flexibler in der Entscheidung, wann sie sich der Vorbereitungsphase widmen, was einen nachweislich wichtigen Faktor für Studierende darstellt ([All11], [Cal12], [Mui02], [Oca12]). Aus Sicht der Hochschulen macht das Flipped Classroom Model ein überregionales bis nationales Angebot von Kursen möglich ([All11], [Bet09]). Weiterhin können operative Kosten sowie solche für Räumlichkeiten gespart werden ([Hus14]). 39 Der Lehrstuhl Informationsmanagement der TU Dresden folgt dem innovativen Trend und arbeitet seit 2013 an den Vorbereitungen eines Kurses im Flipped Classroom Format. Ziel ist die Durchführung des Flipped Classrooms im Wintersemester 2015/16. Als ein noch andauerndes Lehrprojekt, werden nachfolgend bereits erreichte und noch ausstehende Meilensteine beschrieben. Dadurch sollen Erfahrungen weitergegeben und Anknüpfungspunkte für einen Austausch gegeben werden.

This study examined the notion of respect in the college classroom. While pedagogical researchers had previously studied the phenomenon, each found challenges in defining it. Moreover, communication scholars do not examine respect as a primary pedagogical factor with learning implications. Focus groups provided venues for topic-specific discussion necessary for better understanding the diversity of students' worldviews regarding respect in the college classroom. Grounded theory allowed for searching theoretical relevance of the phenomenon through constant comparison with categorical identification. The most practical contributions of this research identifies as several major notions including, the importance of relationships within the process, student self-esteem, and global-classroom respect. In addition, implications emerged from the data as learning, motivation, and environment. One other practical contribution exists as a respect communication model for the college classroom. Further, examining students' worldviews of respect in the classroom provides benefits for pedagogical scholars, students, and instructors.

Establishing discipline in the contemporary classroom is a challenge to most educators. The real challenge lies in the implementation of discipline measures and procedures that uphold order in the classroom with understanding and compassion and more importantly, in the development of self-discipline in learners. The researcher adopted a qualitative approach to understand the phenomenon classroom discipline and to answer the research questions that sought to explore the meaning that is attached to the word “discipline” by individual educators, the challenges that educators are faced with in their classrooms, as well as the discipline strategies that they employ to establish discipline. A case study involving three high schools was conducted. Data was collected through interviews and observations. It has emerged in the findings that educators face a daily struggle in terms of establishing discipline in their classrooms; educators attach different meanings to the word “discipline” and the meaning that individual educators attach to “discipline” impacts on their choice of discipline strategies. Most of the discipline strategies employed by educators are control-oriented and thus hinge on rewards and punishment. The study also revealed that when these control-oriented strategies are employed to establish discipline, learners engage in various coping mechanisms, which ultimately render these strategies ineffective, and thus minimise any chance the child has to develop self-discipline. Essentially, learners who have been coerced usually show very little self-control when they are outside the influence of the controller. Recommendations based on findings and conclusions of this study are discussed and revolve mainly around the use of proactive discipline strategies that are geared to promote self-discipline and thus inner control. The recommendations outline proactive discipline strategies that could be employed by educators to establish discipline in their classrooms and suggest the creation of a good educator-learners relationship, the empowerment of learners to be in charge of their behaviour, responsibility training, inculcation of values, character development, modelling good behaviour, and strengthening of partnership with parents and other support structures in behaviour management. Benchmarking for best practices with other schools and conducting internal workshops for educators to share classroom discipline issues and solutions, as well as skills development programmes for training and development of educators are recommended. The study hopes to contribute to the existing body of knowledge and will be useful to educators by enabling them to find more constructive ways of building a culture of discipline among learners. It will also help educators develop personal systems of discipline tailored to their individual philosophies as well as to the needs and social realities of their schools and communities. / Dissertation (MEd (Education Management, Law and Policy Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

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A study to determine whether an activity program can be carried on under adverse conditions in a first grade classroom.