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Objectives: A number of primary empirical studies report strong and positive relationships between information and communication technology (ICT) and second language (L2) learning outcomes. However, these strong relationships were not observed in recent meta-analysis studies associated with ICT and L2 learning outcomes. This meta-analysis study aims to iterate the evaluation of effectiveness of ICT integrated L2 classrooms. Method: Initially, a study search and screening of the digital database were conducted to include quantitative studies exploring the use of ICT for L2 skills in classroom contexts with an experimental design. Then essential statistics from included studies were retrieved and coded. Standardized mean difference of comparison groups across included studies were calculated as the unit of analysis. Finally, a random effects model was used to pool mean effects sizes calculated from included studies. Heterogeneity test, subgroup analysis and publication bias were assessed for implication of study variation and reliability. Results: After a systematic study search and screening, 30 experimental studies were included for this meta-analysis, which yielded 43 effect sizes based on comparison groups across included studies. Results showed a large effect size in favor of technology-integrated instruction with substantial between-groups heterogeneity. Additionally, nine moderating variables were identified, covering substantial, methodological and reporting features. Results also updated the current information on the state of methodological practice in the L2 research domain and suggested that the reliability of instruments used for measurements were overlooked and might lead to an overestimation of effect size. Conclusion: The current meta-analysis provided an updated evaluation of the ICT integrated L2 classrooms, supporting the effectiveness of integrating technologies into L2 instruction (with the exception of L2 pragmatics). Both theoretical and methodological maturation were observed in the research domain, as well as methodological limitations which might impact the precision of effect size. More research is needed to explore more specific topics, as well as methodological imperfections in ICT integrated L2 classrooms. / Graduate

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Some students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) struggle with social reciprocity, or the ability to engage in chains of back-and-forth conversation, interfering with other students' ability to respond to a question that is posed by the teacher in classrooms. The participants were 11 fifth grade students with autism spectrum disorder. We used a simple differential reinforcement intervention within a token system in direct instruction sessions for math to help balance the participation in a class of children with ASD as well as lower the number of talk-outs made by all students. Using a single-subject design, data were analyzed for changes in level, trend, and variability. Secondary analysis consisted of descriptive data and effect size calculations, including analysis of three subgroupings of students according to participation levels at baseline. Results show that students who previously had excessively high rates of participation were able to better balance their participation to allow other students the opportunity to participate. The intervention also increased participation from students who previously showed minimal rates of participation. Students whose participation levels were already within one standard deviation of the class mean maintained their balanced participation levels, on average, throughout the intervention. Lastly, the intervention was very effective in lowering the number of talk-outs made overall during the direct instruction period. This is a simple intervention that showed good results in a classroom setting to help students with autism regulate their participation during instruction

Educational practice must be conducted within the confines of assessments in order to elevate teaching and learning (Pellegrino, 1999). Evidence gleaned from the literature suggests that assessment, especially assessment of management practices, has an effect on how educators teach and, consequently, how students learn (Obe, 2018:16). In terms of sampling, five primary schools from a pool of 21 primary schools in Nkomazi West Circuit in the Mpumalanga province were selected purposively due to their high level of compliance in the evaluation of assessment processes. With reference to key informant interviews and discussions, this study draws on the experiences of five primary schools in Nkomazi West circuit in terms of the management of assessment processes, opportunities, procedures and challenges. It is from the five primary schools wherein key participants were selected, from which six participants per school were selected. Observations guided by the researcher were used to validate field survey results and evidence from the school management teams in the five selected primary schools. The study findings indicate that although educators are expected to nurture critical thinking skills in their pupils/students, this is often not mirrored in the management of assessment and teaching and learning practices. This study discovered that for management processes in schools to be effective in promoting the specified goals of the fundamental school programme, greater recognition should be given to the influence of assessment on teaching and learning, the understanding of which may arguably play a crucial role in introducing changes that may promote the cognitive processes and thinking skills desired in our schools and classrooms. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Education Management and Policy Studies / MEd / Unrestricted

Classroom teacher leadership is a very broad concept that evolved over years and includes various concepts in the paradigm of education leadership (York-Barr & Duke, 2004: 255). Two concepts in the education leadership paradigm, which are closely related to and interlinked with classroom teacher leadership, are instructional leadership and distributive leadership. A new school of thought emphasises the importance of the classroom teacher as an instructional leader (Horgn & Loeb, 2010: 66). The only way that the classroom teacher can assume this required role as instructional leader is within a distributive leadership environment and therefore, distributive leadership is at the core of instructional leadership (Hoadley, Christie & Ward, 2009: 377). We can therefore conclude that classroom teacher leadership refers to classroom teachers who teach and lead (York-Barr & Duke, 2004: 267). Classroom teacher leadership is the type of quality leadership required to create effective schools. In recent studies done in South African schools it was, however, clear that although research proposes that the classroom teacher should assume leadership roles within a distributive leadership environment, classroom teacher leadership has not yet realised in the schools studied. The gap in the literature is that it shows what should happen, it indicates that it is not happening in some South African schools but it does not indicate how it should happen. This study aimed through a qualitative, case study design to investigate classroom teacher leadership in effective top-performing schools in the Pretoria area in the Gauteng province. Through semi-structured interviews the experiences of classroom teachers and their principals on classroom teacher leadership revealed that classroom teacher leadership is evident in these top-performing, secondary schools. Through their experiences various classroom teacher leadership practices could also be identified shedding light on how classroom teacher leadership can be implemented and promoted in order to create the quality leadership required for an effective school. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Education Management and Policy Studies / MEd / Unrestricted