Extensive attention is given to the significance of promoting thinking skills in education. However, very little research has attempted to explore EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teacher cognition of thinking skills, even it directly influences children’s thinking and learning. In recent years, promoting thinking skills has become an educational goal in the Chinese English Curriculum (MOE, 2010). In order to bridge the gap between the desired outcome and current practice, this study aims to investigate Chinese EFL teachers’ conceptions and teaching beliefs about thinking skills, and to explore the opportunities for, and obstacles to, developing students’ thinking skills in primary EFL classrooms. Four EFL primary school teachers, with more than three years of teaching experience each, participated in this case study. Semi-structured interviews and video recordings were used to collect the qualitative data. The interview data were analysed using thematic content analysis. Teaching practices were video recorded and examined through a think-led methodological framework developed in this study. The analysis revealed a new concept - “English thinking”, as subject-specific thinking. The findings also showed that teachers’ conceptions of thinking skills were fragmented and that they felt unprepared to teach thinking skills, although they all had a positive attitude towards integrating thinking skills into their teaching. The conflicting beliefs around promoting thinking skills were influenced by teachers' previous language learning experiences and by the challenges they come across. Opportunities for promoting thinking skills are identified from teacher-students interaction, including the use of teacher questioning and feedback, collaborative learning, increase of wait time, authentic topics, and teaching creatively. Teachers’ insufficient knowledge of thinking skills and other contextual factors such as the exam-oriented education system constrained the successful implementation of thinking skills in class. Pedagogical suggestions are put forward for policy makers, teacher educators, and teachers. Implications for future research indicate a need to explore EFL teachers’ perceptions of thinking skills, and to develop a framework for the development of thinking skills in foreign language curricula.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T16:16:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ieda Medeiros 1 parte.pdf: 206658 bytes, checksum: 646bdcc319bd7258ee98f0e135406078 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-04-06 / This research examined how the links are being established affective relationships in the teaching-learning mode of distance education. The work was developed within the socio-cultural-historical view that the emotions as constitutive of thought, participants in the process of signification and meaning production. During the research seek to understand the trajectory of distance learning in Brazil and see how this type of education is today. We seek to further clarify the implications of emotion on the process of teaching and learning, investigating demonstrations of affection in the form of distance education. For this, we rely on some authors, especially in the theory of Henri Wallon on human development. To achieve the objectives of this work made a resumption of the historical process of distance learning in Brazil, reflecting on the training of educators and how this modality has been developed in our country. In a second step, we deepen the discussion of emotion and the creation of links in the EAD. After these steps, we left for the field research that was to investigate 10 (ten) persons involved in the sport: 2 (two) themed teachers, two (2) tutors and 6 (six) students studying in the form of three institutions different, one public and two private. We used as instruments of research questionnaires and semistructured interviews to examine some issues. Analyses show that the bond between teacher and student are essential for learning, defining itself as an indispensable condition for cognitive development within the school environment and society, and these are set in both the presence and type in the distance, and fundamental to a meaningful learning to occur. / Esta pesquisa analisou como estão sendo estabelecidos os vínculos afetivos nas relações de ensino-aprendizagem na modalidade de educação a distância. O trabalho foi desenvolvido dentro da perspectiva sócio-histórico-cultural que considera as emoções como constitutivas do pensamento, participantes do processo de significação e produção de sentidos. Durante a realização da pesquisa procuramos compreender a trajetória da EAD no Brasil, bem como verificar como está essa modalidade educativa hoje. Buscamos, ainda, explicitar as implicações da afetividade sobre o processo de ensino-aprendizagem, investigando manifestações de afetividade na modalidade de educação a distância. Para isso, nos baseamos em alguns autores, em especial, na teoria de Henri Wallon sobre o desenvolvimento humano. Para alcançar os objetivos deste trabalho fizemos uma retomada do processo histórico da EAD no Brasil, refletindo sobre a formação dos educadores e como essa modalidade tem sido desenvolvida no nosso país. Em um segundo momento, aprofundamos a discussão sobre afetividade e a criação de vínculos na EAD. Após essas etapas, partimos para a pesquisa de campo que consistiu em investigar 10 (dez) sujeitos envolvidos na modalidade: 2 (dois) professores temáticos, 2 (dois) professores-tutores e 6 (seis) alunos que estudam na modalidade de três instituições diferentes, sendo uma pública e duas privadas. Utilizamos como instrumentos de pesquisa questionários e roteiros semi-estruturados de entrevistas para aprofundar algumas questões. As análises demonstram que os vínculos afetivos entre professor-aluno são primordiais para a aprendizagem, definindo-se como condição imprescindível para o desenvolvimento cognitivo dentro do espaço escolar e na sociedade, e estes são estabelecidos tanto na modalidade presencial quanto na modalidade a distância, sendo fundamentais para que ocorra uma aprendizagem significativa.