In Swedish upper-secondary school, economics is part of the content of the social studies subject. Learning about concepts relevant to economics is a significant part of that. This study investigates how upper-secondary school students experience their economics education about concepts and measure their self-assessed and actual conceptual knowledge. Conceptual theory serves as the theoretical framework. Research indicates that upper-secondary school teachers and students struggle with the subject. Students from various parts of the world also show a lack of overall knowledge within economics. The material consists of questionnaires from 60 students spread across different cities in Sweden. The result reveals that a substantial amount of the students finds the economic subject as very difficult although interesting. A sizable part of the students mentions that their teachers have been a big part of their learning process. However, the result reports that a significant number of students displays inadequate conceptual knowledge. Furthermore, the students self-assessed and actual conceptual knowledge does not align with each other. Possible solutions include adding more economics elements to the curriculum or improve teacher’s economics training.

The likelihood of conducting safe operations increases when operators ave effectively integrated their knowledge of the operation into meaningful relationships, referred to as knowledge structures (KSs). Unlike knowing isolated facts about an operation, well integrated KSs reflect a deeper understanding. It is, however, only the isolated facts that are often evaluated in training environments. To know whether an operator has formed well integrated KSs, KS evaluation methods must be employed. Many of these methods, however, require subjective, human-rated evaluations. These ratings are often prone to the negative influence of a rater's limitations such as rater biases and cognitive limitations; therefore, the extent to which KS evaluations are beneficial is dependent on the degree to which the rater's limitations can be mitigated. The main objective of this study was to identify factors that will mitigate rater limitations and test their influence on the reliability and validity of KS evaluations. These factors were identified through the delineation of a framework that represents how a rater's limitations will influence the cognitive processes that occur during the evaluation process. From this framework, one factor (i.e., operation knowledge), and three mitigation techniques (i.e., frame-of-reference training, reducing the complexity of the KSs, and providing referent material) were identified. Ninety-two participants rated the accuracy of eight KSs over a period of two days. Results indicated that reliability was higher after training. Furthermore, several interactions indicated that the benefits of domain knowledge, referent material, and reduced complexity existed within subsets of the participants. For example, reduced complexity only increased reliability among evaluators with less knowledge of the operation. Also, referent material increased reliability only for those who scored less complex KSs. Both the practical and theoretical implications of these results are provided.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka vad tidigare forskning säger om hur lärare kan organisera fysikundervisningen för att stödja elever, i årskurs 4 – 9, till meningsskapande samtal om fysikens begrepp. I denna systematiska litteraturstudie presenteras resultat utifrån litteratur som noggrant valts ut genom en systematisk sökningsprocess i databaserna Summon, ERIC, Nordina och avhandlingar.se där all litteratur har genomgått peer review. Studiens resultat visar att elever tillsammans bidrar till meningsskapande samtal genom att tillföra egna erfarenheter och förkunskaper om fysikens begrepp. Studien visar hur eleverna kan diskutera fritt så länge de har något att diskutera utifrån, exempelvis praktiska experiment, bilder, artefakter eller texter. Lärarens roll är sedan att stödja eleverna till att använda och förstå de korrekta vetenskapliga begreppen. Studien visar att läraren kan göra detta genom att koppla till vardagliga objekt och företeelser, ställa utmanande frågor, synliggöra nyckelbegrepp och elevers förförståelse samt återkoppla till elevers lärande. Med dessa olika metoder agerar läraren som en riktningsgivare som guidar eleven i en kunskapsutvecklande riktning. Genom att utgå från samt synliggöra elevernas förförståelse får både elever och lärare kunskap om eventuella missuppfattningar. Detta bidrar i sin tur till meningsskapande samtal då eleverna börjar ifrågasätta samt förändra och utveckla sin förståelse för fysiken begrepp.

Thesis advisor: Lillie Richardson Albert / The purpose of this research is to identify the categories of South Korean elementary teachers' knowledge for teaching mathematics. Operating under the assumption that elementary teachers' knowledge for teaching affects students' learning, eleven South Korean elementary teachers volunteered to participate in this study. Emerging from the data collected and the subsequent analysis are five categories of South Korean elementary teachers' knowledge for teaching mathematics: Mathematics Curriculum Knowledge, Mathematics Learner Knowledge, Fundamental Mathematics Conceptual Knowledge, Mathematics Pedagogical Content Knowledge, and Mathematics Pedagogical Procedural Knowledge. The first three categories of knowledge play a significant role in mathematics instruction as an integrated form within Mathematics Pedagogical Content Knowledge. A notable conclusion of this study is that Pedagogical Content Knowledge might not be the sum of the other categories of knowledge for teaching mathematics. These findings may be connected to results from relevant studies in terms of the significant role of teachers' knowledge in their mathematics instruction. This study contributes to the existing literature in that it provides empirical bases for understanding teachers' knowledge for teaching mathematics and reveals the relationship among categories of knowledge for teaching mathematics. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

This diploma thesis deals with the conceptual knowledge of primary school pupils about field ecosystems. In the analyzed textbooks, ecological relations are represented only to a limited extent. They are not sufficiently explained or practiced during lessons. Test questions focus on a complex understanding of field ecosystem matters; they test the extent of understanding of relationships between organisms and their environment, between different organisms, and the extent to which field ecosystems are affected by human activity. Analysis results reflect the level of the pupils' knowledge regarding field ecosystem interrelations. Test questions designed by the author of the thesis examine fourth grade primary school pupils and their understanding of relationships between organisms and their environment, as well as relationships between different organisms. Results show that pupils understand relationships between organisms and their environment better than relationships between different organisms and the effects of human activity on field ecosystems. These differences are, however, not significant. In general, the research shows that fourth grade pupils do not understand field ecosystem relationships in an entirely correct way.

Syftet med denna undersökning har varit att studera gymnasieelevers förståelse för funktionsbegreppet.Den teoretiska utgångspunkten har varit att studera elevernas förmåga att växla mellanolika representationsformer och studera deras förståelse för relationen mellan de olika representationerna.Elevernas förmåga att resonera har också varit en väsentlig del och därför har forskningenkring matematiskt resonemang också varit en viktig del i arbetet. För att nå ett resultat har treklasser på gymnasiet fått skriva ett test konstruerat för att svara mot uppsatsens syfte. Utövertestet intervjuades tre av eleverna för att det skulle finnas möjlighet att fånga elevernas förmågaatt resonera. Resultatet kom att visa att vissa elever har svårt att utföra växlingar mellan vissaolika representationer, men mellan andra är det betydligt enklare. Det framkom att eleverna varskolade i ett algoritmiskt tänkande, och att eleverna hade svårt att resonera fritt och kreativt kringfunktionsbegreppet, samt att eleverna hade svårt att skilja de närliggande begreppen ekvation ochfunktion. / The aim with this thesis has been to study Swedish high school students’ comprehension for theconcept of a function. The theoretical starting point has been to study the students’ ability tochange between different forms of representations of a function and study their comprehensionfor the relation between the different representations. The students’ ability to use mathematicalreasoning has also been a crucial part for the thesis, and therefore research on mathematicalreasoning has also been an important part. Three high school classes were given a test, whichsought to test their ability to change between different forms of representation. In addition to thetest three students were interviewed, so that the students’ ability to reason would be possible toanalyze. The results came to show that some students have difficulties to change between someof the representations but between others it’s far easier for them. The results also showed thatthe students were trained in algorithmically thinking, and that it was difficult to reason creativelyabout the concept of a function. The students also had trouble separating a function from therelated concept of equations.

Kommunikation sker i alla sociala sammanhang och inom skolans värld är den av betydelse för elevernas kunskapsutveckling. Med en systematisk litteraturstudie var syftet att undersöka vad forskningen säger att den muntliga och skriftliga kommunikationen kan ha för inverkan på elevernas matematiska begreppsförståelse och begreppsanvändning i grundskolan. För att samla in vetenskapligt underlag för detta, användes databasen Web of Science. Resultatet visar att den muntliga kommunikationen används i större utsträckning än den skriftliga. Begreppsförståelsen blir djupare när eleverna kommunicerar med varandra och använder sig av de korrekta begreppen, för då sker ett utbyte av de matematiska idéerna och tankarna. Trots stora klasser och tidspress har resultatet visat att lärare kan använda sig av olika metoder för att främja både kommunikationen och begreppsförståelsen hos eleverna. / Communication takes place in all different types of social contexts and in school communication is of importance for the pupils' knowledge development. With a systematic literature review, the purpose was to examine what research says about the impact both oral and written communication could have on pupils' conceptual knowledge and their use of concepts in elementary school. The database Web of Science was used to gather scientific data. The results show that oral communication is used to a greater extent than written. The conceptual knowledge becomes greater when pupils communicate with each other and use the correct concepts – because then an exchange of mathematical ideas and thoughts take place. Despite large classes and time pressure in the classroom, the results have shown that teachers can use different methods to further both the communication and the conceptual knowledge of the pupils.

Title: Using online tools to assigns and assess the work of secondary school pupils in mathematics Author: Jiří Vančura Department: Department of Mathematics Education Supervisor: doc. RNDr. Jarmila Robová, CSc., Department of Mathematics Education Abstract: Despite the long-term trend of technology implementation in mathematics education, there is not much research that would empirically and long-term monitor the impact of technology on pupils' knowledge. The presented three studies examine the potential benefits of using Khan Academy as a tool for assigning and assessing homework in mathematics at upper secondary schools. The studies deal with three groups of research questions. What is the attitude of pupils towards the Khan Academy implementation, and what benefit do they see in the online practice? Can pupils transfer acquired knowledge from Khan Academy to the school context? In addition to procedural knowledge, does Khan Academy develop a deeper understanding of the underlying concepts? At the time of the research, the author was the mathematics teacher of some of the participating pupils. Based on the results of these studies, the consequences and recommendations for teaching mathematics at upper secondary schools using online platforms are discussed at the end of the thesis. Keywords: Khan Academy,...

I identify a recent trend in school mathematics as well as in some of the research literature in mathematics education: an emphasis on creative uses of mathematics and an increased emphasis on verbalizations, reasoning and conceptualization as opposed to numerical and computational skills. With tools provided by a qualitative textual analysis of several Swedish curricula from the past from which I trace a shift of focus from the classical towards the conceptual aspects of mathematical knowledge, I examine the common research framework for discussing mathematical knowledge in terms of the procedural and the conceptual. I investigate whether the shift towards a conceptual approach to mathematical knowledge has occurred and how this presumed shift reveals itself. A close reading and comparison of the historical guidance documents' purpose descriptions and grading criteria concerning the mathematics subject is carried out. Commentary materials for the various course plans are examined. Here I conclude that a shift has occurred during the last decades in the mathematics curricula that may have severely affected the mathematical education in schools. I argue that this shift needs to be acknowledged in order to halt a tendency that seems to gravitate towards a decreasing mathematical competency among the Swedish students.

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of Technology teachers’ knowledge in promoting learners’ higher order thinking skills. This aim was addressed by conducting the relevant literature survey and an empirical investigation. Four schools were selected in the Johannesburg West District. Here, twelve Grade 7 Technology teachers, three from each school, were interviewed and observations conducted. The data was analysed and findings presented ultimately. The findings reveal that Technology teachers who possess a greater depth of technological content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and assessment knowledge are more effective in as far as promoting learners’ higher order thinking. On the other hand, Technology teachers who possess a shallow technological content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and assessment knowledge struggle to promote learners’ higher order thinking. The main conclusions drawn from this study are that Technology teachers’ knowledge can play a role in learners’ acquisition of higher order thinking skills. Therefore, Technology teachers should acquire a sound technological knowledge in order to be able to promote learners’ acquisition of higher order thinking skills. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies) / Technology -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa -- Johannesburg -- Case studies / Critical thinking -- South Africa -- Johannesburg -- Case studies