Ways for self development of teaching strategy Abstract: The aim of this thesis is to analyse the diagnostic tools designed by M. Hejny and his team. These tools focus on teaching styles in education, observing the personal development of a mathematics intern teacher. The study materials i have obtained during my practice are used to describe and analyse the teacher's educational style, with the use of twenty defining parameters. My thesis is based on Gabriela Hlavata's master thesis, a teacher who describes her own shift from transmissible to constructive teaching in mathematics classes. Hlavata depicts this shift clearly, hence the reason I have decided to describe it with a set of parameters measuring the intern teacher's educational style. The subsequent aim is to trace my own evolution in teaching mathematics. Practice and materials gained in my graduation, together with the twenty educational parameters as outlined in my thesis, will serve to analyse and describe my own educational style. In choosing this topic, I am trying to answer the following question; whether the observation of a teacher's educational style will impact on the delivery and quality of mathematics lessons? Furthermore, is improvement possible, or have I reached the capacity of my own teaching ability? Additionally this thesis...

Les enquêtes internationales montrent qu’en France, les élèves issus de milieux défavorisés ont moins de chances de réussir à l’école que les autres. Or, des données probantes attestent que l’enseignement socioconstructiviste utilisé majoritairement dans les classes françaises n’est pas celui qui donne les meilleurs résultats. A contrario, l’enseignement explicite est porteur auprès des élèves en difficulté scolaire. Cette recherche a pour objectif de comparer l’efficacité de l’enseignement explicite et de l’enseignement socioconstructiviste en mathématiques, auprès d’enfants scolarisés en éducation prioritaire. Elle est réalisée en France (Martinique), dans des classes de CE1, CM1, CM2 situées en éducation prioritaire où les performances des élèves sont faibles en mathématiques. L’hypothèse testée est la suivante : lorsqu’un professeur enseigne une notion mathématique, les résultats des élèves sont meilleurs s’il utilise un enseignement explicite plutôt que s’il utilise un enseignement socioconstructiviste ou usuel. Cette prédiction est testée dans trois études qui ciblent respectivement la technique opératoire de la soustraction en CE1, la technique opératoire de la division en CM1 et la notion d’aire en CM2. Les résultats obtenus révèlent que tous les élèves progressent. Toutefois, ceux des classes ayant reçu un enseignement explicite obtiennent des performances supérieures à ceux des classes ayant reçu un enseignement socioconstructiviste ou usuel. Enfin, les résultats indiquent que l’enseignement explicite est globalement plus efficace pour les élèves moyens à risque ou en difficulté. / International surveys show that in France, students from disadvantaged social backgrounds are much less likely to succeed at school than others students. However, evidence from studies on the effectiveness of teaching methods shows that the socioconstructivist pedagogies mainly used in the French classrooms do not give the best results. On the contrary, explicit teaching is particularly effective for students with learning difficulties. The work carried out in this present thesis aims to compare the effectiveness of explicit teaching and socioconstructivist teaching with students enrolled in priority education networks, in mathematics. This research is carried out in France (Martinique), in elementary school classes of schools from the priority education networks, where overall students’ performance is low in mathematics. The hypothesis tested is the following: when a teacher teaches a specific mathematical notion, students' results are better if he or she uses explicit instruction rather than socioconstructivist or usual instruction. This prediction is being tested in three studies that respectively focus on learning the partitioning technique of subtraction in second grade class, on learning the technique of the division in fourth grade class and on learning the concept of area in fifth grade class. The results show that all students do progress. But, the students in classes that have received explicit instruction outperform students in classes that have received socioconstructivist or usual instruction. Finally, the results indicate that explicit instruction is generally more effective for underachieving students or in difficulty.

This study examines boundaries and synergies between continuing professional learning contexts of academy, workplace and profession, and considers what factors and approaches of learning contribute to common good in societies. In a review of literature, historical trends in professions and professional learning, concerns of managerialism and performativity, and educational theories of socially constructivism, developmental and ethical learning were considered. A constructivist grounded theory approach was used to collect and analyse data from eighty work-based student documents and from twelve semi-structured interviews with practitioners in four Scottish professions. The findings indicated that learning across contexts was disconnected, creating additional demands for professionals. Increased academic study indicated a more knowledgeable and skilled workforce, with a caveat of market-led credentialism in response to demands for higher qualifications. Professional CPD provided benefits of quality assurance and public safety, but was reported as individualised procedural accountability. Interpersonal communicative action was identified as key to workplace learning, although was afforded less significance than accredited learning in professional and academic contexts. Factors of individualism, accountability and credentialism were noted to have effect on participative workplace learning, which, the study argued, impacted on ethical agency in professions. To address these trends, adaptability, reciprocity and dialogical critical thinking were identified as necessary factors for a continuing professional learning that contributes to common good in societies.

Landbased Studies Foundation and Bachelor degrees (FD and BSc) are generally taught in specialist FE landbased colleges, with teachers typically teaching both FE (Ofqual RQF Levels 0–3) and HE (Ofqual RQF Levels 4–6). Such teachers are designated in the literature as being HE in FE (Higher Education in Further Education) or CBHE (College Based Higher Education) teachers. Using a single case study landbased college, this study adopts a qualitative, naturalistic methodology using intensive interviewing and classroom observations of six Animal, Equine and Veterinary Nursing Studies HE in FE teachers. Characterised as an under-represented group within UK education research, these teachers teach both HE and FE within a small, UK landbased college. The study examines the nature of HE teacher pedagogic practice enactments, and factors which enable and constrain them within an FE college environment. Conceived within a interpretivist socio-constructivist framework, this study is influenced by the anti-dualist social philosophy of Practice Theory (PT) whereby people, places and material objects all contribute to how practice is enacted. Rather than considering material artefacts to be merely background objects and a college being simply an inert container where teaching takes place, a sensitivity to Practice Theory considers the FE context, material aspects and teacher pedagogic practices as a whole, rather than from one or other side of the structure versus agency divide. Within this study a particular variant of Practice Theory, Practice Architectures (PA) (Kemmis and Grootenboer, 2008), has been used to sensitise the study. The study adopts a Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) approach as a means of exploring a neglected and under-theorised area of Post-Compulsory education. The CGT methodology influenced and guided the research design and interpretive data iv analysis. Using purposive sampling of teacher participants, theoretical sampling, and the iterative cycles of constant comparison associated with Grounded Theory (GT), the data was used to construct four key categories. From these categories three main theoretical themes were identified from the data; Surveillance and Control, Teacher Identity and Agency, and Pedagogic Risk Aversion. The interpretive analysis suggests that HE pedagogic practice enactments are influenced and constrained by the college as a site, by its management, and by the wider neoliberal landscape of surveillance and auditing, as well as by the teachers themselves, the HE students, and material, non-human physical spaces and artefacts. The resultant HE pedagogic practice enactments are risk averse, tending towards instrumentalism and teacher-centeredness. The final CGT theoretically accounts for the HE practice enactments of the HE in FE teachers at the college and is discussed in relation to HE in FE literature, and to a number of pertinent theories within and beyond education. The CGT contributes to an enhanced understanding of HE teacher pedagogic practice enactments, and has potential for generalisability beyond the specific college. The original contributions to knowledge consists of: devising a novel methodology whereby PT/PA and CGT are articulated; adding to the body of literature for HE in FE pedagogy; and adding to the pauce corpus of literature for landbased education.

This dissertation presents information gathered and analyzed through an electronic internet-based Delphi Survey process. The purpose of this study is to identify a consensus of factors that might forecast the future effects of Rapid Prototyping (RP) technology on engineering design education when used for the purpose of overcoming the limitations of 2D representation of 3D space. The identification of consensus was developed from the collection of opinions from a panel of experts in RP technology. Early adopters of emerging technologies can reduce risk through careful research, but decisions must often be made before significant quantitative data are available. Expert subjective judgment may be a valuable source of information for making decisions. RP is just one of the tools used in engineering design education for visualization. This research should help to guide faculty members in making decisions regarding the use of RP technology in the curriculum. The one consensus reached by the panel is that 3D CAD will replace 2D CAD as the default modeling tool in most product-design related curricula within 5 years. The general conclusion of the study is that the appropriate use of the technology in the curriculum is largely situational.

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ABSTRACT The purpose of this research study on family stabilization is to identify whether this program is working while CalWORKs participants are achieving their educational goals. Family stabilization is a county program that assists those who need supportive services in domestic violence, mental health, substance abuse, and homelessness. The first phase was to assess the participant’s knowledge and understanding of the family stabilization program. The second phase involved a focus group, who could express their questions or concerns regarding the family stabilization program. The final stage was to review and interpret the information provided, in hopes to clarify the participants understanding of the family stabilization program is and the services that are available. Results of this study could not answer the proposed research question, Family Stabilization: Does it Work? There was a lack of significance regrading knowledge of the family stabilization program from the CalWORKs participants. This study does show that communication between the participants and the county offices needs improvement; especially on the availability of programs. The weakness pertained to the sample size and duration of the research project. I do find the research as creditable due to the personal interviews pertaining to their understanding of family stabilization. To completely understand how this research project was conducted and analyzed, readers need a fairly refined knowledge of social science research methods.

Medical interpreter services will be essential for developing and implementing culturally relevant interventions and treatment for limited English proficiency (LEP) populations. This study sought to identify the possible risks or protective factors that may be associated with vicarious traumatization (VT) or vicarious posttraumatic growth among medical interpreters in behavioral health settings. A 2-step cluster analysis was conducted yielding 2 distinct groupings of medical interpreters (Subtype 1, n = 73; Subtype 2, n = 101). The most important predictor determining the 2 subtypes was whether the participant had a personal history of trauma. In addition, there were significant differences between the 2 subtypes among the following variables: Trauma and Attachment Belief Scale T-scores of VT; years as a medical interpreter; years as a behavioral health medical interpreter; level of education as it relates to interpreting; personal history of trauma; personal or family history similar to any of the trauma survivors served in the past year; specific mental health training; sought personal therapy related to exposure to traumatic material from work environment; current relationship status; race; and whether spoken, sign, or both spoken and sign language interpretation was provided. The results of this quantitative study further support the constructivist self-development theory where VT is the result of the accumulated effects of repeated exposure to trauma material in combination with the person of the provider. Understanding these risk and protective factors will continue to support the provision of effective treatment of LEP individuals in behavioral health settings and the ongoing professional development of behavioral health medical interpreters.

Poor achievement on standardized math tests negatively impacts high school graduation rates. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate if math instruction in business classes could improve student achievement in math. As supported by constructivist theory, the students in this study were encouraged to use prior knowledge and experiences to make new connections between math concepts and business applications. The key research question examined if there was a significant increase in the standardized mathematics test scores of students enrolled in business classes with extended mathematics instruction compared to the standardized test scores of students not enrolled in business classes with extended mathematics instruction. The 2-sample t-test was used to compare the scores of 42 students in the treatment group to the scores of 47 students in the control group. Based on the findings, there was not a significant difference in the scores of the treatment and control groups. Recommendations for future research included redesigning the treatment to involve additional areas of mathematics instruction as well as extending the number of weeks for the treatment. This study may effect social change by informing teachers and administrators at the local site of the need to examine the effects of incorporating math into other content areas and recommending continued research in this area. The additional exposure, practice, and learning opportunities in math may help high school students achieve in mathematics and ultimately improve graduation rates.

Can interorganisational relationships be managed for effective functioning? This is the problem investigated in this research. Organisations world-wide are adopting co-operative relationships with other organisations. These interorganisational relationships are viewed as a way to enhance their own business performance (Williamson 1985, 1991; Dyer 1997; Gulati 1998; Barringer & Harrison 2000; Das & Teng 2000; Quinn 2000; Stuart 2000; Johnson, Korsgaard & Sapienza 2002). Despite this, the success rate for interorganisational relationships is not high (Hutt, Stafford, Walker & Reingen 2000; Quinn 2000; Hitt, Ireland & Vaidyanath 2002) with many of them failing to achieve their objectives. Understanding how to manage these boundary-spanning arrangements is important to realising the objectives of the business strategy. The research setting is a large private hospital in Australia. It works with a network of external service organisations that provide the Hospital with a range of clinical and non-clinical support services including: Diagnostic Imaging, Pathology Pharmacy, Food Services, Environmental Services, and Human Resources support. This research explores how these different relationships were managed in their operating period: 1998 to 2002. It reveals the dynamic and often ad hoc way, in which managers made sense of the collaborative service context, and how managers influenced the process of interorganisational relationship formation. Extant research about interorganisational relationships comes from a variety of fields. For this research it is most relevant to draw from the research fields of organisational theory, organisation behaviour, sociology, psychology and management. These fields contribute findings that provide useful knowledge upon which to build further understanding about how managers contribute to construct interorganisational relationships functioning (Ring & Van de Ven 1992, 1994; Walsh 1995; Chikudate 1999a, 1999b; Boddy, Macbeth & Wagner 2000; Hutt, Stafford, Walker & Reingen 2000; Lasker, Weiss & Miller 2001). This research uses an interpretivist methodology that enables the researcher to explore the dynamic nature of the Manager's sense-making in the construction of six interorganisational relationships. For the purposes of this research, interorganisational relationships are defined as new structures that emerge through the social interaction of actors involved in shared service delivery. The collaborative context of interorganisational relationships stimulates managers' sense-making by challenging institutionalised ways of behaving. This sensemaking process builds new knowledge stores and contributes to emerging, new management routines. The process is transformative and enables the emergence of interorganisational relationships. It emerges from this research that managers take cues from their context. These cues are used to interpret and make assessments that enable decisions about those actions that they take to construct the interorganisational relationships. A manager's processing of contextual cues, through interpretive frames and dispositional sense-making filters, is an inter-subjective, socially constructive process. The 'self' is a dimensional influence in the managers' sense-making and management behaviours and is implicated through the notion of contextual interpretive frames and dispositional sense-making filters. A model of interorganisational relationship management as a transformational process is developed. The association between contextual influences and managers' behaviours will raise awareness for professional practitioners of the challenges involved in managing across organisational boundaries and in turn, may contribute to more successful implementation of interorganisational business relationships.