This qualitative study utilized the action-project theory and method to investigate the close, long-term friendships (two to ten years in duration) of female, early adolescent dyads. Ten early adolescent girls between the ages of 11 and 13 were studied. The purpose of this study was twofold; first, to determine the characteristics of best friendship projects and how they manifested within early adolescent friendship conversations and; second, to investigate the nature of self-representations (descriptions of the self) made by the participants. The processes (cognitive, affective, and behavioural) and meaning (goals) of friendship jointly expressed within the conversations were identified. As well, self-representations were analyzed from the perspective of whether they functioned to advance friendship projects. In addition to the friendship conversations, collages explicating the girls’ meanings and processes around their close friendships were also explored through an individual interview with each participant. The participants engaged in five friendship projects within their friendship conversations. First, an overriding project to preserve and maintain the friendship was demonstrated. Other sub-projects demonstrated within the conversations were the desire to have fun, to provide support to each other, and to connect with each other. Simultaneously, while jointly enacting other friendship projects, the participants also demonstrated through action, the project of exploring and discovering aspects of their identities. Multiple functional steps (the means) to achieve these projects were utilized. Gossip, fictional and factual storytelling, teasing, joking, problem solving, asking for advice, and displaying physical affection are examples of these means. Self-representations from the conversations were not always consistent with those revealed during self-confrontation interviews, at times in the service of achieving friendship goals. Self-representations between the collage interviews and the friendship conversations were very consistent, suggesting the complementary nature of the data sources. Meanings and processes gleaned from the friendship conversations were also very consistent with those found within the friendship collages. Implications of these findings for parents, educators, and counsellors are discussed. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

The French nation has been prolific of consummate diplomatists all through history, but her annals record no more brilliant achievement than that of Theophile Delcassé and Paul Cambon when they brought Great Britain into a French alliance. Even those who disapprove the consequences of their act must admit the skill and the pertinacity with which the two statesmen pursued their purpose. Their difficulties were stupendous; British governments had for years stood aloof from Continental agreements, but precedent was forced to give way before the perspicacity and perseverance of these two French statesmen. Delcassé had contributed the Entente Cordiale to the French cause in 1904. This understanding pledged British diplomatic support to France in her imperialistic venture in Morocco-nothing more; but it also provided a foundation upon which Cambon could exercise his talents in leading Great Britain into a trap. The result of these activities was the equivalent of an Anglo-French alliance. The French, to accomplish their purpose, led the British into a series of military and naval conversations as a means of working out plans of joint operations whereby the latter could assist the former in case of a Franco-German war. The conversations had their official beginning in 1906 and continued until the outbreak of war in 1914, by which time Britain was so completely obligated to France as to make her entry into the war a foregone conclusion.

This study is an action research project where I study my own practice in giving feedback in investigative tasks. The aim is to find ways of improving my feedback by engaging learners in conversation and eliciting misconceptions. The study is framed by a sociocultural view of learning and teaching. The study was conducted in a high school with a class of Grade 10 learners who worked on an investigative task and six lessons were video recorded. Analysis was based on the investigative task, feedback given to learners, misconceptions that arose and conversations that took place during the lessons. The findings are that when developing an investigative task, the teacher should look for mathematical processes that can be developed as learners work on it. I found that I both took up and missed opportunities to work with learners’ misconceptions and that four components of mathematical conversations: questioning, explaining mathematical ideas, sources of mathematical ideas and responsibility were present at different levels in my classroom. On the basis of my findings I make a number of recommendations for my own further practice and for other teachers.

This dissertation aimed to describe nonverbal behaviours in South African multicultural HIV treatment contexts. It also aimed to identify the most appropriate method for nonverbal behaviour data analysis and transcription. The study used a single-case, parallel design, which incorporated three qualitative methodological tools; ethnography, a modified form of conversational analysis and interviews. Data used was from a preexisting videotaped database, belonging to a larger research project. Data consisted of 4 videotaped interactions between doctors and caregivers of children with HIV/Aids at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital. Through the use of polyphonic transcription, five nonverbal domains - eye gaze, body posture, facial expression, gesture and head posture – were analysed. Patterns and trends of these transcripts were crosschecked with data from the existing set as well as with data and findings from this and other research sites. Findings identified correlations between nonverbal behaviour patterns, interpersonal dynamics and communicative transfer. Specific critical moments of collaboration between caregiver and practitioner as well as nonverbal behaviour roles in communicative and interactional dynamics were also identified. Study findings thus posses the potential to; facilitate effective medical interactions, direct future nonverbal behaviour research and guide the development of medical education and policy.

No description available.

Parent-child conversations in science museums may support children's interest and understanding of science. Researchers have been investigating programs to optimize parental guidance and deepen families' scientific exploration in museums. Inquiry is an approach to science teaching science that mirrors the scientific method, allowing participants to raise questions about a scientific phenomenon and conduct investigations to answer those questions. In this study, an experimental design was used to test the impact of participation in an inquiry-based activity on families' conversations at six science museum exhibits. Half of the families participated in an inquiry activity before exploring exhibits, and half of the families participated in an inquiry activity after exploring exhibits. Two sets of variables found to be important contributors to parent-child conversation at science museums (i.e., exhibit qualities and individual characteristics) were considered. Results indicated that participation in a guided inquiry activity significantly increased parents' high-quality learning talk, specifically providing explanations and making connections to prior experience. Exhibit qualities and individual characteristics are important considerations for designing and implementing an inquiry intervention. Families talked about the inquiry activity after the visit and applied what they had learned to real-life situations at home. Inquiry activities have the potential to empower parents with tools to help them scaffold children's emerging scientific knowledge during shared activity in a science museum. Implications and future directions are discussed. / acase@tulane.edu

<p>Writing is a critical element for many of the second language learners that I’ve encountered in my work as a Swedish teacher. Therefore, on the basis of Jerome Bruners theories of reflec-tion and learning, was the purpose with this study to examine the scaffolded structured reflec-tion conversation as a method for writing development. Bruner says that the knowledge be-comes deeper when we consciously reflect over it (Arfwedson 1992:110 f).</p><p>I have used a qualitative method where I let five students write a text in Swedish on the subject "application for internship". After that I held a conversation with each of the pupils. By asking them questions I wanted them to reflect on their writing process, and the language and content in their written texts. After this I let the students revise the texts, with the invita-tion to use the thoughts from the conversation.</p><p>By this I wanted to examine to which extent the five reflection conversations led to reflec-tion on the students' own writing, as well as on language and content in the texts. I also wanted to examine how the students changed their texts after the conversations and which factors can be interpreted as being significant for the outcome of the conversations.</p><p>The study has shown that the outcome of the scaffolded structured reflection conversa-tions is very much dependent on the students' respective inputs and focus of the talks. The results indicate that a person who enters the conversation with a focus on developing his/her writing in general is generally more inclined to reflect than a student who enters with a strong focus on the individual task. These results also finds support in earlier theories of reflection.</p><p>In accordance with previous research, this study also demonstrated that it is essential that the reflection is based on the individuals’ circumstances and experiences. I had before the conversations constructed a manual with questions, which I used in all conversations. The results show that only those students who during the conversation were within what Vygotskij calls the zone of proximal development, through my questions got the scaffolding that they needed to reflect.</p>

Writing is a critical element for many of the second language learners that I’ve encountered in my work as a Swedish teacher. Therefore, on the basis of Jerome Bruners theories of reflec-tion and learning, was the purpose with this study to examine the scaffolded structured reflec-tion conversation as a method for writing development. Bruner says that the knowledge be-comes deeper when we consciously reflect over it (Arfwedson 1992:110 f). I have used a qualitative method where I let five students write a text in Swedish on the subject "application for internship". After that I held a conversation with each of the pupils. By asking them questions I wanted them to reflect on their writing process, and the language and content in their written texts. After this I let the students revise the texts, with the invita-tion to use the thoughts from the conversation. By this I wanted to examine to which extent the five reflection conversations led to reflec-tion on the students' own writing, as well as on language and content in the texts. I also wanted to examine how the students changed their texts after the conversations and which factors can be interpreted as being significant for the outcome of the conversations. The study has shown that the outcome of the scaffolded structured reflection conversa-tions is very much dependent on the students' respective inputs and focus of the talks. The results indicate that a person who enters the conversation with a focus on developing his/her writing in general is generally more inclined to reflect than a student who enters with a strong focus on the individual task. These results also finds support in earlier theories of reflection. In accordance with previous research, this study also demonstrated that it is essential that the reflection is based on the individuals’ circumstances and experiences. I had before the conversations constructed a manual with questions, which I used in all conversations. The results show that only those students who during the conversation were within what Vygotskij calls the zone of proximal development, through my questions got the scaffolding that they needed to reflect.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the lunchtime from a language development perspective. It will compare two preschools with different ways of organizing mealtimes and observe the conversations between teachers and children. It will also study the ways in which a meal is served and how it affects the conversations. In one of the preschools the children eat in a proper dining room where the food is served as a buffet while in the other preschool the children eat in the preschoolarea and the food is served in bowls on the tables. I also want to investigate how two of these preschool teachers reflect on the mealtimes as part of the language development plan. I propose the following questions: Do the preschool teachers think that there are opportunities for language development during mealtimes and as to what is their role in these conversations? Does the manner in which the food is served, whether as buffet or at the tables, affect the conversations between teachers and children? What are the preschool teachers reflection on this? What kind of conversations were observed in both preschools? This study is based on a qualitative method with interviews, observations and audio recordings of mealtime conversations. My theoretical approach to this study is the socio-cultural perspective on learning and development. The result shows that the preschool teachers felt that conversation during mealtimes was a good opportunity to stimulate childrens language development. They also considered their role as role models and conversation leaders and that they were central to how the conversations were steared. When comparing both preschools, it turns out that the way the meals are served affects the character of the conversations and that conversations during the buffet meal contain more breaks and less adult support.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo convidar o leitor a aguçar o olhar e a escuta para os diálogos que as crianças estabelecem a partir do que assistem nas telenovelas brasileiras, tendo como premissa o fato de que elas assistem a estes programas, porém pouco conversam sobre eles, principalmente com pessoas de outras gerações. A necessidade de refletir sobre esses diálogos é apontada pelas leituras de mundo que as crianças elaboram a partir dessa recepção em relação constante com suas vivências singulares e coletivas. A pesquisa em questão foi realizada com dois grupos focais, formados por crianças de dois ambientes escolares distintos, situados na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, ambos compreendendo sujeitos entre cinco e sete anos, que disseram assistir a estes programas. Além dos diálogos infantis, o presente trabalho conta com a contribuição teórica de Mikhail Bakhtin, Marilia Amorim, Manuel Jacinto Sarmento, Bernadete Gatti, Jesús MartínBarbero, David Buckingham, entre outros, também de relevância contribuição, abordando sobre a história da telenovela e a importância deste gênero narrativo na cultura brasileira; a relação das crianças e das escolas com as mídias eletrônicas; e estratégias metodológicas na busca de uma dialogia atenta, sensível, proveitosa e consciente de suas limitações, diante da subjetividade e da complexidade nas relações estabelecidas com os interlocutores infantis.