The South African education system is under a serious strain in relation to Mathematics attainment. Only 40% of learners in SA pass the final school leaving examination and only 5% of learners manage to pass Mathematics with more than 50%, according to The Economist (2014). In a bid to solve this problem the government proposes the use of ICTs (such as computer hardware and software, tablets, and smartphones) within teaching and learning. The assumption is ICTs can be utilised to address this important challenge and “facilitate ongoing improvement of educator skills” (The National Integrated ICT Policy White Paper: The White Paper, 2016: p.8). Research shows that teachers’ perceptions regarding the use of ICTs impact on their practices (Mwendwa, 2017; Munyengabe, Yiyi, He Haiyan, & Hitimana, 2017; Alharbi, 2012; Yuan & Chun-Yi Lee, 2012). This project intends to explore six grade 6 Mathematics teachers’ perceptions about whether and how pedagogy shifts with the use ICTs in the classrooms utilising Cultural Historical Activity Theory. This research utilises interviews as a method for the collection of empirical data to describe a group of research participants’ (or teachers’) perceptions who happen to be directly interviewed. These interviews have been conducted across two no-fee paying primary schools in the Western Cape Province (WCP), in South Africa (SA). Interviews were analysed along the CHAT dimensions: object, subject, tools, rules, community and division of labour to establish whether pedagogy altered along any of these dimensions. Findings indicate that teachers think pedagogy shifts in the ICT based lessons with division of labour becoming more fluid. Findings also show that the object of the activity system grows to encompass more than mere mathematical compression but also motivation, creativity and cognitive development. Besides, teachers stated that ICT based learning could assist learners in their mathematical attainment. This project is an investigation and not an intervention study. Recommendations are also suggested in this thesis for further research such as video-taping teaching and learning of mathematic contents and concepts in both traditional and computer-based classrooms. Further study in utilising classroom observations to focus on student-student interaction in relation to ICTs is also recommended.

Although the University of Cape Town has implemented various education technology projects in the last two decades, the disruptions experienced during the #FeesMustFall movement and the COVID-19 pandemic point to challenges with integrating technology successfully, highlighting the need to better understand technology integration in higher education. Based in the Engineering Faculty, I adopted a Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) perspective to understand the experiences of engineering educators with regards to education technology integration in a department. A qualitative case study with semi-structured interviews was conducted with engineering educators. The data was analysed according to the categories in CHAT. Individual educator analyses were presented as activity systems. These were then synthesised to a departmental level understanding. I found that all educators integrated education technology to varying degrees. These included the university's learning management system, Microsoft PowerPoint, document cameras, and various engineering technologies. Educators integrated education technology to improve the practical demonstration of engineering concepts, prepare students for the workplace, and improve the efficiency of certain tasks. Their integration efforts were mediated mainly by the university's infrastructure and their access to institutional technologies. Nondirective approach by the departmental and faculty leadership provided educators with the freedom to integrate education technology, although, some educators expressed a desire for increased leadership intervention. Technical and pedagogical support services from the university provided resources and support for integration. The technologies integrated by the educators were informed by their preference for teaching resources that visualised theory. Educators were concerned with the impact of lecture recording on attendance, highlighting sustainability issues of this technology. As all participants integrated education technology independently, future studies may benefit from understanding less active users' experiences, the contribution of support services, and the role of departmental leadership.

This nested case study inquires about the partnership between primary school teachers and local actors within the wood industry to perform a place-based educative lesson in the Swiss region of Gruyère Pays-d’Enhaut. Five different cases relate the encounter between a teacher and a local actor and enable the description of the particularities and outcomes of such partnerships. After observing activities and interviewing the members of the partnerships, the researcher analyzes the data by comparing the cases and using a Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) model to describe the system of activity resulting from the partnership.  The study reveals that a win-win effect is present in the partnership teacher/local actor, despite some tensions regarding the role of the members. While the teacher is using the partnership as a valuable resource to create a succession of meaningful experiences for learning, the local actor is using it to get some recognition for his work and share his message within the community. This implies requestioning the role of school in society, as the institution becomes helpful not only for the young generation but also to empower the local community and its cohesion.   Outcomes in terms of experiential learning are discussed, along with the processes of decolonization and reinhabilitation inherent to the approach. The relevance of such partnership is also discussed as a tool to implement Environmental and Sustainable Education (ESE), as the findings reveal its great potential for working on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and issues that concern the local community, englobing the values expressed by its members. The crucial role of the teachers to ensure the adequacy of the approach is enhanced.

No description available.

Med det rådande klimathotet ställs högre krav på fastighetsbranschen att minska sin energianvändning. Denna rapport fokuserar på energieffektivisering i KTHs, Kungliga Tekniska Högskolans, huvudbyggnad som förvaltas av Akademiska Hus. Huset, som är en av KTHs minst energieffektiva hus, är byggt i nationalromantisk byggstil och invigdes 1917. Idag klassificeras byggnaden som en blå byggnad, enligt Stockholms Stadsmuseum, vilket är deras högsta klassificering och betyder att den har ett högt historiskt värde. Denna rapport studerar och utvärderar de energibesparingsåtgärder som Akademiska Hus har genomfört i huvudbyggnaden sedan 2016. Ytterligare studeras andra energieffektiviseringsåtgärder i andra hus med kulturhistoriska värden. En undersökning över befintliga tekniker och metoder för energieffektivisering redovisas även i rapporten. Resultatet visar att många energibesparingsåtgärder har genomförts i huset och lett till förbättring men denna förbättring motsvarar inte Akademiska Hus mål om en energiminskning på minst 3 % per år. Det finns nya tekniker som kan implementeras i olika delar av huset för att minska energianvändningen utan att påverka det kulturhistoriska värdet. En av dessa tekniker är att optimera styrning av värme- och kylsystemet. / With the current climate threat, higher demands are placed on the real estate industry to reduce its energy use. This report focuses on the energy efficiency in KTH's, Royal Institute of Technology’s, main building, which is managed by Akademiska Hus. The building, which is one of KTH's least energy-efficient buildings, is built in a national romantic building style and opened in 1917. Today, the building is classified as a blue building, according to the Stockholm City Museum, which is their highest classification and means that it has a high cultural-historical value. This report studies and evaluates the energy saving measures that Akademiska Hus has implemented in the main building since 2016. Furthermore, energy saving measures are being studied in other houses with cultural-historical values. A study of other technologies and methods for energy conservation has also been done in the report. The results shows that many energy saving measures have been implemented in the main building and have led to improvement, but this improvement does not meet Akademiska Hus's goal of an energy reduction of at least 3 % per year. There are new technologies that can be implemented in different parts of the building to reduce the energy used. One of these methods is the optimization of heating and cooling system.​

Thesis advisor: Charles P. Proctor / This dissertation develops, theorizes, and investigates the notion of metalinguistic engagement (ME). Within the context of reading research for upper elementary bi/multilingual students, which is relatively sparse and particularly lacking in qualitative detail, there are some emerging and promising findings related to the impacts of ME on students’ overall literacy development (Proctor et al,. 2012; Silverman et al., 2014). These outcomes specifically suggest that the development of component language (semantic, morphology, syntax) knowledge, skills, and strategies through ME provides substantial support to bi/multilingual students (Proctor et al., 2015; Silverman et al., 2015). CLAVES, a quasi-experimental language-based reading intervention and curriculum project (Proctor et al., 2020), highlighted the instructional malleability of ME, demonstrating positive effects for both language proficiency and reading comprehension among the participating fourth and fifth grade Spanish/English and Portuguese/English bi/multilingual students. However, the nature of the students’ ME and the extent to which their naturally dynamic linguistic repertoires emerged and were capitalized on during learning is currently unknown. In order to address gaps in research, this dissertation theorizes and investigates ME and contributes a qualitative analysis to the larger quasi-experimental intervention from Proctor et al (2020). This dissertation presents three case studies of teachers and their fourth-grade, Spanish/English bi/multilingual student working groups. A theoretical framework of cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) (Greeno & Engström, 2014; Roth & Lee, 2007) informed by heteroglossia (Bakhtin, 1981) was employed to attend to the tensions between the centripetal forces of classrooms’ goal-oriented activity and the centrifugal aspects of multiple voices and repertoires during ME (Wertsch, 2009). Findings highlight the various actions and resources through which students and teachers participate in ME. The ‘multivoicedness’ of students’ practices were shown to mediate ME goals, while also moving alongside and against the pressures from both the curriculum structure and teachers’ facilitation. Furthermore, dialectics between the curriculum and teachers within ME activities emphasize overarching tensions related to the goals of ME and the students’ opportunities and outcomes within ME. Findings accentuate the flexibility and constraints on bi/multilingual students’ practice and participation during ME and have implications for curriculum, instruction, and teacher preparation. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

Through both a theoretical analysis of the framework itself, as well as ethnographic research of one particular university-community engagement project underway in Provo, UT, this thesis explores both the process of training students for this type of community engagement as well as the malleability of the program format for potential application across other schools and communities. The research findings highlight how the program itself, taking the form of an offered undergraduate course at a liberal arts college in Provo, offers unique opportunities for undergraduate students to engage in applied anthropological work for a client, as well as how the local community center partnered with the university benefits from (and in some cases, resists) the findings of the community engagement made possible through the program.

Analisar as possibilidades de superação das manifestações do fracasso escolar na atividade pedagógica a partir da mediação do conhecimento teórico-filosófico no ensino da Filosofia é parte de uma pesquisa que se fundamenta nos pressupostos teórico-metodológicos da Teoria Histórico-Cultural. O fracasso escolar, apresentado como fenômeno sociopolítico, produzido no seio da instituição delegada oficialmente para promover o ensino e a aprendizagem, a escola, é referendado por várias teorias na sociedade de classes. Nesse sentido, o pressuposto da presente pesquisa é que o fracasso escolar tem por expressão substancial a ausência da apropriação do conhecimento teórico pelos escolares e que isso os afasta de sua atividade enquanto estudantes. Segundo essa constatação, é engendrada a necessidade de promover no contexto escolar o oposto, a objetivação do ensino por meio da mediação do conhecimento teórico-filosófico na atividade pedagógica. A pesquisa de campo é organizada a partir dos pressupostos do experimento didático que se constitui como procedimento metodológico cuja finalidade é produzir e executar na realidade escolar um ensino sistematizado para impulsionar o desenvolvimento dos sujeitos que integram a atividade pedagógica. O plano de ensino elaborado para o experimento didático e executado no interior da escola, na sala de aula, tem como sujeitos a própria pesquisadora, enquanto professora de Filosofia da rede pública de ensino do Estado de São Paulo, e 32 estudantes, jovens de uma turma da terceira série do Ensino Médio. Os dados foram estudados a partir dos elementos de análise e das vivências produzidas no experimento didático, identificados como episódios de ensino, a saber: 1. Da Admiração ao Conhecimento Teórico-Filosófico; 2. A Apropriação da Linguagem para a Emancipação Humana; 3. Consciência Filosófica e Consciência Crítica; 4. O Socioafetivo como Constituinte do Coletivo na Atividade Pedagógica; 5. Como o Filosofar é Sair da Caverna; 6. O Poder do Conhecimento para o Domínio da Conduta; 7. O Trabalho Coletivo como Expressão do Socioafetivo na Atividade Pedagógica; e 8. A Atividade de Estudo como Instrumento de Saída da Caverna. Os resultados indicam que é possível notar a alteração no desenvolvimento dos estudantes quando, no processo de mediação dos signos e símbolos culturais dados na Filosofia, estes passam a organizar meios para a atividade que lhes é atribuída, a atividade de estudo, na integração com a atividade que lhes é própria, a comunicação íntima pessoal, a fim de (re)qualificar sua relação com o conhecimento teórico. A transformação da consciência dos estudantes é evidenciada como expressão da qualidade da atividade que executam. Para impulsionar o desenvolvimento psicológico dos estudantes, tal atividade deve estar vinculada a um ensino intencionalmente direcionado para a transformação da consciência, de forma a impactar os aspectos subjetivos e objetivos das funções psicológicas superiores e conduzir os estudantes para a generacidade humana. / The current research aims to analyze some actions to overcome school failure manifestations on pedagogical activity through the mediation of theoretical and philosophical in teaching Philosophy. In that sense, the research is based on methodologies of Cultural-historical Theory. School failure is a sociopolitical issue in which the school, the official institution responsible for education, is still endorsed by several theories in class society (e.g.: a system that benefits the stronger groups while the weaker ones struggle). At that point, the current study considers that school failure is mainly related to the students lack of theoretical knowledge. Taking that educational background into account, it is consequently necessary to rethink the horizon of learning practices through a theoretical and philosophical approach. The field research is based on specific educational principles whose methodology is systematizing strategies in order encourage students during the pedagogical activity. The learning plan for the didactic experiment in the classrooms was implemented by the researcher (Philosophy teacher in public high schools in the state of Sao Paulo) with her 32 high school students. The following data were analyzed in this educational project and were also identified as learning events: 1. From Appreciation to the Theoretical-Philosophical Knowledge; 2. The Language Acquisition for Human Emancipation; 3. Philosophical Awareness and Critical Awareness; 4. The Socio-Affective and the idea of Group/Collectiveness in Pedagogical Activity; 5. How philosophizing is Coming out of our Caves; 6. The Power of Knowledge for the Code of Conduct; 7. The Group Activity as a Socio-Affective Expression; 8. The Study as a Useful Tool to Come out of the Cave. Final results revealed a notable change in the students interaction, since the mediation of signs and cultural symbols in Philosophy classes allowed them [the students] to improve the intimate communication and the theoretical knowledge as well. In consequence, the quality of the students activities certifies that transformation of consciousness. In order to stimulate their psychological development, the activity was driven towards the subjective and objective aspects of higher mental functions, also leading students to human generalities.

Analisar as possibilidades de superação das manifestações do fracasso escolar na atividade pedagógica a partir da mediação do conhecimento teórico-filosófico no ensino da Filosofia é parte de uma pesquisa que se fundamenta nos pressupostos teórico-metodológicos da Teoria Histórico-Cultural. O fracasso escolar, apresentado como fenômeno sociopolítico, produzido no seio da instituição delegada oficialmente para promover o ensino e a aprendizagem, a escola, é referendado por várias teorias na sociedade de classes. Nesse sentido, o pressuposto da presente pesquisa é que o fracasso escolar tem por expressão substancial a ausência da apropriação do conhecimento teórico pelos escolares e que isso os afasta de sua atividade enquanto estudantes. Segundo essa constatação, é engendrada a necessidade de promover no contexto escolar o oposto, a objetivação do ensino por meio da mediação do conhecimento teórico-filosófico na atividade pedagógica. A pesquisa de campo é organizada a partir dos pressupostos do experimento didático que se constitui como procedimento metodológico cuja finalidade é produzir e executar na realidade escolar um ensino sistematizado para impulsionar o desenvolvimento dos sujeitos que integram a atividade pedagógica. O plano de ensino elaborado para o experimento didático e executado no interior da escola, na sala de aula, tem como sujeitos a própria pesquisadora, enquanto professora de Filosofia da rede pública de ensino do Estado de São Paulo, e 32 estudantes, jovens de uma turma da terceira série do Ensino Médio. Os dados foram estudados a partir dos elementos de análise e das vivências produzidas no experimento didático, identificados como episódios de ensino, a saber: 1. Da Admiração ao Conhecimento Teórico-Filosófico; 2. A Apropriação da Linguagem para a Emancipação Humana; 3. Consciência Filosófica e Consciência Crítica; 4. O Socioafetivo como Constituinte do Coletivo na Atividade Pedagógica; 5. Como o Filosofar é Sair da Caverna; 6. O Poder do Conhecimento para o Domínio da Conduta; 7. O Trabalho Coletivo como Expressão do Socioafetivo na Atividade Pedagógica; e 8. A Atividade de Estudo como Instrumento de Saída da Caverna. Os resultados indicam que é possível notar a alteração no desenvolvimento dos estudantes quando, no processo de mediação dos signos e símbolos culturais dados na Filosofia, estes passam a organizar meios para a atividade que lhes é atribuída, a atividade de estudo, na integração com a atividade que lhes é própria, a comunicação íntima pessoal, a fim de (re)qualificar sua relação com o conhecimento teórico. A transformação da consciência dos estudantes é evidenciada como expressão da qualidade da atividade que executam. Para impulsionar o desenvolvimento psicológico dos estudantes, tal atividade deve estar vinculada a um ensino intencionalmente direcionado para a transformação da consciência, de forma a impactar os aspectos subjetivos e objetivos das funções psicológicas superiores e conduzir os estudantes para a generacidade humana. / The current research aims to analyze some actions to overcome school failure manifestations on pedagogical activity through the mediation of theoretical and philosophical in teaching Philosophy. In that sense, the research is based on methodologies of Cultural-historical Theory. School failure is a sociopolitical issue in which the school, the official institution responsible for education, is still endorsed by several theories in class society (e.g.: a system that benefits the stronger groups while the weaker ones struggle). At that point, the current study considers that school failure is mainly related to the students lack of theoretical knowledge. Taking that educational background into account, it is consequently necessary to rethink the horizon of learning practices through a theoretical and philosophical approach. The field research is based on specific educational principles whose methodology is systematizing strategies in order encourage students during the pedagogical activity. The learning plan for the didactic experiment in the classrooms was implemented by the researcher (Philosophy teacher in public high schools in the state of Sao Paulo) with her 32 high school students. The following data were analyzed in this educational project and were also identified as learning events: 1. From Appreciation to the Theoretical-Philosophical Knowledge; 2. The Language Acquisition for Human Emancipation; 3. Philosophical Awareness and Critical Awareness; 4. The Socio-Affective and the idea of Group/Collectiveness in Pedagogical Activity; 5. How philosophizing is Coming out of our Caves; 6. The Power of Knowledge for the Code of Conduct; 7. The Group Activity as a Socio-Affective Expression; 8. The Study as a Useful Tool to Come out of the Cave. Final results revealed a notable change in the students interaction, since the mediation of signs and cultural symbols in Philosophy classes allowed them [the students] to improve the intimate communication and the theoretical knowledge as well. In consequence, the quality of the students activities certifies that transformation of consciousness. In order to stimulate their psychological development, the activity was driven towards the subjective and objective aspects of higher mental functions, also leading students to human generalities.

O presente trabalho trata de um estudo realizado a respeito do Livro Didático de Geografia para o Ensino Fundamental II, onde buscamos entender como esse material proposto na maior parte dos estabelecimentos públicos de ensino do país contribui para a mediação da aprendizagem dos conhecimentos geográficos, analisando também através das falas dos estudantes o conteudismo presente nas práticas educacionais e a falta de sentido em se estudar uma geografia pronta e acabada que chega pelos livros didáticos na escola. Dessa forma este estudo é sobre o Livro Didático de Geografia junto a seis turmas do 6º, 7º e 8º ano de Ensino Fundamental II no Sertão Central de Pernambuco. Tendo como objetivo investigar, discutir e refletir sobre os limites e perspectivas do Livro Didático de Geografia enquanto instrumento de mediação do processo de aprendizagem. Buscamos fundamentos teóricos na Teoria Histórico-Cultural de Vigotski como base da psicologia da aprendizagem e as bases filosóficas do Pensamento Complexo de Edgar Morin e sistemas teóricos relacionados. A partir desses embasamentos acreditamos oferecer as condições teóricas e didáticas que podem favorecer uma reflexão acerca de um Ensino de Geografia que efetivamente forme cidadãos reflexivos e críticos, com habilidades necessárias para se viver na sociedade contemporânea. Na abordagem metodológica, utilizamos uma abordagem qualitativa, com pesquisa dialógica, onde as falas dos sujeitos pesquisados dialogam com as do pesquisador respaldando-se como sujeitos discursivos conforme o pensamento filosófico de Mikhail Bakhtin. Inicialmente aplicou-se questionários e depois da análise dos mesmos realizou-se entrevistas com os estudantes das turmas mencionadas e sua professora. Fazendo uma consistente investigação, através da análise do livro, dos discursos dos alunos e sua professora para compreender o processo de mediação da aprendizagem em Geografia. / This Master dissertation deals with a study carried out regarding the Geography Textbook for Elementary School, where we seek to understand how this material proposed in most public educational establishments in the country contributes to the learning of geographical knowledge, analyzing also through the speeches of the students the content present in the educational practices and the lack of sense in studying a geography ready and finished that arrives by the textbook in the school. This this study is about Geography Textbook of six classes of 6º, 7º e 8º year of Elementary School in the Pernambuco Central Hinterland. It aims to investigate, discuss and reflect on the limits and perspectives of the Geography Textbook as the instrument of mediation in the teachinglearning process. We seek theoretical foundations in Vygotsky\'s Cultural-Historical Theory as the basis of learning psychology and the philosophical bases of Edgar Morin\'s Complex Thought and related theoretical systems. From these bases we believe we offer the theoretical and didactic conditions that can further a reflection about a Geography Teaching that effectively forms reflective and critical citizens with the necessary skills to live in contemporary society. In the methodological approach, we use a qualitative approach, with dialogic research, where the speeches of the researched subjects dialogue with those of the researcher backing up as discursive subjects according to the philosophical thought of Mikhail Bakhtin. Questionnaires were initially applied and after their analysis, interviews were conducted with the students of the mentioned classes and their teacher. Doing a consistent investigation, through the analysis of the book, the discourses of the students and their teacher to understand the teaching-learning process of Geography.