Thinking Skills has, since its conception as a teachable subject, been difficult to assess due to lack of a universal definition of Thinking Skills. McMahon (1999) warns that the chosen strategy for assessing Thinking Skills must itself promote and reward thinking skills. Self- and Peer- assessment are the methods of assessment proposed by Costa and Kallick (2000) for the assessment of their Thinking Skills programme, Habits of Mind. This study investigates the diversity of perceptions which can be generated through self-, peer- and teacher-assessment, and how a balance can be struck between them through incorporating dialogue into assessment. 12 Grade 8 learners who study Habits of Mind as a school subject in a South African all-girls' private school participated in 4 assessment tasks. For each task, participants were assessed by a peer, a teacher and themselves. After each task, all participants reflected on the rubrics from all three assessors. Participants in this study demonstrated more extensive learning across Anderson's (2010) Dimensions of Growth when they engaged in reflective dialogue compared to when they engaged in written reflections. Through dialogue, learners were empowered as role-players in their own assessment and became able to shift their own perspective to include the perspectives of others. Dialogical Assessment also facilitated the development of meta-cognition in participants.

Technology offers students and educators an uncharted digital landscape of possibilities. Some educators feel strongly that technology enhances the classroom; others feel that it doesn't necessarily improve traditional teaching methods, and some even feel that it is detrimental to students' ability to focus or engage in face-to-face conversations. My project focuses on critical dialogue as defined by various theorists, and explores whether or not secondary English classrooms that use iPads continue to use the dialogical methods as outlined by these theorists (most of which could not have foreseen today's technological advancements). By relying on these theorists and scholars to provide definitions and descriptions of dialogue and its benefits, I explain unique opportunities that the iPad offers students for dialogical learning in general. In particular, I describe ways educators can use iPads in the secondary English classroom that clearly overcome the potential disadvantages that concern some teachers.

Elever utvecklas i alla ämnen genom ett gott ordförråd. Bristande ordförråd kan leda till att elever tappar kunskaper både i skolan och vardagen. Dialogisk högläsning erbjuder elever i alla åldrar möjlighet att diskutera och reflektera över texters innehåll. Syftet med denna studie är att belysa hur grundskollärare i årskurserna 1–3 förhåller sig till den dialogiska högläsningen. Data har samlats in via kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer och analyserats med metoden tematisk analys. Denna studie har sin utgångspunkt i den sociokulturella teorin. Lärarna som intervjuades har olika lång bakgrund inom läraryrket, vilket ger studien olika perspektiv när det kommer till fenomenet dialogisk högläsning. Resultatet ger en inblick i hur den dialogiska högläsningen används för att öka elevernas förståelse för texters uppbyggnad och struktur. Respondenterna hade en varierad syn på hur och i vilken grad dialogisk högläsning bör användas och presenterar olika undervisningsmetoder när det gäller att utveckla elevers språk och ordförråd.   Slutsatsen visar på att dialogisk högläsning är något som används regelbundet bland majoriteten av lärarna och att det är något som lärarna anser bör prioriteras i undervisningen. Lärarna menar på att elevernas ordförråd utvecklas i och med att eleverna följer med i texten, ställer frågor, och får möjligheten att diskutera med varandra. Utifrån de intervjuade lärarna kan det konstateras att dialogisk högläsning är applicerbart under hela skoldagen, både som undervisningsform och som pausläsning. / Students develop in all subjects through a strong vocabulary. An inadequate vocabulary could result in students losing knowledge both in school and in everyday life. Dialogic reading offers students of all ages the opportunity to discuss and reflect on the content of texts. The purpose of this study is to highlight how elementary school teachers in grades 1-3 work with language development through dialogic reading. Data has been collected through qualitative semi-structured interviews and analysed using the method of thematic analysis. This study is rooted in the sociocultural theory. The interviewed teachers have varying backgrounds in the teaching professions, which provides the study with different perspectives on the phenomenon of dialogic reading aloud. The results generate insights into how dialogic reading is used in schools and the purpose of reading aloud is to create understanding of the structure and organization of texts among students. The respondents have varied views on the concept of dialogic reading and present diverse teaching methods when it comes to developing students' language and vocabulary. The conclusion of this study is that dialogic reading is actively used by most teachers and should be prioritized in teaching. The teachers believe that students' vocabulary develops as they follow along in the text, ask questions, and can discuss it among their peers. The teachers demonstrate that dialogic reading is applicable throughout the school day, both as a teaching method, and as a break activity.

As of 2007, approximately 73% of the 18 million college students in this country could be identified as nontraditional (Ross-Gordon, 2011). A key characteristic distinguishing this group from the traditional college student is the influence of multiple roles of the adult learner on the learning and engagement process (Keith, Byerly, Floerchinger, Pence, & Thornberg, 2006). Ross-Gordon remarks on some roles that may provide life experience, an asset to understanding theoretical constructs otherwise immaterial to younger, traditional learners. However, it is important to recognize the complex dynamic of conflicting roles as challenges to the academic competence of nontraditional college students. This research examined the vague definition of the nontraditional student and the factors that influence the learning and engagement processes. Through the lens of Hermans and Gieser's (2012) dialogical self-theory and higher education discourse, a novel examination of group role identity salience is proposed as a useful model for improving the educational and social realities of the adult learner.

Yes / Students of education encounter a range of pedagogies yet how future teachers’ appropriate moral principles are little understood. We conducted an investigation into this process with 10 international students of education attending an intensive course on ‘dialogic pedagogy’ in a university in Finland. The data comprising student learning journals and essays were coded for the level of questioning, acceptance and irreverence. In the findings, reverential acceptance was more frequent than questioning and irreverence; however, our qualitative analysis also found a large number of micro-transitions between questioning, acceptance and irreverence suggesting a dynamic interplay. Recognising this vacillation as part of a moral journey may support better understanding of what it means to engage with a different pedagogy.

No / There is widespread debate within critical management studies (CMS) as to the possibility of introducing CMS principles and ideas into organizational life. There is similarly a critique of its potential to replace the hegemony of `mainstream' business school thinking with an alternative hegemonic practice. In this article we use a reflexive analysis of our involvement as critical thinkers within the delivery of leadership-development programmes to consider these debates and explore CMS perspectives with participants. Our initial attempts were naive, but a more nuanced understanding given by theorizing our own practices offers some ways of avoiding the substitution of one hegemony with another. Although working as critical thinkers within mainstream programmes will always be problematic, we suggest that using a dialogical approach in leadership training programmes is one way of struggling with the inherent difficulties, while introducing participants to different ways of theorizing their worlds.

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Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:30:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 6391.pdf: 1842446 bytes, checksum: dbad0676b72990eac6ccaf3c01e7b92d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-04-02 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / O objetivo geral deste trabalho foi compreender os limites e as potencialidades do desenvolvimento de programas de educação ambiental para a conservação de animais predadores de topo de cadeia no entorno de áreas protegidas do interior do Estado de São Paulo. O processo de coleta e análise de dados envolveu pessoas com diferentes conexões com a temática estudada e cujos papéis históricos são relevantes para a transformação deste contexto, seguindo as indicações da metodologia comunicativa crítica. Realizamos levantamento de potencialidades das unidades de conservação do nordeste paulista para desenvolver ações educativas com enfoque na conservação da onça parda, com base em entrevistas estruturadas. Posteriormente, realizamos grupos focais comunicativos e entrevistas comunicativas com educadoras/es, funcionárias/os, pesquisadoras/es, gestoras/es, estudantes, trabalhador e produtor rural, envolvidos de diferentes formas com a temática da conservação da biodiversidade no interior e entorno das Estações Ecológica e Experimental de Itirapina (SP). Como principais resultados, identificamos a existência de ações voltadas ao envolvimento da comunidade do entorno nos trabalhos educativos que já ocorrem ou que poderiam ocorrer nas unidades de conservação do nordeste paulista. Destacamos a importância de um processo educativo com pessoas adultas que considere as características da vida adulta, assim como motivações pessoais e de trabalho para gerar transformações no sentido da conservação da biodiversidade e da melhoria da qualidade de vida das pessoas no entorno de áreas protegidas. Além disso, indicamos que as interações entre os seres humanos e os predadores precisam ser encaradas em sua complexidade, entendendo a posição de cada pessoa ou grupo em relação a situações conflituosas e promovendo um diálogo entre conhecimento acadêmico e popular para buscar soluções efetivas e duradouras. Finalmente, reconhecemos que o tema da conservação da onça parda deve ser associado a outros interesses e demandas da comunidade local para ser abordado de forma ampla e para promover novas formas de conhecer, valorizar e agir sobre a biodiversidade. Ainda apresentamos algumas considerações metodológicas e buscamos aproximar os princípios da aprendizagem dialógica à educação ambiental crítica. / O objetivo geral deste trabalho foi compreender os limites e as potencialidades do desenvolvimento de programas de educação ambiental para a conservação de animais predadores de topo de cadeia no entorno de áreas protegidas do interior do Estado de São Paulo. O processo de coleta e análise de dados envolveu pessoas com diferentes conexões com a temática estudada e cujos papéis históricos são relevantes para a transformação deste contexto, seguindo as indicações da metodologia comunicativa crítica. Realizamos levantamento de potencialidades das unidades de conservação do nordeste paulista para desenvolver ações educativas com enfoque na conservação da onça parda, com base em entrevistas estruturadas. Posteriormente, realizamos grupos focais comunicativos e entrevistas comunicativas com educadoras/es, funcionárias/os, pesquisadoras/es, gestoras/es, estudantes, trabalhador e produtor rural, envolvidos de diferentes formas com a temática da conservação da biodiversidade no interior e entorno das Estações Ecológica e Experimental de Itirapina (SP). Como principais resultados, identificamos a existência de ações voltadas ao envolvimento da comunidade do entorno nos trabalhos educativos que já ocorrem ou que poderiam ocorrer nas unidades de conservação do nordeste paulista. Destacamos a importância de um processo educativo com pessoas adultas que considere as características da vida adulta, assim como motivações pessoais e de trabalho para gerar transformações no sentido da conservação da biodiversidade e da melhoria da qualidade de vida das pessoas no entorno de áreas protegidas. Além disso, indicamos que as interações entre os seres humanos e os predadores precisam ser encaradas em sua complexidade, entendendo a posição de cada pessoa ou grupo em relação a situações conflituosas e promovendo um diálogo entre conhecimento acadêmico e popular para buscar soluções efetivas e duradouras. Finalmente, reconhecemos que o tema da conservação da onça parda deve ser associado a outros interesses e demandas da comunidade local para ser abordado de forma ampla e para promover novas formas de conhecer, valorizar e agir sobre a biodiversidade. Ainda apresentamos algumas considerações metodológicas e buscamos aproximar os princípios da aprendizagem dialógica à educação ambiental crítica.

This dissertation investigates the validity of the hypothesis that biblical images [imagery] in the narrative model of preaching enhance relevance and recall possibilities of the sermon, filling the open spaces for the listener in a meaningful way. "Imagery" is researched in its application in various genres of the narrative sermon, e.g. the inductive, the narrative as such, metaphor, parable and transformational preaching. In the final analysis, the Midrash hermeneutical model as theoretical exposition and fresh proposition for homiletical possibilities for today was suggested and instruments proposed to aid in the preparaUon of Midrashic narrative sermons. / Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology / D.Th. (Practical theology)

In recent years, institutional theorists have been increasingly interested in institutional change, seeking to understand the contextual factors and agents responsible for alterations to existing institutional arrangements. Institutional theory’s historical focus on isomorphism has made it challenging to account for actors’ motivations to pursue change projects. It is generally believed, though, that agents are mobilized through exposure to multiple institutional logics. Recently, scholars have begun to recognize that competition among multiple logics may not quickly produce a ‘winning logic’; rather, such logics may co-exist for prolonged periods in a context of ‘institutional complexity’. The turn toward institutional complexity reveals that preoccupation with the ‘paradox of embedded agency’ has left the development of change projects themselves under-theorized: What happens when organizational actors must interpret puzzling institutional contexts and generate alternatives? In seeking to understand organizational actors’ efforts to cope with conflicting logics in a context of scientific uncertainty, this study aligns with this growing interest in institutional complexity. Drawing on concepts from sensemaking theory, this research illuminates how actors with divergent interests, enacting their organizational roles, cope with competing logics and interact around a change project that emerges as a result of their efforts at coping. It thus contributes to institutionalist understandings of institutional complexity and change and adds to an emerging body of research linking institutional theory and sensemaking. The empirical setting for this single-case study is the ‘sustainable seafood’ discourse that began in the early 1990s when the cod collapsed off North America’s eastern seaboard. Prolonged scientific uncertainty regarding the collapse made generation of preferred alternatives problematic; this resulted in lengthy sensemaking efforts by multiple stakeholder groups, drawing on different institutional logics to produce divergent and competing interpretations and action scripts. Tracing the evolution of this discourse through documents, observations, and interviews empirically reveals processes of interrelated sensemaking, and further, exposes sensegivers as bricoleurs who use institutional elements creatively to affect the sensemaking of others.