Thesis (Th. M.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 1985. / Typescript.

Thesis (M.A.)--Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, 1986. / Abstract. Bibliography: leaves 132-133.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Logos Evangelical Seminary, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 213-225).

This is a small-scale research study on the discovery method of teaching history through the medium of small-group discussion. The study begins with a brief outline of the theoretical background to these topics, as well as of some of the extant research in the field. The class selected for the study is the standard seven class of a boys' high school. After the researcher has instructed the whole standard in an historical area which is unfamiliar to the pupils, twelve groups of three each are selected and withdrawn from the rest of the class, one group at a time. These thirty-six pupils become the "experimental" group; the rest of the pupils become the "control" group . The groups are selected according to different intellectual criteria and presented with stimulus material of one of three kinds, which is intended to aid them in their discourse. Each group is given the same set of three questions to discuss and, without further assistance by the researcher, the discussion takes place. This is recorded on audio-tape. After all the group discussions have been recorded, an assessment test is given to the whole standard, both experimental and control pupils. At the end of the school term a compulsory examination question is inserted in the history examination. The statistical data forthcoming from these assessments are correlated and the results analysed. Meanwhile, transcripts of all the group discussions have been made and these are analysed on a qualitative basis in terms of the groups' intellectual composition and according to the type of stimulus material used, and the results are recorded. The concept of "leaderless" groups is briefly discussed in the light of the dealings of the various groups in the study. The researcher finally feels justified in concluding that small groups are an ideal medium for the handling of evidence- based learning in history. He also has certain observations to make on the performance of groups of mixed (as opposed to homogeneous) ability as well as on the success of certain types of stimulus material towards initiating profitable discussion.

M.Ed. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

D.Ed. / Numerous studies have been conducted regarding the interaction between human beings and the biophysical environment. They primarily sought to address the ever-increasing destructive behavior of human beings towards the biophysical environment. In Environmental Education, it is widely assumed that this destructive behavior is the result of a reductionist worldview, which separates human beings from nature. Environmental Education developed as a response towards this destructive interaction. Various Environmental Education models have been developed to understand and change the complex interaction between human beings and the biophysical environment. One such model was developed by Van Rooyen (2002). He identified, amongst others, two constituents that determine abovementioned interaction. The first is the individual self, and the second is the context within which the self functions. These two constituents are closely related. This study wants to contribute to this field by providing a deeper investigation of these two constituents. This is done through emphasis on the depth of experiencing, and through that the personal construction of meaning regarding the value of the biophysical environment. This deeper investigation will incorporate the personal worldview and psychological aspects of the individual. The psychotherapeutic centre, which is situated in a wilderness area, will provide the psychological milieu in which these psychological aspects are investigated. The investigation focuses on adult group work at the centre as a real life situation within which these constituents will be studied. In this study, activities for group work with adults are developed, where ecological principles are being used during therapeutic intervention to address the problems of patients who have been referred to the centre. The biophysical environment within which the centre is situated is used as an active component in the therapeutic process. These ecological principles which are being used are well known in the field of psychology to address personal problems. This study, though, wants to take it one step further, namely, to develop caring and respect for the biophysical environment. This is done through developing a better understanding of the interaction and relationship between human beings and the biophysical environment. This descriptive case study uses the individual responses of participants to monitor the experience and construction of meaning of the natural environment from a personal life context. A holistic open system approach to Environmental and Adult Education has been followed throughout the study, which assumes that each individual is part of a bigger system and that change of behavior towards the biophysical environment cannot be predicted or controlled. The assumption is also made that interaction with the biophysical environment is closely related and influenced by the personal context and problems of the individual. This study in Environmental Education uses the group work at a psychotherapeutic centre as the basis for Environmental Education for adults.

As a history teacher at Kuyasa High School in the Ciskei and afterwards as history method lecturer at the University of Fort Hare, visiting a large number of schools regularly for purposes of practice teaching with groups of students, I became aware of the problems encountered when history is taught to mixed ability groups. By far the most glaring problem is that of teaching methods. Teachers are in doubt concerning the teaching methodology to be adopted in classes where the spread of ability is wide. They face considerable difficulties in developing a role for themselves both in the classroom and in relation to their colleagues. The often noted tendency of teachers is to isolate themselves and guard the privacy of their classroom life. This realisation prompted me to undertake this study. The aim of this study is twofold. Having large classes in Ciskeian secondary schools, it is obvious that the spread of ability within classes is wide. The teachers then would have to form groups within the class. The first aim, therefore, is to develop and apply a reading comprehension test, with passages of varying difficulty. The performance of pupils in the test will serve as a guide when the children are put into groups. Secondly, I intend suggesting group activities which could be done by history pupils in such groups (Preface, p. iii)

In many social agencies today, caseworkers are working with groups of clients or relatives of clients and there are increasing references to this development in the literature. The purpose of the present study was to discover? (a) the extent of the use of such groups by caseworkers in the Greater Vancouver Area; (b) the administrative policy on the subject; (c) the views and experience of supervisors in the group method, including problems of supervising caseworkers; (d) the experience and also the training of caseworkers in these groups. Questionnaires were utilized to obtain most of the data. They were sent to the casework agencies of the Greater Vancouver Area, to the administrators of agencies with caseworkers using the group method, and to the supervisors of such caseworkers. An interview schedule was prepared to use in interviews with caseworkers who were "change agents" in a group. The evidence is that increasing numbers of social workers in the Greater Vancouver Area are working with groups of people rather than singly. The administrative level reflects much uncertainty about the appropriate policy to develop in the use of group methods. Supervisors are on the whole not experienced in this technique, and questions on how to supervise caseworkers working with groups need to be answered. Caseworkers are favorably impressed with the usefulness of groups as a way of helping clients and relatives of clients, but most of them lack adequate training in group method. To improve services, there is now a need for a classification system of group services to be employed in casework agencies, and there is an urgent need for training, probably with the aid of Schools of Social Work Instructors, to help caseworkers become proficient in this new development of group method. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This study was motivated by the writer's belief that youngsters do have a tendency to group, and that this propensity, no matter how emphemeral and vacillating it may be at times, should be taken into account in the design of teacher strategies. Grade four students were assigned to two groups at random, and then, in one group, subgroups of four students were randomly made up. All students were instructed by film loops for three days on writing an equation for a division problem. On the fourth day of the experiment, the students wrote a criterion test of twenty-five division problems. The investigation of student-student interaction was done by comparing the effects of instruction to groups of four students with those of instruction to the individually taught students. A two-tailed t-test was used to test the significance between the means of the two groups and a F-test was employed to test the difference in the variances of the two groups. There was no significant difference between the individual-taught group and the group-taught group in terms of either mean or variance. The conclusion was drawn that the use of small groups to teach students to write equations for division problems did not improve the instruction. But it was felt that further research using different dependent variables is both warranted and desirable. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

Note: