The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of the Direct Instruction program Corrective Reading on standardized achievement test scores specifically of reading scaled score gains in grade levels three through six in a selected school system in East Tennessee. The causal-comparative quantitative approach was the foundation for this study. Reading scaled score gains from the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) achievement test Terra Nova given in the years 2001-2002 and 2003-2004 were analyzed by grade level using ANOVA and t tests to determine if the implementation of Corrective Reading had an impact on students' achievement. No statistically significant results (p = .05) were found between the year before implementation and the year after implementation with the exception of one grade level. Furthermore, no significant differences were found at any grade level between students participating in Corrective Reading and students not participating in Corrective Reading on the 2003-2004 TCAP Terra Nova test. In addition, gender, Title I status, Special Education status, and teacher status were analyzed for interaction between groups and Corrective Reading. Only one grade level, by gender, showed a significant difference in scaled score gains. There was a significant difference by Title I status at two grade levels. Special Education students had significant reading scaled score gains at two of the four grade levels with Special Education students who received special accommodations showing significant gains at two grade levels. Students who were taught Corrective Reading by a certified teacher showed significant reading scaled score gains at one grade level, whereas the other grade levels had no significant difference.

This study investigated the connection between teacher use of motivational strategies and observable learner motivated behavior in an adult Intensive English Program (IEP) in the United States. The question of whether teachers would find value in being specifically trained in the use of motivational strategies as part of teacher educations programs was examined. Eight teachers and 117 students were observed over the course of 24 classes using a classroom observation instrument, the motivation orientation of language teaching (MOLT), originally developed by Guilloteaux and Dörnyei (2008) and modified by the current researchers. The MOLT observation scheme allowed for real-time coding of observable learner motivated behaviors and teacher motivational behaviors based on Dörnyei's (2001) motivational strategy framework for foreign language classrooms. Postlesson teacher evaluations completed by both the observer and the teacher formed part of the measure of teacher motivational practice. Additionally, teachers attended up to two training sessions, responded to postlesson interview questions and completed a feedback survey. The results validate the previous findings that teacher motivational practice is strongly related to learner motivated behavior. Additionally, results show that teachers find value in motivational strategy training.

No description available.

No description available.

I vår studie intar vi en hermeneutisk ansats och genomför en textanalys. I vår studie tolkar, analyserar och kategoriserar vi innehållet i åtgärdsprogrammets behov och åtgärd. Utifrån diskurser konstruerar vi en ram som hjälper oss att tolka formuleringar i åtgärdsprogram. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur identitet, makt och matematiska begrepp synliggörs i åtgärdsprogram. I studien undersöker vi i vilken omfattning begreppen ovan förekommer i behov och åtgärder för årskurs 6 och 7. Vi utgår från ett diskursivt perspektiv mot makt och identitet. Vår studie visar att koppling mellan behov och åtgärd saknas i vissa åtgärdsprogram. Tillskriva identitet har den största andelen för åtgärder. Matematiska begrepp har störst andel för upptagna behov. Makt (makt genom kunskap och titel) har lägst förekomst i upprättade åtgärder. Det är varje skolas diskurs och dess skolpersonal som avgör på vilket sätt och i vilket forum som arbetet kring elevens behov fungerar. På samma sätt är den skillnad som existerar mellan olika upprättade åtgärdsprogram ett uttryck för den kultur eller diskurs som råder just nu, lokalt på skolan. Detta är avgörande om åtgärdsprogrammet används som ett fungerande verktyg. / In our study we take a hermeneutical approach and interpret text. In our study we interpret, analyse, and categorize the content of the IEP´s needs and arrangements. Based on discourses we construct a framework that helps us interpret phrasings in IEPs. The purpose of this study is to investigate how identity, power and mathematical concepts are made visible in the text of IEPs. In this study, we investigate to what extent the concepts above occur in the needs and arrangements for grades 6 and 7. We start from a discursive perspective on power and identity. Our study shows that the connection between needs and arrangements is missing in some IEPs. Attributing identity has the largest share of arrangements. Mathematical concepts have the greatest proportion of occupied needs. Power (power through knowledge and title) has the lowest occurrence of written arrangements. It is the discourse of every school and its school personal that decides in what direction and in what context the work toward the needs of the student. In the same way is the difference that exist between different IEPs an expressian in the culture that is dominant at schools. This is crusial if the IEPs is working as a functioning tool.

La politique québécoise de l’adaptation scolaire confirme que le plan d’intervention (PI) constitue l’outil privilégié pour répondre aux besoins des élèves handicapés ou en difficulté d’adaptation ou d’apprentissage. Toutefois, la recension des écrits nous informe que le plan d’intervention est encore loin d’être efficace. Le Ministère de l’Éducation, des Loisirs et des Sports du Québec (MELS, 2004) ainsi que l’Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services des U.S. department of Education (dans Eichler, 1999) ont bien identifié et présenté explicitement cinq à six fonctions du PI mais, aucun des deux organismes ne définit ce qu’est une fonction, à quoi elle sert, son importance relative et ce qu’elle implique. De plus, on retrouve, explicitement ou implicitement, soit dans le cadre de référence pour l’établissement des PI (MELS, 2004), soit dans la revue de la littérature, soit dans les milieux de pratique plusieurs autres fonctions que le PI remplit ou devrait remplir. Ce flou entourant le concept de fonction entraîne un manque de rigueur dans la conception des PI, car « lorsque la totalité des fonctions a été identifiée, elle permet le développement d’un produit répondant à l’usage attendu » (Langevin et coll., 1998). Il y a d’emblée une somme de fonctions qu’un PI remplit déjà et d’autres sûrement à remplir. Or, cela n’a pas été élucidé, précisé et validé. Le but de la présente recherche a été de définir les rôles du PI au regard des besoins de ses différents utilisateurs. Les objectifs spécifiques ont été les suivants, 1) Identifier les différents utilisateurs d’un PI, 2) Identifier les besoins des différents utilisateurs d’un PI, 3) Identifier les fonctions qu’un PI doit remplir afin de satisfaire les besoins de ses utilisateurs, 4) Créer un cahier des charges fonctionnel pour la conception et l’évaluation d’un PI, 5) Identifier certains coûts reliés à la conception d’un PI. Afin d’atteindre les objectifs précités, nous avons eu recours à la méthode de l’analyse de la valeur pédagogique (AVP) (Langevin, Rocque et Riopel, 2008). La méthode d’AVP comportait une analyse des besoins des différents utilisateurs potentiels, une analyse de la recension des écrits, une analyse des encadrements légaux, une analyse de produits types et une analyse écosystémique. En conclusion, nous avons identifié les différents utilisateurs potentiels d’un PI, identifié les différents besoins de ces utilisateurs, identifié les fonctions qu’un PI doit remplir pour satisfaire leurs besoins, crée un cahier des charges fonctionnel (CdCF) pour la conception et l’évaluation des PI et identifié certains coûts liés à la conception d’un PI. Le CdCF pourra servir à concevoir des PI et à évaluer leur efficience. Une partie du CdCF pourra aussi remplir un rôle prescriptif pour la conception d’outil de soutien à l’élaboration du PI. Enfin, le CdCF pourra servir à la formation et à la recherche en éducation. / The policy on special education in Quebec confirms that the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) remains the essential tool for planning intervention to be carried out with child and youth with learning disabilities. Nonetheless a review of the literature indicates that IEPs are in need of improvement. The Ministry of Education in Quebec (2004) and the Special Education and Rehabilitative Services U.S. Department of Education (in Eichler, 1999) explicitly identify five to six functions. However, none of them define what a function is, what is the role of a function, its relative importance and implication. Furthermore, we find in the reference framework for the establishments of IEPs (MELS, 2004), in the literature review, in practice that there are many more functions an IEP fulfills or should fulfill. This ambiguity revolving around the concept of function leads to a lack of rigor because ``when all the functions are identified it allow for the development of a product that fulfills its purpose`` (Langevin and others, 1998). There are a sum of functions an IEP already fulfills and many more that it should fulfill. Unfortunately, none of these has of yet been emphasized, specified and validated. The goal of this research was to identify the characteristic role of an IEP in regards to the needs of its different users. The specific objectives of this study were: 1) To identify the different IEP users, 2) To identify the different needs of the different IEP users, 3) To identify the different functions of an IEP, 4) To create a functional specification matrix for the conception and evaluation of IEPs, 5) To identify some of the cost related to an IEP. To reach our objectives, we proceeded with the pedagogical value analysis method (PVA). The PVA method included a need analysis of the different IEP users, a literature review analysis, an analysis of legal requirements, an analysis of different IEP models and an ecosystem analysis. As a result we have, identified the different IEP users, identified their different needs, identified the different functions of an IEP, created a functional specification matrix (FSM) for the conception and evaluation of IEPs and identified some cost related to the conception of an IEP. The IEP FSM may be used to create an IEP and evaluate the efficiency of an IEP. Part of the IEP FSM may also have a prescriptive role for the conception of a tool which supports IEP users elaborating IEPs. Finally, The IEP FSM may be used in training and research.

Cette thèse s'inscrit dans le cadre des systèmes radiocommunications numériques pour des récepteurs mobiles basés sur la modulation multi-porteuse OFDM. L'objectif est de proposer des algorithmes d'estimation de canal et de suppression d'IEP pour les <br />récepteurs OFDM à grande mobilité en liaison descendante. Notre démarche est d'estimer les paramètres de propagation du canal physique tels que les retards et les variations temporelles des gains complexes du canal à trajet multiples, au lieu du canal discret équivalent. Nous avons développé une approximation à base de polynôme pour l'évolution des gains complexes d'un canal multi-trajet de type Rayleigh avec un spectre de Jakes. En se basant sur cette modélisation polynomiale, nous avons présenté une étude théorique sur les Bornes de Cramér-Rao Bayésiennes (BCRBs) pour l'estimation des gains complexes du canal, en supposant les délais des trajets connus. Enfin, nous avons développé et analysé trois algorithmes itératifs d'estimation des variations temporelles des gains complexes (à l'intérieur d'un symbole OFDM) et de suppression d'IEP pour des récepteurs à grande mobilité. Les deux premiers sont basés sur l'interpolation (passe-bas ou polynomiale) des valeurs moyennes estimées et sur un égaliseur SSI. Ils ont montré de bonnes performances pour des récepteurs à vitesses modérées (i.e., fd.T <= 0.1). Le troisième algorithme est basé sur une modélisation AR et un filtre de Kalman pour estimer les coefficients polynomiaux des gains complexes, et sur un égaliseur QR. Il a fait preuve de bonnes performances pour des récepteurs à vitesses très élevées (i.e. , fd.T> 0.1).

Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur gymnasielärare i ämnet idrott och hälsa uppfattar och resonerar om elever som har åtgärdsprogram eller som riskerar att inte uppnå kunskapskraven. Vidare syftar studien till att belysa vilka diskurser och maktrelationer lärarna är en del av och hur dessa förhåller sig till varandra vid bedömning och betygsättning av dessa elever. För att nå syftet används fyra kvalitativa intervjuer tillsammans med fyra befintliga åtgärdsprogram i ämnet idrott och hälsa. Empirin analyseras sedan med hjälp av diskursanalys samt begreppen makt och kategorisering. Studien visar att lärarna delar in elever som riskerar att inte uppnå kunskapskraven i ett antal olika kategorier: lata och bekväma, rädda, ointresserade, språkliga förbistringar och fysiologiska och eller psykologiska orsaker. Beroende på vilken kategori eleverna anses tillhöra resonerar lärarna olika om hur undervisningen bör bedrivas gällande dessa elever. Genomgående är närvaron av stor betydelse för hur eleverna kategoriseras och därefter behandlas i undervisningen av lärarna. Studien visar även att lärarna inte har all makt när det gäller bedömning och betygsättning av dessa elever. Utan de måste i själva verket förhålla sig till andra diskurser såsom ledningsinflytande, elevinflytande och i viss mån även föräldrainflytande. Dessa tre diskurser befinner sig i kamp med diskursen om lärarinflytande om makten över bedömningen och betygsättningen. / The aim of this study is to investigate how upper secondary teachers in physical education describe and discuss about students with an individual education plan (IEP) or at risk of not achieving the national knowledge requirements. Furthermore, this study aims to illustrate the discourses and power relations teachers are a part of and how these relate to each other in the assessment and grading of these students. The investigation is based on four qualitative interviews plus four existing IEPs which are analyzed with help of discourse analysis and the concepts power and categorization. The investigation shows that the teachers divide the students at risk of not achieving the national knowledge requirements in a variety of categories: lazy and comfortable, afraid, uninterested, language difficulties and physiological and or psychological reasons. The investigation shows that the teacher reasons differently about the education depending on which category the student belongs to. Throughout the investigation the student’s attendance levels are important in relation to how the teachers categorize and thereafter treat the students. The investigation also highlights that the teacher does not have all the power when it comes to the assessment and grading of these students. The teachers have to relate to other discourses like the discourse of management influence, the discourse of student influence and to some extent the discourse of parental influence. These three discourses find themselves in a struggle with the discourse of teacher influence about the power over the assessment and grading.

La politique québécoise de l’adaptation scolaire confirme que le plan d’intervention (PI) constitue l’outil privilégié pour répondre aux besoins des élèves handicapés ou en difficulté d’adaptation ou d’apprentissage. Toutefois, la recension des écrits nous informe que le plan d’intervention est encore loin d’être efficace. Le Ministère de l’Éducation, des Loisirs et des Sports du Québec (MELS, 2004) ainsi que l’Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services des U.S. department of Education (dans Eichler, 1999) ont bien identifié et présenté explicitement cinq à six fonctions du PI mais, aucun des deux organismes ne définit ce qu’est une fonction, à quoi elle sert, son importance relative et ce qu’elle implique. De plus, on retrouve, explicitement ou implicitement, soit dans le cadre de référence pour l’établissement des PI (MELS, 2004), soit dans la revue de la littérature, soit dans les milieux de pratique plusieurs autres fonctions que le PI remplit ou devrait remplir. Ce flou entourant le concept de fonction entraîne un manque de rigueur dans la conception des PI, car « lorsque la totalité des fonctions a été identifiée, elle permet le développement d’un produit répondant à l’usage attendu » (Langevin et coll., 1998). Il y a d’emblée une somme de fonctions qu’un PI remplit déjà et d’autres sûrement à remplir. Or, cela n’a pas été élucidé, précisé et validé. Le but de la présente recherche a été de définir les rôles du PI au regard des besoins de ses différents utilisateurs. Les objectifs spécifiques ont été les suivants, 1) Identifier les différents utilisateurs d’un PI, 2) Identifier les besoins des différents utilisateurs d’un PI, 3) Identifier les fonctions qu’un PI doit remplir afin de satisfaire les besoins de ses utilisateurs, 4) Créer un cahier des charges fonctionnel pour la conception et l’évaluation d’un PI, 5) Identifier certains coûts reliés à la conception d’un PI. Afin d’atteindre les objectifs précités, nous avons eu recours à la méthode de l’analyse de la valeur pédagogique (AVP) (Langevin, Rocque et Riopel, 2008). La méthode d’AVP comportait une analyse des besoins des différents utilisateurs potentiels, une analyse de la recension des écrits, une analyse des encadrements légaux, une analyse de produits types et une analyse écosystémique. En conclusion, nous avons identifié les différents utilisateurs potentiels d’un PI, identifié les différents besoins de ces utilisateurs, identifié les fonctions qu’un PI doit remplir pour satisfaire leurs besoins, crée un cahier des charges fonctionnel (CdCF) pour la conception et l’évaluation des PI et identifié certains coûts liés à la conception d’un PI. Le CdCF pourra servir à concevoir des PI et à évaluer leur efficience. Une partie du CdCF pourra aussi remplir un rôle prescriptif pour la conception d’outil de soutien à l’élaboration du PI. Enfin, le CdCF pourra servir à la formation et à la recherche en éducation. / The policy on special education in Quebec confirms that the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) remains the essential tool for planning intervention to be carried out with child and youth with learning disabilities. Nonetheless a review of the literature indicates that IEPs are in need of improvement. The Ministry of Education in Quebec (2004) and the Special Education and Rehabilitative Services U.S. Department of Education (in Eichler, 1999) explicitly identify five to six functions. However, none of them define what a function is, what is the role of a function, its relative importance and implication. Furthermore, we find in the reference framework for the establishments of IEPs (MELS, 2004), in the literature review, in practice that there are many more functions an IEP fulfills or should fulfill. This ambiguity revolving around the concept of function leads to a lack of rigor because ``when all the functions are identified it allow for the development of a product that fulfills its purpose`` (Langevin and others, 1998). There are a sum of functions an IEP already fulfills and many more that it should fulfill. Unfortunately, none of these has of yet been emphasized, specified and validated. The goal of this research was to identify the characteristic role of an IEP in regards to the needs of its different users. The specific objectives of this study were: 1) To identify the different IEP users, 2) To identify the different needs of the different IEP users, 3) To identify the different functions of an IEP, 4) To create a functional specification matrix for the conception and evaluation of IEPs, 5) To identify some of the cost related to an IEP. To reach our objectives, we proceeded with the pedagogical value analysis method (PVA). The PVA method included a need analysis of the different IEP users, a literature review analysis, an analysis of legal requirements, an analysis of different IEP models and an ecosystem analysis. As a result we have, identified the different IEP users, identified their different needs, identified the different functions of an IEP, created a functional specification matrix (FSM) for the conception and evaluation of IEPs and identified some cost related to the conception of an IEP. The IEP FSM may be used to create an IEP and evaluate the efficiency of an IEP. Part of the IEP FSM may also have a prescriptive role for the conception of a tool which supports IEP users elaborating IEPs. Finally, The IEP FSM may be used in training and research.

Since 2006 Swedish compulsory school teachers are required to use individual developmentplans (IDPs) as part of their assessment practices. The IDP has developed through two major reforms and is currently about to undergo a third in which requirements for documentation are to be reduced. The original purpose of IDP was formative: a document containing targets and strategies for the student's future learning was to be drawn up at the parent-pupil-teacher meetingeach semester. The 2008 reform added requirements for written summative assessments/grade-like symbols to be used in the plan. This thesis aims to generate knowledge of the IDP as a tool in terms of what characterizes IDP documents as well as teachers' descriptions of continuous IDP work. It contains four articles. The first two are based on 379 collected IDP documents from all stages of compulsoryschool, and the last two build on interviews with 15 teachers. Throughout, qualitative content analysis has been used for processing data. The analytical framework comprises Latour's conceptual pair inscription – translation, Wartofsky's notions of primary/secondary/tertiary artifacts, and Wertsch's distinction between mastery and appropriation, which together provide an overall framework for understanding how the IDP becomes a contextually shaped tool that mediates teachers' actions in practice. Moreover, the activity theoretical concept of contradictionis used to understand and discuss dilemmas teachers experience in relation to IDP. In article 1, targets and strategies for future learning given to students are investigated and discussed in relation to definitions of formative assessment. Concepts were derived from the data and used for creating a typology of target and strategy types related either to being aspects (students' behavior/attitudes/personalities) or to subject matter learning. In article 2, the distribution of being and learning targets to boys and girls, respectively, is investigated. The results point to a significant gendered difference in the distribution of being targets. Possible reasons for the gendered distribution are discussed from a doing-gender perspective, and the proportion of being targets in IDPs is discussed from an assessment validity point of view. In article 3, teachers' continuous work with IDPs is explored, and it is suggested that IDP work develops in relation to perceived purposes and the contextual conditions framing teachers' work. Three qualitatively different ways of perceiving and working with IDP are described in a typology. Article 4 elaborates on dilemmas that teachers experience in relation to IDP, concerning time, communication, and assessment. A tentative categorization of dilemma management strategies is also presented. Results are synthesized in the final part of the thesis, where the ways in which documents are written and IDP work is carried out are discussed as being shaped in the intersection between rules and guidelines at national, municipal and local school level, and companies creating solutions for IDP documentation. Various purposes are to be achieved with the help of the IDP, which makes it a potential field of tension that is not always easy for teachers to navigate. Several IDP-related difficulties, but also opportunities and affordances, are visualized in the studies of this thesis. / <p>Svensk sammanfattning: s. 111-126.</p>