This thesis focuses upon the abilities of children with severe learning difficulties to contemplate the psychological states of other people, what is often referred to in the literature as 'mindreading' (Whiten and Perner, 1991). The first section contains a review of the literature on children's developing understanding of the mind and their conceptual representational abilities. This is followed by two studies investigating non-learning disabled children's abilities to attribute first-and second-order false belief. The first of these uses an adaptation of the Sally-Anne test (Baron-Cohen, et al., 1985). The second study uses an original false belief story scenario, which involves children in drama. The researcher uses a technique called 'split-briefing' to provide children with first-hand experience of first-and second-order false belief. Simplified versions of the two false belief story scenarios are then used with children with severe learning difficulties to investigate their abilities to represent first-and second-order false belief. The relationship between children's scores on belief attribution tasks and their scores on tests of non-verbal intellectual reasoning (Ravens Coloured Matrices) and receptive language ability (TROG) is also examined in this study. The third section outlines the findings of a questionnaire-based study examining parental reports of spontaneous internal state use by two groups of children: non-learning disabled children aged 1-5 years and pupils with Down's Syndrome aged 4-19 years with severe learning difficulties. 'Internal state language' is language which refers to intentions, cognitions and feeling states (Bretherton and Beeghly, 1981). This is followed by a further investigation of internal state language among a group of students with severe learning difficulties. This study uses a series of playlets written by the author to provide students with an interactive, participatory medium in which to draw their attention to people's internal states. The thesis concludes with a final statement on research into the social-cognitive development of children with severe learning difficulties, with recommendations for future research and intervention.

This study was performed to determine what content in biology was perceived as difficult and important to learn and to investigate whether there is a relationship between reasoning ability, gender, perceived difficulty and importance. A total of 397 Grade 11 students and sixteen biology teachers participated in the study. Students and teachers&rsquo / perceptions of difficult and important to learn concepts were determined through a questionnaire. Moreover, semi-structured interviews were conducted with students and teachers to determine the intrinsic difficulties and sources of difficulties. Descriptive statistics was used to determine frequencies of difficult, moderate and easy biology concepts as perceived by students and teachers. Biotechnology and genetic engineering, hormones, photosynthesis, genes, Mendelian genetics and respiration were found to be difficult concepts for students to learn. On the other hand, the students identified producers, consumers, and decomposers, active transport, diffusion and osmosis as easy topics. In addition, cell, enzyme, cell division, respiratory system in vertebrates, protein synthesis, and reproduction in animals are selected as important topics in the curriculum to be learned. On the contrary, body systems in invertebrates and animal tissues are found to be less important topics to be learned. Students&rsquo / reasoning ability was assessed by using Group test of Logical Thinking (GALT). While a statistically significant negative correlation was found between reasoning ability and percieved difficulty (r= -.115, p&lt / . 05), no statisticaly significant relationship between gender and perceived difficulty was found.

Σκοπός της παρούσας διπλωματικής εργασίας είναι η μελέτη του συγχρονισμού των ηλεκτροεγκεφαλικών σημάτων ως μέθοδος διάγνωσης των μαθησιακών δυσκολιών. Τα δεδομένα που χρησιμοποιήθηκαν είναι ηλεκτροεγκεφαλογραφήματα ηρεμίας και εγκεφαλικά προκλητικά δυναμικά υγιών και ατόμων με μαθησιακές δυσκολίες. Η μεθοδολογία που εξετάζεται βασίζεται στον υπολογισμό γραμμικών και μη γραμμικών μεγεθών. Τα γραμμικά μεγέθη περιλαμβάνουν την ετεροσυσχέτιση (cross-correlation) και τη συνοχή (coherence). Τα μη γραμμικά μεγέθη περιλαμβάνουν πέντε μεγέθη που προκύπτουν από την ανακατασκευή του σήματος στο χώρο των καταστάσεων, και δύο μεγέθη που προκύπτουν από το μετασχηματισμό Hilbert. Τα αποτελέσματα της ανάλυσης δείχνουν ότι ο συγχρονισμός στα άτομα με μαθησιακές δυσκολίες είναι σημαντικά ελαττωμένος σε σχέση με τους υγιείς στο σύνολο των ηλεκτροδίων και των εγκεφαλικών ρυθμών. / The aim of the present thesis is the analysis of the synchronization of the electroencephalogram as a method for the diagnosis of learning difficulties. The utilized data are electroencephalogram and evoked potentials of healthy subjects and subjects with learning difficulties. The method includes the estimation of linear and non linear measures. Two linear measures are used, namely cross-correlation and coherence. Five non linear measures are based on the reconstruction of the state space, and two non linear measures are based on the Hilbert transform. Driver synchronization is observed in subjects with learning difficulties as demonstrated by all the studied measures.

Esta pesquisa situa-se no campo dos processos cognitivos subjacentes à aprendizagem da matemática. Procurou-se avaliar a relação entre o raciocínio quantitativo e a memória de trabalho na aprendizagem da matemática em 30 alunos da 4ª série do Ensino Fundamental, com idades entre 9 e 10 anos em duas escolas públicas de Porto Alegre. Os participantes foram divididos igualmente em dois grupos, um com alto desempenho em matemática e outro com baixo desempenho em matemática. Avaliamos os processos cognitivos dos grupos através de tarefas que envolveram: desempenho matemático (DM), memória de trabalho (MT), memória de curto prazo (MCP), habilidades numéricas (HN) e raciocínio quantitativo (RQ). Os resultados foram analisados quanti-qualitativamente. Para verificar as correlações entre as funções avaliadas, foi utilizado o teste não paramétrico de Spearman. O grupo de alunos com alto desempenho em matemática apresentou melhores resultados em todas as funções avaliadas nessa pesquisa. Tal resultado sugere que todas essas habilidades desempenham um papel essencial na aprendizagem da matemática. Além disso, foram utilizadas medidas estatísticas para verificar a significância das diferenças entre os grupos. Os resultados apontam que houve diferença estatisticamente significativa entre os grupos quanto às funções avaliadas, exceto a MT. Destacamos o fato de que, o RQ foi a única função a correlacionar-se de forma estatisticamente significativa com todas as demais. A correlação entre RQ e MT foi estatisticamente significativa (p ≤ 0,05) ressaltando que os recursos da MT são importantes para o RQ, uma vez que evitam sobrecarga e garantem fluidez no raciocínio. Os resultados do estudo oferecem uma importante implicação educacional: a necessidade de incluir-se, ao longo do Ensino Fundamental, tarefas escolares que tenham em vista competências conceituais e procedurais, como tarefas desafiadoras em que os alunos devam manter a atenção, raciocinar quantitativamente demonstrando flexibilidade e adaptação na utilização de aprendizagens anteriores. / This research stands on the underlying cognitive processes and Math learning field. It intended to evaluate the relation between quantitative reasoning and working memory on the math learning with 30 elementary school fourth-grade students, with ages varying from 9 to 10 years in two Porto Alegre public schools. Participants were divided equally into two groups, one with high performance in mathematics, and other with low performance in mathematics. We evaluated the groups cognitive processes through tasks which involved: mathematical achievement (MA), working memory (WM), short-term memory (STM), numeracy skills (NS), and quantitative reasoning (RQ). Results were analyzed quantiqualitatively. The Spearman non-parametric test was used in order to verify the correlations among the evaluated functions. In this research, the students group with good performance in Mathematics presented better results in all evaluated functions. This result suggests that all these skills play an essential role on math learning. Statistical measures were used to verify the significance of the differences between the groups. Results indicate that there was statistically significant difference between the groups in relation to all evaluated function, except WM. We emphasize the fact that QR was the only function to be correlated in a statistically significant way with all the other functions. Correlation between QR and WM was statistically significant (p ≤ 0,05) highlighting the fact that the WM resources are important for QR, since they avoid overload and guarantee fluidity of reasoning. The study results offer an important educational implication: the need to include, along the elementary school, academic tasks that aim conceptual and procedural competencies, as challenging tasks in which the students must maintain attention, reason quantitatively, showing flexibility and adaptation in the use of early learnings.

This thesis proposes a reference model and its computational core to support the creation of software applications within educational environments, which address Differences In Learning (DiffInL) and are applicable to both learners and instructors. This work differs from others in that the strength of this model resides on the re-usable character of the reasoning mechanism enabled by the computational environment. The starting point is the definition of agreed learning goals that the learner needs to achieve. In turn, the reference model generates personalised, best-practice teaching and learning materials, suitable for achieving the individual’s learning goals. This reference model consists of MODEL and MANAGEMENT components. The MODEL components store the domain needed to create learners and instructional models, which are required for the creation of Learning Spaces (LeS). The MANAGEMENT compo- nent also manages the semantics stored in various model components in order to carry out the configuration of an LeS. The architecture of software applications generated from the reference model is illustrated and contains: Netbeans IDE 8.0.2, JavaServer Faces framework and OWL-API library. We tested this to generate teaching practices for Learning Difficulties (LDif) student. In order to prove the feasibility of creating a software application from the reference model, an example of a particular scenario in a specific educational setting for LDif Students has been shown. This proposed model has successfully proved its ability to address the needs of LDif Students through a corresponding novel and re-usable reasoning mechanism implemented in Web Ontology Language (OWL) and Semantic Web Rule Language (SWRL) computational environments. The reference model has shown its ability to integrate with different disciplines such as psychology, sociology and human-computer interactions. The main contribution to research is the creation of a novel reference computational model which addresses the needs of people with DiffInL. The strength of this model resides on the re-usable character of the reasoning mechanism enabled by the computational environment. The whole framework allows a unified implementation which takes into account classes, constraints, matching, and inference mechanisms for the complete configuration of an LeS. The suggested approach also differs from previous work in that it is personalised, and the applied reasoning rules are dynamic. Therefore this model can be constantly “tuned” according to the questions we may ask in such environments. Overall, the proposed reference model in this research offers a promising and feasible solution that can support current educational systems and benefit both learners and instructors. It also demonstrates the applicability of the latest technologies and would allow for future technologies to be incorporated, in order to enhance the model.

This master thesis deals with the problems of Specific Learning Difficulties such as dyslexia, dysgraphia and dysorthography that show especially in the Czech language. The theoretical part concentrates on the personality of the student with Specific Learning Difficulties. It explains the term "Specific Learning Difficulties". The difficulties (mentioned above) and their symptoms are defined there too. It focuses on the aetiology of Specific Learning Difficulties, their diagnostics and re-educational principles. It also contains a short chapter about sense perception which is closely related to the re-education of Specific Learning Difficulties. The practical part offers the list of re-educational tools, methods and activities for the re-education of dyslexia, dysgraphia and dysorthography. This list is supplemented by the set of worksheets that can be used for example during the correction of Specific Learning Difficulties.

Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo principal verificar que ações musicais são adequadas ao perfil de sujeitos com dificuldades de aprendizagem, dedicando um olhar à autoestima durante o processo de ensino-aprendizagem musical. Utiliza na análise ideias de Jean Piaget, e outros autores ligados ao pensamento piagetiano e da autoestima na aprendizagem. O trabalho envolveu como amostra alunos da rede municipal de ensino de Passo Fundo e, como método, o descritivo, procurando compreender as situações manifestadas pelos sujeitos. Com base na análise dos dados, o estudo refletiu sobre o tema: compreensão de sujeitos com dificuldades de aprendizagem. Na pesquisa foram realizadas atividades rítmicas e instrumentais (percussão), atividades vocais, melódica instrumental (flauta doce), de escuta musical e atividades relacionadas à autoestima. Os resultados mostram que atividades musicais estão permeadas de emoções que influenciam o "fazer musical" e que a ação musical ordena e reequilibra o pensamento, proporcionando ao sujeito valorização de si mesmo. / This investigation aims at verifying what musical actions are adequate to profiles of subjects with learning difficulties, dedicating a view on self-esteem during the musical teaching-learning process. For the analysis, Jean Piaget´s ideas are used, as well as the ones belonging to other authors related to his thoughts and self-esteem in learning. The sample of this study consisted of students of public schools of the city of Passo Fundo and, as method, the descriptive one, aiming at understanding the situations manifested by the subjects. Based on data analysis, this study infers on the theme: comprehension of subjects with learning difficulties. For the investigation, rhythmical and instrumental activities (percussion), instrumental melodics (recorder), vocal and musical hearing activities and the ones related to self-esteem were used. Results show musical activities are permeated by emotions which influence the "musical-making" and that musical action ordinates and re-equilibrate thought, favoring self-valorization for the subject.

Este estudo aborda a visão que o professor possui das dificuldades de aprendizagem. Tem como base teórica a Epistemologia Genética, focando mais especificamente a Tomada de Consciência. Delineou-se a pesquisa através de uma metodologia embasada na investigação qualitativa. O problema de pesquisa procurou questionar a visão que o docente tem de seus alunos com dificuldades de aprendizagem. Os dados foram coletados através de entrevistas semi-estruturas, inspiradas na abordagem clínica piagetiana, com docentes de ensino fundamental e médio. As categorias de análise foram criadas no estudo dos dados coletados. Seus achados demonstram desconhecimento das patologias de aprendizagem por parte dos professores, assim como ausência de tomada de consciência das relações entre o uso de uma metodologia inadequada e as dificuldades de aprendizagem. Os docentes demonstram que não avaliam sua forma de ensino, nem tampouco se questionam em relação ao fracasso da aprendizagem dos alunos. Relatam como causa das suas limitações a restrita formação universitária. Como conclusão, afirmase o desconhecimento do professor das dificuldades de aprendizagem e a necessária adequação dos currículos universitários, tendo em vista a inclusão de disciplinas que tratem das alterações na aprendizagem encontradas pelos docentes em sala de aula. / This study approaches the teachers' vision of the learning difficulties. Its theoretical base is Genetic Epistemology, specifically focusing on Becoming Conscient. The research is delineated through a methodology based in the qualitative inquiry. The research problem questioned the relation between the docent and students with learning difficulties. The data was collected from interviews semi-structures, inspired by Piaget's clinical boarding, with docents from both Junior High and High School. The categories of analysis were created during the study of the collected data. Its results demonstrate the teachers' unfamiliarity to learning pathologies, as well as absence of Becoming Conscient about the relation between the use of an inadequate methodology and the difficulties of learning. The docents demonstrate that they do not evaluate their own teaching methods, neither question themselves on the failure of the learning. They claim that the cause of their limitations is the restricted university graduation. As conclusion, the unfamiliarity of the professor with the learning difficulties is noticed, as the necessity of adequacy in the university programs, in which disciplines focusing the learning alterations the professors find in the classroom must be enclosed.

As dificuldades de aprendizagem, muitas vezes, são vistas como as grandes vilãs de qualquer sala de aula. Quando detecta-se sua presença, que por vezes acontece por meio das notas, trata-se de procurar os culpados. Uma coisa que é tão natural ao processo de aprendizagem é rotulada como um empecilho para o sucesso dos alunos e da escola. Ora o professor é cobrado para que melhore seus métodos de ensino, ora o aluno é cobrado por mais esforço e dedicação, quando não é encaminhado para que seja tratado com fármacos que lhes "garantirão" melhores notas. Fala-se tanto do que ensinar e como ensinar, mas reflete-se tão pouco sobre o maior objetivo do ensino que é a aprendizagem. As concepções dos sujeitos acerca do que é a aprendizagem ou a não aprendizagem afetam a forma como estes vivenciam o dia a dia da escola. Com o intuito refletir acerca das crenças e das concepções dos membros de uma comunidade escolar e sobre sua influencia na aprendizagem, foram realizados três estudos que contaram com a participação de 272 membros de uma rede privada de escolas confessionais: 33 alunos, 138 professores, 52 gestores, 14 pais e 35 funcionários administrativos. Nesta pesquisa, com abordagem quali-quantitativa, foram utilizados três instrumentos de coleta de dados: dois questionários estruturados com escala Likert, para análise quantitativa, e um grupo focal para análise qualitativa. Os estudos realizados sugerem que crenças ingênuas insistem em manter boa parte dos sujeitos amparados no senso comum, em seus discursos e suas práticas. Basear a educação apenas no que “sempre deu certo” ou no que a escola deseja, e não no que o aluno precisa, pode comprometer o processo de aprendizagem. A não reflexão sobre aprendizagem e ensino pode mascarar necessidades, mediante falsos sucessos ou o sucesso da maioria. Enquanto a educação permanecer mergulhada em senso comum, seus sujeitos não alcançarão os significados das próprias ações, não poderão chegar à consciência do que fazem, não poderão criticá-las, nem ultrapassá-las. / The learning difficulties often are seen as the major villains in any classroom. When its presence is detected, which sometimes happens through the student grades, we seek for a reason. One thing that is so natural to the learning process is labeled as an obstruction to the students and the school success. Either the teacher is asked to improve their teaching methods, the student is charged for more effort and dedication or the student is sent to be treated with drugs that will "ensure" better grades. There are a lot of talking about what to teach and how to teach, however so little about the ultimate goal of teaching which is learning. The conceptions of what is learning and what is not affect the way those live at school on daily basis. In order to reflect on the concepts and their influence on learning three studies were held, which included the participation of members of a private network of religious schools: 33 students, 138 teachers, 52 administrators, 14 parents and 35 staff (not teachers or managers). Data was collected using two methods. One method involved the use of two Epistemological questionnaires, while the other involved the use of a focus group. The studies suggest that naive beliefs insist on keeping most of the people supported by common sense in their discourses and practices. Base education only as "always worked" or that the school wants, not what the student needs, may compromise the learning process. This is no reflection on learning and teaching can mask needs by pseudo success or the success of the majority. For as long as the concept and methods of education are viewed as commonsensical, those involved will find it difficult to step outside of this mindset and critique the methods that are used, or indeed to allow those methods to evolve.

Esta pesquisa situa-se no campo dos processos cognitivos subjacentes à aprendizagem da matemática. Procurou-se avaliar a relação entre o raciocínio quantitativo e a memória de trabalho na aprendizagem da matemática em 30 alunos da 4ª série do Ensino Fundamental, com idades entre 9 e 10 anos em duas escolas públicas de Porto Alegre. Os participantes foram divididos igualmente em dois grupos, um com alto desempenho em matemática e outro com baixo desempenho em matemática. Avaliamos os processos cognitivos dos grupos através de tarefas que envolveram: desempenho matemático (DM), memória de trabalho (MT), memória de curto prazo (MCP), habilidades numéricas (HN) e raciocínio quantitativo (RQ). Os resultados foram analisados quanti-qualitativamente. Para verificar as correlações entre as funções avaliadas, foi utilizado o teste não paramétrico de Spearman. O grupo de alunos com alto desempenho em matemática apresentou melhores resultados em todas as funções avaliadas nessa pesquisa. Tal resultado sugere que todas essas habilidades desempenham um papel essencial na aprendizagem da matemática. Além disso, foram utilizadas medidas estatísticas para verificar a significância das diferenças entre os grupos. Os resultados apontam que houve diferença estatisticamente significativa entre os grupos quanto às funções avaliadas, exceto a MT. Destacamos o fato de que, o RQ foi a única função a correlacionar-se de forma estatisticamente significativa com todas as demais. A correlação entre RQ e MT foi estatisticamente significativa (p ≤ 0,05) ressaltando que os recursos da MT são importantes para o RQ, uma vez que evitam sobrecarga e garantem fluidez no raciocínio. Os resultados do estudo oferecem uma importante implicação educacional: a necessidade de incluir-se, ao longo do Ensino Fundamental, tarefas escolares que tenham em vista competências conceituais e procedurais, como tarefas desafiadoras em que os alunos devam manter a atenção, raciocinar quantitativamente demonstrando flexibilidade e adaptação na utilização de aprendizagens anteriores. / This research stands on the underlying cognitive processes and Math learning field. It intended to evaluate the relation between quantitative reasoning and working memory on the math learning with 30 elementary school fourth-grade students, with ages varying from 9 to 10 years in two Porto Alegre public schools. Participants were divided equally into two groups, one with high performance in mathematics, and other with low performance in mathematics. We evaluated the groups cognitive processes through tasks which involved: mathematical achievement (MA), working memory (WM), short-term memory (STM), numeracy skills (NS), and quantitative reasoning (RQ). Results were analyzed quantiqualitatively. The Spearman non-parametric test was used in order to verify the correlations among the evaluated functions. In this research, the students group with good performance in Mathematics presented better results in all evaluated functions. This result suggests that all these skills play an essential role on math learning. Statistical measures were used to verify the significance of the differences between the groups. Results indicate that there was statistically significant difference between the groups in relation to all evaluated function, except WM. We emphasize the fact that QR was the only function to be correlated in a statistically significant way with all the other functions. Correlation between QR and WM was statistically significant (p ≤ 0,05) highlighting the fact that the WM resources are important for QR, since they avoid overload and guarantee fluidity of reasoning. The study results offer an important educational implication: the need to include, along the elementary school, academic tasks that aim conceptual and procedural competencies, as challenging tasks in which the students must maintain attention, reason quantitatively, showing flexibility and adaptation in the use of early learnings.