Denna litteraturstudie undersöker hur datorbaserad inlärning påverkar lågpresterande elever i matematik. Syftet med denna studie är att göra en sammanställning av befintlig forskning, för att bidra med kunskap om hur datorbaserad inlärning kan förbättra förståelsen av matematik för elever med matematiska inlärningssvårigheter. Vidare jämförde och undersöktes effekterna datorbaserad inlärning beroende på om det används i form av spel eller instruerande undervisning. Resultaten visar att elever som använder datorer i undervisningen visade signifikant bättre resultat på eftertesten som gjordes i studierna. Den generella slutsatsen från denna studie är att det behövs mer forskning på området. Konsekvenser för framtida matematiska studier diskuteras. / This literature review has an interest to investigate how computer based learning affects low-performing students in mathematics. The purpose of this study is to make a compilation of existing research to contribute knowledge on how computer based learning can improve understanding of mathematics for students with mathematic difficulties. This also leads to an interest of comparing and investigate the effects of computer based learning depending on whether it is games or instructional teaching. Results show that students who use computers in their learning showed significantly better results on the posttests. Conclusions made in this study are that more research is needed. Implications for future mathematic studies were discussed.

The aim of this study was to find out what attitudes students of English at Upper Secondary School have to the classroom teaching, in relation to the grade they are expecting in the current course. Furthermore, the question was whether the high achievers, also referred to as “top grade” students, felt more motivated than the low achievers, also referred to as “lower grade” students. In order to answer the research questions, the phenomenon motivation first had to be examined by studying findings by different scholars. The study was carried out with a questionnaire as the instrument. It was filled in by 86 students at a freeform Upper Secondary school in the middle of Sweden. The questionnaire asked questions about the difficulty of the course, the students’ motivation for the tasks given and also what impact the teacher had on the students’ progress. 19 high achievers were identified in the study, and 8 low achievers. The results showed that the high achievers show more positive results on attitudes and motivation in all areas. They expect higher grades and they express an interest in more areas than the low achievers do. On the other hand, no difference was found between the groups when it comes to the way they rate their interest in learning English. Similarly, students in both groups understand the need for English in their future life and careers. The results suggest that both groups are driven by instrumental motivation. The results of the present study correspond to those found in earlier studies by different scholars.

This is a report of an investigation of children’s beliefs about the nature of mathematics, the nature of learning and helping factors for learning mathematics. The study aimed to investigate whether beliefs held by eight learners of eight to nine years of age could be articulated and portrayed. It aimed also to develop procedures to facilitate this process, to portray children’s beliefs from their responses to the research procedures, to provide insights into possible complexities and subtleties of young learners’ beliefs, to reflect upon the significance for the mathematics classroom of the insights gained, and to reflect upon the value of the procedures developed for the study. The research took the form of individual case studies of four girls and four boys of eight to nine years of age from two schools in suburban Melbourne. Four children were teacher-perceived low achievers in mathematics and four were teacher-perceived high achievers in mathematics. The children were each interviewed on ten occasions over a five-month period using thirty semi-structured, creative interviewing procedures that were developed or adapted for the study that included drawing, writing, discussing scenarios presented through photographs, video snippets and other children’s drawings, ordering of descriptors, and responding to questionnaires presented verbally. The interview data consisted of transcripts and artefacts. Some class administered tasks, lesson observations and interviews with the mathematics teachers provided background information. Analysis of interview responses was undertaken through a criss-cross examination in which themes were drawn from each child’s data. Responses were not judged for correctness or for a match to any predetermined categories and the researcher sought to take a stance of neutrality to the phenomena under study. The research suggests that teachers and others involved in the education of young learners of mathematics should know that: it is possible to gain insights into children’s beliefs about maths (the term used most commonly by the children), learning, and helping factors for learning maths; to gain insights into young children’s beliefs, it is important to have dialogue with the children to avoid making assumptions about their interpretations or meanings; the creative interviewing procedures developed for the present research are helpful as they can stimulate reflection and prompt conversation; young children’s beliefs can be complex, subtle, broad and deep; young children’s beliefs are individually constructed and differ from child to child; children may not see mathematics concepts in the same ways as their teachers and other adults; beliefs are sufficiently diverse and significant to affect the way children see the mathematics learning situation; although the beliefs of children of eight to nine years of age may, on the surface, appear simplistic and naïve, they are not necessarily so. Young learners are able to reflect on their own and others’ experiences and often construct complex beliefs. There is a lot happening in the minds of these children. The research suggests also that it is important that educators do not to make assumptions about: what children see as maths (or mathematics); what children see as learning; and what children see as helping factors for learning maths. A key factor facilitating children’s reflection and expression was the range of visual, verbal, and text-based creative interviewing strategies developed for the present study. The individual procedures provided suitable prompts to allow young children to articulate or represent their beliefs. The semi-structured procedures, through which ideas were explored on multiple occasions, followed by theme-based, criss-cross analysis of interview transcripts and artefacts, resulted in rich and trustworthy portrayals of beliefs, increasing the validity of the findings. The research provides the education community with insights into young children’s beliefs that are unlikely to emerge within the day to day activity of the classroom and, through the availability of the research procedures, facilitates further gaining of insights into beliefs either by classroom teachers or other researchers.

本研究旨在探討國中英語低成就生接受一文化學習計畫之後，對於英語本身學習態度之成效影響，並藉由此實驗進而探究英語科低成就者最佳的文化學習模式。本研究採等組前後測準實驗之設計，研究對象為新竹縣一所中型國中的九年級的英語科低成就學生，總共三十人。將受試者隨機等程度分配到對照組和實驗組各十五人。研究期間，實驗組進行每週一節共十週的文化學習活動，而對照組則於同時間自修英語功課，但無任何學習活動。資料之收集包括有研究者參考文獻編製的英語態度問卷調查、文化單元學習回饋問卷、及追蹤訪談。 本研究以「英語學習態度」，分別測量受試者在實驗處理前、後在英語學習態度上的反應情形，所得資料以獨立樣本t檢定及配對t檢定分析，同時以實驗組成員所填寫的文化單元學習回饋問卷、及追蹤訪談結果作進一步研究結果佐證及補充分析。 本研究結果顯示實驗組於接受文化學習計劃後，其整體的英語學習態度問卷分數，有意義優於對照組，其中尤以其對英文概括性的態度及對英文的社會文化態度有顯著性改變。但實驗組英語學習動機分數並無有意義高於控制組，且受試者於訪談中表達其課後英語學習態度尤無明顯改變。另文化學習單元回饋問卷的分析，亦顯示英語低成就者對文化學習過程及內容的偏好。據研究結果，研究者對英語低成就者的文化學習設計及未來相關研究提出數點建議。 / The study was to investigate whether culture learning can efficiently and effectively improve low-achievers’ English learning attitude and to perceive the characteristics of English low achievers’ culture learning. A total of 30 JHS English low achievers, matched into two groups—the experimental group and the control group participated in the study. SELAM Questionnaire was distributed to each subject before and after the treatment, the culture learning project, to perceive the change of their English learning attitude. The pretest and posttest scores of SELAM Questionnaire were examined by the software SAS (Statistic Analysis System) Version 9.1, including t-test and paired t-test. Besides, the interval CLF Questionnaires and the follow-up interview were analyzed to provide the answer to the qualitative study on English low achievers’ optimal culture learning mode. The results of the study were summarized as follows. (1) The subjects’ overall learning attitudes toward English were significantly and positively affected by the cultural learning project especially their general attitude and social cultural attitudes toward English learning but the culture learning project exerted no evident effect on their desire and motive to learn. (2) In terms of culture learning content, the subjects’ interest in the culture project was highly related to the content of the culture study unit—cultural materials relevant to their background knowledge and catering to their preferences could lead to their more active learning involvement. (3) As to the culture learning process, English low achievers’ culture learning requires a lower pace of culture instruction, more instructional repetition, a variety of cultural learning activities and cultural instructors’ attention to their ongoing learning feedbacks is in need in English low achievers’ culture learning process. The major findings of this study suggested that a culture learning project experience helped significantly to enhance English low-achievers’ English learning attitude but other measures should be adopted to sustain their motivation to learn and affirmative attitude toward English learning.

<p>Syftet med den här studien var att se vilka uppfattningar lärare har om att eleverna i en klass befinner sig på olika kunskapsnivåer kopplat till matematik. Studien bygger på kvalitativa intervjuer med lärare som arbetar i årskurs 6. </p><p>Litteraturen tydliggör vikten av att alla elever får möjligheter att utvecklas utifrån sina egna förutsättningar och behov. Hur undervisningen läggs upp och hur grupperna ser ut varierar, men dialogen mellan lärare och elev samt en varierande pedagogik är två betydelsefulla inslag som lyfts fram. </p><p>Resultatet visar att lärarna ser stora fördelar med att ha elever som är på en jämn kunskapsnivå, men de vänder också skillnaderna till något positivt och utnyttjar det i undervisningen. Lärarna har en önskan om att variera undervisningen mer för att ge alla elever möjlighet att lära sig matematik utifrån sina egna förutsättningar. </p><p>Min slutsats är att lärarna trots stora skillnader i klasserna anstränger sig för att kunna möta varje elev på elevens egen nivå och att de skapar sitt eget arbetssätt för att uppnå detta. Dock finns tendensen att de högpresterande eleverna ofta inte får chansen att utvecklas utifrån sina egna förutsättningar, eftersom lärarna lägger mycket kraft och tid på att hjälpa de lågpresterande eleverna.</p>

Syftet med den här studien var att se vilka uppfattningar lärare har om att eleverna i en klass befinner sig på olika kunskapsnivåer kopplat till matematik. Studien bygger på kvalitativa intervjuer med lärare som arbetar i årskurs 6. Litteraturen tydliggör vikten av att alla elever får möjligheter att utvecklas utifrån sina egna förutsättningar och behov. Hur undervisningen läggs upp och hur grupperna ser ut varierar, men dialogen mellan lärare och elev samt en varierande pedagogik är två betydelsefulla inslag som lyfts fram. Resultatet visar att lärarna ser stora fördelar med att ha elever som är på en jämn kunskapsnivå, men de vänder också skillnaderna till något positivt och utnyttjar det i undervisningen. Lärarna har en önskan om att variera undervisningen mer för att ge alla elever möjlighet att lära sig matematik utifrån sina egna förutsättningar. Min slutsats är att lärarna trots stora skillnader i klasserna anstränger sig för att kunna möta varje elev på elevens egen nivå och att de skapar sitt eget arbetssätt för att uppnå detta. Dock finns tendensen att de högpresterande eleverna ofta inte får chansen att utvecklas utifrån sina egna förutsättningar, eftersom lärarna lägger mycket kraft och tid på att hjälpa de lågpresterande eleverna.

本研究針對台灣EFL低成就學生之段落寫作，比較「直接訂正法」與「語意重述法」兩種寫作回饋之成效。本研究對象為台北市某高職學生，共56名學生全程參與這項從2009年9月到2010年1月的研究。進行修改寫作時，教師對實驗組使用「語意重述法」，學生比較原稿與老師保留學生原意但改寫成符合英文語法的段落，並將發現的文法錯誤記錄並自行訂正；對照組則運用「直接訂正法」，學生審視老師直接在上面訂正的原稿。經過看圖英文段落寫作的前測與後測、實驗組與對照組後測結果比較、以及針對實驗組的訪談，研究結果如下：(1)整體性評量上，「語意重述法」對學生改進寫作較為有效；(2)兩組中程度較差之低成就學生進步程度均優於程度較好之低成就學生，尤其實驗組之程度較差者進步程度猶勝於對照組的；(3) 「直接訂正法」對減少學生文法錯誤之功效優於「語意重述法」；(4)絕大多數參與者認為「語意重述法」有助增進寫作能力。論文最後討論此研究在教學上的意涵與提出對之後研究的建議。 / This study aimed to compare the efficacy of “direct correction” with that of “reformulation” on Taiwan EFL low-achievers’ paragraph writing. Fifty-six students in a vocational high school in Taipei City participated in this study from Sep. 2009 through Jan. 2010. When conducting revision activities, the teacher implemented the “reformulation” technique in the experimental group. The students compared the originals with the reformulated versions given by the teacher, and detected, recorded, and corrected all the grammatical errors mainly on their own. The control group received the “direct correction” treatment, examining their originals with the teacher’s corrections on them. With the pre-test and the post-test on a paragraph-length English picture description, the comparison of the post-test results between the experimental and control groups, and interviews with the experimental group, the results are as follows: First, in holistic rating, “reformulation” was more helpful than “direct correction” in improving the participants’ writing performance. Second, the low-achievers with lower proficiency benefited more from “reformulation” than those with better proficiency. Third, “direct correction” was more effective than “reformulation” in reducing the participants’ grammatical errors. Fourth, the majority in the experimental group were positive of “reformulation” as a way to improve writing. Finally, some implications for pedagogy and suggestions for future studies were made.

The research documented in this report had a twofold purpose. Firstly, it was to design and implement an intervention based on the theory of Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) aimed at improving the mathematical understanding of learners in two Grade 8 remedial mathematics classes, by revisiting the key number concepts of place value, fractions and decimals. In doing so, a second purpose was to investigate the viability and emerging characteristics of an intervention based on the theory of RME in such a setting (i.e. with low attainers to revisit key number concepts). Pending the realisation of these immediate outcomes, more distant outcomes in subsequent research would be: that learners' understanding and academic performance in mathematics improves and to develop a local instruction theory in using the RME theory to revisit the concepts of place value, fractions and decimals with low attaining learners in order to improve their understanding in this regard. Grade 8 low attainers were selected as the target group for this research as a result of the pending implementation of Mathematical Literacy as a compulsory subject for all learners, possibly from 2006. Currently in South Africa, learners who are not meeting the required standard by the end of their Grade 9 year are able to elect not to take mathematics through Grades 10, 11 and 12. When the new Further Education and Training (FET) policy is implemented, this will no longer be the case. All learners, who do not elect to take mathematics as a subject, will have to take Mathematical Literacy as a compulsory subject throughout Grades 10, 11 and 12. Although less detailed and abstract than the subject mathematics, the Mathematical Literacy curriculum still requires learners to have an understanding of key number concepts and also contains a substantial amount of algebra. As Grade 8 is when learners start working with algebra more formally, and is also their first year at secondary school, it was decided that this would be an appropriate year to try and diagnose and remediate problems in learners' understanding of the key number concepts, if and where possible. The intention was that this would then equip learners with a more appropriate structure of conceptualised knowledge of the above-mentioned concepts on which they could further construct their understanding of algebra. The study was carried out at a local urban high school in South Africa and the research design of this study was informed by two development research approaches (van den Akker&Plomp, 1993; Gravemeijer, 1994). Also, the study was only implemented with a small number of participants, within a bounded setting and without the intention to generalise the results. It was therefore regarded as a development case study. The results appear to indicate that it is viable to apply the theory of RME with low attaining Grade 8 learners in order to revisit the key number concepts of place value, fractions and decimals. Copyright 2004, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Barnes, HE 2004, A developmental case study : implementing the theory of realistic mathematics education with low attainers, MEd dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-12032004-103122 / > / Dissertation (MEd (Curriculum design))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted

本研究旨在探討如何增進低學習成就者英聽能力，除了研究何種聽力教材符合低學習成就者認知上的需求之外，並在英聽課從情意因素著手，引起低學習成就者學習動機，而且英聽課程設計也融入多元智慧，從外在成績的提昇激勵低學習成就者內發性地自主學習動機。 本研究以14位高三體育生為研究對象，研究時間持續一學期從2003年9月到2004年1月，研究工具以日記方式由學生記錄聽英文歌曲以及英文文章段落的課後心得。資料分析取自學生日記。 本研究結果如下：〈一〉淺顯易懂與學生日常生活相關而且包括學生先前學過的生字、片語、句型的英文歌曲以及文章段落有益於增進低學習成就者英聽能力。〈二〉愉快而且充滿互助的教室氣氛減少英文學習的焦慮，維持低學習成就者自尊，增加低學習成就者自信，引起學習動機。〈三〉融入六種多元智慧〈語文智慧、音樂智慧、視覺空間智慧、肢體-動覺智慧、人際智慧、內省智慧〉的英聽課程以聽前(pre-listening)、聽時(while-listening)、聽後(post-listening)三階段可有效的加強低學習成就者英聽能力。〈四〉外在的獎賞可激勵低學習成就者內發性自主學習。 / This research investigated how to improve low achievers’ listening ability, using PE students as the subject of the study. The purpose was (a) to investigate what kind of listening materials meet low achievers’ cognitive needs; (b) to motivate low achievers in listening course affectively; (c) to apply MI theory into listening curriculum development for low achievers; (d) to trigger low achievers extrinsically and intrinsically in English class. A total of 14 high school PE seniors in Taipei County in Taiwan participated in the study. The research period lasted for a semester from September 2003 to January 2004. Journals on listening to songs and listening to passages were employed as instruments. Data for the research were collected from students’ journals. The results of the study are summarized as follows. (1) Comprehensible English songs and English passages related to learners’ daily life, including lexis, phrases, and sentence patterns they previously learned were especially beneficial for low achievers to improve their listening ability. (2) A pleasant and supportive classroom atmosphere enables low achievers to reduce language learning anxiety and maintain low achievers’ self-esteem. (3) Courses integrating six intelligences (i.e. verbal/linguistic, musical, visual-spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal intelligences) were designed into three stages; i.e. pre-listening, while-listening, and post-listening in the listening treatment, and proved to be effective. (4) Low achievers were inspired by extrinsic rewards and intrinsic factors. Better grades and positive feedback inspired low achievers’ extrinsic motivation. Besides, intrinsic motivation derived from comprehensible input and listening to English songs. The findings of the study suggest that low achievers’ listening ability can be effectively improved as long as listening materials are carefully designed to suit students’ needs.

Written and oral material produced by a group of low-achieving learners of English from the 2-year lines of the Swedish upper secondary school was analysed from the perspective of grammatical correctness and communicative ability. The grammatical analysis focussed on the verb phrase and tests included both free production in speech and writing and elicitation tests. Communicative ability was assessed ‘ ‘objectively* ’ by identifying such parameters as fluency, copiousness and span, and “holistically” by using non-expert evaluators.The scores thus obtained were correlated. Grammatical correctness was correlated with communicative ability both in speech and in writing and writing proficiency was correlated with speech proficiency with respect to both grammatical correctness and communicative ability.Our findings are that there is a positive correlation between grammatical correctness and communicative ability. A remarkable finding is that the percentage of correct verb phrases correlates very weakly with communicative ability in written data. In oral data, the correlation is in fact slightly negative. The learner’s competence in grammar is reflected in both his written and oral performance. On the other hand, there is no correlation between communicative ability in writing and communicative ability in speech.The study shows that a working command of a set of syntactic rules is essential for communication. Errors are, however, an integral part of the learning process. The major part of errors are accounted for by the learner’s use of compensatory strategies. Among these low-achievers, communicative ability in conversation is distinct from writing ability. / digitalisering@umu