Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This study is an extension of work previously performed by Linder et al. (1997). It sought to explore university Physics I tutors’ conceptualization of Physics I tutorials and their conceptualization on issues relating to observations and interactions during tutoring, through involvement in a reflective practicum. The study was premised on socio-cultural constructivism, co-operative learning, situated learning theory and reflective practice.The study developed over two phases. In phase one the reflective thinking processes of the tutors were explored. Upon reflection on the literature the research context was further developed which allowed a final exploration into the tutors’ conceptualisations of the Physics I tutoring context. During this final exploration, i.e. the second phase, tutors were exposed to an organized, longitudinal sensitisation session, i.e. tutor-training over a period of nine months. Tutors were introduced to co-operative learning and the various processes of reflective practices namely, follow-me, modelling and joint experimentation, reflection-inaction and reflection-on-action.Analysis of the data was carried out using the phenomenographic research perspective. Ananalysis of the categories of description was used to demonstrate the tutors’ ability to reflect,based on their conceptual understanding of and interactions during the physics tutoring. These categories favoured the development of extended criteria to enhance reflection amongst physics tutors. These extended criteria were then used as a basis to suggest a model to support reflection amongst Physics I tutors.

This work centered on the Creating Creators Cinema Project (CCCP), a for-profit organization that works with K-12 school districts in California to integrate student filmmaking into core subjects. The qualitative case study documented the experiences of CCCP’s founders, the teaching artists who mentor filmmaking youth, and the students participating in year-long projects, providing a “thick description” of the creation, implementation, and impact of the program in a high school setting. The research addressed the dearth of arts programs in urban schools and their connection to representation in arts fields, particularly filmmaking. The study utilized three frameworks: Critical Pedagogy, Constructivism, and Situated Learning Theory to analyze data about pedagogical approaches and impact in the personal and professional lives of those involved in the project. Findings revealed participants in CCCP challenge traditional schooling practices and create a professional identity for students in the program. This study affirmed the importance of arts education in student lives and identifies how arts is a transformative vehicle for students and educators.

It seems that for many people, spaces on the web are an integral part of their lives. This may include seeking out learning opportunities in online communities. There is plenty of buzz about these cyberspaces whether they are part of new social media configurations or commercialized product-related spaces cultivated by enterprises. It is important to explore how online spaces mayor may notcreate new locations of educational possibilities for workers. The subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, fusion of these technologies into work-learning practices warrants attention. This research project focuses on online communities as sites of learning, with an over-arching question of: How do self-employed workers experience informal work-related learning in an online community? Community can describe a gathering of people online that is organic and driven by a shared interest. These online spaces may also be purposefully nurtured by professional associations, workplaces, or businesses. This research project focuses on these spacesoutside the auspices of formal online courses. I draw on Actor Network Theory (ANT) to explore how work-learning is enacted in online communities and the implications of the intertwining of people and objects in multiple, fluid and distributed actor-networks. I also use the notion of legitimate peripheral participation from Situated Learning theory to explore how different possibilities for learning are shaped by locations and trajectories within a work practice and larger community of practitioners. Data was collected by interviewing 11 self-employed workers and then following the actors as objects of interest surfaced. This dissertation is a collection of five papers as well as introduction and conclusion chapters and a background chapter on ANT. Findings explore notions of online collectives shifting to more networked configurations, the complexity of work-learning practices unfolding in multiple spaces, contradictions between Web2.0 rhetoric and practices as different associations with knowledge and novel ways of knowing are enacted, and questions about the politics of technology that emerge from uncertainties around delegation, invisible practices, and necessary literacies. Given the need to pull objects out of the background and into critical inquiry, I also explored how a researcher interviews technology objects as participants in a study. / Adult Education

<p>In this research paper, guided by Prof Z Groener, I explore the learning barriers experienced by deaf learners in the structured workplace component of a learnership programme. I focus on the learning barriers of deaf learners at work on an Information Technology learnership where the learning environment shapes and are shaped by deaf learners. Twenty deaf learners have entered during 2005 into an Information Technology: Technical Support NQF4 learnership, funded by the Information Systems (IT), Electronics and Telecommunications Technologies Sector Education Training Authority (ISETT Seta). I have determined how deaf learners are faring with work and learning in a technological environment that has experienced rapid and extensive restructuring during the past ten years. The specific difficulties which they experience during their structured workplace component of the learnerships have also been defined. I argue that when deaf learners form part of a community of practice, consisting of both deaf learners and hearing colleagues and who operate in the same area of knowledge and activity, they fare better than those who did not form part of such a community. I conclude this research paper with a link to the situated learning theory where I explain why the learner&rsquo / s situation contributed to their ability to learn.</p>

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the Applied Learning Academy (ALA) and allow the lessons learned from this public school to emerge from the narrative stories of past students, parents, teachers, administrators, and local business associates who have been directly involved and influenced by the applied learning teaching method. Accountability is critical for all public and charter schools. Districts have been trying to raise the standards with new programs and strategies in an effort to make learning experiences relevant to students? daily lives. Revisiting John Dewey?s philosophy from the progressive movement, project-based, service learning, community partnerships, and portfolio assessment helped to create the applied learning method. In the present study, a qualitative case study approach was utilized to identify successful factors, benefits, and drawbacks of applied learning in order to describe the transition of portfolio assessment, project-based learning, and community-based partnerships within the classroom and to understand the impact and misconceptions of applied learning as experienced through the Recognized Campus, ALA, a 6-8th public middle school within a large urban school district. Participant interviews, field observations, and historical records were collected which indicated that student centered project-based curriculum, small school size creating family relationships, community involvement with partnerships, service learning projects, and metacognitive development from portfolio assessments were the major factors that supported academic rigor and relevance because of the real educational applications in this applied learning middle school. Briefly defined, applied learning is when a problem is seen within the surrounding community, and the solution is generated by the students. This progressive 15-year impact of applied learning ultimately leads to the development of four applied learning schools despite the misconception that applied learning was a remedial or gifted program. Redefining applied learning for a better understanding developed a reconceptualized diagram borrowed from the quantum mechanics model. Reconceptualization expands the interpretation by increasing the intellectual flexibility. As the student becomes energized from the acquired knowledge of learning applicable skills through service learning, project-based curriculum, and portfolio assessment, the student?s academic growth should increase to a higher, educational ?energy level? supported by the critical, situated-learning, and feminist theories.

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<p>In this research paper, guided by Prof Z Groener, I explore the learning barriers experienced by deaf learners in the structured workplace component of a learnership programme. I focus on the learning barriers of deaf learners at work on an Information Technology learnership where the learning environment shapes and are shaped by deaf learners. Twenty deaf learners have entered during 2005 into an Information Technology: Technical Support NQF4 learnership, funded by the Information Systems (IT), Electronics and Telecommunications Technologies Sector Education Training Authority (ISETT Seta). I have determined how deaf learners are faring with work and learning in a technological environment that has experienced rapid and extensive restructuring during the past ten years. The specific difficulties which they experience during their structured workplace component of the learnerships have also been defined. I argue that when deaf learners form part of a community of practice, consisting of both deaf learners and hearing colleagues and who operate in the same area of knowledge and activity, they fare better than those who did not form part of such a community. I conclude this research paper with a link to the situated learning theory where I explain why the learner&rsquo / s situation contributed to their ability to learn.</p>

abstract: A core reform area of President Obama’s Race to the Top (RTT) framework, the Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) program, offered funding to states for the development of their own data systems. As a result, Arizona received funding to build a longitudinal student data system. However the targeted audience—teachers—needed training to move from a state of ‘data rich but information poor’ to one of developing actionable knowledge. In this mixed methods action research study, six teachers from three schools participated in job-embedded data-informed decision making (DIDM) and root cause analysis (RCA) professional development to improve their abilities to employ DIDM and RCA strategies to determine root causes for student achievement gaps. This study was based on the theories of situated learning, specifically the concept of communities of practice (CoP), change theory, and the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM). Because teachers comprise most of the workforce in a district, it is important to encourage them to shift from working in isolation to effectively implement and sustain changes in practice. To address this concern, an online wiki provided an avenue for participants to interact, reflect, and share experiences across schools as they engaged in the application of new learning. The results from this ten-week study indicated an increase in participant readiness levels to: (a) use and manage data sources, (b) apply strategies, and (c) collaborate with others to solve problems of practice. Results also showed that participants engaged in collaborative conversation using the online wiki when they wanted to share concerns or gain further information to make decisions. The online collaboration results indicated higher levels of online discussion occurred when participants were attempting to solve a problem of practice during the learning process. Overall, participants (a) used collaborative strategies to seek, create, and/or utilize multiple sources of data, not just student learning data, (b) worked through implementation challenges when making changes in practice, and (c) sought further types of data collection to inform their decisions about root causes. Implications from this study warrant further investigation into the use of an online CoP as an avenue for increasing teacher collaboration across schools. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Leadership and Innovation 2016

Magister Educationis - MEd / In this research paper, guided by Prof Z Groener, I explore the learning barriers experienced by deaf learners in the structured workplace component of a learnership programme. I focus on the learning barriers of deaf learners at work on an Information Technology learnership where the learning environment shapes and are shaped by deaf learners. Twenty deaf learners have entered during 2005 into an Information Technology: Technical Support NQF4 learnership, funded by the Information Systems (IT), Electronics and Telecommunications Technologies Sector Education Training Authority (ISETT Seta). I have determined how deaf learners are faring with work and learning in a technological environment that has experienced rapid and extensive restructuring during the past ten years. The specific difficulties which they experience during their structured workplace component of the learnerships have also been defined. I argue that when deaf learners form part of a community of practice, consisting of both deaf learners and hearing colleagues and who operate in the same area of knowledge and activity, they fare better than those who did not form part of such a community. I conclude this research paper with a link to the situated learning theory where I explain why the learner&rsquo;s situation contributed to their ability to learn. / South Africa

The fundamental advancement of information technology has given rise to distance education industry hence it has helped to the popularity of distance education among people. However, for employing innovative and advanced tools universities need financial resources. Reaching to these resources is not easy and accessible. Interaction equivalency theorem can be a good solution for overcoming the financial problems but designers are reluctant to utilize it because they think that education quality will decrease due to lack of teacher interaction. This study demonstrated that students’ perception toward interaction equivalency is positive as long as they have high level of interdependency with other students. Without this level of, students are not motivated in order to continue their courses. This study by providing techno-pedagogical design and IS design theory for support of IE helps e-learning practitioners who want to design an acceptable distance educational system with limited financial resources. / Program: Magisterutbildning i informatik