The study included transcripts from seven students with Swedish as a second language in grade 3, with the purpose being focusing on how they experience language during mathematic lessons and how second language learners´ learning could be understood from a sociocultural perspective. Each student was individually interviewed. My method for interviewing the students was using a semi-structured way of interviewing, meaning that I had predefined questions with room for asking follow up-questions during the interviews. The students were asked questions about their background, and they also got to answer mathematical questions including mathematical terms and words. They were asked questions about what they found difficult and easy within the mathematical questions. The second language learners had in general low difficulty with the understanding of the mathematical language in the mathematical questions. The results show that the students have appropriated knowledge by scaffolding and the zone of proximal development, which is part of the sociocultural perspective of learning. A conclusion is that the students didn’t show any signs of having trouble understanding words within mathematics that usually causes confusion among second language learners. When it comes to further developing their language skills a support of pictures can be used to describe difficult words, further can physical material also be used while learning second language learners´ new mathematical terms and words. The physical material can also act in combination with pictures to easier explain new mathematical terms and words.

Eftersom läroboken har en dominerande roll i den svenska matematikundervisning är det av vikt att läroböckernas innehåll är av god kvalitet och arbetar mot de mål som skolans styrdokument strävar mot. Begreppsförståelsen kan förstås som grunden i det matematiska tänkandet. Denna förmåga utvecklas i takt med att eleven får nya erfarenheter och kunskaper kring matematiska problem i olika sammanhang. Ett möte med uttrycksformer av stor variation skapar erfarenheter och hjälper eleven utveckla sin begreppsförmåga. Syftet med denna studie är att få en förståelse för vilka uttrycksformer eleven får möta i det marknadsdominerande läromedlet för grundskolans lägre åldrar samt hur eleven får möjlighet att använda uttrycksformerna som ett verktyg i utvecklandet av begreppsförmågan. Resultatet av studien visar att eleverna får få tillfällen att möta olika uttrycksformer och lära sig använda dem som ett stöd för att utveckla sin begreppsförståelse i matematik. Studien belyser även vikten av elevers kunskap att översätta uttrycksformer till en annan uttrycksform för att erhålla en bredare förståelse för begreppens betydelse. / Since the textbook has a dominant role in Swedish mathematics education, it is important that content is in good quality and works towards the goal of Swedish education. Conceptual understanding can be understood as the basis of mathematical thinking and develops as the student gains new experiences and knowledge of mathematical problems in different contexts. A meeting with a variety of representations can create new experiences and help the student develop a god conceptual understanding. The purpose of this study is to understand what forms of representations the pupils may encounter in the market-dominant textbook for the elementary school. As well the possibility the students have using representation as a tool to create conceptual understanding. The results of the study show that the students are given few opportunities to meet a variation of representations and learn how to use them as a support to gain the conceptual understanding. The study also highlights the importance of students’ ability to translate representations to gain a broader conceptual understanding.

The purpose of the study is to investigate preschool teachers' views on the learning environment as a tool for interaction and learning. The study is based on a qualitative study, where we have chosen to interview four preschool teachers based on a semi-structured interview method, this to get an insight into their thoughts, opinions and experiences. We feel that there are shortcomings in the discussion about the learning environment as a tool based on our experience, which is why we chose to investigate active preschool teachers' views on this. The study is based on a sociocultural perspective to highlight the learning that takes place in interaction with the environment you are in.  The results of the study show that preschool teachers look at the learning environment as a foundation in preschool, especially for learning and interaction. The preschool teachers describe that they therefore work actively with the learning environments based on the resources they have. The results show that the preschool is given different conditions for developing the learning environments to stimulate and inspire the children. Some conclusions are presented and one of them is how learning and interaction are affected depending on the structure of the learning environment. The study shows that various factors are involved in influencing the preschool teacher's work.

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Yes / Students of education encounter a range of pedagogies yet how future teachers’ appropriate moral principles are little understood. We conducted an investigation into this process with 10 international students of education attending an intensive course on ‘dialogic pedagogy’ in a university in Finland. The data comprising student learning journals and essays were coded for the level of questioning, acceptance and irreverence. In the findings, reverential acceptance was more frequent than questioning and irreverence; however, our qualitative analysis also found a large number of micro-transitions between questioning, acceptance and irreverence suggesting a dynamic interplay. Recognising this vacillation as part of a moral journey may support better understanding of what it means to engage with a different pedagogy.

The goal of this research project was to determine the content of the discourse occurring in grade-level meetings and coaching sessions and participants' perceptions of how the conversations in these two venues impacted learning and practice for individual teachers. Learning Forward's Standard for Professional Learning (2001) recommended that teachers organize into learning communities providing continuous learning opportunities to enhance adult learning and collaboration. Little (2003a) found that research was lacking that described the dynamics of communities of practice that promote teacher learning. It was in the content of the discourse that a proxy for evidence was found that the actions of the instructional coaches and grade-level meetings impact teacher growth. A case study was utilized to examine these structures and processes for job-embedded professional development at a school located in the eastern United States. Research questions focused on the nature of the discourse among teachers and coaches in the grade-level meetings and in individual coaching conversations. Teachers reported what they felt that they learned in the grade-level meetings and the coaching discussions. Additionally, teachers stated what they did differently as a result of this method of professional learning occurring in grade-level meetings and coaching discussions. Finally, the school's improvement plans were compared with the conversations in the grade-level meetings and coaching sessions. Verbatim transcriptions of recordings of grade-level meetings and coaching sessions provided data which revealed categories of content, coaching roles, and patterns of discourse. The goals of the meetings and coaching were to ensure communication about school district policies and to set expectations for teacher performance and student learning. Assertions generated provided patterns of discourse that identified roles of the principal, coaches, and teachers. This investigation utilized a descriptive content discourse analysis and found support for the finding that the actions of this emerging community of practice were directed by federal, state, and local polices for teacher performance and student learning. Patterns of discourse revealed roles of administration, coaches, and teachers as they collaborated to negotiate meaning through the building of a shared repertoire. Interview data revealed that these dynamics enhanced teacher growth in many cases; however, lack of teacher input may have limited some potential opportunities. / Ed. D.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to focus on the cause and effect of what has been referred to as intrinsic and extrinsic motivation when it comes to second language learning through literature, where the novel To kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee served as an example. The study started off by presenting a definition of the so called intrinsic and extrinsic motivation respectively, as well as the three perspectives psychodynamic, cognitive and socio-cultural by which it was discussed, in order to cement the framework of it and problematize its boundaries accordingly. It later focused on where and how intrinsic and extrinsic motivation respectively came into play, and what possible outcome the two different types might result in when discussing language learning. The applied method was to do a qualitative hermeneutic study by presenting earlier research and having it as a basis when hypothesizing in order to solve the research questions. This study was limited to discussing intrinsic and extrinsic motivation respectively in order to ascertain how both phenomena manifest themselves and ultimately how they affect learning, and by presenting numerous examples in the analysis it was concluded that: a) extrinsic and intrinsic motivation tend to inescapably intertwine during the process of learning and thereby end up being in need of each other, and b) that the order to how one musters extrinsic motivation, when undertaking in the educational enterprise of reading a novel, was opposite from that of the intrinsic motivation as extrinsic motivation is based on an external source of reward and therefore merely in need of an external source rather than an intrinsic curiosity. Keywords Intrinsic motivation, Extrinsic motivation, Cognitive perspective, Psychodynamic perspective, Sociocultural perspective, Zone of proximal development, Efferent reading, Aesthetic reading.

Syftet med undersökningen är att studera förskollärares olika synsätt på handdockan i förskolan. För att undersöka detta använde jag metoden gruppintervju, vilket gav mig möjligheten att intervjua tre förskollärare samtidigt. Metoden bidrog till att respondenterna argumenterade för sina åsikter samt skapade diskussioner kring ämnet, då alla intervjuades samtidigt och på så vis kunde ta del av varandras åsikter. Det empiriska materialet analyserades genom ett sociokulturellt perspektiv där Lev S. Vygotskijs teorier är centrala (Kroksmark, 2011). Genom Vygotskijs teorier om språket, fantasi och verktyg identifierades tre temaområden som vidare visade sig vara olika synsätt på handdockan. Undersökningens resultat visar att handdockan kan användas som motivator, kommunikationsverktyg samt att den vuxna genom handdockan kan närma sig barnets värld. Resultatet påvisar hur viktigt det är att en vuxen deltar i barnets vardag, vilket jag relaterar till det som Vygotskij (Kroksmark, 2011) kallar för den proximala utvecklingszonen. Genom denna undersökning framkommer det att handdockan kan användas som ett framgångsrikt verktyg med flera synsätt och många möjligheter i förskolans verksamhet. / The purpose of this survey is to examine the teaching approaches among preschool teachers. In order to examine the purpose of the survey I held a group interview with three preschool teachers, a method which allowed the respondents to discuss the topics and argue for their opinions all together. The empiric data was analyzed through a sociocultural perspective in which the theories of Lev S. Vygotsky are central (Kroksmark, 2011). Through these theories concerning language, fantasy and tools, three themes, which eventually turned out to be various teaching approaches on the hand puppet, were identified. The result of the survey shows that the hand puppet can be utilized as a motivator, a tool for communication and to make its grown-up user come closer to the child’s world. The result of the survey emphasizes the importance of grown-up’s participation in children’s everyday life, which I relate to what Vygotsky (Kroksmark, 2011) identifies as the zone of proximal development. Furthermore the survey shows that the hand puppet may be used as a successful tool, with several teaching approaches and many possibilities in preschool.

Det uppfattas idag som en självklarhet att fortsätta lära och utvecklas genom hela livet. Årligen spenderas stora summor på ledarutveckling, vilket har väckt ett intresse att undersöka denna form av utbildningsaktiviteter. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka vad som kan ligga till grund för valet att delta i ledarutvecklingsaktiviteter utifrån en fallstudie hos Stelena, samt hur deltagarna uppfattar att dessa aktiviteter bidrar till lärande och praktisk användbarhet. Fyra frågeställningar formulerades; Vilka motiv framkommer för deltagande i dessa aktiviteter? På vilket sätt uppfattar deltagarna att kompetenser och verktyg genereras i aktiviteterna? På vilket sätt uppfattar deltagarna att ledarutvecklingsaktiviteterna influerat deltagarna och bidragit till ett lärande? Hur uppfattar deltagarna möjligheterna att kunna använda genererade kompetenser och verktyg i sitt dagliga arbete? För att få en ingång till våra frågeställningar tog vi inledningsvis del av tidigare forskning inom området ledarutveckling. För att insamla vårt empiriska material genomfördes sju intervjuer. Därefter analyserades materialet med inspiration av pragmatisk diskursanalys, samt med hjälp av utvalda teoretiska utgångspunkter; aktivitetsteorin, proximala utvecklingszonen, samt reflekterande handling. I detta analysförfarande urskildes en norm, att individers problemformuleringar i aktiviteterna kunde ses som ett dialektiskt spel mellan det individuella och kollektiva. Resultatet visar att motiv till att delta ofta grundade sig i ett behov av stöd.  Således har det visat sig att kommunikation och reflektion i ledarutvecklingsaktiviteterna tycks generera redskapen. Likväl som kommunikation ligger till grund för verktygsskapandet uppfattades kommunikativ kompetens och ett reflekterande förhållningssätt viktigt i rollen som ledare. Ledarutvecklingsaktiviteterna har vidare bidragit med redskap vilka lärt individer hantera situationer utifrån nya perspektiv. Det har framkommit hur aktiviteterna gett en ökad förståelse för betydelsen av att lära känna sig själv, medarbetares olikheter och således hur dessa lärdomar bidrar till ett mer effektivt ledarskap. Resultatet visar hur individer upplever att de haft nytta av flera av de verktyg som genererats, både för egen del och för organisationen i stort. / Present conception is that individuals are under constant development and learning during their entire life. Every year a large amount of money is spent on leadership development. There has been an increasing interest to such educational activities. The aim of this study is to examine, what the basis beyond participation can be in leader development activities, through a case-study at Stelena, and how participants perceive that the activities contributes to learning and practical use. Four questions were framed; which motives for participation in these activities appear? In which way do participants perceive that competencies and tools generates in the activities? In which way do participants perceive that the leader development activities have influenced them and contributed to learning? How do participants perceive the ability to use acquired competencies and tools in their daily work?   In order to find answers to our questions, we took part of recent science connected to leader development. Seven interviews were done in order to collect our empirical material. With inspiration from pragmatic discourse analysis and with theoretical base, the material was analysed. Our theoretical bases are activity theory, the zone of proximal development and reflective action. In the analysis work we did distinguish a norm, that problem formulations in the activities could be seen as a dialectical game between the individual and the collective.  The result shows that motives beyond participation many times were based on a need of support. It has been shown how communication and reflection in Stelena leader development activities appear to generate tools. As well as communication and reflection is underlying the creation of tools, communicative competence and a reflective approach are seen as very useful in the role of a leader. Stelena has also provided tools, which have taught individuals to manage situations from new perspectives. The study shows how the activities increased the understanding of the importance to get to know oneself, differences of co-workers and in what way such learning contributes to more effective leadership. The result shows how individuals experienced great usefulness of those tools, both for themselves and for the organisations.

This study explores the web-navigation practices of adult learners in higher education and re-conceptualizes the concept of the organizing circumstance of self-managed learning, originated by Spear and Mocker (1984). The theoretical framework draws on funds of knowledge theory from a cultural historical perspective and elaborates a Vygotskian concepts of learning and development by introducing the notion of the distal object and the zone of distal development. The study employed a mixed methods design with an embedded multiple-case study involving half of the twelve participants using a new technology for self-managed learning called Zonebee. Zonebee recorded participants' web navigation, known as Zonebee Trails, providing quantitative data for analysis. Surveys were administered, namely the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (Schraw&Dennison, 1994), the Index of Learning Styles Inventory (Soloman&Felder, 1986), a survey of technology use (created for this study) and a set of demographic questions. Eleven of the twelve participants also provided interviews in which they described their self-managed learning practices.Findings contradicted the premise in the literature that the learning environment fortuitously determines the learning experience. Participants primarily relied on the internet and computer to manage their learning and made deliberate choices about which tools to use depending upon the purpose of the constituent process of self-managed learning in which they were engaged (assessing, planning, implementing, monitoring, evaluating or producing). Zonebee Trails evidenced participants' engagement in considerable planning before generating focused queries to locate specific materials. Thus, this study suggests that the organizing circumstance operates, not through happenstance alone, but through the confluence of four factors influencing the direction the learner takes: funds of knowledge for learning; learning demands (proximity of the learning object, proximal or distal), conditions for learning (affordances for and constraints on learning); and motivation or purpose of activity. The re-conceptualized organizing circumstance of learning, then, offers a methodological and theoretical way to redefine context and understand how learners manage their own learning.