This study investigated the effects of Dynamic Assessment (DA) training on the mediational strategies of experienced teachers of French as a foreign language. Moreover the strategies that mediators used for students at different levels of language experience were investigated. Last the ways in which mediators manifested mediational sensitivity, reciprocity and management was examined. Four mediators underwent DA training that exposed them to the theoretical underpinnings of DA as well as sound DA procedures. To determine the effect of this training, the way in which the mediators conducted their mediation was compared from pre-DA training to post-DA training. Three of these four mediators worked with 12 students of French as a foreign language at different levels of language learning experience. Their interactions were recorded, transcribed and analyzed. The results of this study show that the DA training did indeed have an affect on the way in which mediators conducted their mediation with students. Also there seems to be a difference, however minute, in the way that mediators mediate students possessing different levels of language experience. The implications of this study suggest that mediators would have benefitted from more robust DA training as well as an increased field experience with DA. Second students should also be trained in DA procedures so that they may be able to better participate in the dialogic activity that occurs during mediation. Third more foreign language practitioner focused definitions of DA and cognition, within a Sociocultural Theory framework, are offered. It is believed that more accessible definitions will facilitate DA's use in the foreign language classroom.

<p>Det här arbetet syftar till att fördjupa min kunskap så att jag kan avgöra hur jag skall lägga upp min undervis-ning i svenska. Jag vill undervisa så att eleverna möts av respekt, känner trygghet och kan utvecklas till har-moniska människor, samt bevarar och utvecklar sin lust att lära. För att fördjupa min kunskap återvänder jag i denna litteraturstudie till källor som inspirerat mig under lärar-utbildningen. Jag arbetar utifrån teserna att dessa inspirationskällor har en gemensam teoretisk grund, och att denna grund måste få metodiska konsekvenser. </p><p>Jag presenterar under rubrikerna "Människosyn", "Kunskapssyn" och "Språksyn" de grundläggande synsätt som författarna till litteraturen uttrycker. Här framkommer att mina inspirationskällor bl a hämtar tankar från Piaget och Vygotskys teoreier om den aktiva individen som - i interaktion med sin omgivning och med hjälp av språket - själv skapar sin kunskap. </p><p>Jag finner i litteraturen stöd för tesen att inspirationskällorna präglas av en gemensam teoretisk grund. Jag finner också stöd för tesen att denna grundsyn måste få metodiska konsekvenser, och visar under rubriker-na "Autentiska inlärningssituationer", "Lärarrollen" och "Det sociala klimatet i klassen" vilka praktiska slut-satser författarna själva drar av sitt teoretiska resonemang. I den avslutande diskussionen ger jag min syn på det beslutsunderlag som arbetet har gett mig inför frågan om hur jag skall lägga upp min undervisning i svenska. Jag redovisar också mina personliga ställningstaganden utifrån detta underlag.</p>

The methodology by which to teach these outcomes was not clear. An intervention programme, Philosophy for Children (P4C) is used in some countries across the world to promote thinking. Research across the world has shown that this programme has the ability to enhance the cognitive abilities of learners exposed to it. Stories for Thinking (SFT) is an intervention programme based on the principles of Philosophy for Children and was introduced in some schools in an Education District of the Western Cape. This study investigates the perceptions of Intermediate Phase educators about the implementation of Stories for Thinking in this Education District. Educators were asked their strengths and challenges of the approach, their way of using it and the support they received. A qualitative research method was used and data were gathered to answer the research questions by means of questionnaires and interviews. Research findings indicate that educators perceived that Stories for Thinking was able to enhance the reading ability of the learners, it showed a significant improvement in their confidence levels, and a positive change in their general behaviour. Language was seen as a barrier to learning, but the evidence indicates that the community of inquiry can be used as a tool to overcome some of the barriers. It seems as if educators valued the support from the project leaders. It is concluded that this kind of intervention programme is worth introducing as long as all the role-players play their part and the setting is conducive.

<p>South Africa had a change in government and in education after the 1994 elections. A new curriculum was introduced and some of the underlying critical outcomes were to develop the learners to become critical thinkers. The methodology by which to teach these outcomes was not clear. An intervention programme, Philosophy for Children (P4C) is used in some countries across the world to promote thinking. Research across the world has shown that this programme has the ability to enhance the cognitive abilities of learners exposed to it. Stories for Thinking (SFT) is an intervention programme based on the principles of Philosophy for Children and was introduced in some schools in an Education District of the Western Cape. This study investigates the perceptions of Intermediate Phase educators about the implementation of Stories for Thinking in this Education District. Educators were asked their strengths and challenges of the approach, their way of using it and the support they received. A qualitative research method was used and data were gathered to answer the research questions by means of questionnaires and interviews. Research findings indicate that educators perceived that Stories for Thinking was able to enhance the reading ability of the learners, it showed a significant improvement in their confidence levels, and a positive change in their general behaviour. Language was seen as a barrier to learning, but the evidence indicates that the community of inquiry can be used as a tool to overcome some of the barriers. It seems as if educators valued the support from the project leaders. It is concluded that this kind of intervention programme is worth introducing as long as all the role-players play their part and the setting is conducive.</p>

Uppsatsen fokuserar på hur körinstruktörer använder IKT som en strukturerande resurs vid sin undervisning och hur de uppfattar ett datorbaserat utvärderingsverktyg kopplat till ett dataspel i en körsimulator. Syftet med studien har varit att förstå hur externa verktyg (artefakter) används pedagogiskt för att överföra kunskap och om individen kan bli oberoende av dessa verktyg. Studien genomfördes genom intervjuer som kopplades till testkörningar i en körsimulator. Körsimulatorn ingick i en större studie (Spel och trafiksäkerhet) där ett dataspel (serious games) utgjorde testpersonens upplevelse av bilkörning i en virtuell värld. Svaret blev att körinstruktörer har externa verktyg såsom leksaksbilar, penna och papper för att underlätta kommunikationen vid utvärdering av elevernas körning och att användandet av dessa verktyg som metod är likartad med användningen av metoden med körsimulatorns utvärderingsverktyg, samt att individen till sist automatiserar metoden och då blir oberoende av de pedagogiska verktygen och kan använda sina kunskaper när den kör bil.

In this investigation, the researcher explored the construction of conceptual knowledge within the discipline of science through a review of related theory and research.<p>Following a review of literature that emphasizes the theory of social constructivism as well as critical pedagogy as significant to learning; and utilizing a working definition of the six strands of language as established by Saskatchewan Education; the researcher observed and interviewed three Grade Five students and their teacher throughout their involvement in a science unit. <p>In-class observations of the strands of language as well as the information from the interview transcripts were triangulated with the literature to provide validity for the theory and support the researchers implications for an inquiry model of teaching and learning.<p>Findings suggest an absence of explicit language being modeled and expected within the course of study as well as the absence of a framework of science concepts. Disconnections and fragmentations throughout various levels of pedagogy within curriculum, resources, strategies and activities were revealed. The unintentional illusion of a rich learning experience was created through collaborative, hands-on activities, demonstrations and modeling by the teacher, fluency and accuracy in reading as well as the correct completion of activities. In reality these acts merely masked the absence of deeper transformational experiences which are required for students to build the conceptual knowledge and linguistic competence needed for academic success.

In this investigation, the researcher explored the construction of conceptual knowledge within the discipline of science through a review of related theory and research.<p>Following a review of literature that emphasizes the theory of social constructivism as well as critical pedagogy as significant to learning; and utilizing a working definition of the six strands of language as established by Saskatchewan Education; the researcher observed and interviewed three Grade Five students and their teacher throughout their involvement in a science unit. <p>In-class observations of the strands of language as well as the information from the interview transcripts were triangulated with the literature to provide validity for the theory and support the researchers implications for an inquiry model of teaching and learning.<p>Findings suggest an absence of explicit language being modeled and expected within the course of study as well as the absence of a framework of science concepts. Disconnections and fragmentations throughout various levels of pedagogy within curriculum, resources, strategies and activities were revealed. The unintentional illusion of a rich learning experience was created through collaborative, hands-on activities, demonstrations and modeling by the teacher, fluency and accuracy in reading as well as the correct completion of activities. In reality these acts merely masked the absence of deeper transformational experiences which are required for students to build the conceptual knowledge and linguistic competence needed for academic success.

The methodology by which to teach these outcomes was not clear. An intervention programme, Philosophy for Children (P4C) is used in some countries across the world to promote thinking. Research across the world has shown that this programme has the ability to enhance the cognitive abilities of learners exposed to it. Stories for Thinking (SFT) is an intervention programme based on the principles of Philosophy for Children and was introduced in some schools in an Education District of the Western Cape. This study investigates the perceptions of Intermediate Phase educators about the implementation of Stories for Thinking in this Education District. Educators were asked their strengths and challenges of the approach, their way of using it and the support they received. A qualitative research method was used and data were gathered to answer the research questions by means of questionnaires and interviews. Research findings indicate that educators perceived that Stories for Thinking was able to enhance the reading ability of the learners, it showed a significant improvement in their confidence levels, and a positive change in their general behaviour. Language was seen as a barrier to learning, but the evidence indicates that the community of inquiry can be used as a tool to overcome some of the barriers. It seems as if educators valued the support from the project leaders. It is concluded that this kind of intervention programme is worth introducing as long as all the role-players play their part and the setting is conducive.

<p>South Africa had a change in government and in education after the 1994 elections. A new curriculum was introduced and some of the underlying critical outcomes were to develop the learners to become critical thinkers. The methodology by which to teach these outcomes was not clear. An intervention programme, Philosophy for Children (P4C) is used in some countries across the world to promote thinking. Research across the world has shown that this programme has the ability to enhance the cognitive abilities of learners exposed to it. Stories for Thinking (SFT) is an intervention programme based on the principles of Philosophy for Children and was introduced in some schools in an Education District of the Western Cape. This study investigates the perceptions of Intermediate Phase educators about the implementation of Stories for Thinking in this Education District. Educators were asked their strengths and challenges of the approach, their way of using it and the support they received. A qualitative research method was used and data were gathered to answer the research questions by means of questionnaires and interviews. Research findings indicate that educators perceived that Stories for Thinking was able to enhance the reading ability of the learners, it showed a significant improvement in their confidence levels, and a positive change in their general behaviour. Language was seen as a barrier to learning, but the evidence indicates that the community of inquiry can be used as a tool to overcome some of the barriers. It seems as if educators valued the support from the project leaders. It is concluded that this kind of intervention programme is worth introducing as long as all the role-players play their part and the setting is conducive.</p>

<p>Uppsatsen fokuserar på hur körinstruktörer använder IKT som en strukturerande resurs vid sin undervisning och hur de uppfattar ett datorbaserat utvärderingsverktyg kopplat till ett dataspel i en körsimulator. Syftet med studien har varit att förstå hur externa verktyg (artefakter) används pedagogiskt för att överföra kunskap och om individen kan bli oberoende av dessa verktyg. Studien genomfördes genom intervjuer som kopplades till testkörningar i en körsimulator. Körsimulatorn ingick i en större studie (Spel och trafiksäkerhet) där ett dataspel (serious games) utgjorde testpersonens upplevelse av bilkörning i en virtuell värld. Svaret blev att körinstruktörer har externa verktyg såsom leksaksbilar, penna och papper för att underlätta kommunikationen vid utvärdering av elevernas körning och att användandet av dessa verktyg som metod är likartad med användningen av metoden med körsimulatorns utvärderingsverktyg, samt att individen till sist automatiserar metoden och då blir oberoende av de pedagogiska verktygen och kan använda sina kunskaper när den kör bil.</p>