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.

This paper describes an alternative approach to the teaching of concepts related to the English Curriculum. It combines a shift in the theory of school teaching with psychological theory development. This research was conducted at a private, Catholic Secondary School in Johannesburg over a period of almost six months with a class of twenty Grade Ten students. The research was designed in response to the fact that many traditional, ‘rote’ teaching methods are not effective in the classroom and that an alternative needs to be found. This research aimed at testing the theories of the Sociohistorical school in order to ascertain whether they could provide clues as to methods that might be more conducive to real learning. Vygotsky’s (1978) theoretical construct of the Zone of Proximal Development, Hedegaard’s (1996) idea of a ‘double move’ and the ideas posited by Wells (1996, 1999) and Tharp and Gallimore (1988, 1992) form the theoretical basis for these ‘alternative’ teaching methods. The results shown in this paper indicate that a ‘double move’ is possible within the context of the English classroom and that the ideas of the Socio-historical school indeed provide an alternative method that is far more successful than those traditionally used in most classrooms.

This essay examines Swedish nursery children’s oral vocabulary knowledge in English. The aim is to investigate what they know and find the source to their knowledge. This essay will focus on the receptive and productive knowledge the children know based on the categories tested, how much children learn in their Zone of Proximal Development, how much they learn from context and how much does media and electronic devices influence their learning. The data of this essay were collected from interviews of 25 children and from questionnaires answered by their parents. The results of the study indicate that the children have more receptive knowledge of the English words tested. It also suggests that the productive knowledge they have is connected with the words that sound similar in Swedish and that children learn English from their surroundings such as siblings and parents, and from games on iPads and video clips from YouTube.

The Common Core State Standards were written and implemented to prepare all students for college or career readiness including students with disabilities. Students with learning disabilities often have significant difficulties and face challenges when the instruction is framed within The Common Core State Standards. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of special educators on teaching students with learning disabilities using The Common Core State Standards. The two conceptual frameworks used in this study were the Universal Design for Learning and The Zone of Proximal Development. The research questions focused on teachers' perception regarding students with learning disabilities being instructed with Common Core instructions, how teachers perceive providing Common Core instructions to students with learning disabilities is preparing them for college and career readiness, and also, what teachers perceived to be the missing components for providing specialized instructions using Common Core to students with learning disabilities. In this qualitative case study participants were selected using recommendations of school district administrators. Data was collected using face-to-face interviews. Data collection also include observations and samples of students work. Additional data to establish trustworthiness of the study was obtained through observations and analysis of artifacts collected during the study. The intended outcome of the study was to bring about change in the instructional strategies adopted when using Common core State standards in teaching students with disabilities and that to ultimately pave a way for social change.

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.