1,720,961 research outputs found
Continuous professional teacher development at a selection of independent primary schools in Johannesburg
Get PDFPh.D.Abstract: Teachers work in schools that face change and modifications on a continual basis. New developments and theories require that teachers adjust their curricula, teaching methods and assessment techniques to name but a few. By means of Continuous Professional Teacher Development (CPTD), teachers are expected to keep abreast of the latest developments in education and teaching and to implement changes in curricula and teaching methodology in the classroom. On an individual basis teachers also participate in CPTD to improve content and methodological knowledge and skills in the subject they teach. Although CPTD is a vital part of teaching, the researcher’s experience corroborated by literature indicates that teachers are often dissatisfied with the CPTD activities provided. This thesis argues that although there is a wealth of literature on planning and implementing effective CPTD according to adult learning principles, this literature is often not used or teachers, trainers and school managers are unfamiliar with this information. This inquiry investigated the process of planning and implementing CPTD at three independent primary schools located in the Johannesburg area, South Africa and teachers’ experiences of CPTD in these schools. The first research question which guided the inquiry was ‘How is CPTD organised and implemented in a group of independent primary schools in Johannesburg?’ This addresses the planning of CPTD: who, when and where and what created the need for the CPTD. A second research question was: ‘How do teachers at these independent primary schools experience CPTD?’ This explored the experiences of teachers of CPTD. The inquiry was informed by activity theory and community of practice theory. Activities take place in the context of, and are influenced by, a surrounding community. Division of labour refers to the division of tasks among members of the community, and to the division of power and hierarchy in the activity. Rules refer to the explicit and implicit regulations, norms, and conventions that constrain interactions within the activity system. The tools, rules, community, division of labour are all in relationship and have an effect on the object. In this study the teacher is the centre of the activity system or CPTD as activity, thus the main subject in CPTD and learning. The inquiry employed a qualitative research methodology located within the interpretive paradigm where teachers, trainers and school principals formed the research participants. Data collection methods included questionnaires, interviews, observation..
Mobile learning and its influence on how tutors tutor
Get PDFAbstract : The autonomous nature of communication when referring to space and time influences mobile technology forces Higher Education institutions to rethink how tutoring should be conducted. It is my contention that advances in mobile technology has forced institutions learning to revaluate their tutoring systems. New communications devices and platform will have to be incorporated into education to strengthen teaching and learning especially in tutorials. It is a fact that today students are digital natives. It is a fact that many of them own or use a technological device. This combination is a recipe that will mediate mobile learning anywhere and anytime. This investigation aimed to explore tutors potential to introduce mobile learning in the tutorials conducted at the University of Johannesburg’s Faculty of Education. The study further considers the tutors potential to motivate students to use their mobile devices for learning beyond socialising on social media. This is by supporting mobile learning online. This exploratory qualitative study sought to understand the perception of tutors and students about mobile learning through in-depth reviews of the literature, focus group interviews, questionnaires and online log data responses to provide an understanding of tutors’ mobile interventions and students’ mobile use in tutorial activities to understand an aspect of the tutorial system at the University of Johannesburg. The data was thematically analysed. The results suggest that tutors can encourage students to use their devices for academic purposes. The conclusion is that the inclusion of mobile learning as part of the tutorial experience can support learning online beyond the traditional physical and formal tutorial.M.Ed. (Education
Teacher professional development in values education: experimenting with design
Get PDFD.Phil.Schools are sites of values education. This thesis argues that teachers need to be prepared systematically in a programme for the infusion of values into the curriculum. The inquiry investigated such a programme of teacher development in which teachers‘ participation was examined with a view of examining the design of the programme and to make recommendations for revision and refinement of the programme. The main research question that guided this inquiry was, ―How do teachers engage with the ACE programme and how is this engagement1 made visible in their practice and their discourse?‖ This research question addresses both teachers‘ understanding (personal meaning making) or ―internalisation‖ in Vygotskian parlance (Vygotsky, 1986), their transfer from their own understanding to action in learning environments and the activation of specific values that they hold dear. Ultimately this research question pertains to how design principles are activated in the programme for teacher development and also how they may need to be amended as a result of the understanding that comes from the inquiry. The object of the inquiry was thus the teachers and their interaction with this ACE programme, the design principles of which were the elements of the ACE programme that were ultimately examined as they played out in the teachers‘ learning and practice. I employed a design-based research process, using both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. The sources of data included questionnaires, observations, interviews, journals and photographs
The mobile learning conscious tutor : incorporating Facebook in tutorials
Get PDFAbstract: Today’s students are digital natives, and advances in mobile technology should impel institutions of learning to revaluate their tutoring systems. Our study explored tutors’ potential to introduce mobile learning through the social media application, Facebook, in tutorials conducted at the University of Johannesburg’s faculty of education. This study further considered the tutors’ potential to motivate students to use their devices for learning on social media through professional communities of practice online. Our exploratory qualitative study sought to understand the perception of tutors and tutees about the inclusion of Facebook through in-depth reviews of the literature, focus group interviews, questionnaires, and online log data responses. The data was thematically analysed and the results suggest that tutors can encourage students to use their devices for academic purposes through online Facebook discussions. Our conclusion is that the inclusion of Facebook as part of the tutorial experience can support virtual professional communities of learning online beyond the traditional physical and formal tutorial
Pre-service teachers' perception of values education in the South African physical education curriculum
Get PDFAbstract: Background: Since the beginning of the new democratic era of 1994 in South Africa, human rights and values concerns have been placed on the forefront of educational research to respond to the needs of the South Africa’s Constitution as well as the intentions of public school curricula. It is believed that qualified physical education teachers can address the fading of values and recession of morals in schools by promoting value-based education into their physical education lessons to provide a holistic approach to learning. Aim: This article aims to identify the values that pre-service teachers deem are important to be taught at school. Setting: The study was conducted in the Gauteng Province. Methods: A questionnaire was employed to collect quantitative data (close-ended questions) and qualitative data (open-ended questions) from all final year BEd physical education students (n = 68). Results: Sixty-eight values were identified: respect (n = 47), honesty/integrity (n = 23) and courage/perseverance/determination (n = 25) were ranked as the three values these teachers considered as important for inclusion in a physical education curriculum. Conclusion: These pre-service physical education teachers indicated that learners could learn core values and basic human rights in a conducive and safe learning environment by employing role-play, games and modelling as the main strategies to infuse values in their physical education lessons
Teaching Methodology (Business Studies)
No full textExam paper for second semester (November Examination 2015) : Teaching Methodology (Business Studies) (B.Ed.
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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