The use of music education in oral schools for children who are deaf and hard of hearing

This paper is a survey and discussion of the teaching methods, objectives, and benefits associated with music programs in oral schools for children who are deaf and hard of hearing.

A time study

This paper presents a time study of a classroom with the goal of evaluating how time was spent. The time study allows evaluation of teaching methods and classroom interactions.

A study of factors contributing to late submission of course work

This case study uses log-linear modelling to investigate the interrelationships between factors that may contribute to the late submission of coursework by undergraduate students. A class of 86 computing students are considered. These students were exposed to traditional teaching methods supported by e-learning via a Managed Learning Environment (MLE). The MLE warehouses detailed data about student usage of the various areas of the environment, which can be used to interpret the approach taken to learning. The study investigates the interrelationship between these factors with the information as to whether the student handed in their course work on time or whether they were late. The results from the log-linear modelling technique show that there is an interaction between participating in Discussions within the MLE and the timely submission of course work, indicating that participants are more likely to hand in on time, than those students who do not participate.

Curriculum theory, curriculum policy and the problem of ill-disciplined thinking

This paper examines the implications of policy fracture and arms length governance within the decision making processes currently shaping curriculum design within the English education system. In particular it argues that an unresolved ‘ideological fracture’ at government level has been passed down to school leaders whose response to the dilemma is distorted by the target-driven agenda of arms length agencies. Drawing upon the findings of a large scale on-line survey of history teaching in English secondary schools, this paper illustrates the problems that occur when policy making is divorced from curriculum theory, and in particular from any consideration of the nature of knowledge. Drawing on the social realist theory of knowledge elaborated by Young (2008), we argue that the rapid spread of alternative curricular arrangements, implemented in the absence of an understanding of curriculum theory, undermines the value of disciplined thinking to the detriment of many young people, particularly those in areas of social and economic deprivation.

Thinking for speaking and linguistic relativity among bilinguals: towards a new research agenda

This article evaluates how the different papers in this special issue fill a gap in our understanding of cognitive processes that are being activated when second language learners or bilinguals prepare to speak. All papers are framed in Slobin’s (1987) Thinking for Speaking theory, and aim to test whether the conceptualisation patterns that were learned in early childhood can be relearned or restructured in L2 acquisition. In many papers the focus is on identifying constraints on this restructuring process. Among these constraints, the role of typological differences between languages is investigated in great depth. The studies involve different types of learners, language combinations and tasks. As all informants were given verbal rather than non-verbal tasks, the focus is here on the effects of conceptual transfer from one language on another, and not on the effects of language on non-linguistic cognition. The paper also sketches different avenues for further research in this field and proposes that researchers working in this field might want to take up the challenge of investigating whether speakers of different languages perceive motion outside explicitly verbal contexts differently, as this will enable us to gain an understanding of linguistic relativity effects in this domain. Studying which teaching methods can help learners to restructure their conceptualisation patterns may also shed new light on the aspects of discourse organization and motion event construal that are most difficult for learners.

Medieval foreign exchange: a time series analysis

This chapter applies rigorous statistical analysis to existing datasets of medieval exchange rates quoted in merchants’ letters sent from Barcelona, Bruges and Venice between 1380 and 1310, which survive in the archive of Francesco di Marco Datini of Prato. First, it tests the exchange rates for stationarity. Second, it uses regression analysis to examine the seasonality of exchange rates at the three financial centres and compares them against contemporary descriptions by the merchant Giovanni di Antonio da Uzzano. Third, it tests for structural breaks in the exchange rate series.

"She was a Bitch" : A Socio-Educational Perspective on Motivation for Learning English.

AbstractThis degree project focuses motivation for learning English among a group of Swedish uppersecondary school students. By employing a socio-educational perspective, some vital factorsbehind a strong motivation for learning English in school are investigated through individualinterviews. Components in the past, heralding either a high level of motivation for English or a low such, are primarily focused. Moreover, essential socio-educational factors behind managing to achieve grades in English despite a low level of motivation and various impediments, such as severe socio-psychological adversities, are looked into. While motivation for English is emphasized as a critical factor, in accordance with socio-educational motivation theory, the study also stresses the importance of a positive first encounter with the English language, a satisfying English teacher-student relationship, and a sense of success in the English classroom. But above all, the study stresses a need for early tests among young students for reading disabilities, which according to this study often go undetected and thus severely impede any kind of second language learning and motivation.

”Det är ju troligen inte en overheadapparat de kommer att använda sig av i framtiden…” : Om skolans tekniksprång, en undersökning om datorns användning på gymnasiet

The aim of this qualitative respondent investigation is to delve into the various views that teachers have concerning the “One-to-One project”, as well as the use of computers as an aid in teaching. One-to-One means that teachers and students will be equipped with a laptop they can use at home and at school.This essay looks at how several factors have changed as a result of this. These factors are threefold: the role of the teacher, the teaching experience, and the student´s learning process. In order to answer the mentioned questions, four interviews have been conducted at two different high schools in southern Norrland. The theory used is the socio-cultural perspective. One result has been that computers can simplify teaching in various ways. Students have faster access to information, and there exists a platform for further communication between the teacher and student outside the classroom. However, there are also several negative aspects. One of these is that the students spend time doing non-school related activities, such as interacting using social mediums. Results also show that the role of the teacher has due to the "One-to-One project" gone from being structural to being interactional. The conclusions reached by the investigation are that today’s schools are experiencing a paradigm shift. Old teaching methods are being replaced by new methods and an altered teaching practice has developed as a result of the presence of the computer in the classroom.

Historielärares ämnesförståelse : Centrala begrepp i historielärares förståelse av skolämnet historia

This thesis focuses on four different aspects of history teachers’ comprehensiveunderstanding of the school subject history. More specifically, the aim is tostudy the comprehension of the subject as perceived by individual historyteachers. Special emphasis is placed on identifying the concepts of the field ofhistory that are central to the teachers’ understanding of the school subject history.The first aspect studied is the teachers’ biographical changes. In a life historyperspective it seems as if the teachers’ subject conception changes from anunproblematic and tentative approach to a more complex and confident understandingof the subject. The second aspect treated is the rationale behind theirgrasp of the purpose and content of the subject. Three major positions areidentified, namely educational (bildung) orientation, critical orientation, andidentity orientation.The third aspect studied is the teachers’ interpretation of a curriculumnew to them. The teachers placed the curriculum in the field of tension betweenan education policy position, emphasizing more precise knowledge, onthe one hand, and a history science position, emphasizing concepts of historicalconsciousness. The fourth aspect studied is five different conceptual tools displayedin the teachers’ remarks on having completed the teaching of a newcourse. These are termed ‘history as narrative’, ‘history as time-space’, ‘historyas explanation’, ‘history as perspective taking’, and ‘history as skills’At the general level the study shows not only that subject conception is ofimportance to the teachers’ understanding of their obligation as teachers of historybut also how it is formed and constantly transformed by many differentfactors. In this process it is clear that the concepts used by the teachers, althoughvariously defined, can be seen as specific to the school subject historyand essential to the construction of history as a school subject.

Étude des méthodes d'enseignement utilisées dans la classe de Français Langue Étrangère en Suède

Ce mémoire traite des méthodologies générales et systématisées de la didactique des langues étrangères développées à différentes périodes, ainsi que des méthodes d’enseignement (techniques, outils, matériels, exercices, activités et tâches etc.) et des théories autour de celles-ci. En utilisant une enquête, remplie par des professeurs travaillant dans certaines écoles suédoises, cette étude lie les méthodologies, les méthodes d’enseignement et les théories avec les pratiques de classe. L’étude montre quelles méthodes d’enseignement sont utilisées et la fréquence de leur utilisation, ainsi que les liens avec les méthodologies. Elle montre aussi que l’enseignement des professeurs de l’étude est principalement représentatif d’une seule méthodologie (la méthodologie cognitiviste – l’approche communicative).