Vocabulary learning and homework in the upper elementary EFL classroom.

Vocabulary homework is a common feature in the English subject in Sweden. Often the pupils are given a list of words they are to memorize for a pending test. In this literature review the author aims to analyze what the current research says about homework and how homework can be used effectively for EFL learners in elementary school, with a focus on both homework and vocabulary learning research. Cognitive linguistics has been used as a theoretical perspective to help answer the research questions. Results indicate that homework has limited effect on younger learners and should not be used, while, some researchers claim that it can be effective if introduced properly. Regarding vocabulary learning, it is important that vocabulary is relevant to the learner and that words are taught through a meaningful context. Therefore, vocabulary homework for EFL learners in elementary school should consist of words and phraseology which have a personal relevance to the learner, or key words for subjects taught in class. The conclusion of the study is that it is up to the teachers to determine if they should use vocabulary homework or not when teaching EFL, as long as the decision is based on current research.

La perception de la collaboration école-famille des parents d'élèves victimisés par leurs pairs au primaire

Ce mémoire vise à connaître la perception des parents de la collaboration école-famille principalement lorsque leur enfant est victime de violence à l’école primaire. Un total de 4 394 parents a complété le QSVE/parents (Beaumont Paquet et Leclerc, 2013). Les résultats révèlent que l’ensemble des parents a une perception positive de cette collaboration, mais elle est perçue plus positivement chez ceux ayant des enfants d’âge préscolaire comparativement à ceux de la fin du primaire. Les parents qui croient leur enfant victime de violence montrent cependant une perception plus négative de cette collaboration. Au primaire, c’est près de 20 % des parents qui ont dit avoir rapporté à l’école la victimisation de leur enfant au cours de l’année scolaire. Une relation significative a été observée entre le nombre de fois que les parents ont avisé l’école et leur niveau de satisfaction de l’accueil et de l’aide reçus par les intervenants scolaires. Même si la perception de la collaboration école-famille devient moins positive en fonction du nombre de fois que le parent a signalé cette victimisation, les résultats suggèrent que près de 40 % des parents qui ont signalé quatre fois et plus la victimisation de leur enfant au cours de l’année se sont dits satisfaits de l’aide reçue par l’école. Des pistes de réflexion sont finalement suggérées soulignant l’importance de pousser plus loin la réflexion sur les conditions facilitant la collaboration école-famille dans ce type de situation difficile.

Authentizität und Lernen - das Fach in der Fachdidaktik. Gesellschaft für Didaktik der Chemie und Physik Jahrestagung in Berlin 2015

Die 42. Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Didaktik der Chemie und Physik (GDCP) wurde im September 2015 an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin ausgerichtet. Zum Tagungsthema „Authentizität und Lernen - Das Fach in der Fachdidaktik“ diskutierten neben den Plenarreferentinnen und -referenten eine große Anzahl an Tagungsgästen. Der vorliegende Band umfasst die ausgearbeiteten Beiträge der Teilnehmerinnen und Teilnehmer. (DIPF/Orig.)

THE USE OF THE EARLY WARNING INDICATOR REPORT TO IMPACT NINTH GRADE PROMOTION RATES IN A LARGE URBAN SCHOOL DISTRICT

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine how four high schools used an Early Warning Indicator Report (EWIR) to improve ninth grade promotion rates. Ninth grade on-time promotion is an early predictor of a student’s likelihood to graduate (Bornsheuer, Polonyi, Andrews, Fore, & Onwuegbuzie, 2011; Leckrone & Griffith, 2006; Roderick, Kelley-Kemple, Johnson, & Beechum, 2014; Zvoch, 2006). The analysis revealed both similarities and differences in the ways that the four schools used the EWIR. The research took place in a large urban school district in the Mid-Atlantic. Sixteen participants from four high schools and the district’s central office voluntarily participated in face-to-face interviews. The researcher utilized a qualitative case study method to examine the implementation of the EWIR system in Wyatt School District. The interview data was transcribed and analyzed, along with district documents, to identify categories in this cross case analysis. Three primary themes emerged from the data: (1) targeted school structures for EWIR implementation, (2) the EWIR identified necessary supports for students, and (3) the central office support for school staff. The findings revealed the various ways that the target schools implemented the EWIR in their buildings and the level of support that they received from the central office that aided them in using the EWIR to improve ninth grade promotion rates. Based on the findings of this study, the researcher provided a number of key recommendations: (1) Districts should provide professional development to schools to ensure that schools have the support they need to implement the EWIR successfully; (2) There should be increased accountability from the central office for schools using the EWIR to identify impactful interventions for ninth graders; and (3) The district needs to assign dedicated central office staff to support the implementation of the EWIR in high schools across the district. As schools continue to face the challenge of improving ninth grade promotion rates, effective use of an Early Warning Indicator Report is recommended to provide school and district staff with data needed to impact overall student performance.

Teachers thinking together: novas tecnologias aplicadas à formação continuada de professores de língua inglesa

Acompanha: Teachers thinking together: novas tecnologias aplicadas à formação continuada de professores de língua inglesa

Atividades mediadas como colaboração para aprendizagem de conceitos científicos sobre doenças epidêmicas

Acompanha: Sequência didática interativa para o ensino de doenças epidêmicas

Estudo da circunferência no ensino médio: sugestões de atividades com a utilização do software geogebra

Esta dissertação propõe sete atividades acerca do estudo da circunferência para alunos do Ensino Médio. A maioria das atividades propostas utilizam o software gratuito de geometria dinâmica GeoGebra como ferramenta de aprendizagem. Programa com diversas vantagens. Além da concepção da geometria dinâmica, a associação entre Geometria e Álgebra, relação enfatizada até no seu nome. As atividades sugeridas abordam os seguintes conteúdos: equações da circunferência (reduzida e geral), análise da equação completa do 2o grau a duas variáveis, método de completar quadrados para reestabelecimento do centro e medida do raio da circunferência, posição relativa entre ponto e circunferência, reta e circunferência e entre duas circunferências. No presente trabalho consta ainda uma análise de alguns livros didáticos para ciência do que está sendo oportunizado ao professor como subsídio para suas aulas. Associamos esta análise também com a argumentação de que o produto deste trabalho é inovador. Mostraremos também a análise das atividades que embasaram a proposta desse trabalho quando aplicadas nas turmas de 3o ano do Instituto Federal do Rio Grande do Sul - Campus Rio Grande, assim como os resultados de uma pesquisa feita sobre os conhecimentos prévios dos alunos sobre geometria do Ensino Fundamental, especificamente relacionados ao círculo.

O papel da autoavaliação como processo integrante da autorregulação na aprendizagem

Relatório Final apresentado à Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa para obtenção de grau de mestre em Ensino no 1.º e 2.º ciclo do Ensino Básico

Material paradidático em educação ambiental para o 6º ano do ensino fundamental

Acompanha: Material paradidático em educação ambiental para o 6º ano do ensino fundamental

Relatório de estágio de qualificação profissional

Relatório EPE - Relatório de estágio em Educação Pré-Escolar: O presente relatório de estágio tem como propósito principal refletir, criticamente, acerca de todo o percurso realizado no contexto educativo de Educação Pré-Escolar, no âmbito da Unidade Curricular (UC) de Prática Pedagógica Supervisionada (PPS), inserida no Mestrado em Educação Pré-escolar (PE) e Ensino do 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico (1ºCEB). O trabalho desenvolvido teve como objetivo o desenvolvimento de competências profissionais associadas ao saber agir em ação, exigindo um quadro concetual rigoroso, adaptado às características do nível educativo e do contexto. Para tal, foi necessária uma atitude profissional indagadora e investigativa, critica e reflexiva, que permitisse agir com intencionalidade pedagógica. Neste sentido, os processos educativos e formativos desenvolvidos ao longo de todo o semestre, centraram-se numa metodologia de investigação-ação, caracterizada por uma espiral de ciclos de observação, planificação, ação, avaliação e reflexão, tendo em conta diferentes dimensões pedagógicas. Todos estes processos foram devidamente articulados com referentes teóricos e legais, sendo feito um enquadramento a esse nível, com vista a compreender a base de sustentação das práticas da mestranda. Evidencia-se a conceção de criança e o papel fundamental, não só do educador, mas também de todos os intervenientes do processo educativo, no sentido de estimular e motivar a criança para a construção das suas próprias aprendizagens, destacando-se, assim, uma visão socio construtivista da aprendizagem, transversal a todos os processos referidos. Todas as ações desenvolvidas permitiram analisar o percurso da formanda e o desenvolvimento das suas competências profissionais, não só relacionadas com a prática, mas também direcionadas para quadros concetuais mais alargados.

Implementing The KiVa Antibullying Program: What Does It Take?

There is variation in how teachers and schools implement bullying prevention programs. Although this variation has been discussed, there has been little empirical research concerning the relationship between implementation fidelity and program outcomes. This thesis contains three studies, each of them in the context of implementing the KiVa antibullying program, and examines teachers’ actions in preventing and intervening in school bullying. The first aim of this thesis is to examine implementation degree of the KiVa curriculum and its’ association with reductions in victimization and bullying perpetration (Study I). The second aim is to clarify why teachers displayed different degrees of adherence to the KiVa curriculum during a school year (Study II). Thirdly, it is investigated whether recognizing victimization can be difficult for school staff (Study III). In addition to these peer-reviewed studies, the thesis includes a qualitative analysis (unpublished) of the teachers’ open answers concerning their implementation experiences. The data were collected from elementary school teachers (Studies I–II; the unpublished study), elementary school students (Study I), and students on the elementary and middle school levels (Study III) during the evaluation of the effectiveness of KiVa antibullying program between 2007 and 2009. The findings demonstrate that a larger reduction in victimization can be achieved in classrooms where teachers display higher levels of adherence to the KiVa curriculum and invest more time for preparing the lessons. Bullying perpetration, however, was not equally affected by the level of curriculum implementation. With respect to the implementation process over one year, there was significant variation between individual teachers’ activity—ranging from systematic and high implementation to declining delivery from lesson to lesson. The sustained actions (high and moderate levels of implementation) were premised on principal support for antibullying work. Lesson preparation was associated with keeping implementation high throughout the school year. The findings also implied that the belief in the effectiveness of the program is important for a higher implementation degree at starting point of the process. Finally, there are severe flaws in teachers’ ability to identify students who are victimized. As it turns out, it is possible that only one-fourth of chronically victimized students are helped by the school staff. Especially when the victims are middle-school-aged girls, when they bully others themselves, or when they do not tell adults about bullying, reaching out for them is difficult. Implementation and dissemination of research-based interventions will take a good deal of time and effort. The findings demonstrate that active implementation is important for improving program outcomes. They also show how implementation can be sustained—there are both individual and interpersonal factors that facilitate or inhibit high-quality implementation. Thus, implications for future research regarding the implementation of school-based programs are suggested.

An examination of factors that influence entrepreneurial intention of high school students in Kenya

Abstract Considerable research has been carried out on entrepreneurship in efforts to understand its incidence in order to influence and maximize its benefits. Essentially, researchers and policy makers have sought to understand the link between individuals and business creation: Why some people start businesses while others do not. The research indicates that personality traits, individual background factors and association of entrepreneurship with career choice and small business enterprises, cannot sufficiently explain entrepreneurship. It is recognized that entrepreneurship is an intentional process and based on Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior, the most defining characteristic of entrepreneurship is the intention to start a business. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to examine factors that influence entrepreneurial intention in high school students in Kenya. Specifically, the study aimed at determining if there were relationships between the perceptions of desirability, and feasibility of entrepreneurship with entrepreneurial intention of the students, identifying any difference in these perceptions with students of different backgrounds, and developing a model to predict entrepreneurship in the students. The study, therefore, tested how well Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior applied in the Kenyan situation. A questionnaire was developed and administered to 969 final year high school students at a critical important point in their career decision making. Participants were selected using a combined convenience and random sampling technique, considering gender, rural/urban location, cost, and accessibility. Survey was the major method of data collection. Data analysis methods included descriptive statistics, correlation, ANOVA, factor analysis, effect size, and regression analysis. iii The findings of this study corroborate results from past studies. Attitudes are found to influence intention, and the attitudes to be moderated by individual background factors. Perceived personal desirability of entrepreneurship was found to have the greatest influence on entrepreneurial intention and perceived feasibility the lowest. The study findings also showed that perceived social desirability and feasibility of entrepreneurship contributed to perception of personal desirability, and that the background factors, including gender and prior experience, influenced entrepreneurial intention both directly and indirectly. In addition, based on the literature reviewed, the study finds that entrepreneurship promotion requires reduction of the high small business mortality rate and creation of both entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial opportunities (Kruger, 2000; Shane & Venkataraman, 2000). These findings have theoretical and practical implications for researchers, policy makers, teachers, and other entrepreneurship practitioners in Kenya.

Viel bringt viel? Effekte lernzeitverlängernder Maßnahmen auf die Lese- und Mathematikleistungen von Grundschülerinnen und Grundschülern mit ungünstiger Lernausgangslage

Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht die Effekte von lernzeitverlängernden Maßnahmen für Grundschülerinnen und Grundschüler in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern mit einer ungünstigen Lernausgangslage zum Zeitpunkt der Einschulung. Dazu wurde über die gesamte Grundschulzeit hinweg die Leistungsentwicklung von 67 Kindern in den Bereichen Lesen und Rechnen erfasst. Bei 19 Kindern wurde eine Lernzeitverlängerung durch Diagnoseförderklassen (DFK) realisiert, bei 18 durch eine Klassenwiederholung (KW) und 30 Kinder lernten in regulären Grundschulklassen (GSK) ohne eine Lernzeitverlängerung. Die Auswertungen der Daten mittels Hierarchisch-linearer Modelle (HLM) weisen auf gleiche Entwicklungsverläufe der drei Untersuchungsgruppen in den Bereichen Lesen und Mathematik hin. Zum Ende der Klasse 4 erreichten die drei Gruppen ähnliche Leistungsniveaus. In allen drei Settings fiel auf, dass die Entwicklung mathematischer Kompetenzen über die Schulzeit hinweg verzögert erfolgte. Ungünstige Lernausgangslagen im Bereich Mathematik konnten den Analysen zufolge durch keine der untersuchten Beschulungsformen ausreichend kompensiert werden. (DIPF/Orig.)

Utilização de recurso digital (internet) e utilização de recurso analógico (manual escolar) no 1ºCEB : implicações no processo de ensino/aprendizagem

Relatório de Estágio apresentado à Escola Superior de Educação do Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Educação Pré-Escolar e Ensino do 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico.

Viver com perturbação de hiperatividade e défice de atenção: um estudo de caso

Relatório de Estágio apresentado à Escola Superior de Educação de Paula Frassinetti para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Educação Pré-Escolar e Ensino do 1º CEB.