Education Commons^™

Using Worked-Out Examples Of Written Explanation For Writing-To-Learn In Evolutionary Biology, Amy M. Yu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Content learning can be enhanced through writing-to-learn. Research into cognitive load theory suggests that the use of backwards faded, worked-out examples increases schema acquisition and concept transfer. However, these effects have not yet been demonstrated for writing-to-learn, particularly for the conceptual understanding of evolution. The effects of two writing conditions were investigated in a pre-test post-test quasi-experimental design. Groups in two conditions wrote explanations of evolution using six Darwinian principles: students in the completion condition completed backwards faded, worked-out examples of explanations; students in the problem solving condition wrote full explanations, thought to require means-end problem solving. The dependent variables …

Three Models For Educating For Empathy And Humanization Through Values Dialogue In Secondary School Classes, Adam J. Hill

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis develops educable constructs of empathy and of humanization as well as a theory, a praxis, educational models, and measuring instruments of values dialogue that hypothetically can be used to foster and to measure changes in empathic and humanizing capacities among secondary school students. The theory and the praxis of values dialogue utilize a sample of Western epistemological philosophy, as well as some of the research and literature of the field of dialogic inquiry. This study then assembles educable constructs of empathy and of humanization by reviewing related research and scholarship. The empathy constructs consist of emotional literacy and …

Exploring Preschool Educators' Funds Of Knowledge About Print Literacy Pedagogy Through A Narrative Lens, Nazila Eisazadeh

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis reports on a narrative case study in which I explored early childhood educators’ (ECEs) beliefs about print literacy and play pedagogies. The purpose of the study was to learn about the ECEs’ subjective views regarding how to support young children’s print literacy; the extent to which ECEs viewed play as a contributing factor in children’s print literacy development; and how ECEs appropriated their understandings of the relationship between play and print literacy. I conducted in-depth, qualitative interviews with six registered early childhood educators (RECEs) employed in privately funded childcare centres in Ontario, Canada. I asked: What can be …

Student Perspectives Of Misbehaviour, Katie A. Knowlton

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Recent research in classroom management and student misbehaviour has focused on teacher and administrator perspectives with little attention paid to student perspectives. This study examined the effects of student misbehaviour on their perspectives of well-being in the classrooms, as well as their ability to control and regulate their own behaviour (i.e. behavioural self-efficacy). A Student Misbehaviour Questionnaire, constructed by the author, was administered to students in grades three through twelve, and follow-up focus group discussions were conducted with randomly selected students from each grade. Questionnaire results showed that both elementary and secondary students, in the presence of misbehaviour, felt …

Building A Community Art Garden: A Participatory Eco-Arts Based Educational Research Project, Beryl R. Cohen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The purpose of this study is to explore how a community comes to understand their sense of place as they create a school art garden, and then consider their relationship to it, and to the natural world. Using qualitative arts-based methods of inquiry and A/r/tography, I weave and construct text and visual images, which portray human actions and experiences within the framework of Environmental Inquiry. As a participant, I also respond to the project through the creation of artwork.

Rich community narratives and data analysis resulted in the following themes: Teaching and Learning; Activism; Connection to Nature; Health and Healing; …

Encouraging Diversity And Multiculturalism In London, Ontario: A Case Study Of Two Elementary Schools, Abhilasha Duggal

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Elementary school students have diverse learning needs and their academic learning in particular varies between students especially so for students those from culturally non-dominant backgrounds. The focus of my research is on understanding the perceptions and practices of eleven teachers teaching in two schools within the London, Ontario school system, along with the perceptions of two principals and two vice principals in relation to the organizational learning opportunities provided for encouraging multicultural education. This study’s purpose was to explore what teaching strategies were used to support diverse students’ learning within the classroom setting. My data gathering sought to respond to …

Learners' Stories: A Study Of Hong Kong Post-Secondary Students' English Learning Experiences And Identity Construction, Vickie Wai Kei Li

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This is a narrative study of Hong Kong post-secondary students’ English learning experiences, focusing on: i) the meanings that the student participants attached to their English learning; and ii) their identity (re-)construction during the course of English learning. Theoretically informed by Norton’s (1997, 2000) work on identity and English learning, this study pays particular attention to how the interactions within the participants’ English classroom have shaped and informed their English learning experiences and their English learner identities. A multi-method approach was adopted in order to capture a more complete picture of post-secondary students’ English learning. Data collection techniques included pre-interview …

The Role Of Mobile Phones In Health Education For Rural Communities In Ghana: An Exploratory Study In Digital Technologies, Kinful Lartebea Aryee

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The use of wireless, mobile, and handheld digital devices is growing in every sector, including education and health. The increase in mobile (handheld) phone usage has gradually drawn most healthcare practitioners’ and patients’ attention to its capability as a promoter of health education. It has helped with reduction in social and economic impact of preventive and curative and unexplained non-curable illnesses, especially among rural communities in sub-Saharan African countries such as Ghana.

Activity theory—an object-driven activity— was employed as the conceptual framework to answer the following research questions: What views do people have about information that relates to their health? …