Search results for " Analysis"
showing 10 items of 23639 documents
Addressing Complexity in Science|Environment|Health Pedagogy
2019
This paper aims to discuss complexity as a key feature for understanding the role of science knowledge in environmental and health contexts—a central issue in Science|Environment|Health pedagogy. Complex systems are, in principle, not predictable. In different contexts, ephemeral mechanisms produce different, sometimes completely unexpected results. The art of decision-making in complex contexts is to take scientific knowledge into account but to interpret its meaning in terms of concrete complex contexts. This is illustrated by four empirical studies on Science|Environment|Health issues, presented midway through this paper. The findings underscore the importance of introducing complexity i…
Who Becomes U.S. Mathematics Teachers: A Longitudinal Analysis of First-time Praxis® II Mathematics Content Knowledge Examinees
2018
International audience; The U.S. uses the Praxis® tests to measure academic skills and the subject-specific content knowledge needed to be a teacher. This study examined Praxis® Mathematics Content Knowledge scores from 2006 to 2016 to describe patterns in who are becoming certified to teach mathematics in the country. Longitudinal analyses were used to discern patterns in the demographics of examinees and trends in exam performance across several demographic characteristics. The results reveal substantial differences in performance and pass rates between examinees of different genders, races, undergraduate majors, undergraduate GPAs, and census regions. From our analyses, we suggest severa…
Scaffolding through dialogic teaching in early school classrooms
2016
The present study examines what types of dialogic teaching patterns can be identified in the early school years, and how teachers scaffold children's participation and shared understanding through dialogic teaching. Thirty recorded lessons from preschool to Grade 2 in Finnish classrooms were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Two teacher-initiated and two child-initiated dialogic teaching patterns were identified. Teacher's scaffolding in teacher-initiated dialogues was characterised by high responsibility in maintaining the interactional flow and utilisation of diverse strategies. In the child-initiated dialogues, the teachers' scaffolding consisted of listening and inquiry, and …
Quality of educational dialogue and association with students’ academic performance
2018
The study used a mixed-methods approach to examine the associations between the quality of educational dialogue and students' academic performance and to analyse what kinds of dialogic teaching patterns of different levels of quality can be identified in classroom lessons. A total of 158 Grade 6 lessons were video-recorded, and the quality of the educational dialogue was assessed using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System-Secondary (CLASS-S) observational instrument. Multilevel modelling indicated that the quality of educational dialogue was positively associated with students’ academic performance (grades) in language arts and physics/chemistry. Qualitative analysis was subsequently use…
It’s Not Only What You Say, But How You Say It : Investigating the Potential of Prosodic Analysis as a Method to Study Teacher’s Talk
2018
In this study, we introduce new insights into prosodic analyses as an emerging method to study what happens in classrooms interactions. We claim that the prosodic aspects (features of speech such as intonation, volume and pace) of talk are important, but under-represented in the learning sciences. These prosodic aspects may be used to complement, intensify or even reverse the linguistic content of speech. Thus far, most research on classrooms has focused on the content (what is said) rather than on understanding the meaning of the prosodic features (how it is said) of talk. In this study, we introduce prosodic analyses as a method to study classroom discussions. Our exploratory experiment f…
From single to multi-variable Calculus: a transition?
2018
International audience; We recently used the notion of praxeology from the Anthropological Theory of the Didactic to model the knowledge that is necessary for students to learn in order to succeed in an undergraduate multivariable Calculus course. We considered the presence and absence of elements of the knowledge to be taught, as proposed by curricular documents, in the knowledge to be learned, as indicated by final exams. Our results indicate that the mathematical activities expected of students at this level align with the activities observed in differential and integral Calculus, where exercise-driven assessments set students' work mainly in the recognition of types of tasks and recolle…
A study of transitions in an undergraduate mathematics program
2018
International audience; In this paper, we introduce an in-progress study of the transitions students face as they advance in their mathematics courses. Previous work has discussed the changes that occur in the transition from high school to university. With regards to the knowledge students are expected to learn, however, significant similarities have been noted: to do well in introductory university courses, students can learn to solve a particular subset of tasks through routinized techniques, with limited awareness of the supporting mathematical theory. In contrast, students in advanced courses are required to work with and on that theory. The first stage of our project aims to better un…
Fostering Heuristic Strategies in Mathematics Teacher Education
2018
International audience; The “double discontinuity” stated by Felix Klein 1908 is still relevant in the mathematics teacher education at German universities. We are developing a course approach, which is intended to bridge the double discontinuity in a didactic dimension. We offer additional learning opportunities for teacher students, which are characterized by clarifications of mathematical methods that are fundamental to the regular lecture contents. We focus especially on reflections on heuristic strategies, which are the core part of mathematical methods according to George Pólya. Feedback shows that students consider our approach as helpful in the transition from school to university.
Students’ agency profiles in relation to student-perceived teaching practices in university courses
2020
This study addresses the gap in our understanding of the role of pedagogy in agency construction among higher education students. In the present study, profiles of students’ agency experiences were identified and analysed with respect to the students’ perceptions of teaching practices in their courses (i.e., student-centred learning activities, forms of instruction, and student-teacher roles). The Agency of University Students (AUS) Scale (Jääskelä et al., 2017) was used to assess the students’ experiences of their personal, relational, and participatory resources of agency. Agency profiles were found to be associated with students’ perceptions of teaching practices in the courses. The find…
Contents and functions of dramatizations in team decision making
2017
This study examines the contents and functions of dramatizations in natural team decision making. Theoretically, the study employs symbolic convergence theory to understand decision making as a complex phenomenon constructed in symbolic communication. Observational meeting data and thematic interview data from an autonomous team in Finland were analyzed. A fantasy theme analysis and an inductive, rhetorical discourse analysis revealed three rhetorical visions and seven functions of dramatizations in the team’s decision making. Visions represented social, righteous, and pragmatic master analogues. The functions of dramatizations were legitimizing independent and current decisions, reinforci…