Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemAn analysis of the structures and contexts underlying adolescent speech in the secondary school : the implications for developing a language policy in the secondary school( 1991)The purpose of the study was to investigate the extent of speech variation across different school contexts and explore the implications for policies on spoken language in secondary schools. In order to measure changes of speech resulting from different contexts, it was necessary to identify a form of analysis sensitive to speech variation. A number of approaches were examined including syntactic and functional analysis. The units of speech used by various studies included the speech act, the exchange and the episode. A review of the literature regarding the contextual variation of speech and the concept of 'communicative competence' was carried out as well as an examination of a number of studies of language in schools. Attention was also given to policy statements on spoken language in secondary schools. A functional analysis at the level of the speech act was identified and modified to match the study. Analysis of interrogative and assertive exchanges was also carried out, the latter being identified in the course of the study. Samples of student speech over a variety of contexts were collected and analysed. The study identified links between school context and pupil speech. A profile of school context, functional outcomes, and the speech forms used, was then compiled. The formal classroom was found capable of inducing abstract levels of speech involving evaluative and speculative activity. Other forms of speech such as verbal planning, reflection, the interaction of ideas and the negotiation of meaning, require careful planning if they are to become part of the linguistic experiences of pupils in secondary schools. A number of implications for a policy on spoken language in secondary schools have been raised and directions for further research put forward.
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ItemStudents' early understanding in calculus( 1991)Students' Early Understanding of Calculus The study undertaken here looked at difficulties associated with the first principles approach to the derivative of a function and concentrated in particular on the first five lessons in calculus as experienced by a typical group of nineteen year 10 students who were preparing to take calculus at year 11. A traditional teaching approach was contrasted with an alternative computer teaching approach and both approaches were analysed for success in terms of conceptual understanding, skill acquisition and student perceptions of whether the work was easy to understand. As calculus has served as a critical filter for further study in mathematics, teaching methodology and student attitudes to the topic were a focus of the study. It was found that the students in the study had a limited concept image for gradient ('measure rise/run') and that a greater development of the global ideas associated with the gradient of a straight line needed to be a focus of learning before the idea of gradient of a curve should be introduced in beginning calculus. It was found that the use of a tangent to a curve at a point to measure gradient of the curve was not a spontaneous intuition and it is recommended that more time be given to this notion in the first principles approach to differentiation. The traditional first principles approach was found to be too cognitively demanding for the students who demonstrated a 'rush to the rule' for meaning. Students undergoing the computer treatment also demonstrated this 'rush to rule' and therefore very gradual development is recommended for students in their first encounters with calculus.
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ItemA comparison of concept maps and cloze tests as revision techniques in senior high school chemistry: their effectiveness and influences on cognitive structures and deep-processing( 1990)A comparison of the effect of two revision techniques on the academic performance of students in senior high school chemistry was conducted. The underlying psychological theory had suggested that the technique which promoted the greatest amount of deep-level processing should be the one which created the most significant academic gains for the students who carried it out. It was also attempted to distinguish between the two revision techniques on the basis of the results they produced in both descriptive and quantitative material. Finally any sex differences in performance were also investigated for the two revision techniques. Statistical analysis found that significant differences existed between the two techniques as to the effects produced for quantitative material, the net gains made by students engaged in concept mapping and the relationship between academic performance and the student's ability on the revision exercises. This last result calls into question some of the underlying premises about the students' ability to construct concept maps.