3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Teachers' emotions towards assessment : what can be learned from taking the emotions seriously?(2014-01-03) Steinberg, CarolaThis doctoral thesis investigates a relatively under-researched aspect of teachers’ emotions: namely, teachers’ emotions towards assessment. It generates a conceptual framework and methodological tool for the investigation into and analysis of teachers’ assessment practice, which consists of three concepts: emotions, emotional rules and emotional labour. Following Nussbaum (2001), emotions are viewed as cognitive, i.e. as evaluative judgements of objects important to a person’s flourishing. Following Turner (2007, 2010), emotions are understood as a generalised symbolic medium exchanged between people within institutions, making positive emotions a desirable resource that enhance a person’s flourishing. The thesis also draws on Hochschild (1983/2003), Zembylas (2005), Theodosius (2008) and Archer (2000), to expand, systematize and operationalize the concepts of emotional rules and labour, which increase the visibility of teachers’ emotions and illustrate how assessment, like teaching, is an “emotional practice” (Hargreaves, 1998). This conceptual frame opens possibilities for further research into the nascent field of teachers’ emotions and assessment. Data was collected through seven focus group interviews with nineteen teachers. The teachers were selected as a purposive sample: committed to their work of enabling learner achievement, engaged in professional development and working in functional schools. A thick description of teachers’ emotions foregrounded three main ‘objects’ of assessment: learner achievement, the assessment practices of marking and giving feedback, and accountability demands. Findings show the identity of committed teachers’ as interdependent with learner achievement: teachers gain positive emotions and the motivation to continue their work when learners do well, but are disappointed and filled with self-doubt when learners do badly. In their assessment practice, committed teachers are often overwhelmed by endless marking, yet continuously strive to make judgements and give feedback in ways that are fair, just and empowering for learners. The “panic accountability” of departmental demands undermines and demeans teachers, generating outrage and alienation. Key claims arising from the research are: 1. Teachers’ emotions occupy a strategic position as an inevitable filter through which all policy aimed at achieving the national project of high learner achievement must pass, so teachers’ emotions towards assessment and accountability have the power to enhance or destabilise learner achievement and are thus a valid concern for educational research, policy and practice. 2. As seen through their emotional rules, committed teachers strive to live up to high ethical ideals and take responsibility not only for learner success but also learner failure. 3. Teachers’ emotional labour makes visible how they strive to fulfil their moral purpose of learner achievement, yet are deeply demoralised by not receiving acknowledgement and respect from education authorities.Item The methods of assessment used by speech-language therapists for learners with multiple disabilities in schools in Gauteng.(2013-02-19) Parsot, SimaSchool-based speech-language therapists play a significant role in terms of education and rehabilitation in the lives of learners with multiple disabilities. Assessment forms a critical part of a speech-language therapist’s post description and is the cornerstone of any type of intervention. The assessment of learners with multiple disabilities poses as a great challenge to speech-language therapists. These challenges include a lack of guidelines, resources, appropriate standardized tests and the heterogeneity of the group of learners labelled as multiply disabled. This research project aimed at describing the methods of assessment that school-based speech-language therapists use when assessing learners with multiple disabilities. Additionally, these methods were compared to international best practice. The first phase of the study consisted of compiling a set of guidelines with the purpose of providing a framework for a proposed set of guidelines for the assessment of learners. These guidelines were based on the principles as recommended by the literature regarding best practice. Because a qualitative approach was adopted for this research project, the second phases consisted of data collection, utilising eight focus groups as well as document reviews. On average, each focus group consisted of two to four participants. The data was then analysed thematically and compared to a checklist. The results indicated that speech-language therapists encountered many obstacles when assessing learners with multiple disabilities. It was evident that the participating speech-language therapists assessed within a multidisciplinary team and that they used formal as well as informal methods of assessment with learners with multiple disabilities. Discrepancies were found between the collected data and the guidelines. The guidelines were then used to propose a way forward for speechlanguage therapists when assessing learners with multiple disabilities in schools in Gauteng.Item Dysphagia in a group of adult in-patients living with HIV/AIDS in Gauteng, South Africa.(2012-07-03) Alborough, KimAims: The aims of this research were to describe the signs and symptoms of dysphagia in people who are living with HIV/AIDS and to see what participant variables such as CD4 count, age and diagnosis affect dysphagia. Methods: This study was a descriptive, cross-sectional, quasi non-experimental design. The sampling method that was used for this research was non-probability and convenient. These patients were referred to the speech therapy and audiology department from various multidisciplinary team members for dysphagia assessments. There were 106 participants in total. Eighty participants underwent only a clinical bedside assessment and 26 underwent a bedside assessment as well as a modified barium swallow. The Mann Assessment of Swallowing Ability (MASA) was used to conduct the clinical bedside assessments and a modified barium swallow (MBS) was used as an objective measure. The data was analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. These tests included the Wilcoxon signed rank test, Spearman Rho test, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann Whitney U-test. Results: Descriptively, the results revealed that participants with neurological conditions appeared to present with more severe signs and symptoms of dysphagia. The results from the Wilcoxon signed rank test showed that participants with a neurological disorder experienced more severe signs and symptoms of dysphagia, except with laryngeal elevation. The Wilcoxon signed rank test also showed that older participants experienced more dysarthria and oral transit difficulties. The results from the Kruskal-Wallis test highlighted that participants with a lower CD4 count had more significant respiration and voice difficulties. The results from the Mann-Whitney U test showed that participants who were on a HAART regimen experienced increased difficulty in the pharyngeal phase and aspirated more frequently. The Spearman-Rho test results showed that the MASA was seen as a valid bedside assessment tool for assessing adult dysphagia in an acute hospital setting. Discussions: Dysphagia does occur in the HIV/AIDS population in South Africa in participants who have neurological conditions as well as opportunistic infections. The SLP needs to play a key role in the assessment and management of these patients. The MASA is a good assessment tool to use in settings where objective measures are not available.Item Personal histories as a component of an ethnography of expert assessment practice in the workplace.(2012-03-12) Msimango, Sindiswa NontembisoThis research report describes the learning histories of computer assistants and expert assessment practice. This takes place in a workplace where computer training, specifically the fixing of hardware (CPU) occurs. It is hoped that the evidence collected might contribute towards the recognition and understanding of tacit assessment on the National Qualifications Framework, (NQF). In uncovering these learning histories and expert assessment practices, a component of ethnography which involves case history interviews and discussions was used. The theoretical framework used was situated learning theory and the legitimate peripheral participation of the computer assistants. This framework is itself embedded in the theory of constructivism. Case histories used as a component of ethnography is part of a bigger ethnographic project developed by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). This particular study will contribute along with other projects in the University of Witwatersrand research group, to make up a full ethnographic account of learning and assessment in the workplace.Item Investigating Lesotho junior secondary science teachers' perceptions and use of laboratory work.(2010-11-09) Monare, Thulo JuliusThis study investigated Lesotho junior secondary science teachers’ perceptions and use of laboratory work in teaching. Teaching is described as engagement in a relationship between a person called a teacher and another person called a student with the purpose of facilitating the student’s acquisition of content which the student previously lacked (Fenstermacher, 1986). Using the constructs of scientific inquiry and inquiry-based instruction and constructivism as theoretical lenses the study empirically explored the Junior School Science teachers’ perceptions of the aims of laboratory work and how the teachers used laboratory work in their teaching. At the centre, the investigation sought to understand whether there was any relationship between teachers’ perceptions of the aims of laboratory work and their use of laboratory work. The sample of the study consisted of fifty science teachers (n=50) conveniently selected from 12 schools in the Butha-Buthe district of Lesotho. Data were collected through closed and open ended questionnaires (n=50), semi-structured interviews (n=5), and laboratory lesson observations (n=2). Data were analyzed quantitatively using descriptive statistics and qualitatively using a combination of typological and interpretational analysis. The results show that as a group the sampled teachers held the view that the most important aim of laboratory work was to promote conceptual understanding. In their teaching, most of the sampled teachers use laboratory work to verify theory through largely verificationist, expository and non-inquiry laboratory instructional practices and strategies. The following barriers were reported by the teachers as limiting their use of inquiry oriented and student centered teaching strategies: limitations of resources; time constraints; large classes; pressure to complete the prescribed curriculum; safety issues; and preparations for external examinations. The results also suggest that the teachers’ seeing laboratory work as important for developing conceptual understanding is associated with their use of verificationistic teaching approaches. It is recommended that; Lesotho science curriculum be reviewed, and that teachers should participate in curriculum development to enhance successful implementation of inquiry instruction, professional development programmes be established, and the enactment of inquiry instruction be systematically monitored and evaluated. It is recommended that curriculum developers facilitate teachers’ transformation from expository to inquiry instruction.Item Developing rational prescribing competence in medical school : an investigation of the relation between student perceptions and examination performance.(2010-03-03T10:10:43Z) Moch, ShirraPrescribing medicines is the primary intervention that most doctors offer to influence their patients’ health; however concerns have been expressed about the extent to which graduates are prepared by medical schools to assume prescribing responsibility. Both students and clinical teachers have identified a gap between workplace prescribing demands placed on newly qualified doctors and their preparation for this complex activity during undergraduate training. This study explored the exit-level prescribing performance of final-year students in the Graduate Entry Medical Programme at the University of the Witwatersrand compared with students’ perceptions of their prescribing competence. The results indicated a disparity between students’ competence and confidence. Examination marks showed that 83.6% of students were competent to prescribe according to the graduating standards of the University; however, questionnaire data revealed that 66% of students did not feel that their training had enabled them to prescribe rationally. This inconsistency was explored by analysis of the examination papers according to Bloom’s Revised and the SOLO Taxonomies. It was concluded that students score well on questions which test recall and application of knowledge, but some do not manage questions involving evaluation. Since prescribing is a complex skill that requires evaluative competence, this may explain why, despite high examination scores, students remain insecure. Exploration of the structure of knowledge through a Bernsteinian lens revealed that curricular components including problem-based learning and horizontal integration constrain epistemic access to the structure of rational prescribing knowledge for some students. It is recommended that rational prescribing skills should be taught as a synchronous strand within the curriculum, rather than in the current integrated mode. Learning could also be improved by innovative pedagogies associated with active learning and improved feedback.Item Assessment practices in a first year academic writing module at the University of the Witwatersrand and the National University of Rwanda.(2008-07-03T10:50:58Z) Nyiratunga, RithaABSTRACT Scholars in the field of assessment recognize its key role in teaching and learning (Knight 1998, Brown and Knight 1996, Gipps 1994, Glaser 1990, Van Rooyen and Prinsloo 2003). According to Knight, assessment is ‘the most significant prompt for learning’ (1998:37). This study aimed to understand the role and the nature of assessment in academic literacy modules offered in two very different teaching and learning contexts. The focus of the research is ‘Foundation in English Language’ at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and ‘Writing English I’ at the National University of Rwanda (NUR). To conduct the investigation, three lecturers teaching on the Foundation module at Wits and, two lecturers teaching Writing English I at the NUR were interviewed individually and six students from each lecturer’s group participated in a focus group interview. In addition to the interviews, all the assignment and examination tasks, as well as students’ marked assignments and examination scripts were analysed. Although the study reveals many differences in both attitudes and practices in the two institutions, it also shows some similarities, especially in relation to students’ negative response to participation in one on one consultation with a lecturer. The most important difference noticed is in the role of assessment in the two modules. It was found that in the Writing English I module at NUR, assessment is considered separate from the teaching and learning process, whereas at Wits it is an integral part of the process. This difference in orientation to assessment influenced much of the planning and assessment of the two modules. In the Foundation module at Wits, assessment was planned into the course. Consequently, assignments were carefully scaffolded to promote students’ learning in regard to academic writing, with feedback given on essay drafts. At NUR where assessment was not planned into the course there was no clear focus on some important aspects of academic writing such as referencing and writing from sources without plagiarizing and there was no scaffolding of the assignments or feedback on drafts. The study concludes with some recommendations to lecturers and students and also to the leadership of the institutions, given that some of the recommendations have resource implications.Item Factors influencing teachers'choice and use of tasks for formative assessment of mathematics in grades 2-6(2006-10-25T13:15:54Z) Wilson Thompson, BronwenAbstract This study explores teachers’ understanding about ways in which assessment supports learning and teaching within the context of grappling with the new curriculum. It argues that formative assessment, supports a socialconstructivist view of learning and teaching. It suggests that formative assessment functions in a fundamentally different way to summative assessment, and could assist teachers in moving towards a more conceptual approach to learning and teaching. Teachers’ views are explored in focus groups in which teachers discuss their choice and use of either traditional or alternative assessment tasks, in their mathematics lessons. The findings suggest, however, that teachers’ ability to use assessment in this way is influenced by their own views of mathematics learning, their current views of assessment, the amount of support provided in the assessment materials, and the practices of the school. Key words Formative assessment Social constructivist Focus groups Phenomenography Primary school Mathematics Assessment Investigations