| 1. |
- Holmqvist, Mona, 1961-, et al.
(författare)
-
Contrasting cases and their impact on learning : a replication of a learning study corfirming the impact of contrasts
- 2009
-
Ingår i: Problems of Education in the 21st Century. - 1822-7864 .- 2538-7111. ; :10, s. 38-46
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The present article describes how Swedish pupils in class 4 (nine to eleven years old) learn English as a second language. The study replicates a learning study carried out within the framework of a more ex-tensive project known as “The Pedagogy of Learning”. The present study is aiming to find out if the re-sults from one original learning study can be generalised to other teachers and pupils. The pupils partici-pating in the presented study learn how to use “to have”. The original Learning Study Cycle (LSC) con-sisted of three lessons per cycle, each lesson carried out in different groups of pupils. The teachers fo-cused on the critical aspects, i.e. the features which must be distinguished in order to understand a phe-nomenon. This process entailed investigating the contrasts between the specified learning outcome(s), i.e. the ability or knowledge targeted. The lessons were planned from a variation theory perspective. The LSC demonstrated that the use of contrast – applied in only one of the three lessons – between “to be” and “to have” had a positive effect on pupils’ generative learning, i.e. continued learning outside the classroom. In order to establish if the results of the present study are coincidental or repeatable the LSC was repli-cated. The first replicated study was conducted by a group of teachers with a good knowledge of variation theory. These teachers had previously applied the theory in mathematics lessons. A second replication was initiated by a group of teachers with no knowledge of variation theory. The results demonstrated that contrast is important for generative learning provided that teachers are able to focus on critical aspects and thereby elucidate contrast. In the group familiar with variation theory the results were similar to those of the original study, i.e. generative learning was promoted, while contrast had little effect on the pupils generative learning in the group of teachers who had no knowledge of variation theory. The study demonstrates that generative learning is dependent on teachers’ knowledge of how the critical aspects of the target knowledge should be presented to pupils. Such knowledge enables teachers to apply contrast as a means of developing pupils’ ability to distinguish qualitative differences. In this way, pupils continue to develop their knowledge beyond the classroom.
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| 2. |
- Holmqvist, Mona, 1961-, et al.
(författare)
-
Instruction built on learners' previous knowledge by using the variation theory
- 2008
-
Ingår i: Problems of Education in the 21st Century. - 1822-7864 .- 2538-7111. ; :6, s. 86-95
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This chapter discusses teaching based upon pupils’ previous knowledge. As the world becomes more and more globalised, it is harder and harder for a teacher to form a picture of the pupils’ knowledge when planning instruction. However, without this information about pupils, it is impossible to know if the created learning situations are conducive to learning or if the pupils had already acquired knowledge about the learning object before the learning situation. In this study pupils’ previous knowledge is investigated in relation to how English as a Second Language is learnt when pupils have different mother tongues. In a phenomenographic study we found that pupils with three different mother tongues, when placed in the same learning situation, made errors which could be traced back to the structure of their mother tongue. This observation led to a learning study, in which variation theory was the theoretical point of departure, and in which three different research lessons with three different groups of pupils were carried out. The learning object was dependent possessives, and the pupils’ mother tongue was Swedish. As there is no differentiation between independent and dependent possessives in Swedish, the pupils could not discern the difference between these two forms. As Swedish has a differentiation between t- and n-gender, the puils wrongly assumed that the difference between my and mine was not connected to dependent and independent possessives but to gender. The results of our study show how teachers who are familiar with the pupils’ previous knowledge (mother tongue) can become aware of what mistakes they might make as ESL learners; this knowledge has a profound effect on instruction. In this way, teachers can also predict and plan what information is needed to develop learning situations which provide maximum opportunity to learn. They also understand what kinds of critical aspects are necessary to enable pupils to discern. As a result, teachers are more effective, which is reflected in better pupil results in the classroom.
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| 3. |
- Holmqvist, Mona, 1961-, et al.
(författare)
-
Students learning English as second language : an applied linguistics learning study
- 2009
-
Ingår i: Problems of Education in the 21st Century. - 1822-7864 .- 2538-7111. ; :18, s. 86-96
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study involved students from a teacher training programme and classroom teachers during in-service training. These students and teachers were introduced to variation theory and carried out a learn-ing study on English as a Second Language (ESL) that incorporated five research lessons taught in paral-lel, rather than in a cycle. The participants in the study were five classes from grade level five to upper secondary school, five university students, and two researchers. The aim was to put learning study to test in describing in what ways students (from fifth graders to upper secondary school students) discerned the letter s at the end of a word, and secondly what kind of knowledge about this learning object they were able to develop during instruction. When an s appears as a terminal letter in English, it can be inter-preted in at least five different ways: contraction, plural, third person singular, genitive or possessive pronoun. It can also be the final letter of a monomorphemic word (bass) or suffix (-ness). Our study dem-onstrated how learning study was used to describe how students of different ages interpret the suffix s. A pattern emerged indicating the way knowledge of a phenomenon develops as a consequence of teaching. This pattern was analysed in terms of the structure of the students’ native language. The outcome showed how students tried to comprehend a second language by means of the structure of the first. A good exam-ple is the pronoun your (dependent possessive form) and yours (independent possessive form). As there is no variation in Swedish between dependent and independent possessives, students associate the two forms with the differences between d- and t- gender. This distinction is made in Swedish (din/ditt) but not in modern English.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Holmqvist, Mona, et al.
(författare)
-
Contrasting cases and their impact on learning : a replication of a learning study corfirming the impact of contrasts
- 2009
-
Ingår i: Problems of Education in the 21st Century. - : Scientia Socialis. - 1822-7864. ; :10, s. 38-46
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The present article describes how Swedish pupils in class 4 (nine to eleven years old) learn English as a second language. The study replicates a learning study carried out within the framework of a more ex-tensive project known as “The Pedagogy of Learning”. The present study is aiming to find out if the re-sults from one original learning study can be generalised to other teachers and pupils. The pupils partici-pating in the presented study learn how to use “to have”. The original Learning Study Cycle (LSC) con-sisted of three lessons per cycle, each lesson carried out in different groups of pupils. The teachers fo-cused on the critical aspects, i.e. the features which must be distinguished in order to understand a phe-nomenon. This process entailed investigating the contrasts between the specified learning outcome(s), i.e. the ability or knowledge targeted. The lessons were planned from a variation theory perspective. The LSC demonstrated that the use of contrast – applied in only one of the three lessons – between “to be” and “to have” had a positive effect on pupils’ generative learning, i.e. continued learning outside the classroom. In order to establish if the results of the present study are coincidental or repeatable the LSC was repli-cated. The first replicated study was conducted by a group of teachers with a good knowledge of variation theory. These teachers had previously applied the theory in mathematics lessons. A second replication was initiated by a group of teachers with no knowledge of variation theory. The results demonstrated that contrast is important for generative learning provided that teachers are able to focus on critical aspects and thereby elucidate contrast. In the group familiar with variation theory the results were similar to those of the original study, i.e. generative learning was promoted, while contrast had little effect on the pupils generative learning in the group of teachers who had no knowledge of variation theory. The study demonstrates that generative learning is dependent on teachers’ knowledge of how the critical aspects of the target knowledge should be presented to pupils. Such knowledge enables teachers to apply contrast as a means of developing pupils’ ability to distinguish qualitative differences. In this way, pupils continue to develop their knowledge beyond the classroom.
|
|
| 6. |
- Holmqvist, Mona, et al.
(författare)
-
Instruction built on learners' previous knowledge by using the variation theory
- 2008
-
Ingår i: Problems of Education in the 21st Century. - : Scientia Socialis. - 1822-7864. ; :6, s. 86-95
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This chapter discusses teaching based upon pupils’ previous knowledge. As the world becomes more and more globalised, it is harder and harder for a teacher to form a picture of the pupils’ knowledge when planning instruction. However, without this information about pupils, it is impossible to know if the created learning situations are conducive to learning or if the pupils had already acquired knowledge about the learning object before the learning situation. In this study pupils’ previous knowledge is investigated in relation to how English as a Second Language is learnt when pupils have different mother tongues. In a phenomenographic study we found that pupils with three different mother tongues, when placed in the same learning situation, made errors which could be traced back to the structure of their mother tongue. This observation led to a learning study, in which variation theory was the theoretical point of departure, and in which three different research lessons with three different groups of pupilswere carried out. The learning object was dependent possessives, and the pupils’ mother tongue was Swedish. As there is no differentiation between independent and dependent possessives in Swedish, the pupils could not discern the difference between these two forms. As Swedish has a differentiation between t- and n-gender, the puils wrongly assumed that the difference between my and mine was not connected to dependent and independent possessives but to gender. The results of our study show how teachers who are familiar with the pupils’ previous knowledge (mother tongue) can become aware of what mistakes they might make as ESL learners; this knowledge has a profound effect on instruction. In this way, teachers can also predict and plan what information is needed to develop learning situations which provide maximum opportunity to learn. They also understand what kinds of critical aspects are necessary to enable pupils to discern. As a result, teachers are more effective, which is reflected in better pupil results in the classroom.
|
|
| 7. |
- Holmqvist, Mona, et al.
(författare)
-
Students learning English as second language : an applied linguistics learning study
- 2009
-
Ingår i: Problems of Education in the 21st Century. - : Scientia Socialis. - 1822-7864. ; :18, s. 86-96
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study involved students from a teacher training programme and classroom teachers during in-service training. These students and teachers were introduced to variation theory and carried out a learn-ing study on English as a Second Language (ESL) that incorporated five research lessons taught in paral-lel, rather than in a cycle. The participants in the study were five classes from grade level five to upper secondary school, five university students, and two researchers. The aim was to put learning study to test in describing in what ways students (from fifth graders to upper secondary school students) discerned the letter s at the end of a word, and secondly what kind of knowledge about this learning object they were able to develop during instruction. When an s appears as a terminal letter in English, it can be inter-preted in at least five different ways: contraction, plural, third person singular, genitive or possessive pronoun. It can also be the final letter of a monomorphemic word (bass) or suffix (-ness). Our study dem-onstrated how learning study was used to describe how students of different ages interpret the suffix s. A pattern emerged indicating the way knowledge of a phenomenon develops as a consequence of teaching. This pattern was analysed in terms of the structure of the students’ native language. The outcome showed how students tried to comprehend a second language by means of the structure of the first. A good exam-ple is the pronoun your (dependent possessive form) and yours (independent possessive form). As there is no variation in Swedish between dependent and independent possessives, students associate the two forms with the differences between d- and t- gender. This distinction is made in Swedish (din/ditt) but not in modern English.
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| 8. |
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