A content analysis of how astronomy is framed in selected South African online newspapers

A research report submitted to the faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science by combination of coursework and research. Johannesburg, 2016.The aims of the study were to provide an overview of how online newspapers portray astronomy news in terms of framing and tone. The “tone” is used as a way to analyse and reflect on the mood of the article, whether the journalist reports about positive or negative news. The study sought to understand what aspects of astronomy news are covered by South African online newspapers because using real world examples and stories as a way of learning has a magnetic attractiveness to the majority of students. This is one of the reasons why a newspaper is the perfect teaching and learning tool because it is regarded as a medium that can heighten students’ knowledge, enhance students’ vocabulary skills, conceptual understanding and encourage a positive attitude towards learning. The study was underpinned by framing theory which suggests that presentation can influence the choices people make; it is a procedure where people improve a specific conceptualisation and change their perception about it. A mixed method was used since it combines both qualitative methods and quantitative methods to deal with different questions of the research study. A data collecting instrument was not required to conduct the study because the data was already available on the internet, however, the researcher developed and modified an instrument to analyse the available data. The Nisbet framework and a modified story analysis form were used as coding instruments. Newspapers articles were retrieved from the internet using search terms such as “SKA, astronomy, planets”. The samples were two online newspapers, the Mail & Guardian and News24 from 1st January 2012 to 31st July 2015. The quantitative results were divided into two, firstly for the Mail & Guardian and secondly for News24. Items that were analysed for each online newspaper were: news origin, news treatment, geographical focus, photos and graphics, framing techniques, the Nisbet framework, word average, and general reaction. The Mail & Guardian has longer news article lengths than News24. This might suggest that New24’s news articles are better to use since they are shorter and the aim of using newspapers is to make teaching and learning science fun and productive. The qualitative results indicated that astronomy articles in newspapers are flooded with scientific terms that are not explained. Teachers need to assess and make students think about the content from the newspaper story and to recognise that stories in the newspaper are written differently from school textbooks. The research study indicated that newspapers can be used and are useful in science class if they are used correctly and, at the same time, textbooks and other teaching materials are also used. The use of newspaper when teaching science is undoubtedly one of the effective ways of teaching science whether in an informal or formal learning context. Using newspapers increases students’ knowledge and improves students’ vocabulary skills to enhance conceptual understanding. Key words Astronomy, Mail & Guardian, News24, Story Analysis Form, Nisbet Framework, Informal Learning, formal learning and Science.LG201

A portrait of a school : Healdtown Missionary Institution (1925-1955) through the eyes of some of its ex-pupils

The study is on Healdtown Missionary Institution. A broad background has been given from 1855 when the Institution was established by Sir George Grey. The emphasis has, however, been from 1925 when the earliest respondents were admitted, up to 1955 when the Department of Bantu Education took over from the missionaries. This period has been deliberately chosen since Healdtown was largely run by the Wesleyan Missionaries during that time. It must also be mentioned that the administration side of Healdtown has not been covered, since Professor Hewson has given a broad picture of this aspect in his doctoral thesis (1959). Similarly, the situation in the classrooms has not been considered except where appropriate references have been cited by respondents. The stress is on the different activities that took place, mainly in every day life in the Institution. Some of these are the positions of responsibility held by respondents in the Institution and their effect on them (the respondents) in later life. This can be coupled with the contribution the respondents made to their communities after leaving Healdtown. The most important thing about the study is what has been revealed with regard to the three generations: the parents of the respondents, the respondents themselves and the children of the respondents. In this aspect a picture of how elite produces elite has been highlighted. To add more flavour, the memories, both good and bad, have been analysed and in order to see whether these are common or peculiar, a comparison was made with similar day schools (secondary) in Soweto. In the conclusion, especially, the limited opportunities for Black pupils to have secondary education during this period is also highlighted. This goes with the eagerness and efforts shown by parents to give secondary schooling to their children. Last, but not least, in the conclusion to this thesis certain deductions from the study have been exposed. What the graduates think about the future of the Institution together with how they view the pupils of the eighties has received a place. It must also be mentioned that the graduates seem to view Healdtown as having prepared them for lif

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF WORDWALL.NET ON STUDENTS’ SPEAKING ABILITY IN DESCRIPTIVE TEXT

Mar’ati, Lu’lu Ul 2023. 1618500036 : “The Effectiveness of wordwall.net on Students’ Speaking Ability in Descriptive Text (An Experimental Research at the Tenth Grade Students of SMK Negeri 2 Adiwerna in the Academic Year 2022/2023)”. Research Project. Strata I Program, English Department. Faculty of Teacher Training and Education. Pancasakti University Tegal, First Advisor : Yuvita, M.Pd Second Advisor : Sanday Jamaludin, M.Pd Keywords: Speaking Ability, wordwall.net, Descriptive Text. The aims of this research are (1) to know how the effectiveness of using wordwall.net as media toward students’ speaking ability and (2) to identify differences between students who are taught using wordwall.net and those who are not. This research used an experimental research with quantitative method. The research was distributed in two classes, X TKJ 1 as an experimental group and X TKJ 3 as a control group with 35 students in each class. The experimental group was taught to use wordwall.net as a medium in teaching speaking while the control group was taught without any media. After eight meetings of treatment, students were given a post-test similar to the pre-test to assess the effect of the media on students’ speaking ability before and after treatment. The researcher used paired T-test to determine if the test result were statistically significant or not. The results of the test showed that the experimental group had improved their speaking ability more than the control group. It can be concluded that wordwall.net is effective in increasing students speaking skills. Therefore, the result of the Independent sample T-test showed that the sig (2- tailed) value was 0.000 which is less than 0.05. Then the researcher concluded that there is a significant difference in speaking skills between the experimental group and the control group. It also can be seen in statistics that the mean post-test score of the experimental class was 78.14 and the score of the post-test of the control class was 71.43

音高認知機能と音高に関する音楽能力との関連性 : 大学生に実施したエクササイズ実践と音楽実技調査をもとに

音高の能力に何らかの問題を有する大学1年生12名を学習者として，彼らに音高の能力を育成するエクササイズアプローチによる実践を3回行った。同時に， 3回の音楽実技調査によって音高の能力の変容がわかる量的データを, 6回の聴き取り調査によって音高認知機能の状況がわかる質的データを入手した。 その双方のデータをつきあわせて分析した結果，①音高の能力が未熟な段階にある者の多くは，音高認知機能のうち，音高の記憶機能に主要な問題がある。 ②彼らは，音高の記憶機能に問題があるために，再生すべき音高を[思い違い」して再生する。 ③さらに，そのことが要因となって音高の記憶機能がしばらく混乱している。 一方，音高の能力を保有している者の音高の記憶機能は，誤った再生で生じる混乱に対して，何らかの修正ができる程度に強固である，などが推察できた

「社会人基礎力」の活用展開 : 卒業研究のアンケート項目に活用

I utilized "basic ability to work in society" for the questionnaire item of graduation research as a new practical use field. There are three purposes of a questionnaire. The 1st is getting a junior college student to look back upon one's nostalgic elementary school days. The 2nd is getting a junior college student to recognize the core portions of capability or character formed through the experience at that time through recollection. The 3rd is giving a junior college student confidence and getting him to leave for vigorously new society as a result. The purpose of the questionnaire was successful. The practical use range of "basic ability to work in society" does not remain only in a means to only evaluate the present and future capability. We recognize the core portions of capability or character which recollected the past and were formed through experience. I have checked that "basic ability to work in society" could serve as a powerful means at that time. Now, I have illustrated that "basic ability to work in society" could utilize in a broad field in a university