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Student success in chemistry has been linked to a wide range of factors. Some of these factors are familiar, easily quantified measures; colleges typically rely on factors like high school GPA and measures of aptitude to make admission decisions or set course prerequisites. Success in chemistry courses can be linked to these measures, and math aptitude scores in particular are often used as prerequisites for introductory chemistry courses. However, success in chemistry can also be affected by factors like motivation, peer interactions, sense of belonging, and metacognitive skill. Additionally, outcomes in chemistry and other STEM courses like math and physics have been repeatedly found to be inequitable. In Chapter I, background information relevant to the subsequent chapters will be discussed. In Chapter II, group quizzes were implemented as a collaborative learning tool in a large-lecture format first-semester organic chemistry classroom. Chapter III describes a multifaceted scholarship support program for chemistry, physics, and math majors. This program strove to support traditionally underrepresented groups in chemistry through several components, including a team-building course and mentorship. Heavy emphasis was placed on building a peer support network. In Chapter IV, confidence surveys were implemented to encourage student metacognitive monitoring. Student success and confidence were assessed through three scopes: as they pertained to the overall course, by exam, and by individual topic.

Constructing common ground and the associated convergent conceptual change is critical to cooperative work and learning. Convergent conceptual change is achieved as participants in a conversation update common ground through presentations, repairs, and acceptances of utterances. People employ available techniques that utilize the least collaborative effort for current purposes. Although sharing physical co-presence of interlocutors' facial expressions doesn't make grounding more efficient even in more open-ended and less task-focused dialogues, visual co-presence of the addressee's workspace is essential to work-related tasks, such as information transmission and collaborative problem-solving. However, handheld-mediated collaborative activity makes sharing the workspace challenging, especially when we consider that handhelds possess small screens and permit activities of a distributed nature. In a handheld-mediated classroom, a teacher must be able to check students' work for various reasons (e.g., grading, checking whether they are following directions correctly or paying attention) and at various phases of the activity. Gazing into the small screen of a handheld over someone's shoulder is a tricky task at best. The teacher may misread the information on the screen and thus provide incorrect feedback. Another challenge involves the difficulty inherent in latecomers joining the collaborative activity when each student is involved with his or her individual and small screen. This exclusion from joining on-going activity can reduce the chance of student's vicarious and serendipitous learning. Although such events may occur naturally in the learning environment, they become important concerns when one attempts to focus collaborative activities with handheld devices. I therefore created a new handheld network service called "Look," which is designed to facilitate the acquisition of common ground and allow a latecomer to do meaningful monitoring of ongoing conversation about the workspace. I tested empirically the value of this shared physical/virtual context in the task of creating common ground by examining task performance and conversation quality. / Ph. D.

Educators are struggling to meet the ever-increasing challenges of preparing students to meet the demands of a global society. The importance of collaboration and social interaction in online education has been well documented (Berge, 1998; Brown, Collins & Duguid, 1989, Fulford & Zhang, 1993; Gunawardena & McIssac, 2003; Kanuka & Anderson, 1998; Kearsley & Schneiderman, 1999; Sardamalia & Bereiter, 1994). Teachers and instructional designers are struggling to change the academic environment to meet the needs of millennial learners. The purpose of this study is to develop a theory driven process for designing computer-supported collaborative learning in an online environment. A careful analysis of the process for creating collaborative online instruction is conducted and a design strategy for the process is developed. The study provides suggested guidelines for practitioners to create collaborative online instruction. The design procedures emphasize social interaction to allow learners opportunities to explore, discover, and negotiate meaning in an authentic context. Online instruction requires the coupling of multiple areas of expertise to be successful. Although the pedagogical principles are the same, the global implications of "flat world" technology require an important weaving of collaborative interaction, graphic design, and pedagogy. Technology provides the transportation for achieving a collaborative environment; and, quality pedagogical practices provide the GPS (guidance positioning system) to direct collaborative instruction to its ultimate destination–knowledge building. / Ph. D.

With the rise of big data, it is becoming increasingly important to educate students about data analytics. In particular, students without a strong mathematical background usually have an unenthusiastic attitude towards high-dimensional data and find it challenging to understand relevant complex analytical methods, such as dimension reduction. In this thesis, we present an embodied approach for visual analytics designed to teach students exploring alternative 2D projections of high dimensional data points using weighted multidimensional scaling. We proposed a novel application, <i>Be the Data</i>, to explore the possibilities of using human's embodied resources to learn from high dimensional data. In our system, each student embodies a data point and the position of students in a physical space represents a 2D projection of the high-dimensional data. Students physically moves in a room with respect to others to interact with alternative projections and receive visual feedback. We conducted educational workshops with students inexperienced in relevant data analytical methods. Our findings indicate that the students were able to learn about high-dimensional data and data analysis process despite their low level of knowledge about the complex analytical methods. We also applied the same techniques into social meetings to explain social gatherings and facilitate interactions. / Master of Science

Yes / Sourcing healthcare practice placements continues to present a challenge for higher education institutions. Equally, the provision of clinical placements by healthcare providers is not at the forefront of their agenda. In view of this, the historic and traditional models of clinical placements is becoming more difficult to provide. In light of this, new models of clinical placements are being explored. Aims: This literature review explores the differing models of clinical placements in use and examines the merits and limitation of each. Methods: A mixed-methods literature review with a pragmatic approach has been used. Findings: Several placement models were described, including the traditional 1:1 model as well as 2:1, 3:1. The hub and spoke, capacity development facilitator, collaborative learning in practice and role emerging placement models were also discussed. Conclusion: There is a considerable paucity of high-quality evidence evaluating differing placement modules. Further research is required to evaluate the differing placement models from a students, clinical educators and service user’s perspective.

Yes / The learning and teaching strategy for a pharmacy consultation skills module was changed to Team-Based Learning (TBL) with the aim of motivating students to engage with course material pre-class and take deeper approaches to learning during class. Results from administering a validated TBL instrument suggests that students are more accountable and are satisfied with and have preference for TBL over traditional methods. Exam results show a 13% improvement in mean end-of-year examinations compared with pre-TBL results. Thematic analysis of written comments on the module evaluation survey suggest that they enjoyed learning using TBL and found it more engaging, stimulating and more effective for their learning; however, it could be improved through better management of workshop timings and more effective facilitation of discussion. TBL appears to have potential as a pedagogic approach in pharmacy education.

Arbeitsbedingungen verändern sich immer deutlicher, insbesondere im Bereich der Wissensarbeit. Die moderne Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologie (IKT) führt zu einem Bedeutungsverlust zentraler, lokal begrenzter Arbeitsplätze. Gleichzeitig gewinnt die Fähigkeit zur Zusammenarbeit in dezentralen, interkulturellen, interdisziplinären Teams an Bedeutung (Perez-Sabater, Montero-Fleta, MacDonald, & Garcia-Carbonell, 2015). Neben inhaltsbezogenen Fachkompetenzen gewinnen dadurch Sozial-, Selbst-, Medien- und Methodenkompetenzen in Unternehmen an Relevanz (Kummer, Wolff, Lieske, & Schoop, 2012). Die Vorbereitung der Studierenden auf diese veränderten Arbeitsbedingungen ist eine entscheidende Herausforderung für die Hochschulen (Coyne, 2008). [... aus der Einleitung]