Thesis (M.Ed.)--Regis University, Denver, Colo., 2006. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Sept. 14, 2006). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Master of Education( Education))-- Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2009 / Multigrade classrooms face a lot of challenges because of their unique circumstances where more than one grade is combined in one classroom with one teacher. One of the problems is the lack of suited teaching and learning materials (TLM) for these classrooms. It includes the lack of computer-based TLM. Existing TLM that is developed for the use in monograde classroom cannot be used effectively in multigrade classrooms. TLM can provide a valuable contribution in these unique teaching and learning processes. An investigation was needed to determine the condition of die development, selection and use of TLM in these kind of schools. Only then can the solutions for the problems be investigated. During the investigation quantitative and qualitative research methods were used. During the first phase data was collected by a structured questionnaire where after and where of data were collected through standardized structured open-ended interviews and classroom observations in phase two and three. One of the main reasons for the problem is multigrade teacher‟s lack of knowledge and skills in die development, selection and use of TLM in the teaching and learning process. There is no criteria and requirements for the development and selection of TLM. Multigrade teachers do no realize the contribution TLM can provide in the process. The teaching strategies used in the multigrade classroom are very teacher-centered and it contributes to learners‟ lack of development in die teaching and learning process. It also contributes to the multigrade teacher‟s raise in work load and lack of time to do what they must do to ensure quality teaching and learning. There is big need for teacher training as well as in-service training of multigrade teachers that prepare teachers for the different aspects multigrade education. This training must not just include the development, selection and use of TLM, but also the five areas of multigrade teaching. Complete criteria and requirements for TLM in multigrade classroom must be composed by all the role players where after and where of TLM can be developed and selected effectively

Cette thèse porte sur l'étude de deux modèles mathématiques pour une tâchevisuelle élémentaire: le regroupement perceptuel de points 2D. Le premier modèletraite la détection d'alignements de point perceptuellement relevant. Ledeuxième modèle étend ce cadre au cas plus général de la bonne continuation depoints. Dans les deux cas, les modèles proposés sont invariants au changementd'échelle, et non supervisés. Ils sont conçus pour être robustes au bruit,jusqu'au point où les structures à détecter deviennent mathématiquementimpossibles de distinguer du bruit. Les expériences presentées montrent unecohérence entre notre théorie de détéction et les processus de démasquage ayantlieu dans la perception humaine.Les modèles proposés sont basés dans la méthodologie a contrario, uneformalisation du principe de non accidentalité dans la théorie de laperception. Cette thèse fait deux contributions au méthodes a contrario. Une estl'introduction de seuils de détection adaptatifs qui sont conditionnels auxenvirons des structures évaluées. La deuxième contribution est une nouvellestratégie raffinée pour résoudre la redondance de plusieurs détectionssignificatives.Finalement, l'utilité du détecteur d'alignements de points comme outil générald'analyse de données est démontrée avec son application a une problème classiqueen vision par ordinateur: la détection de points de fuite. Le détecteurd'alignements de points proposé, utilisé avec des outils standards, produit desrésultats améliorant l'état de l'art.Visant à la recherche reproductible, toutes les méthodes sont soumis au journalIPOL, en incluant descriptions détaillées des algorithmes, du code sourcecommenté et démonstrations en ligne pour chaque méthode. / This thesis studies two mathematical models for an elementary visual task: theperceptual grouping of dot patterns. The first model handles the detection ofperceptually relevant arrangements of collinear dots. The second model extendsthis framework to the more general case of good continuation of dots. In bothcases, the proposed models are scale invariant and unsupervised. They aredesigned to be robust to noise, up to the point where the structures to detectbecome mathematically indistinguishable from noise. The experiments presentedshow a good match of our detection theory with the unmasking processes takingplace in human perception, supporting their perceptual plausibility.The proposed models are based on the a contrario framework, a formalization ofthe non-accidentalness principle in perception theory. This thesis makes twocontributions to the a contrario methodology. One is the introduction ofadaptive detection thresholds that are conditional to the structure's localsurroundings. The second is a new refined strategy for resolving the redundancyof multiple meaningful detections. Finally, the usefulness of the collinear point detector as a general patternanalysis tool is demonstrated by its application to a classic problem incomputer vision: the detection of vanishing points. The proposed dot alignmentdetector, used in conjunction with standard tools, produces improved resultsover the state-of-the-art methods in the literature.Aiming at reproducible research, all methods are submitted to the IPOL journal,including detailed descriptions of the algorithms, commented reference sourcecodes, and online demonstrations for each one.

No description available.

The SASII which is a measure of social axioms, a concept based on an understanding of the core construct of general beliefs, was investigated in this study. The objective was to determine whether the SASII model fits the data collected in a South African context and whether it measures the same social axiom constructs of the a priori five-factor model. Secondly, the study tested the SASII for configural, metric, scalar and full invariance. Thirdly, social axioms' nomological network was investigated by relying on personality factors to validate social axioms. This study also tested the linkages between social axioms and the Big-Five personality factors. Finally, social axioms' ability to predict personality across cultures was investigated. Beliefs are social in nature and are universally shared amongst individuals within cultures. Shared beliefs represent how people organise their world and make sense of and interpret social realities. Values are widely used in the conceptualisation of cultures as this allows comparisons of the value profiles of individuals socialised into different cultures. Personality represent self-views and is related to culture. Establishing the relationship between social axioms and the constructs of personality and values is an important area for research and intervention. The first article on generalised beliefs, often referred to as social axioms, was published in 2002. It described the axiomatic nature of beliefs based on truth assumptions, personal experience and socialisation. The article sparked a global research interest on social axioms designed to evaluate the universality and meaning of the structure of beliefs across cultures. This interest has resulted in an array of articles, chapters and even a book on the subject. South Africa is ideally positioned for cross-cultural research because of its 11 official languages, diversity in educational levels and unemployment rates, inequality and a divided society due to the historical legacy of apartheid. Language differences create specific environments, defined in terms of culture, race, ethnic grouping, values and attitudes. Globalisation has accelerated the rate of intercultural contact, guiding research attempts to comprehensively describe the emerging cross-cultural dynamics. Recent research findings indicate that South Africans exhibit extreme social axiom scores that are similar to trends in other developing countries. Social axioms research also seeks to assess overlap with other constructs such as values and personality. Efforts to refine social axioms and to expand their nomological network are therefore the main focus of this study. This study aims to contribute towards previous research efforts to improve the validity and expand the nomological network of social axioms through assessing the relationship between generalised beliefs, namely social axioms (labelled Social Cynicism, Reward for Application, Social Complexity, Fate Control and Religiosity) and personality factors (i.e., Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism and Intellect) in the South African context. A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data regarding these constructs as experienced by students and their family members and friends. A convenience sample (N = 1567) of university students and their family members and friends participated in this study. The measuring instruments used were the Social Axioms Survey (SASII), Mini-International Personality Item Pool (Mini-IPIP) and a biographical questionnaire. The results of Study 1 indicated that the SASII five factor structure exhibited an unacceptable model fit within the South African context when conducting a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). However, as an exploratory step, and by creating a parsimonious model, the improved CFA of the SASII presented a fit that improved on previous research findings, suggesting a reasonable fit, taking into account the complexity of the SASII model. Study 2 assessed the measurement invariance (configural, metric, and scalar invariance) of the five factor structure of the SASII parsimonious model across male and female groups in a South African sample. Evidence was obtained through multi-group confirmatory factor analyses, which supported a baseline configural model. This finding indicated that the number of factors and factor structure of the SASII parsimonious model are considered equivalent across male and female groups. Proof for partial metric invariance was found and scalar invariance could not be achieved. Results thus indicated that male and female respondents did not exhibit the same understanding of certain latent constructs and that some items did not have the same meaning for both groups. Males and females also differed in terms of their levels of trust on the SASII's scales of Social Cynicism, Social Complexity and Religiosity. Because scalar invariance could not be achieved, comparisons of the SASII five factors' means across groups could not be computed. This study provided support for previous research findings and indicated that some items and latent factors of the SASII need refinement. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Human Resource Management / PhD / Unrestricted

Studies have documented challenges in meeting No Child Left Behind (NCLB) expectations as well as gender differences that contribute to the achievement gaps between boys and girls. In response to increased NCLB accountability and achievement gaps between boys and girls, several experts have promoted single-sex education as a possible strategy to improving student achievement. The purpose of this study was to examine data that were gathered from an economically disadvantaged Title I federally-assisted upper elementary school with respect to the implementation of single-gender classrooms. This study was guided by the following two research questions: First, what were the perspectives from teachers, students, and parents with the initial year of implementation of single-gender classrooms? Second, what school level data could be analyzed and summarized with respect to student behaviors during the initial year of implementation? Unlike previous studies, which focused on private or parochial schools at the secondary school level, this study focused on an economically disadvantaged school within an upper elementary setting. In addition, limited previous research has examined the perspectives of teachers, students, and parents. As research continues to show an ever-increasing achievement gap between students in poverty and those who are not, many educators seek alternative ways to educate students in economically disadvantaged schools. While single-gender classrooms are by no means a cure-all for the adversity faced by disadvantaged students in public schools, an analysis of the aforementioned research data indicated salient benefits for such students in that they can provide a learning environment where affective and cognitive learning outcomes could be realized. The results from this study revealed that teachers and parents considered single-gender classrooms provide a positive learning environment for students. Teachers, students, and parents emphasized that single-gender classrooms allowed students to be more productive, removed the largest distractions for male and female students, and allowed them to concentrate on their schoolwork. In addition, the data revealed that single-gender classrooms had a positive impact on girls as viewed by teachers, female students, and parents of female students in terms of feeling comfortable enough to ask questions when they did not understand something.

No description available.

Landscape visual preference research has indicated many potential indicators of preference; however a comprehensive framework concerning the relationship between visual preference and perception has not been solidified. Gestalt psychology, the predecessor to visual perception, proposes certain visual grouping tendencies to explain how humans perceive the world. This study examines if Gestalt grouping principles are reliable indicators of preference, and if they may be used to develop a broad context for visual assessment. Visual preference for 36 landscape scenes testing the proximity and similarity of landscape elements were ranked one through five by 1,749 Mississippi State University undergraduate, graduate, and faculty members in a web-based preference survey. Using a two-way between groups analysis of variance (ANOVA) to analyze responses, the results indicate that the proximal and similar configuration of landscape elements within a scene does significantly affect visual preference.

No description available.

Widespread access to technology facilitates the sharing of effective classroom practices across disciplines. The implementation of successful practices is essential; particularly in this era of educational accountability, most notably the adequately yearly progress (AYP) goals of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation. In addition to bottom-up classroom practices, teachers and other educational stakeholders are entitled to information about top-down policies to enhance teaching and learning. This study examines the correlation between policies in four areas and outcomes on one specific component of AYP in Pennsylvania public secondary schools. The policies considered herein are scheduling (traditional or block), grouping (homogeneous or heterogeneous), grading (weighted or not), and secondary math curriculum (U.S. Department of Education cited standards-based or traditional). This study quantifies the correlation between school district polices in these areas and results on the 11th grade mathematics portion of the 2006 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA). Standard and Poor's recognizes school districts in Pennsylvania and across the country whose students have achieved NCLB testing outcomes that exceed expectations. In 2005, 55 Pennsylvania districts were cited by Standard and Poor's as being "outperforming school districts." The 60 secondary schools in these districts served as the population for this study. The study quantifies the correlation between the specific combinations of the four policies utilized by the 40 participating high schools and PSSA results. Evidence is discovered that, of the four policies, only block scheduling correlated with higher PSSA 11th grade math outcomes. / Mathematics and Science Education