As workplace demands change, a need has developed for alternatives to traditional education. With advancements in electronic telecommunication technologies, distance education has become a viable alternative to traditional classrooms for working professionals. Efficiency and cost effectiveness are driving many programs to place oncampus students and distance students in the same courses at the same time. This phenomenon has resulted in the placement of students with vastly different backgrounds, levels of expertise, and levels of motivation in the same classrooms. Often a professor will teach to one learning style, leaving some students in the dust, never to get on track. Without face-to-face contact with an instructor, this can leave distance education students feeling isolated and alone. There is a continuing need for the development of alternative instruments to assess self-directed learning (Brockett & Himestra, 1991). We must develop a means of determining an individual??s readiness for self-directed learning, as well as a device for measuring the efficiency of programs designed to foster the attitudes and skills which are involved in increased self-directedness in learning (Guglielmino, 1977). Self-directed learning readiness is important to a learner??s success in distance education programs. Inorder for an educator to tailor instruction to the unique attributes of each student, there is a need for an instrument that will identify the learner??s stage of self-directedness or degree of dependency and for an instrument that will determine the educator??s default teaching style at the beginning of a course. Such an instrument will help instructors increase their learners?? level of self-direction and will improve the overall quality, student satisfaction, and student retention in distance learning courses. The purpose of this study is to develop and pilot test two instruments based upon the Staged Self Directed Learning Model (Grow, 1991) and the key assumptions of andragogy: one measuring the self-directed learning readiness of a student in the context of an individual course and the other measuring the teaching style of the instructor in the context of the same course. The data will be analyzed and given to the instructor to give him/her an idea of the self-directed learning readiness level of students enrolled in the course. A report will be generated to show matches and mismatches between the instructor??s teaching style and the self-directed learning readiness level of the students. A decision model will be developed to suggest teaching strategies that minimize mismatches and facilitate the growth of students from dependent to self-directed through the course.

The purpose of this study was to determine and understand the variables affecting the revival of the draft horse industry in the United States. A qualitative study was conducted using 31 purposively (Lincoln and Guba, 1985) selected draft horse industry participants who were drawn from three case studies, conducted in East Texas, Russia (Siberia), and Northern Indiana. Structured and semi-structured interviews were utilized. Major findings emerged with this research showed that the culture of practicality, inventiveness, and risk taking has allowed communities of individuals to achieve financial success where others have been forced to abandon their businesses and seek other sources of livelihood. Some of the findings stood alone with no seeming connection to the other findings. Other findings appeared to be intertwined with one another. All of the emerging findings contributed to the renewal and engagement of individuals in the draft horse industry revival. The findings are deliberately not listed in any particular order. The scope of the study did not include a method to determine whichfinding or series of findings preceded the others. The major findings to emerge from this study are as follows. Most of the participants in the revival were or are middle aged men and women. This finding melds well with another finding that determined the draft horse business was the second, third, or fourth career of the participants in this study. Many of the participants operate their businesses in rural non-farm locations. Owners and publishers of trade magazines played a pivotal role in this industry revival. Geography and international connections played a role. The Amish communities across the U.S. played a pivotal role in keeping relic technologies alive and maintaining seed stock for the revival of the draft breeds. Specific markets for horses and equipment have been carved out by many of the participants. Self-directed learning and andragogy were exhibited by almost all of the participants. The role of university and extension personnel in this revival was essentially non-existent.

“We are all chimeras, theorized and fabricated hybrids of machine and organism; in short, we are cyborgs.” -- Donna Haraway, A Manifesto for Cyborgs As we stand beyond the brink of the 21st Century, we are outside of the boundaries where the Ivory Tower approach to education is applicable, particularly in regards to the teaching of practical knowledge and the acquisition of necessary technical skills. We must also, however, address the very real scalability issues inherit in the One Room Schoolhouse approach, as the numbers of students who need education are not likely to shrink anytime soon. We are no longer apes on the savannah and we can no longer afford to act as robotic vessels in search of knowledge from academia’s font of knowledge. Technology is the future of our society and it is only growing in complexity. If we are to efficiently instruct our students in the ever-growing fields of general study and technology they face, we need to find a hybrid, or cyborg, approach, melding the ape and the robot. / text

This ethnographic study contextualized identity development and maintenance within the field of community music through case studies of four performing groups and interviews with seven current members. The underlying question guiding this research was how does participatory music making contribute to the development and maintenance of identity in older adult community musicians? This research was positioned in the milieu of four nonformal community music ensembles in the Pacific Northwestern United States: the Tacoma Concert Band, the South Puget Sound New Horizons Band, Samba OlyWA, and the Artesian Rumble Arkestra. While nuances were evident in the characteristics, ideals, instructional praxis, and values of each ensemble, regardless of the setting (traditional versus nontraditional), results indicate participants developed social, musical, and group identity through community music participation. Results showed that participants created social identities through social learning by modeling group behaviors and practices, and displayed role identities based on positions held within their ensembles. Meanings for these roles may have been altered by participants’ previous experiences—such as a hiatus from playing—or by the nature of their respective ensembles, the inclusiveness of the ensemble, or the perceived level or purpose of the ensemble. Participants cherished the social connections made through their ensembles. Group membership opened doors to allow them to interact with other people with the same passion, helped to build confidence through compliments, energize social justice and community matters and events, sustain a passion for rhythm and harmony, maintain and refresh knowledge of music, preserve the joy in playing an instrument, develop self-satisfaction in playing music, and build memory. Participants agreed they were music-makers; however, each held a different meaning for the role of musician. Most participants identified as a musician with a qualified response of but: …I’m not very good; …I’m only a beginner; et cetera. Limitations for self-identification as a musician included a lack of interest or time for practice, viewing participation as a hobby, or a greater focus on social activism, inclusion, or community over performance.

There is a growing body of interest in wellbeing across political, educational and social bodies in the UK. The thinking behind this is for human as well as economic reasons, to help people make more informed choices in their lives. There are suggestions to measure wellbeing more often and use that data to help government improve policies and enable companies and individuals to live more productive lives for example by considering being more altruistic to improve personal and family wellbeing during a time of financial austerity (O’Donnell, 2014: 9). There is a fundamental problem however in that there is no common understanding of what wellbeing is across different bodies and agencies, including education, mainly because the term is subjectively defined. Yet teachers are required to report to parents on children’s wellbeing and also safeguard their wellbeing, Teachers’ Standards 2012 (DfE, 2013), but there are no common measures of wellbeing in use nationally. The purpose of this case study is to try to reduce ambiguity about wellbeing issues through identifying gaps in knowledge in the literature about what wellbeing in schools is. The investigation uses qualitative methods and as an inside researcher, to aid authenticity of data, a two-tier approach to gathering data is taken within a constructivist paradigm. The approach enables three voices to be heard, that of pupils and parents (data set one) and then teachers (data set two). The first pupil theme revealed that pupils had a strong sense of connectedness to the school, friends and teachers while the second theme showed approaches to learning that had resonated with pupils. The theme to emerge from parents was a loving community where they felt enabled to entrust their children to teachers who were passionate about their role and evidenced compassion in their working with children. Themes from teachers revealed responsive and enthused professionals who, through collaboration in action learning sets, influenced transition arrangements and ways they felt they could be further empowered in their role. Wellbeing deriving from empowerment through interconnected relationships within and across the three groups leads to an analysis of the community as one that accepts difference. The significance of this for wellbeing in education and policy is discussed.

It is inevitable that campus-based higher education will adopt some form of a hybrid learning approach. For schools and their faculty members, this means the acknowledgment and acceptance of these changes are required. Campus-based higher education faculty members wish to change how they teach courses due to societal demands to better suit the next generation of students. Initially, schools began offering new technology to faculty that wished to use the technology; however, over the years, due to the demands of competition with other schools and next generation, tech-savvy students entering academia, schools are starting to require the use of technology that was once only an option for faculty members. This implementation of incorporating technology into the classroom has faced several roadblocks because what was once considered a simple transition has become more complex due to faculty resistance to new technology, which stems from various limitations, barriers, and perceptions, such as low computer self-efficacy, high computer anxiety, and time to learn new technology. The purpose of this study was to understand how in-service faculty experience individualized training as a method of teaching faculty how to use the technology and integrate it into their courses. The lived experiences and perceptions of in-service faculty regarding individualized training were specifically focused on to determine how individualized instruction was perceived to help or hinder integrating technology into their courses. The focus was the experience Harper College and McLennan Community College’s in-service faculty, who experienced training through the group training currently offered by the schools, as well as the proposed individualized training. Higher education faculty from general study areas, such as English, math, and science were invited to participate. The study consisted of a 6-week individualized training program for 12 in-service faculty members (seven completed the study) who previously participated in a group training program about Blackboard. The study was a phenomenological approach in that used interviews to gather information regarding the lived experiences as the basis of analysis. The data for this study were gathered, horizonalized, and analyzed through a 7-step data processing method for phenomenology studies. After the data were analyzed, the findings show how developing a good individualized training program can help in-service faculty members not only integrate technology into their course designs but address any of the limitations or barriers the faculty faced. These findings coincide with the recommendations that training programs need to be developed into a phased approach in which the existing group training should continue but a secondary training program should be developed that incorporates andragogy-based principles and the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) framework.

This thesis seeks to understand the past and present state of engineering education and to plot a course for its future evolution. This research is limited to engineering education as it has taken place in North American universities during the last half of the 20th century. Within this context, broad trends are described. The description is supplemented with a case study of a unique and innovative engineering programme. The trends and case study form the foundation of a synthesis, and alternative vision, for higher education and engineering education. The intended audience of this thesis includes those who teach, design curriculum, or administer engineering education programmes. The description of the current state of engineering education contains analyses of the state and of the gaps within it. Both of these analyses are based almost exclusively on publicly available documentation. The present state of engineering is drawn from accreditation criteria. Critiques of the current state and suggestions for future change are drawn from reports commissioned by groups affiliated with professional engineering. The discussions identify recurring themes and patterns. Unlike the analysis of the literature, the case study merges interview evidence and personal experience with the available documentation. The synthesis and visions continue the trend away from formal sources towards experiences and beliefs. Engineering education research is in its infancy and shows few signs of maturing. There is no documented, common framing of engineering education nor have there been any efforts in this regard. Few sources address broad issues and those that do lack theoretical rigour. The visions for engineering education are simple amalgams of visions for the profession and for general higher education. The Department of Systems Design Engineering has enjoyed great past successes because of its unique vision that combines the theories of systems, complexity, and design with the discipline of engineering. Its recent decay can be traced to its faculty having collectively lost this vision. The original vision for Systems Design Engineering holds promise as a means to reinvent and reinvigorate both the engineering profession and engineering education. For this renaissance to be successful a theoretically rigorous research programme assessing the past, present, and future of engineering and engineering education must be developed.

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / Adult learning embraces andragogy, constructivism, Transformative Learning Theory, praxis, and the understanding that not all adults are prepared initially for complete learning autonomy. The concept of andragogy can be traced to the Nineteenth Century, and the volume of follow-on research has reinforced the basic tenants of adult learning. It is, therefore, valid to expect that adherence to adult learning will indicate one measure of the effectiveness of curricula that target adults. This thesis, therefore, analyzes the Center for Naval Leadership Facilitator Training course and the Center for Naval Leadership Learning Site, Coronado Advanced Officer Leadership Training Course curricula for adherence to the adult learning model. The curricula follow adult learning practices to a great extent within the parameters of the military environment and limited resources. / Commander, United States Navy

O desenvolvimento das telecomunicações e tecnologia da informação leva hoje uma parcela significativa da humanidade a ficar exposta a informações continuamente por meio da internet. São exemplos destas tecnologias inovadoras que estão revolucionando o acesso e proliferação de informações por meio das redes sociais e outras tecnologias como o Google, Facebook, YouTube, TED, Wikipedia entre outros. Desta forma, tornou-se viável com base nestas tecnologias o desenvolvimento de plataformas de ensino aprendizagem que vemos em MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course) como edX, nos EUA, e Veduca, no Brasil e os jogos sérios colaborativos com múltiplos jogadores (collaborative multiplayer serious games). Evidentemente estas tecnologias inovadoras de ensino-aprendizagem ainda estão no seu nascedouro e ainda têm muito potencial e desafios para vencer. Por outro lado, a universidade, a \"escola dos adultos\", também está longe da excelência de ensino e aprendizagem, embora o ambiente acadêmico no Brasil tenha evoluído muito em termos de ensino e pesquisa nos últimos anos por meio da atuação da CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior) e outros fatores, fica claro que ainda há uma grande lacuna a ser preenchida. Qualquer um que frequente o ambiente acadêmico no Brasil percebe uma situação comum onde há alunos pouco interessados em aprender e professores pouco motivados a ensinar. O INEP (Instituto Nacional de Estudos e Pesquisas do Ministério da Educação) apresenta no Censo da Educação proporções alarmantes quanto ao número de concluintes em relação ao número de ingressantes. Neste contexto, esta pesquisa busca identificar como a percepção de importância de métodos de ensino está relacionada com a experiência de aprendizagem do estudante, além de verificar a associação dessas características com as competências do gestor de projetos. Para cumprir tais objetivos foi realizada uma pesquisa exploratória descritiva em uma amostra de conveniência, com a aplicação de métodos combinados para a análise dos resultados. A percepção da importância dos métodos de ensino foi avaliada com uma escala de soma constante, enquanto a experiência de aprendizagem foi medida de acordo com a proposta de Ojiako et al (2014). Já as competências do gestor de projetos foram avaliadas de acordo com a proposta do PMI (2007). Os principais métodos utilizados na análise dos resultados foram análise de variância (teste de igualdade de médias para a percepção de importância das técnicas de ensino), análise fatorial (redução das dimensões que compõem a experiência de aprendizagem), análise de clusters (verificação da interelação entre experiência de aprendizagem e percepção de importância das técnicas de ensino). Com os grupos identificados na análise de clusters, foi realizada uma análise de correspondência para verificar a associação entre os grupos e a percepção do nível de competência adquirida para gerir projetos. Os resultados indicam que as técnicas ativas de ensino ainda apresentam baixa percepção de importância quando comparadas aos métodos tradicionais e que a experiência de aprendizagem está relacionada com essa percepção. Por fim, o perfil de aprendizagem e valorização das técnicas de ensino está associado com a percepção de competências adquiridas. / In a context with growing participation of technology and active learning techniques, this research verifies how importance perception of teaching techniques is related to student\'s learning experience and also asses how this characteristics are associated with project management competences. To accomplish its goals, an exploratory and descriptive research was conducted using a non aleatory sample, with multiple methods combined to data analysis. Importance perception of teaching techniques was evaluated wtih a constant sum scale, while learning experience was measured using Ojiako et al (2014) proposal. Project management competences were evaluated with PMI (2007) framework. Methods used in data analysis were analysis of variance (to assess mean differences in importance perception of teaching techniques), factorial analysis (dimension reduction of learning experience), clusters analysis (verify relationship between importance perception of teaching technique and learning experience). With groups identified in cluster analysis, a correspondence analysis was conducted to verify association between groups and project competences level perception. Results indicate that active techniques are still under evaluated when compared with traditional teaching techniques and learning experience is related with this perception. Finally, learning profile is related with competence perception.

abstract: The discipline of continuing professional development (CPD) is well defined and established within a variety of industries, such as medical, legal, and financial. The built environment is a less defined and mature industry with respect to educational pathways and professional education, with no uniform structure. Occupational licensing, such as registered nurses, certified professional accountants, and others are well known within both their industries and the public. Additionally, occupational core-competencies are well established. Planning is a core skill set within the built environment and construction management. Definitions of the term “planning” vary quite broadly across the built environment, but generally includes activities such as risk identification, scope identification, and scheduling. Understanding how professionals in the built environment learn to plan is critical to meeting CPD needs for planning skills and the ability of a professional to “plan” effectively. Many planning tools and software have been developed, but often rely on an individual professional’s personal experiences and abilities. Limited literature in the field of professional education in the built environment has left a gap on the topic of how to train professionals in planning competencies. Survey results indicate that current training is not meeting the expectations of professionals, as only 16 percent of professionals are trained how to plan using their preferred method of learning. While on-the-job training is the primary format, the most preferred format is internal company training, but only 54 percent of companies provide this format. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis tests were conducted and revealed that organizations with internal training programs have higher employee satisfaction with their organization’s planning process. Further, organizations with internal training programs are seen as having a more formal internal planning process. Research is needed to develop CPD within construction management and provide the foundation upon which a professional education structure can be created. An andragogically-centered schema for a heuristic approach to construction CPD is developed and tested on a seminar for pre-project planning. The full instructional design of the seminar using the model is disclosed and seminar results showed positive results and participants achieved high levels of learning. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Engineering 2018