Research suggests that many high school students are not learning mathematics of value from a personal or an employment perspective. School mathematics often consists of applying memorised algorithms to exercises that do not meaningfully connect with the student's experience, and hence do not lead to the construction of meaningful mathematics concepts by the student. Moreover, most high school mathematics curricula give students a false idea of the essence of mathematics: Instead of understanding mathematics as another powerful lens through which to view the world, and a creative, enjoyable endeavour, it is seen as mere calculation or esoteric gobbledegook. Authentic learning experiences involve a different perspective on both what passes as mathematics and how students learn to mathematise. The study examined high school mathematics knowledge from several perspectives, and sought, through an empirical study, to enhance student learning and attitude towards mathematics through authentic learning. A class of Year 8 students learnt several units of mathematics primarily by authentic methods, using problems or interesting phenomena in the students' own experience, or otherwise meaningful to the student. Qualitative data was collected by multiple methods, including video recordings. Surveys were administered to five classes of Year 8 students and their parents at the beginning and at the end of the semester in which most of the empirical research took place. This allowed a comparison of attitudes towards mathematics between the experimental class and the other classes. A comparison of achievement was also made. / The results indicate that employing authentic learning experiences may enhance learning and attitude towards mathematics. However, prior transmission teaching methods presented a significant barrier to student acceptance of authentic learning. Furthermore, there remain grave problems with other aspects of current high school mathematics curricula, specifically the mathematics content and the assessment style, which act against the full implementation of authentic learning. These problems are investigated and possible future paths considered.

Computer Science fields have a difficult time engaging underrepresented populations such as African Americans and women. EarSketch is an approach to engage these student through authentic STEAM learning involving computational music remixing. EarSketch has been used in several pilot studies. In this study, students from one pilot study participated in a focus group to understand the effectiveness of EarSketch in engaging underrepresented minorities. Qualitative analysis shows a variety of contributing factors in engagement such as motivation, confidence, identity, conceptualization, and creativity.

Thesis advisor: Robert J. Starrratt / Academic cheating undermines teachers' ability to assess student learning and disadvantages honest students. Today's students increasingly express both an acceptance of cheating and a conviction that cheating is the only way to succeed. Academic dishonesty reflects a larger educational problem in which students fail to value school work. Research on cheating suggests that cheating is more prevalent in older grades but neither the cheating behaviors of middle school students nor the development of cheating habits is well understood. Using goal orientation and neutralization theories, this study examined the conditions under which typical eighth graders perceive cheating as acceptable though not right. A cross-case study method compared student views with those of their teachers. Data included focus groups, interviews, classroom observations, and artifacts. Findings indicate that characteristics of assignments, student-teacher relationships, classroom orientation, and student accountability are central to reducing cheating. Results suggest implications for teaching practice and administration in fostering academic honesty. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Administration and Higher Education.

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Education. / Education in NSW reflects world-wide trends that promise changed practices through the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), to assist students attain capabilities expected of an educated population in contemporary society. Most recently, the use of the Internet has become a major priority for NSW government schools, with the expectation that students will increasingly participate in online learning activities. As educators grapple to find evidence of changed practices and extended or enhanced learning experiences for students, attention has turned to new forms of activity that have emerged within the online environment. This thesis explores the implementation of online projects as one such emergent form. The study focuses on the experiences of students and the practices of classes, with a view to asking how the online projects reconstruct the learning environments and activities of classes, how they contribute to the learning achievement of students and to the effective use of Internet technologies in K-12 school settings. A collective case study approach was used to reveal multiple views of online projects implemented in five NSW schools. Particular value is attached to the viewpoints of students and to professional dialogues with teachers that contributed insights into what was occurring in the classes and what was achieved as a result. Meanings have been drawn from each case to build a better understanding of the phenomenon of online projects as a whole. The study draws on social constructivist and project-based theoretical perspectives, with their widely accepted claims to benefits for students of authentic, learner-centred, participatory learning. The thesis argues that online projects can stimulate and support learning activities that produce these known benefits, while recognising constraints that exist in every-day classes. The online projects present a disruptive force within classes, changing the nature of activities and forcing a shift in the roles of both teachers and students, and of the technology itself, making it subservient to the learning intentions. Findings for students relate both to participation and learning effects. Strength of student engagement and the value of authentic learning activities emerged as notable features of the online project experience. Rather than accepting these claims as sufficient outcome of the projects, this thesis identifies attributes that promote student engagement. It examines what constitutes authentic activity for school students, especially younger ones, and how a sense of authenticity is established in learning tasks. It particularly explores the contribution of online presentation of the projects to the benefits and constraints identified. The study has significant implications for education systems and teachers, and for the design and implementation of online projects as part an effective online learning provision for schools. In the highly conflicted area of investment in ICT and the search for purposeful learning uses of the Internet, online projects present a teaching and learning approach that can deliver some of the much-acclaimed potential – primarily because they promote changes in practice that are concerned with much more than just the use of the technology.

ABSTRACT STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF ENGAGEMENT IN SCHOOLS: A DEWEYAN ANALYSIS OF AUTHENTICITY IN HIGH SCHOOL CLASSROOMS by Gloria D. Richards Perry This qualitative study of the nature of engagement in schools explored how students viewed the work assigned to them by their teachers. Using normative and theoretical frameworks, research was conducted to determine whether students found work to be authentic and engaging in the manner that Dewey proposes school work should be. Phenomenological interviews were used with individual participants as well as in a focus group session. Interviews and further questioning probed for information in order to gain a greater understanding of engagement from the student perspective. Furthermore, these methods afforded depth and richness that could further saturate the data. The research questions were: What do students identify as important factors that influence the degree to which they can be engaged in their learning experiences? As described by students, do the values, norms, and requirements that constitute school mirror similar elements of a student’s life outside of school? The analysis of participant responses supported the notion that these learners want their learning experiences to be personal, relevant, meaningful, and active. If they felt they were not getting these experiences, they shut down and/or turned the teacher off in their own head. These particular participants reported numerous examples of data that supported their need to be heard as students in the learning environment. They know what they want as learners and expect their teachers to provide the learning experiences they desire for their improvement. Participants in this study of engagement placed a high degree of emphasis on authentic learning. The data supported the notion that these participants want to have fun as they are learning but of far more importance, the data have shown they want their learning to be meaningful beyond the classroom setting.

The provision of authentic teaching and learning in the Mathematics classroom is one of the corner stones of the National Curriculum Statement (NCS). This study investigated to what extent teachers provide authentic teaching and learning in their Mathematics classrooms. A literature study was undertaken to explain authentic teaching and learning. The use of teaching methods and strategies, learning activities, assessment methods and strategies, and the role of the teacher and learner in the context of authentic teaching and learning in the classroom were explored. The literature review provided the conceptual framework for the study; as well as the framework for designing questionnaires and an observation schedule. The questionnaires were utilized to obtain the perceptions of teachers and learners regarding opportunities provided by teachers for the provision of authentic teaching and learning experiences in the Mathematics classroom, and the observation schedule determined how and to what extent the principles of authentic teaching and learning were translated into practice. Data was collected by means of quantitative, non-experimental descriptive survey research. The self-constructed questionnaires were administered to a convenient sample of a purposively selected group of Grade 4, Grade 5 and Grade 6 Intermediate Phase Mathematics teachers (n = 24) and learners (n = 440) in the Johannesburg South District of the Gauteng Department of Education. In addition to this, the classroom practices of six of the teachers who completed the questionnaire were observed over a period of six months. The triangulation of teacher and learner data revealed similarities and differences in opinion related to the opportunities that teachers create for authentic teaching and learning in the Mathematics classroom. In essence, the data revealed that teachers who took part in the study apparently understand the principles that underpin authentic teaching and learning, and to some extent comply with the principles of authentic teaching and learning in their classrooms. In addition to this, the triangulation of the teacher responses to the questionnaire and the observations of the classroom practices of the teachers indicated that in practice all the application of the principles of authentic teaching, learning and assessment have not yet fully become a reality in the Mathematics classroom. According to the learner responses, to the questionnaire, as well as the observations, it appeared that the application of teaching and assessment strategies that promote authentic teaching and learning are under-utilized by the teachers. This study is concluded with recommendations to teachers on how to create classroom climates that promote the provision of authentic teaching and learning in the Mathematics classroom. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2011

The provision of authentic teaching and learning in the Mathematics classroom is one of the corner stones of the National Curriculum Statement (NCS). This study investigated to what extent teachers provide authentic teaching and learning in their Mathematics classrooms. A literature study was undertaken to explain authentic teaching and learning. The use of teaching methods and strategies, learning activities, assessment methods and strategies, and the role of the teacher and learner in the context of authentic teaching and learning in the classroom were explored. The literature review provided the conceptual framework for the study; as well as the framework for designing questionnaires and an observation schedule. The questionnaires were utilized to obtain the perceptions of teachers and learners regarding opportunities provided by teachers for the provision of authentic teaching and learning experiences in the Mathematics classroom, and the observation schedule determined how and to what extent the principles of authentic teaching and learning were translated into practice. Data was collected by means of quantitative, non-experimental descriptive survey research. The self-constructed questionnaires were administered to a convenient sample of a purposively selected group of Grade 4, Grade 5 and Grade 6 Intermediate Phase Mathematics teachers (n = 24) and learners (n = 440) in the Johannesburg South District of the Gauteng Department of Education. In addition to this, the classroom practices of six of the teachers who completed the questionnaire were observed over a period of six months. The triangulation of teacher and learner data revealed similarities and differences in opinion related to the opportunities that teachers create for authentic teaching and learning in the Mathematics classroom. In essence, the data revealed that teachers who took part in the study apparently understand the principles that underpin authentic teaching and learning, and to some extent comply with the principles of authentic teaching and learning in their classrooms. In addition to this, the triangulation of the teacher responses to the questionnaire and the observations of the classroom practices of the teachers indicated that in practice all the application of the principles of authentic teaching, learning and assessment have not yet fully become a reality in the Mathematics classroom. According to the learner responses, to the questionnaire, as well as the observations, it appeared that the application of teaching and assessment strategies that promote authentic teaching and learning are under-utilized by the teachers. This study is concluded with recommendations to teachers on how to create classroom climates that promote the provision of authentic teaching and learning in the Mathematics classroom. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2011

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Education. / Education in NSW reflects world-wide trends that promise changed practices through the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), to assist students attain capabilities expected of an educated population in contemporary society. Most recently, the use of the Internet has become a major priority for NSW government schools, with the expectation that students will increasingly participate in online learning activities. As educators grapple to find evidence of changed practices and extended or enhanced learning experiences for students, attention has turned to new forms of activity that have emerged within the online environment. This thesis explores the implementation of online projects as one such emergent form. The study focuses on the experiences of students and the practices of classes, with a view to asking how the online projects reconstruct the learning environments and activities of classes, how they contribute to the learning achievement of students and to the effective use of Internet technologies in K-12 school settings. A collective case study approach was used to reveal multiple views of online projects implemented in five NSW schools. Particular value is attached to the viewpoints of students and to professional dialogues with teachers that contributed insights into what was occurring in the classes and what was achieved as a result. Meanings have been drawn from each case to build a better understanding of the phenomenon of online projects as a whole. The study draws on social constructivist and project-based theoretical perspectives, with their widely accepted claims to benefits for students of authentic, learner-centred, participatory learning. The thesis argues that online projects can stimulate and support learning activities that produce these known benefits, while recognising constraints that exist in every-day classes. The online projects present a disruptive force within classes, changing the nature of activities and forcing a shift in the roles of both teachers and students, and of the technology itself, making it subservient to the learning intentions. Findings for students relate both to participation and learning effects. Strength of student engagement and the value of authentic learning activities emerged as notable features of the online project experience. Rather than accepting these claims as sufficient outcome of the projects, this thesis identifies attributes that promote student engagement. It examines what constitutes authentic activity for school students, especially younger ones, and how a sense of authenticity is established in learning tasks. It particularly explores the contribution of online presentation of the projects to the benefits and constraints identified. The study has significant implications for education systems and teachers, and for the design and implementation of online projects as part an effective online learning provision for schools. In the highly conflicted area of investment in ICT and the search for purposeful learning uses of the Internet, online projects present a teaching and learning approach that can deliver some of the much-acclaimed potential – primarily because they promote changes in practice that are concerned with much more than just the use of the technology.

Abstract Research into memory processes has progressed in recent years through the combined efforts of neuroscientists and cognitive scientists. This is especially aided by modern scientific research methods of the brain such as positron emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging. The learner, through interaction with his environment, must actively create individual cognition; the brain is a dynamic adaptable organ. This research will limit the discussion of authentic learning and e-learning to an introductory chemistry laboratory course. The most popular, and yet the most heavily criticized style of laboratory instruction is the traditional (also termed verification or expository) style with a "cookbook" nature. On the basis of pilot action research, the goal of this study has been the use of e-learning for the purpose of placing more emphasis on the contemplation of chemistry's theoretical topics for effecting the quality of conceptual understanding. With systems thinking as a background, the qualitative research method was primarily used, but statistics of the external influences in the e-learning process were also improved. In an e-learning environment, the individually supported development of a learner's conceptual understanding was analyzed by SOLO-taxonomy by comparing the learner's own outcomes. The results show that e-learning with traditional laboratory activities has the effect of forming chemistry concepts, and results in meaningful learning. The SOLO-taxonomy would be a powerful tool for faculty for analyzing points of difficulty or confusion in students' understanding of chemistry concepts. To better understand the effectiveness of e-learning, studies have to be directed toward higher-order cognition by collaborative learning in addition to conceptual understanding of individuals.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This research study investigated the effectiveness of Peer Instruction (PI) in enhancing preservice teachers’ understanding of Electromagnetism I in a Nigerian college of education. PI as a research-based pedagogy was invented for the teaching of introductory science courses to large classes. Lectures in PI is made of short presentations on the main points, each followed by short conceptual questions known as ConcepTest, posed in a multiple-choice format, on the subject under discussion. Electromagnetism is a branch of Physics where students perform poorly at Colleges of Education in Nigeria. Electromagnetism I covers electrostatics, magnetostatics, current electricity, electrolysis, and capacitance. Each of these themes has different topics under it. Most students studying Electromagnetism I, cannot relate or connect what they learned in the classroom to real-world situations because they often learn by memorization (rote learning).