The number of underprepared students entering post-secondary education continues to be a national problem community colleges struggle with by providing remedial instruction while having to satisfy the demands for effective teaching accountability. Reading is one identified area needing remediation; and, a goal for programs to address this shortcoming is to increase vocabulary to improve reading comprehension. The problem was that students placed into developmental courses are often discouraged learners with low motivation and eschew the practice requisite for vocabulary learning. Many educators are interested in re-creating the compelling environment found in games to parlay the power of digital games to required curriculum learning in order to engage their students. However, despite the preponderance of recent literature advocating digital games for classroom learning, especially the use of complex endogenous games, there is limited empirical evidence for using digital games to achieve defined learning outcomes. Further, no recent studies have examined digital games use with developmental populations. The study designed, developed, implemented, and evaluated the blending of computer-based games with traditional classroom instruction to provide the repetition and active processing required for students to acquire new vocabulary. The goal was to develop a blended learning design to integrate instructional design and blending design practices to support and improve learning for vocabulary acquisition of developmental readers. A mixed-method (quantitative and qualitative) approach was employed and instructional events for vocabulary lessons were designed and developed using the framework of established models. Pretests and posttest measured achievement in vocabulary gains using three methods of practice: paper-based worksheet, text-based digital game, and video-style digital game. Survey instruments were used to determine students' enjoyment of and motivation using different treatments. Results confirmed that students found digital games a motivating instructional method; however, no advantage in improving achievement was found using text-based or video-style games over the traditional paper-based worksheets method. A description of the analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation of digital games blended with traditional classroom instruction is provided to assist those interested in pursuing digital game-based learning with post-secondary developmental populations. Recommendations are also provided for future research and educational game development.

Physical and electronic resources, tools and environments are increasingly being integrated within mainstream higher education. As institutions seize the potential of technology enablement, blended learning formats have become popular. For the blended learning format to positively impact the quality of education in the institution its effective integration into existing practice is crucial. The Monash South Africa Foundation Programme, a division of Monash University that provides an alternative pathway into higher education, has its focus firmly on delivering quality academic development yet must successfully navigate the challenges of implementing blended learning as part of an institution wide strategic plan for academic excellence. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the perceptions and attitudes of a teacher in the programme towards blended learning echoed the strategic plan of the institution to use the blended learning approach. A qualitative single case study was developed around one teacher, framed by the context of the institution’s strategic education plan and the programme environment, in order to develop a rich narrative of his experience. Multiple methods of data collection were used to allow for results to be triangulated. The study showed that this teacher’s perceptions and attitudes reflected a positive disposition towards the implementation of blended learning but that the perceived barriers placed the individual’s potential of achieving the institutional goals for incorporating blended learning at risk. The need for effective change management and staff that would champion the innovation was identified. An accumulative narrative of teacher experiences was advocated to develop theories to support further effective blended learning in the programme and the institution and thus enable the institution’s strategic goals of achieving academic excellence at ground level.

Many international higher education students do not study in their native languages. Unlike their peers who would only worry about the content of the course, they also struggle with the difficulties of the language of instruction. Flipped classrooms, providing students with the learning materials prior to the class, may assist in alleviating the academic burden and the language challenge the international students are experiencing. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into how flipped classrooms may help international students with course engagement and their adaptation processes. The conceptual framework was Keller's personalized system of instruction. The research questions in this basic qualitative study focused on understanding the experiences of international students with the flipped classroom. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 international higher education students currently studying at a Polish university in a flipped classroom format. Data from the interviews were coded, and the following themes emerged during the analysis: international experience, flipped versus traditional, flipped classroom experience, and engagement in flipped classes. Results indicated a high approval rate of flipped classrooms among international students, and the PowerPoint presentations were the most preferred learning material during self-study. Hence, faculty members at Polish universities should consider the flipped classroom model to improve the learning experience for international students. Polish universities would benefit from an international student population and allowing them to overcome the initial language barriers and being successful will allow Poland access to potential employees with a global perspective.

Enrollments in blended learning programs are growing, creating a challenge to find educators who understand blended learning pedagogy. The purpose of this study was to identify and understand the challenges and pedagogical transformations of elementary educators who recently adopted blended learning. The concerns-based adoption model provided a conceptual framework to examine teacher concerns and level of implementation of innovative change. A multiple case study design was used to capture the experiences and perceptions of the participants' transition to a blended learning environment. Two teachers in one school in a California school district that transitioned to a blended learning approach were cases studied. The participants were a 4th and a 6th grade teacher who had taught the same grade level at their current school at least 1 year prior to its transition to a blended learning approach. The data collection process included interviews, classroom observations, and document reviews. The participants were interviewed on their understanding of blended learning and their changes in pedagogy. Classroom observations and documents were analyzed using pattern-matching to provide corroborating evidence. The teachers perceived an increase in student-teacher interactions and indicated a need for more guidance developing their blended learning program and support curating resources during the transition to blended learning. A self-paced online professional development program was designed to provide the training needed to support the teachers in their transition. The project study could lead to positive social change by identifying teacher support needed to transition from a traditional teaching environment to a blended learning environment.

Due to the advancement of web-based technologies, using LMS to support both asynchronous and synchronous learning has become more and more popular. Another new trend is to combine physical classroom and cyber classroom into a mixture learning environment, that is why blended learning has become an important research topic in e-learning domain. According to the literature survey, blended learning can create a flexible learning environment and improve the learning effects. Besides, blended learning can also reduce the cost, increase the benefit, and extend the outcomes. However, most teachers are not familiar with this kind of blended synchronous learning environment; they have no ideas about how to conduct teaching and learning activities in this kind of environment. The aims of this study are to explore the proper setup of a blended learning environment and to propose some important blended learning models for teachers. We use case study approach for our research. Two online successful courses were chosen as the study cases. These two courses are ¡§E-learning Theory and Practice¡¨ and ¡§Computer Networks and the Internet¡¨ which were instructed by Dr. Nian-Shing Chen at National Sun Yat-Sen University. Observation method and interview method were used to gather the study data. Moreover, the gathered data was analyzed by qualitative methods. The contributions of this study are the setup guideline for blended synchronous classroom and the proposed five blended synchronous learning modes. These results could provide valuable references for administrators to setup appropriate blended learning environments and for instructors to design better blended learning courses.

<p>Background: Practice knowledge exists as a complex relationship between questions and answers in a context of meaning that is often intuitive and hidden from the novice practitioner. Physiotherapy education, which aims to develop patterns of thinking, reflection and reasoning as part of practice knowledge, is often based on didactic teaching methods that emphasise the learning of facts without highlighting the relationships between them. In order to improve health outcomes for patients, clinical educators must&nbsp / consider redesigning the curriculum to take into account the changing and complex nature of physiotherapy education. There is some evidence that a blended approach to&nbsp / teaching and learning may facilitate the development of graduates who are more capable of reflection, reasoning and critical thinking, and who can adapt and respond to the&nbsp / complex clinical environment. The purpose of this study was to develop principles that could be used to guide the design of blended learning environments that aim to develop&nbsp / capability in undergraduate physiotherapy students. Method: The study took place in a university physiotherapy department in the Western Cape in South Africa, among&nbsp / undergraduate students. Design research was used as a framework to guide the study, and included a range of research methods as part of that process. The problem was&nbsp / identified using a systematic review of the literature and a survey of students. The design of the blended intervention that aimed to address the problem was informed by a&nbsp / narrative review of theoretical frameworks, two pilot studies that evaluated different aspects of blended learning, and a Delphi study. This process led to the development of a set&nbsp / of design principles which were used to inform the blended intervention, which was implemented and evaluated during 2012. Results: The final results showed that students had undergone a transformation in how they thought about the process and practice of learning as part of physiotherapy education, demonstrating critical approaches towards&nbsp / knowledge, the profession and authority. These changes were brought about by changing teaching and learning practices that were informed by the design principles in the&nbsp / preliminary phases of the project. These principles emphasised the use of technology to interact, articulate understanding, build relationships, embrace complexity, encourage&nbsp / creativity, stimulate reflection, acknowledge emotion, enhance flexibility and immerse students in the learning space. Discussion: While clinical education is a complex undertaking with many challenges, evidence presented in this study demonstrates that the development of clinical reasoning, critical thinking and reflection can be enhanced through the intentional use of technology as part of a blended approach to teaching and learning. The design principles offer clinical educators a framework upon which to construct learning environments where the affordances of technology can be mapped to the principles, which are based on a sound pedagogical foundation. In this way, the use of technology in the learning environment is constructed around principles that are informed by theory. However, clinical educators who are considering the integration of&nbsp / innovative strategies in the curriculum should be aware that students may initially be reluctant to engage in self-directed learning activities, and that resistance from colleagues&nbsp / may obstruct the process. Conclusion: The development of clinical reasoning, critical thinking and reflection in undergraduate physiotherapy students may be enhanced through&nbsp / the intentional use of appropriate technology that aims to fundamentally change teaching and learning practices. Design research offers a practical approach to conducting&nbsp / research in clinical education, leading to the development of principles of learning that are based on theory. <br /> iii</p>

The blended wing body (BWB) is a tailless aircraft with the potential to use 27% less fuel than a conventional aircraft with the same passenger capacity and range. The primary purpose of the current study was to determine the handling qualities of the BWB, using piloted-handling trials in a moving-base simulator. The secondary purpose was to determine the effect of simulator motion on handling-quality ratings. De Castro conducted piloted-handling trials in a fixed-base simulator. De Castro's tasks and flight model were modified in the current study. In the current study, three subjects rated the handling qualities as Level 1 or 2, depending on the task. Simulator motion did not have a significant effect on the results.

Se reporta el diseño y evaluación de un curso Blended Learning (BL) para Física I en la Universidad Nacional Experimental del Táchira, UNET, Venezuela, que incorpora las Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación (TIC) al proceso de enseñanza- aprendizaje de Física I y propicia el desarrollo de habilidades cognitivas básicas (HC) del alumno para el aprendizaje de esta ciencia. Este curso que combina actividades y recursos presenciales y virtuales, se montó en la plataforma Moodle de la UnetVirtual. Los materiales instruccionales se diseñaron con énfasis en el desarrollo de habilidades cognitivas y fueron organizados con mapas conceptuales. El enfoque básicamente cualitativo usó una metodología mixta de recolección de información, empleando técnicas de tipo cuantitativo y cualitativo de acuerdo a la naturaleza de los datos. Se obtuvo un curso de alta calidad técnica y pedagógica que es utilizado actualmente en la UNET con excelentes resultados. Se generó un modelo normativo para el diseño de actividades BL, con énfasis en el desarrollo de HC. Este consiste en un conjunto de acciones y una serie de recomendaciones, productos de los hallazgos encontrados, que sirven de guía para diseñar cursos en esta modalidad. / This is the report of the design and evaluation of a physics Blended Learning course (BL) at the Universidad Nacional Experimental del Táchira, UNET, Venezuela. This course incorporates the new communication and information technologies, TICs, to the teaching and learning process of physics, while enhancing student cognitive abilities necessary for learning science. It combines resources and activities for virtual and face to face interactions, using the moodle plataform in the Unetvirtual. Instructional materials with special emphasis in the development of cognitive abilities were designed ad hoc and organized by means of concept maps. A qualitative research approach was mainly employed, but data gathering was made using both quantitative and qualitative techniques, according to the nature of the data collected. A very high quality course from a technological and pedagogical point of view was obtained. This course is being used in the university with excellent results. A normative model for the design of a BL course, which emphasizes the development of cognitive abilities was developed. This model explains a set of actions and recommendations which may lead a novel teacher who wants to design a BL course.

Actualmente la incorporación de las tecnologías de la información y comunicación (TIC) en los programas educativos ha cobrado especial relevancia, bajo el supuesto de que estas herramientas pueden promover una mejor calidad educativa y facilitar el aprendizaje, además de contribuir a reducir la brecha digital. Con la presente tesis se logró demostrar cual es nivel de comunicación que tienen los niños antes y después de aplicar el sistema tutorial multimedia. Asimismo se presenta un marco teórico e investigaciones anteriores en los que se basó la innovación que propone esta investigación para sistemas de aprendizaje. A continuación se detalla la metodología de Brian Blum propuesta para el desarrollo del sistema tutorial multimedia abarcando el análisis, diseño educativo e interactivo, desarrollo, producción y pruebas del sistema. Esta metodología permitió el desarrollo de un sistema más interactivo y entretenido para los niños; así como una herramienta esencial para el docente al momento de impartir sus clases. Finalmente se concluye que el sistema tutorial multimedia basado en tecnología b-learning, es un sistema de aprendizaje que en relación a las estrategias de enseñanza tradicional contribuyó a mejorar el proceso de comunicación de los niños especiales del Colegio de Educación Especial Nº2 Niño Jesús de Praga.

We have two topics, In the first study, we synthesized three low-molecular-weight poly(glutamate)s¡Xpoly( £^-methyl l-glutamate) (PMLG), poly( £^-ethyl l-glutamate) (PELG), and poly( £^-benzyl l-glutamate) (PBLG)¡Xthrough living ring-opening polymerization of their £\-amino acid-N-carboxyanhydride derivatives and then blended them with phenolic resin to control the secondary structures of these polypeptides. Each of the three binary blends exhibited a single glass transition temperature (differential scanning calorimetry) and solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy], characteristic of a miscible system. The strength of the inter-associative interactions depended on the nature of the hydrogen bond acceptor groups, increasing in the order phenolic/PELG > phenolic/PMLG > phenolic/PBLG, as evidenced through analyses using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and the Painter¡VColeman association model. The fractions of £\-helical conformations (measured using FTIR and solid state NMR spectroscopy) of PMLG and PELG decreased initially upon increasing the phenolic content, but increased thereafter; in contrast, the fraction of £\-helical conformations of PBLG increased continuously upon increasing the phenolic contents. Using variable-temperature infrared spectroscopy to investigate the changes in the conformations of the secondary structures of the peptide segments in these three binary blends, we found that the £\-helical conformation in these three blend systems correlated strongly with the rigidity of side chain groups, the strength of the intermolecular hydrogen bonding with the phenolic resin, the compositions of phenolic resin, and the temperature. More interestingly, the content of £\-helical conformations of the polypeptides in these phenolic/PBLG blends increased upon increasing the temperature. The second topic is synthesized low-molecular-weight poly( £^-benzyl l-glutamate) (PBLG) through living ring-opening polymerization of their £\-amino acid-N-carboxyanhydride derivatives and blended them with poly( styrene¡^(PS), poly (acetoxystyrene) (PAS) and poly(vinyl phenol) (PVPh) to control the secondary structures of these polypeptides. DSC have been used to investigate the miscibility of. FTIR spectroscopies and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WXRD) spectroscopic analyses provided evidence for the change and specific interactions between (PS, PAS and PVPh) and PBLG. That the secondary structures of polypeptides can be altered through blending with other different Specific Interactions, mediated by hydrogen bonding, dipole¡Vdipole, and £k¡X£k Interaction, we investigate strong Specific interactions was found between the side-chain esters of PAS, PVPh, but not found between PBLG and PS, because more weakly with the aromatic rings of PS through intermolecular £k¡X£k interactions, so that this latter system is phase separated.