The problem of this study was to discover the relationship between field-independent and field-dependent cognitive styles and social behaviors during free-play of preschool children in a school setting. This study also compared the field-independent and field-dependent cognitive styles and social behaviors during free-play between age-groups and sex-groups. Thirty-six children from a university child development laboratory were subjects. They were selected from a 3-year-old classroom and a 4-year-old classroom. The research instrument, the Preschool Embedded Figures Test, was utilized to measure field-independent and field-dependent cognitive styles. The children's social behaviors were observed during free-play for four consecutive weeks. The nine categories of social behavior were solitary, parallel, and group play; .unoccupied, onlooker, transitional, and aggressive behaviors; and conversations with teachers and conversations with peers. Correlations between field-independent and field-dependent cognitive styles and social behaviors indicated that field-independence/field-dependence was related to social orientations in preschool children and also related to the choice of play activity. Field-dependent children tended to engage in conversations with teachers more often than field-independent children. Four-year-old children who were field-independent tended to spend more time in solitary play than 4-year-old children who were field-dependent. Four-year-old boys who were field-independent tended to play more often in the manipulative learning center than 4-year-old boys who were field-dependent. There were significant differences between age-groups but not significant differences between sex-groups in field-independence/field-dependence. Some social behaviors were significantly different between age-groups and sex-groups. Three-year-old children participated significantly more in physically aggressive behavior and less in conversations with peers than 4-year-old children. Boys engaged significantly more in aggressive behavior than girls.

The general purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between cognitive styles and personality types in order to gain insight into the placement of leaders within the context of current and future organisational demands. The study was conducted among 123 managers within the information technology environment of a South African financial institution. Data was collected by means of the Cognitive Process Profile (CPP) and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Supporting evidence, although not sufficient, indicates a probable relationship between cognitive styles and personality types. The assumption can therefore be made that the relationship between cognitive styles and personality types will be more pronounced among a more geographically distributed sample group which includes sufficient diverse respondents regarding the different cognitive styles and personality types. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / MCOM (Industrial Psychology)

The paper is a review and evaluation of software used for the purpose of its correlation to content standards, ease of classroom use, ability to keep the student on task, and student appeal. This project was to create a software review based on instructional standards and the principles of Bloom's taxonomy, which is a classification of levels of thinking.

The paper is a review and evaluation of software used for the purpose of its correlation to content standards, ease of classroom use, ability to keep the student on task, and student appeal. This project was to create a software review based on instructional standards and the principles of Bloom's taxonomy, which is a classification of levels of thinking.

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the use of a course management system in a University learning environment and the factors that affect students' attitude and performance in such environments and to study the relationship between these factors. The course management system that was used in the research studies in this thesis was WebCT. Three in-field studies were carried out to achieve the aim of this research thesis. A mixture of qualitative and quantitative approaches was used in the studies. Data from participants were collected via questionnaires, interviews, and numerical data from the WebCT tracking system. First the relationship between the students' attitude towards using WebCT and their module leaders' attitude towards using it was studied. Then, the relationship between students' cognitive styles and their satisfaction, their achievement, and their way of using WebCT was investigated. Finally, a model of the critical factors affecting students‟ attitudes to WebCT, use of WebCT and achievement was developed and tested. The model is divided into three main dimensions. The three dimensions are 1) The learner dimension: students' interaction with their classmates, students' capability of using the internet, students' capability of using WebCT. 2) The instructor dimension: Instructor's technical competence, instructor's way of presenting materials on WebCT, interaction between students and their instructor. 3) The technology dimension: usefulness, ease of use, flexibility, quality. The results suggested that students have a positive attitude towards using a course management system (WebCT) on their courses. Also, the results indicated that students' use of WebCT is a positive indicator of their academic achievement (in terms of performance on specific modules). It was also found that instructor attitude and way of using WebCT affects students' attitude and performance when using WebCT. The Technology dimension was found to be a positive indicator of students' attitude and use of WebCT. The Instructor dimension was also found to be a positive indicator of students' attitude and achievement in WebCT. Moreover, the Learner dimension was found to be a positive indicator of students' attitude, use of WebCT and achievement.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of Web-based learning (WBL) versus those of traditional instructor-based learning (IBL) on student knowledge and satisfaction based on student learning styles. Other goals were to determine if WBL is more effective for those with a particular learning style. The study examined a sample of undergraduate students who were enrolled in the college algebra offered as both oncampus instructor-based (traditional) and Web-based at the university of North Texas (UNT). A total of 36 Web-based students and 58 instructor-based students participated in this study. This study utilized a posttest-only intact group. The Kolb Learning Style Inventory (LSI) measured the learning styles of students. This study used learning methods (Web-based learning (WBL), instructor-based learning (IBL)), and learning styles (Diverger, Converger, Assimilator, and Accommodator) as independent variables. Student knowledge and student satisfaction was measured at the end of the course as independent variables. Based upon the results of the LSI, post-learning exam, and satisfaction a series of two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA 4x2) techniques and independent variable tests was used for each of the dependent variables, knowledge and satisfaction, based on a student's learning styles. The results revealed that students' learning styles were statistically significant for knowledge when learning on the Web versus instructor-led. In addition, the learning style was important factor for Web-based learning. The results indicated students with Assimilator and Converger as learning styles received better result with the Web-based learning method. Furthermore, this study found there is significant difference in student satisfaction based on learning on the Web versus instructor-led. The outcome of the study could be of particular interest in educational institutions; especially those that want to transfer some of their traditional courses onto the Web. The finding also has implications for training organizations as they seek efficient and effective ways to satisfy their training needs.

This investigation concerned the effect of nurse educator/nursing student learning style match on the latter's problem solving ability. Problem solving ability was defined as the processes of finding facts, problems, ideas, solutions and their acceptance in other than past experience, tradition and habit. The underlying conceptual framework was Kolb's holistic model of experiential learning which combines experience, perception, cognition and behavior. The model has vertical and horizontal axes resulting in four quadrants or kinds of learners: diverger, assimilator, converger and accommodator. Instruments used were Kolb's Learning Style Inventory and Gover's Nursing Performance Simulation Instrument.

Problem solving and strategy adaptation was assessed in 47 children ranging from 36 to 67 months. This was evaluated through problem sets in which participants were given tools that failed to reach given goal states, and then instructed to select appropriate tools in order to reach desired results. Analyses revealed that when participants were given a choice of tools to solve a given problem, they were more likely to select a correct tool when options were similar in function and appearance. Additionally, participants were more likely to verbalize the need for a new tool when there was a lack of novel tool choices. However, the presence of a novel tool choice was linked to longer problem solving time. Findings are congruent with literature that suggests children possess the ability to select tools based on functional, not superficial, qualities, and can be easily distracted by the presence of novel stimuli. / by Allison Weinstein. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Com o significativo crescimento da Educação a Distância (EAD) surge uma preocupação, que é a validação da qualidade dos cursos e da aprendizagem dos alunos. Uma alternativa promissora é a criação de cursos mais customizados, mas para isso é necessário conhecer as preferências individuais dos alunos, e uma das ferramentas é a identificação de seus estilos cognitivos. Nesse sentido, o objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a influência dos estilos cognitivos no perfil do aluno de cursos da modalidade a distância. Optou-se por uma pesquisa exploratório-descritiva, visando obter maior familiaridade com o problema e possibilidades para descrever o fenômeno dos estilos cognitivos na EAD, utilizando um instrumento psicométrico traduzido. A amostra foi constituída por 103 alunos, distribuídos entre os cursos de Administração, Tecnólogo em Gestão Financeira e Computação. Os resultados confirmam que os alunos possuem estilos cognitivos diferentes, o que reforça a necessidade de cursos mais individualizados, com estratégias de aprendizagem diversificadas, respeitando e valorizando as características individuais dos estudantes. São discutidas as implicações dos achados, bem como as diferenças significativas entre os estilos cognitivos e o perfil dos alunos nos três cursos estudados. / With the significant increase in Distance Learning (DL), a new concern arises: the validation of programs\' quality standards and students\' learning. A promising alternative is the design of more customized programs for which purpose it is necessary to learn about students\' individual preferences, and one of the tools that can be used is the identification of cognitive styles. Hence, this study aimed at evaluating the influence of cognitive styles on the profile of students in DL programs. An exploratory descriptive investigation was conducted for better acquaintance with the problem and the possibility to describe the cognitive style phenomenon in DL by using a translated psychometric instrument. The sample consisted of 103 students from the Business Administration, Financial Management and Information Technology DL programs. The results confirmed that students have different cognitive styles, which reinforces the need for more individualized programs with diversified learning strategies that respect and value students\' individual characteristics. Implications of the findings as well as the significant differences between cognitive styles and the profiles of students from the three programs studied are discussed.