Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed June 26, 2006). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 192-213).

Thesis (M.A. in human development)--Washington State University, May 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 41-50).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 2006. / Thesis directed by Gabriel A. Radvansky for the Department of Psychology. "July 2006." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-86).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Iowa, 2006. / Supervisor: Mary Noonan Includes bibliographical references (leaves 170-182).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves: 95-97)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 1995. / Title from title page screen, viewed April 24, 2006. Dissertation Committee: John R. McCarthy, Barbara S. Heyl (co-chairs), Patricia H. Klass, Cherly A. Lubinski. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-114) and abstract. Also available in print.

D.Ed. / Cognitive flexibility and didactically opportunities in teacher training. effective learning There is consensus amongst educationalists that the task of the teacher is to ensure that the pupils learn meaningfully. The teacher should create opportunities for meaningful learning to occur. Opportunities must be devised to stimulate pupils to think; by solving problems, making discoveries and experimenting. Futhermore, educationalists agree, that a meaningful learning opportunity is one where the interaction between the teacher and the pupils operates on higher cognitive dimensions and is not restricted to the lower cognitive levels - which is usually the case. This, however, does not imply that the interaction should necessarily be confined to a higher cognitive level. The teacher should be flexible enough to change from one cognitive tactic to another, and plan and act in accordance with the prevailing didactical situation. The concern of the writer and the reason for this investigation is the assumption and conviction that cognitive inflexibility and the lack of meaningful learning opportunities are symptomatic and " problem areas of the school practice. Rote learning and memorisation have become important teaching objectives. The purpose of this investigation is to ascertain whether it is possible for student-teachers to acquire the skill to plan effective learning opportunities and to enhance their cognitive flexibility.

M.Ed. (Didactics Training) / Since the Second World War due to the knowledge explosion curricula became over-loaded in order to meet the needs and demands of a fast developing western society. "The personal and particular needs of the child were brushed aside in favour of the needs of commerce and industry. Curriculum research became important in order to re-establish equilibrium in education. Because of the over-loading of curricula, a very general problem arose: Children became "memorising machines" in rapidly increasing numbers, while insight am. understanding of the world around them and of themselves was not regarded as a priority in this time-pressed century. It follows that such an educational system cannot produce balanced adults. A child will presumably only participate with full co-operation and with insight if and when he understands the adult and is understood by the adult. 'Ibis is an understanding of one another in the educational content. Understanding seems to be the motivating force behind the Participating child, because it leads to thought, action and exploration, insight and synthesis. A curriculum will have to be developmental in order to facilitate the emergence of above mentioned characteristics. An effort has been made to demonstrate that a model of curriculum can approximate a model of child development. The above mentioned motivation-characteristics are then compared with the curriculum model. It is found that these characteristics can be facilitated by and incorporated in the curriculum. These characteristics have to be made operational. It seems that to operationalise these characteristics in the lesson, the instruments to facilitate them are: interaction, intra-action and action, leading to reaction as a changed human being.

Magister Artium (Social Work) - MA(SW) / It is a common fact that drug and alcohol abuse has become a complex problem with children in South Africa. There is also a risk that children of substance abusers will become substance abusers themselves. The aim of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between childhood exposure to substance use and substance use as an adult. The theory that was implemented in the study was the Social Learning Theory. The participants were obtained from an outpatient substance abuse treatment centre. A cross sectional study design was used whereby 192 participants were requested to complete an adapted version of the Child Exposure to Domestic Violence scale. The results of the study show that 48% of the respondents experienced exposure to substance abuse which they witnessed as a child. The results of the study indicated that past exposure to substance abuse accounted for a mean of 2.47. Respondents also responded in terms of exposure to parent/s that abused substances, which had a mean of 2.12. The results illustrated that there is a significant positive relationship between past experiences of substance abuse and current experiences of substance abuse within the total sample (r=.39, p:0.01). The study showed that for gender a positive relationship was found for males (r = .23, p:0.01) and for females (r = .34, p:0.01). In terms of family structure there was a significantly positive relationship, which for one parent was (r = .23, p: 0.05) and for two-parent families was(r = .38, p: 0.01). In conclusion early intervention strategies for children who are at risk and who are exposed to substance abuse, should be implemented.

Multimedia learning tools have the potential to benefit instructors and learners as supplemental learning materials. However, when such tools are designed inappropriately, this can increase cognitive taxation and impede learning, rendering the tools ineffective. Guided by the theoretical underpinnings provided by cognitive load theory and the cognitive theory of multimedia learning, this study sought to empirically evaluate the effectiveness of a multimedia simulation tool aimed at teaching immunology to novices in an instructional setting. The instructional mode and pace of the tool were manipulated, the three levels of each variable yielding nine experimental groups. The effects of mode and pace on workload and learning scores were observed. The results of this study did not support the theory-driven hypotheses. No significant learning gains were found between the configuration groups, however overall significant learning gains were subsequently found when disregarding mode and pace configuration. Pace was found to influence workload such that fast pace presentations significantly increased workload ratings and a significant interaction of mode and pace was found for workload ratings. The findings suggest that the learning material was too high in intrinsic load and the working memory of the learners too highly taxed for the benefits of applying the design principles to be observed. Results also illustrate a potential exception to the conditions of the design principles when complex terminology is to be presented. Workload findings interpreted in the context of stress adaptation potentially indicate points at which learners at maximum capacity begin to exhibit performance decrements.