The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the thought processes of secondary level novice programmers engaged in computer programming for the purpose of generating hypotheses for consideration in future research on the relationship between computer programming and problem solving. A high school BASIC programming course with 14 students from a single school in the tenth through the twelfth grades was selected for the sample. Data describing students' thought processes while programming were collected during double periods in the 11th and 16th weeks of the fall semester. Students worked in role-assigned partnerships, wherein one student was the problem solver and the other was the recorder. The problem solver's task was to solve the problem using a "think aloud" strategy, while the recorder took notes describing the problem solver's actions to assure that audiotape recordings of the problem solver's voice were maintained. Following the solution of one problem, these roles were switched. Analysis of novice programmers' thought processes revealed two categories of student problem solution strategies: coded thinking and debugging. In the coded thinking strategy, students approached the problems primarily from the perspective of BASIC codes. This strategy was similar in nature to activities involved in verbal association learning, a low level thinking strategy identified by Gagne (1970). Students relied on two techniques for debugging syntax and logic errors. They applied a guess-and-check technique to correct syntax errors or asked the teacher for assistance. Similarly, when logic errors were revealed, the subjects typically asked the teacher for assistance and then used the guess-and-check technique to correct the errors. Both techniques utilized lower level thought processes than that required for problem solving learning. Analysis of the subject programming processes revealed that problem solving processes, as identified by Polya (1988), were not involved. Future research should examine students thought processes when working with a compiled language such as Pascal. In addition, future research should investigate the thought processes of students who have had more experience than a single term of programming. A case study of from two to three students explored over a longer period of time may provide a clearer description of student thought processes. / Graduation date: 1993

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McMaster University, 2005. / Supervisor: Timothy D. Lee. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Antioch University, 2006. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Mar. 27, 2007). Advisor: Alan Guskin, Ph.D. Keywords: late life learning, cognitive strategies, mental acuity, benefits of learning, lifespan learning, importance of learning. Includes bibliographical references (p. 217-227).

Brains display very high-level parallel computation, fault-tolerance, and adaptability, all of which are what we struggle to recreate in engineered systems. The neurocomputer (an organic computer built from living neurons) seems possible and may lead to a new generation of computing device that can operate in a brain-like manner. Cultured neuronal networks on multi-electrode arrays (MEAs) are one of the best candidates for the neurocomputer for their controllability, accessibility, flexibility, and the ability to self-organize. I explored the possibility of the neurocomputer by studying whether we can show goal-directed learning, one of the most fascinating behavior of brains, in cultured networks. Inspired by the brain, which needs to be embodied in some way and interact with its surroundings in order to give a purpose to its activities, we have developed tools for closing the sensory-motor loop between a cultured network and a robot or an artificial animal (an animat), termed a ¡§hybrot¡¨. In order to efficiently find an effective closed-loop design among infinite potential options, I constructed a biologically-inspired simulated network. By using this simulated network, I designed: (1) a statistic that can effectively and efficiently decode network functional plasticity, and (2) feedback stimulations and an adaptive training algorithm to encode sensory information and to direct network plasticity. By closing the sensory-motor loop with these decoding and encoding designs, we successfully demonstrated a simple adaptive goal-directed behavior: learning to move in a user-defined direction, and further showed that multiple tasks could be learned simultaneously. These results suggest that even though a cultured network lacks the 3-D structure of the brain, it still can be functionally shaped and show meaningful behavior. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of goal-directed learning in embodied cultured networks. Extending from these findings, I further proposed a research plan to optimize closed-loop designs for evaluating the maximal learning capacity (or even true intelligence) of the cultured network. Knowledge gained from effective closed-loop designs provides insights about learning and memory in the nervous system, which could influence the design of neurocomputers, future artificial neural networks, and more effective neuroprosthetics.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2002. / Bibliography: leaves 78-89.

Title from title page of PDF (University of Missouri--St. Louis, viewed February 24, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 29-30).

The primarily goal of this study was to examine the patterns of cognitive and language processing of children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) and how they related to their text comprehension, interpreted within constructivism. The study aimed to characterize the difference in language, character decoding, metacognitive processing and text comprehension between children with SLI and those under typical development; to identify the inter-relationships among their language processing, character decoding, metacognitive processing and text comprehension; and to investigate how the implementation of cognitive reading strategies instruction change their language processing, character decoding, metacognitive processing, belief towards reading and text comprehension. Two studies were carried out. In Study One, 73 participants were recruited from two Hong Kong primary schools; they were at second and third grade, 42 were diagnosed of SLI and the other were under typical development. Standardized instruments were used to tap children’s language processing and character decoding respectively. Researcher developed Metacognitive Processing Scale were adopted to rate their metacognitive and deep processing of text. A set of comprehension test, comprised of forced-choice inferential questions and two recall tasks, were used to assess their depth in understanding different types of text. Analyses indicated that SLI students did not only score poorer in language processing, but also in character decoding, metacognitive processing and text comprehension. Further analyses of both the entire sample and the SLI sample, indicated that there were significant correlations between character decoding, language processing, metacognitive processing with children’s text comprehension scores. In Study Two, there were 40 participants recruited from the SLI sample of the Study One. Cognitive reading strategy instruction program were developed. 21 participants was randomly selected to receive the experimental instruction and the another 19 were under conventional instruction as control. Besides the measures used in the Study One, interviews and teacher-reporting questionnaires were used to tap children’s belief towards reading and their classroom engagement. Analysis of pre-instruction and post-instruction tests indicated the experimental children showed significantly better progress on their oral language, text comprehension and belief about reading. Both the experimental and the control group showed similar progress on character decoding. The study offers both theoretical and educational contribution on the literacy development among the population of SLI. It identifies the role of metacognitive processing on literacy achievement. It provides the evidence of implementing cognitively-based reading strategies for literacy instruction for children with SLI within Chinese context. Upon the introduction of inclusive education, teachers now face students with much wider diversity, including a significant number of children with SLI. Possible collaboration between frontline teachers and speech therapists in designing potential classroom activities is discussed. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Education

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published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education