The purpose of this study is to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of a scalable concept map based navigation system for a digital textbook. A literature review has been conducted to identify possible methods to promote conceptual understanding in the context of a digital textbook, and these hypothesized solutions will be evaluated through a prototype tool. The primary method that has been selected for this study to promote conceptual understanding in textbooks is the concept map. When concept maps are used as advance organizers or navigation aids for hypermedia documents, they have been shown to promote conceptual understanding. Issues with scalability exist, however. When maps become too large or complicated, a phenomenon labeled "map-shock" occurs. Map-shock is a result of cognitive overload that nullifies the positive effects the concept map has on learning. In order to eliminate map-shock, one needs to manage the cognitive load imposed on the learner. This project proposes using information visualization techniques leveraged from the computer science domain to develop an interactive concept map based navigation system that will retain the positive effects of concept maps, and also present the visuals in a way that does not cognitively overload the user. This study seeks to answer the research question: "How can a large-scale concept map visualization tools be realized in a way that promotes conceptual understanding and manages cognitive load?" To answer the research question, a prototype tool, labeled the "Adaptive Map tool", was developed and populated with engineering statics content. This prototype contains content that is similar to the material in a traditional statics textbook, but the information is accessed through the proposed adaptive concept map visualization. The tool was then given to students in engineering statics class to be used as a supplemental textbook. The effects of the Adaptive Map tool were evaluated through a multiple case study approach that allowed researchers to understand how this tool fit into the larger learning context of a class. Results indicated that some students did integrate the Adaptive Map tool into the learning process, and furthermore that the tool did promote meaningful learning behaviors that lead to better conceptual understanding of the material. / Ph. D.

This dissertation explores the feasibility of employing software agent technology to support large-scale assessment. The research included the design, development, and evaluation of the Assessment Agent System for assessing comprehensive understanding based on concept maps. The system was designed by following an agent-oriented software design method. The Assessment Agent System is composed of five types of software agents: instructor agent, student agent, management agent, assessment agent, and reporting agent. Each of these agents was designed to possess different capabilities. Software agents in the system, through communication and cooperation, collectively provide the functionalities of user-system interaction, user management, task authoring and management, assessment delivery, task presentation, response collection, automatic assessing with feedback, and reporting. Through the process of design, development, and evaluation of the Assessment Agent System, this study demonstrates an approach that employs an agent-oriented software design method to produce sophisticated educational software applications. Furthermore, this study explored the concept map assessing method for the Assessment Agent System. When node terms and linking phrases are provided, assessing student concept maps can be automated by comparing student concept maps with assessment criteria, proposition by proposition. However, the usefulness of the proposition-comparing method depends heavily on the accuracy and thoroughness of the criterion propositions. Therefore, assessment criteria need to be continually refined and improved through examining student-created propositions. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to explore teachers' perspectives of working with students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with two hundred twenty-eight K-12th grade teachers in Korea and the U.S. by using a concept mapping methodology. The four research questions were: (1) How do teachers in two different cultures (Korea and the U.S.) perceive working with students with ADHD? (2) Is there any difference in the level of awareness towards ADHD between the Korean and the U.S. teacher groups? (3) What cultural aspects are different between the Korean and U.S. teacher groups? and (4) Does Confucianism and Individualism have any influence on the perception of Korean teachers and U.S. teachers towards students with ADHD and their behaviors? The results indicate that differences exist between the Korean and U.S. teachers' perspectives of working with students with ADHD. Teachers in the two cultures have differences in demographic features, recognition of ADHD in relation to policies, services, and training experiences. Also, Korean and U.S. teachers showed different positions in concept maps which could be explained by the teachers 'cultural differences (Confucianism and Individualism). The final concept map indicates that teachers who have positive attitudes towards students with ADHD also tend to have more knowledge, confidence, and training experience in dealing with students' ADHD related behaviors. Teachers' positive attitudes toward students with ADHD are associated with doing "actions" to help students with ADHD. Teachers' negative attitudes toward ADHD behaviors is associated more with personal "emotions" in response to students' ADHD-related behaviors. This study will contribute to providing insights into how culture impacts teacher behaviors, expectations, beliefs and perceptions of ADHD, and as a result, show that teacher perceptions of ADHD seems to be dependent on a combination of one's cultural orientation and other variables identified in the study. Future researchers may research across other ethnic teacher populations to continue to measure teacher perspectives of working with students with ADHD. In addition, researchers can expand the study into an exploration of teachers' perspectives on special education services and the quality of teacher training for helping students with ADHD.

A elaboração de textos por alunos em resposta a questões dissertativas dentro do contexto escolar parece ser a forma mais convencional de se tentar avaliar o que os alunos sabem. O texto que um indivíduo produz procura refletir de forma aproximada a sua estrutura de conhecimentos sobre determinado tema. A leitura e análise de textos são tarefas que exigem um tempo considerável no dia-a-dia de um professor ou pesquisador e, quando há o interesse em conhecer as ideias mais relevantes sobre determinado tema para um grupo de alunos, a tarefa é ainda mais trabalhosa. O principal objetivo desta pesquisa consiste em desenvolver uma metodologia que utiliza ferramentas computacionais para transformar textos escritos por alunos em estruturas gráficas como mapas e redes de conceitos. A utilidade desta metodologia aparece tanto no contexto da pesquisa em ensino quanto na própria prática docente, já que o produto final de sua aplicação pode permitir estabelecer inferências quanto à estrutura de conhecimentos de um grupo de alunos. A investigação ocorreu a partir de dados coletados em duas disciplinas distintas de cursos de graduação do IQ-USP. Os dados coletados referem-se a produções textuais de 42 estudantes em resposta a uma questão que fornecia alguns conceitos pré-estabelecidos. A partir das respostas dos alunos foram realizados testes: (i) com dois softwares de análise de textos para a quantificação das relações entre conceitos; (ii) para verificar a influência na quantificação das relações entre conceitos partindo-se do texto como foi escrito e das proposições extraídas do mesmo e (iii) para a obtenção de diferentes tipos de estruturas gráficas. A partir dos testes realizados, foi possível concluir que o programa Hamlet® é mais eficiente e prático do que o programa ALA-Reader® para os objetivos da presente pesquisa. Além disso, a matriz gerada pelo Hamlet® para quantificar as relações entre conceitos depende essencialmente da estrutura do texto em questão - texto original ou texto modificado. Os três tipos de estruturas gráficas construídos apresentam diferentes focos, porém, podem ser considerados complementares. As redes V+P se mostraram interessantes para análises centradas nos conceitos pré-estabelecidos e fornecidos na questão que originou os textos dos alunos. As redes a partir de corte percentual apresentaram-se como representações bastante úteis para investigações interessadas em fazer um recorte ou destacar os aspectos considerados mais relevantes pelos alunos sobre determinado tema. Os mapas conceituais construídos neste trabalho mostraram-se como representações extremamente valiosas para conhecer a aproximada estrutura de conhecimentos dos grupos de alunos, uma vez que explicitam a natureza das relações proposicionais entre os conceitos. A construção de mapas conceituais partindo-se tanto dos textos originais quanto dos textos modificados permitiu concluir que as estruturas gráficas obtidas dos dois modos se aproximam bastante uma da outra, apresentando alta semelhança. Esta semelhança sugere que a utilização do programa Hamlet® para a obtenção de matrizes que quantificam relações entre conceitos presentes em um texto na forma como foi escrito é eficiente quando comparada ao processo manual e mais demorado de se extraírem proposições de um texto para obter uma matriz. / The drafting of essays by students in response to essay questions in the school context seems to be the most conventional way to assess the students` knowledge. The essay produced by a student seeks to approximately reflect his/her knowledge structure about a certain domain. The reading and the analysis of essays are tasks that require a considerable time in a teacher\'s or researcher\'s routine and, when the interest on knowing the most important ideas about a certain topic is verified in a group of students, the task is even harder. The main objective of this research is to develop a methodology that uses computational tools in order to transform written essays in graphic structures such as concept maps and networks graphs. This methodology could be useful not only for teaching research purposes but also for teaching practice, since the final product of its application may lead to inferences about the knowledge structure of a group of students. The investigation developed herein was based on data collected from two distinct matters of undergraduate IQ-USP. That data refer to written essays of 42 students in response to an essay question provided of some pre-established concepts. From the students\' responses, tests were performed: (i) with two softwares for text analysis with a view of quantifying the relationships between concepts, (ii) to investigate the influence on the quantification of relationships between concepts, from the original text and from the propositions extracted from this original text and (iii) to obtain different types of graphic structures. From the tests that were done, it was possible to conclude that Hamlet® consists in a more efficient and convenient program than ALA-Reader® to the objectives of this research. Furthermore, the array generated by Hamlet® program to quantify the relationships between concepts depends essentially on the structure of the essay - either the original text or the modified text. The three types of graphic structures that were built present different focuses, however, these graphic structures may be considered complementaries. The (V+P) network graphs can be thought as interesting representations that focuses on pre-established concepts that were provided on the essay questions. Network graphs from cutting percentage can be thought as representations that are more useful for investigations interested in making a cut or in highlighting the most relevant aspects of a subject by the students. The concept maps constructed in this paper can be thought as extremely valuable representations to know the approximate knowledge structure of the students groups, since they make clear the nature of the propositional relationships between concepts. The construction of concept maps starting from the original texts and also from the modified texts proved that both graphic structures obtained are very close to each other, being highly similar. This similarity suggests that the use of the Hamlet® program to obtain arrays that quantify relationship between concepts found in an original text is more effective in comparison to manual and time-consuming process of extracting propositions from the original text to obtain an array.

A elaboração de textos por alunos em resposta a questões dissertativas dentro do contexto escolar parece ser a forma mais convencional de se tentar avaliar o que os alunos sabem. O texto que um indivíduo produz procura refletir de forma aproximada a sua estrutura de conhecimentos sobre determinado tema. A leitura e análise de textos são tarefas que exigem um tempo considerável no dia-a-dia de um professor ou pesquisador e, quando há o interesse em conhecer as ideias mais relevantes sobre determinado tema para um grupo de alunos, a tarefa é ainda mais trabalhosa. O principal objetivo desta pesquisa consiste em desenvolver uma metodologia que utiliza ferramentas computacionais para transformar textos escritos por alunos em estruturas gráficas como mapas e redes de conceitos. A utilidade desta metodologia aparece tanto no contexto da pesquisa em ensino quanto na própria prática docente, já que o produto final de sua aplicação pode permitir estabelecer inferências quanto à estrutura de conhecimentos de um grupo de alunos. A investigação ocorreu a partir de dados coletados em duas disciplinas distintas de cursos de graduação do IQ-USP. Os dados coletados referem-se a produções textuais de 42 estudantes em resposta a uma questão que fornecia alguns conceitos pré-estabelecidos. A partir das respostas dos alunos foram realizados testes: (i) com dois softwares de análise de textos para a quantificação das relações entre conceitos; (ii) para verificar a influência na quantificação das relações entre conceitos partindo-se do texto como foi escrito e das proposições extraídas do mesmo e (iii) para a obtenção de diferentes tipos de estruturas gráficas. A partir dos testes realizados, foi possível concluir que o programa Hamlet® é mais eficiente e prático do que o programa ALA-Reader® para os objetivos da presente pesquisa. Além disso, a matriz gerada pelo Hamlet® para quantificar as relações entre conceitos depende essencialmente da estrutura do texto em questão - texto original ou texto modificado. Os três tipos de estruturas gráficas construídos apresentam diferentes focos, porém, podem ser considerados complementares. As redes V+P se mostraram interessantes para análises centradas nos conceitos pré-estabelecidos e fornecidos na questão que originou os textos dos alunos. As redes a partir de corte percentual apresentaram-se como representações bastante úteis para investigações interessadas em fazer um recorte ou destacar os aspectos considerados mais relevantes pelos alunos sobre determinado tema. Os mapas conceituais construídos neste trabalho mostraram-se como representações extremamente valiosas para conhecer a aproximada estrutura de conhecimentos dos grupos de alunos, uma vez que explicitam a natureza das relações proposicionais entre os conceitos. A construção de mapas conceituais partindo-se tanto dos textos originais quanto dos textos modificados permitiu concluir que as estruturas gráficas obtidas dos dois modos se aproximam bastante uma da outra, apresentando alta semelhança. Esta semelhança sugere que a utilização do programa Hamlet® para a obtenção de matrizes que quantificam relações entre conceitos presentes em um texto na forma como foi escrito é eficiente quando comparada ao processo manual e mais demorado de se extraírem proposições de um texto para obter uma matriz. / The drafting of essays by students in response to essay questions in the school context seems to be the most conventional way to assess the students` knowledge. The essay produced by a student seeks to approximately reflect his/her knowledge structure about a certain domain. The reading and the analysis of essays are tasks that require a considerable time in a teacher\'s or researcher\'s routine and, when the interest on knowing the most important ideas about a certain topic is verified in a group of students, the task is even harder. The main objective of this research is to develop a methodology that uses computational tools in order to transform written essays in graphic structures such as concept maps and networks graphs. This methodology could be useful not only for teaching research purposes but also for teaching practice, since the final product of its application may lead to inferences about the knowledge structure of a group of students. The investigation developed herein was based on data collected from two distinct matters of undergraduate IQ-USP. That data refer to written essays of 42 students in response to an essay question provided of some pre-established concepts. From the students\' responses, tests were performed: (i) with two softwares for text analysis with a view of quantifying the relationships between concepts, (ii) to investigate the influence on the quantification of relationships between concepts, from the original text and from the propositions extracted from this original text and (iii) to obtain different types of graphic structures. From the tests that were done, it was possible to conclude that Hamlet® consists in a more efficient and convenient program than ALA-Reader® to the objectives of this research. Furthermore, the array generated by Hamlet® program to quantify the relationships between concepts depends essentially on the structure of the essay - either the original text or the modified text. The three types of graphic structures that were built present different focuses, however, these graphic structures may be considered complementaries. The (V+P) network graphs can be thought as interesting representations that focuses on pre-established concepts that were provided on the essay questions. Network graphs from cutting percentage can be thought as representations that are more useful for investigations interested in making a cut or in highlighting the most relevant aspects of a subject by the students. The concept maps constructed in this paper can be thought as extremely valuable representations to know the approximate knowledge structure of the students groups, since they make clear the nature of the propositional relationships between concepts. The construction of concept maps starting from the original texts and also from the modified texts proved that both graphic structures obtained are very close to each other, being highly similar. This similarity suggests that the use of the Hamlet® program to obtain arrays that quantify relationship between concepts found in an original text is more effective in comparison to manual and time-consuming process of extracting propositions from the original text to obtain an array.

Neste trabalho utilizou-se o mapa conceitual como ferramenta para analisar a estrutura conceitual de alunos de um curso de graduação em química de uma universidade pública do estado de São Paulo, sobre o tema equilíbrio químico em dois momentos distintos, o primeiro ao ingressarem na universidade e o segundo após um ano de curso. Os mapas foram analisados utilizando uma adaptação do método de Análise Estrutural de Mapas Conceituais (AEMC adaptada). Teve-se como meta do trabalho: a) Avaliar, através de mapas conceituais elaborados pelos alunos a estrutura conceitual dos mesmos referente ao conceito equilíbrio químico; b) Descrever e analisar a evolução das relações entre os principais conceitos envolvidos no tema feitas por alunos no seu ingresso no curso de graduação e após um ano de curso, quando são submetidos pela primeira vez a um estudo sistemático do tema. Pretendeu-se assim, verificar quais foram às mudanças mais significativas ocorridas em decorrência das disciplinas ministradas neste período e c) Estabelecer uma relação entre estas mudança com o processo de ensino ao qual o aluno foi submetido, ou seja, como a estrutura conceitual dos estudantes a respeito do tema mudou em função do processo de aprendizado a que foram submetidos. Concluiu-se que a ferramenta desenvolvida durante a pesquisa foi muito útil na análise proposta; onde os alunos ingressantes definem o Equilíbrio químico como o estado onde as velocidades das reações se igualam sem relacionar a conceitos da termodinâmica, estes também, demonstraram muitos conhecimentos oriundos de como o conceito é apresentado no ensino médio. Verificou-se também que os estudantes ao serem submetidos à disciplinas relacionadas ao tópico equilíbrio químico modificaram seu entendimento sobre o tema. / In this work it was used the Concept Map as a tool for analyzing the conceptual structure of students in an undergraduate degree in Chemistry from a public university in the state of São Paulo, on the subject of Chemical Equilibrium at two different times, the first at the moment when entered in the university and second after a year. The maps were analyzed using an adaptation of the method of Structural Analysis of Concept Maps (AEMC adaptada). The objectives of work were: a) Explore and modify a method of analysis of Concept Maps in order to obtain a Concept Map that shows the main conceptual connection of a group of students in order to graphically represent their conceptual structure; b) Evaluate, through Concept Maps prepared by students their conceptual framework for the Chemical Equilibrium concept; c) Describe and analyze the evolution of relations between the main concepts involved on the subject made by students in their admission to the undergraduate course and after one year course, when they are first subjected to a systematic study of the subject. Thus the intention was to verify which were most significant changes occurred as a result of the matter taught in this period and d) Establish a connection between these changes with the teaching process to which the student was submitted, ie, how the conceptual framework of students regarding the subject changed as a function of the learning process they have submitted. It was concluded that the tool developed during the research was very useful in analyzing the proposal, which the new students define the Chemical Equilibrium as state where the velocities of reactions are equal without relating the concepts of thermodynamics, they also showed a lot of knowledge from as the concept is presented in high school. It was also found that students be subjected to the disciplines related to the topic Chemical Equilibrium changed their understanding of the subject, therefore, provide a greater number of connections between the different concepts involved on the matter.

Cybersecurity is an important strategic areas of computer science, and a difficult discipline to teach effectively. To enhance and provide effective teaching and meaningful learning, we develop and assess two pedagogical tools: Peer instruction, and Concept Maps. Peer instruction teaching methodology has shown promising results in core computer science courses by reducing failure rates and improving student retention in computer science major. Concept maps are well-known technique for improving student-learning experience in class. This thesis document presents the results of implementing and evaluating the peer instruction in a semester-long cybersecurity course, i.e., introduction to computer security. Development and evaluation of concept maps for two cybersecurity courses: SCADA security systems, and digital forensics. We assess the quality of the concept maps using two well-defined techniques: Waterloo rubric, and topological scoring. Results clearly shows that overall concept maps are of high-quality and there is significant improvement in student learning gain during group-discussion.

The study assessed the knowledge structure of Grade 11 physics students and their instructors using Pathfinder networks. Instructors’ structural knowledge was averaged to create a referent pathfinder network. Each student’s pathfinder network was compared with the referent pathfinder network in order to identify misconceptions. These misconceptions served as the basis for remedial instruction. The study was conducted in six sections of Grade 11. Three different types of remedial instruction based on three different chapters from the Grade 11 physics textbook were given to the students at three separate stages. In the first section, students were shown their own and referent pathfinder networks as an intervention during the first stage. The students were asked to reflect on the similarities and differences between them. The researcher gave written concept-oriented exercises based on the differences at the second stage, and multimedia concept-oriented instruction based on the differences was given to the students at the third stage. The order of instruction was counterbalanced in all the six sections. After each stage, students’ pathfinder networks were reassessed and the similarities between students’ and the referent pathfinder networks were calculated to measure the effect of a particular intervention. The study tried to determine which type of remedial instruction given to students best improved the knowledge structure of the students in the domain of physics. Results revealed that the similarity indices around the treatment concepts in the pathfinder networks of the students increased the most from pre- to post-intervention phase because of their reflections, followed by multimedia concept-oriented instruction and written concept-oriented exercises. Most likely, the major reason for this change was the interventions around the treatment concepts by the researcher at three different stages which stimulated and probably changed some of students’ misconceptions. To address the issue of validity, the similarity indices of control concepts in the students’ pathfinder networks were also checked for improvement. The result shows that there is no appreciable improvement in control concepts as there was no intervention around those concepts. Findings support the use of structural assessment of knowledge with pathfinder scaling technique to check the effectiveness of a classroom instruction.

In this study, Concept map (CM) development processes of the experts and novices were explored. This studyaimed to investigate the similarities and differences among novices and experts&rsquo / CM development process regarding their cognitive processes. Two experiments were designed / eye-tracking, written and verbal data were collected from 29 pre-service teachers and 6 subject matter experts.Data were analyzed by using qualitative and quantitative data analysis methods. The results indicated that eventhough some of the strategies were similar, there were different patterns followed by the experts and novices during the CM development process. Both experts and novices embraced &lsquo / deductive reasoning&rsquo / , and preferred &lsquo / hierarchical&rsquo / type of CMs. The other patterns recognized during the process were&lsquo / filling information in an order&rsquo / , &lsquo / branch construction pattern&rsquo / ,&lsquo / content richness&rsquo / and &lsquo / progress pattern&rsquo / . Novices and experts were distinguished in their content richness measures which used to determine the quality of the maps. Regarding the progress pattern, novices and experts differed in terms of the frequency and duration for specific acts invarious phases of their progress in CM development process. Furthermore, expert participants differed from novices in their fixation count numbers, fixation durations, visit duration periods for specific actions. Fixation count numbers of the novices were higher than the experts during the entire process and in specific dimensions of the CM development process. As a conclusion, these pattern differences affect the CM development process directly and the instructors need to give emphasis to these critical points while using CM during the instruction, and with the help of these pattern differences, instructors could guide the learner effectively and acquire content rich CMs.

The study assessed the knowledge structure of Grade 11 physics students and their instructors using Pathfinder networks. Instructors’ structural knowledge was averaged to create a referent pathfinder network. Each student’s pathfinder network was compared with the referent pathfinder network in order to identify misconceptions. These misconceptions served as the basis for remedial instruction. The study was conducted in six sections of Grade 11. Three different types of remedial instruction based on three different chapters from the Grade 11 physics textbook were given to the students at three separate stages. In the first section, students were shown their own and referent pathfinder networks as an intervention during the first stage. The students were asked to reflect on the similarities and differences between them. The researcher gave written concept-oriented exercises based on the differences at the second stage, and multimedia concept-oriented instruction based on the differences was given to the students at the third stage. The order of instruction was counterbalanced in all the six sections. After each stage, students’ pathfinder networks were reassessed and the similarities between students’ and the referent pathfinder networks were calculated to measure the effect of a particular intervention. The study tried to determine which type of remedial instruction given to students best improved the knowledge structure of the students in the domain of physics. Results revealed that the similarity indices around the treatment concepts in the pathfinder networks of the students increased the most from pre- to post-intervention phase because of their reflections, followed by multimedia concept-oriented instruction and written concept-oriented exercises. Most likely, the major reason for this change was the interventions around the treatment concepts by the researcher at three different stages which stimulated and probably changed some of students’ misconceptions. To address the issue of validity, the similarity indices of control concepts in the students’ pathfinder networks were also checked for improvement. The result shows that there is no appreciable improvement in control concepts as there was no intervention around those concepts. Findings support the use of structural assessment of knowledge with pathfinder scaling technique to check the effectiveness of a classroom instruction.