O objetivo do presente trabalho foi investigar os efeitos da interferência contextual em função das dificuldades funcional e nominal da tarefa. Participaram do estudo 160 adultos de ambos os sexos. Os participantes divididos em grupos de experientes e inexperientes praticaram uma tarefa simples ou complexa de timing coincidente, sob regime aleatório ou por blocos, totalizando oito grupos experimentais. As medidas de desempenho foram os erros absoluto, variável e constante. Os resultados não mostraram diferenças entre os grupos de prática aleatória e por blocos em nenhuma das condições de dificuldade (nominal e funcional). Sendo assim, concluiu-se que o efeito da interferência contextual não é dependente das dificuldades funcional e nominal da tarefa / The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of contextual interference due to the lack of functional and nominal task. The study included 160 adults of both sexes. Participants were divided in groups of experience and inexperience, which performed a simple or complex task of coincident timing, under random or blocked schedule. It resulted in eight experimental groups. Performance measures were the absolute, variable, and constant errors. Results did not show differences between random and blocked groups in all conditions of difficult (nominal and functional). Therefore, it was conclude that the effect of contextual interference is not dependent of the nominal and functional difficulties of the task

Online handwritten mathematical expressions consist of sequences of strokes, usually collected through a touch screen device. Automatic recognition of online handwritten mathematical expressions requires solving three subproblems: symbol segmentation, symbol classification, and structural analysis (that is, the identification of spatial relations, as subscript or superscript, between symbols). A main issue in the recognition process is ambiguity at symbol or relation levels that often leads to several likely interpretations of an expression. Some methods treat the recognition problem as a pipeline process, in which symbol segmentation and classification is followed by structural analysis. A main drawback of such methods is that they compute symbol level interpretations without considering structural information, which is essential to solve ambiguities. To cope with this drawback, more recent methods adapt string parsing techniques to drive the recognition process. As string grammars were originally designed to model linear arrangements of objects (like in text, where symbols are arranged only through left-to-right relations), non-linear arrangements of mathematical symbols (given by the multiple relation types of mathematics) are modeled as compositions of production rules for linear structures. Then, parsing an expression involves searching for linear structures in the expression that are consistent with the structure of the production rules. This last step requires the introduction of constraints or assumptions, such as stroke input order or vertical and horizontal alignments, to linearize the expression components. These requirements not only limit the effectiveness of the methods, but also make difficult their extension to include new expression structures. In this thesis, we model the recognition problem as a graph parsing problem. The graph-based description of relations in the production rules allows direct modeling of non-linear mathematical structures. Our parsing algorithm determines recursive partitions of the input strokes that induce graphs matching the production rule graphs. To mitigate the computational cost, we constrain the possible partitions to graphs derived from sets of symbol and relation hypotheses, calculated using previously trained classifiers. A set of labels that indicate likely interpretations is associated to each symbol and relation hypothesis, and treatment of ambiguity at symbol and relation levels is left to the parsing process. The parsing algorithm builds a forest in which each tree corresponds to an interpretation coherent with the grammar. We define a score function, optimized through training data, that associates a cost to each tree. We then select a tree with minimum cost as result. Experimental evaluation shows that the proposed method is more accurate than several state of the art methods. Even though graph parsing is a computationally expensive process, the use of symbol and relation hypotheses to constrain the search space is able to effectively reduce complexity, allowing practical application of the process. Furthermore, since the proposed parsing algorithm does not make direct use of structural particularities of mathematical expressions, it has potential to be adapted for other two-dimensional object recognition problems. As a secondary contribution of this thesis, we have proposed a framework to automatize the process of building handwritten mathematical expression datasets. The framework has been implemented in a computer system and used to generate part of the samples used in the experimental part of this thesis. / Expressões matemáticas manuscritas online estão constituídas por sequências de traços. O reconhecimento automático de tais expressões requer a solução de três subproblemas: segmentação de símbolos, classificação de símbolos e análise estrutural (isto é, a identificação de relações espaciais, tais como sobrescrito e subscrito, entre símbolos). Uma das dificuldades principais do problema é a ambiguidade no nível de símbolos ou relações, que frequentemente sugere várias possíveis interpretações de uma mesma expressão. Alguns métodos de reconhecimento tratam o problema de maneira sequencial, onde um processo de segmentação e classificação de símbolos é seguido de análise estrutural. Um problema principal de tais métodos é que eles determinam interpretações no nível de símbolos sem considerar informação estrutural, a qual é importante para solucionar ambiguidades. Para solucionar esse problema, métodos mais recentes adaptaram técnicas de parsing de strings. Dado que gramáticas de strings foram originalmente projetadas para modelar arranjos lineares de tokens (como texto, onde símbolos são arranjados de esquerda a direita), a estrutura não linear dos símbolos matemáticos (dada pelos multiples tipos de relações espaciais) é modelada como uma composição de regras de produção de estruturas lineares. Dessa maneira, o parsing de uma expressão consiste em determinar estruturas lineares na expressão que são consistentes com as estruturas das regras de produção. Esse último passo requer a introdução de restrições, baseadas na definição de uma ordem em relação ao tempo ou espaço, para linearizar os componentes da expresão. Os requerimentos das gramáticas de strings não apenas limitam a efectividade dos métodos, mas também dificultam a extensão dos métodos na inclusão de novas estruturas. Neste trabalho, o problema de reconhecimento de expressões matemáticas é modelado como um problema de parsing de grafos. A representação por meio de grafos nas regras de produção permite uma representação direta das estruturas não lineares das expressões matemáticas. O algoritmo de parsing determina partições dos traços de entrada que induzem grafos isomorfos aos grafos das regras de produção. Para mitigar o custo computacional, restringimos as possíveis partições a aquelas derivadas de um conjunto de possíveis símbolos e relações identificados por classificadores previamente treinados. Um conjunto de rótulos que indica interpretações alternativas é associado a cada símbolo e relação; a decisão da melhor interpretação é realizada pelo parser. O parser construi uma floresta na qual uma árvore representa uma possível interpretação da entrada, e atribui um custo de interpretação para cada árvore, baseado nas relações e símbolos definidas na árvore. O resultado do reconhecimento é dado pela extração de uma árvore com custo mínimo. Resultados experimentais do método proposto mostram um melhor desempenho em comparação com vários métodos descritos na literatura. A pesar do parsing de grafos ser um processo computacionalmente caro, a restrição do espaço de busca proposto reduz a complexidade o suficiente para permitir uma aplicação prática da abordagem. Adicionalmente, dado que a abordagem não pressupõe estruturas particulares das expressões matemática, o método tem potencial para ser adaptado para o reconhecimento de outras estruturas bidimensionais. Uma contribuição secundaria deste trabalho é o desenvolvimento de uma framework para construção automática de bancos de dados de expressões matemáticas manuscritas. A framework tem sido implementada num sistema usado para criar parte das amostras de expressões usadas para avaliação do método de reconhecimento.

É sabido que a população idosa vem aumentando em números relativamente altos, gerando preocupações em relação aos cuidados que necessitam. Uma forma de idosos se manterem ativos é através da aprendizagem de novas habilidades motoras. Neste sentido, foram encontrados poucos estudos envolvendo a população idosa e o efeito da interferência contextual, particularmente estudos que utilizassem habilidades esportivas como tarefa. O objetivo do estudo foi investigar se há o efeito da interferência contextual na aprendizagem de uma habilidade esportiva em idosos. Foram selecionados para participar do estudo quarenta idosos (65-80 anos), fisicamente ativos, que foram divididos aleatoriamente em dois grupos: prática variada aleatória; e prática variada em blocos. A tarefa praticada foi o arremesso a ponto do jogo de bocha e bola deveria atingir três alvos nas distâncias de 2, 4 e 6 metros. A prática constou de 120 tentativas divididas em duas sessões de prática. Foram realizados dois testes de Retenção (10min e 24h) e também dois testes de Transferência (24 horas), sendo um realizado com a mão preferencial e outro com a mão não preferencial do participante, com o alvo à 5 metros. As medidas de desempenho utilizadas foram o erro radial, o desvio padrão do erro radial e a frequência de erros grosseiros. Também foram realizadas medidas cinemáticas, como amplitude, velocidade média e pico de aceleração de deslocamento da bola no forwardswing; e velocidade de soltura da bola. Na comparação entre os grupos de prática, não foi encontrada diferença no erro radial ou no desvio padrão do erro (p > 0,05), mas na frequência de erros grosseiros houve diferença entre os grupos apenas na fase de aquisição (p < 0,05). Além disso, as análises inferenciais referentes às medidas cinemáticas nos testes de retenção e transferência, tanto da velocidade média como da velocidade de soltura, mostraram que os idosos de ambos os grupos mudaram a velocidade nos testes (p < 0,05), provavelmente procurando ajustar o movimento. Correlações de Pearson foram realizadas entre medidas de desempenho e medidas cinemáticas e observou-se apenas uma correlação fraca entre o erro radial e a amplitude de deslocamento da bola no teste de transferência com a mão não preferencial (p < 0,05). Em conjunto, os resultados mostraram que os grupos apresentaram desempenho semelhante em ambas as estruturas de prática (aleatória e blocos) e, portanto, não houve efeito da interferência contextual na aprendizagem de idosos nesta habilidade esportiva. No entanto, pode ser argumentado que o controle adequado de força necessário no arremesso a ponto possa exigir maior tempo de prática para ser adquirido / It is known that the elderly population is increasing in relatively high numbers, generating concerns about the care they need. A form of seniors remain active is through the learning of new motor skills. In this sense, few studies involving the elderly population and the contextual interference effect have been found, particularly, studies that used sports skills as task. The objective of this study was to investigate if there is the contextual interference effect on sports skill learning in elderly. We selected 40 old persons (65-80 years old), physically active, which were divided randomly into two groups: random varied practice; and practice varied in blocks. The task was the throwing practiced at the bocce game, in which the ball should reach three targets at distances of 2, 4 and 6 meters. The practice consisted of 120 attempts divided into two practice sessions. Two Retention tests were conducted (10 min and 24 hours) and also two Transfer tests (24 hours), being performed with the preferential hand and also with the non-preferential hand of the participant, with the target at 5 meters. The performance measures used were the radial error, the standard deviation of radial error and frequency of gross errors. Kinematic measures were also used, such as amplitude, average speed and peak of acceleration in the displacement of the ball on the forwardswing; and also, speed of release of the ball. Comparisons between the practice groups, found no difference in the radial error or the standard deviation of the error (p > 0.05), but in the frequency of gross errors, there was a difference between the groups only at the acquisition phase (p < 0.05). In addition, the inferential analysis on retention and transfer tests, both the average speed as the speed of release, showed that the elderly of both groups have changed the speed (p < 0.05), probably trying to adjust the movement. Pearson correlations were performed between performance and kinematic measures and there was only a weak correlation between the radial error and amplitude on the transfer test with the non-preferential hand (p < 0.05). Overall, the results showed that the groups have similar performance on both practice structures (random and blocks) and, therefore, there was no effect of contextual interference in learning this sport skill by the elderly. However, it can be argued that the proper control of force needed in this task may require more practice time to be acquired

The use of design process models is of great importance for developing better products. Indeed, it is one of the factors that may differentiate the best companies from the rest. However, their adoption in companies is declining. Usefulness and usability issues may be responsible for process models not to meet the needs of its users. The goal of this research is to provide deeper understanding of the users needs of design process models. Three main perspectives are provided: (1) why organizations use process models, (2) who are the users of process models, and (3) how the context of use of process models is. The research methodology adopted was the Design Research Methodology (DRM). Three stages were performed: (i) Research Clarification, (ii) Descriptive Study I, and (iii) Prescriptive Study. In the first stage, an initial literature review was carried out to collect evidences of why researching process models and their users needs is relevant for the design theory. During the second stage (Descriptive Study I), literature was reviewed to identify the purposes of use of design process models and its potential users; a focusgroup section with 24 subject matter experts was carried out to evaluate these purposes and identify process model users; and, lastly, a case study was perfomed to investigate the context of use of design process models in one organization and to portray the profile of the core users. Finally, the third stage (Prescriptive Study) aimed to uncover directions for organizations develop user-centered design process models. Four main results were achieved through this research. The first result is a deep understanding of three types of application of the design process models: (a) develop the design activity, (b) manage the design project, and (c) improve the design process. The purposes for these aplications were investigated and their level of importance were revealed. In addition, it was mapped the core users of process models for the three applications. The second result is the definition of the context of use of the models.Three dimensions of the context were depicted: the product, the design process, and the organizational structure. The third result is the set of users profiles. Empathy Maps were elaborated to represent the profiles of product engineers, project managers, and technical leaders. The last result consists in recommendations regarding the content provided to users and the process models system design. Finally, industrial practitioners will benefit from this research once it was provided evidences that the activity development application type is not properly considered in organization and that important users needs are not getting proper attention in the current models. Therefore, they will be able to make use of the recommendations outlined here. / O uso de modelos de processo de design é de grande importância no desenvolvimento de novos produtos. De fato, isto é um dos fatores que pode diferenciar as melhores empresas das outras. De qualquer modo, a adoção dos modelos nas empresas esta declinando. Problemas em utilidade e usabilidade podem ser responsáveis pelos modelos não satisfazerem as necessidades de seus usuários. Nesta pesquisa, busca-se entender as necessidades dos usuários dos modelos de processo de design. Três perspectivas são dadas: (1) porquê organizações usam modelos de processo, (2) quem são os usuários dos modelos de processo e (3) como é o contexto de uso de modelos de processo. A metodologia de pesquisa adotada foi a Metodologia de Pesquisa em Design (DRM). Três estágios foram realizados: (i) Clarificação de Pesquisa, (ii) Estudo Descritivo I, e (iii) Estudo Prescritivo. No primeiro estágio, uma revisão inicial da literatura foi executada para coletar evidências do porquê estudar modelos de processo e as necessidades de seus usuários é relevante para a teoria de design. No segundo estágio (Estudo Descritivo I), revisão da literatura ajudou a identificar os propósitos de uso de modelos de processo de design e os seus potenciais usuários; uma seção de focus group com 24 especialistas no assunto foi executado para avaliar estes propósitos e identificar usuários dos modelos de processo; e, por fim, um estudo de caso foi realizado para investigar o contesto de uso dos modelos em uma organização e para retratar o perfil dos usuários principais. Finalmente, o terceiro estágio (Estudo Prescritivo) buscou revelar direções para que as organizações desenvolvam modelos de processo de design centrados em seus usuários. Quatro principais resultados foram alcançados por meio desta pesquisa. O primeiro resultado é um entendimento profundo dos três tipos de aplicação dos modelos de processo: (a) desenvolver atividade de design, (b) gerenciar o projeto de design, e (c) melhorar o processo de design. O propósito destas três aplicações foram investigadas e os níveis de importância evidenciados. Além disso, os usuários centrais dos modelos de processo foram mapeados. O segundo resultado é a definição do contexto de uso dos modelos. Três dimensões do contexto foram retratados: o produto, o processo de design, e a estrutura organizacional. O terceiro resultado é o conjunto de perfis dos usuários. Mapas de Empatia foram elaborados para representar os perfis de engenheiros de produto, gerentes de projeto, e líderes técnicos. O último resultado consiste em recomendações feitas a respeito do conteúdo fornecido aos usuários e o sistema a ser desenvolvido. Finalmente, profissionais da indústria podem beneficiar desta pesquisa uma vez que evidências são fornecidas de que a aplicação de desenvolvimento das atividades não é adequadamente considerada em organizações e que necessidades importantes dos usuários não recebem atenção satisfatória nos modelos atuais. Sendo assim, eles serão capazes de fazer uso das recomendações aqui feitas.

Em um estudo recente, Guadagnoli e Lee (2004) propuseram que o efeito de interferência contextual (IC) depende da dificuldade funcional de uma tarefa motora, com reversão do efeito de aprendizagem esperado quando a dificuldade imposta pela tarefa é elevada. No presente estudo esta hipótese foi testada em crianças na aprendizagem de uma tarefa de desenhos de padrões gráficos em uma base digitalizadora, recebendo feedback visual imediato invertido em um monitor de microcomputador. Foram avaliadas 30 crianças de 8-9 anos de idade, as quais foram designadas a três grupos: baixa IC, com prática variada entre blocos de tentativas possuindo o mesmo padrão gráfico; alta IC, com variação aleatorizada dos padrões gráficos entre as tentativas dentro de cada bloco; e controle, sem prática na tarefa. Após a etapa de prática, o tempo de movimento foi comparado entre os grupos em testes de retenção, transferência ipsilateral e transferência contralateral de aprendizagem. Os resultados mostraram que os dois grupos experimentais obtiveram resultados semelhantes de aprendizagem em todas as avaliações realizadas, com ambos os grupos apresentando resultados superiores ao grupo controle. A ausência de diferença entre os grupos experimentais indica que ambos os modos de variar a prática, sob baixa e alta IC, induziram efeitos semelhantes de aprendizagem, oferecendo apenas suporte parcial à hipótese de Guadagnoli e Lee. A vantagem dos grupos experimentais no teste de transferência contralateral indica que a adaptação devida à aprendizagem da tarefa não foi específica ao sistema neuromuscular empregado durante a prática / In a recent study, Guadagnoli and Lee (2004) proposed that the contextual interference (CI) effect depends on the functional difficulty of a motor task, with reversion of the expected learning effect when the difficulty imposed by a task is high. In the present study that hypothesis was tested in children in the learning of a task of drawing graphic patterns on a digitizing tablet while receiving immediate inversed visual feedback on a microcomputer monitor. Thirty 8-9 year-old children were assessed, who were assigned to three groups: low CI, with variability between blocks of trials composed of the same graphic pattern; high CI, with random variability within blocks of trials; and control, without practice on the task. Following the practice phase movement time was compared between the groups in retention, ipsilateral transfer, and contralateral transfer tests. Results showed that both experimental groups achieved similar results of learning in all tests, with the two groups presenting better results in comparison with the controls. Absence of difference between the experimental groups indicates that both modes of practice variability, under low and high CI, induced similar effects of learning, offering only partial support for the Guadagnoli and Lees hypothesis. The advantage of the experimental groups over the controls in the contralateral transfer of learning indicates that adaptation was not specific to the neuromuscular system employed during practice

Educators can connect life to learning to transform the classroom experience using contextual teaching and learning strategies and assignments such as open educational resources, service learning projects, active learning labs, practical technological applications, and collaborative assignments.

Annonseringstjänster på nätet finns idag för alla möjliga ändamål. På grund av detta ökar även bedrägerier och annonser med tvivelaktigt innehåll, för att undvika att sådana annonser publiceras är det viktigt att annonseringsföretagen granskar sina annonser innan dem publiceras. Detta examensarbete har utförts på ett annonseringsföretag som behandlar jobbannonser. Företaget är stationerat någonstans i Europa. Eftersom annonserna granskas av ett externt företag vars tjänster annonseringsföretaget hyr in så är tanken med examensarbetet att skapa en förståelse för hur arbetsprocessen fungerar på granskningsföretaget samt identifiera vad som kan förbättras med det granskningsverktyg som används för att granska annonser idag. Detta har utförts genom kontextuella intervjuer på plats hos granskningsföretaget. Resultatet av dessa har sedan visualiserats i fem olika arbetsmodeller: (flödesmodellen), (sekvensmodellen), (artefaktmodellen), (den kulturella modellen) samt (den fysiska modellen) Beyer och Holtzblatt (1998). Tanken med dessa modeller är att de ska agera som en grund när nya designbeslut fattas och bidra med en förståelse för hur arbetet fungerar hos granskningsföretaget. Rapporten kommer för övrigt presentera en del designförslag som framkommit av de fakta som finns i arbetsmodellerna vilka kan förbättra den nuvarande lösningen. All information i denna rapport är tänkt att fungera som ett stöd för annonseringsföretaget när dem designar nya lösningar som rör granskningen av jobbannonser. / Advertising Services on the Internet today are available for all kinds of purposes. Because of this it also increases fraud and ads with questionable content, to avoid that such advertisements are published, it is important that the advertising companies review their ads before they are published. This thesis has been carried out in an advertising company, dealing with job offers. The company is stationed somewhere in Europe. The ads are scrutinized by an external company whose the services advertising firm hires, the idea of the thesis is to create an understanding of how the work works on the audit firm, and to identify what can be improved with the assessment tools used to examine the ads today. This has been done through contextual interviews on-site at the audit firm. The results of these has then been visualized in five different work models: (flow model), (sequence model), (artifact model), (the cultural model) and (the physical model), Beyer and Holtzblatt (1998). The idea behind these models is that they should act as a basis for new design decisions and contribute to an understanding of how the work of the audit firm is done. The report will also present some design proposals that emerged from the facts found in the work models, which can improve the current solution. All information in this report is intended to act as a support for the advertising company when they are designing new solutions related to the review of job announcements.

Many economists in 21th century agree that the ¡§Research ¡® Development¡¨ is an essential factor to the ling-term competitiveness and the living quality of the civilians of a country. Michael E. Porter indicates in his book, ¡§The Edge Of Nation Competitiveness¡¨, in the competitive world, the creating and exerting the new knowledge are more important than using the traditional economic edges- natural sources and capital. R ¡® D is an accumulation and innovation of knowledge, and a foundation of the technology progress and economic growth. Therefore, the enterprises worldwide emphasize more on the management of the researchers. In this area, the ¡§work redesign¡¨ gets much spotlight. The enrichment of work was designed to cope with the characteristic of research, uncertainty and complexity, and to help employees performing completely. It also helps researchers to require more self-esteem. However, as the technology developed, the work contents are different than used to be. Does the Job Characteristic Model (JCM) of the Hakman and Oldman still fit the work variety? This is an issue that a manager should pay much attention while doing work redesign. By doing documents study, this research points out that the work redesign influences the job performance and is various with the work content. There are many factors affecting the work design and work performance, such as individual character, personal trait, work satisfaction, contextual satisfaction and growth need strength. This research is focusing on the relationship between job characteristic and work performance by evaluating the individual requirement (growth need strength and contextual satisfaction). Through real case investigation, there are some results in this research. 1.The task significance is unrelated to the contextual performance; however, besides that, each factor in this research is related to another one. The higher task identity and autonomy are, the higher task performance will be. The feedback from the job itself has the significant influence on contextual performance. 2.The individual character has different influence on each factor in this research. The researcher, who receives higher education has higher contextual satisfaction and higher job performance. Besides the education, the other factors, for example, the gender, marriage and age have little influence on the contextual satisfaction and job performance. 3.The contextual satisfaction and growth need strength have the moderating effects on the relationship between job characteristic and has job performance. On the contrary, the context satisfaction has no the moderating effects on the task identity and job performance of the job characteristic. The growth need strength has the moderating effects on the relationship between production responsibility and job performance, so as on the method control and task performance. But for public organization, it has the moderating effects on the relationship between task significance and job performance as well as on the production responsibility and task performance. In the high-tech company, the moderating effects between growth need strength and task variety as well as the moderating effects between growth need strength and task identity have the influence on task performance and contextual performance. 4.Whether Hackman and Oldman job characteristic model or Jackson et al. job characteristic model has little difference in analyzing the job performance, in public organization. However, analyzing the job performance of researchers in high-tech company, using Jackson et al. job characteristic model has better result

This action research study compared student intellectual engagement between two different instructional delivery methods. The first instructional method was a non-contextual teaching approach using a textbook to teach the work outcomes for the S4 physics mechanics unit. The second instructional method was a contextual teaching approach where students built an electric guitar pickup and a simple electric guitar in order to provide a context for the teaching of the electromagnetism outcomes for the S4 physics electricity unit. To measure the intellectual engagement of students, data was collected from personal student journals and from questions generated by students following different instructional activities. The student generated questions were categorized and ranked to judge the degree of student intellectual engagement and depth of thought using a framework where numerical values were assigned to the questions. Each question was categorized as peripheral, factual, conceptual, or philosophical where the peripheral questions had the lowest intellectual ranking and the philosophical questions had the highest intellectual ranking. Data was also collected from cumulative unit tests, short exit slips and a personal teacher journal. The research revealed that students were more intellectually engaged and exhibited much more positive attitudes during the contextual lessons. The questions generated by students during the contextual lessons were of the higher order factual and conceptual types while the questions generated during the non-contextual lessons were predominantly of the lowest order peripheral type. By using the electric guitar and electric guitar pickup as a context, this action research study demonstrated that these contextual activities intellectually engaged students and helped to facilitate their deeper understanding of electromagnetism.

This action research study compared student intellectual engagement between two different instructional delivery methods. The first instructional method was a non-contextual teaching approach using a textbook to teach the work outcomes for the S4 physics mechanics unit. The second instructional method was a contextual teaching approach where students built an electric guitar pickup and a simple electric guitar in order to provide a context for the teaching of the electromagnetism outcomes for the S4 physics electricity unit. To measure the intellectual engagement of students, data was collected from personal student journals and from questions generated by students following different instructional activities. The student generated questions were categorized and ranked to judge the degree of student intellectual engagement and depth of thought using a framework where numerical values were assigned to the questions. Each question was categorized as peripheral, factual, conceptual, or philosophical where the peripheral questions had the lowest intellectual ranking and the philosophical questions had the highest intellectual ranking. Data was also collected from cumulative unit tests, short exit slips and a personal teacher journal. The research revealed that students were more intellectually engaged and exhibited much more positive attitudes during the contextual lessons. The questions generated by students during the contextual lessons were of the higher order factual and conceptual types while the questions generated during the non-contextual lessons were predominantly of the lowest order peripheral type. By using the electric guitar and electric guitar pickup as a context, this action research study demonstrated that these contextual activities intellectually engaged students and helped to facilitate their deeper understanding of electromagnetism.