Current curriculum trends promote inquiry-based student-centered strategies as a way to foster critical thinking and learning. Problem-based learning (PBL), a type of inquiry focusing on an issue or “problem,” is an instructional approach taught on the basis that science reform efforts increase scientific literacy. PBL is a constructivist approach to learning real life problems where understanding is a function of content, context, experiences, and learner goals; historical PBL situates the lesson in a historical context and provides opportunities for teaching NOS concepts. While much research exists on the benefits of historical PBL to student learning in general, more research is warranted on how teachers implement PBL in the secondary science curriculum. The purpose of this study was to examine the classroom-learning environment of four science teachers implementing a historical PBL instructional unit to identify the teachers’ understandings, successes and obstacles. By identifying teachers’ possible achievements and barriers with implementing a constructivist philosophy when executing historical PBL, educators and curriculum designers may improve alignment of the learning environment to constructivist principles. A qualitative interpretive case study guided this research study. The four participants of this study were purposefully and conveniently selected from biology teachers with at least three years of teaching experience, degrees in education, State Licensure, and completion of a PBL workshop. Data collection consisted of pre and post questionnaires, structured interviews, a card sort activity in which participants categorized instructional outcomes, and participant observations. Results indicated that the four teachers assimilated reform-based constructivist practices to fit within their preexisting routines and highlighted the importance of incorporating teachers’ current systems into reform-based teacher instruction. While participating teachers addressed a few NOS tenets, emphasizing the full range of possible NOS objectives included in historical PBL is warranted. This study also revealed the importance of creating a collaborative classroom culture and building positive student-teacher relationships when implementing PBL instruction. The four teachers agreed that the historical PBL instructional unit provided a context for learning state standards, and they positively viewed their experiences teaching the lesson. Thus findings from this study suggest that teaching science in a historical context using PBL can be effective.

The present study mainly focuses on the effect of cooperative learning based on conceptual change conditions to remedy 11th grade students&rsquo / misconceptions related to reaction rate. Also, effect of this method on their motivation was investigated. A total of 110 eleventh grade students participated in the study. Two schools in Ankara and two classes being instructed by the same teacher in each school were included in the sample. One of the classes was randomly assigned as a control group instructed by traditional way and the other as an experimental group instructed by cooperative learning based on conceptual change conditions. This study was conducted on 2008-2009 first semester over six weeks. Reaction Rate Concept Test and Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire were administered as pre-test and post-test to measure students&rsquo / understanding of reaction rate, and their motivation. Moreover, Science Process Skill Test was given before instruction to decide whether there was a significant difference between two groups in their science process skills. ANCOVA was used to evaluate the effect of cooperative learning on students&rsquo / understanding of reaction rate. The results indicated that cooperative learning based on conceptual change conditions removed most of students&rsquo / misconceptions about reaction rate concept and resulted in a significantly better understanding of reaction rate than traditional instruction. Furthermore, data reflecting the effect of conceptual change based cooperative learning on students&rsquo / motivation was analyzed by MANOVA. According to the results, cooperative learning based on conceptual change conditions improved intrinsic goal orientation, and self-efficacy for learning and performance.

The main purposes of this study is to investigate first year calculus students&rsquo / understanding of formal limit concept and change in their understanding after limit instruction designed by the researcher based on APOS theory. The case study method was utilized to explore the research questions. The participants of the study were 25 students attending first year calculus course in Middle East Technical University in Turkey. Students attended five weeks instruction depending on APOS theory in the fall semester of 2007-2008. Limit questionnaire including open-ended questions was administered to students as a pretest and posttest to probe change in students&rsquo / understanding of limit concept. At the end of the instruction a semi-structured interview protocol developed by the researcher was administered to all of the students to explore students&rsquo / understanding of limit concept in depth. The interview results were analyzed by using APOS framework. The results of the study showed that constructed genetic decomposition was found to be compatible with student data. Moreover, limit instruction was found to play a positive role in facilitating students&rsquo / understanding of limit concept.

Many distance education researches have pointed out that students are often forced to study in isolation due to the lack of support from mates and regular attendance. Thus, the objective of this research is to find effective group composition methods to increase the interaction among students in asynchronous distance education using the theories of cooperative learning, group dynamics and social cognitive theory as foundations. The outcome can be a reference for the design of network cooperative learning activity and web-based instructional system in the future. This study is conducted in NSYSU Cyber University using surveys and observations to investigate the influence of cognitive style on cooperative learning when different types of tasks are assigned. This research concludes that the choices of discussion tools in the chat room are different under intellective and decision-making tasks. Moreover, regardless of the task types, the heterogeneous groups outperform the homogeneous group during the cooperative learning process. Finally, the cognitive style is significantly related to group satisfaction in a cooperative learning environment

The Effect of Comparative Tests Between Self-questioning Strategy And Cooperative Learning (Group Discussion) on Junior High School Students' Chinese Reading Comprehension Abstract The main purpose of this study was to discuss the effect of comparative tests between self-questioning strategy and cooperative learning (group discussion) on junior high school students' Chinese reading comprehension. The questions explored here were: 1. How did self-questioning strategy influence reading comprehension ability? 2. How did self-questioning strategy and the group discussion of cooperative learning improve and influence reading comprehension ability? 3. How did self-questioning strategy and the group discussion of cooperative learning affect the levels of question types? The study used experimental research method. The subjects were 50 second grade students of junior high. According to the scores of the prior test on "reading comprehension ability," students were divided into an experimental group and a control group, and each one was composed of 25 students. The instrument was "test of reading comprehension ability," and the information acquired was dealt with statistical testing on the basis of t-test. The results were as followings: 1. After receiving the teaching of "self-questioning strategy," students' reading comprehension abilities were improved. 2. After the students in the experimental group received the co-teaching of self-questioning strategy and the group discussion of cooperative learning, their scores of the posttest on "reading comprehension ability" were superior to the scores of the students in the control group. 3. After the students in the experimental group accepted the co-teaching of self-questioning strategy and the group discussion of cooperative learning, their scores of the posttest on "high-level question type" were superior to the scores of the students in the control group. Finally the study discussed the above results in more detail, and provided suggestions and references of further research concerning teaching of the reading comprehension.

In the coming 21st century, the real winners are those who make the most of the resources in learning new skills or ideas. In addition to classroom, you can study anywhere and anyplace as long as you are willing to (broadcasting, TV, computer, internet, etc). In my study, I examine the study through the internet and its effectiveness in relation to characteristics, strategies, and attitude toward learning through computers. The initial sample included volunteers from different ranks of companies in Tainan and Kaoshoung areas which participated in Employment and Vocational Training Administration. The courses the participants took were entry-level management, intermediate management, advanced management, and decision management, Each subject was composed of the following contents. 1.main theme 2.case study 3.comment 4.analysis 5.theory 6.practice. At the end of each course was the evaluation. Participants were also welcomed to log on to discuss area their opinions, enhancing interaction among teachers and students. The research results are based on the questionnaire fill out by participants. The statistics methods applied are descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA. The results show that: (1)Participants¡¦ characteristics in relation to attitude toward computer and learning strategy; the research shows that the participants¡¦ seniority bears no consequences in attitude toward computer. However, the participants¡¦ education and position indicates variances in attitude toward computer. On the other hand, Participants¡¦ seniority, education and position show differences in learning strategy. (2)Participants¡¦ strategies in relation to effectiveness of the learning strategy; the research shows that the participants¡¦ strategies bear positive relation in both satisfaction of the learning and overcoming obstacles during the process. (3)Participants¡¦ attitude toward computer in relation to effectiveness in learning; the research shows that the participants¡¦ attitude toward computer bear positive relation in both satisfaction of the learning and overcoming obstacles during the process. The research also shows that: The reasons why the participants did not join the discussion are: 1.lack of time 2.typing too slow 3.no idea of how to discuss 4.afraid to discuss 5.afraid of being challenged. The reasons why the participants did not take the test are: 1.inconvenience in attending the class 2.afraid of failure 3.no request from the company they work for 4.mistake in operating the computer 5.no motivation. Failure to attend the test shows no relation in age, education, position and seniority. Finally, we provide advises to the corporations and other researchers who are interested in the subject.

This dissertation work entails three related studies on the investigation of Peer-Led Guided Inquiry student discourse in a General Chemistry I course through argumentation. The first study, Argumentation and participation patterns in general chemistry peer-led sessions, is focused on examining arguments and participation patterns in small student groups without peer leader intervention. The findings of this study revealed that students were mostly engaged in co-constructed arguments, that a discrepancy in the participation of the group members existed, and students were able to correct most of the incorrect claims on their own via argumentation. The second study, Exploration of peer leader verbal behaviors as they intervene with small groups in college general chemistry, examines the interactive discourse of the peer leaders and the students during peer leader intervention. The relationship between the verbal behaviors of the peer leaders and the student argumentation is explored in this study. The findings of this study demonstrated that peer leaders used an array of verbal behaviors to guide students to construct chemistry concepts, and that a relationship existed between student argument components and peer leader verbal behaviors. The third study, Use of Tolumin's Argumentation Scheme for student discourse to gain insight about guided inquiry activities in college chemistry, is focused on investigating the relationship between student arguments without peer leader intervention and the structure of published guided inquiry ChemActivities. The relationship between argumentation and the structure of the activities is explored with respect to prompts, questions, and the segmented Learning Cycle structure of the ChemActivities. Findings of this study revealed that prompts were effective in eliciting arguments, that convergent questions produced more arguments than directed questions, and that the structure of the Learning Cycle successfully scaffolded arguments. A semester of video data from two different small student groups facilitated by two different peer leaders was used for these three related studies. An analytic framework based on Toulmin's argumentation scheme was used for the argumentation analysis of the studies. This dissertation work focused on the three central elements of the peer-led classroom, students, peer leader, and the ChemActivities, illuminates effective discourse important for group learning. Overall, this dissertation work contributes to science education by providing both an analytic framework useful for investigating group processes and crucial strategies for conducting effective cooperative learning and promoting student argumentation. The findings of this dissertation work have valuable implications in the professional development of teachers specifically for group interventions in the implementation of cooperative learning reforms.

This work presents an evaluation of a reform teaching practice, known as peer-led guided inquiry, that combines guided inquiry and cooperative learning for college chemistry teaching. Integral to implementing the reform in a large class (greater than 100 students) was the role of peer leaders, undergraduate students who have successfully completed the target course. These peer leaders facilitated cooperative learning groups during weekly guided inquiry activities in general chemistry. The evaluation, using data collected over a 3-year period, had two main foci: effective teaching and promotion of equity in the classroom. Both of these aims were evaluated using hierarchical linear models. The reform was found to be effective, with a progressive increase in the test scores of those students in the reform classes versus the students in the traditional classes. Furthermore, students in the reform outperformed their counterparts on an externally-constructed national exam. Both findings also held true when controlling for student SAT scores. Effectiveness is not sufficient cause for recommendation amid concerns that distinct groups of students may be disadvantaged by a reform. The evaluation therefore had special concern for students who were at significant risk of low performance in a college chemistry course, such as those with poor high school preparation. No evidence was found that the reform made the situation worse for these students; in fact, the reform was determined to be effective regardless of preparation as measured by SAT scores. In addition, formal thought ability was found to be an important factor in chemistry performance, independent of SAT scores, with low formal thought ability placing students at-risk. The evaluation data indicated that the reform may have allowed students who entered the course with low formal thought ability to overcome this disadvantage, though this effect could be attributed to chance. Finally, to understand further the students in this setting beyond cognitive factors, an inventory of student study approaches was administered. Three specific approach profiles were prevalent: surface, surface achieving and achieving. Two less prevalent approach profiles, deep and deep achieving, were related to better understanding of chemistry as measured by the national exam.

Striving to reduce the environmental impact of our growing energy demand creates tough new challenges in how we generate and use electricity. We need to develop Smart Grid systems in which distributed sustainable energy resources are fully integrated and energy consumption is efficient. Customers, i.e., consumers and distributed producers, require agent technology that automates much of their decision-making to become active participants in the Smart Grid. This thesis develops models and learning algorithms for such autonomous agents in an environment where customers operate in modern retail power markets and thus have a choice of intermediary brokers with whom they can contract to buy or sell power. In this setting, customers face a learning and multiscale decision-making problem – they must manage contracts with one or more brokers and simultaneously, on a finer timescale, manage their consumption or production levels under existing contracts. On a contextual scale, they can optimize their isolated selfinterest or consider their shared goals with other agents. We advance the idea that a Learning Utility Management Agent (LUMA), or a network of such agents, deployed on behalf of a Smart Grid customer can autonomously address that customer’s multiscale decision-making responsibilities. We study several relationships between a given LUMA and other agents in the environment. These relationships are semi-cooperative and the degree of expected cooperation can change dynamically with the evolving state of the world. We exploit the multiagent structure of the problem to control the degree of partial observability. Since a large portion of relevant hidden information is visible to the other agents in the environment, we develop methods for Negotiated Learning, whereby a LUMA can offer incentives to the other agents to obtain information that sufficiently reduces its own uncertainty while trading off the cost of offering those incentives. The thesis first introduces pricing algorithms for autonomous broker agents, time series forecasting models for long range simulation, and capacity optimization algorithms for multi-dwelling customers. We then introduce Negotiable Entity Selection Processes (NESP) as a formal representation where partial observability is negotiable amongst certain classes of agents. We then develop our ATTRACTIONBOUNDED- LEARNING algorithm, which leverages the variability of hidden information for efficient multiagent learning. We apply the algorithm to address the variable-rate tariff selection and capacity aggregate management problems faced by Smart Grid customers. We evaluate the work on real data using Power TAC, an agent-based Smart Grid simulation platform and substantiate the value of autonomous Learning Utility Management Agents in the Smart Grid.

Social interaction is a powerful medium in education. In this report, I discuss how computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) helps K-12 students to enhance learning. I discussed why socio-constructivism in CSCL is a promising learning method. In addition I suggest that CSCL enhances students’ self-driven learning, motivation, and critical thinking. I also examine how CSCL can be successfully implemented in K-12 schools. In this context, the report identifies the challenges posed by technology implementation and changing teachers’ beliefs in introducing this innovation into schools, and how those challenges can be met. Finally, based on perspectives in support of CSCL, the paper does a critical analysis of the Korean e-learning project, which created a national online leaning network for K-12 students, called Cyber Home Learning System (CHLS), and suggests ways that CSCL may enhance this program. / text