Thesis (Ph. D.)--Syracuse University, 2009. / "Publication number:AAT 3381592."

Thesis--Columbia University. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 165-172).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 163-171). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 163-171). Also available on the Internet.

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

Instructional Systems Development is a comprehensive method for the analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation of training. It was produced for the United States Army in 1975 by Florida State University. Since that time, it has been the Army's goal to develop all of its training using this format. This has become increasingly difficult in the case of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center and School, because more and more of its instruction is being developed by civilian contractors. Contract completion dates must continually be extended while contractors train their personnel in the policies and procedures of Instructional Systems Development. Additionally, these delays then serve to increase contract costs. This study was conducted to ameliorate this performance discrepancy by providing a framework for the development of an Instructional Systems Development course for contractors. Both the analysis and design procedures accomplished in this effort were performed using the methods discussed in the actual Instructional Systems Development process. Thus, an instructional course would be developed through the use of the methods it would be teaching. The analysis portion of the study includes a comprehensive major and subordinate task list. This compilation identifies the twelve major tasks a contractor must perform in order to develop training materials according to the Instructional Systems Development process. These are: (1)Perform behavior analysis. (2)Perform analyses procedures. (3)Select tasks for training. (4)Perform all procedures in developing objectives. (5)Assess existing training materials. (6) Design and develop all tests. (7)Perform all sequencing procedures. (8)Develop job aids. (9)Select delivery methodologies. (10)Develop course procedures and control documents. (11)Write all training materials. (12)Validate all training materials. Each task has been analyzed to determine the skills and knowledges required for its satisfactory performance. Thus, the results of the analysis portion of the study are a complete task listing and a compilation of all required skills and knowledges. The design portion of the study concentrates on the pyramiding of all of these identified skills and knowledges. Pyramiding is a process whereby skills and knowledges are displayed in the hierarchical order in which they must be learned. They also provide valuable data for use in the development of instructional maps, detailing the sequences in which students may progress through the course. The final section of the study involves using the information generated in each pyramid to develop complete performance objectives. These objectives provide the framework around which the actual course is to be developed. The final products of the study are the competency tests constructed for each of the performance objectives. The development of the tests at this point in the process ensures that only the objectives are tested and not any extraneous material that might be included by either a course writer or an instructor. Thus, the parameters for a course for contractors working with the United States Army Intelligence Center and School have been defined. These parameters represent the instructional framework for the construction of an Instructional Systems Development course.

This creative project is a sequential series of curriculum designs that could be implemented into almost any secondary school.There it a need for drastic reform of the secondary school system in the United States and this curriculum design is an attempt to develop a systematic curriculum design that is attuned to the recommendations of the reports advocating reform in the secondary schools by a number of national and international educational organizations.These curriculum designs are aesthetically oriented and directed toward developing lifelong wholistic learners.

Middle school initiatives (including heterogeneous classes and an integrated, flexible curriculum together with promotion of student input) have been implemented in schools in Western Australia in response to a perceived need to align schools more closely with a more student-centred approach to learning, in the expectation of meeting more students’ needs and thereby reducing student dissatisfaction and increasing the possibility of students pursuing life long learning. Specific goals underlying the initiative include the development of independent learning and student responsibility for learning through a series of strategies such as self-paced learning, student involvement in negotiating their own learning, and a strong emphasis on respecting and valuing student input into the implementation of curricula. However, owing to the way that the curricula for Middle and Upper secondary school mathematics are currently structured, problems might arise for students in the transition from “a relaxed to a highly discipline-based organization of content” (as described by Venville, Wallace, Rennie, Malone (1998). Students accustomed to the current approaches implemented in Middle schools (Years 8 to 10) may be disadvantaged in the transition to Upper secondary school courses (Years 11 and 12) compared with those students who have been exposed to a more discipline-based organization of content throughout early adolescence and prior to entry into courses leading to tertiary entrance (T.E.E. courses). The aim of this project was to investigate the possible effects of Middle school initiatives in a group of students from three Middle schools in Western Australia in one subject area – mathematics – on the perceptions of self-efficacy and preparation in mathematics once the students encounter Year 11 Upper school courses. A survey containing Likert-type rating scales pertinent to four areas of interest – Self-efficacy in mathematics; Self-Directed Regulation; Views on current teaching; and Views on prior teaching were administered to students transferring from three “feeder” Middle schools to Year 11 (Upper secondary school) classes in one Senior College in Western Australia for each of 4 consecutive years. Students were also asked for their comments regarding preparation for the challenges of their chosen courses in mathematics. In addition, their levels of performance in a range of mathematical skills were assessed using a teacher-developed test. The perceptions of their Middle and Senior School teachers were also sought. As the survey was administered to all students as a routine part of action research within the mathematics faculty at the Senior College, only the results of those students who subsequently agreed to be participants in the study are reported in this dissertation. Results indicated that a mismatch existed in approaches and skills between Middle School and Senior College Mathematics. The reliance on students making suitable choices for themselves, the absence of specialist teachers of mathematics in middle schools, mixed ability classes in which specialist teachers of mathematics find it difficult to operate successfully and a curriculum that was so flexible that teachers omitted key elements required for later studies were the main factors that resulted in a significant number of students making the transition from middle to senior school with insufficient preparation. Implications for the teaching of mathematics in these three Middle schools and the Upper school are discussed.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, August, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MEd)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.