This thesis represents the results of studies designed to investigate computer anxiety among adult learners. The existence, nature and degree of computer anxiety were investigated with a sample of teacher trainees undertaking an introductory computer training course, and the impact of this course on the anxiety and cognitions of the students were studied. Another study focussed on the evaluation of the measure of computer anxiety used in this study with a view to the design of a new computer anxiety treatment. Results showed that computer anxiety is not necessarily dissipated by completing a computer course, and is correlated with gender, computer ownership and previous computer experience. A number of faculties with different student populations were studied, and computer anxiety was high within each. Interviews with computing course coordinators indicated a range of approaches to instructional design, beliefs about the extent and causes of computer anxiety, and ways of alleviating it. Two approaches derived from these interviews formed the basis of the design of this study, with instructional methods as the treatments and levels of computer anxiety and negative cognitions as the aptitudes. The sample comprised two, with the first group receiving traditional instruction while the second group received direct instruction plus metacognitive strategy training in self-questioning within a cooperative learning context. Achievement was significantly enhanced in the second group, and it was felt that metacognitive training was effective as a means of enhancing achievement and positive cognitions. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

In 1983 there was a dramatic change in the activities of the Royal Australian Army Educational Corps (RAAEC). From 1965 to 1983, the RAAEC satisfied the educational needs of soldiers in the Regular Army by conducting the Australian Army Certificate of Education Class 1 (AACE 1) and the Australian Army Certificate of Education Class 2 (AACE 2). These courses were originally designed to parallel civilian secondary school studies, and as a result, the AACE program's structure, subject range and content were similar to those of the civilian educational system. This duplication was so complete that credit towards the AACE qualifications was granted for secondary school studies at, or above, Year 9. In August 1983 the AACE program was replaced by a new program of Army education. This program consisted of two courses - Subject 3 Level 1 and Subject 3 Level 2. Whereas the AACE courses were lengthy and included an extensive range of subjects, the Subject 3 courses were of relatively short duration and addressed only literacy and numeracy skills. As this change was carefully planned and deliberately executed to better satisfy the educational needs of soldiers, for the purposes of this field study, it was described as an innovation - the Subject 3 innovation. The study reported here reviewed the Subject 3 innovation process. To ensure that the review was comprehensive, the innovation process was examined from a number of different perspectives. These included an historical description, an analysis of the innovation strategy, a review of the curriculum development tool and decision making, and a determination of the process necessary to confirm and remediate any deficiencies in the innovation process. The outcomes of this review of the Subject 3 innovation process gave cause to question the validity of many fundamental characteristics of the Subject 3 courses, e.g. the scope of the course content, the content validity of the terminal assessment instruments, and the exit standards of the courses. The field study concluded that there was an urgent need to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the Subject 3 courses to verify and correct these shortcomings.

This study was directed toward improving the balance and consistency of student participation by thinning, randomizing, and delaying credit for student participation. Each of three sections of a large college course (n = 55) employed a different contingency for choosing the days in which participation credit was awarded: (1) credit units identified ahead of time, (2) credit units announced at the end of the course, and (3) credit units randomly selected by students at the end of the course. For all contingencies, random selection of 2 out of 4 discussion days in each credit unit occurred at the conclusion of the course. The study compared the effects of the different credit contingencies on the percentage of students participating at selected levels across days and units. Students recorded their individual comments during class discussion. External raters recorded the number of timely and repetitious comments per student, the number of comprehension and factual questions posed by instructors, and the amount of positive and negative feedback provided to each student. Results showed that when students knew which units would provide participation credit (Section A), the percentage of non-participants and dominant participants decreased, while the percentage of credit-level participants increased. These results are consistent with previous research (e.g., Krohn et al, 2010) reporting balanced participation when students know in advance the specific units when credit is available for participation. Conversely, when students did not know until the end of the semester which units would provide credit (Sections B and C), participation patterns remained relatively similar across units. The percentage of participants at different levels in Sections B and C fell between the percentages for credit and non-credit levels in Section A. A 50-item survey also was given at the beginning of the course to assess student beliefs concerning class participation. The total survey scores significantly predicted student placement into low- or high-participation groups throughout the course. Logistic regression analyses showed that the primary factor, Personal History and Preference regarding Class Participation, better predicted membership in the low-participant group in non-credit units and membership in the high-participant group in credit units in Section A.

This thesis reviews the enrollment policies and procedures for advanced and college prep classes in a central Texas school district to determine if there is fair and equitable access for all students. The paper contains two major components. The first is quantitative study of the four entrance requirements for 8th grade Algebra I Pre-AP at a central Texas middle school. The purpose of this study is to determine the necessity of these requirements by showing which if any of these prerequisites predicts the how the students will perform in Algebra I. The results have determined that only the students? scores from their 7th grade advanced mathematics course correlated well with the students? scores from their Algebra I class. The second component is a qualitative study to determine if the parents of the district?s secondary students in have sufficient knowledge of advanced courses and how to enroll their children into advanced classes when warranted or desired. The study determined that parents had insufficient knowledge of advanced courses and the districts strict enrollment policies. This paper ends with recommendations for the district on how to make advanced course more accessible for all students.

The major purpose of this study is to explore the pre-service teacher in teaching practicum courses of preservice mentoring process. This study investigated a mentoring program to fifteen Chinese course pre-service training teachers at National Sun Yat-Sen University. It was based on scaffolding, reflective practice, and peer coaching that included series of the mentoring, modeling, practicing, reflecting and discussing activities. We analyzed whether the scaffolding strategies of this program in different stages was helpful to increase pre-service teachers¡¦ reflective and critical abilities of teaching. The program included of many activities in the¡urealization and clarification¡v,¡ucatching and reconstruction¡v and ¡upractice and reflection¡vstages, such as realizing and clarifying personal principles of teaching, experienced and intern teachers¡¦ interviews, the experienced teachers¡¦ teaching demonstration, developing the lesson plans, micro-teaching and teaching practices . Moreover, the issues about courses were also discussed on the internet. Document analysis and surveys were used to investigate the mentoring process, including pre-service teachers¡¦ works, discussion, and studying surveys. This study showed that all pre-service teachers affirmed that the mentoring program was helpful for them to realize, clarify, and even to reconstruct their principles of teaching. Besides, they also realized the current situations in the school. The findings also revealed that the pre-service teachers reconstructed their thinking of teaching, perceived the questions of teaching and changed their behavior of teaching by discussion, feedback, and resources sharing. Although the pre-service teachers perceived this program as helpful, this program was lack of scope and profundity in combining the theory and practice of teaching. This study suggested that more strategies promoted the pre-service teachers¡¦ reflective practice, such as estimating the pre-service teachers¡¦ teaching scheme, organizing a group of mentors and effective scaffolding. The study concluded with some recommendations for the teaching practicum courses of teacher¡¦s education and teaching practical training system.

Enrollments in distance education courses continue to rise and faculty members continue to teach them. In some cases, student demand for distance education courses exceeds the number of courses offered by the institution. Additional faculty members are needed to teach distance education courses to meet the increasing student demand. As institutions begin relying on adjunct faculty to teach distance education courses and move toward more progressive distance education programs, the involvement of the stakeholders in decision making becomes increasingly important to student success. The Purpose of this study is to identify factors that online faculty members from a small and large community college perceive as important to the success of online programs. The study also identifies characteristics of successful online course design, faculty responsibilities, student responsibilities and the responsibilities of the administration. The dissertation contains five chapters. Chapter I provides an introduction, statement of the problem, collegiate study: Palo Alto College and San Antonio College, the purpose of the study, research questions, selection of methodology, significance of the problem, definitions of distance education and terms and limitations of the study. Chapter II provides a review of the literature on distance education. Chapter III provides an overview of the methodology (Interactive Qualitative Analysis) utilized in the study. Chapter IV provides an overview of the results of the study to include data collection and analysis process, college selection process, faculty selection for the study, the focus group, individual interviews, and Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA). Chapter V includes an overview of the Interpretations and Recommendations for the study. The study identifies several considerations for implementing a distance education program to include 1) Planning and organizing 2) Determining the organizational structure of the distance education program (sole-responsibility, dual-mode or consortium) and 3) Determining the institution’s ability to provide financial support for a distance education program. An institution should also implement policies that will help students succeed in online learning. A few of the recommended policies include 1) Limiting class size to 24 students in online courses 2) Providing proper technical support and training and 3) Providing a reliable student survey for online courses. / text

Interaction, particularly learner-learner interaction, needs to be cultivated in online classes in order for students to have a satisfying learning experience. This study considered two graduate level online classes in an effort to determine: 1) is cognitive style related to the quantity of learner-learner interaction in online courses, 2) is there a relationship between learner characteristics and learner posting preferences in learner-learner interaction in online courses, 3) how do selected learners differ in their use of interaction elements during online discussion, and 4) how do selected learners perceive their experiences in online courses. Using the Student Demographic Questionnaire, the Group Embedded Figures Test, the Text Analysis Tool, and an Interview Protocol developed by the researcher, the study was conducted with a mixed method design. Learner-learner interaction was considered in terms of the students' contributions to the FirstClass discussion activities that were completed as part of the course requirements. This study found that: a) there is not a correlation between cognitive style and quantity of learner-learner interaction, b) some learner characteristics do influence learner posting preferences, c) interaction elements during online discussion do not indicate the content of discussion, but do somewhat indicate how the discussion is taking place, and d) students have opinions on how their experiences in online courses should impact online course design, particularly in terms of knowing the learner and communication. Knowing the learner was discussed in terms of time management, motivation, and differences among learners. Communication was discussed in terms of spontaneity, isolation, freedom, and accountability. Course design was discussed in terms of flexibility, organization, accountability, and technology. The results of this study have implications regarding online course design and recommendations for future research.

The purpose of this study was to develop a model to augment critical thinking and create knowledge through writing in the social sciences of agriculture. Without a conceptual model or a blue-print of writing in the social sciences of agriculture, teaching writing is hard. This study was divided into three phases, and each phase was reported and analyzed using independent research methods. Not only were the data reported as separate sets of findings, but also the data from each phase of the study were synthesized and reported as a mixed-methods study, which was a model to augment critical thinking and create knowledge through writing in the social sciences of agriculture. Five methods were used to collect the data: qualitative theory evaluation, qualitative interviews, qualitative focus groups, Q-sort interviews, and modeling methods. Using the qualitative theory evaluation, the researcher found three prominent theories and seven conceptual models of writing. Each writing theory and conceptual model brought a unique perspective to writing research. In conclusion, the social cognitive theory of writing was the most complete writing theory and the writing proficiency as a complex integrated skill conceptual model was the most complete. Qualitative interviews with eight faculty members in social sciences of agriculture revealed the writing factors that augment critical thinking and create knowledge. The researcher concluded that the ability to present and defend a topic to a variety of public audiences; opportunities for writing repetition; and rich, timely feedback were the writing factors faculty members believed augment critical thinking and create knowledge. The focus group interviews with 15 students in social sciences of agriculture revealed the characteristics of strong writers. The researcher concluded that adapting prose to fit the audience, applying writing to real-world scenarios, developing a strong argument, having a specific voice, and understanding grammar and mechanics should be used to help students develop writing skills. The data from the review of literature, the qualitative interviews, and the qualitative focus groups were used to develop the Q-sort interview statements. Q-sort interviews with four students, three faculty members, and three administrators revealed three factors that define writing in the social sciences of agriculture. The researcher concluded that writing in college courses can be categorized into three categories: writing as a process, writing as an application and a development of thought, and writing as an advanced skill guided by complex reasoning. The data from the first four studies were collapsed to identify the writing factors that augment critical thinking and create knowledge in the social sciences of agriculture. From this data, the researcher developed the model to augment critical thinking and create knowledge through writing in the social sciences of agriculture. Additionally, the researcher concluded there are 12 writing factors that augment critical thinking and create knowledge in the social sciences of agriculture (e.g., using real-world scenarios; researching and understanding how ideas are connected; and presenting and defending agricultural topics to a variety of public audiences).

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Thesis (MDistance Ed) -- University of South Australia