Increasingly the perceived benefits of using networked computers, software applications and computer simulations in learning activities are being exploited at all educational levels and within all curricula areas. As web-based and online software applications such as browsers, search engines, communication tools and data-bases mature, so does educator's use of this medium for teaching and learning. How we can investigate the impact of these technologies upon the educational experiences of learners was the fundamental concept addressed by this thesis. The study reports on the design, development and validation of a web-based survey instrument for use in online learning environments in tertiary education. The thesis investigated both previous psychosocial learning environment instrument development studies and the nature of environments created by the use of information and communication technologies. The research followed a two-phased instrument development process. Phase one focused on content validity, identifying salient scales and items and piloting the instrument with a limited audience. Phase two focused on construct validity, conducting an extensive field test with a web-based form and performing statistical analysis on the online data collected. Principal components analysis, with oblique and orthogonal rotations, confirmed the structure of a 35-item 7-scale instrument. The thesis concludes by confirming the new instrument, the Online Learning Environment Survey (OLLES), will allow conclusions to be drawn about student perceptions on the interactions occurring in their online environments in an economical and efficient manner.

The principle focus of this study has been a reflection on my planning methodology since 1988. Teachers planning from 19882002 was predominantly individual and was aided by the gradual introduction of State and Commonwealth produced documents. These documents assisted in topic choices and assessment outcomes.Important influences transformed my planning. The first occurred in 1996 and the second in 2002. In 1996 I was involved in the production of a resource kit for teachers titled, Its Working Career and Work Education, Kindergarten to Year 8. During the compilation of this resource kit my planning incorporated the 1995, Teaching and Learning in Science Planning Guide, which resembled constructivism by building knowledge and understanding. In 2002 the curriculum in Tasmanian State Schools was transformed with the introduction of the Essential Learnings Framework 1 and 2. This curriculum innovation had implications on teachers planning methodology with a strong emphasis on collaborative planning.Studies and critiques of environmental units were undertaken in 2000, 2003 and 2004 to ascertain the effectiveness of my planning methodology. The underlying principles of constructivism provided a lens to improve perceived deficiencies in my classroom practice. The inclusion of the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES) assisted in making constructivism visible. A strong purpose therefore evolved from the study; a more effective planning methodology.

This thesis reports the findings of a case study into the outcomes and learning environments of students studying for a Diploma of Technology at a New Zealand Tertiary Education Institution. The primary focus of the study was to develop an assessment framework that would facilitate simultaneous assessment of the local Institute achievement-based Diploma of Technology and the competency-based assessment of a National Diploma that the local diploma subsumed. From this primary focus on assessment, the study provided the opportunity to undertake a grounded theory study of literature that impacted on the learning environment, supported the necessity to rationalise the student learning outcomes from both an academic and work skill perspective, and presented a suitable situation in which to take a fresh look at the method of grading and marking students’ assessment material. / The grounded theory study grew out of the need to condense the vast amount of literature that was gathered in the process of searching for background material to use in the building of a foundation on which to construct a dual assessment model. Although no literature was found that specifically dealt with the simultaneous dual assessment, a large amount of material was found that related to various aspects of the learning environment. Through the process of a grounded theory study, this material was condensed into categories of data that in turn were used to develop a theoretical model of an ‘ideal’ learning environment. Into this model was also added the results of a questionnaire based research study into the perceived need for diploma graduates to have a range of employability skills. This study involved a range of employers who considered themselves likely to employ a diploma graduate. Because the learning outcomes for the two diplomas covered essentially the same material yet the actual wording of the outcomes were substantially quite different, there was a need to rationalise the sets of learning outcomes for each diploma. This process led to a common set of outcomes that in turn were used as a focus for students’ learning and assessment. / Once these common outcomes had been identified, a rubric based marking/scoring system was developed so that both students and teacher could quickly grade students’ assessment material and then convert that grade into a mark. The use of the grade facilitated the assessment of achievement against a unit standard and the resultant marks satisfied the need for an achievement mark. The results and findings from the various studies were then translated into a working model that was used for two courses over one semester. Various other research methodologies were then used in order to provide some evaluation of the working model.The thesis does present some of the difficulties facing tertiary teachers in an environment that is becoming more and more of a production line business rather than a service to provide learning opportunities for students. However it also presents solid evidence that teachers can take measures to prove themselves through study and initiative and provide those focussed learning environments where students can attain the outcomes necessary for a successful career in tomorrow’s world.

This study describes students' perceptions of their physics classroom learning environments and their interactions with their teachers in upper secondary school classes in Thailand. Associations between these perceptions and students' attitudes toward physics were also determined. The learning environment perceptions were obtained using the 35-item Physics Laboratory Environment Inventory (PLEI) modified from the original Science Laboratory Environment Inventory (Fraser, McRobbie, & Giddings, 1993). Teacher-student interactions were assessed with the 48-item Questionnaires on Teacher Interaction (QTI) (Wubbels & Levy, 1993). Both these questionnaires have an Actual Form (assesses the class as it actually is) and a Preferred Form (asks the students what they would prefer their class to be like - the ideal situation). Students' attitudes were assessed with a short Attitude scale. The questionnaires were translated into the Thai language and administered to a sample of 4,576 students in 245 physics classes at the grade 12 level. Statistically significant differences were found between the students' perceptions of actual and preferred environments and teacher interpersonal behaviour in Thailand. Associations between students' perceptions of their learning environments and teachers' interpersonal behaviour with their attitudes to their physics classes also were found. It was found from interviews with a sub-sample that particular categories of comments could be identified, physics being a difficult subject, evaluation and assessments not being related to the tertiary entrance examination, and teachers' plans. These factors appear to be affecting student achievement in physics. Based on all the findings, suggestions for improving the physics laboratory classroom environment and teacher interpersonal behaviour with students' perceptions are provided.

Although there are numerous instruments available for assessing classroom learning environments at the tertiary level, no instrument has been specifically designed and validated for measuring the business management education learning environment (Brennan & Ahmad, 2005). My aims were (1) to design, develop and validate an instrument, the Business Management Education Learning Environment Inventory (BMELEI), for assessing business management students’ perceptions of the psychosocial learning environments of university seminars and tutorials and (2) to relate learning environment to attitudes towards the subject and attitudes towards the case study teaching strategy. This study is distinctive in that it involved both quantitative and qualitative methods. The BMELEI and two attitude scales were administered to 480 final-year undergraduate and postgraduate business studies students in 30 classes at both Curtin University of Technology and Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia. The qualitative component of the study involved semi-structured interviews with 42 randomly-selected participants from the above universities. Factor analysis supported a six-factor structure (Student Cohesiveness, Teacher Support, Involvement, Task Orientation, Cooperation and Equity) with scale alpha reliabilities ranging from 0.78 to 0.90 for the actual form and from 0.80 to 0.92 for the preferred form using the individual as unit of analysis. Students’ attitudes were found to be positively associated with classroom learning environment. / Also differences were found between students’ perceptions of the actual and preferred classroom environment, and between male and female students’ perceptions of the actual and preferred classroom environment. Findings suggested that students preferred a more positive and favourable classroom learning environment than they perceived as being actually present.

Current literature indicates a lack of exploration of factors relating to Taiwanese students’ critical thinking in the field of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). The research study was a case study based on the social constructivist framework. The aim of this study was to explore how teacher and students interactions online impacted critical thinking by addressing the social norm in Confucius Heritage Culture (CHC). The characteristics of the social norm of CHC do not readily support verbalizing thoughts and challenging others face-to-face in public, which are important to the practice of critical thinking. The research was conducted in an English-major reading class at a university in Taiwan. The data collection methods included focus groups, collaborative inquiry with the teacher, and the researcher’s participant observation in both face-to-face and online discussions. The findings suggested that students need teacher’s cognitive, affective, pedagogical and technical support and face-to-face small group support before engaging in online interactions. Modified debates in new face-to-face models of interaction helped maximise the social constructivist approach with the teacher’s shepherd facilitation. The online interaction patterns in a CHC context underwent a three-phase process, which described how CHC students externalised critical thinking within groups, inter-groups and inter-classes in online form. The study contributes to our understanding and the development of culturally suitable approaches to cognitive, affective, pedagogical and technical guidelines needed in facilitating EFL students’ critical thinking in face-to-face and online interactions in the context of Taiwan.

Published research in Behavioural Sciences has indicated that there are some business and work environments which are more effective for the attainment of managerial objectives than others. In this study these research findings have been applied to learning activities of mature vocational students in TAFE in Canberra and to their teachers. Learning processes, learning theories and teaching are discussed. Teacher-student relationships and their impact on learning by creating sound learning environments are examined and a model of sound learning environment is created. This model is tested by investigation with final year certificate students. The impact of the model on teacher selection and teacher education is included in the discussion of results. The principal conclusion which can be drawn from the Study is that the sort of environment, which has been shown to be most effective in achievement of managerial objectives is also likely to be the most effective in achieving educational objectives for adult vocational students.

The purpose of this study was to explore early-career faculty&rsquo / s needs on teaching related issues and examine the effectiveness of an online environment that was designed as a support to a graduate course on teaching in higher education. The study was carried out through two phases including a needs analysis and evaluation of the online environment. Findings of the needs analysis were used as input data in designing the online environment. An exploratory mixed design was employed to investigate graduate assistants&rsquo / perceptions about the effectiveness of the online environment in general, and the components specifically. Results of the first phase revealed that early-career faculty (n=53) were highly willing to participate in faculty instructional development activities, mostly through workshops and internet-based systems. Having students&rsquo / active participation into class was found to be one of the biggest concerns of new faculty. The second phase of the study provided descriptive data related to graduate assistants&rsquo / (n=10) use of an online environment incorporating a discussion forum, exemplary V teaching case and informative videos. Interaction with people from different academic fields helped the graduate assistants to experience and gain different perspectives about teaching. The graduate course itself raised graduate assistants&rsquo / awareness with regard to the teaching aspect of their profession. Online components generally provided the graduate assistants with different perspectives on teaching, and contemplate their future teaching. Based on the findings of the study, it can be concluded that online technologies have a potential to support faculty instructional development through incorporating visual media and communication tools.

Social digital gaming is an explosive phenomenon where youth and adults are engaged in inquiry for the sake of fun. The complexity of learning evidenced in social digital games is attracting the attention of educators. Martian Boneyards is a proof-of-concept game designed to study how a community of voluntary gamers can be enticed to engage in sustained, high-quality scientific inquiry. Science educators and game designers worked together to create an educational game with the polish and intrigue of a professional-level game, striving to attract a new audience to scientific inquiry. Martian Boneyards took place in the high-definition, massively multiplayer online environment, Blue Mars, where players spent an average of 30 hours in the game over the 4-month implementation period, with some exceeding 200 hours. Most of the players’ time was spent in scientific inquiry activities and about 30% of the players’ in-game interactions were in the analysis and theory-building phases of inquiry. Female players conducted most of the inquiry, in particular analysis and theory building. The quality of scientific inquiry processes, which included extensive information gathering by players, and the resulting content were judged to be very good by a team of independent scientists. This research suggests that a compelling storyline, a highly aesthetic environment, and the emergent social bonds among players and between players and the characters played by designers were all responsible for sustaining high quality inquiry among gamers in this free-choice experience. The gaming environment developed for Martian Boneyards is seen as an evolving ecosystem with interactions among design, players’ activity, and players’ progress.

Social digital gaming is an explosive phenomenon where youth and adults are engaged in inquiry for the sake of fun. The complexity of learning evidenced in social digital games is attracting the attention of educators. Martian Boneyards is a proof-of-concept game designed to study how a community of voluntary gamers can be enticed to engage in sustained, high-quality scientific inquiry. Science educators and game designers worked together to create an educational game with the polish and intrigue of a professional-level game, striving to attract a new audience to scientific inquiry. Martian Boneyards took place in the high-definition, massively multiplayer online environment, Blue Mars, where players spent an average of 30 hours in the game over the 4-month implementation period, with some exceeding 200 hours. Most of the players’ time was spent in scientific inquiry activities and about 30% of the players’ in-game interactions were in the analysis and theory-building phases of inquiry. Female players conducted most of the inquiry, in particular analysis and theory building. The quality of scientific inquiry processes, which included extensive information gathering by players, and the resulting content were judged to be very good by a team of independent scientists. This research suggests that a compelling storyline, a highly aesthetic environment, and the emergent social bonds among players and between players and the characters played by designers were all responsible for sustaining high quality inquiry among gamers in this free-choice experience. The gaming environment developed for Martian Boneyards is seen as an evolving ecosystem with interactions among design, players’ activity, and players’ progress.