The primary objectives of the study were (1) to determine the impact of the Florida Department of Education program audits on curriculum in selected secondary schools and (2) to identify ways in which the audit process can be improved. Subjects for the study were the principals of audited schools who were still in those schools at the time of the study, not less than two years after the audits. / Data were collected using a mailed questionnaire and an on-site interview. As well as requests for demographic data, the questionnaire contained 23 specific items. These 23 items were grouped into the major curriculum areas of planning, implementation, and evaluation. Using a Likert-type scale, principals were asked to rate the impact of the program audits on their schools in each of these 23 areas. / Interviews were conducted with 10 principals randomly selected from the eligible group. These principals were asked to critique the audit procedure and to report on the status of the specific recommendations that were made for their schools in the basic skills areas. / Of the 49 surveys mailed, 39 (80%) were returned. On a 1 to 7 scale, the grand mean rating for all 23 questionnaire items was 4.34. The recommendations were reported as having had greatest impact in the areas of curriculum planning and evaluation and least in the area of curriculum implementation. These are the areas that can be changed most easily and the area in which change requires major expenditues of time of fiscal resources, respectively. Eighty-two percent of the audit recommendations made in the areas of mathematics and language arts were in some stage of implementation. / In the interviews the principals reported a high degree of satisfaction with the audit procedure. However, they suggested that school personnel and auditor know more about each other prior to future audits and recommended that auditors stay with their specific audit criteria and refrain from trying to impose personal philosophy on the schools. They strongly suggested a faster return of the written audit report. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-04, Section: A, page: 0884. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1985.

This study investigated the effects of two alternate sets of conditions of learning on state-anxiety and rule learning in a systematically designed instructional unit. Normally, systematically designed instruction (control group) presents objectives to the learners and requires written (overt) responses to practice questions. / In the "specially designed" instructional materials of the experimental group, there were no objectives or overt responding. Rather, learners were asked to just "think" (covert) their answers to the same practice questions that were responded to overtly by the control group. / There were 92 female undergraduates randomly assigned to treatment groups. Forty-nine participants were assigned to the "special" instructional group and 43 participants were assigned to the "normal" instructional group. / The participants' A-State levels were measured before (A(,1)), during (A(,2)), and after (A(,3)) the instructional treatment. These repeated A-State measures were used to assess initial A-State (A(,1)) and changes in A-State as a function of instructional treatment (A(,2) and A(,3)). Following the instructional treatment and A-State measures participants received an objective-referenced posttest to assess the quality of their rule-using learning. / The resulting data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis to determine if there were significant main effects or interaction effects. Measures of prior knowledge, instructional time, and pre-instructional A-State (A(,1)) were used as covariates in this analysis. / The results of the analysis indicated no interactions between instructional treatments and A-State levels. There were no significant predictors for posttest performance. Pre-instructional A-State (A(,1)) and instructional treatment were significant predictors of A(,2) (during instruction A-State). Contrary to prediction, participants in the "normal" instructional treatment reported lower levels of A(,2). Instructional treatment and A(,1) were significant predictors of the after instruction (A(,3)) measure of A-State. / Methodological weaknesses and inappropriate instruction possibly prevented the predicted results. These deficiencies were detailed in Chapter IV. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-02, Section: A, page: 0376. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 40-07, Section: A, page: 3742. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1979.

Learners vary in self-awareness and may respond differently to information about their ability to perform a novel task. This study explored the effects of entry-level skill information and feedback on learners classified as either high or low in generalized expectancy for success. / Three levels of treatment included an introduction to a hieroglyphics lesson, the lesson, and a posttest. The first level explained the lesson and listed the performance objectives. The second level added a checklist of entry-level skills. The third level included the performance objectives, the checklist, and exercises covering the entry-level skills. / Several weeks before the experiment, one hundred and eight students received the Generalized Expectancy for Success Scale. They were then ranked, matched by threes, and randomly assigned to one of the three levels of treatment. / An analysis of variance showed no main effects of treatment on the dependent variables. Students who received the list of entry-level skills and practice feedback showed no higher level of self-efficacy, outcome expectancy, attitude, choice preference, or performance than the control group. The analysis did show significant main effects for generalized expectancy level on outcome expectancies (p $<$.05) and on choice preference (p $<$.05). No interactions between experimental treatments and generalized expectancy levels were found. / The findings suggest that informing adolescent learners of instructional objectives has essentially the same effect on individuals' self-efficacy, outcome expectancy, attitude, choice preference, and performance as information on entry-level skills has. The significant effect of generalized expectancy level on outcome expectancies and expressed preference for participating suggests that: (1) generalized expectancy may be a viable personality characteristic that affects certain expectancies and attitudes in novel situations; (2) outcome expectancy and choice preference may be related; and (3) outcome expectancy and perceptions of self-efficacy may be distinct personality variables that can be measured separately. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-05, Section: A, page: 1201. / Major Professor: John Keller. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1989.

This investigation used the case study method in attempting to discover how people functioned in a computer-supported learning environment designed on the basis of constructivist values. The subject for the study was a graduate-level course developed to help students reflect on and expand their personal views of the teaching-learning process and to foster higher-order thinking skills and positive disposition toward learning. The main contributions of the study to existing literature are to reflect on the implications of constructivist values and current theories of learning for the design of computer-supported learning environments, provide information on how to design for higher-order thinking skills and positive disposition toward learning within a constructivist framework, and suggest solutions to a variety of classroom management issues that may arise when the classroom is made into an authentic learning environment. / In considering results of the study, five themes emerged that appear to have general relevance for the design of communities of learners. The themes, which represent areas of inherent tension in the teaching-learning process, include discomfort and overload, self-direction and teacher guidance, personal construction and enculturation, divergence of opinion and shared meaning, and authenticity and contrivance. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-03, Section: A, page: 0811. / Major Professor: Walter W. Wager. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.

This study investigated the effectiveness of using an attitude model to motivationally enhance instruction in two skill modeling media: print and interactive video. Three theories support the investigation of the relationship of attitude modeling to attitudes and instruction and their effects on instructional motivation and achievement. Social learning theory (Bandura, 1986) proposes that people learn behavior by observing others: modeling. Instructional theory (Gagne, 1985) proposes that people can learn attitudes through modeling but it is instructional motivation theory (Keller, 1987) that describes the specific dimensions of instructional motivation: attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction (ARCS). / Adult students enrolled in vocational training were assigned to treatment groups. Half of the subjects in this study completed job interviewing instruction in print and the remainder completed the instruction in interactive video. Half witnessed a videotaped attitude model before beginning the instruction and the other half of the subjects did not see the attitude model before the instruction. / The instructional strategy employed in each skill modeling media presented objectives, rule-learning and verbal information with examples of rule application with practice and feedback elicited from students. / Results indicate that the presence of an attitude model does not affect instructional motivation. Results also indicate that it is possible to use either print or interactive video for skill modeling instruction without affecting instructional motivation. The skill modeling instructional media did not differentially affect three of the four dimensions of instructional motivation: relevance, confidence, or satisfaction. Learners in the interactive video reported more attention-getting properties in the interactive video instruction than in the print. / The study validates the use of Keller's instructional motivation measurement scale (IMMS) with adults on a 10th grade reading level. The IMMS subscale scores did distinguish among the four dimensions of instructional motivation and scores indicated differences between the instructional motivation of males and females. After adaptation to the instructional context, the IMMS instrument remained reliable. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-11, Section: A, page: 3466. / Major Professor: John Keller. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1989.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 40-06, Section: A, page: 3084. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1979.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 40-07, Section: A, page: 3732. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1979.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 40-07, Section: A, page: 3737. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1979.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 35-07, Section: A, page: 4131. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1974.