A number of studies have shown evidence of both facilitative and nonfacilitative effects of preinstructional strategies in enhancing learner recall and conceptual understanding of textual materials. Three activities considered in this study are advance organizers, performance objectives, and structured overviews. Six hundred and sixty eight preservice teachers enrolled in Zimbabwe's premier teachers' training colleges participated. / The first phase was composed of an experiment to test any significant differences between the control and the treatment variables. All subjects were randomly assigned to the control and treatment groups. For each group, a simple analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to show whether there were any statistical differences between the treatment groups. Glass's effect size technique was also applied to determine the composite differences between the groups. / The second phase of the study was of a descriptive nature. Parallel surveys to 64 faculty 674 students were used to identify characteristics likely to make participants supportive of preinstructional activities. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-11, Section: A, page: 3973. / Major Professor: Robert M. Morgan. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

The purpose of this research was to examine the negotiation of social norms in a university mathematics problem solving class. The beliefs and patterns of action which the participants in this class negotiated to define their learning environment were seen as defining the taken-to-be-shared social norms. / Each class session was video recorded to accompany field notes. Video recorded interviews were conducted with the instructor after each class session and with four students periodically throughout the semester. / Lectures were not given nor were procedures imposed. Each learner constructed his/her mathematics and this construction was enhanced by their interaction with other participants in the classroom. / The research includes descriptions of each class session, as well as an examination of the beliefs and actions of the instructor and the four students interviewed. In investigating this mathematics class that focused upon mathematics as a sense making activity, opportunities were identified that encouraged mathematical thinking. / The set of norms negotiated in this class included collaboration, intellectual autonomy, students devising their own methods, students determining the viability of their solutions rather than the instructor, students initiating the presentation of multiple solutions and ideas, students focusing upon heuristics and strategies rather than answers, and an expectation for all solutions and ideas to make sense even those presented by the instructor. The successful negotiation of these social norms were effective in establishing a rich mathematics learning environment. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-03, Section: A, page: 0500. / Directors: Grayson H. Wheatley; Norma Presmeg. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

This study examined the motivation and achievement of Greek students in English as a Foreign Language as seen from the perspective of gender and parental education. Specifically, it endeavored to answer (a) if there was a relationship between motivational orientation and parental education, (b) if there was a relationship between motivational orientation and gender, (c) if there is a relationship between language achievement scores and parental education, (d) if there was a difference in language achievement scores in school according to gender, and (e) if there was a relationship between motivational orientation and language achievement scores. The site of the research setting was three high schools in Athens, the capital of Greece. The three schools were part of an urban Athens school complex, housing four public schools. The subjects were 136 ninth and tenth grade students enrolled in the three Greek high schools and they were administered a questionnaire by the classroom teachers. All scoring was computer-analyzed. For question (a) an ANOVA was conducted with 3 levels of education and motivation as the dependent variable. For question (b) an ANOVA was conducted with 2 levels of gender and motivation as the dependent variable. For question (c) a Pearson product moment coefficient was calculated. For questions (d) and (e) an ANOVA was conducted with language achievement scores as dependent variable, and 2 levels of gender, and 3 levels of parental education as the independent variables. / The study showed that the relationship between motivational orientation and parental education, between motivational orientation and gender, and finally, between motivational orientation and language achievement scores was not significant. The relationship between language achievement and parental education was not significant either. The relationship between achievement scores and gender was significant. Females did better in English as a Foreign Language than males. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-05, Section: A, page: 1198. / Major Professor: Ernest Frechette. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1989.

In 1949 a national organization formally recognized as the Joint Council on Economic Education, comprised of economists, educators, and persons in business and industry, began promoting economic literacy in pre-collegiate schools. A quarter century later, the Florida Legislature officially mandated the teaching of free enterprise and consumer education in grades K-12. / The purpose of this study was to critically examine and analyze the various forces and processes associated with the economic education movement in Florida. The population for the study were persons identified as having past or current connections with the 1974 law and to those who influenced subsequent K-12 economic education curriculum policy decisions. / The findings confirmed that the K-12 economic education curriculum in Florida was shaped by many conditions and circumstances. Legislative action has been most prominent and has influenced the development and expansion of economics within disciplines and across grade levels. / It was determined that economic education has sustained itself in Florida because of support from many sources including business and industry, higher education, and teachers and administrators in school districts across Florida. The study revealed, however, that despite two decades of continuous programming delivered to teachers and students, formal assessment of student knowledge has been limited. / The writer identifies several educational implications as well as numerous recommendations for future research on this subject. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-04, Section: A, page: 1524. / Major Professor: John P. Lunstrum. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1996.

This was a nonequivalent control group study of the effects of two curricular approaches on junior high students' attitudes toward Hispanics. One group was exposed to a semester of Spanish I, primarily a linguistically-based course. Another group was enrolled in a semester-length "Exploring Spanish" course, primarily culturally-based. In addition to these two groups, a control group was employed. A total of 194 students were available for both the pretest and posttest versions of the attitude measures--Cooke's Semantic Differential and the Revised Bogardus Social Distance Scale. / To look for a significant change in attitude resulting from the Spanish I or Exploring Spanish instruction, attitude scores were submitted to a one-way analysis of covariance. The analysis of data did not reveal significant differences between any two groups in regard to attitude toward Hispanics. / A supplementary aspect of the study was the correlation of students' grades in the Spanish I or Exploring Spanish classes with attitude toward Hispanics. Significant correlations were found for particular countries of interest and particular measures of attitude. / This research indicates that, for junior high students, foreign language and cultural instruction does not foster positive attitudes toward the target language group. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-01, Section: A, page: 0067. / Major Professor: Frederick L. Jenks. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

The purpose of this philosophical study was to clarify and synthesize a variety of theories and approaches in cognitive developmental psychology, curriculum theory and development, aesthetics, as they relate to visual art education. Four conceptual frameworks for teaching aesthetics as a component of a discipline-based art education program were proposed. These conceptual frameworks for aesthetics were developed from varying philosophical, psychological, and sociological theories as found in the writings of Monroe Beardsley, Harold Osborne, Morris Weitz, George Dickie, Melvin Rader, Joseph Margolis, and Richard Kostelanetz. / A conceptual approach to aesthetics as a subject of study for children was placed within a curriculum continuum ranging from traditional academic rationalistic and cognitive-empirical orientations, to more radical personal relevancy and social reconstructionistic orientations. Elliot Eisner's and Elizabeth Vallance's curriculum frameworks and Henry Giroux's, Anthony Penna's, and William Pinar's curriculum ranges were examined, and compared, and brought together to provide a comprehensive overview of curriculum theory options. Glenys and Adolph Unruh's background research into curriculum theory and practice was also reviewed to identify influences on educational policy making. / Cognitive developmental theories proposed by Jean Piaget, Jerome Bruner, and David Feldman were examined and compared to clarify the basis for organizing content and instructional sequencing, with regard to learning theory, student readiness, and levels of understanding as proposed in a discipline-based art education orientation. / The works of art educators and educational theorists interested in the area of aesthetics reviewed in this study included Tom Anderson, David Ecker, Gilbert Clark, Enid Zimmerman, Michael Parsons, Arthur Efland, Vincent Lanier, John Jagodzinski, Dwaine Greer, Margaret DiBlasio, Karen Hamblen, Merle Flannery, Betty Redfern, and Ralph Smith. Their varying approaches were compared and contrasted. / As philosophical inquiry, this study clarified and brought together varying views on the nature of teaching and learning in art. The particular focus of this study on the discipline of aesthetic inquiry and the manner in which young children could reasonably approach the subject resulted in a broadly based synthesis of divergent approaches to aesthetics. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-02, Section: A, page: 0333. / Major Professor: Jessie Lovano-Kerr. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

This experimental study explored the optimal use of hypertext for instruction by investigating the following questions: What are the effects of cognitive load of learning on learning outcomes and efficiency? Are there interactive effects between cognitive load and aptitude on students' learning outcomes and enjoyment of instructional method? / Seventy-nine ninth-grade students from a north Florida urban research school participated in this research. Six students participated in one-to-one evaluation of the materials, and 73 participated in the experiment. / The independent variables were cognitive load of learning and learning aptitude. Cognitive load was manipulated with learning guidance and access constraint to create two treatment groups--Hierarchical hypertext and prototype hypertext. Learning aptitude was chosen to be prior achievement in science, the subject area of the instructional treatment. Subjects' science scores on the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills were used as prior achievement data. / The dependent variables were general, intentional, and incidental learning outcomes, learning efficiency, and enjoyment of instructional method. Learning outcomes were measured with a multiple choice posttest, and enjoyment was measured with a questionnaire with an eight-point scale. / The experiment was a posttest-only, equivalent-groups design. Subjects of the same sex were pair-matched based on prior achievement and randomly assigned to the treatment groups. After subjects finished the hypertext instruction, they took the posttest and then answered the questionnaire. The results were analyzed with interval estimation. / Except results on enjoyment, most results are not statistically significant at the.05 alpha level. But the pattern of most results is consistent with theoretical predictions. Hierarchical hypertext was more effective for all categories of learning outcomes than prototype hypertext, but the advantage decreased with increasing prior achievement. Also hierarchical hypertext was more efficient for low aptitude students, but was less efficient for high aptitude students. Low aptitude students preferred hierarchical hypertext, and high aptitude students preferred prototype hypertext. Implications of learning path data collected for educational research are also discussed. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-03, Section: A, page: 0670. / Major Professor: Marcy Perkins Driscoll. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1989.

Learner characteristics (like previous training and experience on learner control, knowledge of the subject matter, and maturity level) and instructional variables (like statements of encouragement, advice, feedback, advance organizers, and monitoring strategies) have been found to affect what an individual learns when given control. / Instructional Curriculum Maps (ICMs) (Wager, 1978) are among the potential tools for improving learner control of instruction. ICMs provide information about learning objectives, which are important to self-monitoring of study behavior, and information on prerequisite and functional relationships among objectives, which can support decisions about sequencing instruction. / This study tests if: (1) Students who use a lesson map (LM) to guide study get better scores in a performance test than those students who use only a list of objectives (LI); or those who use a table of contents (TC); and (2) There is a positive correlation between ratings of student understanding of lesson content and performance for each treatment. / Two computer-based lessons on the topic of heat energy were programmed using a hypertext environment. The lessons were administered on two consecutive days to 81 ninth graders randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions. A retention test was administered one week later. / The degree to which the students followed the prerequisite or functional relationships was analyzed using chi-square. A 3 x 2 x 2 factor analysis of variance with repeated measures on the last two factors was used to evaluate the effect of treatments on performance over time (posttest and retention test) and level of learning skills (high and low intellectual skills), and the Pearson correlation was used to test the relation between self assessment of student learning and performance. / Results show that students follow diagrammed sequences. Data do not support significant differences of performance for the three groups, neither for high and low intellectual skills, neither for posttest and retention test. Use of LM and CT affects positively self assessment of learning understanding and these effects last after a week. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-06, Section: A, page: 1545. / Major Professor: Walter W. Wager. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1989.

One important implication of metacognition research and theory is that learners should be viewed as active participants who respond to instruction, and fully understand the strategies they induced to use. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of embedded think-ahead questions and differences in prior knowledge on learning and retention. It was hypothesized that there would be an interaction among think-ahead questions, type of learning, and prior knowledge. It was also hypothesized that students who received rationale for the questions will be better able to correctly answer more questions than students who did not. / A total of 156 tenth grade students from Godby High School participated in the study. Students were divided into two prior knowledge groups (high and low) and were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups. The first group received a basic lesson on genetics. The second group received the same content plus embedded think-ahead questions. The third group received the same content plus think-ahead questions plus a rationale for the embedded questions. All students were given both immediate and delayed posttest. / The treatment effects for learning were analyzed using ANCOVA for repeated measures design, using reading ability as a covariate. The treatment means were also compared using Fisher's LSD pairwise comparison procedures. The results indicate that students who received think-ahead questions performed better on both facts and problem solving than students who did not receive questions. The results also show that students who received rationale for the embedded questions performed better on both immediate and delayed tests than those students who did not. This study suggests that think-ahead questions improve higher-order learning. It also suggests that providing a rationale for strategy use can improve learning. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-09, Section: A, page: 3096. / Major Professor: Michael Hannafin. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

The purpose of this study was to identify and examine the processes that private two-year colleges experience when determining the feasibility of converting to a four-year college. The study was based on responses from administrators, faculties, and board members of fourteen colleges. The research questions address: (1) factors that influenced the decision to change; (2) practices and procedures implemented; (3) problem areas encountered in the process of change; and (4) guidelines that could contribute to the efficiency of the substantive change process. / This study was limited to the private two-year colleges in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools with enrollment of 800 or less that had converted, or attempted to convert, to four-year status since 1977. All colleges in this study were visited after all questionnaires were returned. Three colleges were chosen for in-depth case studies after all data were reviewed and analyzed. / The three in-depth case studies involved major constants that impeded progress: (1) there were no pre-application guidelines for two-year colleges considering conversion to four-year status; (2) none of the college administrators anticipated the increased expenses during and after converting to the four-year program; and (3) the length of time to complete the conversion process was underestimated. / This study recommends that further study be made regarding fund-raising growth after an institution changes, the perceived image of the college after change, and the reliability of the needs analysis conducted prior to change. A recommendation was also made for further study to determine the need for a workshop to prepare faculty for participation in the change process. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-02, Section: A, page: 0429. / Major Professor: John Waggaman. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1990.