This study examined the impact of classroom climate on students' population attitudes and behavior. The inquiry teaching method--which develops students' critical thinking and ability to use rational examination toward social problems--was assumed to shape an open-classroom climate. The study surveyed a sample of 685 students from 65 West Java public high schools coupled with observations of 35 classrooms. / The major findings showed that classroom climate, as the reflection of using both non-inquiry and the occasional practice of inquiry teaching methods in teaching population matters, affected students' population attitudes significantly but it had no effect on students' population behavior. The latter seems to be influenced largely by variables other than classroom climate. Students' place of residence, the size of family in which students are raised, access to sources of information, students' academic major and their family educational and occupational background affected students' population attitudes and behavior significantly. Access to sources of information about matters related to population had a meaningful effect on students' population attitudes and behavior. The role of persons (parents, relatives, peer groups, community leaders, teachers, and government officials) as the agents of population socialization have been replaced by the mass media, both the electronic and printed media. / The information gathered from classroom observations was in agreement with the results of the quantitative findings. Most social studies teachers used a one-way instructional method, frequently recited teaching materials and provided almost no chance to discuss population issues with students in an open classroom climate. Findings from the observations of 35 classroom activities showed that social studies teachers frequently used non-inquiry teaching method when they taught their students with matters related to population. The inquiry teaching method was occasionally practiced by a few social studies teachers in West Java public high schools. Therefore, if there was an influence of classroom climate on students' population attitudes, it was the effect of using both non-inquiry and the occasional practice of inquiry teaching methods in teaching population matters. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-07, Section: A, page: 2231. / Major Professor: Byron G. Massialas. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

This qualitative study sought to discover how students evaluate their progress in writing. Previous research has addressed self-evaluation of single compositions and of writing ability, but no study has focused on students' perceptions of their own development as writers. / My study examined 11th- and 12th-graders' interpretations of their progress--through grades, teacher commentary, peer response, comparison with other student writers, and their own knowledge based on experience in reading and writing. Student "beliefs," compiled from interviews and informal discussions with writers over a period of nearly five months, revealed assumptions about writing progress strongly influenced by instruction and teacher expectations. / The students were generally accurate in their self-evaluation, but were not able to articulate a complex understanding of themselves as writers. They were conscious of problems they had solved and ways that their writing had improved, but most were not taking themselves seriously as writers or making efforts to accelerate their improvement. Very few writers were practiced at independent strategies of self-evaluation and revision so critically linked to development. / Three case studies were contrasted with patterns in the class as a whole to distinguish developmental characteristics. Students' use of terms and consciousness of problems contribute to an understanding of writing improvement that is highly variable. The findings suggest that meaningful diagnostic evaluation, instructional planning, and negotiated summative evaluation depend on the knowledge writers build of their own processes of growth in writing. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-06, Section: A, page: 1359. / Major Professor: Gordon Brossell. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of types of computer-delivered feedback on (1) knowledge acquisition and retention, (2) feedback study time, (3) feedback efficiency, and (4) learner response confidence in the domain of concept learning. The following four levels of feedback were investigated: (1) knowledge of result (KR); (2) knowledge of result + knowledge of correct answer (KC); (3) knowledge of result + knowledge of correct answer followed by elaboration (CE); and (4) knowledge of result + elaboration followed by knowledge of correct answer (EC). / One hundred sixty college students enrolled in an introductory psychology course at the Florida State University participated in the study. Students were randomly assigned to one of the four treatment groups to take a CAI lesson teaching the concepts presented in Gagne's Taxonomy of Human Learning. The instructional task required the subjects to classify instructional objectives into one of Gagne's schema of nine learned capabilities. / T-tests were used to analyze the general effect of feedback on student response confidence. Separate ANOVAs were performed to analyze the treatment effects of various types of feedback on student performance, feedback study time, feedback efficiency, and learner response confidence on immediate and delayed retention posttests. / Results from the statistical analyses on the student performance upon immediate and delayed posttests revealed a significant difference between KR and the other three feedback groups; however, no difference was indicated among KC, CE, and EC feedback groups. In terms of feedback study time and feedback efficiency on learning and retention, the KC feedback approach was found to be less time consuming and more time efficient than the two elaborated feedback procedures (CE and EC). Type of feedback had little effect on learner response confidence. / For a replication of the study, it is suggested to increase the amount of instruction and practice examples for the difficult concepts; or, to reduce the learning tasks involved in the lesson. Other recommendations for future feedback research are provided. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-06, Section: A, page: 2000. / Major Professor: Walter W. Wager. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

This study assessed the attitudes of ESL secondary school teachers who are non-native speakers of English toward particular aspects of the notional-functional syllabus in the hope that it will add to our understanding of the relevance of this approach in a second or foreign language situation. This study also sought to determine whether the views that teachers hold regarding language teaching issues are related to their formal training and their previous experience as language learners, as measured by age. / This study utilized a self-developed questionnaire to assess the teachers' attitudes toward the Malaysian KBSM English Language Syllabus. A questionnaire was utilized as a means of gathering the data because the researcher was interested in determining the attitudes of a large number of respondents who are distributed over a large area. The teachers' responses to the open-ended questions were also used in the description of their attitudes. / The subjects for this study were randomly selected from a complete and current listing of all the ESL teachers teaching in the state of Selangor. Of the 600 questionnaires sent, 435 were returned but 419 were usable for the study, representing a return rate of 70%. / The results of the study indicate that the teachers placed a great deal of importance on the teaching of grammar. 90% of the teachers urged that the syllabus place greater emphasis on grammar, and many viewed that teaching toward communicative competence will not enable the student to become proficient in the language. / Results of the chi-square test suggest that the teachers' formal training may have made an impact on their views toward these syllabus issues: (1) the integration of language skills; (2) the organization of the syllabus according to themes and functions and (3) the emphasis to be placed on accuracy in students' compositions. The results, however, do not give us enough evidence to conclude that the teachers' previous experiences as language learners made a difference in teachers' attitudes. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-03, Section: A, page: 0812. / Major Professor: Elizabeth Platt. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.

This study assessed the usefulness and effectiveness of a self-instructional print module on multicultural behaviour change (i.e., knowledge and ideology) in apprentices in the province of Manitoba. The review of literature reported the results of individual experimentation studies on the effectiveness of instructional media (technology) in relation to Information (Knowledge) and Attitude Change, and Persuasiveness with various ethnocultural subjects. / The Multicultural Ideology Scale, Instructional Materials Motivation Survey, Background Information Questionnaire, researcher-constructed Canadian Multiculturalism Knowledge Inventory and self-study module, underwent a one-to-one evaluation and a field-trial (test) run. The Kuder-Richardson 20 measure and Cronbach's Alpha defined the reliability of the instruments. Measurement and content review experts gave feedback and suggestions for revision before field testing. This phase of the study provided the necessary "pretest" data for (1) clarifying procedures, test directions and materials, and (2) estimating the effectiveness and usefulness of the final prototype. T-tests determined that the pre- to posttest gains were significant. / The main experimental research study followed a "Pretest-Posttest Control Group Design" with randomization. Descriptive and inferential statistics provided answers to the hypotheses posed. All data were analyzed at the.05 level of significance using the SAS System at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. / The findings of the study revealed: (1) no significant entry knowledge or attitudinal differences between majority and minority apprentices regarding Canadian multiculturalism or their acceptance of a multicultural ideology. (2) a large and significant posttest difference between the experimental group and the nontreatment control group regarding apprentices knowledge of multiculturalism after adjusting for initial baseline differences. (3) a moderate but nonsignificant posttest difference between the experimental group and the nontreatment control group regarding apprentices acceptance of a multicultural ideology after adjusting for initial baseline differences. (4) no significant posttest interaction effects between ancestry and type of group regarding knowledge of multiculturalism or acceptance of a multicultural ideology after adjusting for initial baseline differences. (5) no significant motivational module appeal difference between majority and minority apprentices. / The conclusion was drawn that the same or similarly designed instruction provides one avenue to fostering multicultural behaviour change in learners in trade apprenticeships. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-04, Section: A, page: 1228. / Major Professor: Hollie Thomas. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Education, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-01, Section: A, page: 0081. Advisers: Mary B. McMullen; Jesse Goodman. "Title from dissertation home page (viewed Feb. 8, 2007)."

<p> A growing collaboration between psychologists, neuroscientists, and educators has culminated in the emergence of a new academic discipline known as Mind, Brain and Education (MBE). MBE differs from previous efforts, such as educational neuroscience, in that it is focused on the problem of how we might bring findings from the learning sciences into the classroom. As such MBE is placed squarely in the classroom, and works through engaging teachers as primary participants. Hence, MBE must work through an awareness of the systems of education and within the current context of educational policy and practice if it is to find a firm grounding in educational reform. In many ways the goals of MBE are in alignment with the voices of educational leaders across the globe. Pedagogical approaches referred to as neuropedagogy or neuroeducation, emphasize the development of high level cognitive capacities, such as critical thinking and creativity and address the connection between motivation, emotions, sleep, stress, circadian rhythms and development in learning processes. The primary purpose of this study was to define the emerging field of MBE with respect to its goals, vision and potential to serve as a significant framework for education reform. Because the basic constructs of the field are still being developed, interviews with expert members of the MBE community, including academic researchers, consultants and other educational leaders were conducted using a grounded theory approach. The definition of MBE was highly complex, but contained central elements relevant to reform. Special attention to developing a curricular model of MBE resulted in a vision of a holistic approach centered on developmental and individual needs of the students. To further investigate the possible impact of neuroeducation on student outcomes, two existing curricular models&mdash;Waldorf and International Baccalaureate, were examined as examples of programs of neuropedagogy/neuroeducation. Findings indicated that examining curricular models currently in use holds promise for understanding the impact of the principles of neuroeducation on student outcomes and development and can serve as a first step towards developing a proof of concept for the field. </p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: . Adviser: Marilyn Johnston-Parsons. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 178-186) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: . Adviser: Violet Harris. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 298-319) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Language Education, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Feb. 10, 2010). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: . Adviser: Larry J. Mikulecky.