Background: The current mode of stoichiometry instruction employs a passive pedagogy that consists of students reading, listening, watching, and memorizing disembodied facts, procedures, and principles in preparation for future application. But chemistry students are often subsequently unable to apply this stoichiometry knowledge in equilibrium and acid-base chemistry problem solving. Cognitive research findings suggest that for learning to be meaningful, learners need to actively construct their own knowledge by integrating new information into, and reorganizing, their prior understandings. Scaffolded inquiry in which facts, procedures, and principles are introduced as needed within the context of authentic problem solving may provide the practice and encoding opportunities necessary for construction of a memorable and usable knowledge base. The dynamic and interactive capabilities of online technology may facilitate stoichiometry instruction that promotes this meaningful learning.</br></br> Purpose: To compare students' performance after studying one of two cognitively informed sets of stoichiometry instructional materials in order to determine if the dynamic and interactive capabilities of online technology promote greater learning outcomes than studying from text-based materials alone.</br></br> Setting: Requests for volunteers, collection of background data, treatment assignment, and a post-treatment assessment were all delivered online. A second parallel assessment one-week post-treatment was administered in a proctored classroom on the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) campus.</br></br> Participants: Volunteers of at least 18 years of age were solicited from incoming CMU freshman affiliated with either the Mellon College of Science (MCS) or the Carnegie Institute of Technology (CIT). Forty-five (out of 426 solicited) participants completed one of two sets of stoichiometry instructional materials within a six-week period in July and August, 2005.</br></br> Intervention: Volunteers were randomly assigned to one of two treatments--a text-only or technology-rich, dynamic and interactive stoichiometry review course.</br></br> Research Design: Randomized posttest-only controlled trial.</br></br> Data Collection and Analysis: Background data included participants' SAT scores, number of chemistry courses taken, and gender. Parallel posttests of stoichiometry concepts and procedures were administered two times post-treatment--upon completion of study materials and one week later. Participants' interactions with the technology-rich treatment were recorded in log files. Exploratory data analysis was performed to look for patterns in the data. Modeling of the data was executed by single regressions of posttest scores on treatment, background characteristics, and log files to determine the contribution of each variable to learning. A multiple regression of posttest scores on the variables significantly correlated with them revealed what proportion of the variability in posttest scores could be attributed to specific variables or interactions among them.</br></br> Findings: SAT scores and gender were stronger predictors of posttest performance than either treatment. Examination of the statistically significant correlation between SAT score and gender revealed a differential in the SAT scores of females and males admitted to MCS and CIT with males having higher scores overall. The mean SAT score for female volunteers was significantly lower than that for the female population. There was no such discrepancy between male volunteers and the male population. Within the technology-rich treatment group, participant interaction with the Virtual Lab simulation, but not SAT scores, is related to posttest performance. Whether this interactivity can offset possible gender effects is uncertain because of the small number of females in the technology-rich treatment group.</br></br> Conclusions: Future users of the online course should be encouraged to engage with the problem-solving opportunities provided by the Virtual Lab simulation through either explicit instruction and/or implementation of some level of program control within the course's navigational features. The variability of students' prior knowledge levels in quantitative areas points to a need for rigorous support systems during first-year courses in order to curtail poor performance that could result in increased attrition rates. One type of support system could be supplemental instruction grounded in findings from the learning sciences and facilitated by the dynamic and interactive features of online technology.

This study examined whether the Turkish high school social sciences major students would feel adequate and fit in a technology-enhanced educational environment, particularly in history classrooms. To this extent, this study investigated high school students level of proficiency in technology-use and their attitudes toward the use of educational technologies in classrooms. The study also examined the level of technology-use in social sciences courses and social sciences major students learning style preferences. The data for this study was collected using Kolbs Learning Style Inventory (LSI Version-3) and a 27-item Technology Questionnaire. These instruments were administered to 1350 Turkish high school students from 15 schools located in 13 different cities. The results showed that Turkish high school social sciences major students have the essential technology skills and knowledge to feel adequate in a technology-enhanced learning environment. They also have positive attitudes toward the use of educational technologies in history classrooms. Therefore they seem to be ready for technology-enhanced instruction. Unfortunately the level of technology-use in social sciences courses is very low. The study results revealed the need for an extensive reform in curriculum and instructional methods that focused on increased technology-use and better technology integration in classrooms. The study also found that any related reform proposition should be constructed to address different learning style preferences, since all the learning style preferences described by Kolb exist among Turkish high school students.

The main objective of the current study was to investigate how the Arab ESL readers read and respond to American literature. It attempted to determine the role of the Arab readers attitudes in responding to ESL literature. It also aimed to acknowledge the special place that the aesthetic aspect should hold in current ESL classes. This study also sought to analyze the readers misinterpretations in order to determine its sources. To achieve these objectives the study used a mixed methods research design. The study first examined the attitudes of Arab readers towards the American culture and towards reading the American literature. It also examined the responses of those readers towards four literary texts. The study investigated the relation between each of the participants attitudes and the way they responded to the selected readings. Finally, the study investigated the misinterpretations of the participants of the literary texts. Results indicated that participants had in general a positive attitude towards reading American literature and towards the American culture. The responses of the participants were analyzed on the aesthetic vs. efferent continuum. The responses of the participants to the four texts varied in range between aesthetic and efferent. Besides the response types used for analyzing, the researcher has identified four themes in the participants responses. Results also indicated that the participants drew heavily from their own culture when they responded and that they engaged their personal attitudes and perceptions about the culture of the literary texts. It also appeared that the participants who had positive attitudes towards reading the American literature and towards the American culture responded aesthetically to the four reading texts. Whereas, the participants who had negative attitudes towards the American culture and towards reading the American literature responded efferently to the four reading texts. Results also showed that the participants misinterpretations were attributed to the inability of the readers to activate the appropriate schemata that gives the text coherence. In general, the misinterpretations were in the two modes of processing: bottom-up and top-down processing. The findings of the study highlight the importance of attitudes when learning a second language.

This mixed-method study examined the extent to which content knowledge of instructional approaches and strategies, knowledge of the five Scientifically Based Reading Research (SBRR) components, and knowledge of the student learner were factors associated with teacher instructional decision making when implementing a new core reading program. Twenty six kindergarten through third grade teachers responded to a detailed questionnaire regarding use and perceptions. Twelve teachers were interviewed to further investigate factors that influenced teacher instructional decision making. Analysis of data showed that teachers made meaningful and thoughtful instructional decisions for reading instruction when implementing a new core reading program. Teachers most often based their instructional decision making on their knowledge of instructional approaches and strategies emphasizing differentiated instruction, flexible grouping, comprehension strategy instruction, and guided reading. Teachers made instructional decisions based on students need to develop critical thinking skills, be engaged and motivated to learn, and acquire necessary skills for future success. Teachers level of experience instructing at their present grade level, the amount and quality of professional development, and the support of the school administrator were found to influence implementation and instructional decision making when using a new core reading program.

This study analyzed changes in high school teachers ability to identify and create questions that support mathematical understanding as they were participating in a professional development program focused on planning, teaching and reflecting on lessons featuring cognitively challenging tasks. The 35 participants were a subset of nearly 100 high school mathematics teachers from a large urban district participating in the professional development program. Data related to questioning abilities was collected via a pre- and post-test that situated questioning within the practice of teaching Algebra. To account for changes in teachers abilities related to questioning, demographic data describing the participants was collected. In addition, attendance sheets, agendas and materials from the professional development sessions and responses to two prompts at the conclusion of the program were collected Analysis of data related to questioning indicated that participants significantly increased their abilities to identify and create questions that promote understanding of mathematics, particularly questions that prompt students to explore mathematical ideas and connections. Asking this type of question has been linked to increased student achievement. However, most teachers rarely, if ever, ask this type of question. An analysis of demographic data showed that the significant changes in teachers questioning abilities were not associated with years of teaching experience or the high school or sub-district at which the teacher taught. In addition, analysis of data from the professional development program indicated that changes in teachers questioning abilities were not associated with any one of the four facilitators of the professional development sessions. Participants in the study, as well as teachers not participating in the study but participating in the professional development program, had a high attendance rate for the professional development sessions. During these sessions, teachers had a variety of opportunities to learn about and discuss aspects of questioning, including solving and discussing challenging mathematics tasks; analyzing and discussing episodes of teaching Algebra; analyzing and generating questions for student work from Algebra classrooms; and analyzing and planning lessons related to the Algebra curriculum.

An eight-day instructional vocabulary study was conducted to evaluate two methods of instruction for prefixed words for two methods, Morphemic Analysis and Whole Word Meaning. Seventy-five sixth-grade students from a rural middle school were part of this study. The Morphemic Analysis and Whole Word Meaning approaches were similar in a number of ways. Instruction consisted of eight lessons, six instructional lessons and two review lessons. Methods were similar in the specific prefixed words taught (24), duration (8 days/8-9 minutes per word), number of exposures (9), and inclusion of the following activities: Example and/or Non-example, Student Examples, Word/Meaning Match, and Word/Example Match. The major differences between the two methods occurred during the introduction of the prefixed words. Morphemic Analysis included a prefix component that focused on grouping prefixes by families, introducing each prefix meaning, and then analyzing the prefixed word by morphemes: root, prefix, and suffix (as needed). The meaning of the prefixed word was derived by combining the meanings of the parts: root, prefix, and suffix. Whole Word Meaning instruction focused on the prefixed word as a whole unit. Meaning for the prefixed word was developed from a Scenario and Question activity. This activity placed the lesson word into a meaningful written context, and a question followed that guided students to infer the words meaning. Also, a Prompt activity was used to extend the words meaning beyond the written passage. Analysis of data on the following three measures: 24 prefixes, 24 prefixed lesson words, and 24 untaught prefixed words, revealed students performance for the two conditions, Morphemic Analysis and Whole Word Meaning. The data revealed that students made a greater gain in prefix knowledge (17%) from Morphemic Analysis instruction. This gain could be attributed to the direct instruction of prefixes, a major component of the Morphemic Analysis method. On prefixed lesson words, Morphemic Analysis and Whole Word Meaning each showed large gains; thus, they could be considered equally effective methods of vocabulary instruction. The data on untaught prefixed words indicated that the Morphemic Analysis group outperformed the Whole Word Meaning group, by an advantage of two mean points (8%). The present study points to the benefits of prefix knowledge and transfer word knowledge for the Morphemic Analysis group. The similar performance by both methods on taught prefixed words was equally interesting and warrants further investigation into the components of effective vocabulary instruction.

Background - Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is a life skill that requires proper psychomotor skill development. It is a key component in the Concept of the Chain of Survival. Training in CPR has been advocated since 1974 with subsequent courses and training programs. Like many programs, the curricula tend to be instructor centered, few, if any of the curricula have addressed the issue of learning styles. There is a significant amount of literature describing the lack of success in the acquisition and retention of skills. Several investigations have demonstrated that this system may improve CPR delivery and skill retention. Individuals vary in their ability to perceive, organize, store, process, understand, and use information. These differences are known as cognitive styles. Methods - This project used an experimental design with an aptitude (learning style) treatment (feedback) interaction design. In this study two factors used in the analysis of variance. Subjects were administered the Group Embedded Figures Test to determine their level of field dependence. Groups were then randomized to receive feedback on skill performance. Following initial instruction subjects were asked to complete a three- minute bout of CPR each week for four weeks, using their assigned method of feedback. At the conclusion of the fourth week, subjects were tested without feedback. Performance measures were rate of compressions, mean depth of compressions, percentage of correct compressions, and percentage of correct ventilations. Results No significant interaction was found between learning style and method of feedback for any of the variables. No main effect was noted for any of the variables and learning style. A main effect was noted for method of feedback relative to the percentage of correct compressions and the percentage of correct ventilations. Both the computer auditory and computer visual groups achieved a greater percentage of correct compressions than instructor driven feedback. For the percentage of correct ventilations, computer auditory feedback resulted in a high percentage of correct ventilations compared to instructor driven feedback. Conclusions Computer feedback has been demonstrated to enhance student performance, irrespective of learning style. Enhanced performance has a clinical significance.

The professional development opportunities and the impact these opportunities had on teachers instruction were examined through a case study design. This school was selected because it was participating in a reform initiative and had improving student achievement scores. The research questions for this study included: (1) What was the nature of professional development in a Reading First School in which reading achievement improved and how were professional development activities made available to teachers? (2) What features of the professional development activity aligned with what was known about effective professional development and what were the similarities and differences in perceptions of teachers, coaches, and principal about the participation and characteristics of effective professional development? (3) What were teachers perceptions about how their involvement in professional development activities changed or influenced their instructional practices? (4) In what ways has professional development impacted teachers instruction? This study had ten participants; the principal, the full-time reading coach, the part-time reading coach, and seven teachers (i.e. grades 1-3 and special education were represented in this sample). A core reading program was implemented at this school. This study included a pre-observation interview, a classroom observation, and a post-observation interview. The findings for this study indicated that various professional development opportunities were available for teachers since the implementation of the Reading First grant. Also, although all participants in this study identified professional development opportunities that included characteristics of effective professional development, the literacy leaders (i.e. the principal and full-time coach) perspectives of influential professional development were different from the practicing teachers perspectives. Teachers perceived professional development to influence their knowledge of content, pedagogy, and curriculum. And finally, the professional development opportunities that most often influenced teachers classroom reading instruction were those that connected to the core reading program.

This dissertation explored the effects of two different interventions on the learning of statistics. Each intervention corresponded to a different conception of statistical learning and used a particular type of computer-tool. One intervention used data analysis tools and focused on authentic situations of statistical activity. The other intervention used simulations and focused on formal aspects of probability. Data Analysis (data) and Probability (chance) are the constituent parts of statistical inference and the two lens from which is possible to present this topic. In this study, both perspectives were compared in their effectiveness to teach ANOVA, a central topic in inferential statistics. The results of this study showed that the intervention that used simulations improved students knowledge about probability, sampling and sample size effects. Protocol analysis of students answers indicated that the gains in probability knowledge did not alter the way students explained group differences. The intervention that used data analysis tools showed no significant effects on students data analysis knowledge. Studying the evolution of a sub sample of students suggested that data analysis knowledge develops over periods of time longer than those of this study. Additionally, protocol analysis of students solving statistical questions showed that students use simple decision rules to evaluate sampling and data analysis problems. These rules allowed students coordinating simple descriptions of the problems elements with conclusions about significance and sampling effects.

The intent of this dissertation was to move toward a constructive grounded theory that portrayed the ways in which parents of preschool children with disabilities make meaning of their childrens social relationships. The rationale for this inquiry emerged from the confluence of four complex discourses: typical child development discourses with particular attention paid to the importance of social development; family discourses with particular attention paid to the role of the family in a childs social development; disability discourses with particular attention paid to the unique challenges families face in supporting the social development of their children with disabilities; and early childhood special education discourses related to family-centered approaches to educational intervention. Narrative vignettes were used to present the ground of the study. These vignettes were generated from conversational interviews with parents of preschool children with disabilities. Emerging meanings were constructed using a number of conventions of grounded theory analysis and include four conceptual categories: choosing your own reality, holding onto hope, striving to make connections, and struggling for recognition. Additionally, the core concept of living with shifting pictures in a kaleidoscopic world is discussed. This kaleidoscope metaphor is utilized as parents seem to struggle to find a place of belonging for their children represented by symmetry, while simultaneously struggling to avoid social isolation represented by asymmetry. However, as the research process moved toward culmination a variety of issues began to surface including a narrative shift from the more specific understanding of social relationships to an understanding of the myriad of concerns families face when parenting a preschool child with a disability. These concerns are discussed along with a critique of my use of interpretative grounded theory methods. Implications for practice include the reframing of normal, and the use of empathetic witnessing and reflection as core concepts of early intervention pre-service training and practice. Possible directions for future study may be the effects of HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and FERPA (The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) on the social relationships of children with disabilities, and an exploration of what sense of belonging parents may or may not have for their children with disabilities.