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This study describes first and second year university physics students' understanding and reasoning of the concepts, angular speed and angular acceleration. The analysis was based on student responses to various tasks presented to them during one hour long interviews. These responses were characterized from a phenomeno graphic research perspective developed by Marton (1981) and his colleagues at Gothenburg University in Sweden. The findings of the study are described by categories of description and by categories of reasoning. Categories of description characterize; students' conceptualizations of angular speed from different frames of reference, and the ways in which students make comparisons of the angular speeds of two objects. Categories of reasoning characterize the ways in which students were thought to reason about the concepts of angular speed and angular acceleration in several task settings. Interpretation of these findings are discussed with reference to the role a typical introductory physics textbook may have had in shaping the way in which students think about these angular kinematic concepts. Finally, instructional implications and directions for future research are given.

<p>Since there was a need for an Educational Management Information System (EMIS) in the Ministry of Education in Afghanistan, we designed and implemented a prototype for use in the ministry and investigated the appropriateness of using Agile methods for producing the EMIS. The prototype consisted of a database containing data about schools and a Dari interface which was used by educational planners, managers and policy makers of the ministry for decision making and planning. Agile methods are relatively new in software engineering and have an approach and development guidelines which strive for user satisfaction and early incremental delivery of software. We adapt them to local conditions due to their collaborative client-developer approach. The interface, a key component, is easy to use and e cient. The key research result is an evaluation concerning the appropriateness of using Agile Methods for developing the EMIS. Focus groups and surveys were used to develop the prototype and accomplish the study.</p>

<p>Web technologies have necessitated a transformation culture in higher education<br /> institutions. Many of these institutions are employing web technologies whose<br /> development, for varying reasons, is not supported by research in their field and<br /> domain of use. One such field is instructional design for the web learning.<br /> Although there is a lot of research on the most effective instructional design<br /> strategies, the use of research for web-based learning applications has been<br /> limited. <br /> <br /> This thesis reports on a study aimed at transforming the research on instructional<br /> design into practice by designing an instructional design system and providing an<br /> argument for its implementation. The argument is intended to facilitate the design<br /> and development of an instructional design subsystem of the web, that would in<br /> turn offer effective and efficient ways for creating web-based learning materials<br /> to instructors.<br /> <br /> The study started by examining the various paradigms, theories and practices of<br /> instructional design with the intent of using them to enrich and improve the<br /> practice of instructional design in web learning. It undertook a thorough and<br /> systematic review of the literature on instructional design in order to come up<br /> with an instructional design system. The design approach used successful design<br /> patterns that have been used elsewhere, e.g. in software design, to create common<br /> responses or solutions to recurrent problems and circumstances. Instructional<br /> design patterns were identified in this study as the recurrent problems or processes<br /> instructional designers go through while creating instructional materials, whose<br /> solutions can be reused over and over again.<br /> <br /> This study used an iterative developmental research process of finding and<br /> modelling an instructional design process as the research methodology. This<br /> process follows and builds on existing research on instructional models, theories<br /> and strategies, and ensures that the same methodology can be used to test the<br /> theories in the design, thus improving both the research and the design.</p>

The purpose of this study is to investigate the weaknesses of current e-learning environment development models and to establish a comprehensive e-learning environment development model (EEDM). In the literature study I established the components of a comprehensive EEDM by looking at five existing models. The main concern in all of the models is the lack of configuration management, which lead to the investigation of other characteristics that an EEDM should have to be described as a comprehensive model. I then used these characteristics to establish the E-learning Dome - a comprehensive EEDM. The E-learning Dome consists of three layers, namely the Infrastructure layer, E-learning administration layer and the Course development layer. The Quality Dome encompasses the combination of these three layers. Through the use of case studies to test the feasibility of the E-learning Dome I concluded that the E-learning Dome is successful as a comprehensive EEDM. / Theoretical Computing / M.Sc. (Information Systems)

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for degree Master of Technology: Graphic Design In the Faculty of Informatics and Design At the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2012 / The current studio based approach in design education is not enough to keep the “new age” design students’ attention and a blended learning environment is needed to facilitate student engagement. Multiple learning preferences exist within the design classroom and design educators must consider this when designing a curriculum. The research asked what the considerations were when designing the online component of a blended learning environment to enhance the learning experience of and engage design students? The areas of investigation included: • The learning preferences in a specific group of graphic design students to see if there are any predominant preferences, • Whether the web-based learning environment enriched the learning experience and whether students gained understanding of the dynamics of the intervention • Whether there were links between learning preferences, online performance and in-class performance and how we could use these links to design blended learning materials that: o Incorporate collaborative problem solving (Vygotsky, 1978) o Encourage the building of design knowledge (Schon and Wiggins 1992) o Help students move from the periphery of the community of practice to the core (Wenger 1998) o Simulate the world of work (Jonassen et. Al 1998) o Consider the individual learning preferences of students and engages them on multiple levels (Cazden et al 1996) This research concluded that a blended learning environment is necessary in order for design education to move forward and be inclusive. The new generation design curriculum needs to stimulate at many different levels using multiple ways and media. This multimodal stance in design education will afford students the opportunity to become reflective knowledge builders who are able to solve problems collaboratively and transfer existing knowledge to new contexts.

M.Ed. / Die doel van hierdie studie is om te bepaal hoe effektief ’n interaktiewe leersisteem gedurende die Meesterskursus in Rekenaar gebaseerde onderrig te RAU, is. Ten einde hierdie navorsingsdoel te bereik, is die volgende doelwitte as riglyn vir die navorsing geformuleer: • om ’n literêre oorsig te verkry ten einde vas te stel hoe die effektiwiteit van leer bepaal kan word; • om ’n evalueringsinstrument op te stel wat die effektiwiteit van leer bepaal deur die gebruik van die Kirckpatrick-model vir leerevaluering; en • om te bepaal, deur middel van ’n evaluerings- gevallestudie, hoe effektief studente in hierdie ondersoek geleer het om ’n onderrigplan te ontwerp deur middel van ’n interaktiewe leersisteem. Die rasionaal van die studie het tot die volgende navorsingsvraag, gelei: “Hoe effektief het Meestergraad-studente in rekenaargebaseerde die ontwerp van ’n onderrigplan onder die knie gekry deur gebruik te maak van ’n interaktiewe leersisteem?” ’n Kwalitatiewe navorsingsbenadering is gevolg. Die navorsingsmetode wat vir hierdie studie gebruik is, is ’n gevallestudie wat ’n in-diepte begrip van die leerderondervinding en effektiwiteit van leer, geskep het deur gebruik te maak van WebCT. Metodes om data te versamel, om hierdie spesifieke navorsing uit te voer, bestaan uit ’n literatuurstudie (vir die daarstelling van die begrips- en teoretiese raamwerk) asook; en ’n gemengde data-versamelingsmetode wat insluit: waarnemings, vraelyste, onderhoude en die dokument-analise. ’n Kort inleiding van die data-analise, die strategieё wat gevolg is om die betroubaarheid van die studie te waarborg, en ’n beknopte beskrywing van die etiese aspekte wat in ag geneem is vir hierdie studie, is ingesluit. ’n Wye oorsig van die toepaslike literatuur vir hierdie navorsingsondersoek word voorsien. Om die navorsingsvraag te beantwoord, is die begrip leer, eerstens verken en verduidelik deur gebruik te maak van drie leerteorieё, naamlik, Gedragsteorie, Kognitiewe Teorie en Konstruksie-teorie. Tweedens, deur te fokus op die ondersoek van “hoe om die effektiwiteit van leer te meet”, is vier paradigmas en verskeie evalueringsmodelle bestudeer en bespreek. Laastens is Kirckpatrick se viervlak-evalueringsmodel ook bestudeer en bespreek. Hierdie model is gekies as ’n gepaste evalueringsmodel vir die betrokke studie. ’n Oorsig van die Meesterskursus en die onderrigprogram WebCT is gegee. Die werking en samestellende dele van WebCT, wat gebruik is vir hierdie kursus, word kortliks beskryf. Die gekose tema (Tema 5 - Die teorie oor die ontwerp van ’n onderrigprogram) wat gebruik is vir hierdie studie, is ook beskryf en bespreek. Die bevindinge van Vlak Een - Reaksie-evaluering wys dat die kursus se doelwitte bereik is en dat studente die verlangde leeruitkomste ten opsigte van Tema 5 bereik het. Die studente se oorsigtelike evaluering van die onderrigprogram, WebCT was oor die algemeen goed. Volgens die evaluering van die toepaslikheid van die inhoud van Tema 5, wys die bevindinge egter dat die ontwerp van ’n onderrigplan nie heeltemal van toepassing was op elke student se werk nie. Die bevindinge van Vlak Twee - Leerevaluering wys dat na die onderrig van Tema 5, die kennis en vaardighede van die studente oor die ontwerp van ’n onderrigplan aansienlik vermeerder het. Die meerderheid van die studente het ’n positiewe uitkyk gehad oor wat hulle geleer het uit Tema 5. Die bevindinge van Vlak Drie - Gedragsveranderings-/Oordrag van leer-evaluering wys dat die meerderheid studente hulle gedrag op ’n positiewe manier, ten opsigte van Tema 5, verander het. Die bevindinge van hierdie Vlakevaluering wys egter uit dat dit nodig is om die kennis en vaardighede wat gedurende die onderrig verkry is, deur gebruik in die werksplek te versterk. Die bevindinge van Vlak Vier - Resultate-/Organisatoriese invloed- evaluering wys dat die onderrig van Tema 5 nie ’n sterk invloed op die organisasie van studente gehad het nie.

Magister Scientiae - MSc / Since there was a need for an Educational Management Information System (EMIS) in the Ministry of Education in Afghanistan, we designed and implemented a prototype for use in the ministry and investigated the appropriateness of using Agile methods for producing the EMIS. The prototype consisted of a database containing data about schools and a Dari interface which was used by educational planners, managers and policy makers of the ministry for decision making and planning. Agile methods are relatively new in software engineering and have an approach and development guidelines which strive for user satisfaction and early incremental delivery of software. We adapt them to local conditions due to their collaborative client-developer approach. The interface, a key component, is easy to use and efficient. The key research result is an evaluation concerning the appropriateness of using Agile Methods for developing the EMIS. Focus groups and surveys were used to develop the prototype and accomplish the study. / South Africa

This study describes first and second year university physics students' understanding and reasoning of the concepts, angular speed and angular acceleration. The analysis was based on student responses to various tasks presented to them during one hour long interviews. These responses were characterized from a phenomeno graphic research perspective developed by Marton (1981) and his colleagues at Gothenburg University in Sweden. The findings of the study are described by categories of description and by categories of reasoning. Categories of description characterize; students' conceptualizations of angular speed from different frames of reference, and the ways in which students make comparisons of the angular speeds of two objects. Categories of reasoning characterize the ways in which students were thought to reason about the concepts of angular speed and angular acceleration in several task settings. Interpretation of these findings are discussed with reference to the role a typical introductory physics textbook may have had in shaping the way in which students think about these angular kinematic concepts. Finally, instructional implications and directions for future research are given. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

Online learning has been widely adopted in higher education to reach students who typically would not have a chance to complete accredited courses (Kentnor, 2015). Massive open online courses (MOOC), which is a type of online learning, makes it easier for people to take university courses with internet access and a fraction of cost compared to traditional residential programs (Reich, 2020). MOOCs also become popular for those who want to increase their professional profile or advance their academic career (Pheatt, 2017). However, online learning has long been criticized for its universally low completion rates, high dropout rate and poor learning performance (Almeda et al., 2018). This phenomenon is more exacerbated in MOOC environments. Historical studies have attempted to support learner self-regulated learning (SRL) activities in order to enhance completion rates and academic outcomes. Prior studies have conducted pre-course questionnaires as inexpensive SRL interventions to prompt learners as SRL support(Kizilcec et al., 2017, Kizilcec & Cohen, 2017; Kizilcec et al., 2020; Yeomans & Reich, 2017). Yet, these one-time-only, short-term interventions only yield limited or no effects. This study implemented and evaluated the effectiveness of an alternative intervention, the self-regulated learning user interface (SRLUI), to support students' self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies in a MOOC environment. SRLUI is based on Zimmerman’s (2000) SRL model and develops learner’s SRL skills through longitudinal, recurring practice of multiple SRL dimensions activities (i.e., goal setting, self-evaluation, task planning, setting reminders) with content-specific information. The study utilized a randomized experimental design and implemented SRLUI in eight MOOCs with a total of 808 participants. The results indicated a higher usage rate of SRL support compared to the historical findings, which may be owing to the SRL support embedded into the learning activities throughout the course. Also, the study showed improved learning outcomes for a subgroup of participants, but there was no reduction in the number of dropouts. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that a personalized SRL tool featuring content-specific information should be embedded in online courses. The research design also recorded direct cognitive records of learners' SRL activities, which yield stronger validity compared to trace and survey data. The result suggested SRLUI might only benefit a subgroup of learners with passing grades. Thus, it is recommended that future research identify various subgroups of learner profiles in MOOC environments and to consider how to reach and support learners in different subgroups.