Theories of learning from multimedia suggest that when media include two modal forms (e.g., visual and auditory), learning is improved by activating modally segregated working memory subsystems, thereby expanding the total cognitive resource available for learning (Mayer, 2001; Sweller, 1999). However, a recent meta-analysis suggests that the typical modality effect (use of narrations and diagrams [i.e., multimodal] leads to better learning than use of text and diagrams [i.e., unimodal]) might be limited to situations in which presentations are matched to the time it takes for the narration to play (Ginns, 2005). This caveat can be accounted for by the differences in ways that people process unimodal and multimodal information, but not by the expansion of working memory explanation for modality effects (Tabbers, 2002). In this paper, I propose a framework for conceptualizing how people interact with multimedia instructional materials. According to this approach, learning from multimedia requires (1) creating mental codes to represent to-be-learned information and (2) forming a network of associations among these mental codes to characterize how this information is related. The present research confirms, in two between-subjects experiments, predictions from this model when presentation pace and verbal presentation modality are manipulated to accompany static (Experiment 1) and animated (Experiment 2) diagrams. That is, the data suggest that learning from unimodal presentations improved as presentation pace was slowed, whereas learning from multimodal presentations did not change as presentation pace was slowed. A third experiment also confirmed predicted patterns of eye movement behavior, demonstrating patterns of increasing dwell time on pictures and switches between media as pace was slowed for unimodal presentations but not multimodal presentations. It is concluded that the parallel patterns of learning outcomes and eye-movement behavior support the proposed model and are not predicted by other models of learning from multimedia instructions. This improvement in predictions of the effects of manipulating design elements (e.g., presentation pace and verbal presentation modality) on learning can help designers as they consider what combination of resources (e.g., classroom time or equipment for multimodal presentation) to devote to instructional design.

Thesis (MTech (Industrial Design))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / The purpose of this Master’s Thesis is to explore the application of Design Thinking as a valuable resource to any organisation, in this studies case the business model. Furthermore, it seeks to describe how the concept of ‘Design Thinking’ is shaping business models in the context of industrial design. By developing a language for and a description of these intersections and interdisciplinary roles. Consensus regarding the concepts of Design Thinking and the business model still needs development since this emerging area has become more established. An applied contextual research approach inevitably paints a new picture using the concepts and will also develop a language to assist design education, researchers and entrepreneurs in the industrial design praxis. The competitive advantage of any business is now driven even more by the intersection between different fields and disciplines. At this intersection exists the opportunity to understand the relationship between Design Thinking (a methodology that is grounded in industrial design) and the business model (a global concept for the logic of business) to help decision makers develop more sustainable pathways for design entrepreneurship. This research also addresses aspects of the changing role of industrial design and devotes the findings to the creative industries in South Africa. The research was conducted using a qualitative methodology, taking an applied context case study approach. Data were gathered from industry experts and three core cases: Thingking (design-maker consultants), Research Unit (a leather and luxury apparel company) and Nomanini, (provider of mobile solutions in the electronic domain).

This paper concerns the development of the instructional program in Broward County, Florida, from 1941 to the present. The purposes of the paper are, briefly, as follows: (1) to give the reader a general knowledge of the manner in which the instructional program has developed, (2) to trace the history and functions of the supervisory program since its initiation in the county, (3) to give a statement of the philosophy underlying the instructional program, (4) to reveal county-wide practices as these affect the improvement of instruction, ( 5 ) partially, to evaluate the effectiveness of the instructional program in the light of prevailing nation-wide practices, and (6) to make recommendations for next steps in the improvement. / Typescript. / "Aug., 1949." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts under Plan II." / Advisor: W. Edwards, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 49-51).

Against the backdrop of religious disaffiliation and social fragmentation in the United States, the future of both practices and venues for American religious education is uncertain. In this study of Tapestry, a church-run foster youth mentoring network, and St. Sebastian’s Summer Camp, a predominantly Latinx church-run community day camp, I develop and document one promising pairing in response to this quandary: an adapted form of Digital Storytelling (Lambert, 2012) as a communal spiritual practice appropriate to what I call faith-adjacent spaces. Such spaces are convened by modes of activity separate from formal institutional programs and rituals but still connected to religion in meaningful, visible ways. In this participatory multimodal ethnography, I draw on socio-spatial and narrative analytic frameworks to reveal and explore (1) organizational practices of belonging that already exist at Tapestry, (2) the function of new collaboratively designed Digital Storytelling practices at Tapestry and St. Sebastian’s, and (3) the role of my various researcher-facilitator identities in this work. I present these findings in the form of a four-part audio documentary that interweaves recordings from my ethnographic fieldwork, excerpts from the artifacts that participants and I co-created, audio engagements with academic and practitioner literature, and researcher narrative and analysis. The annotated production scripts for Becoming Tapestry comprise both the bulk of this manuscript and, together with the four podcast episodes themselves, the dissertation proper.

This study highlighted factors informing instructors’ instructional beliefs and practices and the activities that help students engage in and develop a deep understanding of mathematics. The study also described instructors’ instructional activities and curricular practices when teaching mathematics and an interdisciplinary curriculum that integrates mathematics with other subjects. Through a qualitative phenomenological approach, surveys, semi-structured interviews, and analyses of instructional activities using an adapted version of the Teaching for Robust Understanding in Mathematics (or TRU Math©) framework characterized the experiences of 13 instructors, from elementary through college years, who taught mathematics as a subject and within an interdisciplinary lesson. The study revealed several factors that informed instructors’ beliefs, practices, and activities (B, P, & A) about teaching mathematics and interdisciplinarity through descriptions and synthesis of meanings and TRU Math analyses of artifacts. Instructors felt strongly about helping students value learning, making mathematics meaningful and joyful, and saw their students as capable problem solvers. They utilized activities to illuminate thinking and understanding of mathematics and used assessments to communicate mathematics. T he study also revealed three significant ways that instructors engaged in interdisciplinarity as seen through the practices of the Constructors, Curators, and Connectors, and referred to accordingly as the 3C’s framework. These interdisciplinary characterizations reveal instructors’ practical ways of using various approaches to practice interdisciplinarity. It also showed how frameworks like TRU Math helped assess an interdisciplinary activity’s potential to foster a deep understanding of mathematics content. The conclusions offer implications for research and practice.

With the world amidst globalization and economic flux affecting business, industry, and communities the need to work together becomes increasingly important. Higher education serves an important role in developing the individual teaming capabilities of the workforce. This environment is the time and place - opportunity for student personnel to develop these capabilities. This multiple case study utilized the analysis phase (learner, setting and job) of an instructional design model to analyze learner characteristics, the higher education environment/undergraduate experience, and the job/skills associated with individual teamwork knowledge, skills, and abilities of students from a senior cohort of the TRiO - SSS Project at a public student-centered research institution. The results yielded themes to promote the development of target populations individual teamwork KSAs which should increase their readiness to meet the teaming demands of today's employers. With an engaging undergraduate experience, inclusive of interaction with faculty members and collaborative learning with their peers, structured opportunities to practice individual teamwork KSAs in a work setting or internship, these underrepresented students may be an asset that is needed to meet the global workforce needs and fill civic capacities in their home communities.

The purpose of this project is to develop a website that helps left handed students, their parents, and teachers to help left-handers, whether they are left-or-right-brain dominant, succeed. This website will be a tool to get to know their children and students better. The project consists of a paper and a website to educate about left-handed people.

Project THINK was designed as a classroom project that combined the use of instructional multimedia technology, linked to the California History/Social Science standards, which engaged gifted middle school students in the design of these standards-based video materials.

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)

For large organizations, updating instructional programs presents a challenge to keep abreast of constantly changing business processes and policies. Each time a process or policy changes, significant resources are required to locate and modify the training materials that convey the new content. Moreover, without the ability to track learning objects to processes and policies, training managers cannot conduct an effective training gap analysis in these areas. As a result, the corporate training picture is unclear and instructional needs cannot be accurately determined. The research addressed these problems by recognizing the need for linkages between an organization's business processes, its policies, and the learning objects that package the corresponding training content and deliver it to the workforce. The overall investigation was completed in three parts. In the first study, a thorough examination of the literature was conducted to determine the extent of the research problem and to provide a theoretical foundation for a solution. In the second study an expert panel was used to elicit user needs for a knowledge management system that addresses training management shortcomings in a large law enforcement agency. Another expert panel from that agency validated and prioritized the user needs during the third study. Through a combination of research-based elicitation and validation techniques, an accurate list of natural language software requirements emerged to represent the collective needs of the law enforcement training experts. The software requirements may now serve to analyze the capabilities of existing information technology systems or to form the basis for a request for proposal (RFP) to build the envisioned knowledge management system.