The broad purpose of this dissertation is to stimulate the conversation around both the purpose and conceptions of learning in higher education. In the current environment where knowledge is complex, uncertain, and changing there is a need to prepare students to be life-long learners capable of evaluating multiple knowledge claims and solving ill-structured problems. I offer the term meta-learner to articulate how in an environment where knowledge has no boundaries there is a need to understand, take ownership of, and control one’s own ways of knowing and personal learning such that learning allows for opening oneself up to the possibilities associated with knowledge uncertainty and complexity. Personal epistemology is the essence of how the learner knows and so I consider the beliefs about knowledge and knowing associated with the meta-learner as a preamble to discussing three broad views of knowledge. The opportunity for the learning and the development of the belief system associated with meta-learners is explored within the three learning theories: individual, social constructivist and activity theory. I propose an alternate conceptualization of learning for the development of students as meta-learners. The nature of this study is conceptual and as such it represents just one conception, my conception, of what is required from learning within academia if the meta-learner is to take control and ownership over the process and outcomes of the learning experience and participate in the knowledge creation process. When problems are ill-structured and complex, learning must be anchored in a personal belief that there is value in knowing oneself, others, and the world. I maintain this belief is associated with the ability of the learner to conceive of the possibilities learning holds, creates, and inspires. Learning must be about creating possibilities that strengthen the learner’s will to venture forward in an environment where knowledge is uncertain, complex, and changing.

This research investigates formative assessment at a UK research-intensive university, considering the aims and effects of their deployment. The research spans three academic disciplines broadly within the sciences and considers the influence of their history and culture on the approaches taken. It reports on three case studies originally chosen because of their innovative use of technology in teaching and assessment methods. Each case included mid-term summative assessments that were intended to have a formative function for the students. A triangulation of research methods was used that included documentary analysis, interviews and focus groups. Cultural historic activity theory was used to interrogate the data that emerged from the research. Bourdieusian theory was also used to understand and explain some of the findings. The thesis explores commonly held ideas about what constitutes desirable learning outcomes. It concludes that teaching and assessment practices do not always deliver on their promises nor support their intended objectives. Even within innovative educational methods it finds deeply rooted practices which fail to support the graduate skill sets that the tutors are hoping to develop in their students. It suggests that formative assessments which only reward curriculum coverage encourage narrow and conformist thinking and such thinking is at odds with the behaviours we should be developing within our educational environments. However, this thesis also describes educational practices that do meet their primary aims: to develop students' learning autonomy whilst they cover the course curricula. These practices are constructed around formative assessments that build community within the student cohort, engage the students in authentic tasks requiring critical reflection and give students a chance to develop expertise within niche areas. The thesis suggests that these practices are applicable in all academic disciplines, independent of the subject, and provides approaches to teaching and assessment that encourage autonomous learning and develop high-level transferable skill sets. We all forget facts and procedures over time, and so it is our students' capacity to know that we must develop within education.

This study investigates ICT in Saudi HE as represented by the researcher’s own institution: King Saud University (KSU). Using a naturalistic approach in pursuing the inquiry and making use of mixed methods, the research questions were investigated using surveys and in-depth interviews. A convenient sample of the University’s stakeholders; namely the senior managers, the academic staff and the students were investigated and asked to explain the process of ICT adoption and deployment on the management level; their use and adoption of ICT in their personal and professional activities and elaborate on the ICT adoption process at KSU and compare it to that of other universities. They also related these experiences to the University’s plans and efforts in this regard. The findings indicated a boom in ICT adoption over the course of the recent years. However, this process did not follow a clear strategic plan. Rather, it was based on an administrative decision by the recently appointed KSU management. The rector’s positive attitude and belief in ICT played a role in this process. The study showed that KSU administration values ICT and views it as a means for the University to achieve its aims. The results also showed the increasing use of ICT among the three groups in the study both on personal and professional levels. While these professional purposes may differ between the three groups in this research, results indicate that there is an increasing implementation of ICT in the daily work of all the groups, both in and out of KSU. These uses are also supported by the positive attitudes all the stakeholders hold towards ICT, as the study indicated. The study also revealed the aspiration of both KSU and Higher Education System in the country in general, and the role that ICT is perceived to play in helping them to achieve these aspirations. Results indicated that the current state of ICT in Saudi HE is increasing when compared to that of other universities and countries, especially in terms of hardware implementation. Although it was not possible to achieve specific comparisons between Saudi universities due to lack of data and access, many different comparison points were pointed and elaborated on both nationally and internationally. Finally, the study revealed many ICT enablers in the Saudi HE system, such as the generous financial support provided by the government, the positive attitudes, and the changing role of the university, as well as the technical, administrative and sociocultural barriers facing more ICT integration in Saudi HE, and how KSU dealt with these opportunities and threats. Based on the results, implications for future research were elicited and recommendations for better practice were provided. The urgent need for a clear ICT strategic plan for KSU as well as the other Saudi universities seems inevitable. A need for clear benchmarks within this plan is an important indicator of the need for the institution to evaluate the process. Of importance concern is the fact that these plans need to include all the stakeholders in the planning phase so as to properly conduct the assessment, implementation and evaluation successfully.

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2004. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: p. 387-400.

Submitted by William Paiva (williampaiva17@hotmail.com) on 2015-04-17T18:36:22Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Hugo Cataud Pacheco Pereira.pdf: 1014310 bytes, checksum: c7e21b5208c3a657a664dd93fef9fa71 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Vitor de Carvalho (vitor_carvalho_im@hotmail.com) on 2015-05-08T16:17:53Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Hugo Cataud Pacheco Pereira.pdf: 1014310 bytes, checksum: c7e21b5208c3a657a664dd93fef9fa71 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-08T16:17:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Hugo Cataud Pacheco Pereira.pdf: 1014310 bytes, checksum: c7e21b5208c3a657a664dd93fef9fa71 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / A presente tese nasce a partir das inúmeras inquietações e preocupações que constatei sobre a minha prática docente na Faculdade de Medicina (FAMED) da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG). Por muitos anos atuei de forma empírica, dando aulas baseado nos mestres que me marcaram positivamente, e tal conduta tornou-se insuficiente para sustentar minha prática docente. Ao constatar minhas deficiências, passei a considerar que, como docente do ensino médico, preciso basear a minha prática docente nos meus conhecimentos técnicos, apoiada nos saberes didático-pedagógicos e alicerçada, especialmente, no perfil humanista que Carl Rogers definiu. As Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais do Curso de Graduação em Medicina recomendam o perfil do formando egresso/ Profissional Médico “com formação generalista, humanista, crítica e reflexiva”, com inúmeras competências técnicas e com um perfil ético e moral ilibado. Para alcançar este objetivo é essencial que os docentes do ensino médico estejam sintonizados com as orientações das Diretrizes. Para tanto, considero que a formação de docentes para o ensino médico deve valorizar os saberes técnicos e didático-pedagógicos, bem como as qualidades de que trata Carl Rogers há cerca de meio século. A pesquisa, EDUCAÇÃO MÉDICA A PARTIR DA PERSPECTIVA HUMANÍSTICA DE CARL ROGERS: UMA VIVÊNCIA DE SALA DE AULA tem como objetivo geral reconhecer o perfil humanista preconizado por Carl Rogers na prática docente de um professor da Disciplina de Clínica Médica II e como objetivos específicos: identificar na minha prática pedagógica os preceitos de Carl Rogers: a empatia, a congruência, a aceitação e o perfil facilitador; identificar as contribuições e influências do docente para a formação de um médico com perfil humanista, tendo como referência a perspectiva discente; e refletir sobre a contribuição de Carl Rogers, um dos autores da corrente humanista, no processo educativo do ensino médico. No caminho percorrido na investigação sobre a minha atuação em sala de aula foi utilizada a abordagem qualitativa, por acreditar que o uso desse tipo de análise permite estabelecer conclusões a partir dos dados coletados. O estudo qualitativo foi fundamentado na análise de conteúdo, buscando-se compreender as interações verbais que revelam os significados da prática docente. O sujeito da pesquisa é um professor universitário que atua no Curso de Medicina há 19 anos, na Disciplina de Clínica Médica II da FAMED da FURG na cidade do Rio Grande - RS. Considerando a pesquisa propriamente dita, essa foi constituída em duas fases. A primeira fase foi realizada no período de março a novembro de 2010 e contou com a participação de 32 alunos das turmas de aulas práticas, A e C, da Disciplina de Clínica Médica II. Todas as aulas foram registradas por meio de gravação e arquivadas para reflexão sobre a conduta do docente frente a seus alunos. A segunda fase foi realizada em outubro de 2012 e contou com a participação dos alunos que integraram a primeira fase e que se encontram no término do curso. Essa fase consistiu na aplicação de um questionário contendo uma única questão aberta com a função de conhecer quais foram as contribuições e influências (positivas e negativas) de minha ação docente sobre a formação dos alunos. Os resultados da pesquisa, conforme as transcrições das gravações e das respostas à questão aberta, permitiram inferir que eu possuo um perfil humanista, compatível com os preceitos de Carl Rogers. A partir da análise da minha prática docente, pude tecer reflexões críticas sobre minhas práticas de ensino, questionando os fundamentos das mesmas e os postulados tácitos sobre a natureza dos saberes relativos ao ensino, visando à formação profissional humanística. Propõe-se ao final desse trabalho que a FAMED crie um programa de capacitação permanente que venha a contribuir para a melhoria da qualidade da educação médica em nossa Instituição e um modelo de sustentação ao docente do ensino médico baseado nos conhecimentos técnicos, saberes didático- pedagógicos e no comportamento docente preconizado por Carl Rogers. / This thesis is born from countless worries and concerns that I found on my teaching practice at the Medical School (FAMED) from Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG). For many years I worked empirically, teaching based on the masters who positively influenced me, but such behavior became insufficient to support my teaching practice. When noting my shortcomings, I started considering that, as a professor of medical education, I have to base my teaching practice in my technical understanding, supported by didactic-pedagogical knowledge and especially grounded in the humanist profile defined by Carl Rogers. The National Curriculum Guidelines for Medical School (Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais do Curso de Graduação em Medicina) recommend the profile of the trainee/Medical Professional "with generalist, humanistic, critical and reflective training", with numerous technical skills and with an unblemished ethical and moral profile. To achieve this goal it is essential that medical teachers be attuned to the principles of the Guidelines. Therefore, I believe that the teacher training for Medical Education must value the technical and didactic-pedagogical knowledge, as well as the qualities mentioned by Carl Rogers for nearly half a century. The research MEDICAL EDUCATION FROM CARL ROGERS‟ HUMANISTIC PERSPECTIVE: A CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE aims to recognize the humanistic profile promoted by Carl Rogers in the teaching practice of a professor in the discipline of Internal Medicine II, and also seeks: identifying in my teaching practice the precepts of Carl Rogers: empathy, congruence, acceptance and the facilitator profile; identifying the contributions and influences of the teacher for the training of a doctor with humanistic profile, pointed out by the learners‟ perspective; and reflecting on the contribution of Carl Rogers, one of the authors of the humanistic chain, in the educational process of medical education. In research path on my performance in the classroom it was used a qualitative approach, believing that the use of this type of analysis allows drawing conclusions from the data collected. The qualitative study was based on content analysis, seeking to understand the verbal interactions that reveal the teaching practice meanings. The subject of this research is a university professor who has worked in Medical School for 19 years in the discipline of Internal Medicine II (Clínica Médica II) from FAMED – FURG, in the city of Rio Grande - RS. Considering the investigation itself, it was divided into two phases. The first phase was conducted from March to November 2010 and it was attended by 32 students from the practical classes A and C, of the Internal Medicine II discipline. All classes were registered by audio recording and archived for reflection on the teacher‟s behavior in front of his students. The second phase was conducted in October 2012 and it was attended by the students who integrated the first phase, which are finishing the course. This phase consisted of a questionnaire containing a single open question with the objective of knowing what the contributions and influences (positive and negative) of my teaching practice on the students‟ training were. The survey results, according to the transcripts of the recordings and the responses to the open question, allowed inferring that I have a humanistic profile, compatible with the precepts of Carl Rogers. From the analysis of my teaching performance I could weave critical reflections on my teaching practices, questioning the reasons and the tacit assumptions about the nature of knowledge relating to education, seeking humanistic professional training. At the end of this work, it is proposed that FAMED creates a permanent training program that will contribute to improving the quality of medical education at our institution and also a supporting model to medical education teachers based on technical and didactic-pedagogical knowledge and on the teachers‟ behavior recommended by Carl Rogers.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de NÃvel Superior / CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / nÃo hà / O presente estudo intencionou investigar a prÃtica de avaliaÃÃo da aprendizagem realizada junto aos alunos de turnos diurno e noturno do curso de Pedagogia de uma InstituiÃÃo de Ensino Superior (IES) da rede pÃblica, na cidade de Fortaleza-CE, refletindo sobre um modo de construÃÃo avaliativa que considere os fatores biopsicossociais dos discentes. Especificamente, intencionou-se: identificar um perfil dos alunos dos turnos diurno e noturno do curso de Pedagogia da IES investigada; descrever os problemas relacionados aos fatores biolÃgicos, psicolÃgicos e sociais mais apontados pelos discentes, vivenciados por eles como empecilhos a um bom rendimento acadÃmico; elencar os tipos de avaliaÃÃes realizados atualmente no curso de Pedagogia da IES pesquisada; analisar a visÃo dos docentes e discentes sobre o processo de construÃÃo das avaliaÃÃes realizadas com os alunos desse curso, assim como seus resultados para o desenvolvimento e autonomia discente. O campo teÃrico da AvaliaÃÃo Educacional atualmente desenvolvido promove uma avaliaÃÃo de natureza formativa, a fim de minimizar os efeitos da cultura do exame, ainda identificada no ensino brasileiro. Nesse contexto, à necessÃrio aliar-se à didÃtica para melhor desenvolver a aprendizagem do educando, tornando-o mais autÃnomo e seguro de sua formaÃÃo. Enfatizase, pois, o importante papel do professor para uma mediaÃÃo pedagÃgica eficiente no contexto universitÃrio. Para esse propÃsito, realizou-se uma investigaÃÃo de natureza qualiquantitativa, na forma de um estudo de caso, perfazendo um total de 350 sujeitos investigados, sendo 340 alunos e 10 professores do curso de Pedagogia da IES estudada. Os dados foram coletados no perÃodo de novembro de 2010 a janeiro de 2011, na cidade de Fortaleza-CearÃ. A anÃlise dos dados confirmou a validaÃÃo da pesquisa e dos depoimentos dos professores e alunos sobre a avaliaÃÃo da aprendizagem no Ensino Superior, como previstos nas hipÃteses propostas pelo estudo. Os modelos de avaliaÃÃo da aprendizagem, realizados atualmente no curso de Pedagogia da IES, consideram os fatores biopsicossociais como elementos importantes na construÃÃo do processo avaliativo dos alunos como um todo, principalmente os do curso noturno, mesmo ainda nÃo apresentando Ãndices ideais. Conclui-se que, apesar de ainda existirem alguns indÃcios de prÃtica, por parte de alguns docentes, da utilizaÃÃo de um mÃtodo didÃtico tradicional expositivo e de uma avaliaÃÃo baseada na cultura do exame, jà se observa a presenÃa de mÃtodos mais formativos e participativos, que consideram os fatores biopsicossociais dos discentes, visando a um desenvolvimento integral do estudante.

This study aims to provide strategies for blended learning situations which combine supervised on-line courses with traditional classroom lectures in order to take into account the different learning styles of particular groups of students. Most studies, to date, on learning styles have focused on the individual level. This research proposed that commonly preferred learning styles and leanings towards certain media presentations can be identified in whole groups that share some common group characteristics. An interpretive case study was chosen as the methodology to reach the research goal because it collectively combines the benefits of a case study and multiple data collections from students who studied on a required on-line course in the same learning context. The students, who participated in this study, were majoring in either Science, Social Science, or Management. Various data collection techniques included a survey of 576 students who studied IT courses, personal interviews of 34 students, participatory and on-line observations, and reference to institutional documents. Qualitative analysis of the data employed a concept synthesis coupled with a template analysis to compare and contextualise all the facets of reality depicted by the data (King, 2004). This approach was necessary due to the extensive theoretical background required to generate the initial template and the need to completely comprehend the group learning phenomenon. The research discerned that students in specific major academic fields have common preferences for on-line media and activities that assist the learning process because they process and perceive information differently. A model is proposed to identify the interactions between the learner, the media and activity content, and the context of learning. The design of on-line course materials should take into account group learning styles to propose a holistic picture for effective learning. This is a valuable resource for the teachers and designers of compulsory on-line courses and for those who determine educational policy and strategy.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Objective: To explore and compare the use of metacognitive, cognitive, and environmental resource management self regulatory learning (SRL) strategies used by a national sample of students enrolled in traditional and accelerated baccalaureate nursing programs. Background: Learner focused reforms in nursing education require students to assume more responsibility for learning. Nursing student responsibility for learning is reflected in their use of metacognitive, cognitive, and environmental resource SRL strategies. Learning strategy use promotes the development of clinical reasoning and lifelong learning skills requisite to meet the needs of complex patients in a dynamic healthcare environment. Method: Using Bandura’s social cognitive theory as a framework, the learning subscales of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire were used to survey a national sample of 514 baccalaureate nursing students enrolled in their final semester of a traditional baccalaureate nursing program or a 12-month accelerated baccalaureate program. Delineation of student use of metacognitive, cognitive (rehearsal, organization, and elaboration), and environmental resource management (help seeking, peer learning, effort regulation, and time and study environment) SRL strategies was examined by program and in light of age, grade point average (GPA), weekly hours spent studying independently, and weekly hours spent in employment. Results: Differences in SRL strategy use were found between the program groups and between program groups divided by sample age. Older students in both the accelerated and traditional programs used more metacognition and elaboration SRL strategies than their younger traditional counterparts. Older traditional students used significantly more effort regulation SRL strategies than both groups of younger students. Both older groups of students studied significantly more, used significantly more time and study environment SRL strategies, and had significantly higher GPAs than the younger groups of students from both programs. Conclusions: This study provides a framework for learner focused nursing education by explicitly defining differences in SRL strategy use of students enrolled in traditional and accelerated baccalaureate nursing programs.

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