Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) training during residency is essential for development of these unique skills and principles as we go out into our future careers. One of the challenges that we have faced over the course of our residency tenure is having on-hand and online OMT resources to further promote learning and retention of knowledge and skills. The purpose of this research project was to gauge the family medicine residents’ OMT fundamental knowledge while also providing a designated preceptor area location for OMT resources for quick access, when needed, during our OMT clinic. At the same time, the residents were also lectured on common musculoskeletal dysfunctions and simple techniques that could be used for quick treatment options during clinic. First, the family medicine residents were first given a 10 question OMT pre-survey (five questions were knowledge based and five questions were short answer) to gauge their baseline fundamental osteopathic clinical knowledge and their knowledge about the pre-existing OMT resources and their locations in our clinic. After the residents completed the OMT pre-survey, the new OMT resources were placed in the new location in our precepting area and then two weeks later the residents were given a lecture about the fundamentals and common contraindications of OMT and the basic approaches to treatment of some routine chronic conditions, including low back pain, neck pain, headaches, and migraines. Also, included at then end of the lecture was the newly acquired OMT resources, including books and online website links, that were compiled for the clinic, and the new designated spot for these materials making them easily accessible during our OMT clinics. The OMT post survey, using the same one as above, was then done by the residents to see the impact on their OMT fundamentals and OMT resource knowledge. The Results from the pre and post surveys were then compared, and the data was graphed accordingly to show the changes. Questions one through five were graded on having “correct” vs “incorrect” answers, and the short answer questions (6-10) were graded on the premise of “positive” vs “negative” answers. Answers were considered positive if they were optimistic, which includes the response “yes”, accurate location in the precepting area, any form of OMT resource, or any amount of time spent in learning, review, or preparations of OMT material for OMT clinics. Answers were considered negative if they were the opposite of the above description. The first eight questions showed a strong positive increase/improvement in the residents’ OMT knowledge and showed that they know the new resources and their location in the clinic, which was the purpose of our project. The last two questions had slightly different outcomes than expected which was addressed if similar research is done in the future.

Diese Arbeit gliedert sich in das Gebiet der manipulativen Modelle im Kontext der Mathematik ein. Derartige Modelle schaffen Lernvorteile durch die Vergegenständlichung abstrakter Sachverhalte und beinhalten mitunter zusätzliche Prozesse zur Unterstützung der Lösung mathematischer Problemstellungen. Aufbauend auf den bisher existierenden Modellen, wurde ein neues manipulatives Modell zur Manipulation und Lösung mathematischer Gleichungen entwickelt und evaluiert. Ein Forschungsziel bestand darin, dass das Modell durch eine höhere Modellmächtigkeit als seine Vorgängermodelle und eine intuitive Gestensteuerung den analogen Gleichungslösungsprozess weitestgehend nachbilden kann. Des Weiteren sollte das Modell in beliebige Webumgebungen integrierbar sein und umfangreiche Konfigurationsmöglichkeiten bieten. Zudem wurde angestrebt, dass Probleminstanzen innerhalb des Modells schneller und mit einer geringeren Fehleranfälligkeit als beim analogen Vorgehen gelöst werden können. Die Forschungsziele konnten durch die Entwicklung des Modells als JavaScript-Framework in Verbindung mit dem Einsatz praktikabler Programmbibliotheken und der Implementierung prozessunterstützender Algorithmen erreicht werden. Weiterentwicklungen des Modells, beispielsweise Vorteile für wenig erfahrene und fortgeschrittene Lernende betreffend, sind denkbar. Darüber hinaus sollten sich zukünftige Forschungen auf die kontinuierliche Verbesserung der Modellmächtigkeit und Gestensteuerung derartiger Modelle konzentrieren, um die Vorzüge der Digitalisierung des Gleichungslösungsprozesses nutzen zu können.:1 Einleitung 1.1 Motivation und Problemstellung 1.2 Methodik und Zielstellung 1.3 Aufbau der Arbeit 2 Grundbegriffe 2.1 Manipulatoren und manipulative Modelle 2.2 Gamification 2.3 Framework 3 Manipulative Modelle in der Mathematik 3.1 Hintergrund 3.2 Prinzipien und Vorgehensweisen zur Modellerstellung 3.3 Existierende Modelle 3.3.1 Bewertungsmatrix 3.3.2 Algebra-Kachel-Modell 3.3.3 EquationGuide 3.3.4 Maphi 3.4 Auswertung 4 Entwicklung und Evaluierung eines manipulativen Modells zur Gleichungsmanipulation 4.1 Zieldefinition 4.2 Anforderungsanalyse 4.2.1 Webbasiertes Framework 4.2.2 Gleichungsmanipulation und -lösung mittels Gestensteuerung 4.2.3 Generierung von Umformungsschritten 4.2.4 Lernstufen durch Modi 4.2.5 Modellmächtigkeit 4.2.6 Preview 4.2.7 Gleichungsvalidierung 4.2.8 Lösungsindikation 4.2.9 Protokollierung 4.3 Entwurf 4.3.1 Entwicklersicht 4.3.2 Benutzersicht 4.4 Implementierung 4.4.1 Webbasiertes Framework 4.4.2 Gleichungsmanipulation und -lösung mittels Gestensteuerung 4.4.3 Tokenisierung mathematischer Ausdrücke 4.4.4 Generierung von Umformungsschritten 4.4.5 Unterstützender und freier Modus 4.4.6 Simplifizierung 4.4.7 Darstellung von Brüchen 4.4.8 Preview 4.4.9 Gleichungsvalidierung 4.4.10 Lösungsindikation 4.4.11 Protokollierung 4.5 Evaluierung 4.5.1 Integration in eine Webapplikation 4.5.2 Integration in ein Jupyter Notebook 4.5.3 Einordnung 5 Fazit und Ausblick

Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy (OMT) is underutilized in addressing lung function and symptoms in asthma patients. The objective of this study was to determine if a single session of OMT can improve lung function and symptoms in patients suffering from asthma, and if patients can be taught a self-administered home OMT protocol to control their symptoms, in order to develop a protocol by which physicians can apply OMT to address lung disease in patients. This was a purposive randomized controlled quasi-experimental study which took place in family practice, pulmonology, and asthma specialist offices in southwest Virginia. The intervention was a ten-minute semi-individualized OMT protocol and a self administered home OMT education session. Variable baseline, within-subject study design was utilized, allowing each person to serve as his or her own control. Pre and posttest measurements included: participant spirometry FEV1, FVC, and PEF; thoracic excursion upper and lower rib cage motion; and a five-question rating scale to determine current asthma symptoms. A ten-minute OMT session included an individualized thoracic and rib screening and treatment, suboccipital release, diaphragm release, and thoracic pump. Comparison between pre- and post-OMT lung function and symptoms portrayed change. For the second part of the study, the participants were divided into two groups with group two receiving a ten-minute home OMT education session and a handout of the home OMT techniques. All participants returned two weeks later for a follow up lung function assessment. Statistically significant (p<.05) improvements after initial OMT were documented for 8 of 10 measurements. Only two spirometry values, FEV1 and PEF, did not significantly improve. The group who participated in the home OMT education session had statistically significant improvements in 3 of 10 measurements, including the upper and lower thoracic excursion measurements and the overall asthma symptoms rating. With a simple, easy to repeat, 10 minute semi-individualized OMT session, researchers demonstrated improved lung function and symptoms in this group of participants in Southwest Virginia. The addition of a home OMT education session was demonstrated to be at least partially beneficial. Future studies should expand on this pilot study with the researchers recommending using a larger patient population including patients with lower pre-treatment spirometry values in order to accurately monitor potential for change. / Ph. D.

O presente estudo propõe-se responder à questão de investigação: como podemos abordar conceitos de geometria plana com estudantes de sexto ano por meio de confecção de objetos manipulativos digitais e não-digitais, permitindo que estes se reconheçam como fabricantes de seu próprio conhecimento? A pesquisa apresenta uma proposta de atividade em que estudantes foram convidados a serem fabricantes de seu próprio conhecimento, mais especificamente de conhecimentos de geometria plana. Por meio da confecção e manipulação de objetos digitais e não-digitais, os estudantes transformaram a sala de aula em uma Fábrica de Matemática. O estudo foi desenvolvido durante o ano de 2016, com uma turma de sexto ano de uma escola municipal de Sapucaia do Sul, no horário regular de aula. Apoiada na teoria do construcionismo de Seymour Papert, na pedagogia da autonomia de Paulo Freire e na aprendizagem cooperativa e por equipes de Jean Piaget, e utilizando o estudo de caso como metodologia, o presente trabalho apresenta uma experiência de abordagem de conceitos de geometria plana – área, perímetro, paralelismo e perpendicularismo, entre outros – que permitiu o reconhecimento, por parte dos estudantes, da possibilidade de se tornarem agentes ativos na construção dos seus conhecimentos. Além disso, percebeu-se quanto aos resultados, que quando lhes são oferecidas diferentes oportunidades para aprendizagem, os estudantes podem se tornar sujeitos críticos, autônomos e produtores de conhecimento. / The present study proposes to answer the research question: how can we approach concepts of flat geometry with sixth-year students by making digital and non-digital manipulative objects, allowing them to recognize themselves as manufacturers of their own knowledge? The research presents a proposal of activity in which students were invited to be manufacturers of their own knowledge, more specifically of knowledge of flat geometry. Through the making and manipulation of digital and non-digital objects, students transformed the classroom into a Mathematics Factory. The study was developed during 2016, with a sixth grade class from a municipal school in Sapucaia do Sul, at regular school hours. Based on the construction theory of Seymour Papert, Paulo Freire 's pedagogy of autonomy and cooperative and team learning by Jean Piaget, and using the case study as methodology, the present work presents an experience of approaching concepts of flat geometry - area, perimeter, parallelism and perpendicularism, among others - that allowed the students to recognize the possibility of becoming active agents in the construction of their knowledge. In addition, it was perceived as to the results, that when they are offered different opportunities for learning, students can become critical, autonomous subjects and producers of knowledge.

Logical statements are prevalent in mathematics, the sciences, law, and many areas of everyday life. The most common logical statements are conditionals, which have the form “If H..., then C...,” where “H” is a hypothesis (or condition) to be satisfied and “C” is a conclusion to follow. Reasoning about conditionals is a skill that is only superficially understood by most individuals and depends on four main conditional contexts (e.g., intuitive, abstract, symbolic, or counterintuitive). The purpose of this study was to test a theory about the effects of context ordering on reasoning about conditionals. To test the theory, the researcher developed, tested, and revised a virtual manipulative educational mathematics application, called the Learning Logic App. This study employed a convergent parallel mixed methods design to answer an overarching research question and two subquestions. The overarching research question was “How does the order of teaching four conditional contexts influence reasoning about conditionals?” The two subquestions examined this influence on reasoning in terms of performance and perceptions. This study involved two phases. During Phase I, 10 participants interacted with the Learning Logic App in a clinical setting. The researcher used information gathered in Phase I to revise the Learning Logic App for Phase II. During Phase II, 154 participants interacted with the Learning Logic App in a randomly assigned context ordering in an online setting. In both phases, the researcher collected quantitative and qualitative data. After independent analyses, the researcher made meta- inferences from the two data strands. The results of this study suggest that context ordering does influence learners’ reasoning. The most beneficial context ordering for learners’ performance was symbolic-intuitive-abstract-counterintuitive. The most beneficial context ordering for learners’ perceptions was intuitive-abstract-counterintuitive-symbolic. Based on these results, the researcher proposed a new context ordering: symbolic-intuitive-abstract-counterintuitive-symbolic. This progression incorporates a catalyst at the beginning (symbolic context) which aids the learner in reassessing their prior knowledge. Then, the difficulty of the contexts progresses from easiest to hardest (intuitive-abstract-counterintuitive-symbolic). These findings are important because they provide an instructional sequence for teaching and learning to reason about conditionals that is beneficial to both learners’ performance and their perceptions.

The purpose of the present study is to investigate what research show about the use of manipulative materials in the mathematics education and what factors have an impact on this approach. A definition of the problem<img src="https://cdncache-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png" /> was formed when considering the decrease of Swedish pupils mathematical abilities presented in PISA. The intention with the present study was to assemble further knowledge in whether or not the use of manipulative materials could be a teaching method that could help improve this. The method used in this study was a systematic review based on an analysis of 8 studies. The results of the studies were thoroughly examined and presented in a result chapter. When comparing the results categories were found. These categories structured the result chapter as following: the beliefs of pre- and in- service teachers, the situations in which manipulative materials are used / not used, the use of manipulative materials in relation to grades and duration and pupils’ beliefs and achievements. Results show a positive meaning to the use of manipulatives, however it is the question of how they are used that is discussed.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains v, 55 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 45-46).

Thesis (M.A.) University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (June 27, 2007) Includes bibliographical references.

O presente estudo propõe-se responder à questão de investigação: como podemos abordar conceitos de geometria plana com estudantes de sexto ano por meio de confecção de objetos manipulativos digitais e não-digitais, permitindo que estes se reconheçam como fabricantes de seu próprio conhecimento? A pesquisa apresenta uma proposta de atividade em que estudantes foram convidados a serem fabricantes de seu próprio conhecimento, mais especificamente de conhecimentos de geometria plana. Por meio da confecção e manipulação de objetos digitais e não-digitais, os estudantes transformaram a sala de aula em uma Fábrica de Matemática. O estudo foi desenvolvido durante o ano de 2016, com uma turma de sexto ano de uma escola municipal de Sapucaia do Sul, no horário regular de aula. Apoiada na teoria do construcionismo de Seymour Papert, na pedagogia da autonomia de Paulo Freire e na aprendizagem cooperativa e por equipes de Jean Piaget, e utilizando o estudo de caso como metodologia, o presente trabalho apresenta uma experiência de abordagem de conceitos de geometria plana – área, perímetro, paralelismo e perpendicularismo, entre outros – que permitiu o reconhecimento, por parte dos estudantes, da possibilidade de se tornarem agentes ativos na construção dos seus conhecimentos. Além disso, percebeu-se quanto aos resultados, que quando lhes são oferecidas diferentes oportunidades para aprendizagem, os estudantes podem se tornar sujeitos críticos, autônomos e produtores de conhecimento. / The present study proposes to answer the research question: how can we approach concepts of flat geometry with sixth-year students by making digital and non-digital manipulative objects, allowing them to recognize themselves as manufacturers of their own knowledge? The research presents a proposal of activity in which students were invited to be manufacturers of their own knowledge, more specifically of knowledge of flat geometry. Through the making and manipulation of digital and non-digital objects, students transformed the classroom into a Mathematics Factory. The study was developed during 2016, with a sixth grade class from a municipal school in Sapucaia do Sul, at regular school hours. Based on the construction theory of Seymour Papert, Paulo Freire 's pedagogy of autonomy and cooperative and team learning by Jean Piaget, and using the case study as methodology, the present work presents an experience of approaching concepts of flat geometry - area, perimeter, parallelism and perpendicularism, among others - that allowed the students to recognize the possibility of becoming active agents in the construction of their knowledge. In addition, it was perceived as to the results, that when they are offered different opportunities for learning, students can become critical, autonomous subjects and producers of knowledge.

O presente estudo propõe-se responder à questão de investigação: como podemos abordar conceitos de geometria plana com estudantes de sexto ano por meio de confecção de objetos manipulativos digitais e não-digitais, permitindo que estes se reconheçam como fabricantes de seu próprio conhecimento? A pesquisa apresenta uma proposta de atividade em que estudantes foram convidados a serem fabricantes de seu próprio conhecimento, mais especificamente de conhecimentos de geometria plana. Por meio da confecção e manipulação de objetos digitais e não-digitais, os estudantes transformaram a sala de aula em uma Fábrica de Matemática. O estudo foi desenvolvido durante o ano de 2016, com uma turma de sexto ano de uma escola municipal de Sapucaia do Sul, no horário regular de aula. Apoiada na teoria do construcionismo de Seymour Papert, na pedagogia da autonomia de Paulo Freire e na aprendizagem cooperativa e por equipes de Jean Piaget, e utilizando o estudo de caso como metodologia, o presente trabalho apresenta uma experiência de abordagem de conceitos de geometria plana – área, perímetro, paralelismo e perpendicularismo, entre outros – que permitiu o reconhecimento, por parte dos estudantes, da possibilidade de se tornarem agentes ativos na construção dos seus conhecimentos. Além disso, percebeu-se quanto aos resultados, que quando lhes são oferecidas diferentes oportunidades para aprendizagem, os estudantes podem se tornar sujeitos críticos, autônomos e produtores de conhecimento. / The present study proposes to answer the research question: how can we approach concepts of flat geometry with sixth-year students by making digital and non-digital manipulative objects, allowing them to recognize themselves as manufacturers of their own knowledge? The research presents a proposal of activity in which students were invited to be manufacturers of their own knowledge, more specifically of knowledge of flat geometry. Through the making and manipulation of digital and non-digital objects, students transformed the classroom into a Mathematics Factory. The study was developed during 2016, with a sixth grade class from a municipal school in Sapucaia do Sul, at regular school hours. Based on the construction theory of Seymour Papert, Paulo Freire 's pedagogy of autonomy and cooperative and team learning by Jean Piaget, and using the case study as methodology, the present work presents an experience of approaching concepts of flat geometry - area, perimeter, parallelism and perpendicularism, among others - that allowed the students to recognize the possibility of becoming active agents in the construction of their knowledge. In addition, it was perceived as to the results, that when they are offered different opportunities for learning, students can become critical, autonomous subjects and producers of knowledge.