The purpose of this paper is to explain a curriculum package which was designed for science students at Orange Park IX, ninth grade center, Clay County, Florida. The target population consists of those students who read below the sixth-grade level according to the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) scores and who are enrolled in a general science class. These students are also enrolled in a Reading Skills class and some are in the SLD and ED programs as well. Although there will be interaction with the reading, SLD, and ED teachers, the classes will not be team taught. Therefore, the science curriculum is intended to be contained within the fifty-minute sessions allowed for science classes.

In the U.S., about 7,000 high school students drop out each school day, representing a loss of talent and ability. Concurrently, there are a decreasing number of enrolled students taking science-related courses at the high school and college levels. Adults, who return to obtain their General Educational Development (GED) certification, are an untapped resource that could be steered toward STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) careers. In this case study, 15 GED students were shown a STEM video, and then peer mentored by 8 CLA (Clinical Laboratory Assistant) students, in a student-centered laboratory experience. Individual interviews of the GED students prior to and after the treatment were used to assess STEM attitudes. Additionally, the CLA peer mentors were given self-assessments regarding their level of self-efficacy. The most marked difference in the pre- and post-treatment data was with the male GED students. Initially, only 2 of the 7 had definite career goals, 5 with undefined career goals, with 4 showing no interest in STEM. After the treatment, 6 exhibited interest in pursuing STEM education or employment. The female GED students' interest remained unchanged, resulting in the male and female students showing equivalent interest in STEM post-treatment. The CLA peer mentors showed an increase in self-efficacy using Bandura's four sources of self-efficacy in social cognition (1997). The preliminary results of this study suggest that interest in STEM education and STEM careers can be generated with peer mentored learning. (Contains 1 figure and 8 tables.)

Quantitative Techniques is traditionally a subject with a poor pass rate at Walter Sisulu University. In search of a turnaround strategy, the purpose of this study was to determine the level of problem-solving proficiency of Quantitative Techniques students, which is suspected to influence achievement in this subject. A descriptive survey design was used in this research. Second-year ND (Marketing) students (128) took part in the study. A questionnaire and a written test were used to collect data. A profile of participants’ problem-solving was determined. Their weaknesses and strengths in problem-solving were investigated. The problem-solving proficiency of participants with regards to the biographical variables of Gender, Age, Mathematics background and whether they took Data Handling training at school or not were explored. A model, based on Polya’s four stages of problem-solving, was used to measure the students’ level of problem-solving proficiency, which was 59,16%. Findings suggest that the students achieved highest in understanding a problem (72,29%) and making a plan to solve the problem (73,77%). They are weakest at interpreting their results (29,38%). MANOVA results showed no statistical significance for the biographical variables. The univariate results suggest that age, Data Handling training at school and Gender could affect problem-solving proficiency. Since the findings of this study indicate a strong relationship between participants’ problem-solving proficiency and their actual achievement, some intervention is recommended. An intervention could be in the form of a section on problem-solving in the course, supplemental instruction or an introductory course. Course and curriculum content should be revised to address students’ proficiency in problem-solving. / Mathematical Sciences / M. A. (Statistics Education)

University of Macau / Faculty of Education

University of Macau / Faculty of Education

University of Macau / Faculty of Education

Thesis (MPhil (Information Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: We are in the era where Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are increasingly becoming as common as desks and chalkboard in our classrooms. Government, students, parents and the community at large are now expecting ICTs to be integrated in the school curriculum and to be used as tools of instruction.

Produto: Astronomia no II ciclo do ensino fundamental / Visando elaborar um material didático de apoio para atender as principais dificuldades dos professores no planejamento de suas aulas sobre Astronomia, foi realizado um estudo de trabalhos publicados por pesquisadores dessa disciplina, procurando identificar os principais obstáculos a serem transpostos no ensino dessa disciplina. A partir dos resultados obtidos no estudo, foi elaborado um material de apoio didático destinado ao ensino da Astronomia no segundo ciclo do Ensino Fundamental, para ser submetido à avaliação de uma amostra de professores da rede pública estadual do município de Passo Fundo (RS). Esse material pretende ser um referencial de consulta adicional para orientar o trabalho docente, proporcionando ao professor, tanto quanto possível, informações atualizadas, orientações pedagógicas que ampliam conhecimentos e alertam para concepções alternativas detectadas por outros autores, além de trazer sugestões de atividades práticas e de observação, ao abordar os conteúdos de Astronomia nessa fase de escolarização. / Aiming to develop a didactic material support to help to solve the main teachers´ difficulties when planning their Astronomy classes, we made a study about the papers published by researchers in this discipline, trying to identify the main obstacles to be overcome in the teaching of this discipline. From the results obtained in the study, we designed a didactic support material for the Astronomy teaching in the middle school to be submitted for the rating of a sample of teachers in the public schools in the city of Passo Fundo (RS). This material intends to be an additional consultation referential to guide the teaching work, providing to teacher, as much as possible, updated informations, educational guidelines that expand knowledge and point to alternative conceptions detected by other authors, besides to bring suggestions for practical activities and observation, when approaching Astronomy subjects in this school phase.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Pesquisas do Instituto Nacional de Estudos e Pesquisas Educacionais (INEP), Censo da Educação Superior, Teses e Dissertações, apontam que os cursos de graduação na área de Computação são os com menor número de mulheres matriculadas. Assim, para compreender quais os fatores para esta disparidade, foram propostas, nesta pesquisa, três oficinas com estudantes e egressas de cursos da área de computação de uma universidade federal: a primeira foi uma atividade presencial com estudantes da área de Computação para entender as percepções e memórias destas pessoas; a segunda também foi uma atividade presencial com este mesmo intuito, porém, com egressas de Bacharelado em Sistemas de Informação (BSI) e Engenharia de Computação (EC); e a terceira, um espaço virtual para promover a participação e discussão sobre as memórias das egressas. Para essas três oficinas, utilizou-se uma prática de Design Participativo (DP), a Oficina de Futuro. O Design Participativo proporcionou que cada uma das atividades tivesse o desenvolvimento conduzido de forma diferente, pois a proposta de DP permitiu que as práticas fossem organizadas colaborativamente pelos participantes, o que difere dos dados obtidos por questionários, por exemplo. Os resultados destas aproximações trazem as percepções e memórias de estudantes e egressas sobre a participação de mulheres na área de Computação. Estes resultados encaminham que cabe à sociedade e à comunidade acadêmica promover discussões para a implementação de política de cotas para gêneros, promover mudanças, apontando para a igualdade de gênero, no ambiente escolar, no mercado de trabalho e nos papéis sociais. / In researches of National Institute for Educational Studies and Research (NIES), Higher Education Census, Theses and Dissertation, it was observed that undergraduate courses in Computing are those with fewer women enrolled. Accessing such information identifies that quantify data about women participation in Computing area is insufficient. Thus, to comprehend which factors to this disparity has proposed three workshops: first face-to-face workshop with students of Computing area; second also a workshop, however, with recent grads of Bachelor of Information Systems and Computer Engineering; and third a virtual space for collaboration on topics that involve the women participation in Computing, remote mode, in corais.org plataform, three workshops were with students and recent grads from the same Institution – Federal Technological University of Paraná – in Curitiba. The three workshops used Participatory Design (PD) practice - future workshop, however in each of them the development was different, because (PD) allowed that participants organized the approach collaboratively. The results bring perceptions and memories of students and recent grad about women participation in Computing, and these results point out that is up to society and to University, to promote discussions to implementing genre quotas, changes since childhood, at school, and the participation of parents and all the society; it is necessary to point to gender equality; labor market; opportunities; destruction of gender categories and the development of public policy for equity.

Acompanha: Material suplementar: Doença de Chagas e a resposta imune contra o Trypanossoma cruzi / O ensino, de uma forma geral, tem sido influenciado pelas tecnologias de informação e comunicação (TIC). Associados a estas, surgem avanços de novas descobertas no campo acadêmico de diferentes disciplinas. No caso da Biologia, estes avanços se dão a passos largos principalmente nas áreas de Biologia molecular, Biotecnologia e Genética. Desta forma, e também respondendo a demandas presentes nos PCN+, os quais recomendam um ensino de Biologia que aborde temas contemporâneos, foi idealizado este trabalho, o qual possui como objetivo geral desenvolver um objeto educacional (OE) no formato de conteúdo multimídia interativo, que surge da integração dos conteúdos curriculares com os conhecimentos produzidos em centros de pesquisas. Aqui, buscou-se utilizar o Instituto Nacional de Inovação em Diagnósticos em Saúde Pública, INDI-Saúde, como tema motivador para o desenvolvimento de objetos educacionais para o ensino de Biologia. O propósito do OE é demonstrar como ocorre a produção de anticorpos durante a infecção pelo Trypanosoma cruzi, pois este é um assunto diretamente ligado aos objetivos do INDI-Saúde e que encontra contrapartida no ensino de Biologia. Para a elaboração e estruturação do conteúdo, foi proposta uma metodologia de gerenciamento de projetos com foco nos OE, além do desenvolvimento de roteiros que contemplam como público alvo alunos do 2° ano do ensino Médio e consideram os conteúdos de parasitologia (doença de Chagas, transmissão e infecção), resposta imune primária e resposta imune secundária, além de Biologia celular e molecular. O OE foi desenvolvido no programa Adobe® Flash® Player, estando sob a licença creative commons. Foi elaborado um manual de referência e também um exemplo de utilização em sala de aula, que está disponível no portal “Ciência Curiosa”. O material está assim disponível para uso da comunidade e a metodologia utilizada pode servir de inspiração para o desenvolvimento de novos OE. / Education, in general, has been influenced by information and communication technologies (ICT). Associated with these advances, new discoveries emerge in the academic field regarding different disciplines. In the case of biology, this advancement sprouts especially in the areas of Molecular Biology, Biotechnology and Genetics. The present work takes into account the demands present in PCN+, which recommends Biology education focused on contemporary issues. The main objective is to develop a learning object in interactive multimedia content, integrating curriculum contents together with the actual knowledge produced in modern research centers. In this study, we propose using the subject of the National Institute of Science and Technology in Diagnostics for Public Health, INDI - Health, as a motivating theme for the development of educational objects (EO) in Biology teaching. The purpose of the content is to demonstrate how the production of antibodies occurs during infection with Trypanosoma cruzi, for it is a subject directly linked to both Biology teaching and the objectives of INDI-Health. We propose a methodology based on project management for content development and structuring of the EO. In addition, we developed a study guide aiming at 2nd year high school students, including the contents of Parasitology (Chagas disease transmission and infection), primary and secondary immune response, and Cellular and Molecular Biology. The content was developed in Adobe® Flash® Player, and is licensed under creative commons. Together with a reference manual, an example on how to use the EO was made available at the science portal “Ciência Curiosa”. The EO is thus available to the community and could be used as a reference for the development of new educational resources.