Thesis (M. Ed.)--York University, 2001. Graduate Programme in Education. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-105). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ66377.

<p>A new hospital in United Arab Emirates (UAE) plans to adopt health information technology (HIT) and become fully digitalized once operational. The hospital has identified a need to assess basic computer literacy of new employees prior to offering them training on various HIT applications. Lack of research in identifying an accurate assessment method for basic computer literacy among health care professionals led to this explanatory correlational research study, which compared self-assessment scores and a simulated actual computer skills test to find an appropriate tool for assessing computer literacy. The theoretical framework of the study was based on constructivist learning theory and self-efficacy theory. Two sets of data from 182 hospital employees were collected and analyzed. A t test revealed that scores of self-assessment were significantly higher than they were on the actual test, which indicated that hospital employees tend to score higher on self-assessment when compared to actual skills test. A Pearson product moment correlation revealed a statistically weak correlation between the scores, which implied that self-assessment scores were not a reliable indicator of how an individual would perform on the actual test. An actual skill test was found to be the more reliable tool to assess basic computer skills when compared to self-assessment test. The findings of the study also identified areas where employees at the local hospital lacked basic computer skills, which led to the development of the project to fill these gaps by providing training on basic computer skills prior to them getting trained on various HIT applications. The findings of the study will be useful for hospitals in UAE who are in the process of adopting HIT and for health information educators to design appropriate training curricula based on assessment of basic computer literacy.

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Graduates from 1950 to 2010 with a B.S. degree in animal science from the Department of Animal Science of Texas A&M University were sent questionnaires by e-mail to collect information on how graduates of the department were being influenced in their career decisions by their educational experiences in the department and how they perceived selected components of the program. The questionnaire contained questions about their backgrounds and their careers. It also contained 23 statements to which respondents answered using a 5-point scale from strongly disagree to being strongly agree. Approximately 3,000 questionnaires were e-mailed, and 633 with full data were returned. Male respondents were found to have more agricultural experience than females. Almost half of the males reported that they were in careers related to their animal science degree while slightly more than one-fourth of the females indicated animal science-related careers. Participants who were very experienced in agriculture prior to college were more likely to be in a career related to their animal science degree than were those with other levels of experience. Participants responded with their levels of agreement to statements about their experiences in animal science courses. The statements with the highest level of agreement involved practical, hands-on and generic skills and attributes, industry involvement, and current issues in animal science. Graduates agreed that hands-on involvement with animals in courses and involvement with industry leaders were important. Similarly, they agreed that character, integrity, and work ethic were important attributes to develop in students. Communication skills?both oral and written?were highly important, too. On the other hand, graduates believed that the animal science curriculum did not emphasize creativity and did not provide enough flexibility to emphasize specialized areas of animal science such as companion animals. Continual research about animal science graduates, their academic programs, and their careers is important to track the ever-changing demands and needs of the agricultural industry and of students.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2010. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 129-138). Also available on the World Wide Web.

The purpose of this investigation was to answer two basic questions, namely, (1) Is the mental factor of Field Dependence a significant predictor of achievement of science process skills? and (2) To which of the three different levels of Field Dependence, Global, Middle or Analytic, are the two major methods of teaching Science 8 in British Columbia schools, (ISC, Labtext) best suited? This investigation grew out of the author's classroom teaching experience. It was observed that in classes of grade 8 students using "Labtext in Science, Book 1" [Cannon et al., 1968] as a guide, some students seemed to experience difficulty in performing the investigations, while certain other students found these investigations to be exciting and rewarding. Similar observations were made in classes using the text "Introducing Science Concepts in the Laboratory" [Schmid, 1971]. The different learning styles appeared to have no relation to the "intelligence" of students as measured by standard IQ tests. Some students in both classes who experienced difficulty possessed a relatively high IQ. The writer sensed that Witkin's concept of Field Dependence [Witkin et al., 1962] could be a useful way of explaining why one method of science instruction could suit the learning style of some students and not others. In order to investigate this notion more systematically, two methods of teaching embodied in the two different texts identified above were, first of all, carefully delineated. Briefly, the Labtext method was described as a learning situation which allowed much freedom of individual action during an investigation, while the ISC method was described as a structured learning situation in which specific instructions were given and guiding questions were asked. On the basis of Witkin's findings [Witkin, 1969] it was felt that field dependent (global) students would function better with the ISC method while field independent (analytic) students would be more successful with the Labtext approach. Cognitive style was assessed by means of the Hidden Figures Test, and achievement was measured by means of the Test of Science Processes. The experimental phase of this study took place over a period of one complete school semester. At the outset students were randomly assigned to six classes of which the author taught four, with two classes assigned randomly to each method. A second teacher taught two classes, randomly assigning one class to each method. The involvement of two different teachers allowed a study of the effect of teachers on achievement, and the fact that one teacher taught two classes with each method provided a situation in which the effect of one teacher using the same methods with different classes could be studied. The expected superior performance of analytical students compared to global students in terms of achievement in science process skills was confirmed. No evidence of overall superiority of one method of teaching over the other was found. There was no significant overall teacher effect, however, the three-way interaction effect showed that the effectiveness of a particular teaching method for a particular cognitive style varied according to the teacher. No firm conclusion regarding the interaction effects could be reached due to several intervening variables. The possibilities of interaction between test format and the cognitive style of students, and the interaction between the cognitive style of the student with that of the teacher were discussed. The implications of the construct of cognitive style for junior secondary science education were discussed in terms of methodological reform, and much needed research to determine the nature of the effect of a teacher's cognitive style on classroom learning situations was suggested. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MA in Communication Science University of Zululand, 2001. / In this thesis I present my recommendations regarding the role of direct small group communication and public communication in an envisaged Communication Science curriculum within the Language, literacy and Communication learning area in the Further Education and Training band. I show that the fundamental switch from the traditional educator-centred teaching to learner-centred teaching in OBE requires that both educators and learners be in command of a range of communica¬tion strategies in order to construct meaning in real-world social contexts. Intraper-sonaL, interpersonal and small group involvements are all essential for successful teaching. I also stress the need for knowledge of verbal as well as nonverbal com¬munication skills to give learners the confidence they need in the workplace. The cooperative method of teaching brings democracy into the OBE classroom with learners contributing from their daily lives as well as having their needs met. I examine an array of forms of communication that learners and educators must be in command of to succeed in OBE. I argue that since the human mind integrates knowledge, the demarcations between learning areas are mainly posited for heuristic convenience. An analysis of the Revised National Curriculum Statement (C2005) shows that most of the components required to form the basis for offering Com-munication Science as a coherent formal discipline in the Further Education and Training (FKI) band, can be found, dispersed throughout the General Education and Training (GET) band, (Grades R to 9) within the Language, literacy and Communication learning area. In the penultimate chapter I utilise the insights gained to suggest what the curriculum could include for teaching direct small group communication and public communication as part of the envisaged Communica-tion Science curriculum. Finally, I would like to point out that my thesis forms part of a number of coordi-nated studies on the feasibility of including particular aspects of human communication as part of the envisaged Communication Science curriculum.

This dissertation contains two secondary quantitative data analyses studies. In the first, implementation of the WannaBee Healthy? Be Smart! Be Active! Be a Leader! health science curriculum was examined to expand understanding about teacher usage of an integrated health curriculum. Specifically, researchers assessed the amount of activities within each curriculum domain (i.e., books, creative expressions, language/literacy, math, science) and the number of activities within each theme of the lessons (i.e., nutrition, physical activity, sleep) utilized by participating teachers. Prior to implementation, teachers (N = 68; M age = 35.5 years old) attended a one-hour training where use of the curriculum and supplemental material toolkit were exhibited. Participants were instructed to implement the curriculum over the course of a month and directed to record lessons implemented on a teacher usage checklist, indicating a “Y+” if they taught the lesson and would likely teach it again, a “Y-” if they taught the lesson, but would not likely teach it again, and an “N” if the lesson was not implemented. An overall total number of activities and a total number of activities within each curriculum domain (e.g., language/literacy) and within each theme (e.g., nutrition) was calculated using a frequency analysis. Results show that more than 20% of reporting teachers (n = 10; 21.8%) implemented all or almost all (i.e., 49 or 50 lessons) of the curriculum’s 50 activities. Children had more exposure to the book domain and the theme of nutrition, with less engagement in the domain of math and sleep-themed lessons. Based on the results of the first study, the second study examined the association between the dosage of the WannaBee Healthy? curriculum implementation within each classroom (i.e., frequency use of curriculum domains; frequency use of lesson themes) and child health knowledge outcomes (e.g., USDA MyPlate accuracy). Explicitly, is the dosage and type of content implementation directly associated with student’s gain in knowledge and the ability to successfully identify the following: (1) food from each of the five food groups, (2) healthy plate that includes all recommended food groups, (3) food origins, (4) four activities that increase heart rate, and (5) sleep, healthy plate, and physical activity as behaviors needed to keep our body healthy. Researchers utilized the information from the teacher usage checklist to determine dosage and content implementation of lessons. Pre- and post-assessments were randomly conducted on 252 pre-kindergarten (17.9%) and kindergarten (82.1%) students (M age = 5.02) whose parents had provided consent. Pearson correlations identified strong, positive correlations regarding implementation across the curriculum and within the domains and themes. A series of One-way ANOVAs were conducted, identifying a significance in outcomes of at least one child assessment and in both health themes (i.e., nutrition, physical activity). However, overall findings indicate that curriculum dosage alone was not related to changes in child health knowledge. Further testing did not show a significant difference in association between changes in child knowledge when controlling for time between pre- and post-assessments. Results suggest the effectiveness of the WannaBee Healthy? curriculum is not based on curriculum alone.

This inquiry began with a global question: Why are Aboriginal high school students underrepresented in the sciences? This led to the following series of questions: What is science? Is Aboriginal knowledge about nature and naturally occurring events science? What is science literacy? What are culturally responsive approaches to science education? The initial inquiry began as part of the Aboriginal Knowledge and Science Education Research Project, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Over time the inquiry morphed into two case studies. The first case study focused on a quantitative exploration to examine the current state of student performance in British Columbia secondary school science (Biology 12, Chemistry 12, and Physics 12), and mathematics (Principles of Mathematics 12). The examination of performance trends for over a decade confirmed the underperformance of Aboriginal students in secondary school sciences and mathematics when compared to non-Aboriginal students. The second case study sought to establish criteria, identify, and document a model project that incorporated the methods of western modern science (WMS) knowledge and ways of knowing represented by traditional ecological knowledge and wisdom (TEKW), local ecological knowledge (LEK), and indigenous knowledge (IK) in a local environment (place-based) and that was culturally responsive to students and faithful to science education principles. A model project was identified in British Columbia operating within the Heiltsuk First Nation territory by the Qqs (pronounced “kucks”) Projects Society. This project exemplified the Te Kotahitanga Project in Aotearoa/New Zealand by engaging student interns in science in place. Qqs partnered with a number of non-governmental organizations to develop the Supporting Emerging Aboriginal Stewards (SEAS) Initiative, whereby interns used WMS techniques to study their traditional territory in the Great Bear Rainforest. The SEAS project was deemed to make science more relevant for Aboriginal students, who may otherwise have rejected it because of a possible conflict with their cultural value systems and personal relevance. There is a persistent tension between science espoused by WMS, and the wisdom and sacredness of indigenous knowledge and wisdom (IKW). Finally, recommendations are proposed for a Two-row Wampum Belt or a trans-systemic practice that would enable IKW and WMS knowledge to operate in a spirit of mutual cultural responsiveness, followed by recommendations for future study. / Graduate

This work conducts an evaluation of a non-majors science curriculum named Molecules of Life (MOL) that aims to provide effective science education to undergraduate students who are not majoring in scientific disciplines. As part of the process of developing an assessment plan for MOL, three related studies were undertaken in order to help us choose assessment instruments for MOL. The first study examined the validity of student evaluations of teaching. The second study investigated the Test of Logical Thinking (TOLT) and Group Assessment of Logical Thinking (GALT), two widely-used instruments for measuring formal reasoning ability. GALT is very similar to TOLT, but contains two additional concrete items. Focusing on the functioning of these two items, we added them into TOLT and created a new test called "TOLT+2". We then compared TOLT with TOLT+2 in terms of reliability, discriminatory power, potential item bias, and predicting students at-risk in a general chemistry course. The two concrete items were found to provide no advantage in these aspects. In the third study, we performed a direct comparison between TOLT and GALT as intact instruments in general chemistry and in preparatory chemistry. GALT showed no advantage over TOLT for both general and preparatory chemistry in terms of reliability, discriminatory power, potential item bias, and predicting at-risk students. GALT has more frequently occurring, potentially biased items, while TOLT is tenably a less biased test. Based on the results from the three studies and input from faculty, an assessment plan was developed and refined for the MOL project at two summer workshops that faculty from all eight institutions participated in. Subsequently, a systematic evaluation for MOL was carried out as a fourth study. We found evidence that students learned the enzyme content from the MOL courses at all participating institutions. We also found the MOL curriculum can meaningfully improve students' spatial ability. MOL was able to reduce the gap between high-spatial-ability and low-spatial-ability students at most institutions. Because of the critical link of spatial ability to science learning, this result is very promising for our efforts to move towards "science for all".