M.Ed. / Computer Studies as a school subject consists of a theory and a practical component. The practical component refers to programming. In programming the student has to design a algorithm. Problems can be solved with step by step approaches which lead to the final instruction that will solve the problem. This sequence of instructions that lead to problem solving is called an algorithm. There is more than one algorithm that will solve the same problem. There is no fixed recipe but only guidelines that assist the student to design an algorithm. During the designing of an algorithm the student gets the opportunity to be creative. The practical component of computer studies provides the ideal situation in which the student can solve a problem in his own way. Because of the nature of computer studies which is problem solving the opportunity arises where one can expose his creative talent. The situation unfortunately today exists where some teachers lack experience and training. To determine whether a specific algorithm solves a problem the inexperienced teacher should use a computer. Teachers that prefer to mark algorithms with a memorandum hamper the creativity of students. Although most teachers do have the necessary academic background they were not properly trained in the subject didactics of computer studies.

A research report in part fulfilment of the requirements of an MSc in Science Education at the University of the Witwatersrand / This study reports the findings of a research project in a DET (Department of Education and Training)* school in Mamelodi, South Africa, in 1995. An investigrtion was carried out to ascertain whether students benefit from having access to science definitions in their vernacular, and to determine their preference in terms of the medium of instruction in the science classroom. A Science Concept Guide, written at RADMASTE** Centre, was used as the main component of the intervention in a pretest - post-test study. This was followed by student questionnaires and interviews. The Concept Guide consisted of definitions and explanations of Physics and Chemistry concepts arranged according to themes. These explanations were translated into North Sotho. Two groups of Std 10 students participated in the evaluation of the Concept Guide. One group used an English version of the Concept Guide and the other an English and North Sotho version. The differences between the pre-test and post-test scores of each group were compared. The results indicated that a significant improvement in scores had occurred in the English and North Sotho Group. Interview results showed that a number of students were in favour of having learning material of this sort available in their vernacular and claimed that they had found it helpful. In general, both groups expressed favourable comments about the Guide. Opinions about medium of instruction varied. Overall, findings indicate that further efforts in the development of vernacular material for the learning of science would prove beneficial. Although the area of policy decision is outside the scope of this study, it hopes to contribute in some way to the knowledge about the preferred medium of learning in South Africa. / Andrew Chakane 2018

The past two decades of research on how students develop their science understandings as they make sense of phenomena that occur in the natural world has culminated in a movement to redefine science educational standards. The so-called Next Generation Science Standards (or NGSS) codify this new definition into a set of distinct performance expectations, which outline how students might reveal to what extent they have sufficient understanding of disciplinary core ideas (DCIs), science practices (SEPs), and crosscutting concepts (CCCs). The latter of these three dimensions is unique both in being the most recent to the field and in being the least supported by prior science education research. More crucially, as a policy document, the NGSS alone does not provide the supports teachers need to bring reforms to their classrooms, particularly not summative assessments. This dissertation addresses both of these gaps using a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques. First, I analyze differential categorization of problems that require respondents to engage with their CCC understandings via confirmatory factor analysis inference. Second, I use a set of Rasch models to measure preliminary learning progressions for CCCs evident in student activity within a computer-assisted assessment experience. Third, I analyze student artifacts, think-aloud interviews, and post-task reflective interviews via activity theory to adapt the progression into a task model in which students explain and predict aspects of Earth systems. The culmination of these three endeavors not only sets forth a methodology for researching CCCs in a way that is more integrative to the other dimensions of the NGSS, but also provides a framework for developing assessments that are aligned to the goals of these new standards.

The purpose of this proposed research study was to identify actual teaching practices/instructional strategies for online science courses. The identification of these teaching practices/instructional strategies could be used to compile a set of teaching practices/instructional strategies for virtual high school and online academy science instructors. This study could assist online science instructors by determining which teaching practices/instructional strategies were preferred for the online teaching environment. The literature reviewed the role of online and face-to-face instructional strategies, then discussed and elaborated on the science instructional strategies used by teachers, specifically at the secondary level. The current literature did not reflect an integration of these areas of study. Therefore, the connectedness of these two types of instructional strategies and the creation of a set of preferred instructional practices for online science instruction was deemed necessary. For the purpose of this study, the researcher designed a survey for face-to-face and online teachers to identify preferred teaching practices, instructional strategies, and types of technology used when teaching high school science students. The survey also requested demographic data information from the faculty members, including years of experience, subject(s) taught, and whether the teacher taught in a traditional classroom or online, to determine if any of those elements affect differences in faculty perceptions with regard to the questions under investigation. The findings from the current study added to the literature by demonstrating the differences and the similarities that exist between online and face-to-face instruction. Both forms of instruction tend to rely on student-centered approaches to teaching. / There were many skills that were similar in that both types of instructors tend to focus on implementing the scientific method. The primary difference is the use of technology tools that were used by online instructors. Online instructors tend to rely on more technological tools such as virtual labs. A list of preferred instructional practices was generated from the qualitative responses to the open-ended questions. Research concerned with this line of inquiry should continue in order to enhance both theory and practice in regard to online instruction. / by Tammy J. Gillette. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Orientador: Jair Lopes Junior / Banca: Kester Carrara / Banca: Sérgio Dias Cirino / Resumo: O modelo de mudança conceitual,de reconhecida difusão na área do Ensino de Ciências,foi alvo de diversas críticas e revisões ao longo dos mais de vinte anos desde sua proposição inicial. oder-se-ia afirmar,no entanto,que tanto os proponentes do modelo quanto seus críticos apresentam um enfoque restritivo no tratamento das medidas comportamentais correspondentes à ocorrência ou não de mudança conceitual. Admite-se,como hipótese deste trabalho,que o Behaviorismo Radical propicia ferramentas capazes de uma avaliação da pertinência das críticas dirigidas ao modelo e da própria proposta de avaliação dos resultados obtidos através de sua utilização,tal como apresentada por seus proponentes . Para tanto, o presente trabalho concentrou ênfase na tentativa de,considerando estudos que ilustram a difusão posterior do modelo em trabalhos empíricos,descrever as medidas comportamentais que parecem fundamentar inferências sobre a ocorrência ou não da mudança conceitual,analisando se e como o tratamento de tais medidas foi considerado em alguns dos artigos que expressam uma revisão crítica do modelo Argumenta-se que tais artigos falham em descrever semelhanças e diferenças dos instrumentos e das interações que definem a obtenção das medidas comportamentais de conhecimentos prévios e posteriores à intervenção,bem como as intervenções intencionalmente planejadas e as condições de avaliação que sucedem a tais intervenções. / Abstract: The conceptual change model, well-known spread in Science Teaching, has been reviewed and criticized, since its initial proposal, for over twenty years. It could be argued, however, that either authors or critics present a restrictive view concerning the behavioral measures related to the absence or occurrence of conceptual change. The hypothesis within this paper is that Radical Behaviorism provides tools that can assess the pertinence of criticisms toward the model as well as the result evaluation proposal obtained from their application, as referred to by their proponents. Thus, the emphasis of this paper, taking into account studies that illustrate the posterior spreading of the model in empirical applications, is the attempt to describe the behavioral measures that seem to support inferences about the occurrence or absence of conceptual change, analyzing whereas and how the treatment of such measures were considered in some articles expressing a critical revision of the model. We understand that such articles have failed to describe similarities and differences concerning the instruments and interactions that define the achievement of behavioral measures from the knowledge (and not about responses) before and after the intervention, as well as intentionally planned interventions and the assessment conditions subsequent to the interventions. / Mestre

Essa dissertação apresenta a discussão sobre a contribuição de um material instrucional como mediador na construção do conhecimento em aulas de química. Inicialmente estabelecemos um quadro referencial sobre argumentação e aprendizagem, escrita, gêneros do discurso escolar-científico e formato prescrito desses gêneros. Discutimos a concepção e o projeto do material instrucional baseado nas propriedades do enunciado de acordo com o círculo de Bakhtin. Organizamos um conjunto de atividades de laboratório e estabelecemos os processos instrumentais pelos quais se realizam as atividades experimentais, bem como propomos critérios para avaliação em sala de aula dos gêneros do discurso produzidos pelos estudantes. Construímos as categorias de análise e organizamos o material produzido pelos estudantes em nosso modelo de avaliação. Submetemos o material organizado às categorias de análise e observamos o processo evolutivo dos estudantes na produção dos gêneros do discurso, assim como no argumento construído antes e após a utilização de nosso material instrucional. Concluímos que os estudantes demonstram um processo evolutivo positivo em todos os aspectos analisados após a utilização de nosso material instrucional, o que nos indica a viabilidade de seu uso em sala de aula de química. / This dissertation presents a discussion on the contribution of an instructional material as a mediator in the construction of knowledge in chemistry class. Initially established a frame of reference about reasoning and learning, writing, discourse genre-school science and prescribed format of these genres. We discuss the conception and the design of instructional material based on the properties of the utterance in accordance with the Bakhtin circle. We define a set of laboratory activities and establish the procedures by which instruments they carry out the experiments, and propose criteria for evaluation of classroom discourse genre produced by students. We construct categories of analysis and organize the material produced by students in our evaluation model. We subject the material organized in categories of analysis and observe the evolutionary process of the students in the production of discourse genre, and the argument built before and after the use of our instructional materials. We conclude that the students showed a positive evolutionary process in all aspects analyzed after the use of our instructional material, which indicates the feasibility of its use in the classroom chemistry.

The purpose of this descriptive quantitative and basic qualitative study was to examine fifth and eighth grade science teachers' responses, perceptions of the role of technology in the classroom, and how they felt that computer applications, tools, and the Internet influence student understanding. The purposeful sample included survey and interview responses from fifth grade and eighth grade general and physical science teachers. Even though they may not be generalizable to other teachers or classrooms due to a low response rate, findings from this study indicated teachers with fewer years of teaching science had a higher level of computer use but less computer access, especially for students, in the classroom. Furthermore, teachers' choice of professional development moderated the relationship between the level of school performance and teachers' knowledge/skills, with the most positive relationship being with workshops that occurred outside of the school. Eighteen interviews revealed that teachers perceived the role of technology in classroom instruction mainly as teacher-centered and supplemental, rather than student-centered activities. / by Rebecca Kerr. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Almost twenty-one percent of the United States population spoke a language other than English in 2011. Furthermore, there has been a dramatic increase in the enrollment of students of Hispanic and other ethnic backgrounds in U.S. post-secondary institutions between 1976 and 2013 (from 4% to 16%) (National Center for Education Statistics NCES, 2016). Until now, no systematic research has focused on the differential effects of selfefficacy on academic achievement in monolingual and bilingual undergraduate college students. The present study aimed to investigate this relationship, as well as contribute additional insight on whether the academic self-efficacy of monolingual and bilingual undergraduate college students plays a role in their academic success specifically in science and math courses. Additionally, the findings of this research study were expected to provide data to inform the development of educational programs that might specifically target monolinguals or bilinguals in enhancing students’ self-efficacy. Seven instructors of foundational undergraduate science courses and math courses at a southeastern university agreed to contribute to the study by asking their students for their voluntary participation in the data collection. A total of 361 students participated in the study. Overall, 256 (70.9%) participants reported being monolingual and 105 (29.1%) reported being bilingual; 335 (92.8%) students were enrolled in science courses and 26 (7.2%) were registered in math courses; 237 (65.7%) were female students and 124 (34.3%) were male. Demographics, self-efficacy, and sociolinguistic data were collected using the Self-Efficacy Research Study Online Questionnaire. Final science and math grades were also collected from the instructors at the end of the semester for all students who volunteered to participate in the study. The findings of this research study revealed that the self-efficacy levels of undergraduate college students in science and math predict their academic achievement in these subjects. They also showed that the self-efficacy levels of bilingual participants are higher than those of their monolingual counterparts. Findings also indicated that when the relationship between final grade and self-efficacy was examined separately in each linguistic group the correlation was significant and positive for monolinguals. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2017-08-24T12:50:36Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Mario Madureira Fontes.pdf: 94224761 bytes, checksum: 0d01cb5af73fd93f89f5bc68f2a6268b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-24T12:50:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Mario Madureira Fontes.pdf: 94224761 bytes, checksum: 0d01cb5af73fd93f89f5bc68f2a6268b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-08-15 / The motivation for developing this thesis stems from the wish to find ways t o make the learning of computational concepts easier . The objective of this work is to contribute to the learning/teaching of computational concepts based on narrative learning and critical thinking approaches. In order to develop this objective , OCC-RDD narratives and instructional card games were chosen as instruments. A mechanism called puzzle triggers was conceptualized and integrated in these instruments, and thanks to the introduction of this concept, a very important distinction was made possible: the puzzles correspond to problem-solving oriented cognitive actions, which enable the interpreter to construct puzzles in their mind. As the puzzle triggers evoque puzzles, they are thought to engage the students in the learning context. Conceptualizing the mechanism of puzzle triggers to be integrated in the OCC-RDD narratives and in instructional card games follows a dynamic and constructivist approach based on critical thinking. Three questions were posed and discussed in this work: how can puzzle triggers be structured in OCC-RDD narratives and in card games so that the student develops the kind of logical thinking necessary to acquire computational concepts? How to arouse puzzles within the OCC-RDD scenes and in the process of creating intructional card games? Are there puzzle triggers which are more adequate to be integrated in certain types of OCC-RDD narrative scenes and in certain stages of instructional card games? In order to answer these questions, case studies involving the application of a proposal to teaching computacional concepts to students attending Engineering and Digital Course Games were made. In this teaching proposal, puzzle triggers and puzzles were introduced in OCC-RDD narratives and instructional card games. In order to develop these studies, a guideline for developing OCC-RD narratives and instructional card games was developed. As research hypotheses, the following were proposed: puzzle triggers evoque puzzles and these are essential for developing and structuring critical thinking as students learn a new concept. The introduction of puzzle triggers turned out to be successful, because they stimulated planning, pondering, and evaluating of intervening factors, as well as the process of making decisions and taking actions in order to solve problems. As they performed the activities evoked by the puzzle triggers, the students were able to evaluate the problems they faced from multiple points of view and in this way, they were able to develop critical thinking and reasoning, using strategies and realizing representations to solve problems / A motivação para o desenvolvimento desta tese decorre da intenção de fornecer subsídios para facilitar a aprendizagem de conceitos computacionais. O objetivo geral consiste em contribuir para o ensino-aprendizagem de conceitos computacionais a partir de uma abordagem fundamentada em aprendizagem narrativa e pensamento crítico. Para desenvolver esse objetivo, foram utilizados como instrumentos, narrativas OCC-RDD e jogos de cartas instrucionais e nesses integrado um mecanismo denominado gatilhos de desafios. Com a introdução desse conceito, uma distinção importante é formalizada: os desafios correspondem às ações cognitivas que se orientam para a resolução de problemas, enquanto os gatilhos de desafios concernem os estímulos que levam o solucionador a interpretá-los e construir em sua mente os desafios. Considera-se que os gatilhos de desafios, pela potencialidade em desencadear desafios, podem ser utilizados para engajar os estudantes no contexto de aprendizagem. A formalização do conceito de gatilhos de desafios como mecanismo a ser incorporado em roteirização de narrativas instrucionais e de jogos de cartas instrucionais contempla uma visão da aprendizagem como uma atividade dinâmica e construtivista alicerçada em pensamento crítico. Três questões são postuladas e discutidas: como os desafios podem ser estruturados em narrativas escritas com a técnica OCC-RDD ou em jogos de cartas para levar o estudante a desenvolver o raciocínio lógico necessário para a aquisição de conceitos de computação?; como suscitar os desafios dentro das cenas das narrativas OCC-RDD e dentro do processo de criação dos jogos de cartas?; há gatilhos de desafios que se adequam melhor a certos tipos de cenas de narrativas OCC-RDD e a certas etapas de jogos de cartas instrucionais?. Para respondê-las, foram desenvolvidos estudos de caso que envolveram aplicação de uma proposta de ensino de conceitos computacionais com o uso de gatilhos de desafios e desafios introduzidos em narrativas OCC-RDD e em jogos de cartas instrucionais para alunos dos cursos de Engenharia e de Jogos Digitais. Para desenvolver esses estudos, foi elaborado um roteiro para a criação e o desenvolvimento das narrativas OCC-RDD e dos jogos de cartas instrucionais. Como hipóteses de pesquisa, foram postuladas: os gatilhos de desafios desencadeiam desafios e estes são essenciais para o desenvolvimento e a estruturação do pensamento crítico dos estudantes ao aprenderem um novo conceito; os gatilhos de desafios conferem um aspecto de dinamicidade ao serem inseridos em narrativas e jogos de cartas. Os gatilhos de desafios mostraram-se eficazes, pois estimularam, pela criação do desafio, o planejamento, a reflexão, a avaliação de fatores intervenientes, a tomada de decisões e o agir para a solução dos problemas. Ao executarem as tarefas sugeridas pelos gatilhos de desafios, os estudantes realizaram uma confiável avaliação do problema a ser solucionado a partir de múltiplos pontos de vista e, dessa maneira, desenvolveram o pensamento crítico, ou seja, a capacidade de raciocinar, de empregar estratégias e de realizar representações para solucionar problemas

This study examined the student's achievement, attitude toward science, and self-concept of ninth grade physical science students in an individualized science program and ninth grade physical science students in a traditional science class. The research was conducted to ascertain the effect of individualized instruction upon the achievement, attitude, and self-concept of inner-city junior high school science students, and to analyze the implications of these effects for administrators, teachers, counselors, and others who are interested in the optimum achievement of students to science instruction. The sample size was 150 ninth grade physical science students enrolled in an individualized science program and 150 ninth grade physical science students enrolled in a traditional program. The students were administered the Stanford Achievement Test: Science, Remmer's Attitude Toward Any School Subject Scale, and the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. The experimental design of the study was patterned after the posttest only control group design. Preliminary data were obtained for each student within each participating class. The preliminary data were used for establishing group equivalence and as a concomitant observation in the analysis of covariance. The preliminary data were obtained from the permanent records of each participating school and involved the student's age, I.Q., natural science achievement level, and composite achievement level. From the data found in this study and in the related research, the following conclusions were drawn: 1. Physical science students taught by the individualized science program do not achieve at a significantly higher level, as measured by a standardized achievement test in science, than do students taught by the traditional method. 2. Physical science students taught by the individualized program do not differ significantly from the students of traditional physical science in attitude toward science. 3. Physical science students taught by the individualized program do not differ significantly from the students of traditional physical science on a standard self-concept scale. 4. The student variables of I.Q., background in natural science, and composite achievement level are important factors in successful achievement in physical science. 5. The student variables of I.Q., background in natural science, and composite achievement level are important factors in attaining a high positive attitude toward science. The I.Q. of the student seems to be the most important of the above factors. 6. The student variables of I.Q. and natural science achievement are important factors in attaining a high self-concept. 7. There was a significant relationship between grade point average in science and student achievement in science. 8. There was a significant relationship between grade point average in science and attitude toward science. 9. There was a significant relationship between grade point average in science and self-concept.