The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of completing online diaries with specific topics on students’ self-regulated behavior in online courses. Also, this study sought to determine the impact of completing online diary topics with different topics (content-based or experience-based) on students’ self-regulation in online courses. The participants’ use of learning strategies was assessed to aid in this investigation. The research design utilized for this study was a quasi-experimental pretest/posttest design. The participants of this study included 30 undergraduate students from a variety of majors who were enrolled in one of two online courses. Of the 30 participants, 15 of the participants were in the content-based treatment group while the other 15 were in the experience-based treatment group. Convenience sampling was used to recruit participants for this study. Using data collected from the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) and the diary entries submitted by the participants, the researcher did not find associations between completion of online diary topics and participants’ self-regulated behavior within the online courses. However, results did indicate that the content-based group reported higher levels of critical thinking usage than the experience-based group after the treatment was administered.

This thesis examines the potential of a change analysis of student beliefs and attitudes about mathematics to inform teachers' reflective practice and provide the basis for modifying classroom practice. The author and two colleagues were involved in Math4theNines, a collaborative inquiry project for Ontario Grade 9 Mathematics. As part of that project, they developed an online survey to track the impact of their classroom practice on how students felt about mathematics and how students felt about themselves as learners of mathematics. The teachers reported that the before-and-after course survey and the accompanying change analysis that indicated any shifts in their students' attitudes and beliefs toward mathematics provided some unique and revealing perspectives on their practice. This study is a retrospective of that experience and an attempt to reproduce the results with three volunteer teachers. Although the results were mixed, there is some evidence to suggest that this approach has the potential to enhance teachers' focus on the new social-emotional strand in Ontario Grades 1 to 9 mathematics which presently is neither evaluated nor reported on. There is also potential to inform teachers in their efforts to develop the positive attitudes that have been shown to improve academic achievement and encourage entry into STEM fields.

The Internet has become an essential tool for today’s’ society. With its growth over the years, it is important to ask about the influence of the internet browser on individuals and how it modifies the pace and behavior of people’s affairs. This study describes the design and development of l3-37, a custom browser whose purpose is to prompt the user to reflect on the browser’s hidden software processes and to gather valuable insights. To support this, l3-37 includes two informative art visualizations designed to encourage the user to explore the HTML Cookies and the DOM tree. The two high-fidelity prototypes were developed based on Research Through Design and Autobiographical Design methods. Additionally, to address the affordances and limits of this work, a Think Aloud study was conducted to examine how the participants reflected on the hidden data and the insights they obtained. The study discusses the insights and lessons learned from the entire process and proposes directions for designing an informative art visualization in browser-art to prompt user reflection. Informative art in the web browser proved to be able to support different levels of reflection and reveal valuable insights. / Internet har blivit ett viktigt verktyg för dagens samhälle. Med dess tillväxt genom åren är det viktigt att fråga sig om webbläsarens inflytande på individer och hur den ändrar takt och beteende hos människors angelägenheter. Denna studie beskriver design och utveckling av l3-37, en anpassad webbläsare vars syfte är att snabbt användaren vrider på webbläsarens dolda mjukvaruprocesser och samlar värdefull insikt. För att stödja detta inkluderar l3-37 två informativa konstvisualiseringar som är utformade för att uppmuntra oss att utforska HTML-kakorna och DOM-trädet. Prototyperna med tvåhög trohet utvecklades baserat på ResearchThrough Design och autobiografiska designmetoder. Dessutom genomfördes en Think Aloud-undersökning för att ta itu med råd och begränsningar för detta arbete för att undersöka hur deltagarna reflekterade över de dolda uppgifterna och insikten om vad som erhållits. Studien diskuterar insikt och lärdomar från hela processen och föreslår vägbeskrivningar för att utforma en informativ konstvisualisering i webbläsarkonst för att förbättra reflektion av användare. Informativ konst i webbläsaren har visat sig kunna stödja olika reflektionsnivåer och avslöja värdefull insikt.

This diploma thesis deals with self-reflection of a teacher as one of his key pedagogical competencies. The theoretical part is dedicated to defining a teacher as a reflective teacher. In this part, the significance of a self-reflection in a teacher's work and its influence on his consequential pedagogical activities is emphasised. This thesis describes various methods of self-reflection that teachers can use when self-reflecting. Selfreflection of teacher's work can be an incentive towards improving his further work and contribute to professional growth of a teacher and his lifelong learning. The practical part of this thesis is focused on frequency of self-reflection, its timing, use of self-reflective methods and consequent use of information found.

Diploma thesis Teacher as a reflective practitioner is divided into theoretical and practical parts. The aim of theoretical part is characteristics of basic concepts related to reflection, dealing with issues of teacher education and opportunities for teachers who have already participated in the educational process. It presents the most commonly used techniques and methods of reflection and self-reflection, but other less common ones have been mentioned as well. The aim of the practical part analyses the current situation of teachers as reflecting practitioners at secondary schools with gastronomic specialization. Diploma thesis compares reflective processes among teachers of general educational subjects, professional courses and training.

Wellness dialogues in the United States consistently promote "mindfulness" and "meditation" in relation to self-care, but what do these terms really mean? This research project explores perceptions of mindfulness and meditation in the Claremont community, investigating how understandings of these terms are socially exchanged and reproduced. It also illuminates how these understandings have transformed from concepts influenced by a perceived "eastern-ness" to concepts whose cultural roots remain often undiscussed. Through this research, readers will better understand how Claremont community members conceptualize "mindfulness" and "meditation" and hopefully better access these practices with their perceived related health benefits.

Philosophy, art and leadership have been considered in previous studies, nevertheless rarely have all three been blended in one. The aim of this thesis resided in the attempt to build an unfixed conceptual net, having the ambition to shed light on the innermost parts of the leader; by collecting insights from philosophical notions, the figure of an artistic leader arises. The personal importance of this work was rooted in the hope of a leadership sourced in an inner reflection. Through qualitative research, we made use of concepts derived from Kant, Foucault, Nietzsche, Heidegger and several other thinkers, targeting the ontological, sensible, and reflecting centers of the figure of the artistic leader; which ultimately was completed by primary data retrieved from experts. At the heart of the thesis, namely the fourth strand, these thoughts are developed in two volumes. The first regards the emergence of the artistic leader, a concise ontology of this figure, the suggestion of the paramount importance played by self-reflection and the ‘care’ as found in a Foucauldian understanding, as well as the mechanisms of the mind of the leader. The eventual practices of the artistic leader are developed in the second volume, seen as expressive channels through which this figure could interact with the environment. The thesis - by its very nature - is open ended, as it is a suggestion of a figure drawing its relevance in the continual constructive thinking this work hopes to generate in the reader.

The main object of this diploma thesis is to describe the process of setting ethical standards for the Czech media after the Velvet Revolution. The thesis also describes the media's reflection on how the journalists abide by these ethical rules and what is their approach to ethical self- regulation. The thesis consists of two main parts. The first one is theoretical, it describes the evolution of media ethics in the Czech environment and also it lists the main issues of media ethics. The second part is analytical. The subject of the qualitative analysis is a number of texts published in years 1990 - 1992 and 2010 - 2012 in Respekt weekly, Reflex weekly and the dailies Mladá fronta Dnes (former Mladá fronta) and Právo (former Rudé právo). Both time periods were analyzed separately. The outcomes of those two analyses were thereafter compared. In order to get an idea about what ethical issues are considered to be the most problematic by the media audience, a quantitative analysis of complaints to the syndicate ethical committee is also included in the thesis.

The Project focused on self-reflection and insight, linking these processes to an artistic one – painting. As a way to respond to the research question: Does self-portraiture have the potential to guide us through self-reflection and insight? Workshops combining art and ways of thinking were designed and facilitated by the author, with the aim of improving the self-reflection and insight of students at LNU, based on theories of brain function and thinking. Using the workshop format, the author guided the participants through an experience of introspection through painting self-portraits. Areas of design included workshop, collaborative and critical design. A simple three-step design process was employed to create the Project, focusing on What, How and Why. Next steps included prototyping, designing the questionnaires which students completed, designing the art workshops, and advertising the workshops across campus. Results included nine respondents to questionnaires, four participants in the final workshop, and an array of findings regarding the self-reflection process and insight experienced by students through the design process. Although limitations were experienced, including a small number of participants, the results of combining self-portraiture and self-reflection and insight were mainly positive. It was concluded that this process could be proposed as a means to enhance self-reflection amongst students. Recommendations from the workshops included scaling up the process to include greater numbers of students and reaching an agreement with LNU to hold periodic self-portraiture workshops throughout the academic year, to enhance students’ self-reflection, insight and art skills. The author concluded that by holding workshops to paint self-portraits, along with exercises in self-reflection and insight, she had created a safe space for reflection. In future, students could be provided with guidance and support to use art as a platform for improving Self-reflection and insight, and at the same time enhance their art skills and potentially improve their well-being.

Thesis advisor: Lauri Johnson / This qualitative case study examined the perceived influence of social justice leadership on the job satisfaction of novice teachers in one Massachusetts school district. Social justice leadership was defined as leaders who “actively work to improve teaching and learning, so that all students have equitable opportunities to learn and excel” (Rivera-McCutchen, 2014, p. 749). Data collection included interviews with school and district leaders as well as a document review. Findings indicated that novice teachers and leaders identified specific building-based supports that helped novice teachers meet diverse student needs. The results of this study also found a discrepancy between leaders and novice teachers’ perceptions about opportunities for novice teachers to engage in critical self-reflection and the provision of professional development which supports social justice. This study supported the research that a determining factor in job satisfaction is whether or not novice teachers are able to meet student needs (Johnson & Birkeland, 2003). Recommendations include ensuring sustained social justice professional development by creating opportunities for novice teachers to engage in critical self-reflection and integrating culturally relevant pedagogy in order to help novice teachers meet the needs of diverse learners, which in turn may influence job satisfaction. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.