Failure is a necessary step in the process of learning. For this reason, there has been a myriad of research dedicated to the study of student perseverance in the presence of failure, leading to several commonly-cited theories and frameworks to characterize productive and unproductive representations of the construct of persistence. While researchers are in agreement that it is important for students to persist when struggling to learn new material, there can be both positive and negative aspects of persistence. What is it, then, that separates productive from unproductive persistence? The purpose of this work is to address this question through the development, extension, and study of data-driven models of student affect, behavior, and knowledge. The increased adoption of computer-based learning platforms in real classrooms has led to unique opportunities to study student learning at both fine levels of granularity and longitudinally at scale. Prior work has leveraged machine learning methods, existing learning theory, and previous education research to explore various aspects of student learning. These include the development of sensor-free detectors that utilize only the student interaction data collected through such learning platforms. Building off of the considerable amount of prior research, this work employs state-of-the-art machine learning methods in conjunction with the large scale granular data collected by computer-based learning platforms in alignment with three goals. First, this work focuses on the development of student models that study learning through the use of advancements in student modeling and deep learning methodologies. Second, this dissertation explores the development of tools that incorporate such models to support teachers in taking action in real classrooms to promote productive approaches to learning. Finally, this work aims to complete the loop in utilizing these detector models to better understand the underlying constructs that are being measured through their application and their connection to productive perseverance and commonly-observed learning outcomes.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The shortage of appropriate student housing in South Africa has been under the spotlight for the past few years. This has been made explicit by the Report on the Ministerial committee for the review of the provision of student housing at South African universities, revealing shocking realities regarding the State of student residences and deplorable conditions under which many students are forced to live. The inequalities in higher education as a result of the legacy of apartheid reflect glaring gaps in resources between Historically Advantaged Institutions (HAIs) and Historically Disadvantaged Institutions (HDIs). The inequity present within higher education impacts on student learning, as HAIs have more resources than HDIs, giving students attending these institutions a different exposure to opportunities. Having a safe, conducive space that facilitates learning is key to ensuring that students are able to learn properly. This research study uses the work of Nancy Fraser to understand how her notion of social justice and the ability to participate as equals (participatory parity) relates to residence life at a HDI in South Africa. Fraser contends that economic, cultural and political dimensions influence participatory parity and either enable or impede the achievement of social justice. The research study considers what suitable institutional arrangements need to be put in place to facilitate more equitable participation for students to enable them to flourish at university. This study is located at the student residences of the University of the Western Cape (UWC). A participatory action research (PAR) design was used, with the study conducted in two phases. The first phase targeted 40 students across UWC residences and used Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) techniques, including the ‘River of Life’ and ‘Community Mapping’. The second phase, involving the same 40 students, comprised a Photovoice process and individual interviews. Nancy Fraser’s participatory parity framework and the dimensions was used as a lens to make sense of the data. The findings of this study revealed several constraints and enablements which affected student learning, namely economic, cultural and political dimensions. The economic dimension revealed constraints relating to poorly resourced facilities, insufficient and ineffective services and problematic technology. Students reported how maldistribution of resources affected them when the lack of those resources prevented them from participating as equals in relation to their peers. The cultural dimension indicated whose status at residences held esteem and whose did not, and consequently what perceived attributes are valued and devalued at residences. Differently abled students, students struggling with poverty, students living with mental health issues, LGBTIQ issues, issues of gender, as well as foreign national students, found themselves being devalued, meaning that they were misrecognised because of their status. The political dimension was used to examine whether students felt that they had a voice in decision making and whether they felt that their needs and opinions were represented. The study also examined whether students were misframed. Misframing occurs when students are excluded from the frame of justice and determines whether they count and have a valid claim to justice. Foreign national students reported experiencing misframing at residences since, in some respects, they did not qualify as claimants for rights. The study highlights how Fraser’s dimensions are mutually intertwined and reciprocally influence and reinforce one another but that none is reducible to another. Referring to each of the dimensions, the study examines affirmative and transformative strategies for remedying injustices, focusing on existing strategies as well as possible strategies which could bring about participatory parity for students. Finally, the study presents a list of recommendations which the university could consider to improve student learning at residences.

This research was concerned with furthering theoretical and practical understanding of student learning at university through a longitudinal, cross-sectional, in-depth study of first year students in a specific learning context, namely Educational Psychology. The main aim of the study was to investigate ways of assisting students to be effective learners. The particular role that affect played in learning and the relationship between learning behaviour and learning outcomes, was explored. A Conceptual Model of student learning incorporating student cognition, metacognition, motivation, affect and academic performance in a specific social and cultural context, underpinned the study. The study documented the design, implementation and evaluation - from both the students' and teacher's perspectives - of an in-context learning support program for first year students, using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies.The program was based on a theoretical framework which integrated cognitive, behavioural and social learning perspectives and focussed on increasing students' repertoire of learning strategies, promoting their higher level thinking and understanding, developing their metacognitive skills and managing their affect. It included an emphasis on student goal setting and time management, reading and writing strategies, learning for tests and exams, self-management, reflecting on and evaluating learning, and dealing with test anxiety.The main findings of the study were that providing in-context learning support was associated with positive changes in students' learning strategy use, motivational orientations, and affective reactions. Students valued teacher support and instructional strategies that promoted active learning. The instructor found that providing learning support was more challenging and rewarding than teaching content alone. The role of context - ++ / in particular, assessment tasks - in learning, was highlighted. The implications for teaching and learning were examined and the Conceptual Model was further refined. The research resulted in a more holistic and integrated perspective on learning support provision and on the role of cognitive, metacognitive, motivational and affective factors, and academic performance, in student learning.

This study sought to address two connections that are fundamental to studies of science teaching and learning in classroom settings. The first one is the connection between classroom instruction and student learning outcomes, and the second one is the relationship between theoretical choice and analytical results. In this study, two theoretical perspectives were employed in parallel to examine a sequence of nine lessons on the topic of “Matter” in a Year 7 science classroom. These two theoretical perspectives are: Distributed Cognition (Hutchins, 1995) and Variation Theory (Marton and Tsui, 2004). The results of each analysis were compared and contrasted in an attempt to identify their similarities and differences in describing and explaining the classroom practice documented.The analyses from both theoretical lenses pointed to several issues underlying student difficulties identified in this classroom, including the problematic macroscopic-microscopic relationship, the lack of attention to “substance”, and the taken-for-granted temperature conditions. However, the two theoretical perspectives differed in their capacity to accommodate learning at different levels, to address the connection between instruction and learning, and to identify and advocate the likely benefits of particular instructional approaches. Distributed Cognition unfolded the connection between teaching and learning by a careful examination of social interactions and the utilization of artefacts in these interactions. It speculated learning occurring in different types of social configurations and interactions found in a science classroom (e.g. collaborative activities). From the perspective of Distributed Cognition, the inappropriate employment or coordination of resources was the key factor contributing to the limited success in establishing shared understanding among the participants in the classroom. Variation Theory explicitly modelled the connection between instruction and learning through the idea of patterns of variation, and it provided some general principles to evaluate the teaching of a specific topic. From the perspective of Variation Theory, it was the lack of appropriate variation in the key attributes of the object of learning that contributed to the limited success in developing student capability to make differentiations between critical and uncritical aspects of a scientific concept. But current applications of Variation Theory do not include learning occurring in the private domain of the classroom (e.g. student-student interaction) and are silent on the role of collaborative activity (e.g. group work) in learning.The juxtaposition of the parallel analyses showed that the two theories are complementary and mutually informing in their explanations of the documented classroom practice. But their assumptions about what constitutes learning and what contributes to that learning differed from each other. This study suggested that we should focus our attention on the identification of the contingencies of compatibilities in our efforts to combine or synthesize elements of different theories. In this study, the local combination of the results generated from the parallel analyses contributed to a more complete understanding of science learning as it occurred in the classroom.The findings of this study should inform science teaching, curriculum development, and instructional design of science classrooms. It also generated implications for research into science classrooms and suggested the need for the science education community to examine the role of theory and the relationship between theoretical choice and analytical results obtained through the employment of a particular theory.

This study sought to address two connections that are fundamental to studies of science teaching and learning in classroom settings. The first one is the connection between classroom instruction and student learning outcomes, and the second one is the relationship between theoretical choice and analytical results. In this study, two theoretical perspectives were employed in parallel to examine a sequence of nine lessons on the topic of “Matter” in a Year 7 science classroom. These two theoretical perspectives are: Distributed Cognition (Hutchins, 1995) and Variation Theory (Marton and Tsui, 2004). The results of each analysis were compared and contrasted in an attempt to identify their similarities and differences in describing and explaining the classroom practice documented.The analyses from both theoretical lenses pointed to several issues underlying student difficulties identified in this classroom, including the problematic macroscopic-microscopic relationship, the lack of attention to “substance”, and the taken-for-granted temperature conditions. However, the two theoretical perspectives differed in their capacity to accommodate learning at different levels, to address the connection between instruction and learning, and to identify and advocate the likely benefits of particular instructional approaches. Distributed Cognition unfolded the connection between teaching and learning by a careful examination of social interactions and the utilization of artefacts in these interactions. It speculated learning occurring in different types of social configurations and interactions found in a science classroom (e.g. collaborative activities). From the perspective of Distributed Cognition, the inappropriate employment or coordination of resources was the key factor contributing to the limited success in establishing shared understanding among the participants in the classroom. Variation Theory explicitly modelled the connection between instruction and learning through the idea of patterns of variation, and it provided some general principles to evaluate the teaching of a specific topic. From the perspective of Variation Theory, it was the lack of appropriate variation in the key attributes of the object of learning that contributed to the limited success in developing student capability to make differentiations between critical and uncritical aspects of a scientific concept. But current applications of Variation Theory do not include learning occurring in the private domain of the classroom (e.g. student-student interaction) and are silent on the role of collaborative activity (e.g. group work) in learning.The juxtaposition of the parallel analyses showed that the two theories are complementary and mutually informing in their explanations of the documented classroom practice. But their assumptions about what constitutes learning and what contributes to that learning differed from each other. This study suggested that we should focus our attention on the identification of the contingencies of compatibilities in our efforts to combine or synthesize elements of different theories. In this study, the local combination of the results generated from the parallel analyses contributed to a more complete understanding of science learning as it occurred in the classroom.The findings of this study should inform science teaching, curriculum development, and instructional design of science classrooms. It also generated implications for research into science classrooms and suggested the need for the science education community to examine the role of theory and the relationship between theoretical choice and analytical results obtained through the employment of a particular theory.

Since first being advocated by Terry O’Banion in the 1990s, the Learning College concept has been adopted by numerous community colleges. This concept focuses on student learning by placing students first. This strengthens the community colleges fundamental foci of emphasis on teaching and learning and providing higher education to underserved populations. It is essential that community college libraries support the learning college concept. The purpose of this study is to determine if community college libraries can support the learning college concept. The study examined two types of libraries, one in a designated learning college and the other in a college that has not adopted the concept. This examination utilized individual interviews and a review of institutional documentation. Interviews were conducted with librarians and students from a college that adopted the learning college concept and a college that had not. This study found that there was little difference in the function and perception of the libraries in both types of institutions. However, it was also found that the libraries supported the learning concept of the learning college concept. Specifically, the literature review evidenced that libraries were perceived as repositories of books but the review of the documentation indicated that libraries were active participants in student learning by offering curriculum based workshops and individual instruction, thereby fostering a learning-centered environment. / text

In the United States, measuring and documenting institutional effectiveness in postsecondary educational institutions is not a one-size-fits-all process. Although this can be effectively accomplished in a variety of ways, the best approach for any higher education institution is one that is tailored to the institution’s unique environment and directly supports the its mission. Nevertheless, there are common factors that can greatly influence institutions’ ability to measure and demonstrate levels of effectiveness directly tied to student learning. This qualitative study was designed to gain an understanding of how factors within a higher education environment, including structure, practices and processes, can impact the institution’s ability to evidence institutional effectiveness related to student learning. The study examined institutional effectiveness as defined by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), and reviewed specific components of student learning assessment through SACSCOC Comprehensive Standard 3.3.1.1 (Institutional Effectiveness – Educational Programs). The researcher applied a multi-site case study approach to gain an in-depth understanding of this phenomenon. Through purposeful sampling, seven higher education institutions were selected from the 2011/2012 SACSCOC Reaffirmation Class. The phenomenon was studied at each institution as a single case, and using Yin’s cross-experiment logic, a cross case analysis was also conducted. In addition, to attain the most compelling results from this multi-site case study, both literal and theoretical replication (Yin, 1989) was employed. The researcher concluded that there were four significant variables that impacted the ability of the institutions to sufficiently evidence institutional effectiveness associated with student learning. These variables included leadership, institutional culture, resource allocation, and the planning and assessment processes at the institutions.

In recent years, learning technology has become a very important addition to the toolkit of instructors at any level of education and training. Not only offered as a substitute in distance education, but often complementing traditional delivery methods, e-learning is considered an important component of modern pedagogy. Particularly in the last decade, learning technology has seen a very rapid growth following the large-scale development and deployment of e-learning financed by both Governments and commercial enterprises. These turned e-learning into one of the most profitable sectors of the new century, especially in recession times when education and retraining have become even more important and a need to maximise resources is forced by the need for savings. Interestingly, however, evaluation of e-learning has been primarily based on the consideration of users’ satisfaction and usability metrics (i.e. system engineering perspective) or on the outcomes of learning (i.e. gains in grades/task performance). Both of these are too narrow to provide a reliable effect of the real impact of learning technology on the learning processes and lead to inconsistent findings. The key purpose of this thesis is to propose a novel, data-driven framework and methodology to understand the effect of e-learning by evaluating the utility and effectiveness of e-learning systems in the context of higher education, and specifically, in the teaching of psychology courses. The concept of learning is limited to its relevance for students’ learning in courses taught using a mixture of traditional methods and online tools tailored to enhance teaching. The scope of elearning is intended in a blended method of delivery of teaching. A large sample of over 2000 students taking psychology courses in year 1 and year 2 was considered over a span of 5 five years, also providing the scope for the analysis of some longitudinal sub-samples. The analysis is accomplished using a psychologically grounded approach to evaluation, partially informed by a cognitive/ behavioural perspective (online usage) and a differential perspective (measures of cognitive and learning styles). Relations between behaviours, styles and academic performance are also considered, giving an insight and a direct comparison with existing literature. The methodology adopted draws heavily from data mining techniques to provide a rich characterisation of students/users in this particular context from the combination of three types of metrics: cognitive and learning styles, online usage and academic performance. Four different instruments are used to characterise styles: ASSIST (Approaches to learning, Entwistle), CSI (Cognitive Styles Inventory, Allinson & Hayes), TSI (Thinking Styles Inventory and the mental self-government theory, Sternberg) and VICS-WA (Verbal/Imager and Wholistc/Analytic Cognitive style, Riding, Peterson) which were intentionally selected to provide a varied set of tools. Online usage, spanning over the entire academic year for each student, is analysed applying web usage mining (WUM) techniques and is observed through different layers of interpretation accounting for behaviours from the single clicks to a student’s intentions in a single session. Academic performance was collated from the students’ records giving an insight in the end-of-year grades, but also into specific coursework submissions during the whole academic year allowing for a temporal matching of online use and assessment. The varied metrics used and data mining techniques applied provide a novel evaluation framework based on a rich profile of the learner, which in turn offers a valuable alternative to regression methods as a mean to interpret relations between metrics. Patterns emerging from styles and the way online material is used over time, proved to be valuable in discriminating differences in academic performance and useful in this context to identify significant group differences in both usage and academic performance. As a result, the understanding of the relations between e-learning usage, styles and academic performance has important practical implications to enhance students’ learning experience, in the automation of learning systems and to inform policymakers of the effects of learning technology has from a user and learner-centred approach to learning and studying. The success of the application of data mining methods offers an excellent starting point to explore further a data-driven approach to evaluation, support informed design processes of e-learning and to deliver suitable interventions to ensure better learning outcomes and provide an efficient system for institutions and organization to maximise the impact of learning technology for teaching and training.

Magister Scientiae - MSc / This project discusses whether the British prototype questionnaire called the Assessment Experience Questionnaire (AEQ) could be standardized as a quantifier of assessment and be used at a multicultural institute such as the University of the Western Cape (UWC). This questionnaire was created in the United Kingdom to assist lecturers in evaluating and developing their assessment systems. / South Africa

The purpose of this case study was to explore faculty members’ perceptions of the QEP in a public doctoral university with highest research activity. Particularly, the study explored how faculty members perceive the role of the QEP in student learning and institutional effectiveness, the relevance of the QEP activities in student learning and institutional effectiveness, and how faculty members’ involvement with the accreditation process associated with their perceptions of the QEP. The study design was a qualitative single case study and data were collected from the Quality Enhancement Plan Questionnaire (QEPQ), face-to-face interviews, and documents. Findings revealed that faculty members perceived the QEP as an ambitious and important, necessity-driven process that is focused on globalization. Faculty members’ perceptions of the QEP’s role in institutional effectiveness included: (a) emphasizing the university identity, (b) increased reputation, (c) promoting international research collaboration, (d) bureaucracy, (e) cost-effectiveness, and (f) need for institutional conversation. In regards to their perceptions of the QEP’s role in student learning, faculty members believed that the QEP enhanced the curriculum and helped globally oriented students to compete in the workplace. The study findings also indicated that the QEP activities were relevant to student global experiences such as study abroad program and second language learning programs. Faculty members indicated that the QEP is more relevant to their focus on teaching and learning and that their involvement with the accreditation process contributed to a better awareness of the QEP. The findings from this study have implications for higher education quality practice and research.