The aim of this study was to provide teachers with a practical means to obtain timely indications of their students reactions to individual activities. Teachers could then modify their presentations of activities cognisant of those students perceptions. The study set out to establish a suitable instrument, and then to evaluate its use by classroom teachers.Five experienced science and mathematics teachers identified five characteristics of interest when considering students perceptions of classroom activities: Understand Content, Communication, Relevancy, Work Output, and Enjoyment. A fifteen-item instrument based upon these characteristics was developed for this study. The viability of the survey for use by busy classroom teachers was increased by the short and succinct format, as well as the provision of a computer graphing template to process and display responses. The combination of the survey and computer template is called the Students' Perceptions of an Activity Instrument and Display (SPAID).Teachers appreciated the provision of a structure to assist their reviewing the use of activities, and the rapidity with which the information was available. Students' responses provided timely support for teachers' decisions to engage classes in the activities and increased teachers' confidence in the worth of the activities. Alterations to activities were small in scale and idiosyncratic to the student cohorts. Teachers' use of the SPAID package was also noted to enhance cooperation with colleagues within the government secondary schools of Brunei Darussalam.

Photography is a staple in news media, in magazines, in marketing/advertising, in entertainment, and in public relations as a means of persuasion and illustration. The purpose of this study was to determine if photographs had a persuasive effect on reader opinion of the agriculture industry when standing alone and when coupled with agriculture news leads in magazines. A stratified random sample of students (N=300) was asked to complete two online surveys-pretest and post test. Parametric- and nonparametric-type questions were used to measure the reactions of students, most of whom had no strong association with agriculture or photography, toward an agriculture photograph, and asked if their reaction were influenced by associating the photographs with a positive agriculture news lead. Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, frequency, and one-way ANOVA) were used to analyze the data. By using two photographs that represented different agriculture settings, this study showed how photographs can either heighten the public's fear of or renew its faith in the agriculture industry. This study showed that most respondents viewed photographs, negatively regardless of the presence of a news lead that depicted agriculture positively.

As online learning becomes more popular, higher education is becoming more interested in this new medium of learning. However, attrition has become a developing problem for colleges and universities that offer online classes, as some students found it was difficult to stay engaged in their online courses. From the literature, it was hypothesized that instructional designs that incorporate collaborative activities will lead to higher perceived engagement levels than those that incorporate individualistic learning. An exploratory study used a self-report survey instrument to measure students' perception of level of engagement in six graduate-level online classes (n=66). Half of the courses in the study integrated formal collaborative activities as a significant component of the course and half represented learning environments characterized by whole group and individualistic learning. The results showed a significant positive relationship between classes that used collaborative activities and engagement levels. However, the coded responses of the participants showed that while classes that use such activities had higher levels of engagement, it is possible that this may be attributable to other factors external to the formal elements of collaboration in the course. Recommendations are offered for future research that may help identify the elements that contribute to engagement in online courses. / text

This research introduces, develops and applies the concept of using student perceptions to measure opportunity-to-learn, in order to evaluate regular and special educational provision. A qualitative investigation into services for the education of learners with vision impairment identified the common aim of giving students equal access to the curriculum as their sighted peers. It also elicited potential determinants of need that affect caseload allocation decisions. Opportunity-to-learn was identified as a concept in the research literature, which has evolved from a measure of content coverage into a potential indicator of school effectiveness, measured almost exclusively from the teachers' perception. This research drew on the growing body of research that asks the students, to shift the focus from the teacher to the students themselves. An instrument was developed, based on the Essential Skills of the New Zealand curriculum, that measures opportunity-to-learn from the perspective of the students. This was used to collect baseline data on 1300 students, with no identified special needs, from twenty secondary schools throughout New Zealand. Analysis of the baseline data demonstrated the validity of the approach, and its potential to aid in research on the educational process, using this set of intermediate indicators. Results showed differences between schools and between girls and boys. The mean index scores for the schools were not strongly related to the socio-economic background of the schools, but did reflect independent measures of school quality. The instrument was then used to measure opportunity-to-learn for fifty learners with vision impairment in regular high schools. Comprehensive data on these learners was gathered from regular and specialist teachers, parents, schools and the individuals themselves. This data was analysed to evaluate the services and the opportunity-to-learn for the learners with vision impairment. Results showed that on average these students had opportunity-to-learn at least as good as for their sighted peers. Areas of weakness and strength within the service were identified. The instrument proved effective in the evaluation process.

The primary focus of this dissertation was to explore students' perceptions of adopting Web 2.0 applications at the School of Basic Education (SBE) in Kuwait. Although Web 2.0 applications are becoming more popular among the digital generation, there is still no evidence of students' perceptions of adopting the innovation of Web 2.0 technologies in Kuwait. The problem this study addresses is that the current status of Web 2.0 technologies usage by academic students has remained educationally unknown in Kuwait. Therefore, there was a need to investigate the extent to which academic students in SBE are aware of and their usage of Web 2.0 technologies, as well as the factors and obstacles that affect using these technologies. Rogers' diffusion of innovation theory (DoI) is employed in this study to specify the factors that influence student perceptions of adopting Web 2.0 applications as learning tools. Data used in this dissertation was gathered via a survey instrument from 350 students at the SBE and was statistically analyzed to find out the answers of the research questions. This study identified the low rate of Web 2.0 awareness and adoption by the students. Descriptive statistical analysis, such as mean scores and standard deviation, were used to analyze and conclude the findings. In the rates of awareness and adoption of Web 2.0, this study also identified no statistically significant differences between the groups of all the demographic variables except the academic field. The statistically significant differences were identified between the academic variables before and after recoding the academic fields into 5 groups. A t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to determine the statistical significance. Several factors were examined in the study to identify their influence on the rate of adoption. The factors included the rate of awareness, Rogers' attributes of innovations, and the obstacles to adopt Web 2.0. The multiple linear regression technique was used to find out the percentage of variance that was explained by three groups of predictors. The overall research model explained 49% of the variance on the rate of adoption. The implications of the findings, in addition to adding empirical evidence to the body of knowledge, highlight areas for professional development, educational and institutional changes and possibility for future research.

This thesis explored the relationships among three communication variables in college-level instruction: students' expectancy about teachers' nonverbal immediacy, students' actual perceptions of teachers' nonverbal immediacy, and students' affective learning. Community college students enrolled in either distance learning or a traditional classroom course completed pre-course and mid-course questionnaires to indicate their expectations and observations of the nonverbal immediacy behaviors of their teachers. Analysis showed that students expected and perceived less nonverbal immediacy from tele-course teachers than from on-site teachers, but that perceptions significantly exceeded expectations. Research findings indicated that students' expectancies about teachers' nonverbal immediacy may influence the measurement of affective learning.

The purpose of this study was to investigate students’ perceptions of the affective consequences of grade retention and to uncover possible social and academic effects of grade retention on students’ subsequent elementary school experience. The participants were kindergarten through eighth grade students from a county in a rural area in Northeast Tennessee who had been retained for at least one year. A total of 36 students participated in the study, along with principals, school counselors, and teachers from each of the nine schools involved in the study. Information was collected through semi-structured qualitative interviews and the data were analyzed inductively using constant comparative analysis procedures. As a result of the analysis of student interview data, 10 areas of influence emerged related to students’ perceptions of the retention process. This evidence was further substantiated through extended conversations with principals, school counselors and teachers. The areas of influence were categorized into six thematic areas: Theme 1: Conditions of Acceptance; Theme 2: Importance of Timing in the Decision to Retain; Theme 3: Negative Consequences of Retention for Older Children; Theme 4: Lack of Preparation for the Retention; Theme 5: Inadequacy of Support Services After the Retention; Theme 6: Far-reaching Effects of Retention. Based on the findings, the investigator reached the following conclusions: (1) Regardless of their initial reaction to the retention decision, most students eventually accepted the decision. Parental involvement and support was wanted and needed. (2) Retention appeared to be an appropriate intervention for students whose problems stemmed from being chronologically and/or developmentally behind their classmates. (3) Retention appeared to be least appropriate for students who were dealing with behavior problems, learning disabilities, or other problems in their lives. (4) School personnel rarely prepared the child for the retention decision and rarely provided services to make sure the repeated year was successful. (5) Retained students socialized well with other students, but the retention process had negative effects on students’ self-esteem and attitude toward school. Due to the significant impact of making the wrong promotion/retention decision, grade retention should be researched from every possible angle. New approaches to curriculum development, school restructuring, and individualized student instruction should become the focus of efforts to improve student success, and “ensure that no child is left behind.”

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The purpose of this qualitative study was to collect descriptive data pertaining to students’ perceptions regarding the use of tap dance movement and its effect on the understanding of rhythms found in choral literature. This enquiry investigated the following questions: (a) What are the perceptions of high school students regarding the difficulty of tap dance movement? (b) What are the perceptions of high school students regarding the effectiveness of tap dance movement as a method toward promoting their rhythm accuracy when performing rhythms featured in choral music? (c) What are the perceptions of high school students regarding the effectiveness of integrating tap dance movement with the study of select rhythm patterns chosen from choral literature in their retention of the rhythms? Over a five-month period, high school choral ensemble members (N = 88) were taught twenty-five rhythm patterns excerpted from choral literature, integrating tap dance movement with the instruction. The results revealed that the difficulty level of the movement, tempo at which it is executed, the changing of feet while performing the movement, and the amount of tap experience an individual possesses influence students’ perceptions regarding the degree of complexity of tap dance movement. Additionally, the data indicate the enjoyment of the movement, the demonstrations of the movement, the integration of music with the movement, the use of step names and counting, and the use of tap shoes are elements related to tap dance movement that students perceived to help promote their understanding of rhythms found in choral music. Moreover, the results pertaining to the students’ perception of how tap dance movement was an effective method of promoting their retention of rhythms found in choral music indicate a lack of agreement. While there were singers who found the movement to benefit their ability to memorize the examined rhythms, there was a comparable amount of students who indicated that they were unable to remember the rhythms following the instruction. Lastly, the findings provide information regarding the specific types of movements that students found beneficial to their rhythmic comprehension, adding to the existing literature and useful for replication in future studies.

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a correlation between students' perception of corrective feedback and retention in online classes. A total of 134 community college students were enrolled in six online classes taught by three full-time instructors. The research questions addressed were as follows: RQ1. How are the students' perception of corrective feedback and student retention related? RQ2. Are students who attend course orientation meetings more likely to complete the course? RQ3. Are students who attend distance learning technical workshops more likely to complete the course? RQ4. Are students who have taken other online classes more likely to complete the course? RQ5. How are the students' perceived computer skills and student retention related? An exit survey was administered to gather quantitative data, which was then analyzed using Pearson's Phi Coefficient and Spearman's Rank Order Correlation. The study failed to indicate a sign significant relationship between (a) attending course orientation and retention, (b) attending technical workshops and retention, (c) prior online experience and retention, and (d) students' perception of computer experience and retention. The data indicates a significant relationship between students' perception of corrective feedback and retention. It is important to note that despite every attempt to solicit students who dropped the course, the students who dropped tended not to return the survey. Therefore, the sample did not accurately represent the population. As a result of the sampling error, there is little variability in the dependent measure; thus, the results have the potential of being biased. Based on the research finding for this study, educators would benefit from research studies that focus on the following: (a) exploring procedural changes (i.e. increasing the number of useable surveys, increasing the number of respondents, increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the data validation process, and increasing the generalizability of the study, (b) exploring student perception of quality, timeliness and consistency of corrective feedback, and (c) conducting individual case studies with online students.