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This study aimed to investigate students' models of probability in a modern physics context. The study was divided into three phases. The first phase explored student pre-knowledge about probability before modem physics instruction. The second phase investigated student understanding of concepts related to probability such as wave-particle behavior, the uncertainty principle, and localization. The third phase probed how students used the wave function to interpret probability in potential energy problems. The participants were students taking modem physics at Oregon State University. In the first phase, we developed a diagnostic test to probe mathematical probability misconceptions and probability in a classical physics content. For the mathematical probability misconceptions part, we found that students often used a randomly distributed expectancy resource to predict an outcome of a random event. For classical probability, we found that students often employed an object's speed to predict the probability of locating it in a certain region, which we call a classical probability reasoning resource. In the second and the third phases, we interviewed students in order to get more in-depth data. We also report the findings from Fall 03 preliminary interviews which indicated the need for a more detail theoretical framework to analyze student reasoning. Therefore, we employed the framework proposed by Redish (2003) to analyze the interview data into two perspectives - reasoning resources and epistemic resources. We found that most students used a classical probability resource to interpret the probability from the wave function. Additionally, we identified two associated patterns that students used to describe the traveling wave function in the potential step and barrier. Finally, we discuss some teaching implications and future research that the findings suggested. / Graduation date: 2005

Purpose of the Investigation. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether a treatment of design-related heuristics would affect the judged value of student design products. Procedures. Subjects consisted of 38 foundation-level design students at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana. Following five weeks of basic design instruction, a pretest, constructed to measure design problem-solving performance in relation to two problem-types (a Baseline Problem and a Conceptual Problem), was issued to two groups. Thereafter, a treatment of design-related heuristics was administered to one group; the other group served as a control. After a period of four weeks, in which both groups worked an identical series of problems, a post-test was issued.Evaluation of pre-test and post-test designs was performed by five designer/educators using a Design Evaluation Rating Scale, an instrument used to quantify judgments regarding six discrete evaluative criteria (i.e., General Impression, Completion, Figural Originality, Conceptual Originality, Aesthetic Value, and Functionalness). Two null hypotheses were tested which maintained that no significant interaction effects would occur for either the Baseline Problem or the Conceptual Problem between factors of (a) time-of-test (pre-test, post-test) and (b) group (experimental, control) for seven dependent variables (i.e., Overall Score, General Impression, Completion, Figural Originality, Conceptual Originality, Aesthetic Value, Functionalness). The .05 level of confidence was set as the critical level for rejection of hypotheses. Inter-rater reliability was computed, and found to be high for three of the four test problems.Results and'Conclusions1. Null Hypothesis Number one was rejected, suggesting that the heuristics treatment aided the experimental group in their performance on the Baseline Problem. Null Hypothesis Number Two was not rejected, suggesting that the treatment failed to aid the experimental group in their performance on the Conceptual Problem.2. Problem structure apparently affected the design problem-solving behavior and performance of the foundation-level design students, suggesting that highly complex or abstract problems are best reserved for more advanced design courses.3. A measured construct of "design value" can be operationally defined and expert judgments thereby quantified to validly measure the real-world value of design products

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Graduate students in clinical psychology are taught to conduct research with the expectation that, in the future, they will become producers of research. Few clinical psychologists, however, actually produce much research. In attempting to explain this failure to fulfill expectations, Pasewark has suggested (as one of several plausible hypotheses) that graduate training programs may, unintentionally, be discouraging students' interest in research. A pilot study by the present author supported this supposition. The present study was designed to evaluate the validity of Pasewark's hypothesis on a national level and to examine the research attitudes of clinical psychology graduate students in relation to those of other psychology graduate students. A four-page, predominately closed-ended questionnaire was constructed with items covering the following areas: students' career goals, involvment in research achievement, satisfaction with research training and feelings about graduate school in general. Fifty percent of U.S. psychology departments having clinical training programs approved by the APA were randomly selected for inclusion in the study. During the Fall semester of 1978, Department Chairpersons were asked to distribute questionnaires to students in their departments; 69 percent of those approached agreed to do so. Six Directors of professional training programs were also contacted and three agreed to participate. A total of 3,847 questionnaires were distributed. The overall return rate for students was 53 percent. This meant participation in the survey by approximately 19 percent of all psychology graduate students at universities offering APA approved clinical programs (N = 1,893). For the three professional schools, N = 139. Results of the survey suggest that, on the whole, graduate students in psychology are interested in conducting research. Generally, their interest in research grows with experience and exposure to the process of research. These findings are true for students in clinical psychology as well as for students in other specialties. Results, therefore, run counter to Pasewark's hypothesis. Nevertheless, compared to other psychology graduate students in an academic setting, clinical students are less interested in research. Those in non-applied areas of psychology are the most interested in research, followed by those in applied areas other than clinical. Students in professional training programs are the least interested in research of all groups studied; however, even they have not abandoned research altogether. Other significant findings which emerged from the study are as follows: (1) A student's career goals are related to the student's attitude toward research. (2) Clinical students' primary identification is as a practitioner. (3) Obtaining statistically significant results in one's research is related to a positive attitude toward research in general. (4) Students tend to project their own training needs onto others. (5) Using a Research Productivity Measure which was developed, the level of student research productivity in a department was found to be related to faculty research productivity. (6) A vocal minority of clinical students voiced extreme dissatisfaction with their graduate education. (7) Interest in research was found to be related to criticism of the questionnaire. The contributions of the present study are discussed in light of the psychological literature. Implications for graduate training are considered and directions for future research are suggested.

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The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate critical thinking development in an introductory computer programming course in which problem-solving was a key component of the course, compared with another college level computing course in which problem-solving is not a key component. There were two hypotheses in this study. The first was that students would show a greater increase in critical thinking skills after they participate in CINS 113 than CINS 101. The second hypothesis was that students’ critical thinking skills at the beginning of CINS 113 would predict the final grade in the course. Prior to conducting the study, approval was received from both institutions’ review boards and all guidelines were followed. A control group was recruited from students enrolled in a course that was determined to not have problem-solving as a key component of the course and an experimental group was recruited from students enrolled in an introductory computer programming course. Both courses were from a Midwestern community college. Program chairs from various regions throughout the state volunteered their faculty and students to participate in the study. Students were administered the Cornell Critical Thinking Test on the first day of the semester and again at the end of the semester. At the end of the semester, faculty submitted final semester grades for all students participating in the program. A comparison of the pretest was made against the posttest using a repeating ANOVA test to see if there was a significant change between the two scores and if there was a difference in the change in scores between the two groups. In addition, the pretest was analyzed against the final grade for the course to determine if a relationship existed between the critical thinking score at the beginning of the course and the student’s success in the course. A correlational analysis, as well as regression analysis, was conducted. There were a total of 213 students who completed the study. The results of the study supported both hypotheses. / Department of Educational Studies

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No description available.

This study investigates the effects of implementing mathematical problem solving instruction in a regular calculus course taught at the college level. Principles associated with this research are: i) mathematics is developed as a response to finding solutions to mathematical problems, ii) attention to the processes involved in solving mathematical problems helps students understand and develop mathematics, and iii) mathematics is learned in an active environment which involves the use of guesses, conjectures, examples, counterexamples, and cognitive and metacognitive strategies. Classroom activities included use of nonroutine problems, small group discussions, and cognitive and metacognitive strategies during instruction. Prior to the main study, in an extensive pilot study the means for gathering data were developed, including a student questionnaire, several assignments, two written tests, student task-based interviews, an interview with the instructor, and class observations. The analysis in the study utilized ideas from Schoenfeld (1985) in which categories, such as mathematical resources, cognitive and metacognitive strategies, and belief systems, are considered useful in analyzing the students' processes for solving problems. A model proposed by Perkins and Simmons (1988) involving four frames of knowledge (content, problem solving, epistemic, and inquiry) is used to analyze students' difficulties in learning mathematics. Results show that the students recognized the importance of reflecting on the processes involved while solving mathematical problems. There are indications suggesting that the students showed a disposition to participate in discussions that involve nonroutine mathematical problems. The students' work in the assignments reflected increasing awareness of the use of problem solving strategies as the course developed. Analysis of the students' task-based interviews suggests that the students' first attempts to solve a problem involved identifying familiar terms in the problem and making some calculations often without having a clear understanding of the problem. The lack of success led the students to reexamine the statement of the problem more carefully and seek more organized approaches. The students often spent much time exploring only one strategy and experienced difficulties in using alternatives. However, hints from the interviewer (including metacognitive questions) helped the students to consider other possibilities. Although the students recognized that it was important to check the solution of a problem, they mainly focused on whether there was an error in their calculations rather than reflecting on the sense of the solution. These results lead to the conclusion that it takes time for students to conceptualize problem solving strategies and use them on their own when asked to solve mathematical problems. The instructor planned to implement various learning activities in which the content could be introduced via problem solving. These activities required the students to participate and to spend significant time working on problems. Some students were initially reluctant to spend extra time reflecting on the problems and were more interested in receiving rules that they could use in examinations. Furthermore, student expectations, evaluation policies, and curriculum rigidity limited the implementation. Therefore, it is necessary to overcome some of the students' conceptualizations of what learning mathematics entails and to propose alternatives for the evaluation of their work that are more consistent with problem solving instruction. It is recommended that problem solving instruction include the participation or coordinated involvement of all course instructors, as the selection of problems for class discussions and for assignments is a task requiring time and discussion with colleagues. Periodic discussions of course directions are necessary to make and evaluate decisions that best fit the development of the course. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate