published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

This qualitative case study examined how middle school science teachers conducted collaborative inquiry and reflection about students’ conceptual understanding, and how individual teachers in the middle school science group acted and made reflections in response to their collaborative inquiry. It also examined external influences that affected the teachers’ ability to engage in collaborative inquiry. Observational, written, and interview data were collected from observations of teachers’ face-to-face meetings and reflections, individual interviews, a focus group interview, and online reflections. The results of this study revealed that collaborative inquiry is a form of professional development that includes answering curricular questions through observation, communication, action, and reflection. This approach was developed and implemented by middle school science teachers. The premise of an inquiry is based on a need with students. Middle school science teachers came to consensus about actions to affect students’ conceptual understanding, took action as stated, and shared their reflections of the actions taken with consideration to current and upcoming school activities. Activities involved teachers brainstorming and sharing with one another, talking about how the variables were merged into their curriculum, and how they impacted students’ conceptual understanding. Teachers valued talking with one another about science content and pedagogy, but did find the inquiry portion of the approach to require more development. The greatest challenge to conducting collaborative inquiry and reflection was embedding teacher inquiry within a prescribed inquiry that was already being conducted by the Sundown School District. Collaborative inquiry should be structured so that it meets the needs of teachers in order to attend to the needs of students. A conducive atmosphere for collaborative inquiry and reflection is one in which administrators make the process mandatory and facilitate the process by removing an existing inquiry. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013.

Tao Sim-cheung, Victoria. / Thesis (M.A.Ed.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-115). / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.ii / ABSTRACT --- p.iii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.v / LIST OF TABLES --- p.viii / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.x / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction / Background of the study --- p.1 / Significance of the study --- p.5 / Encouraging students to become better readers --- p.5 / Exploring the impact of coope- rative learning --- p.6 / Understanding the potential of CALL --- p.9 / Description of key terms --- p.11 / Cloze procedure --- p.11 / Cooperative learning condition --- p.12 / CALL (Computer-assisted language learning) --- p.13 / Purpose of the study --- p.13 / Null hypotheses --- p.14 / Outline of the thesis --- p.15 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Review of Related Literature / Literature related to cloze procedure --- p.17 / Historical view of cloze procedure --- p.17 / Variations of cloze procedure --- p.18 / Cloze procedure-- researchable and teachable --- p.20 / Literature related to cooperative learning --- p.23 / Efficacy of cooperative learning --- p.23 / Individualistic and cooperative learning on student achievement --- p.25 / Cooperative vs individual completion of a cloze passage --- p.27 / Literature related to CALL --- p.29 / Practicability of CALL --- p.29 / Interactive CALL for groups --- p.33 / Automated cloze procedure as research and teaching tools --- p.35 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Methodology / Research design --- p.37 / Material and courseware design --- p.39 / Sampling design --- p.41 / Procedure --- p.44 / Variables --- p.47 / Statistical instrumentals --- p.47 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Results / Tests for the null hypotheses --- p.49 / Hypothesis 1 --- p.50 / Hypothesis 2 --- p.54 / Hypothesis 3 --- p.57 / Hypothesis 4 --- p.66 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Discussions and Limitations / Discussions --- p.70 / Evaluations of CALL --- p.70 / Individualistics versus cooperative CALL --- p.78 / Effectiveness of cooperative learning strategies --- p.80 / Superiority of the narrative text structure --- p.85 / Interactions between ability and achievement --- p.87 / Reflection of the attitudinal score --- p.89 / Limitations --- p.89 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- Conclusions and Recommendations / Conclusions --- p.92 / Recommendations --- p.94 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.98 / Chapter APPENDIX A --- Pretest --- p.116 / Chapter APPENDIX B --- Posttest & Retention Test --- p.118 / Chapter APPENDIX C --- Attitude Questionnaire --- p.121 / Chapter APPENDIX D --- Item-Total Statistics of Questionnaire --- p.127

by Leung Chi-mei, Doris. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-86). / by Leung Chi-mei, Doris. / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.i / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iii / LISTS OF TABLES --- p.vi / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.vii / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Background of the Study --- p.1 / Purpose of the Study --- p.3 / Significance of the Study --- p.4 / Hypotheses --- p.5 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Review of Literature --- p.6 / Definition of Cooperative Learning --- p.6 / Basic Elements in Cooperative Learning --- p.7 / Positive Interdependence --- p.7 / Face to Face Promotive Interaction --- p.8 / Individual Accountability --- p.8 / Small Group Skills --- p.9 / Group Processing --- p.9 / Theoretical Basis --- p.10 / Motivational Aspect for Cooperative Learning --- p.10 / Cognitive Aspect for Cooperative Learning --- p.13 / Research on Basic Elements of Cooperative Learning --- p.17 / Research on Using Cooperative Learning in Higher Education --- p.24 / Negative Comments on Cooperative Learning --- p.28 / Summary --- p.29 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Methodology --- p.31 / Design of Study --- p.31 / Sample --- p.33 / Treatment --- p.34 / Schedule of the Research Study Procedures --- p.39 / Variables --- p.41 / Instrumentation --- p.42 / Data Analysis Procedures --- p.45 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Results --- p.46 / Reliability of Instrument --- p.46 / Test for the Null Hypotheses --- p.47 / Hypothesis One --- p.47 / Hypothesis Two --- p.53 / Hypothesis Three --- p.61 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Discussion and Limitations --- p.64 / Discussion --- p.64 / Students' Achievement Measurements --- p.64 / Ability Level of Student --- p.67 / Instructional Strategy and Ability Level of Student --- p.67 / Students' Attitudes towards Instructional Media and Learning Conditions --- p.70 / Limitations of the Study --- p.71 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- Conclusions and Recommendations --- p.73 / Conclusions --- p.73 / Recommendations --- p.75 / For Practice --- p.75 / For Future Research --- p.76 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.78 / APPENDIX A Course Syllabus of First Year Units of Educational Technology --- p.87 / APPENDIX B Lesson Plan for Cooperative Learning --- p.101 / APPENDIX C Frequency of Media Use --- p.119 / APPENDIX D Attitude Inventory --- p.120 / APPENDIX E Instructional Media Rating Form --- p.122 / APPENDIX F Item-total Statistics of Part I of the Attitude Inventory (N=95) --- p.123 / APPENDIX G Item-total Statistics of Part II of the Attitude Inventory (N-95) --- p.124

Groups of students or employees working together to solve problems, gain conceptual understanding, or create new approaches are expected to yield results significantly better than when working individually. Classroom collaboration leads to increased learning and retention, improved interpersonal skills, and enhanced appreciation for and commitment to the educational process. With the increased discussion of its benefits, there is more emphasis on including collaboration in the classroom. The challenge for today's faculty and students is to learn what their roles and expectations are in the successful collaborative environment. The purpose of this study was to design a curriculum for instructors in techniques for creating collaborative environments. In addition to reviewing the current literature to learn about collaborative environments in the college classroom, instructors were interviewed to learn about their experiences and successes with collaborative learning. Information from the literature review and the faculty interviews were used to propose the curriculum. Principles of collaborative learning evident through the literature and the interviews are that it requires trust, development of relationships, conversation, incorporating differences, the teacher as learner, and students be responsible for their own learning. The instructor must be able to create that environment by teaching social and collaborative skills, being willing to self-disclose, assessing where students are and by taking care of technical tasks such as preplanning, assigning students to groups, designing collaborative activities and evaluating results of the collaborative process, the group's product and the individual's contribution. Caffarella's (1994) interactive model for program development provided the structure for the development of the curriculum. Through the application of the model, curriculum ideas were explored and narrowed into the development of the program objectives. Transfer of learning activities incorporated into the curriculum are reliant upon intense practice of collaborative skills throughout the course. The learning is experiential.

This thesis characterizes the feedback between the instructor and student teams engaged in a Virtual Bioreactor (VBioR) Laboratory Project. The project allows senior-level chemical, biological, and environmental engineering students to apply their developing knowledge and skills in an industrially situated process optimization project. Feedback is an important tool for instructors to use to scaffold student learning, especially in the context of an ill-structured project. An ethnographic approach is taken for data collection; audio recordings and field notes are taken throughout the duration of the project. The characterization of feedback uses an episodes framework for discourse analysis to consider similarities and differences. Using this framework, thematic codes have been developed through a semi-emergent process to describe the content of Design Memo Meetings (DMMs) between an instructor and student teams. Student work products, post-DMM surveys, and post-project interviews are also considered as data sources for this research. The results of this research show that instructor feedback in this project is adaptable, conforming to the status of the student team at the beginning of the DMM. This adaptability is highlighted by differences in DMM themes that are supported by differences in the Design Strategy Memos that student teams bring to the meeting. Student perceptions of the DMM feedback are also presented. / Graduation date: 2013

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

No description available.

This study examined the influences of a variety of verbal and non-verbal strategies on the language acquisition of six fourth grade ESL students in a discipline-based art education classroom. The art teacher/researcher spoke only English, and the students spoke Spanish almost exclusively. The art instruction occurred during eighteen 30 minute sessions, over a period of five months. The program involved the whole language approach, collaborative/cooperative learning, and the study of art concepts through verbal and graphic symbol cue cards and images of art works. Data were amassed from transcripts of video recordings, student and teacher interviews, and reflective notes. This study showed highly successful results with student growth in language acquisition and comprehension of art concepts.

Il y a quelques décennies, l’émergence du discours de la promotion de la santé infléchissait un nouveau tournant à la santé publique, orientant sa pratique vers l’action communautaire, participative et intersectorielle. Parallèlement, au Québec, la réforme du système de santé de 2004 réorganisait le niveau de gouverne locale à travers la création des centres de santé et de services sociaux (CSSS). Ceux-ci doivent articuler les secteurs des soins et de la santé publique à travers un continuum de services qui va de la promotion de la santé aux soins palliatifs. Ces changements ont des implications majeures pour les acteurs de la santé et de la santé publique, qui doivent composer avec de nouveaux rôles professionnels et de nouvelles stratégies d’action. Le développement professionnel est considéré comme un levier potentiel pour soutenir ces changements. En 2009, une équipe de la Direction de la santé publique de l’Agence de santé et des services sociaux de Montréal concevait un programme de développement professionnel appelé le Laboratoire de promotion de la santé. Ce programme mise sur une approche d’apprentissage de groupe pour permettre aux professionnels des CSSS de développer de nouvelles compétences, une pratique réflexive ainsi que de nouvelles pratiques de promotion de la santé. Basée sur une méthodologie générale qualitative et une approche d’évaluation collaborative, cette thèse utilise plusieurs stratégies d’investigation afin d’évaluer le Laboratoire de promotion de la santé sous trois angles, qui renvoient à sa conceptualisation, à son implantation et à ses effets. Plus spécifiquement, elle vise à : (1) examiner la plausibilité de la théorie d’intervention du programme; (2) décrire et comprendre les processus d’apprentissage d’équipe ainsi que les facteurs qui les influencent; et (3) explorer, du point de vue des participants, les effets réflexifs du Laboratoire. Afin de répondre à ces objectifs, la thèse mobilise diverses perspectives théoriques liées à l’apprentissage individuel, d’équipe et organisationnel. Les résultats des analyses démontrent que : (1) malgré quelques améliorations possibles, le modèle du programme est généralement bien conçu pour parvenir aux résultats visés; (2) l’implantation de ce modèle dans deux sites a donné lieu à des processus d’apprentissage d’équipe différents, bien que conditionnés par des facteurs communs liés aux participants, à l’équipe, au contexte organisationnel et à l’implantation du programme; (3) tel que visé, les participants des deux sites ont développé de la réflexivité vis-à-vis leur pratique et leur rôle professionnel – cette réflexivité adoptant une fonction formative ou critique en regard de l’expérience professionnelle. Ces résultats soulignent le potentiel que représente l’évaluation de la théorie d’intervention pour améliorer la conceptualisation d’un programme de développement professionnel, ainsi que l’intérêt et la pertinence d’évaluer les processus d’apprentissage au niveau de l’équipe dans le cadre d’une approche collective de développement professionnel. De plus, ils appuient l’importance de l’apprentissage réflexif pour l’amélioration des pratiques et l’engagement social des professionnels. En ce sens, ils proposent différentes avenues qui ont le potentiel de consolider les capacités de la main-d’œuvre de santé publique et d’influer conséquemment sur son efficacité à améliorer la santé des collectivités dans le prochain siècle. / The emergence of the health promotion discourse a few decades ago steered public health practice into a new direction, orienting it toward community-based, participatory, and intersectoral action. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the 2004 healthcare system reform restructured the local level through the creation of health and social services centres. The mandate of these new organizations is to integrate the public health and the healthcare sector across a continuum of services ranging from health promotion all the way to palliative care.All these changes have significant implications for healthcare and public health practitioners, who must come to terms with new professional roles and new intervention strategies. Professional development is considered to be a potential lever for action to support these changes. In 2009, a team from the Public Health Directorate of the Health and Social Services Agency of Montreal designed a professional development program called the Health Promotion Laboratory. This program builds on a team learning approach to enable participants to develop new competencies, a reflexive practice, and new health promotion practices within the organization. Based on a qualitative methodology and a collaborative evaluation approach, this doctoral thesis used several investigation strategies to evaluate three components of the Health Promotion Laboratory, i.e., the program’s conceptualization, implementation, and outcomes. More specifically, this thesis aims to: (1) examine the plausibility of the program’s intervention theory; (2) describe and understand the team learning processes involved in the program, as well as the factors influencing them; and (3) explore, from the participants’ perspective, the reflexivity outcomes of the program. In pursuing these objectives, this thesis adopts several theoretical perspectives related to adult learning, team learning, and organizational learning. The results show that: (1) while there is room for improvement, the program’s model is generally well designed to achieve the intended outcomes; (2) the model’s implementation in two sites resulted in different team learning processes, both of which depended on common factors related to the participants, the team, the organizational context, and the implementation of the program itself; and (3) as intended, participants from both sites developed reflexivity with regard to their practice and their professional roles, with this reflexivity taking on a formative and a critical function in terms of their professional experience. These results highlight the potential offered by the evaluation of a program’s intervention theory for improving the conceptualization of a professional development program. They also demonstrate the importance and relevance of assessing the learning process at a group level in the context of a collective professional development approach. Finally, the findings support the importance of reflexive learning for improving professional practice and fostering the social engagement of practitioners. Thus, they suggest different avenues having the potential to strengthen the capacities of the public health workforce and thereby to increase its effectiveness in improving the health of communities in the coming century.