The United States are facing a critical workforce challenge, even though current unemployment is around 6.7%, employers find it difficult to find applicants that can satisfy all job requirements. This problem is especially pronounced in the manufacturing sector where a critical skills gap has developed, a problem that is exasperated by workforce demographics. A large number of employees across the various manufacturing sub-disciplines are eligible to retire now or in the near future. This gray tsunami requires swift action as well as long lasting change resulting in a workforce pipeline that can provide Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) majors in sufficient quantity and quality to satisfy not only the needs of STEM industries, but also of those companies outside of the STEM sector that hire STEM graduates. The research shown here will identify overt symptoms describing the capability gap, will identify specific skills describing the gap, educational causes why the gaps has not yet been addressed or is difficult to address, and lastly educational remedies that can contribute to closing the capability gap. A significant body of literature focusing on engineering in higher education has been evaluated and findings will be presented here. A multidisciplinary, collaborative capstone program will be described which implements some of the findings from this study in an active learning environment for students working on distributed teams across the US. Preliminary findings regarding the impact of these measures on the quantity of engineers to the US economy will be evaluated.

Submitted in fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Masters of Technology: Nursing, Durban University of Technology, 2014. / Nursing education has entered a new era as educators are tasked with ensuring that student nurses are adequately prepared with knowledge and skill to care for an increased number of patients, that are being brought on by the escalating burden of disease in South Africa. This preparation requires developing critical thinking nurses who can work amidst a milieu of a shortage of staff and a lack of resources in the South African context. Despite there being a rapid advance in technology and that the type of student nurse has evolved, little is known about the types of teaching methodologies being used by nurse educators to prepare students for real life practice situations. Globally there has been a call for a paradigm shift, from a teacher to a learner centered approach in nursing education. This study evolved to explore what current teaching strategies are being used to teach nursing students and their views on the use of more contemporary creative methodologies. Nurse educators at the Kwazulu Natal College of Nursing campuses were involved in the study through the use of a quantitative cross-sectional descriptive research design. Data was collected by means of a survey questionnaire from a census sample of lecturers, working at the ten campuses of KZNCN offering the R. 425 curriculum. The study found that respondents were still predominantly using didactic teaching methods such as the lecture method and demonstration to teach across all subject areas. They however supported the use of more creative methodologies and requested a need for further training and development to better empower them to utilize web based teaching, portfolios, case studies and a range of other creative teaching strategies in teaching. Recommendations to interweave specific strategies with specific teaching areas were provided as part of the conclusions.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-12-03T18:35:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Paulo_Braga.pdf: 872918 bytes, checksum: 495bdf0da0e75e7ed2c73dfd6323faca (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-06-08 / Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are increasingly present in professional activities including teaching. In view of this aspect of the present work was proposed in order to evaluate the relationship between the professional profile, including teachers` titration and age of the Accounting course in a Higher Education Institution (HEI) and yours practices of education, especially the use of information and communication technologies. The research was conducted with Accounting Course teachers, who teach in a state higher education institution located in Aparecida de Goi??nia - Goi??s. A questionnaire was applied, adapted and validated to teachers. The quantitative data analysis was performed using the R program; through the analysis of the results, it was observed that 50% of teachers (50%) are males and (50%) were female, over age 40 years (60%). The information on knowledge level reported by teachers was intermediate in 100% of respondents. Everyone has access to the internet and use it to access electronic mail and bibliographical research (100%), followed by the use of social networks (64,28%). There was no grating between the practices adopted and the titration and the age of the teacher, in general it was found that teachers embrace conservative and traditional educational procedures, but seek to use ICT in their practices. 50% of the teachers try to include in accounting software in their practices, citing the need for professional training of accounting able to work with ICT, considering the current changes which passes the profession. As regards, the reported difficulties include difficulty in using existing technologies (64.28% who had no academic training for teaching practice) and inadequate infrastructure for their use in academic activities. Teachers have positive attitudes towards ICT (want to use) and familiarity with using computers, but agree that more investment in the infrastructure of the institution and training would increase the adoption of technology appropriately in academic activities. / As Tecnologias da Informa????o e da Comunica????o (TIC) est??o cada vez mais presentes nas atividades profissionais, inclusive dos docentes. O presente trabalho foi proposto com o objetivo de analisar e identificar a utiliza????o das TIC pelos docentes de um curso de Ci??ncias Cont??beis de uma Institui????o de Ensino Superior, determinando uma poss??vel rela????o entre a utiliza????o destas pr??ticas ?? titula????o ou idade dos docentes. A pesquisa foi conduzida com professores do Curso de Ci??ncias Cont??beis que lecionam em uma Institui????o de Ensino Superior de cunho estadual, localizada em Aparecida de Goi??nia - Goi??s. Procedeu-se ?? aplica????o de um question??rio validado e adaptado aos docentes. A an??lise dos dados quantitativos foi realizada por meio do programa R. Por meio da an??lise dos resultados obtidos, observou-se que 50% dos docentes s??o do sexo masculino e (50%) do sexo feminino, com faixa et??ria superior a 40 anos (60%). O n??vel de conhecimento sobre inform??tica relatado pelos docentes foi intermedi??rio em 100% dos respondentes. Todos t??m acesso ?? internet e a utilizam para acesso ao e-mail e pesquisam informa????es na web (100%), seguido pela utiliza????o das redes sociais (64,28%). N??o houve rela????o entre as pr??ticas adotadas e o t??tulo do profissional e a idade do professor, de uma maneira geral constatou-se que os professores adotam procedimentos pedag??gicos tradicionais, por??m tentam utilizar/inserir as TIC em suas pr??ticas, 50% dos docentes tentam incluir software da ??rea cont??bil em suas pr??ticas e citam a necessidade da forma????o do profissional da contabilidade apto a trabalhar com as TIC, considerando as mudan??as atuais a qual passa a profiss??o. No que concerne ??s dificuldades relatadas incluem a dificuldade em utilizarem as tecnologias existentes e a infraestrutura inadequada para suas utiliza????es nas atividades acad??micas. Os docentes s??o proativos frente ??s TIC (querem utilizar) e possuem familiaridade com uso da inform??tica, mas concordam que com maior investimentos na infraestrutura da institui????o e forma????o profissional aumentariam a ado????o das tecnologias de forma adequada nas atividades acad??micas relacionadas ?? forma????o do contador.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-11-05T13:00:44Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Eliane Zanoni.pdf: 1257842 bytes, checksum: dd9efb81f4e45ab6a40e00dca128a8d1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-05T13:00:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Eliane Zanoni.pdf: 1257842 bytes, checksum: dd9efb81f4e45ab6a40e00dca128a8d1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-09-17 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This study, developed in the context of the research line of the New Technologies in Education, by the Education Program: Curriculum, of the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, aims to reflect on the directives of the General National Curricular Guidelines for the organization and operation of Superior Courses of Technology about the conscious consumption and socially responsible to subsidize the construction of the Pedagogical Projects of the Superior Courses of Technology in Marketing. The research had as general objective to analyze the existence of the formation of professional awareness of the social-environmental consequences of consumerism in the curriculum of the superior course of technology in marketing. For this analysis, topics related to curriculum, superior courses of technology, and superior course of technology in Marketing, as well as marketing and consumption were addressed. The methodology includes a bibliographical study of the topics addressed and a documentary research based on the analysis of the legislations and institutional documents of the course in focus. The results of the research allowed to know in a broader way the conceptions about what the General National Curricular Guidelines for the organization and the operation of the superior courses of technology alude about the consumption consciously and socially responsible to subsidize the construction of the Pedagogical Projects of the superior courses of technology in Marketing. In tune, it identified the elements of formation directed to the conscious consumption from the curriculum of the superior course of technology in Marketing researched, pointing out the main practices used and how they present themselves. Finally, the possibilities of improvement in the curriculum of the Marketing course, directed to the formation of a professional that, besides the function of studying and proposing indiscriminate ways of selling, is concerned with the formation of values of conscious and socially responsible consumption / Este estudo, desenvolvido no contexto da linha de pesquisa Novas Tecnologias em Educação, do Programa Educação: Currículo, da Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, visa refletir sobre os direcionamentos das Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais Gerais para a organização e o funcionamento dos cursos superiores de tecnologia sobre o consumo consciente e socialmente responsável para subsidiar a construção dos Projetos Pedagógicos dos cursos superiores de tecnologia em Marketing. A pesquisa teve como objetivo geral analisar a existência da formação de consciência profissional das consequências socioambientais do consumismo no currículo do curso superior de tecnologia em marketing. Para esta análise, foram abordados temas relacionados ao currículo, aos cursos superiores de tecnologia e sobre o curso superior de tecnologia em marketing, bem como sobre marketing e consumo. A metodologia contempla um estudo bibliográfico dos temas abordados e uma pesquisa documental a partir de análise nas legislações e documentos institucionais do curso em foco. Os resultados da pesquisa permitiram conhecer de forma mais ampla as concepções acerca do que as Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais Gerais para a organização e o funcionamento dos cursos superiores de tecnologia referenciam sobre o consumo consciente e socialmente responsável para subsidiar a construção dos Projetos Pedagógicos dos cursos superiores de tecnologia em Marketing. Em sintonia, identificou os elementos de formação direcionados ao consumo consciente a partir do currículo do curso superior de tecnologia em Marketing pesquisado, apontando as principais práticas utilizadas e como estas se apresentam. Por fim, as possibilidades de melhoria no currículo do curso de Marketing, direcionada à formação de um profissional que, além da função de estudar e propor formas indiscriminadas de vender, preocupa-se com a formação de valores de consumo consciente e responsável socialmente

This research is an investigation of the potential means to make the Information Systems (IS) course more accessible to Walter Sisulu University (WSU) students. As some IS students at this institution are unable to attend classes on a regular basis, this study aims to establish if and how the WSU Accounting Department (which offers the IS course) could use e-Iearning to support the teaching, learning and assessment of IS. This qualitative study was approached from an interpretive perspective. The study has undergone one cycle of an action research approach. The methods used in the study include surveys, an expert review and focus group interviews. The data was elicited from participants using questionnaires and an interview schedule. A staff questionnaire was used to elicit information from IS staff from four contact universities in South Africa to determine their experience of using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for e-learning in an IS course. A student questionnaire was used to determine the WSU IS students' reasons for absenteeism, their learning needs, and their current computer access and skills. Data from both of these surveys informed the development of the WSU IS pilot website. An expert review questionnaire ascertained the subject expert's opinions about the newly developed WSU IS pilot website. The website was found to be of good quality with respect to the four aspects that Harvey and Green (J 993 cited in Lomas 2002) use to define quality. Some modifications were made to the WSU IS pilot website as a result of the expert's comments. After the website was used by the IS students, two focus group interviews were conducted to determine the students' perceptions of the value of the website. The data was analyzed, interpreted and linked to the literature surveyed. The main findings indicate that the WSU IS pilot website could be part of a more globalised higher education offering than the paper-based IS course offered before. However, the staff and the student surveys revealed that ICT has opened the gap in equity at the higher education institutions, highlighting that access to a university does not mean equal access to lectures and computers. The WSU IS pilot website endeavoured to capitalise on students' physical access to computers by supporting epistemological access to the curriculum, by encouraging them to exercise control over their learning. This study has ideally enabled the Accounting Department to deliver its services to students and this in turn will hopefully help WSU retain its part-time students and improve the student pass rates.

At the University of Port Elizabeth (UPE), the End User Computing course (EUC) acts as a service course for many departments. This implies that many students are forced by their curricula to register for this course. The ever-increasing numbers in EUC place a considerable load on existing human and physical resources. In lecture groups of 120 –160, students rarely get the attention they need, and the pace at which the content is delivered (too slow or too fast) may also inhibit the learning process. During an initial investigation into E-learning at UPE in 1999, a prototype virtual classroom was developed. There were, however, a number of problems with this prototype. Firstly, it was implemented using a number of different technologies, which made it difficult to extend and maintain. Secondly, it only addressed some aspects of an E-learning environment, which proved insufficient for the EUC course. In the existing EUC course at UPE, the students are already exposed to some E-learning concepts, as a section of their skills training component is handled by using multimedia software in a simulated environment. The objective of this project was to extend the E-learning component further to determine the advantages and disadvantages of using E-learning to support information technology (IT) education in a contact-university environment. This project included a literature search and survey of existing E-learning environments at other universities. This research was used to develop a draft framework for an E-learning environment. The framework was used to select a tool to create an E-learning environment at UPE. An experiment was designed using this E-learning environment to support two IT courses at different year levels. The results of the experiment were analysed using qualitative and quantitative methods to determine the impact of using E-learning to support IT education at UPE. The results of this research show that E-learning can be used to support IT education at UPE. More success, however, was achieved at postgraduate level than at first-year level. Making use of Elearning increased student satisfaction and promoted active learning, while providing benefits like convenience, communication, flexibility and scaffolding. We conclude, therefore, that E-learning can provide a flexible approach to IT education in a university environment in the future.

An increased emphasis is being placed on ethics in Information Systems. An investigation of: the relevant literature which highlighted the growth of, and importance in understanding the moral philosophies which underlie Computer Ethics; and the official curricula recommendations that have increasingly and consistently recommended inclusion of courses describing the Social, Professional and Ethical responsibilities of Information Systems Professionals; and informed by the observations from two empirical Studies that showed the extent of unethical behaviour, and how this behaviour is diminished in those who have received formal tertiary level education resulted in a proposed new course module on Ethics in Information Systems. The module follows a sandwich-approach whereby two stand-alone modules are conducted on either side of integrated Computer Ethics content within the rest of the curriculum.

The aim of the study was to identify the factors that have an influence on the completion rates of undergraduate students in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Using Tinto's retention rate theory as the theoretical foundation, data were collected from freshman who were enrolled in the years 2005 to 2008. Results showed gender and first-generation status were significant predictors of STEM completion and time taken to complete the degree. Institutional bias played a role in race/ethnicity not being a factor affecting completion rates, as this study was conducted at a Predominantly White Institution. SAT scores and first and second-year college GPA showed to have the most prominent influence on both STEM completion rate and time taken to complete the degree. Females with higher first-year college GPA and higher high school rank finished faster. Similar results were found with first-generation students as well. Students belonging to ethnic minority groups with higher SAT scores and college GPA had greater success in STEM fields as well. The study results can be used to increase completion rates of underrepresented students in the STEM fields, given what we know about the interactions between underrepresented student groups and the most important predictors.

Abstract in English, Sesotho and Zulu / The occurrence of Open Distance and e-Learning revolutionized Higher Education Institutions for students to access instruction at anytime and anywhere. Students benefitted instruction of anytime and anywhere in one of the Technology Education courses in ODeL from the e-tutors. As a result of the support from the e-tutors, the curriculum was designed to place a strong emphasis on the design process as the core around which the teaching of the curriculum should revolve. However, it is still not clear how effective is the content knowledge which relates to the design process from the e-tutors. In acknowledgment from such a gap, this study aimed to determine the relationship between the e-tutors’ technological, pedagogical, content knowledge of teaching design process within Technology Education specialization. In order to achieve this purpose, two theories, namely Transactional distance and Connectivism were coined together with the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework to underpin the study. The philosophical worldview is pragmatism having employed mixed method. Participants in this study were 145 students who registered a year programme for two modules in the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) programme at a Higher Education institution were surveyed to collect the quantitative data. Data from the face-to-face semi-structured interviews were collected with five e-tutors from the research sites. Online observations data were collected from the e-tutor sites of the institution’s learning management system (LMS). The results suggest that e tutors still lack the technology knowledge in order to deliver the content aimed for the design process in an ODeL environment. Also, it was evidenced that the e-tutors have not acquired pedagogical strategies for driving the pedagogy for the design process in an ideal context of ODeL. It should also be borne in mind that findings for the content knowledge indicated that the e-tutors still lack the knowledge for exploiting content knowledge of the design process to suit an ODeL environment. These findings highlight a need for technology to support e tutors’ pedagogical strategies towards a meaningful understanding of the design process and its implications across ODeL contexts. / Ketsahalo ea Open Distance le e-Learning e ntlafalitse litsi tsa thuto e phahameng bakeng sa baithuti ho fihlella taeo nako efe kapa efe le kae kapa kae. Baithuti ba ile ba rua molemo taelong ea nako efe kapa efe le kae kapa kae ho e 'ngoe ea lithuto tsa Technology Technology ho ODeL ho tsoa ho li-tutors. Ka lebaka la ts'ehetso e tsoang ho li-tutors, kharikhulamo e ne e etselitsoe ho hatisa ka matla ts'ebetso ea moralo e le khubu eo thuto ea kharikhulamo e lokelang ho potoloha ho eona. Leha ho le joalo, ha ho sa hlaka hore na tsebo ea litaba e sebetsa hantle hakae e amanang le tšebetso ea moralo ho tsoa ho li-tutors. Ho ananela lekhalo le joalo, phuputso ena e ne e ikemiselitse ho tseba kamano lipakeng tsa theknoloji ea "e-tutors", thuto ea thuto, tsebo ea litaba ea ts'ebetso ea moralo oa ho ruta ka har'a tsebo ea thuto ea Technology. Bakeng sa ho fihlela sepheo sena, ho ile ha qaptjoa likhopolo tse peli, e leng Transactional distance le Connectivism hammoho le sebopeho sa Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) ho tšehetsa thuto. Pono ea lefatše ea filosofi ke pragmatism e sebelisang mokhoa o tsoakaneng. Barupeluoa thutong ena e ne e le baithuti ba 145 ba ngolisitseng lenaneo la selemo bakeng sa li-module tse peli lenaneong la Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) setsing sa Thuto e Phahameng ba ile ba hlahlojoa ho bokella lintlha tse ngata. Lintlha tse tsoang lipuisanong tsa sebopeho sa sefahleho li ile tsa bokelloa le barupeli ba bahlano ba tsoang libakeng tsa lipatlisiso. Lintlha tsa tlhaiso-leseling ka inthanete li ile tsa bokelloa ho tsoa litsing tsa e-tutor tsa sistimi ea taolo ea ho ithuta ea setheo (LMS). Liphetho li fana ka maikutlo a hore barupeli ba ntse ba haelloa ke tsebo ea mahlale a morao-rao molemong oa ho fana ka litaba tse reretsoeng ts'ebetso ea boqapi tikolohong ea ODeL. Hape, ho ile ha pakoa hore li-e-tutors ha li e-so fumane maano a thuto ea ho khanna lithuto tsa thuto bakeng sa moetso oa moralo ka mokhoa o loketseng oa ODeL. Hape ho lokela ho hopoloa hore liphuputso tsa tsebo ea litaba li bontšitse hore li-e-tutors li ntse li haelloa ke tsebo ea ho sebelisa tsebo ea litaba tsa moralo oa moralo ho latela tikoloho ea ODeL. Liphuputso tsena li totobatsa tlhoko ea mahlale a morao-rao ho ts'ehetsa maano a thuto a barupeli ho fihlela kutloisiso e hlakileng ea ts'ebetso ea moralo le litlamorao tsa ona maemong a ODeL. / Ukutholakala kwe-Open Distance ne-e-Learning kuguqula izikhungo zemfundo ephakeme zabafundi ukuthi bathole imfundo nganoma yisiphi isikhathi noma kuphi. Abafundi bahlomule ngokufundiswa nganoma isiphi isikhathi noma kuphi kwesinye sezifundo zeTechnology Education ku-ODeL kubafundisi be-e. Njengomphumela wokwesekwa okwenziwa abafundisi be-e-tutors, ikharikhulamu yakhelwe ukugcizelela kakhulu inqubo yokwakhiwa njengongqikimba okumele kufundiswe ngayo ikharikhulamu. Kodwa-ke, akukacaci ukuthi lusebenza kangakanani ulwazi lokuqukethwe oluphathelene nenqubo yokwakha evela kubafundisi be-e. Ngokwazisa ngaleligebe elinje, lolu cwaningo luhlose ukucacisa ubudlelwano phakathi kwezobuchwepheshe be-e-tutors, ubuchwepheshe bokufundisa, ulwazi lokuqukethwe lwenqubo yokwakhiwa kokufundisa ngaphakathi kobuchwepheshe be-Technology Education. Ukufeza le njongo, imibono emibili, okungukuthi iTransactional distance neConnectivism yahlanganiswa kanye nohlaka lweTechnological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) ukusekela ucwaningo. Umbono wezwe wefilosofi yi-pragmatism esebenzisa indlela exubile. Ababambe iqhaza kulolu cwaningo bekungabafundi abayi-145 ababhalise uhlelo lonyaka lwamamojula amabili kuhlelo lweBachelor of Education (B.Ed.) esikhungweni seMfundo ePhakeme bahlolisiswa ukuqoqa imininingwane yobungako. Imininingwane evela ezingxoxweni ezihlelekile ezenziwe ubuso nobuso zaqoqwa nama-e-tutors amahlanu avela kumasayithi ocwaningo. Idatha yokubuka eku-inthanethi yaqoqwa kusuka kumasayithi e-e-tutor ohlelo lokuphatha lokufunda (LMS). Imiphumela iphakamisa ukuthi abafundisi be-e basenalo ulwazi lobuchwepheshe ukuze bakwazi ukuletha okuqukethwe okuhloselwe inqubo yokwakhiwa endaweni ye-ODeL. Futhi, kufakazelwe ukuthi abafundisi be-e abakawatholi amasu okufundisa okushayela inqubo yokuqamba ngendlela efanelekile ye-ODeL. Kumele futhi kukhunjulwe ukuthi okutholakele kolwazi lokuqukethwe kukhombisile ukuthi ama-e-tutors asenalo ulwazi lokusebenzisa ulwazi lokuqukethwe kwenqubo yokwakhiwa ukuze ivumelane nemvelo ye-ODeL. Lokhu okutholakele kugqamisa isidingo sobuchwepheshe ukuxhasa amasu e-tutors 'pedagogical maqondana nokuqonda okunenjongo kwenqubo yokwakhiwa nemithelela yayo kuzo zonke izingqikithi ze-ODeL. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / Ph. D. (Science and Technology Education)

In the U.S., about 7,000 high school students drop out each school day, representing a loss of talent and ability. Concurrently, there are a decreasing number of enrolled students taking science-related courses at the high school and college levels. Adults, who return to obtain their General Educational Development (GED) certification, are an untapped resource that could be steered toward STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) careers. In this case study, 15 GED students were shown a STEM video, and then peer mentored by 8 CLA (Clinical Laboratory Assistant) students, in a student-centered laboratory experience. Individual interviews of the GED students prior to and after the treatment were used to assess STEM attitudes. Additionally, the CLA peer mentors were given self-assessments regarding their level of self-efficacy. The most marked difference in the pre- and post-treatment data was with the male GED students. Initially, only 2 of the 7 had definite career goals, 5 with undefined career goals, with 4 showing no interest in STEM. After the treatment, 6 exhibited interest in pursuing STEM education or employment. The female GED students' interest remained unchanged, resulting in the male and female students showing equivalent interest in STEM post-treatment. The CLA peer mentors showed an increase in self-efficacy using Bandura's four sources of self-efficacy in social cognition (1997). The preliminary results of this study suggest that interest in STEM education and STEM careers can be generated with peer mentored learning. (Contains 1 figure and 8 tables.)