Abstract The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of virtual reality training on the development of cognitive memory and handgun accuracy by law enforcement neophytes. One hundred and six academy students from 6 different academy classes were divided into two groups, experimental and control. The experimental group was exposed to virtual reality training for a period of 8 hours. The control group was exposed to the traditional, non-interactive training that occurred on a gun range, also for a period of 8 hours. After exposing the groups to their respective training, a counter-balance technique was utilized to expose both groups to a series of 3 law enforcement related scenarios. The time and number of shots that each participant used to cognitively process and solve the scenarios were collected and analyzed by group and gender. There was a significant difference, by group, in both time and accuracy, with the virtual reality group using less time and posting more accurate scores. Mean accuracy scores indicated that the males participants were more accurate in their response to the scenario administration.

This thesis proposes a critical enquiry into the issue of creativity, focussing on teacher education in the English Lifelong Learning (LLL) sector. I examine the role of creativity in this context and link sector research and practice to an alternative, immanent, form of ethics. My thesis has three parts, the first of which identifies and contests current approaches to creativity and redefines it from the perspective of teacher education in LLL. To tackle this complex problem, I draw on recent literature in the field in conjunction with the work of philosopher Gilles Deleuze (1925-1995). I recast the notion of lifelong learning as an event in order to explicitly relate practice, creativity and ethics. Drawing on this analysis, the second part of my argument describes an alternative, “operative” model of creativity and provides examples of its implication in practice. The films and creative practices of acclaimed director Michelangelo Antonioni (1912-2007) are used to exemplify the sort of “shock to thought” which Deleuze equates with certain types of cinema, and which, I suggest, can contribute to creative teaching and learning practices. I bring together Deleuze’s ideas about how creative “stutters” and “interstices” function, providing a set of interlinked parameters with which to think about creative teacher education practices in LLL. Improvisation, chance and error are investigated from the viewpoint of the ethical practices immanent to them. These parameters structure the third part of my thesis, which critically examines the extent to which research and practice in LLL might actually achieve the ambitious goals this implies. Drawing on Deleuze’s positions on moral and ethical behaviour, I develop an ambitious re-statement of ethical practice which aims to better relate to practices of teacher education in LLL and their creative potential.

<p>The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate the adjunct faculty's perception of professional development and support services offered and needed at Tidewater Community College, a multicampus community college. This study involved adjunct faculty only. A survey was created and contained 58 survey questions. The majority of these were Likert-like items based on a scale from <i>Strongly Agree</i>, indicating a very important need or value for the adjunct, to <i>Strongly Disagree</i>, indicating a not important at all level of perceived value. In order to determine if other factors influenced the perception of professional development or support services, other questions asked for demographic information, such as education level, age, number of years in the professional field, and discipline/department. Except for education level, each of the independent variables accepted the null hypothesis that there is no statistically significant difference between adjunct faculty perception of institutional supports and the professional development and support services offered in terms of the independent variables. Findings from this study indicated that adjunct faculty perceived that professional development and support services are significant in improving their teaching and important to their role and success. Adjuncts want to better serve students and connect with the institution. Orientation and mentoring are highly regarded and requested to help integrate adjunct faculty into the college. The data indicated that adjunct faculty members want professional development that meets their specific instructional and student-centered needs that is offered during more accommodating times. The current professional development offerings are not well-attended and do not seem to meet the specific needs of this adjunct population. It behooves the administration to further investigate what is currently being done to support adjuncts and to address a means to improve the delivery and execution of all institutional supports. While this study provides useful information related to one community college, it is important that each community college examine closely its personal investment relative to the institutional support it provides to adjunct faculty members. </p>

<p> Academic advising has been touted as a key to student success and retention. Today's academic advising delivery models vary considerably and little is known about the efficiency and effectiveness of these models. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between how academic advising is delivered to first-year students at a four-year public, high research activity university located on the west coast and the students' satisfaction with advising, advising learning outcomes, and retention. In the study, responses of 628 first-year students to a survey which asked them about their attitudes toward and experiences with academic advising were examined. Results indicated statistically significant relationships between student satisfaction ratings and advising learning outcomes and how advising is delivered, specifically, who advises students, where students are advised, how frequently students are required to see an advisor, how frequently students choose to see an advisor, and how "mandatory" advising is implemented. Furthermore results showed that student retention was related to who advises students and how "mandatory" advising is implemented with peer-led advising processes showing higher student attrition rates than other processes. The overall advising delivery variable effect size was small. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are discussed.</p>

Career opportunities for women were limited until the 1970s. Teaching is a profession women have long pursued. The purpose of the study was to determine if differences exist in Kentucky women teachers’ demographic characteristics and career choice outcomes by age cohort/era. The population consisted of women who lived in the state of Kentucky and the teacher sample consisted of 110 females, ranging in age from 25-74. Findings from this study were examined through the Social Cognitive Career Theory’s (SCCT) three constructs: self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and personal goals. Five key influences were reviewed from literature: age, resources, educational attainment, teaching responsibilities, and motherhood. The educational level of all women in this sample consisted of respondents earning a bachelor’s degree or higher, with the majority having obtained a master’s degree. It was found that the teacher sample of the Kentucky Women’s Educational Attainment Study was highly influenced by their educational and occupational decisions. They were influenced by their personal values and family in their marriage and parenting decisions. Personal goals, outcome expectations, and self-efficacy were being met for these teachers by accomplishing their education and career goals while balancing their parenting choices.

Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education™ (CASE) is an instructional system of support that provides professional development, curriculum, and assessments to agricultural educators. Through the CASE model, two CASE Lead or Master Teachers facilitate professional development, known as a CASE Institute. This study utilizes three sets of surveys to describe the motivation for CASE certified teachers applying to become CASE Lead and Master Teachers, determine the effectiveness of the professional development provided to Lead and Master Teachers during the Lead Teacher Orientation, and determine the Lead and Master Teachers’ demographic information.

<p> The relatively little amount of time that some college students spend reading their textbooks outside of lectures presents a significant threat to their academic success. One possible solution to this problem is the use of digital games as an alternative to outside-of-class textbook reading, but a review of previous research did not reveal much information on their efficacy when compared to traditional textbooks. Using Astin's theory of student engagement as a framework, the purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to determine whether a significant difference in engagement, as indicated by mental effort and time on task, existed for college students who used a digital game-based textbook versus students who used a traditional print-based textbook. The 54 undergraduate college students in this convenience sample were randomly assigned to one of the two textbook types and completed an activity session at an individual workstation. Time on task was measured with a stopwatch and mental effort with the Mental Effort Scale. The results showed a statistically significant difference in engagement between participants in the digital game-based and traditional print-based textbook groups, Hotelling's <i> T</i>²(2, 52) = 25.11, <i>p </i>&lt; .001, D²=1.86. In the post hoc analyses, the digital game-based group had significantly higher time on task scores than the traditional print-based textbook group (<i>t</i> = 34.61, <i>p</i> &lt; .001). The mental effort difference was not significant, although the mean mental effort score was higher for the digital game-based group. These results provide evidence of a digital game-based textbook's utility, and may inform college educators in their efforts to support a more diverse group of learners.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study is to identify student characteristics and academic program factors, which influence the student's ability to persist through degree completion within healthcare-related, associate degree programs within four urban, community colleges. To achieve this outcome, the Bean and Metzner (1985) model of non-traditional student attrition was adapted to analyze academic and demographic variables which may lead to degree completion within healthcare programs of study. Records of 3,237 students from four urban, community colleges, with healthcare-related programs of study and prerequisites of English, anatomy and physiology, and mathematics, were analyzed to determine predictors leading to program completion. The study employed a quantitative, <i> ex post facto</i> design using descriptive statistics, correlation, and logistic regression models to analyze the sample of 552 students. Out of the twelve independent variables for the six programs of study (diagnostic medical sonography, echocardiology technology, invasive cardiovascular technology, nursing, radiologic sciences, and respiratory care programs), cumulative and program grade point averages were found to be significant predictors of program completion. Recommendations included adding shorter certificate options within the programs of study, consider reducing the length of associate degree programs, assessing licensure success and length of programs in the healthcare sector, applying similar studies in university or rural settings, assessment of financial aid and completion in healthcare programs, and establishing pre-advising opportunities to determine the best program fit for students within the healthcare sector, thus increasing the student's ability to persist to program completion or graduation.</p>

<p> The purpose of this research study was to better understand the learning process related to experiential learning that occurs for early childhood education students in the early childhood education capstone course. Limited research exists on the nature of learning that occurs in the early childhood education capstone experience. A basic interpretive qualitative design was used for this investigation. Seven students enrolled in an early childhood capstone course at a community college were interviewed for the study. Qualitative methods were used to collect data from the students via interviews. Each participant engaged in three interviews, resulting in a total of 21 interviews. Each participant was interviewed by phone and digitally recorded for accuracy. </p><p> An analysis of the data revealed that the nature of learning that occurs during the early childhood capstone course is experiential. The theoretical framework for this study was derived from the research on teacher education, early childhood education, and adult learning. The three concepts that emerged from this study are (a) influence on students' learning, (b) perception of students' learning, and (c) the nature of learning. </p>

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine law enforcement officers' perception of factors within the workplace that influence transfer of training and their perception of the organization being a learning organization. The study actually had three parts. First, it intended to investigate the perception of law enforcement officers regarding factors within their work environment that influence or impede the transfer of training process (specifically, organizational support and transfer climate/culture). Second, it intended to determine the perception of law enforcement officers concerning the promotion of their organization's learning practices, learning culture, and the continuous learning environment at an individual, team, and organizational level (a learning organization). Lastly, it intended to determine if there was a difference in the perception of law enforcement officers related to transfer of training and a learning organization utilizing the variables of rank, posting, gender, years of service, and age. The participants included law enforcement officers within a Caribbean police department. The two theories employed as the theoretical framework for this study are the training transfer process model by Baldwin and Ford (1988) and the Watkins and Marsick's (1997) framework of learning organization, the dimensions of learning organization. Data was collected using qualitative and quantitative methods (focus groups and a paper and pencil version of the Dimension of Learning Organization - A). A pilot study was conducted to establish the integrity of the data collection methods and evaluate the viability of the focus groups. The conclusions that emerged from this research indicated that subordinates and management did not perceive the organization as one that provided support for transfer of training within the work environment. As it relates to the officers' perception of their organization as one that promotes a learning practices and culture, the law enforcement officers had a neutral perception of the organization as one that promoted learning practices, learning culture, and continuous learning at an individual level (group mean = 3.26 with a standard deviation of 0.91). As it relates to the team or group level, the law enforcement officers had a neutral perception of the organization as one that promoted learning practices, learning culture, and continuous learning (group mean = 3.10 with a standard deviation of 1.12). As it relates to the organizational level, the law enforcement officers had a neutral perception of the organization as one that promoted learning practices, learning culture, and continuous learning at an organizational level (group mean = 3.40 with a standard deviation of 1.07). However, this does not mean that the officer's individual scores were in this range.