Much of the research literature relating to the use of virtual learning environments (VLEs) to support teaching and learning focuses on their use in higher and further education. This thesis makes a contribution to the study of such environments in relation to secondary schools in the UK. A number of common themes were identified from the literature review that was part of my original critical analytical study and which is updated here. The themes included assessment, differentiation, collaboration and flexible learning practices. These were investigated in one school, over the course of one year, during the introduction of a local authority approved virtual learning environment. I had assumed that the use of the technology would have a transformational effect on teacher practice. In reality for most of the time the technology was used to reaffirm an existing classroom way of doing things. The conceptual framework that guides the investigation was based on action research, influenced by social constructionism and critical theory. It employs aspects of a second-generation model of activity theory to explore the tensions that may arise in a classroom when technology is introduced. A phased approach was adopted towards the collection of data, given the complexities of both classroom practice and the technology employed. This ranged from the use of questionnaires and technical data from the VLE when it was initially introduced, to interviews and classroom observations as teachers became more confident in its use, through to the design of an intervention that enabled a more in depth exploration of what was happening. This research revealed that where the use of the technology was most effective in supporting approaches to personalised learning, a number of key components were combined. I have proposed that where teachers have the technical skills to use a VLE, linked to an understanding of the theories and models associated with online learning and where they structure their teaching outside the confines of the traditional lesson format, then online technologies support personalised learning.

by Steve Tai-Man Wong. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 64-65). / TABLE OF FIGURES --- p.i / Chapter 1 --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Contributions --- p.4 / Chapter 1.2 --- Thesis Organization --- p.5 / Chapter 2 --- BACKGROUND --- p.6 / Chapter 3 --- THE MUSAS AUTHORING SYSTEM --- p.11 / Chapter 3.1 --- The Storyboard-based Authoring System and Extension --- p.11 / Chapter 3.2 --- The Editor-Authors Hierarchy --- p.18 / Chapter 3.3 --- The Multi-agents Architecture --- p.22 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- The RESAgent --- p.22 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- The SalesAgent --- p.31 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- The WatcherAgent --- p.36 / Chapter 3.3.4 --- The NeedleAgent --- p.38 / Chapter 4 --- IMPLEMENTATION --- p.42 / Chapter 4.1 --- The Project Builder --- p.42 / Chapter 4.2 --- The Timetable Editor --- p.46 / Chapter 4.3 --- The Multi-agents Architecture --- p.47 / Chapter 4.4 --- The WatcherAgent --- p.49 / Chapter 4.5 --- The SalesAgent --- p.49 / Chapter 4.6 --- The RESAgent --- p.50 / Chapter 5 --- CASE STUDY --- p.53 / Chapter 6 --- FUTURE WORK --- p.60 / Chapter 7 --- CONCLUSION --- p.62 / REFERENCES --- p.64 / Chapter APPENDIX A --- INSTALLATION PROCEDURE --- p.66 / Chapter APPENDIX B --- THE USER'S MANUAL --- p.67 / Chapter APPENDIX C --- CLASS DIAGRAMS --- p.90 / Chapter APPENDIX D --- THE PROGRAMMER'S GUIDE --- p.99

The problem with which this investigation was concerned was that of the determining relationships between attitude and between achievement of students in those classes in college basic mathematics which utilized electronic calculators during class sessions and students in those classes which did not utilize electronic calculators.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries / Department: Biology.

This research study examines factors that influence a social worker’s willingness to utilize animals in therapy, specifically equine assisted psychotherapy. Equine assisted psychotherapy is an experiential therapy involving horses for the treatment of mental and behavioral health issues. The study uses quantitative data. The sample population is Bachelors of Social Work (BSW) and Masters of Social Work (MSW) students attending a University in Southern California. The participants were provided an electronic self-administered survey through their University email account. The data collected was analyzed and the results were provided to the University. The results indicate a relationship between several variables, such as previously owning and/or caring for a pet and fondness of animals, however, there are likely other factors that predict the use of equine assisted therapy that were not explored in this study. The results of this study will help raise awareness about equine assisted psychotherapy and the benefits of utilizing this non-traditional treatment.

Incidents of falls among the elderly increase with age. About $31 million is spent annually in the United States on medical costs related to fall injuries in the elderly. This project evaluated the outcomes of a fall reduction program implemented in an assisted living facility (ALF). The Stop Elderly Accidents, Death & Injury program developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was implemented by the ALF for 60 days prior to the outcome evaluation project. The program included a convenience sample of 62 residents and involved medication evaluation, exercises, assistive devices, environmental risk reduction, and evaluation of blood pressure. Bandura's theory on self-efficacy was applied in guiding the implementation process. The practice-focused question compared the fall rate among the ALF's elderly residents during the 30-day period following implementation of the program, and the previous 12months. The fall rates were analyzed with descriptive statistics. Results showed the preintervention fall rate was 6.6 falls per month, while at the end of the 30-day postimplementation period, that rate was reduced by 39.4% to 4 falls per month. The conclusion of this outcome-evaluation project is that falls among the elderly in the ALF can be reduced with evidence-based programs. The recommendation is that ALFs should have fall reduction programs, thereby avoiding unnecessary complications of falls among elderly residents. Implications for nursing practice include improved understanding of falls as a safety issue for ALF residents and the need for nurse practitioners to take a more active role as advocates for fall prevention programs in ALFs. The positive societal change produced is improved safety and reduction in fall injuries among the elderly in assisted living facilities.

Addiction is a national problem in the United States that impacts public health and social and economic welfare. The purpose of this case study was to identify barriers that impede treatment and hinder the success of client recovery from addiction. The research question focused on social work clinicians' perceptions of barriers to effective treatment with substance abuse clients in Coastal South Mississippi. The theoretical framework for this research was the reasoned action theory. Data was collected from a focus group, personal interviews, and the review of literature. Purposeful sampling was used to select 13 social workers for interviews and for a focus group. The social workers needed to have obtained a bachelor or higher degree and a minimum of one year professional experience working with substance abuse clients. Data analysis was conducted by evaluating transcripts of audio recordings from the focus group. The results were then further developed using common words and phrases among the participants to assist in the development of themes. Three themes emerged from this research study: the counselor attitudes/perceptions to treatment, client identified barriers to successful treatment, and the identification of environmental barriers to treatment. The findings of this study might bring about social change by helping social workers to identify factors that influence substance abuse treatment delivery and adapt successful treatment approaches to serve clients by providing social workers with the knowledge and awareness of practitioners' perceptions on treating substance abuse clients. This should lead to enhanced clinical practices by empowering treatment outcomes for the benefit of substance abuse clients.

This research was carried out to further the theoretical and practical understanding of peer assisted learning in undergraduate physiotherapy clinical education. A quasi-experimental study, with both a control group and an experimental group, was developed to examine the effects of peer assisted learning on the cognitive, psychomotor and affective components of clinical competence.On a more specific level, the main aim of the study was to investigate two models of clinical learning used in physiotherapy: the individualistic and reciprocal peer coaching models. Differences in history taking, physical examination and clinical reasoning were studied by having individual students, and pairs of students, complete an assessment of a simulated patient followed by a clinical reasoning test. A conceptual framework illustrates the main theoretical implications of this study. This framework incorporated current knowledge about clinical reasoning in medicine and the allied health sciences, in particular, reasoning from a novice practitioner's perspective. The conceptual framework, however, was expanded to demonstrate how peer assisted learning can influence the knowledge, cognitive and metacognitive aspects of clinical reasoning and performance.The main findings of the study were that reciprocal peer coaching led to statistically significant improvements in performance and clinical reasoning in the experimental group. In most cases, positive effect size differences appeared in favour of the experimental group. Most noteworthy differences were in the areas of physical examination and overall thoroughness of the patient encounter. Subjects in the experimental group also outperformed subjects in the control group on the overall clinical reasoning test to a statistically significant degree. A similar outcome was also noted in terms of patient management, that is, the planning and ++ / development of treatment interventions. Low achieving students in the reciprocal peer coaching group outperformed low achieving students who worked independently. Qualitative differences in the learning atmosphere of both models were also reported by subjects. While the actual clinical reasoning process did not appear to differ across both groups, practical differences in the actual learning experience did appear. Students in the experimental group reported being less anxious than students in the control group. The reciprocal peer coaching process was also an effective means of creating a supportive learning environment. These results are consistent with the major conclusions in the literature. Specifically, that peer assisted learning methods can increase achievement in learners (Goldschmid & Goldschmid, 1976; Johnson et al., 1998; Milson & Laatsch, 1996; Riggio et al., 1991; Riggio et al., 1994; Topping, 1996).

This thesis illustrates and evaluates a generic adaptive tutoring environment based on the theory of cognitive skill acquisition. The theory concerns acquiring problem-solving abilities in intellectual tasks, and emphasises the learning benefits of providing multiple examples and encouraging students to recognize and study their common structure. The system teaches by presenting side-by-side examples and providing devices to highlight their structural components. The purpose of the design is to assist the process of generalisation and reduce mapping by surface features, allowing students to apply their newly gained knowledge to different sets of problems. The study describes the development of Structural Example-based Adaptive Tutoring System (SEATS), which uses a simple adaptive engine and emphasises the structures of side-by-side examples to encourage students to compare them. / thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2001.