published_or_final_version / Industrial Engineering / Master / Master of Science in Engineering

This thesis examines the extent to which the construction of knowledge by young children involves the practical activity of self assessment and the ways in which such activities can be developed to enhance the learning process. The research programme was carried out using ethnographic and qualitative methods of data collection and analysis within an action research framework in seven classrooms. The investigation of self assessment activities involved the exploration of the children's conceptualisation of progress; their understanding of classroom tasks; their efforts to use their peers for guidance; and their attempts to ensure that their own performance matched that of their peers. It was found that the assessment processes including positive feedback by the seven teachers often provided mixed or erroneous messages and that assessment strategies were not directly taught. Children often failed to differentiate between the teachers I expectations a n relation to their behaviour and their academic performance within a task. A social constructivist model of learning provided a framework for the development and analysis of these self assessmentactivities. In particular it provided the basis for the development of the role of the teacher and of peers as the 'more capable other' and for the location of self assessment strategies within the stages of 'scaffolding', 'handover' and independent learning. The development of self assessment strategies within this framework included the identification and assessment of targets, the use of the pupil portfolio and the development of an assessment vocabulary by the teachers and pupils which ensured a shared understanding of assessment processes. The thesis concludes that self assessment strategies are integral to the learning process and that the development of these activities can enhance the learning process by raising awareness of the activities and allowing them to be taught directly. Self assessment can increase the efficacy of scaffolding by the more capable other which in turn can lead to greater independence for the child.

The purpose of this study was to investigate possible gender differences related to Reverse Engineering unit of the Engineer Your World curriculum. A pilot study took place in 4 schools in Texas and 1 in Massachusetts. The sample size was 160 students: 121 males and 39 females. Students taking EYW (both as an elective and as a required course) were surveyed about their experiences and interest in reverse engineering before and after the Reverse Engineering unit. Results reported some differences in responses between genders. Females reported a higher curiosity for taking things apart but fewer experiences than the males did, although the difference was not necessary statistically significant. A difference between genders was reported differences in learning about how things that they use on a daily basis (IPhones, digital cameras) work. Despite the students' reported lack of expectation that they would use information learned in the reverse engineering outside of class, they reported an interest in learning more about how things work. / text

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Classroom management and discipline is a major concern of administrators, teachers, and parents at all levels of formal education. In response to this concern, a variety of classroom management systems have been presented as remedies to this dilemma. There is, in light of the attention afforded classroom management, a need for a model by which the discipline systems can be examined. A structured examination of these programs, via the "Inquiry Cube", will be of assistance in the evaluation of the discipline programs of William Glasser, James Dobson, and Lee Canter. In this study, the philosophic basis for theoretical models was outlined, criteria of adequacy for "good" theoretical formats discussed, the models used to examine and evaluate the selected classroom management systems were presented, and a discipline checklist for teachers was proposed. The major thesis of this study was that values and goals act as legislative agents in the determination of the organization or structure of discipline systems and programs. The structures of discipline programs are then constructed according to a definite set of rules which, in turn, determine and signify the relevent date of the discipline systems. In examining the programs it was demonstrated that the systems suffer the weakness of the reductionist fallacy. Care must also be taken to insure student and support staff involvement at a meaningful level. Another concern is the possibility that any given classroom management program may become mechanistic and imposingly uniform, thus eliminating many student options. Classroom management and discipline, being comprised of its own universe of discourse and categories, is educational subject matter and, as such, is educative. The discipline checklist concluding this work is comprised of notions included in many of the programs studied and, aside from some structural additions, is not entirely unique. Yet, if this study is helpful at all, it should serve the function of bringing attention to theoretical models as vehicles which can be used to examine and evaluate classroom management systems. The discipline programs of the future will only be as good as the tools used to determine and inform their adequacy.

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