This dissertation entitled, Exploring Design Thinking for Instructional Practice, is situated in the cognitive rigor of design thinking instructional practice and engineering design-based capstone courses. The content of the instructional practice connects with educators employing a wide range of intellectual activities or cognitive tasks in formulating their curriculum. Key attributes of design thinking were identified through a focused literature review with an emphasis on theoretical propositions applicable to instructional practice. This dissertation contains two manuscripts: (a) an exploration of the theoretical literature related to design thinking explicating implications for instructional practice, and (b) a case study involving a small, purposive, sample of undergraduate faculty members teaching engineering design-based courses with findings broadly applicable to design processes in college curricula. The faculty participants in the case study were educators at a large, public, research-intensive university in the southeastern region of the United States. The data analyses involved triangulation of semi-structured interviews conducted with faculty participants and their design-based course materials, including syllabi and lesson plan materials. The study's thematic findings were not tied to engineering but rather course design, design process, and course management. The findings show the utility of artifact creation for learning with understanding for everyone, not just engineers and other traditional designers. Overall, the dissertation contributes to pedagogy that promotes student-centered engagement for learning with understanding. It recommends design thinking instructional practice for inclusion in designing and making artifacts of constructed knowledge for learning with understanding engagements across the academy. / Doctor of Philosophy / This dissertation entitled, Exploring Design Thinking for Instructional Practice, integrates a wide range of intellectual activities also referred to as cognitive tasks of student-centered design thinking activities. In this dissertation, these tasks are useful for tackling problems that are not well-defined, such as, open-ended, real-world problems. Examples of this pedagogy are useful for educators considering and/or implementing design thinking in their curricula. This dissertation contains two manuscripts: (a) an exploration of the theoretical literature related to design thinking from theory to artifact making, and (b) a case study involving undergraduate faculty members teaching design thinking in design-based courses. The study's faculty participants were educators teaching engineering capstone courses at a large, public, research university in the southeastern region of the United States. Their students design and make solutions for open-ended, real-world problems that are not in textbooks and do not have "right" answers. The study's data collection phase involved interviews with the faculty participants and course materials (syllabi, lesson plan materials, handouts, and course websites). Data analysis produced three robust themes: course design, design process, and course management. These themes suggest that a design thinking instructional practice belies perceptions that design thinking is tied exclusively to engineering and other traditional design disciplines. The findings suggest that design thinking pedagogy engages students in creation of artifacts, learning with understanding, hands-on experiential learning in iterations, use of productivity tools, teamwork, and new starting points when outcomes do not meet expectations. Overall, the findings suggest design thinking pedagogy promotes student-centered design thinking activities.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the enrollment in the academic and non-academic courses taught in the senior high schools of Texas.

No description available.

<p>The aim of this study is to find out if the former students think that they have made use of the courses they have taken at the Natural Resource Use Programme specialised in Animal Husbandry at Lillerudsgymnasiet or if the courses should be exchanged. In the study it is assumed that a course can be useful professionally, for further studies and in private life.</p><p>The main questions are: Have the former students made use of the courses they took at the Natural Resource Use Programme specialised in Animal Husbandry at Lillerudsgymnasiet? Was it the right decision to replace the course Horses?</p><p>I have sent a questionnaire to all the students who graduated between 2003 and 2007. Out of 107 questionnaires I received 66 replies (62 %). All students have studied the same mandatory courses but different eligible courses. Therefore the frequency of replies shows great variation.</p><p>The course Horses was recently replaced by the courses Small Enterprises A, Dogs and Species at risk. 52 % (34 persons) answered that they found the course Horses useful. 46 % (16 persons) answered that they found the course Small Enterprises A useful. 78 % (32 persons) answered that they found the course Dogs useful. 37 % (10 persons) answered that they found the course Species at risk useful.</p><p>It is hard to say if it was right to replace Horses if you look only at the answers to how useful the course was. My conclusion is that the teachers should look at Species at risk and try to make it suit the specialisation Animal Husbandry better. English B is the course that the highest share of former students found useful, 82 % (18 persons). Nevertheless I think it should stay with the eligible courses. The former students think that they have made use of the mandatory courses.</p> / <p>Syftet med det här arbetet är att få reda på om de tidigare eleverna tycker att det varit nyttiga kurser som de läst på naturbruksprogrammets djurvårdsinriktning på Lillerudsgymnasiet och om det är någon eller några kurser som skulle kunna bytas ut. Jag tänker mig att en kurs kan vara nyttig både i kommande arbete, i fortsatta studier och i privatlivet.</p><p>De huvudsakliga frågeställningarna är: Har de före detta eleverna haft nytta av kurserna som de läste på Lillerudsgymnasiets naturbruksprogram med djurvårdsinriktning? Var det riktigt att ta bort hästkunskapskursen som inriktningskurs?</p><p>Jag har skickat ut en enkät till alla elever som gick ut naturbruksprogrammet med djurvårdsinriktning på Lillerudsgymnasiet mellan 2003 och 2007 och det blev 107 stycken. Svarsfrekvensen blev 62 % (66 st.). Alla elever har läst samma inriktningskurser men de har läst olika kurser av de individuellt valbara. Svarsfrekvensen är därför mycket olika för olika kurser.</p><p>Kursen Hästkunskap blev nyligen utbytt mot Småföretagande A, Hundar och Utrotningshotade arter. 52 % (34 st.) svarade att de har haft nytta av kursen Hästkunskap. 46 % (16 st.) svarade att de har haft nytta av kursen Småföretagande A. 78 % (32 st.) svarade att de har haft nytta av kursen Hundar. 37 % (10 st.) svarade att de har haft nytta av kursen Utrotningshotade arter.</p><p>Det är svårt att säga om det var rätt att ta bort Hästkunskapskursen som inriktningskurs enbart utifrån nyttan. Jag anser att man bör se över om Utrotningshotade arter kan göras om för att passa djurvårdsinriktningen bättre. Engelska B är den kurs som störst andel i den här studien tycker att de har haft nytta av, 82 %, (18 st.). Jag tycker ändå att den ska vara kvar bland de valbara kurserna. De tidigare eleverna tycker att de har haft nytta av sina inriktningskurser.</p>

The aim of this study is to find out if the former students think that they have made use of the courses they have taken at the Natural Resource Use Programme specialised in Animal Husbandry at Lillerudsgymnasiet or if the courses should be exchanged. In the study it is assumed that a course can be useful professionally, for further studies and in private life. The main questions are: Have the former students made use of the courses they took at the Natural Resource Use Programme specialised in Animal Husbandry at Lillerudsgymnasiet? Was it the right decision to replace the course Horses? I have sent a questionnaire to all the students who graduated between 2003 and 2007. Out of 107 questionnaires I received 66 replies (62 %). All students have studied the same mandatory courses but different eligible courses. Therefore the frequency of replies shows great variation. The course Horses was recently replaced by the courses Small Enterprises A, Dogs and Species at risk. 52 % (34 persons) answered that they found the course Horses useful. 46 % (16 persons) answered that they found the course Small Enterprises A useful. 78 % (32 persons) answered that they found the course Dogs useful. 37 % (10 persons) answered that they found the course Species at risk useful. It is hard to say if it was right to replace Horses if you look only at the answers to how useful the course was. My conclusion is that the teachers should look at Species at risk and try to make it suit the specialisation Animal Husbandry better. English B is the course that the highest share of former students found useful, 82 % (18 persons). Nevertheless I think it should stay with the eligible courses. The former students think that they have made use of the mandatory courses. / Syftet med det här arbetet är att få reda på om de tidigare eleverna tycker att det varit nyttiga kurser som de läst på naturbruksprogrammets djurvårdsinriktning på Lillerudsgymnasiet och om det är någon eller några kurser som skulle kunna bytas ut. Jag tänker mig att en kurs kan vara nyttig både i kommande arbete, i fortsatta studier och i privatlivet. De huvudsakliga frågeställningarna är: Har de före detta eleverna haft nytta av kurserna som de läste på Lillerudsgymnasiets naturbruksprogram med djurvårdsinriktning? Var det riktigt att ta bort hästkunskapskursen som inriktningskurs? Jag har skickat ut en enkät till alla elever som gick ut naturbruksprogrammet med djurvårdsinriktning på Lillerudsgymnasiet mellan 2003 och 2007 och det blev 107 stycken. Svarsfrekvensen blev 62 % (66 st.). Alla elever har läst samma inriktningskurser men de har läst olika kurser av de individuellt valbara. Svarsfrekvensen är därför mycket olika för olika kurser. Kursen Hästkunskap blev nyligen utbytt mot Småföretagande A, Hundar och Utrotningshotade arter. 52 % (34 st.) svarade att de har haft nytta av kursen Hästkunskap. 46 % (16 st.) svarade att de har haft nytta av kursen Småföretagande A. 78 % (32 st.) svarade att de har haft nytta av kursen Hundar. 37 % (10 st.) svarade att de har haft nytta av kursen Utrotningshotade arter. Det är svårt att säga om det var rätt att ta bort Hästkunskapskursen som inriktningskurs enbart utifrån nyttan. Jag anser att man bör se över om Utrotningshotade arter kan göras om för att passa djurvårdsinriktningen bättre. Engelska B är den kurs som störst andel i den här studien tycker att de har haft nytta av, 82 %, (18 st.). Jag tycker ändå att den ska vara kvar bland de valbara kurserna. De tidigare eleverna tycker att de har haft nytta av sina inriktningskurser.

LD2668 .T4 1965 Y95 / Master of Science

Whilst a significant body of research exists related to quality assurance in UK higher education (HE), few questions appear to have been raised about the commonplace practice of validation or approval of degree courses. Overall, current research tends to focus on complications arising from the procedural effects of the process, rather than exploring ways that staff dealt with the demands of these systems. This study examined staff experiences of course approval within Allied Health Profession degree courses in a UK university. The research focused on how governance structures surrounding the regulation of health professionals and universities shaped the practice(s) of approval, alongside ways in which this experience affected staff. Influenced by the work of theorists in critical and social theory traditions, this indepth study adopted narrative inquiry. Purposive sampling was used to locate twelve participants and included academics, manager-academics, staff who worked in professional bodies and within teams supporting quality in HE. In order to examine the issues related to the approval process, data was collected through interview conversations, participants’ drawings and prose, along with documentary analysis. This research revealed the narrative of approval as complex and akin to a journey involving a series of challenges, contradictions and multiplicity of stakeholders. Interpretation of the data illustrated that those participating were both constituted by, and contributed to the nature of approval. In other words, rather than being docile recipients’ of policy, it was apparent that staff appeared to take various approaches to thinking, acting and relating. A sense of adopting a position (termed here as positional identities) emerged and influenced not only participants’ journey through the approval process, but also that of others, as well as the shape and nature of courses being approved. Four positional identities were identified, namely: the Governance Trustee, Professional Guardian, Enabling Strategist and Boundary Broker. Each of these positions was subsequently explored through an exploratory conceptual map of positional identity. The emergent map stimulated the re-assessment of current conditions. Consequently, future possibilities in which approval scenarios may evolve are presented. Considering how policy changes within HE have promoted increasingly performative practices, and the ways in which participants in approval events have presented them ‘selves’, it is likely that the positional identities adopted by staff here may have resonance for academics across the sector, and that this study will inform wider debates about policy and validation of courses within HE in general.

No description available.

The problem of this study was to determine if the principle of congruity can be used as a reliable predictor of undergraduate students' attitude change toward a required speech course and toward the course instructor between the outset and the end of a semester.

This study was designed to determine the differences in achievement, critical thinking, and attitude toward English composition of community college students which may be attributed to two approaches to the teaching of first-semester freshman English composition. An ancillary purpose of the study was to provide factual information which could be used as a basis for administrative and instructional judgments in determining the expansion or discontinuance of an experimental English program.