<p> This study sought to address the challenge of interesting university professors in adopting more deliberate and integrated approaches to course design through a multi-case study of five professors in the liberal arts at a top-tier research university. Professors watched video-recorded interviews with five of their own past students who were graduates of the university. The researcher interviewed the professors before and after they viewed the alumni feedback. Professors were asked to reflect on what most surprised and concerned them in the interviews and if and how they were inclined or disinclined to alter their courses. Professors were also asked to compare feedback from alumni to feedback from students. Central findings related to the research questions were that: (a) professors&rsquo; views of their course and course design changed after receiving feedback from their alumni; (b) professors perceived a need to alter their course design when they received surprising and concerning feedback from alumni; (c) but, feedback needed to be sufficiently concerning for professors to be inclined to alter their course designs, and (d) even then, several factors disinclined professors to follow through on changes. These factors opposing change include professors&rsquo; recollections of their college experiences, lack of pedagogical and course design knowledge, and university disincentives to focus on teaching. Professors appreciated hearing from the alumni because alumni had longer-term and more real world perspective than current students and were unconcerned about grades. Professors uniformly disliked, and to a great extent disregarded, student feedback from course evaluations because surveys are anonymous and lack context about who is making a comment and why. In contrast, the alumni interviews allowed professors to see and hear personalized feedback that provided context for which individual said what. Several additional findings emerged from the research. These were: (a) professors developed courses based on limited understanding of what students retained in a course; (b) professors relied considerably on their own educational experiences and on trial and error in creating courses and in their teaching; and (c) professors&rsquo; dislike of course evaluations made them skeptical of student feedback. These findings have potential significance for professors, faculty developers, universities, and students because they suggest an avenue for impacting faculty attitudes about their course design by planting seeds of curiosity about the link between design and course impact. Findings also support the use of alumni interviews as a tool for collecting feedback and existing evidence that faculty development efforts are best when they are personal, context-specific, and endure over time. Because this was a small exploratory study, repeating the alumni interview approach with more faculty and alumni is recommended.</p>

This research investigates the Corporate Schools' programme in Thailand. It aims to examine its implementation and progress from inception, evaluate its current status, and propose ways to enhance its future effectiveness. The programme was initiated through collaboration between the Government and the private sector in the belief that business can play an important role in developing public sector ability to improve educational accessibility and learning quality. The programme is expected to provide young people - particularly school-leavers - with opportunities for education and training. It is also intended to equip them with the knowledge and skills to match labour market requirements. A qualitative approach was employed throughout - governing research design, data collection and data analysis. Three participating companies: CP All Public Company Limited, S&P Syndicate Public Company Limited and the V-ChEPC programme, were selected as case studies. Data were collected through documentary research, semi-structured interviews and observation. The findings, which are based on thematic analysis, show two of the three case study companies were satisfied with the programme's outcomes. These two cases have been focused on their needs and they were aware of the importance of basic skills which young people required. This tends to confirm that the recruitment process has been conducted with due attention. This process, which is aimed at recruiting prospective candidates who hold basic knowledge and skills, could be further developed into one where technical and transferable skills best fit companies' needs. This thesis identifies the current challenges and suggests potential opportunities for three cases. Its outcome should provide a systematic insight to help increase understanding of the Corporate Schools' programme in Thailand with a view to assessing whether or not it has sufficient impact to merit its continuation.

<p> The purpose of this mixed-method study was to examine the three different types of interactions (student-student, student-instructor, and student-content) that occur in an online language learning classroom and whether the amount of time spent predicted the performance in two key areas, grammar proficiency and vocabulary knowledge. This study also examined the way students felt about motivating themselves in an online language learning classroom. The study involved 40 students enrolled in an entirely online entry-level Spanish course who completed a survey about their experience in the online environment and an assessment of their knowledge of vocabulary and grammar points in the language. </p><p> The multiple regression analyses revealed that the amount of time spent in interactions with the content for the course was a predictor for grammar proficiency, but no other interactions were predictors for grammar proficiency or vocabulary knowledge. The participants discussed the difficulty of motivating themselves and how they stayed motivated in the online environment. This study provided some considerations for practitioners in an online environment, but also called into question the efficacy of learning a language in an entirely online environment.</p>

Thesis (M.Arch.(Prof)) -- University of Pretoria, 2006. / Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-85). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-85). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Denver Seminary, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 173-181).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2005. / Advisor: Sherry Southerland, Florida State University, College of Education, Dept. of Middle and Secondary Education. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Feb. 6, 2006). Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 186 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Denver Seminary, 1994. / This is an electronic reproduction of TREN, #090-0231. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 173-181).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2006. / Advisor: Amy L. Baylor, Florida State University, College of Education, Dept. of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 15, 2006). Document formatted into pages; contains xiv, 242 pages. Includes bibliographical references.