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This research report evaluates a computer assisted instruction (CAI) simulation exercise developed according to guidelines developed by Gagne, Wager and Rojas (1981). The simulation exercise was evaluated in terms of: (a) its consistency with these guidelines, and (b) the ability of the learner to achieve the desired objectives. The helpfulness of these guidelines in the development of a quality CAI simulation exercise was also evaluated. Computer assisted instruction is being increasingly used in health sciences instruction. Although there is research available describing its use in medical and undergraduate nursing education, there is limited information on its use in postgraduate nursing education. This research project attempted to: (a) increase the general knowledge base of CAI in continuing nursing education, and (b) evaluate one set of available authoring guidelines. The research project used a one group, three test design. A learning module was developed by the author to provide psychiatric nurses with the basic knowledge needed to conduct a mental status examination. A CAI nurse-patient simulation exercise was written to provide an opportunity to apply this knowledge. It was written according to guidelines proposed by Gagne, Wager and Rojas (1981). Information on the subjects' progress was gathered by a series of tests which assessed mastery and application of mental status examination knowledge and skill. Further data were gathered via a questionnaire on the subjects' attitudes towards the computer, CAI in nursing and the CAI simulation exercise. Following the learning module, there was a significant increase in mental status examination knowledge. A significant increase in mental status examination application skill was also noted on a paper and pencil test administered after the CAI simulation exercise. Subjects also displayed significant improvement in their ability to write a short and concise mental status examination summary. The post-CAI attitude questionnaire found subjects feeling more comfortable with the learning experience. Although supportive of the use of computers in nursing, it was seen more as a tool for nursing schools than continuing education. Subjects also expressed some doubts as to whether CAI was as good as other instructional techniques for practising a mental status examination. Some additional findings were noted: (a) familiarity with a typewriter or computer keyboard seemed to decrease the time taken to complete the CAI simulation exercise, and (b) previous computer experience also played a role in reducing CAI completion time. The computer hardware seemed to interfere with the learning experience. Subjects were anxious about doing three tasks simultaneously: (a) a simulation exercise, (b) learning to type, and (c) interacting with the computer. Several expressed fear of breaking the computer. The present results suggest that CAI should remain as an adjunct to other methods of continuing education. The nursing profession must increase its knowledge in authoring CAI courseware. Potential CAI authors need time and an opportunity to refine their skills. Potential users also require more experience with both computer hardware and software. Computer assisted instruction authoring guidelines need to be developed and tested. Guidelines proposed by Gagne, Wager and Rojas (1981) are an excellent beginning, but more research in this area is necessary if CAI is to become a useful approach to continuing nursing education. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

The purpose of this quantitative design research study for fourth grade students was to examine whether a web-based Standardized Test Preparation Intervention for reading comprehension was more effective and efficient in improving student academic achievement in reading comprehension than a paper-based Standarized Test Preparation Intervention. It was found that the paper-based reading comprehension intervention was equally effective as the web-based.

This study compared student satisfaction and academic performance in online and face-to-face classes. 105 ITT Technical Institute students who were simultaneously enrolled in one online course and two on-campus courses were surveyed and interviewed. Factors examined included student to instructor communication, student to student interaction, content selection for online courses and course management for online courses. Sixty-four percent of the students did not pass their online courses and expressed dissatisfaction with the learning process. Course components and processes that could be improved were identified.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This assignment describes an evaluation by experts of an on-line course in Clinical Immunology offered to medical registrars and scientists as a supplement to a practical rotation. Because of a lack of agreement on what constitutes quality in e-learning and to avoid the customary focus on usability evaluation, an open-ended, interpretivist approach was used here which, while not entirely novel, was unusual in an e-learning environment. For this project it was decided to evaluate both content (subject matter) as well as instructional value using two groups of peers from various academic institutions, clinical immunology experts and e-learning experts. Feedback was obtained through participation in a focus group or in writing. Replies were much easier to obtain from the e-learning group. Five out of seven e-learning experts provided a response, versus three out of twenty subject matter experts. Eventually most of the feedback was obtained from colleagues from the home institution. Both groups made valuable, somewhat overlapping suggestions. Subject matter experts indicated that the course materials were of good quality and adequate on a postgraduate level. E-learning experts expressed concern about the ability of the course to facilitate learning and identified also some usability issues. Some of the findings may well apply to other settings. A number of five evaluators in each group appeared to give a good coverage within an open-ended approach. Expert peer review offered insights that neither student feedback nor self-reflection could. Rather than imposing evaluative criteria on the experts through the use of fixed checklists, the open-ended approach allowed them to cumulatively develop their own framework tailor-made for the course. The choice of subject matter plus e-learning experts may be helpful in similar situations of evaluating on-line courses where dual expertise is not readily available. The open-ended interpretivist approach can be used for formative evaluation only and may work well for courses that are still in development or where an amount of uncertainty about teaching effectiveness exists. Future efforts will likely focus on implementing the recommendations, identifying sustainable ways of quality review for the current course and similar open-ended evaluation of other courses. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die evaluering deur kundiges van ’n aanlyn-kursus in Kliniese Immunologie word in hierdie opdrag bespreek. Hierdie kursus word bykomend tot ‘n praktiese rotasie vir kliniese assistente (medies) en wetenskaplikes aangebied. Aangesien daar nie eenstemmigheid is oor wat gehalte in e-leer behels nie, en om die gebruiklike fokus op die evaluering van gebruiksmoontlikhede te vermy, is ’n interpreterende benadering in hierdie geval gebruik. Alhoewel hierdie benadering nie heeltemal nuut is nie, is die gebruik daarvan ongewoon in die eleer- omgewing. Daar is besluit om vakinhoud sowel as onderrigwaarde in hierdie projek te evalueer. Twee ewe-kniegroepe van verskillende akademiese inrigtings, kundiges in kliniese immunologie sowel as kundiges in e-leer is gebruik. Terugvoer is ontvang deur die deelname aan fokusgroeponderhoude of deur skriftelike terugvoer. Terugvoer is makliker van die e-leergroep verkry. Vyf uit die sewe e-leerkundiges het gerespondeer teenoor drie uit die twintig vakkundiges. Uiteindelik is die meeste terugvoer verkry van kollegas van die tuisinstelling. Beide groepe het waardevolle, maar dikwels oorvleuelende aanbevelings gemaak. Die vakkundiges het aangedui dat die kursusmateriaal van ’n goeie gehalte en geskik op ’n nagraadse vlak is. Die eleerkundiges het hul kommer uitgespreek oor die vermoë van die kursus om leer te fasiliteer en het ook ’n aantal kwessies ten opsigte van bruikbaarheid uitgewys. Sommige van die bevindinge kan moontlik ook in ander kontekste van toepassing wees. Dit het geblyk dat ongeveer vyf evalueerders in elke groep ’n goeie verslag met die oopvrae-benadering gegee het. Vakkundige ewe-kniebespreking het insigte opgelewer wat nie moontlik was met studente-terugvoer of selfrefleksie nie. In plaas daarvan dat evaluerende kriteria deur vaste vraelyste op die kundiges afgedwing is, het die oopvrae-benadering hulle die geleentheid gebied om kummulatief hul eie toepaslike raamwerk vir hierdie spesifieke kursus te ontwikkel. Die keuse van vakkundiges en e-leerkundiges mag nuttig wees in soortgelyke situasies waar aanlynkursusse geëvalueer word en die tweeledige kundigheid nie geredelik beskikbaar is nie. Die oopvraeinterpreterende benadering kan slegs vir formatiewe evaluering gebruik word en mag moontlik goed werk vir kursusse wat nog ontwikkel word en waar daar heelwat onsekerheid oor die doeltreffendheid van die onderrig bestaan. Verdere ontwikkeling sal waarskynlik fokus op die implementering van die aanbevelings, die identifisering van volhoubare maniere van gehalte-beoordeling vir die huidige kursus en soortgelyke oopvrae-evaluering van ander kursusse.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1979 B63 / Master of Science

This study examined a web-based undergraduate course structured around social learning theories through the lens of social construction as a theoretical framework and a case study research method. The purpose of the study was to investigate students' learning experiences from a cognitively guided research framework. Instructional strategies practiced in the course, instructional design developed, and demonstrated students' learning outcomes were examined to help characterize students' learning experiences. The study proceeded from a social constructivist framework, employing a qualitative case study approach. Data collected to support the description of students' learning experiences included early course survey, in-depth interviews, course documents, students' artifacts, online class interactions, email correspondences among participants, and the researcher's journals based on online observations. The results of the study reveal that students' learning experiences and learning outcomes were greatly affected by the instructor's belief about teaching a distance course. Her belief that students should be fully responsible for their own learning in the web-based course resulted in minimal facilitation of the class in all aspects, including moderating students' online discussions, fostering learning communities within the class, and providing elaborate, critical feedback to elicit students' cognitive processes. As a result, the engaged cognitive processes and knowledge domains students demonstrated over the term were not significantly improved. Furthermore, the course goal of establishing a collaborative, interactive, and social learning environment for distance students was not met. The results of this study contribute to the picture of the facilitation skills and moderating practices that support more fully the goal of the development of a cognitively rich learning community. / Graduation date: 2006

A methodology was developed in this study for identifying the cognitive, pedagogical, and computational characteristics of computer-based learning environments. The characterization of the cognitive and pedagogical features was achieved by decomposing the learning environments into episodes which were composed of sequences of "views". Each "view" was described in terms of the different types of knowledge presented, the pedagogical strategies used to present the knowledge, and the forms and functions of user-computer interactions elicited. The computational characteristics were described in terms of modularity and other programming properties. The methodology was applied to characterizing the instructional programs produced by student teachers using Logo. / The results showed that this methodology can successfully identify the cognitive, pedagogical and computational characteristics of the learning environments. It can also clarify what can be learned in a microworld, especially the "powerful ideas" in Logo environments. In addition, the usability and constraints of learning environments in meeting the learners' cognitive needs during the learning process can be assessed.

Much of what technical communicators know about language use is based on spoken or written communication; however, newer media complicate those boundaries. Spoken and written language differ primarily in the use of metadiscourse, language that aids interpretation of propositions. While research shows that metadiscourse aids in retention and attitude change in both print and speech, none exists to show whether this is true in a medium like the Internet, which has qualities of both. Technical communicators need this information because they must compose similar messages in several media: advertising, system help, business training, and health education are commonly delivered in multimedia formats, primarily in print and the Internet.Most critical of these messages is health education, in which technical communicators must make treatment accessible to patients at home. Not only does this task require clear communication, but also it requires convincing patients to attend to the information, have positive attitudes about illness or self-care, and remember the information-these are the ingredients needed for learning. With good reason, healthcare providers are investing many resources into Internet health education, but technical communicators lack guidance on effective use of the medium. Research in this area focuses on measuring outcomes of existing programs rather than on systematically identifying what works and why.The present study examined language use (i.e., metadiscourse) and medium (i.e., Internet) in health education about stress management. This study reviews existing research in these areas and posits persuasion and social influence theory as a basis for understanding the persuasive abilities of health educational materials, or the abilities of the materials to convince patients to learn health information, change attitudes about illness and treatment, and change health-related behaviors.To test this theory, 120 students from a Southern university voluntarily read interventions developed to isolate the effects of metadiscourse and media on cognitive processing, attitudes, behavior intentions, and knowledge. Repeated measure multivariate analyses revealed that regardless of metadiscourse or medium, participants' knowledge about stress management increased and was maintained over time; however, favorable attitudes were not maintained over time. Results indicate that peripheral rather than central route persuasion occurred, and, therefore, knowledge gains are likely to be short-term. Suggestions for future research are provided and recommendations for theoretical development are discussed. / Department of English

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