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The purpose of this study was to determine whether the direct instruction and guided practice of question-generating as a thinking skill was an influence on students' higher-level thinking skills. Additionally, this study investigated the levels of questions generated by the students throughout the five week study. Thirty sixth grade students in a Southwestern urban public elementary school were instructed daily in the use of Bloom's taxonomy as a guide in designing and composing questions. Higher levels of the taxonomy were emphasized for higher-level question generating (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation). A pre- and posttest measuring cognitive abilities was given to determine the level of the students' higher-level thinking skills. Scores were analyzed to determine the influence of the treatment. A significance difference was found between means by use of a t-test for correlated samples. Student questions generated throughout the study were coded according to Bloom's taxonomy levels by independent coders with a reliability of .93. Qualitative matrices were developed to display the levels, numbers, and percentages of the questions generated. A significant increase of higher-level questions were generated between week one (3.8%) and week five (80.5%). A shift occurred in the fourth week, with a higher percentage (61.7) of higher-level questions generated than lower-level (38.3). The results indicate support for the proposition that the direct instruction and guided practice in question generating as a thinking skill influenced students' higher-level thinking skills. The analysis of the question levels suggest support for recommendation that autonomy follows with mastery of instruction and guided practice in the thinking skill before using that skill in a new content area. Guided practice in this study was in the familiar content area of reading.

This study investigated the effects of advance organizers on the English reading comprehension of six bilingual learning disabled students. Little research has examined instructional strategies for teaching bilingual learning disabled students, a growing population in our schools. Based on research dealing with the use of advance organizers as an instructional strategy and on research in bilingual education, this study compared the effectiveness of using advance organizers on the English reading comprehension of six learning disabled students whose primary language was Spanish. An alternating treatment design was maintained. Following each treatment, the students read an expository text written in English and answered eight comprehension questions based on five levels of reading taxonomy. The number of correctly answered comprehension questions was recorded on graphs and statistically analyzed to compare the treatment conditions. In addition, the average proportion of correct responses for different levels of questions was computed and analyzed. Analyses of the data suggest that advance organizers were effective particularly when presented in the dominant language of the student. The five students who demonstrated equal or greater language proficiency in English scored higher when the English advance organizer was compared to the Spanish advance organizer. The student who demonstrated greater language proficiency in Spanish scored higher on the Spanish advance organizer. All students scored higher when the English advance organizer was used in comparison to no advance organizer. Three of the students scored higher on reading comprehension when the advance organizer was presented in Spanish as compared to no advance organizer. Students performed highest on questions at the appreciation and evaluation levels of the reading taxonomy. This study supports the body of research which suggests advance organizers are an effective instructional strategy and suggests their effectiveness with bilingual learning disabled students. This study also highlights the importance of considering students' dominant language, particularly their cognitive/academic/language proficiency, when determining the language for presentation of the advance organizer. Further research needs to systematically investigate the interrelationship between advance organizers and students' dominant language when attempting to facilitate English reading comprehension.

The global diffusion of the Internet and the rise in affordable digital electronic devices has exponentially increased the access to culturally authentic materials (Hadley, 2001). Foreign language educators can take advantage of this wealth of resources to design activities that encourage students to explore a foreign culture online (Bush, 2007). For example, social media users often share snapshots of their daily life and discuss topics related to their home culture. This content can be used to provide students with a regular and frequent exposure to authentic and timely cultural information and to promote intercultural analysis and reflections. The last two decades have seen a growing concern of the role intercultural competence plays in contemporary foreign language education. However, despite the rising awareness that “the study of another language is synonymous with the study of another culture” (Cutshall, 2012, p. 32), integrating cultures into instruction is still not a priority for many language instructors, especially because of the challenges the process may entail. This study aims to address this gap in practice and research by introducing a model that foreign language instructors can use to design pedagogically-structured learning opportunities that guide students’ intercultural explorations and reflections for the development of intercultural competence. Specifically, the study introduces a sequence of Instagram-based activities and aims to explore how completing these activities helps foreign language students to develop intercultural competence through the development of cultural and intercultural awareness of cultural products, behavioral practices, and philosophical perspectives. The study has an explanatory single-case study design where the collective experience of the class with the instructional activity represents one case. Participants are 18 students enrolled in one section of a third-level Italian language course at a large research university in the United States. Students used Instagram to explore posts shared by Italian users and to share with their classmates their cultural and intercultural observations. Moreover, they completed a set of individual reflective online assignments aimed at developing their knowledge and skills for the development of intercultural competence. The general conclusion of this study is that using Instagram for intercultural explorations and reflections can help students to acquire knowledge and develop skills for the development of intercultural competence. Students engaged in the Instagram chat in a process of knowledge sharing and knowledge building that helped them to develop their skills of interpreting and relating and their cultural knowledge of products and practices, especially of the most unfamiliar themes. By completing the individual reflective assignments, students also developed intercultural awareness of products and practices and used their developing skills of discovery to develop awareness and understanding of foreign perspectives. Even if students completed these assignments individually, they agreed on what the core perspectives of Italians are. Some students were also successful in establishing cross-cultural relationships and showed instances of intercultural awareness development of perspectives. Some other students, instead, were hardly able to advance from the surface culture of products and practices and to reflect on the significance that specific products and practices have in different cultures. Students could benefit from more guidance and opportunities for feedback throughout the whole sequence of activities. While detailed instructions and the initial instructional support can help to scaffold students’ observations and analysis, they may not be sufficient to properly sustain the development of knowledge and intercultural competence in a process that becomes increasingly sophisticated. A continuous instructional support can facilitate the development of students’ autonomy for the development of intercultural competence. The study also presents two individual student cases and an overview of students’ reactions to the sequence of activities, which, in general, were positive. The study concludes by addressing its main limits and by discussing its implications for future practice and research. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2018. / April 4, 2018. / Computer-assisted language learning, Culture, Instagram, Intercultural competence, Italian, Social media / Includes bibliographical references. / Vanessa P. Dennen, Professor Directing Dissertation; Michael Leeser, University Representative; Fengfeng Ke, Committee Member; James D. Klein, Committee Member.

The purposes of this study were to investigate the structural relationships among the factors that affect online learners’ satisfaction with the learning experience, and to develop a structural model that explains online learners’ satisfaction. For these purposes, a research model was developed based on the principles of social cognitive theory and the Macro Model of Motivation and Performance, and the findings reported in past research. The study investigated the effects of self-regulation, self-efficacy, task value, and learning design on perceived learning and satisfaction, and the effect of perceived learning on satisfaction. Participants consisted of higher education students who were enrolled in fully online courses in the Spring 2017 semester at a public university in the Southeastern United States. Data analyses were conducted on a dataset that included 1115 responses. Majority of the participants were female (810 students, 72.6%), and pursued an undergraduate degree (838 students, 75.2%). Participants’ age ranged between 18 and 62 with a mean of 24.14 and a standard deviation of 7.99. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to answer the research questions and test the research hypotheses. Assessment of the measurement model revealed that the six-factor model showed a good fit to the data. Assessment of the structural model revealed that eight out of the nine research hypotheses were supported. The results showed that self-regulation, self-efficacy, task value, and learning design had significant direct effects on perceived learning. These four factors explained 66.7% of the total variance in perceived learning. Furthermore, self-regulation, self-efficacy, task value, learning design, and perceived learning had significant direct effects on satisfaction. Contrary to the research hypothesis, the effect of self-regulation on satisfaction was negative. Five factors explained 81.4% of the total variance in satisfaction with the online learning experience. Finally, perceived learning had a mediation effect for the relationships between self-efficacy, task value, learning design, and satisfaction. The results suggested that metacognitive self-regulation, self-efficacy beliefs for interacting with the instructor and peers, task value beliefs, learning design, and perceived learning are important factors to consider in online learning settings in terms of learners’ satisfaction with the learning experience. The results are interpreted and discussed in the light of theory and past research findings. Implications of the research results are shared for instructional designers and online instructors. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2017. / November 3, 2017. / learning design, motivation, online courses, satisfaction, social cognitive theory, structural equation modeling / Includes bibliographical references. / Vanessa P. Dennen, Professor Directing Dissertation; Jonathan L. Adams, University Representative; James D. Klein, Committee Member; Yanyun Yang, Committee Member.

This study investigated the relative effectiveness of three instructional strategies on the learning of an overarm throw among preadolescent females. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of the following instructional strategies: a correct model supplemented with verbal cues, a learning model supplemented with verbal cues, and verbal cues only. The performance outcome, the quality of the motor reproduction, and the accuracy of the cognitive representation of the skill were measured to elucidate the effectiveness of the instructional strategies. A pictorial-arrangement test and a cognitive recognition test of correct form were used to describe the quality of the cognitive representation. The performance of an overarm throw was evaluated using both a behavioral analysis and biomechanical techniques to provide information about form and outcome. All groups were tested on four occasions, prior to each day of a three day instructional strategy intervention and two days after instructional intervention. A 3 X 4 (Instructional Strategy X Test Session) repeated measures DM MANOVA incorporated the dependent variables: overarm throwing form score, pictorial-arrangement test score, and a dynamic cognitive recognition score. The results of the repeated measures DM MANOVA revealed a significant test session main effect only (Wilks Lambda=.226, F(9,25)=9.40, p<.001). Follow-up univariate F tests and trend analyses indicated that subjects in all groups showed significant improvement in overarm throwing form and in the accuracy of the cognitive representation of the motor skill. A 3 X 4 (Instructional Strategy X Test Session) repeated measures ANOVA's were employed to separately analyze four kinematic variables. The results obtained from the ANOVA's, based on an alpha value of .02, indicated statistically nonsignificant improvement in performance of the overarm throw. However, the kinematic variable pertaining to stride length revealed p=.029 for test session and observed trends indicated increased stride length and hip displacement for all subjects across the four test sessions. In conclusion, the results indicated that all three instructional strategies assisted the learner in the achievement of a more accurate cognitive representation and the ability to reproduce a more mature overarm throwing pattern. This study revealed the importance of verbal cues which describe the critical transitional positions of the body throughout the coordinated movement. In addition, observing a learning model who demonstrated movement errors was not detrimental to the viewer's learning of a skill. / Graduation date: 1994

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Open University. BLDSC no. DXN060929.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2009. / Title from title screen (site viewed January 5, 2010). PDF text: vi, 138 p. : ill. ; 1 Mb. UMI publication number: AAT 3360493. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2003. / Advisor: Dr. Walter W. Wager, Florida State University, College of Education, Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Oct. 1, 2003). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.(Onderw-en opl.)--Universiteit van Pretoria, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.