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Computational thinking is a problem-solving skill and is considered to be an important part of today’s digital literacy. As it is an evolving research field and an emerging subject within the K-12 educational systems there’s a need to develop methods and environments for teaching and assessing computational thinking as well as establishing a cohesive view of its definition. A concern with computational thinking is it's neigh synonymity with programming and computer science in a classroom environment as they share several concepts and because programming is an effective way to teach it.  Acknowledging this need for this separation as well as the need for developing educational environments this study explored the aspects of problem-solving and perception of computational problems in different environment.  This was explored through a quantitative study on late-stage K-12 students and how perceived and performed in different types of problem posing environments. These environments included the challenge of using programming concepts through gamification as a way of exploring methods of teaching and assessing computational thinking in a metaphorical and real-life simulated situation.  It wound up measuring the effects that different problems had on the confidence and expertise of computational thinking capabilities within this exploratory experiment. The findings suggest an indication that too much given context can confuse students and that alleviating mental workload is crucial when presenting computational thinking problems if the correct solution should be reached.

The main objective of libraries in higher education institutions is to enable access to information that will meet the teaching, learning and research needs of the institutions’ communities (Department of Arts and Culture, 2015:18). Technology makes it easier to accomplish this by allowing librarians to embed products and services directly into the teaching, learning and research environments used by the communities. Course Management Systems such as Blackboard, are used by higher learning institutions to provide blended learning experiences. Many face-to-face lectures rely on an online module, and students appear to be more comfortable using the various online tools than ever before. For librarians, the online component of such a hybrid learning model is an opportunity to extend the traditional face-to-face library training and information literacy sessions into the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). Virtually embedded librarians enable students’ access to library information online (Hoffman & Ramin, 2010:298) and libraries that have shifted towards embedding in online courses reach users at their point of need (Paganelli and Paganelli, 2017:55). If these statements are true, the question remains whether the end user is satisfied with the services rendered online or not. Many surveys have been conducted to assess users’ satisfaction with library resources and the quality of library services (Zhang, 2015:273). Some studies investigated library use patterns of different user groups but few studies focus on the needs of Engineering students (Zhang, 2015:273) and if these needs are being addressed by embedded library services and products. The objective of this research was to establish the role that Engineering students expect an Information Specialist to play in a VLE, to identify the products and services the Engineering students expect the Information Specialist to provide, and to what extent. This was done using a case study research design. As was expected, this research confirmed that the Engineering students recognise the importance of librarians embedding in their online modules. It is anticipated that librarians who embed online will be able to meet the needs of the students and build strong relationships with the students. If that does become the case, it is feasible to expect that the students’ use of library resources will increase. The next phase would be to build and launch a pilot project. Recommendations made for embedding in a VLE were (1) to consult with the faculty, library staff, and the instructional designer before the librarian attempts to launch embedded activities; (2) to identify the top in-demand products and services that can be embedded for each course as a matter of urgency; (3) to pilot the program with a few students and library staff and obtain feedback before the initiative is made publicly available to all students; and (4) to align the expectations or activities of the program with those of the course. / Mini Dissertation (MIT)--University of Pretoria, 2018. / Information Science / MIT / Unrestricted

The individualized education program (IEP) is a critical component of providing special education services to children with disabilities, outlining the services and modifications that will be provided to help them make progress towards the general curriculum. While simulations have been shown to be an effective means of teaching special education policies and procedures, this can be challenging when working with distance students. The purpose of this study was to identify and examine how virtual simulations function to train preservice teachers learning to conduct IEP team meetings. Seven preservice special education teachers enrolled in a mild/moderate distance degree and licensure program participated in this research. Through multiple case study analysis, this study examined the specific behaviors emitted by each participant throughout these simulated meetings, as well as the antecedent stimuli and consequences controlling these behaviors. Additionally, participants were each asked to construct rules, based on their own simulated experiences, to govern their future behaviors for in vivo individualized education program team meetings. Results indicate that virtual simulations served a variety of functions for training teachers to work on a collaborative team, including increased practice opportunities and self-efficacy to collaborate with parents in the future. Although teacher trainees had difficulty generating complete verbal statements to govern future behaviors, each was able to identify discrete antecedents, behaviors, and consequences responsible for controlling their actions throughout the simulations.

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New types of emerging classrooms called flexible learning environments change the traditionalclassroom structure by removing barriers previously set by the room. Within these environments learningmanagement systems (LMS) are used by teachers to support them in their daily operations. The digitaltransformation of education presents new challenges of designing LMS for flexible learning environments.The research question for this study is as follows: “How do teachers experience learning managementsystems within flexible learning environments?” The aim of this study is to gain insights into teachers'experience with the use of LMS in flexible learning environments; and how the teachers experience theirdevelopment of digital competence to use the systems in their teaching. The study resulted in four themesof experiences (1) Lack of adoption, (2) Control within the system, (3) Collaboration and competencedevelopment, (4) Direct feedback and interactions. The insights of the themes of experience are presentedin the form of design propositions.

The purpose of this study is to contribute with knowledge of how preschool teachers describe the work with inclusion in practice. Based on the purpose, four questions were formulated. The study was based on a phenomenographic method set to highlight variations of conceptions of inclusion and its working methods. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions. The interviews are conducted both digitally and physically with five licensed preschool teachers with varied professional experience. All interviews were recorded in order to then be transcribed and analyzed. The material was then analyzed through a seven-step phenomenographic analysis model to highlight variations in preschool teachers' conceptions regarding the working methods of inclusion. In the work with inclusion, preschool teachers perceive that they work for the children to participate based on their needs and conditions. Preschool teachers perceive that they adapt and use strategies, as well as special educational tools as support. Adaptations are perceived to take place based on the children's conditions and needs. Strategies are highlighted as "training backwards" and clarifying pedagogy. Special educational tools are mainly perceived as image support and TAKK. The creation of learning environments is mainly based on the children's interest. An inclusive learning environment is perceived as changeable, visabel and accessible by preschool teachers. There has been a variation in conceptions regarding children's participation and pre-school teachers' control over the learning environment. Perceived obstacles to being able to work optimally inclusively are perceived by pre-school teachers as: lack of staff, lack of time, lack of resources regarding finances and competence development, documentation requirements and that one does not have the same view of inclusion in the work team. / Syftet med denna studie är att bidra med kunskap om hur förskollärare beskriver arbetet med inkludering i praktiken. Utifrån syftet så formulerades fyrafrågeställningar. Studien baserades på en fenomenografisk metodansats för attlyfta fram variationen av uppfattningar om inkludering och dess arbetssätt.Data har samlats in via semi-strukturerade intervjuer med öppna frågeställningar. Intervjuerna genomfördes både digitalt och fysiskt med fem legitimerade förskollärare med varierad yrkeserfarenhet. Samtliga intervjuer speladesin för att sedan kunna transkriberas och analyseras. Materialet analyseradessedan genom en sjustegs fenomenografisk analysmodell för att framhäva variationer i förskollärares uppfattningar rörande inkluderingens arbetssätt. I arbetet med inkludering uppfattar förskollärare att de arbetar för att barnen ska fådelta utifrån sina behov och förutsättningar. Förskollärare uppfattar att de anpassar och använder strategier, samt specialpedagogiska verktyg som stöd. Anpassningar uppfattas ske utifrån barnens förutsättningar och behov. Strategierlyfts som ”baklängesträning” och tydliggörande pedagogik. Specialpedagogiska verktyg uppfattas främst som bildstöd och TAKK. Vid skapandet av läromiljöer utgår man huvudsakligen från barnens intresse. En inkluderandelärmiljö uppfattas som föränderlig, tydlig och tillgänglig av förskollärarna. Dethar framkommit en variation i uppfattningar gällande barns delaktighet ochförskollärares styrande rörande läromiljön. Upplevda hinder för att optimaltkunna arbeta inkluderande uppfattas av förskollärarna såsom: personalbrist,tidsbrist, brist på resurser gällande ekonomi och kompetensutveckling, dokumentationskrav och att man inte har samma syn på inkludering i arbetslaget.

This dissertation investigated the role of school food and food policy in three low-income, urban, predominantly African-American schools. Using critical policy analysis, this study examined two different school food programs, both of which complied with the National School Lunch Program nutritional guidelines. It employed ethnographic case study methods, including observations and interviews with a total of 59 participants over the course of two years. Findings indicated that feeling hungry interfered with students’ ability to pay attention during class, and students still felt hungry after eating prepackaged school breakfasts and lunches. On the other hand, students reported feeling more full, satisfied, and ready to learn after eating freshly-prepared foods. Additionally, participants described improved engagement within classrooms, as well as a more positive climate in the lunchroom with the fresh meals. While the tone was usually punitive and disciplinary during the prepackaged mealtimes, during the fresh meals served family-style, with students and faculty eating together, the tone was celebratory and communal. These findings indicate school food is an important, yet under-researched, aspect of schooling, with many fruitful avenues for future research and practice. / Urban Education

In the technological world that characterizes the 21st century society, new specialized developments are applied immediately to the different social environments and, especially, in education. Language teaching is no stranger to this unstoppable progress, thanks to the widespread implementation of the internet and of the web 2.0 in particular. New technologies help and can sometimes replace the more traditional systems used in foreign language teaching by favoring autonomous learning at any time and in any place. In this doctoral thesis, I review the literature on foreign language learning motivation, styles, and strategies applied to autonomous online platforms. This is done to present and describe the theoretical underpinnings of the COMALAT virtual learning platform, which was designed and created at the University of Alicante as a European Project in cooperation with the University of Siegen in Germany and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece. Then, I report on a quantitative study that explores the attitudes, learning styles and strategies of 80 A2-B1 level EFL university students that make use of COMALAT. Besides determining the profile of the participants, the study aims to demonstrate the effects of previous training in online language learning strategies. As main conclusions, the following stand out: (a) the students’ use of this platform increases their level of foreign language learning as they can adapt it at their own pace and dedication; (b) the virtual learning environment provides a greater learning effectiveness by combining materials which consider the different learning styles; and (c) the application of the appropriate online learning strategies can help students to solve the different learning problems they may encounter while doing a self-directed online language course.

Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA) courses are critical for any computer science curriculum. DSA courses emphasize concepts related to procedural dynamics and Algorithm Analysis (AA). These concepts are hard for students to grasp when conveyed using traditional textbook material relying on text and static images. Algorithm Visualizations (AVs) emerged as a technique for conveying DSA concepts using interactive visual representations. Historically, AVs have dealt with portraying algorithm dynamics, and the AV developer community has decades of successful experience with this. But there exist few visualizations to present algorithm analysis concepts. This content is typically still conveyed using text and static images. We have devised an approach that we term Algorithm Analysis Visualizations (AAVs), capable of conveying AA concepts visually. In AAVs, analysis is presented as a series of slides where each statement of the explanation is connected to visuals that support the sentence. We developed a pool of AAVs targeting the basic concepts of AA. We also developed AAVs for basic sorting algorithms, providing a concrete depiction about how the running time analysis of these algorithms can be calculated. To evaluate AAVs, we conducted a quasi-experiment across two offerings of CS3114 at Virginia Tech. By analyzing OpenDSA student interaction logs, we found that intervention group students spent significantly more time viewing the material as compared to control group students who used traditional textual content. Intervention group students gave positive feedback regarding the usefulness of AAVs to help them understand the AA concepts presented in the course. In addition, intervention group students demonstrated better performance than control group students on the AA part of the final exam. The final exam taken by both the control and intervention groups was based on a pilot version of the Algorithm Analysis Concept Inventory (AACI) that was developed to target fundamental AA concepts and probe students' misconceptions about these concepts. The pilot AACI was developed using a Delphi process involving a group of DSA instructors, and was shown to be a valid and reliable instrument to gauge students' understanding of the basic AA topics. / Ph. D. / Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA) courses are critical for any computer science curriculum. DSA courses emphasize concepts related to how an algorithm works and the time and space needed by the algorithm, also known as Algorithm Analysis (AA). These concepts are hard for students to grasp when conveyed using traditional textbook material relying on text and static images. Algorithm Visualizations (AVs) emerged as a technique for conveying DSA concepts using interactive visual representations. Historically, AVs have dealt with portraying how an algorithm works, and the AV developer community has decades of successful experience with this. But there exist few visualizations to present concepts related to algorithm efficiency. This content is typically still conveyed using text and static images. We have devised an approach that we term Algorithm Analysis Visualizations (AAVs), capable of conveying efficiency analysis concepts visually. In AAVs, analysis is presented as a series of slides where each statement of the explanation is connected to visuals that support the sentence. AAVs were tested through a study across two offerings of CS3114 at Virginia Tech. We found that students using AAVs spent significantly more time viewing the material as compared to students who used traditional textual content. Students gave positive feedback regarding the usefulness of AAVs to help them understand the efficiency concepts presented in the course. In addition, students using AAVs demonstrated better performance than students using text on the efficiency part of the final exam. The final exam was based on a pilot version of the Algorithm Analysis Concept Inventory (AACI) that was developed to target fundamental efficiency concepts and probe students’ misconceptions about these concepts. The pilot AACI was developed through a decision making technique involving a group of DSA instructors, and was shown to be a valid and reliable instrument to gauge students’ understanding of the basic efficiency topics.