Thesis (M.S. in Education)--Shenandoah University, 2003. / Abstract missing (p. vii) in thesis. Includes bibliographical references.

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A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy October 2015 / This study investigated students’ experiences of integration of learning in the undergraduate medical programme at the University of the Witwatersrand. There is evidence that integration of learning, also referred to as “integrative learning”, assists students to assimilate and apply what they have learnt more effectively, and thus enhances the goal of achieving professional competence. From 2003, Years 3 and 4 of the undergraduate programme were redesigned to be presented as integrated system-based blocks, using problem-based learning as the main learning strategy. From 2005, Years 5 and 6 were also redesigned. Although clinical rotations in specific disciplines still formed the main learning strategy, a number of integrating activities – and even rotations – were included in the new programme in these years. From 2006 Years 1 and 2 of the programme (which were still discipline-based) were reviewed in terms of course content and integration of learning, and new courses were added to those years to facilitate integration of learning. As a result of the reforms outlined above, the six years of the undergraduate medical programme at the University of the Witwatersrand now contain a rich variety of features designed to advance integration of learning. However, the ways in which students and teachers experience these kinds of integration are not known, neither is the effect that they are having on student learning. Investigating student and teacher experiences of a variety of events designed to promote integration of learning deepens the understanding of the many and varied effects of such integration activities, and contributes to the body of knowledge on integration of curricula in medical education. This study also contributes to a generic understanding of the phenomenon of integration in the process of learning, potentially enhancing knowledge and practice in the field of medical education. This is a qualitative study which used phenomenography, a research approach with an educational interest. The phenomenon of integration of learning is one which exists in the understanding of persons involved in the learning process, as teachers or students and, for this reason, an approach which clarifies that understanding was followed. The principal sampling approach was purposive. Data collection spanned 27 months (March 2012 to June 2014) and a total sample of 25 students and 10 teachers were the respondents, providing information through in-depth interviews and small focus group discussions. The semi-structured interviews were conducted using a tool that introduced an entry question such as “What is your understanding of ……?” Subsequent dialogue followed on angles of responses, leading to the development of different categories of how the phenomenon is experienced. Interviews were recorded using a voice recorder. Focus group discussions and further individual interviews were used to refine ideas and not necessarily to increase the size of the original sample. For analysis, the researcher used qualitative data analysis software, MAXQDA11. Excerpts that conveyed the most significant information were selected, de-contextualised and compared, followed by grouping and re-grouping of them until the outcome space was formulated. Three categories of description made up the outcome space. The categories that emerged represent the qualitatively different experiences of the students and teachers who were interviewed: conceptions of meaning and processes of integration of learning; conceptions of how to integrate learning and development of integration ability; and conceptions of the links between integration ability and educational experiences. The outcome space was constituted using as a guide the framework of the anatomy of awareness and the structure of experience as espoused by Marton and Booth (1997). The lowest level of conception is that integration of learning is a vague and abstract concept which happens passively while an ability to integrate learning is conceived of as an atomistic acquisition of fragmented facts. The respective act of learning is experienced as knowledge increase. A conception of increasing appreciation of the phenomenon is that it is important to consciously link concepts through identifying essential detail. This is a perception of higher value as it includes the ability to remember everything. A conception of higher value is that subjects are related as they contribute to each other. Understanding one leads to the understanding of another. The concept of integrative learning is introduced and this happens during studying. The most sophisticated conception is that integration of learning happens automatically as students accumulate knowledge and experience. Integration of learning, therefore, becomes a way of thinking, an unconscious competence for life in an integrated career. Students adopt strategies that enable learning for meaning while drawing on all knowledge and skills. When the outcome space is translated graphically, a model of how students develop the ability to integrate learning is revealed. From the model, it was apparent that students embark on a journey of integration of learning through taking steps that increase in complexity and hierarchical inclusivity. The integration of learning takes a relatively long time to develop, occurring from the first year to the sixth year, but starting from minimal to highly complex acts of learning, to be able to cope in a complex career in a complex world. The affective constructs towards the phenomenon also change over the years from negative to positive. All this happens in an environment that is regulated by affective constructs and motivation factors. The acquisition of the ability to integrate learning is conceived to take long depending on the effects of affective constructs and the external horizon. From the model, four factors emerge that are critical for integration of learning in that they either promote it or prevent it from occurring effectively. The factors can be grouped according to whether they involve the teacher, curriculum, student and studying. Recommendations for application of the model were drawn around interventions that impact on improvements specific to each of the factors identified. This is a proposed developmental model which is a logical presentation of integration of learning. The proposed model requires additional research to provide further empirical justification. Gibbs (1994) refers to a proposition that research on student learning has something substantial to feed back into the context within which it is undertaken. The researcher makes specific reference to Harden’s (2000) integration ladder as a benchmark for curriculum integration strategies that strengthen integration of learning in institutions of Higher Education. KEYWORDS Integration of learning Integrative learning Curriculum integration Phenomenographic research into integrative learning Learning approaches 21st century learning theories Learning according to phenomenography Pedagogies of integration of learning Anatomy of awareness

Thesis (M.S. in Education)--Shenandoah University, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Ed.) --University of Limpopo, 2011 / Misconceptions learners bring to class are in sharp contrast to acceptable science. These misconceptions emanate from a variety of sources including the way educators teach, textbooks used by teachers and from life experiences. These misconceptions at high school (Grade 10) are a potential source of learning difficulty regarding understanding how salts dissolve in water. To assist learners to overcome such difficulties, learner-centred and activity-based intervention, Predict-Observe-explain (POE), was used in this study. The sample consisted of 93 Grade 10 Physical Sciences learners from two neighbouring schools situated in Moutse West circuit, Sekhukhune District, Limpopo Province. 53% of the students involved in this study were males and 47% were females. The purpose of this study was to investigate Grade 10 Science learners’ conceptual understanding of dissolved salts and to explore the use of POE strategy in order to reduce learners’ misconceptions about the dissolved salts. The study also, explored students’ prior knowledge of concepts related to the dissolved salts and determined the effectiveness of POE strategy on males and females. A quasi-experimental design was used where the experimental group (EG) used POE strategy during treatment and where the control group (CG) used the traditional teaching using lecturing and demonstrations. Before the start of the study, both groups wrote a pre-test using the Achievement Test (AT) to determine science baseline knowledge. Thereafter the intervention for EG and lecturing for CG followed and lasted for five weeks. After the intervention, both groups wrote the post-test to determine learners’ achievements. The post-test was followed by interviews to discover issues that were not identified during the AT. The quantitative data were analysed using both the t-test and the Analysis of Co-variance (ANCOVA). The qualitative data collected through interviews were coded to form themes and later themes were organised in categories. The results show that EG performed better in the post-test than the CG their counterpart. More importantly, this study identified two new misconceptions that have not been reported in the literature: salts dissolve in water when it is in ‘fine’ grains; and solid sodium chloride is not an ionic compound. Furthermore, findings from AT revealed that students’ conceptual understanding of how salts are formed, how salts dissolve in water and how salts ionise improved dramatically especially from the EG, but not for the CG. Data collected on the AT post-test for EG show that males (mean 21.13 ± 9.72 SD) achieved better than females (mean 12.73 ± SD 5.97) and t-test p = 0.004. On macro level concepts, females from CG achieved higher scores than the males from the same group. Conversely, on micro level, the CG achievements were lower than the EG in males and females, suggesting that POE favours the reduction of misconceptions not only at macroscopic levels, but also at microscopic levels. The findings in this study highlight the need for educators, curriculum developers and textbook writers to work together in order to include various elements of POE in the curriculum as a model for conceptual change at high school science classroom.

Anthropogenic changes to forests, agriculture and hydrology are being driven by a need to provide water, food and shelter to more than six billion people. Unfortunately, these changes have a major impact on hydrology, biodiversity, climate, socio-economic stability and food security. The most pervasive form of land-cover change in South Africa is human settlement expansion. In many cases, new human settlements and settlement expansion are informal and occur in areas that are typically covered by natural vegetation. Settlements are infrequently mapped on an ad-hoc basis in South Africa which makes information on when and where new settlements form very difficult. Determining where and when new informal settlements occur is beneficial from not only an ecological but also a social development standpoint. The objective of this thesis is to make use of coarse resolution satellite data to infer the location of new settlement developments in an automated manner by making use of machine learning methods. The specific sensor that is considered in this thesis is the MODIS sensor on-board the Terra and Aqua satellites. By using samples taken at regular intervals (8 days), a hyper-temporal time-series is constructed and consequently used to detect new human settlement formations in South Africa. Two change detection methods are proposed in this thesis to achieve the goal of automated new settlement development detection using this high-temporal coarse resolution satellite time-series data. / Thesis (PhD(Eng))--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering / unrestricted

The primary purpose of this study was to use some of the action methods of playback theatre to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge through the experience of building community. The impact of action methods on group dynamics and the relationship among methods, individual perceptions, and the acquisition of knowledge were analyzed. The researcher suggested that playback theatre action methods provided a climate in which groups can improve the quality of their interactions. The Hill Interaction Matrix (HIM) formed the basis for the study's analysis of interactions. Since the researcher concluded there were significantly more interactions coded in the "power quadrant" after training, the researcher assumed that playback theatre action methods are a catalyst for keeping the focus on persons in the group, encouraging risk-taking behaviors, and producing constructive feedback between members. Based on session summaries, individual interviews, and an analysis of the Group Environment Scale (GES), the training group became more cohesive, became more expressive, promoted independence, encouraged self-discovery, and adapted in innovative ways. The experience of an interconnected community created a space where positive growth could occur. The researcher concluded that the process of community building is intricately connected with a person's ability to make meaning out of experiences. Participants in the study noted several processes by which they acquired new knowledge: (a) knowledge through internal processes, (b) knowledge through modeling, (c) knowledge through experiences, (d) knowledge through acknowledgment and application. Acknowledging and applying knowledge were behaviors identified as risk-taking, communication and active listening, acceptance of diverse cultures and opinions, and building community relations. The study suggested further research in the effects of these methods compared to other learning methods, the effects of these methods on other types of groups, the effects of the leader's relationship to the group, and the long-term effects on group dynamics.

Thesis (PhD (Process Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Dissertation presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering at the University of Stellenbosch. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The development of advanced methods of process monitoring, diagnosis, and control has been identified as a major 21st century challenge in control systems research and application. This is particularly the case for chemical and metallurgical operations owing to the lack of expressive fundamental models as well as the nonlinear nature of most process systems, which makes established linearization methods unsuitable. As a result, efforts have been directed in the search of alternative approaches that do not require fundamental or analytical models. Data-based methods provide a very promising alternative in this regard, given the huge volumes of data being collected in modern process operations as well as advances in both theoretical and practical aspects of extracting information from observations. In this thesis, the use of kernel-based learning methods in fault detection and diagnosis of complex processes is considered. Kernel-based machine learning methods are a robust family of algorithms founded on insights from statistical learning theory. Instead of estimating a decision function on the basis of minimizing the training error as other learning algorithms, kernel methods use a criterion called large margin maximization to estimate a linear learning rule on data embedded in a suitable feature space. The embedding is implicitly defined by the choice of a kernel function and corresponds to inducing a nonlinear learning rule in the original measurement space. Large margin maximization corresponds to developing an algorithm with theoretical guarantees on how well it will perform on unseen data. In the first contribution, the characterization of time series data from process plants is investigated. Whereas complex processes are difficult to model from first principles, they can be identified using historic process time series data and a suitable model structure. However, prior to fitting such a model, it is important to establish whether the time series data justify the selected model structure. Singular spectrum analysis (SSA) has been used for time series identification. A nonlinear extension of SSA is proposed for classification of time series. Using benchmark systems, the proposed extension is shown to perform better than linear SSA. Moreover, the method is shown to be useful for filtering noise in time series data and, therefore, has potential applications in other tasks such as data rectification and gross error detection. Multivariate statistical process monitoring methods are well-established techniques for efficient information extraction from multivariate data. Such information is usually compact and amenable to graphical representation in two or three dimensional plots. For process monitoring purposes control limits are also plotted on these charts. These control limits are usually based on a hypothesized analytical distribution, typically the Gaussian normal distribution. A robust approach for estimating con dence bounds using the reference data is proposed. The method is based on one-class classification methods. The usefulness of using data to define a confidence bound in reducing fault detection errors is illustrated using plant data. The use of both linear and nonlinear supervised feature extraction is also investigated. The advantages of supervised feature extraction using kernel methods are highlighted via illustrative case studies. A general strategy for fault detection and diagnosis is proposed that integrates feature extraction methods, fault identification, and different methods to estimate confidence bounds. For kernel-based approaches, the general framework allows for interpretation of the results in the input space instead of the feature space. An important step in process monitoring is identifying a variable responsible for a fault. Although all faults that can occur at any plant cannot be known beforehand, it is possible to use knowledge of previous faults or simulations to anticipate their recurrence. A framework for fault diagnosis using one-class support vector machine (SVM) classification is proposed. Compared to other previously studied techniques, the one-class SVM approach is shown to have generally better robustness and performance characteristics. Most methods for process monitoring make little use of data collected under normal operating conditions, whereas most quality issues in process plants are known to occur when the process is in-control . In the final contribution, a methodology for continuous optimization of process performance is proposed that combines support vector learning with decision trees. The methodology is based on continuous search for quality improvements by challenging the normal operating condition regions established via statistical control. Simulated and plant data are used to illustrate the approach. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die ontwikkeling van gevorderde metodes van prosesmonitering, diagnose en -beheer is geïdentifiseer as 'n groot 21ste eeuse uitdaging in die navorsing en toepassing van beheerstelsels. Dit is veral die geval in die chemiese en metallurgiese bedryf, a.g.v. die gebrek aan fundamentele modelle, sowel as die nielineêre aard van meeste prosesstelsels, wat gevestigde benaderings tot linearisasie ongeskik maak. Die gevolg is dat pogings aangewend word om te soek na alternatiewe benaderings wat nie fundamentele of analitiese modelle benodig nie. Data-gebaseerde metodes voorsien belowende alternatiewe in dié verband, gegewe die enorme volumes data wat in moderne prosesaanlegte geberg word, sowel as die vooruitgang wat gemaak word in beide die teoretiese en praktiese aspekte van die onttrekking van inligting uit waarnemings. In die tesis word die gebruik van kern-gebaseerde metodes vir foutopsporing en -diagnose van komplekse prosesse beskou. Kern-gebaseerde masjienleermetodes is 'n robuuste familie van metodes gefundeer op insigte uit statistiese leerteorie. Instede daarvan om 'n besluitnemingsfunksie te beraam deur passingsfoute op verwysingsdata te minimeer, soos wat gedoen word met ander leermetodes, gebruik kern-metodes 'n kriterium genaamd groot marge maksimering om lineêre reëls te pas op data wat ingebed is in 'n geskikte kenmerkruimte. Die inbedding word implisiet gedefinieer deur die keuse van die kern-funksie en stem ooreen met die indusering van 'n nielineêre reël in die oorspronklike meetruimte. Groot marge-maksimering stem ooreen met die ontwikkeling van algoritmes waarvan die prestasie t.o.v. die passing van nuwe data teoreties gewaarborg is. In die eerste bydrae word die karakterisering van tydreeksdata van prosesaanlegte ondersoek. Alhoewel komplekse prosesse moeilik is om vanaf eerste beginsels te modelleer, kan hulle geïdentifiseer word uit historiese tydreeksdata en geskikte modelstrukture. Voor so 'n model gepas word, is dit belangrik om vas te stel of die tydreeksdata wel die geselekteerde modelstruktuur ondersteun. 'n Nielineêre uitbreiding van singuliere spektrale analise (SSA) is voorgestel vir die klassifikasie van tydreekse. Deur gebruik te maak van geykte stelsels, is aangetoon dat die voorgestelde uitbreiding beter presteer as lineêre SSA. Tewens, daar word ook aangetoon dat die metode nuttig is vir die verwydering van geraas in tydreeksdata en daarom ook potensiële toepassings het in ander take, soos datarektifikasie en die opsporing van sistematiese foute in data. Meerveranderlike statistiese prosesmonitering is goed gevestig vir die doeltreffende onttrekking van inligting uit meerveranderlike data. Sulke inligting is gewoonlik kompak en geskik vir voorstelling in twee- of drie-dimensionele grafieke. Vir die doeleindes van prosesmonitering word beheerlimiete dikwels op sulke grafieke aangestip. Hierdie beheerlimiete word gewoonlik gebaseer op 'n hipotetiese analitiese verspreiding van die data, tipiese gebaseer op 'n Gaussiaanse model. 'n Robuuste benadering vir die beraming van betroubaarheidslimiete gebaseer op verwysingsdata, word in die tesis voorgestel. Die metode is gebaseer op eenklas-klassifikasie en die nut daarvan deur data te gebruik om die betroubaarheidsgrense te beraam ten einde foutopsporing te optimeer, word geïllustreer aan die hand van aanlegdata. Die gebruik van beide lineêre en nielineêre oorsiggedrewe kenmerkonttrekking is vervolgens ondersoek. Die voordele van oorsiggedrewe kenmerkonttrekking deur van kern-metodes gebruik te maak is beklemtoon deur middel van illustratiewe gevallestudies. 'n Algemene strategie vir foutopsporing en -diagnose word voorgestel, wat kenmerkonttrekkingsmetodes, foutidenti kasie en verskillende metodes om betroubaarheidsgrense te beraam saamsnoer. Vir kern-gebaseerde metodes laat die algemene raamwerk toe dat die resultate in die invoerruimte vertolk kan word, in plaas van in die kenmerkruimte. 'n Belangrike stap in prosesmonitering is om veranderlikes te identifiseer wat verantwoordelik is vir foute. Alhoewel alle foute wat by 'n chemiese aanleg kan plaasvind, nie vooraf bekend kan wees nie, is dit moontlik om kennis van vorige foute of simulasies te gebruik om die herhaalde voorkoms van die foute te antisipeer. 'n Raamwerk vir foutdiagnose wat van eenklas-steunvektormasjiene (SVM) gebruik maak is voorgestel. Vergeleke met ander tegnieke wat voorheen bestudeer is, is aangetoon dat die eenklas-SVM benadering oor die algemeen beter robuustheid en prestasiekenmerke het. Meeste metodes vir prosesmonitering maak min gebruik van data wat opgeneem is onder normale bedryfstoestande, alhoewel meeste kwaliteitsprobleme ondervind word waneer die proses onder beheer is. In die laaste bydrae, is 'n metodologie vir die kontinue optimering van prosesprestasie voorgestel, wat steunvektormasjiene en beslissingsbome kombineer. Die metodologie is gebaseer op die kontinue soeke na kwaliteitsverbeteringe deur die normale bedryfstoestandsgrense, soos bepaal deur statistiese beheer, te toets. Gesimuleerde en werklike aanlegdata is gebruik om die benadering te illustreer.

Pastaruoju metu vis labiau akcentuojamas ne mokymo turinys ar programas, bet mokymo(si) būdai ir metodai, t.y. – kaip mokyti? (Walsh, 2001; Bartkevičienė, 2008; Hargreaves, 2008). Jaunesniame mokykliniame amžiuje vyrauja pažintinis vaiko santykis su aplinka, dėl ko pradinė mokykla yra palankus metas pradėti formuoti asmens mokslinį raštingumą, ugdyti mokslinę kultūrą, pradėti taikyti mokslinio tyrimo metodus, kas neabejotinai plėtoja mokinių pažinimo kompetencijas (Lamanauskas, 2004; Savickaitė, 2005; Vilkonienė, 2005). Atsižvelgiant į tai, tyrimo problema formuluojama klausimu: ar pradinėje mokykloje šiuo metu naudojamų pasaulio pažinimo vadovėlių turinys suteikia palankias galimybes tiriamųjų metodų taikymui ir tuo pačiu – mokinių gamtotyrinės / aplinkotyrinės veiklos aktyvinimui? Lietuvoje nėra atlikta tyrimų, kurių metu būtų aiškintasi ar pasaulio pažinimui skirti vadovėliai skatina tiriamąją mokinių veiklą. Tuo pasireiškia šio tyrimo naujumas. Tyrimo objektas: I-IV klasių pasaulio pažinimo vadovėlių turinys tiriamųjų mokymo(si) metodų taikymo aspektu. Darbo tikslas: įvertinti I-IV klasių pasaulio pažinimo vadovėlių teikiamas galimybes taikyti tiriamuosius mokymo(si) metodus. Darbo uždaviniai: 1) Remiantis moksline ir metodine literatūra, atskleisti tiriamųjų mokymo(si) metodų reikšmę ugdymo turinio struktūroje. 2) Mokslinės ir metodinės literatūros analizės pagrindu išskirti vadovėlių turinio vertinimo kriterijus galimybių taikyti tiriamuosius mokymo(si) metodus aspektu... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Recently, more and more emphasis is put on the teaching/learning methods and techniques, i.e. “How to teach?”, rather than on the teaching contents or programs (Walsh, 2001; Bartkevičienė, 2008; Hargreaves, 2008). In the young school age, a cognitive child’s relationship with the environment prevails, therefore a primary school is a favourable time to start developing a personal scientific literacy, fostering a scientific culture, and introducing scientific research methods, which undoubtedly develop pupils cognitive competencies (Lamanauskas, 2004; Savickaitė, 2005; Vilkonienė, 2005). With consideration of the above, the research problem is formulated as a question: whether the content of the world cognition textbooks currently used in the primary school provides a favourable context for application of exploratory methods and, at the same time, for activation of the pupils nature research / environmental research activities? No studies have been carried out in Lithuania to investigate, if the world cognition textbooks promote the pupils research activities. This is the novelty of this research. The object of the research: the content of the world cognition textbooks of the 1st-4th forms in the respect of application of exploratory teaching/learning methods. The aim of the thesis: to assess the possibilities provided by the world cognition textbooks of the 1st-4th forms for application of exploratory teaching/learning methods. The targets of the thesis: 1) Based on the... [to full text]

Learning styles can be defined as the set of features that characterize the way people learn and process information. The aim of this study is to establish the relationship between learning styles and academic performance of students who completed the fifth year of the Pharmacy Program at Universidad de Costa Rica during the years 2011 to 2013. We applied the Honey-Alonso Learning Styles questionnaire. Regarding the overall mean, we obtained that there are no differences in the preference for an active, reflective, theoretical or pragmatic style. Students don’t have a pure learning style, but a combination of two or more of them, which favours the learning process as they have more tools to adapt to the teachers’, the courses’ and the study program’s requirements. / Los estilos de aprendizaje se pueden definir como el conjunto de rasgos que caracterizan la forma en que aprenden y procesan información las personas. El objetivo del presente estudio es establecer la relación entre los estilos de aprendizaje y el rendimiento académico de los estudiantes que cursaron el V año de la carrera de licenciatura en Farmacia de la Universidad de Costa Rica, durante los años 2011 a 2013. Se aplicó el Cuestionario de Honey-Alonso de Estilos de Aprendizaje. Se obtuvo que en relación con el promedio global, no existen diferencias entre preferencias para los estilos activo, reflexivo, teórico o pragmático. Los estudiantes no presentan un estilo de aprendizaje puro, sino una combinación de dos o más de estos, lo cual favorece el proceso de aprendizaje al tener más herramientas de adaptación a los requerimientos de los profesores, los cursos y la carrera.