Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-93). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (MEd(Education))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Mémoire (M.Sc)- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, l982. / "Rapport de recherche présenté à l'Université du Québec à Chicoutimi en vue de l'obtention du grade de maître es sciences (M.Sc.)" Rapport de recherche (de type recherche-action) dans le cadre d'un programme réseau de maîtrise en mathématiques- orientation : enseignement collégial. CaQCU CaQCU Comprend des bibliographies. Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Sociology, June 2000. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

This study focused on the selection of programming languages in Computer Programming I classes (CS1) in four-year colleges and universities from North Carolina. The objectives were to identify differences in faculty and student views about the programming languages used in the first computer programming class and to see if demographic variables as well as type of school, job market in the region, quality and amount of experience with programming languages and/or computers correlated with the selection of the language. The study also solicited judgements about important factors for choosing a particular programming language and reasons which seemed to have influenced this selection. The study also determined how well the students and faculty in these first computer programming classes agreed on the selection of the languages and the factors which led to the selection. Three instruments were used to accomplish the above objectives. One was a survey questionnaire sent to twenty four-year colleges and universities in North Carolina in May 1993. Second was a survey questionnaire administered to 322 students from Computer Programming I from these schools in North Carolina during Spring and Fall semesters of 1993. Third was an open-ended interview of 20 faculty. Results of the student survey questionnaire showed that Pascal was the language respondents had the most experience with, and it was the most heavily used language among them, followed by BASIC, COBOL, and C/C++. The top three reasons for learning these languages were: job market demands, someone's advice, and popularity of the language. If the students were given a chance of learning a first programming language all over again, their number one choice would be Pascal followed by C/C++. The top three reasons for this selection were that the language was used in the other computer science courses, they wanted to learn the language, and it was an easy language to learn. Results of the faculty survey questionnaire showed that Pascal was the most widely taught first and second programming language, and C/C++ would be their number one choice for a new first programming language when and if they were going to make another selection. Job market requirements, design and structure of a language that implements modularity, concurrency, reusable code, and competition from other area schools were the top reasons in the selection process of a first programming language. Examination of some variables as possible predictors of these first programming languages revealed the following: (1) strong correlation between the selection of a first programming language and such factors as compiler cost, compiler availability, teaching staff knowledge, hardware availability, and cost of a language; (2) strong correlation between the type of a school and such factors as ability of a language to form good programming habits, availability of the language, modularity, parameters, ease of design and structure of the language, and a language which provides job related skills, and is usable in the real world. The follow-up interviews seemed to show that a significant number of faculty had been thinking about changing to a new first programming language. In other words, the Pascal era was going to end soon, and a replacement for Pascal was going to be either C or C++. It was also clear that most of the faculty were trying to follow the ACM guidelines whether or not they agreed with them.

Submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE EDUCATION in the Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology (MSTE) at the University of Zululand, 2015. / This study set out to investigate beliefs held by pre service Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) students about the nature of science and science teaching and learning. The research sample comprised one hundred and eighty four (184) third and fourth year (B.Ed) students majoring in mathematics and physical sciences. Data on students’ epistemological beliefs about the nature of science and science teaching and Learning were collected using two questionnaires: The Nature of Science as Argument Questionnaire (NSAAQ) and Beliefs About Reformed Science Teaching and Learning (BARSTL). Furthermore the study sought to find out if those beliefs cohered with the beliefs espoused by the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) for Physical Sciences grades 10-12. The conceptual framework of this study was framed upon the preponderance of literature that carried the view that a teacher’s classroom practices are a consequence of two main dialectic influences: (a) the teacher’s epistemological beliefs about the nature of science, which may be either naïve or sophisticated; and (b) the teacher’s beliefs about teaching and learning, which may be either traditional or reformed. Accordingly, the conceptual framework guiding the study opined that teachers holding naïve beliefs about the nature of science, and those holding traditional notions of teaching and learning will be characterized by teacher-centred instructional approaches, while those holding sophisticated beliefs of the nature of science and a reformed view of teaching and learning will be associated with learner-centred instructional approaches. This study was a case study conducted at a South African university, and involved one hundred and eighty-four third and fourth year students registered for a four-year Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) degree for the Senior and Further Education and Training phase. During these two final years of the programme students are engaged in science enquiry practices in their Methods modules. The participants were registered in physical science and mathematics education. Intact groups were used, so there was no sampling undertaken to select participants. Data were collected by the use of (a) the Nature of Science as Argument Questionnaire (NSAAQ), to determine epistemological beliefs held by the participants about the nature of science, as well as the concurrence of those beliefs with the views about science teaching and learning espoused by the NCS; and (b) the Beliefs about Reformed Science Teaching and Learning (BARSTL) questionnaire, to determine the beliefs held by preservice education students about science teaching and learning. Data analysis involved the use of both descriptive statistical methods to decipher patterns and general trends regarding the epistemological beliefs about science held by participants, and their beliefs about science teaching and learning, as well as inferential statistics to test both a priori and a posteriori hypotheses. Similarly, statistical analysis was carried out to determine whether or not third- and fourth-year pre-service science education students held beliefs about science teaching and learning that were in agreement with the pedagogical content beliefs about science teaching and learning espoused by the NCS. The study found that pre service students held significantly more sophisticated epistemological beliefs about the nature of science at fourth year than at third year level. The results also showed that fourth year students demonstrated a significantly higher level of ‘reformed oriented teaching and learning beliefs’ about science than did the third year students. The results however showed that third and fourth year students held beliefs that were not in line with the beliefs espoused by the National Curriculum Statement (NCS). These results support studies which have found that student teachers become more sophisticated in their epistemological beliefs towards graduation. The findings also showed that the B.Ed programme is succeeding in developing both epistemological beliefs about the nature of science and teaching and learning. The degree to which the programme succeeded in developing these beliefs was however quite small. This study recommends that further investigations be done to determine whether students who hold sophisticated epistemological beliefs about the nature of science and ‘reformed beliefs about science teaching and learning’ also demonstrate superior science teaching skills

This study is a historical analysis of the significant events that led to the creation and evolution of the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (TAMS), from 1987 through 1992, and a description of the key individuals contributing to the development of the program. Included is a historical review of early college entrance and acceleration practices in the American educational system. In addition, the development of residential programs for mathematically and scientifically precocious high school-aged youths is offered. On June 23, 1987, the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science was established by the 70th Texas Legislature. Though fourth in a line of special programs created for mathematically and scientifically able high school-aged youths, the TAMS model significantly deviated from its predecessors. Only the accelerative TAMS model would offer a college curriculum taught by college faculty and the opportunity to concurrently complete the last two years of high school and the first two years of college. From the inception of the program in 1987 through 1992, changes would occur. From 1987 through the summer of 1988, the development of the curriculum, student life program, and admissions process took place. From 1988 through 1989 the inaugural class was introduced to the program, and legislative funding was approved in the 71st Texas Legislative Session. From 1989 through 1992, the program further expanded to an enrollment of 335 students who were assisted by more than thirty full and part-time staff members. The academic, admissions, and student life components further evolved to better identify, recruit, and nurture the intellectual and emotional development of these gifted adolescents. In 1992 the TAMS program was selected for the "Texas Excellence in Higher Education Award," for outstanding contributions to higher education within the state of Texas. In addition, one nationally acclaimed authority on programs for gifted youth, Julian Stanley, hailed the TAMS model superior in approach to all other similar existing schools. From 1987 through 1992, the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science metamorphisized to become an award winning, nationally acclaimed accelerative model for mathematically and scientifically gifted high school-aged youth.

The performance of mathematics and physical science students are very low in South Africa. These students lack algebraic knowledge and skills in physics education. They tend to treat mathematics and science as separate entities; to them the two subjects are not related. Even the teachers seem not to realise the interrelationship of the two subjects, because according to the research, they perpetuate this attitude. A possible reason could be that they are unfamiliar with common objectives and applications. Knowledge of science is enhanced by the application of mathematics, but the role of mathematical knowledge and skills in the understanding of physical science is uncertain. Even in the new National Curriculum Statement (NCS) of South Africa the relationship between mathematics and physical science is not clearly indicated. Algebraic language is a main tool used in physics, but students still display a lack of understanding of mathematical concepts and problem solving skills. The study was aimed at identifying the mathematical knowledge and skills that would enable students to solve physics problems in grades 11 and 12. The aim was also to identify the specific problems experienced by students in applying these skills and knowledge in physics at grades 11 and 12 level. The empirical study was conducted amongst a group of 120 students in four schools in the Rustenburg Region, North- West Province, South Africa and 28 teachers of which 10 were from these schools and 18 were teachers participating in the Sediba project of the North-West University. The investigation was done by means of a self constructed test and questionnaires. The results indicate that the biggest problem lies with a lack of conceptual knowledge, especially with a basic understanding of proportional reasoning. Other problems were identified and possible remedies proposed. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Abstract Recently, there has been increasing interest in investigating the interrelationships among the component stochastic processes of a dynamical system. The applications of these studies are to be found in various fields such as Economics, Neuroscience, Engineering and Neurobiology. Also the determination of the direction of the information flow is one of the important subjects studied widely. These investigations have usually been implemented in the time and frequency domains. Consequently, several mathematical and statistical procedures have been developed to facilitate these analyses. The aim of this thesis is to discuss the relationships between stochastic processes of a relatively short time duration. Specifically, the research concerns the analysis of the electrical activity of the dysfunctional brain, where the available data belong to a right-handed focal epileptic patient. EEG signals are recorded directly from the scalp using numbered electrodes according to the International 10/20 system introduced by Jasper [1958]. The analysis is only performed for processes of the left hemisphere as they represent the dominant hemisphere. Moreover, since each region of the brain is responsible for a special function, we have chosen five processes to represent the five main lobes of the brain; the frontal lobe, the central region, the parietal lobe, the occipital lobe and the temporal lobe. The analyses of these signals are carried out using four spectral density estimation procedures, namely the multivariate autoregressive model of order 2; the average of periodograms of adjacent segments of the single record; the smoothed periodogram approach for the entire record; and the multi-taper method. Thereafter comparisons among the results of these methods are made. The strength of the correlation between signals is measured by coherence and partial coherence functions. Also, the Granger causality concept is implemented for these data in the form of determining the direction of the information flow between these signals using the partial directed coherence (PDC) proposed by Baccala and Sameshima [2001] using the statistical level of significance suggested by Schelter et al.[2005]. The structure of the causal influences produced by the PDC shows that there are statistically significant reciprocal causal effects between processes representing the brain's region, the frontal lobe, the central area, the parietal lobe and the temporal lobe. However, there are two uni-directed causal influence relations, one is between the central area and the occipital lobe and the second one is between the occipital and temporal lobes. The indirect causal influences are detected between these processes throughout the process representing the temporal lobe. Generally, the values of the PDC in the anterior-posterior direction are larger than the values of the PDC in the opposite direction. Also, the causal influences of each process on the temporal lobe process is larger than the causal influences in the opposite direction. The spectral analyses show that the estimated power spectra and coherences of these signals are approximately peak in the delta wave band of frequency [1, 4) Hz. The significant non-zero estimated coherences are captured between the brain's lobes except for the occipital lobe which is uncorrelated with any of the other lobes. The depth of non-zero significant estimated coherences is given by partial coherence, which measures the strength of the estimated coherence between any two processes after removing the linear influence of one or more other processes. For the current data, we found that the depth of correlations depends on the spectral estimation method adopted. For example, the depth of correlation is of order 2 for the method of averaging across periodograms of adjacent segments of the single record and the method of smoothed periodogram of the entire single record and is of order one for the multi-taper method. However, the depth of correlations is unknown for the multivariate autoregressive model of order 2. The comparisons made between the results of the four spectral estimation methods mentioned previously, indicated that MVAR is not sensitive to rapid changes occurring in the signal such as the effect of the notch filter at 60Hz and a calibration signal at 47Hz, while the other three methods exhibited good sensitivity to these changes with different strengths of responses. Furthermore, the smoothed periodogram and the multi-taper methods persistently detect the notch filter effect at 60Hz in the ordinary estimated coherence curves, while the method of averaging across periodograms of adjacent segments of the single record does not.

This study examines the influence of family background and structure on academic achievement. The research focuses on the 11th- and 12th-grade population in the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (TAMS) at the University of North Texas, Denton. The study examines the variables in family background and family structure that contribute to the students' high academic achievement. Twelve hypotheses related to parents, home environment, family structure and interaction, family roles, and family values are proposed. The multivariate analysis shows that the variables being read to, reading independently, fathers' education, mothers' education, and ethnicity are significant in impacting academic achievement. The study underlines the fact that multiple factors in family structure and background have an influence on academic achievement.