Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Peer review is used as an effective quality assurance measure in many contexts, including science, business, programming or education. In education, several studies confirmed the positive effects of peer reviewing on student learning. Based on recent research concerning the role of media in the peer review process this study investigates how students perceive the process, content and effects of peer reviews. We also analyze students' opinions on different modes of peer reviewing activities, e.g. online vs. face-to-face reviewing. In the context of a computer science course on scientific writing, these research questions were addressed by administering an online questionnaire (n=38) and analysis using quantitative and qualitative methods. Results indicate that students value the peer review activity, take peer reviews seriously and provide comprehensive and constructive reviews. Findings also show that students prefer written online reviews with the possibility of oral follow-up questions to reviewers.

M.Ed. / Over the years, and even now, the Department of Education is busy trying to find a better method of managing and empowering educators with the aim of attaining whole school development. The South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) as early as 1992 proposed an educator developmental appraisal system. Workshops are currently conducted to facilitate the implementation of DAS (developmental appraisal system) at schools. This study concentrates on peer appraisal of educators as an aspect of educator management and its contribution to whole school development. The literature indicated that educators are dissatisfied with the traditional appraisal instruments and the old inspection system. Hence it was abolished on the basis that it was not transparent, not developmental and not democratic (SADTU, 1999(a):61). Information obtained from different books clearly states that peer appraisal is a process that directly involves all the educators in a school. It stresses the mutual understanding, transparency and capacity building among the educators. This research used a structured questionnaire to collect data on the opmwns of the respondents in seven of the nine provinces in South Africa. The questionnaire contained 79 items and seven of these items were relevant to peer appraisal. The structured questionnaires were distributed to a convenient stratified sample of educators in seven of the nine provinces. Based on the information from the questionnaire, each item relevant to this particular research was analysed and discussed. After the factor analysis, the significance of the difference between the factor mean scores of various groups for each of the factors that make up whole school development were analysed and explained. The data obtained indicates that peer appraisal of educators has a positive impact on the professional development of educators. An atmosphere of collegial relationships among staff is a pre-requisite for whole school development. It appears as if the learning and teaching process can be improved through the implementation of peer appraisal m schools.

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M.A. (Politics) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

E-learning tools such as Calibrated Peer Review (CPR) have made writing assignments easier to implement and grade; however, we have limited knowledge of how CPR affects student scientific writing. Past CPR research has examined how CPR generated scores change across multiple CPR writing assignments for the purpose of reporting student learning gains. This study will not rely on CPR generated score data. This study (1) independently evaluated the impact of CPR on student writing of ecological inquiry report components using a grading criteria instrument and (2) explored how the revision process influenced the quality of ecological inquiry report components through text analysis. A web-based science inquiry project was implemented in a large (up to 500 students) introductory ecology course. Students observed grizzly bears at McNeil River Falls in Alaska using Bear Cam picture stills. They developed and tested hypotheses about grizzly bear spatial distribution and interactions and reported findings in individual ecological inquiry reports. Students submitted reports to CPR and anonymously reviewed three peer reports and self-assessed their own. Finally, students were given one-week following CPR to revise reports based on peer reviews and submit online. A 28-item grading criteria instrument (9 scales) was used to examine how students revised ecological inquiry reports post CPR. Eight paired t-tests were used to assess the pre-post CPR changes in scores for individual grading criteria scales or components. Cohen's d effect size was used to explore how achievement or performance level, ethnicity, gender and major influenced student text changes to ecological inquiry report components post CPR. Text analysis using a subset of 27 sample reports (pre-post CPR) assessed the amount and location of text changes and the impact of these revisions on the quality of ecological inquiry report components. Common errors in ecological inquiry report components post CPR were also analyzed. Results showed that CPR and revision significantly improved the scores related to the objective, sampling and discussion scales. Analyses using Cohen's d effect sizes illustrated interesting but inconsistent patterns related to the influence of student performance level, gender, ethnicity, and major on pre-post CPR score gains. Text analysis revealed the majority of helpful revisions were related to making the objective identifiable, reporting of sample size and discussion of study limitations and future questions raised by individual ecological inquiry projects. Text analysis shows three common reasons participants failed to meet grading criteria post CPR. Un-testable hypotheses, insufficient descriptions for sample selection, data analysis, variables collected and revisions of only easy grading criteria components. This study provided direct evidence of CPR's effects on student writing and provided a greater understanding of pattern of revision process following CPR.

Peer group supervision has the potential to play an important role in the continuing professional development of practising psychologists, by providing a forum where practitioners can learn from each other in a supportive environment, while still maintaining their autonomy. However, research in the area is limited and theoretical conceptualisation around the topic is still at an elementary level. Therefore, one of the aims of this study was to evaluate the utility of peer group supervision for psychologists in practice. The second aim was to generate theory on the relationships between the various factors that play a role in determining the utility of peer group supervision and the mechanisms through which these factors operate. In order to achieve these aims, the research approach was exploratory and qualitative. The naturally occurring group processes of a single group of practising psychologists, who used a model of peer group supervision proposed by Akhurst (2000b), was the focus of this study. Five of their group sessions were audio-taped and transcribed to form the major data source. A brief questionnaire was also administered. A general analytical approach derived from grounded theory was used to analyse the data, with a particular focus on the processes and interactions within the group. Theoretical insights from the field of group dynamics were used to interpret and explain the findings generated from the analysis. The findings of this study suggest that peer group supervision has the potential to meet a number of the professional needs of practising psychologists and is therefore able to make a positive contribution to their professional development. A number of factors that mediate the potential utility of peer group supervision were identified. These factors include membership diversity, group developmental level, group orientation, facilitation style, interaction patterns and the use of structure. Plausible relationships between these factors were suggested, providing an initial picture of the complex interlocking web of factors that act on the group process to determine the utility of peer supervision groups. This understanding was used to suggest possible adaptations that may increase the utility of the model used to structure the group that participated in this study. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.

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Thesis advisor: Callista Roy / Problem: Nurses act as safety nets, protecting patients from harm through the identification, interruption and recovery of medical errors and adverse events but we need to know more about ways to learn from safety events. This study aimed to address a gap in our understanding of how the PRISM Program affects nurses’ attitudes of safety culture, awareness of the recovery of medical errors, and practice as they relate to patient safety and error prevention. Participants: Critical care nurses in a large academic hospital from intervention (n=95) and control (n=90) units were surveyed pre and post-implementation of the PRISM Program. Intervention unit nurse response rates were 46% pre-survey and 41% post-survey. Control unit nurses' response rates were 38% for pre-survey and 31% for post-survey responses. A total of 42 (44%) intervention unit nurses participated in the PRISM Program. Methods: A pre/post-test design with an intervention and control unit was used to evaluate the effects of the PRISM Program on nurses’ responses on the Safety Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ) and the Recovery of Medical Error Inventory (RMEI) over a three month period. Nurses responded to questions about the impact on their practice. Findings: Analysis demonstrated a significant decrease in the SAQ working conditions post-survey subscale scores and significant findings in the main effects, decreased SAQ subscales: teamwork, job satisfaction, safety climate and perceptions of hospital management. The RMEI did not produce any significant findings. Comments provided insight into some nurses’ participation in the program and the impact on their practice. Implications: A significant decrease in post-survey scores indicate that informed nurses had a more critical view of safety culture and the environment they work in. Nurses expressed a desire to further use surveillance and additional manual checks that placed increased accountability and responsibility for their role in using strategies to keep patient safe and prevent errors and patient harm. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. Connell School of Nursing. / Discipline: Nursing.

In this paper, 936 faculty free response reviews of open textbooks from the Open Textbook Library were analyzed for content and themes. The reviews were completed by faculty members at institutions in the United States and Canada. The textbooks were evaluated regarding their comprehensiveness, content accuracy, relevance longevity, clarity, consistency, modularity, organization structure flow, interface, grammatical errors, and cultural relevance. The results of the reviews found that the across 9360 comments regarding the quality of open textbooks, of these comments 97.3% reflected adequate or exceptional reviews of the textbooks. Faculty often compared the texts to traditional textbooks and in all mentions of comparison, the open textbook were regarded to be of equal or superior quality. The results of this study aid in alleviating concerns regarding quality of Open Educational Resources (OER) and provide peer reviews that faculty who consider adopting these textbooks often request. Limitations of the study and further prescriptions for research regarding OER quality and peer review research have been explored in the study.