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This study analyses the effect of introducing student portfolios as a means of assessing the learning of mathematics. It examines the intended and the unforeseen outcomes in terms of the students, the caregivers, and the teachers involved, using quantitative data to match classroom environments with the response to the innovation. A major focus of the qualitative aspect of the study is the decisionmaking process that was associated with the implementation of change. For this study, all the junior students in a New Zealand secondary school were asked to compile portfolios of their mathematical work. The portfolios were graded by the teachers, the marks contributing to the students' assessments for the year's work. At the outset, the plan was to survey the 510 students involved to determine their attitude towards mathematics, survey them again once the innovation was in place to quantify the classroom environment, then repeat the first survey. Analysis was expected to reveal whether classroom environments that approximated a "portfolio culture" (Duschl & Gitomer, 1991) contributed to an improved attitude towards mathematics. This quantitative approach was supplemented with taped interviews of students and teachers, ongoing records of less formal interactions, review of examination marks and school reports, and questionnaires mailed to the homes of a sample of the students. As the study progressed, it emerged that the major impact was on the teachers, and the focus shifted to them. For four years, follow-up surveys were conducted with teachers, including those who had transferred to other schools. The study found that all students can benefit from portfolios, both in terms of skills and attitude towards mathematics. / Portfolios legitimated the involvement of caregivers, a positive change that provided greater links between classroom activity and the world of employment. The professional practice of teachers was affected by portfolios, prompting development of new classroom resources and techniques, increased collegial cooperation, and well-informed reflection on teaching and assessment. Teachers maintain great influence on classroom culture, and for many of those involved in the study, portfolios prompted a renewed interest in the process undertaken by students as they develop mathematical ideas, and a change in the relationship between teacher and students. The "portfolio culture" resulted in students improving in their appreciation of mathematics, and a changed role for the student within the social environment of the classroom.

This thesis documents a heavy-tailed analysis of stable portfolios. Stock market crashes occur more often than is predicted by a normal distribution,which provides empirical evidence that asset returns are heavy-tailed. The motivation of this thesis is to study the effects of heavy-tailed distributions of asset returns. It is imperative to know the risk that is incurred for unlikely tail events in order to develop a safer and more accurate portfolio. The heavy-tailed distribution that is used to model asset returns is the stable distribution. The problem of optimally allocating assets between normal and stable distribution portfolios is studied. Furthermore, a heavy-tail sensitivity analysis is performed in order to see how the optimal allocation changes as the heavy-tail coefficient is altered. In order to solve both problems, we use a mean-dispersion risk measure and a probability of loss risk measure. Our analysis is done for two-asset stable portfolios, one of the assets being risk-free, and one risky. The approach used involves changing the heavy-tail parameter of the stable distribution and finding the differences in the optimal asset allocation. The key result is that relatively more wealth is allocated to the risk-free asset when using stable distributions than when using normal distributions. The exception occurs when using a loss probability risk measure with a very high risk tolerance. We conclude that portfolios assuming normal distributions incorrectly calculate the risk in two types of situations. These portfolios do not account for the heavy-tail risk when the risk tolerance is low and they do not account for the higher peak around the mean when the risk tolerance is high.

The current trend of learning is towards distant learning. Using distance learners¡¦ learning portfolios recorded by Web Site can help teachers understanding the learning state of students. Teachers can encourage or supervise students through Email based on their different behavior. Eventually, we hope to enhance students¡¦ participation and interest when they are attending distant learning. We develop learning support mechanisms using portfolios in order to help teacher understanding the learning status of students conveniently and easy to apply mechanisms in distant learning environment. Finally, we will assess the effects of mechanisms to prove it can help students positively. The results will drawing in two parts. First, students accepted encouragement and supervision from teachers were enthusiastically than students don¡¦t accepted encouragement and supervision from teachers when attended each unit of test and synchronous conference. Second, according the questionnaire appears both groups of students agreed that teacher should encourage or supervise them according their learning behavior. In a word, students really need help from teacher at the right moment. And our research have proved that distant learning environment need provide convenient mechanisms for teachers.

This thesis documents a heavy-tailed analysis of stable portfolios. Stock market crashes occur more often than is predicted by a normal distribution,which provides empirical evidence that asset returns are heavy-tailed. The motivation of this thesis is to study the effects of heavy-tailed distributions of asset returns. It is imperative to know the risk that is incurred for unlikely tail events in order to develop a safer and more accurate portfolio. The heavy-tailed distribution that is used to model asset returns is the stable distribution. The problem of optimally allocating assets between normal and stable distribution portfolios is studied. Furthermore, a heavy-tail sensitivity analysis is performed in order to see how the optimal allocation changes as the heavy-tail coefficient is altered. In order to solve both problems, we use a mean-dispersion risk measure and a probability of loss risk measure. Our analysis is done for two-asset stable portfolios, one of the assets being risk-free, and one risky. The approach used involves changing the heavy-tail parameter of the stable distribution and finding the differences in the optimal asset allocation. The key result is that relatively more wealth is allocated to the risk-free asset when using stable distributions than when using normal distributions. The exception occurs when using a loss probability risk measure with a very high risk tolerance. We conclude that portfolios assuming normal distributions incorrectly calculate the risk in two types of situations. These portfolios do not account for the heavy-tail risk when the risk tolerance is low and they do not account for the higher peak around the mean when the risk tolerance is high.

This thesis presents a study of the validity of video portfolios as an assessment tool. For this study, first and second grade students were videotaped doing exercises four times in reading and four times in math over the course of a school year. After portfolios were collected, each set of four videos (either math or reading) was shown to teachers in random order. The teachers were asked to put the clips into the correct chronological and, therefore, developmental order. Interviews after the task investigated the criteria teachers used to order the clips, and found that they used task complexity, task performance, and demeanor of students as the primary factors. The teachers were able to correctly order the video clips to a high level of significance. This finding supports the hypothesis that video portfolios have validity as an assessment of progress in student achievement. Interview data also yielded relevant findings for the future use and implementation of video portfolios. Further studies should investigate the generalizability of these results, more closely examine the criteria teachers use to evaluate portfolios, and determine the validity of portfolios as an evaluation for other aspects of student learning.

Accompanying materials housed with archival copy. / The purpose of this study is to research the role of documentation in a cycle-two, year one classroom (Grade 3) in a suburban community in Quebec. As the teacher-researcher, my overarching question is to come to a better understanding of how documentation is carried out in the classroom. There are several questions that guide this research: (1) What kinds of documentation are used and what purposes do they serve? (2) What role(s) does the teacher play in the documentation process? (3) What role(s) do the children play in documentation? For the purpose of this study documentation is any recording of or about classroom activities, students, or events influencing learning (Dahlberg, Moss, & Pence, 1999). Data forms included fieldnotes, video tapes, and classroom artifacts. I used complementary categorizing (Maykut & Morehouse, 1994) and contextualizing (Erickson, 1986, 1992; Merryfield, 1990) approaches for analysis, aided by the computer software program Atlas.ti (Muhr, 1997). / Three main categories of documentation were uncovered in the data. These are interactive documentation, reflective documentation, and process-oriented documentation. The activities that supported and sustained the creation of this documentation are explored in detail. The consequences of the documentation process resulted in what is described as an interactive classroom. The major conclusions concern the importance of communication cycles, flexible teacher roles, and the space provided for student participation.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2006. / "August, 2006." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 35-39). Online version available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S.E.)--University of Wisconsin -- La Crosse, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 24).

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Also available in print.