This project started with my naive and utopian hypothesis: 'Is there any one experience, equally memorable for everybody, that affects people‘s ordinary lives in a meaningful way afterward?‘ To explore this matter from multiple angles, I needed a research location that already had strongly staged experiences with a clear theme, diverse actors, and its own narratives. And I hit upon the right place: Disneyland Paris. To discuss 'the experience‘, I categorized peoples‘ different impressions of their experiences at Disneyland Paris. When I interviewed staff and visitors on their way out of Disneyland Paris, some people said that their experience had been awful, while others said it had been fantastic. What makes for such different responses to the same place? Two theorists declare, 'Experiences are inherently personal and no two people can have the same experience, because each experience derives from the interaction between the staged event (like a theatrical play) and the individual‘s state of mind‘ (Pine Ⅱand Gilmore, 1998). Since the individual‘s state of mind cannot be grasped and is a broad research term, in this thesis I am mostly concerned with the key experience-generating elements: age and social role. The ultimate purpose of this project is to investigate the pre-and post-experience at the entrance and exit of a given venue for a special experience with a clear theme, that bridge connecting visitors‘ and staff‘s everyday experiences to the staged experience. The practical outcome of this research-led project consists mainly of various trials of a procession that engages visitors at the borders of the venue. This research will consist of the following: 1) Analytical reflection upon visitors‘ and staff‘s one-day experience in a Disney theme park, based on narrative structure and perception of time, 2) Observations of different time perceptions in adults and children, 3) Definition of flow of experience (pre-experience / main experience / post-experience), and 4) Presentation of a new model of participatory stories in a given theme1 to smooth the flow of experience. 1Disneyland Paris was my chosen site for the theoretical background, and the practical methodologies are developed through Konstfack‘s 2011 spring exhibition. What this project intends to do, however, is not to upgrade the experiences in both, but rather to focus on the experiments in order to vary the existing definitions of the flow of experience. The final outcome is intended to be applied to the diverse venues that aim to offer their visitors special experiences with a clear theme. This has been an in-depth exploration of how experience design can be applied as a renewing force, or 'twist‘, to help people experience immersive moments and to gain unforgettable memories which, in turn, influence their future experiences. / <p>Research question: How can experience design be used to connect the daily experience of visitors and staff with memorable commercially staged experiences in an existing theme park (e.g. Disneyland Paris)?</p>

Two modalities of research design's workshops -long and short- were developed to qualify 658 Hispanamerican research workers, whom were divided into 30 groups, and were applyied along ten years. The terminal efficiency of the workshops was measured with a pre-post-test design and the differences were assessed with a t-test -for dependent samples-. The results showed that the values of the post-test were higher -p ≤ 0.001- than the pretest averages. Contrasting the two workshop versions, the average of the long workshop was significantly higher -p ≤ 0.001- than the short one, by means of a multiple pre-post-test design and the t-test for independent samples. Using Solomon four-group design it was feasible to establish that the significant increase of knowledge about research designs was not influenced by the interaction of the pretest and treatment factors and there was not observed any significant difference between both versions. / Se aplicaron dos modalidades de talleres de investigación -corta y larga- para habilitar por espacio de diez años a 658 investigadores hispanoamericanos, divididos en 30 grupos. La eficiencia terminal de los talleres fue medida con un diseño de pre y post-test y las diferencias con una prueba t-Student -para muestras dependientes-. Los resultados mostraron que los valores del post-test eran más elevados -p ≤ 0.001- que los del pretest. Contrastando las dos versiones del taller, el promedio del largo fue significantemente mayor -p ≤ 0.001- que el del corto; esto, bajo la tutela de un diseño múltiple de pre y post-test y la prueba t-Student, pero para muestras independientes. Con el diseño de cuatro grupos de Solomon se estableció que el incremento significativo en el conocimiento sobre diseños de investigación no fue intervenido por los factores tratamiento y pretest -interacción- y no se observaron diferencias significativas entre ambas versiones.

The purpose of study is to check whether the power of detecting the effect of intervention versus control in a pre- and post-study can be increased by using a stratified randomized controlled design. A stratified randomized controlled design with two study arms and two time points, where strata are determined by clustering on baseline outcomes of the primary measure, is considered. A modified hierarchical clustering algorithm is developed which guarantees optimality as well as requiring each cluster to have at least one subject per study arm. The power is calculated based on simulated bivariate normal distributed primary measures with mixture normal distributed baseline outcomes. The simulation shows that the power of this approach can be increased compared with using a completely randomized controlled study with no stratification. The difference of the power between with stratification and without stratification increases as the sample size increases or as the correlation of the pre- and post-measures decreases.

This study examined the impact of the National Science Foundation's Research Experience for Teachers (RET) in engineering at University of North Texas on students after their teachers' participation in the program. Students were evaluated in terms of self-efficacy, knowledge of engineering, perceptions of engineering, and interest in engineering. A 22-item Likert pre/post survey was used for analysis, and participants included 589 students from six high schools, one middle school, and one magnet school. Paired surveys were analyzed to determine if there was a statistically significant difference in attitudes and knowledge after teachers implemented lessons from their time at the RET. Surveys were also analyzed to determine if there was a statistically significant difference in student response based on gender or student school type. Results showed no statistically significant difference in the self-efficacy of students, however there was a statistically significant difference in knowledge, perceptions, and interest in engineering. In addition, there was a statistically significant difference between genders on an isolated question, and seven out of the 22 Likert questions showed a statistically significant difference between student school types.

A retrospective pre-then-post survey instrument design was intentionally used as a good fit for the SMART programming in order to evaluate learning outcomes both before and after the program for several reasons (see Marshall, Higginbotham, Harris, & Lee, 2007; Moore & Tananis, 2009) summarized below. The experimental pretest-posttest design using a control or comparison group is considered to be one of the most respected methods that can be used to measure change in individuals (Campbell & Stanley, 1966; Kaplan, 2004). This design is highly regarded because of its control over internal validity concerns and ability to compare results from the same people or groups of people at multiple time points. While there are advantages to using the pretest-posttest method, there are some limitations with this research method as well. One limitation comes with finding an adequate comparison group, which can be difficult or impossible for the researchers to locate. Another limitation concerns the possible lack of resources and time available for community-based programs to complete comprehensive pretest-posttest comparisons (Brooks & Gersh, 1998). Also, in order for the pretest-posttest comparisons to be meaningful, participants must attend the complete program from start to finish (Pratt, McGuigan, & Katzey, 2000). Due to the nature of community education programs, attrition and sporadic attendance are common issues (Pratt, McGuigan, & Katzev, 2000). While the pretest-posttest information must be complete for comparisons to be made, it may be challenging for researchers to see the actual changes in attitudes, behaviors, or skills if the participants overstate their original attitudes, behaviors, or skills when completing the pretest (Howard & Daily, 1979; Moore & Tananis, 2009). This overestimation may occur when the participants do not have a clear understanding of the attitudes, behaviors, or skills that the program is targeting (Pratt, McGuigan, & Katzev, 2000). A lack of knowledge on certain topics (e.g., attitudes, behaviors, skills) often supports the initial need for a program intervention, but this same issue may show participants during the program that they actually knew much less than they thought when they completed the pretest. Thus, one must be aware of the potentially misleading information from pretest-posttest comparisons due to the participants’ change in perspective (Howard & Daily, 1979). “Response shift bias,” first referred to by Howard and Daily (1979), explains the “program-produced change in the participants’ understanding of the construct being measured” (Pratt, McGuigan, & Katzev, 2000, p. 342). Response shift bias was assessed in this study by administering a pre-test at the beginning of programming and a pre-then-post test at the end of programming. Results indicate that response shift bias was present in a majority of the variables studied and that the design of administering a pre-test and then a retrospective pre-then-post test is a good fit for exposing response shit bias. Specific results will be discussed.

No description available.

Experiential learning theory stresses the importance of adequate preparation and reflection surrounding concrete experiences. This study explores the relationship between preparation and follow-up classroom experiences and the outcomes of environmental education (EE) field trips, including environmental literacy, 21st century skills, positive youth development, satisfaction, and self-reported behavior change. Surveys with both students and their school teachers who attended over 300 EE programs reveal that both pre-trip preparation, especially concerning logistics, and post-trip follow up, related to the subject matter of the field trip, were significantly related to more positive student outcomes. The authors recommend both schools and organizations take into consideration how they can work together to create more holistic learning experiences. / Master of Science / Environmental and science education in the form of school field trips have the capability of to enhance student learning, increase motivation to do well in school, and develop skills such as thinking critically and collaborating with peers. Learning theory illuminates the importance of in-school preparation and reflection surrounding field trips. We wanted to discover what happens in the classroom before and after these field trips that contribute to creating truly valuable educational experiences. Student and teacher surveys from over 300 field trip programs highlight the importance of preparing students both logistically and with the educational content, as well as following-up after the field trip by reviewing and utilizing newly gained knowledge and skills. We recommend schools and field trip providers, such as parks, zoos and nature centers, collaborate to create more holistic science learning experiences.

There is very little in the literature about the sensitivity of norm-referenced tests to growth of diverse groups of test takers, particularly low-achieving test takers, who operate at the lowest 15 percentile of their peers. To bridge the knowledge gap, this study examined the sensitivity to growth of norm-referenced achievement tests. The purpose of the study is to determine the sensitivity of norm-referenced test to the growth of low-achieving students in prekindergarten through 12th grade. Four analysis were performed to test eight identified norm-referenced test for their sensitivity to the growth of students who perform at approximately the 15th percentile or below of their grade peers. Results of the analyses suggested that two of the eight tests are adequate for use with low-achieving students within a norm period. The other six tests showed lack of precision and appeared not to be suitable for measuring progress of low -achieving students.

Objectif de l'étude : L’objectif est d’évaluer pour la première fois en France l’évolution psychosociale d’usagers, souffrant de troubles schizophréniques, en réhabilitation psychosociale. Méthodologie : Des bilans psychosociaux ont été réalisés auprès de 71 sujets entrants au Service d’Aide à l’Insertion Professionnelle des Personnes Handicapées (SAIPPH) à l’admission, 3 mois après, puis 10 mois après. Les données traitées concernaient les 25 sujets souffrant de troubles schizophréniques ayant rempli le protocole de recherche complet.Résultats : Les résultats ont montré des évolutions positives pour l’insertion professionnelle (d = 0,64 ; p = 0,01) qui progresse encore après le protocole de recherche (d = 1,08 ; p = 0,00075). Ils ont indiqué aussi d’autres évolutions comme la diminution des troubles internalisés (d = -0,24 ; p = 0,01) et l’amélioration de la qualité de vie (d = 0,41 ; p = 0,03). Les analyses de régression ont déterminé des prédicteurs positifs de l’insertion comme l’accord quant au but de la prise en charge et l’implication dans la société. Discussion : Le SAIPPH semble remplir ses missions d’insertion professionnelle. Par contre, les insertions s’effectuent principalement en milieu protégé. Les prédicteurs de l’insertion indiquent l’importance de favoriser l’implication des usagers au SAIPPH. / Objective of the study : To study for the first time in France the psychosocial evolution of individuals with schizophrenia supported by a psychosocial rehabilitation center.Method : Psychosocial assessment was realized on 71 participants supported by the Service d’Aide à l’Insertion Professionnelle des Personnes Handicapées (SAIPPH) at the admission, 3 months later, and 10 months later. 25 participants with schizophrenia completed the entire protocol.Results : Results show improvement for vocational activity (d = 0,64 ; p = 0,01), this later still progressing after procedure (d = 1,08 ; p = 0,00075). They also indicate reduction of internalized problems (d = -0,24 ; p = 0,01) and improvement of quality of life (d = 0,41 ; p = 0,03). Multiple regression analysis determines positive predictors of professional outcome like the agreement on goal of support and implication in society. Discussion : SAIPPH seems achieve his mission on vocational outcome but they are mainly in non competitive and supported employment. Predictors of vocational outcome indicate the importance to involve individuals in activity and organization into the SAIPPH.

The high school pass rate, for mathematics, in South Africa is very low. This is particularly so in trigonometry functions. One of the possible factors leading to this is the traditional method of teaching and learning. This study was undertaken to determine whether the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) would influence students’ learning of trigonometry functions. In order to answer this question the teaching and learning instructions developed were based on activity theory (AT) and action, process, object, and schema (APOS) theory. The study followed a non-equivalent control group, quasi-experimental design with a pre- post-test approach. Since it was not possible to randomly select participants for the study, intact groups were used. There were two groups: a control and an experimental one. Both groups wrote a standardized achievement pre-test to establish their comparability at the beginning of the study. While the control group was taught in the traditional way (grade 10-12 syllabus), the experimental group used the software Geogebra. The computer software (Geogebra) and the South African grade 10-12 syllabus for trigonometry functions were used during the lessons of the experimental group. At the end of the study, a similar post-test was administered on both groups to measure the comparative effects of either of the teaching methods on the performance of students. A t-test independent sample statistical analysis was performed on the findings using a statistics package, SPSS. The results of this investigation indicated that the use of the computer software, Geogebra, in the teaching and learning of trigonometry functions improved the performance of the Grade 12 students. / Mathematics Education / M. Sc. (Mathematics Education)