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No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

This research was undertaken to investigate the effects of solid modeling and visualization on technical problem solving. The participants were 47 students enrolled in solid modeling classes at Southeast Missouri State University. The control and experimental groups consisted of 23 and 24 randomly assigned students respectively. This study was a posttest only design that used logistic regression to analyze the results. Both groups were required to take the Purdue Spatial-Visualization Test/Visualization of Rotations (PSVT/TR). Participants in the control group used only sketching to design their solutions while participants in the experimental group used parametric solid modeling software to design their solutions. All participants then constructed prototypes of their designs. The prototype was evaluated to determine if it successfully met the design specifications. The findings revealed that visualization was a significant predictor of technical problem solving as defined by successful prototype construction (p=.021). There was no significant difference between the sketching and solid modeling design methods used for technical problem solving (p=.752). The interaction between the method of design, solid modeling or sketching, was analyzed to determine if using solid modeling would offset low visualization scores It was found that the interaction was not significant (p=.393). / Ph. D.

This study investigated the usefulness of providing successful and unsuccessful example solutions in enhancing students' technological problem-solving efficiency. Prior research exploring worked example solutions indicated improved problem-solving efficiency when solutions were structured in a fashion that decreased the amount of extraneous cognitive load and increased the amount of germane cognitive load as specified by cognitive load theory. Fifty-one 7th and 8th grade students enrolled in technology education courses were selected from one school in the southwest region of Virginia. Participants completed three technological problem-solving tasks that included elevated load, cantilevered weight, and energy absorption using supply kits containing simple modeling materials. Problem-solving efficiency was determined by combining the amount of elapsed time across all three tasks. A 3 x 3 mixed factorial ANOVA was used to analyze the data. Data analysis revealed trends similar to worked example research in mathematics and science, but no significant difference among the three groups was found in this study. / Ph. D.

International students in U.S. academic settings are facing barriers in the path of their academic accomplishments. In higher educational institutions, students work very closely with their academic advisors to solve a definite problem. Dependence on the academic advisor is much more when the advisee is international. Keeping these points in mind, one of the factors that might impact academic environment for an international student is the bonding that they share with their advisor. This research study determines the factors that encourage or discourage the relationship between the advisor and international advisee. More specifically, what factors, cultural or cognitive are more salient in defining the advising relationship, and how are coping behaviors being employed and by whom when differences between the working pair exists? Full-time international graduate students having at least one year of graduate school experience in U.S. academic settings and faculty advisors who had experience in advising international graduate students participated in this study. A total of 20 international students participated. All the participants completed the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI) as a measure of problem-solving style. Of the 20 that completed the inventory, 14 participants from 10 different countries agreed to participate in a semi-structure interview. Additionally, five faculty advisors completed the KAI inventory and three faculty advisors participated in an interview. Findings of the study are: 1) a link exists between participants' problem-solving styles and their expectations for the advising relationship; 2) cultural difference outside academia had no impact on academic progress of international students; 3) acculturation into American academic culture seemed essential for academic success of international students in U.S academic settings; 4) international students wanted their home country culture to be acknowledged in a multicultural settings; 5) success of advising relationship seemed to be dependent upon how much the advisor and the advisee exhibited coping behavior; 6) acknowledging the differences and accepting a person in a holistic manner as a separate identity worked best in a multicultural settings; and 7) developing a human connect between the advisor and advisee seemed to be vital for a successful and academically productive advising relationship. / Master of Science in Life Sciences

The purpose of the current study was to examine the mediating role of social problem solving skills in explaining the relationship between early aggression and later behavior problems. Additionally, the moderational role of social problem solving skills was also examined. The criteria proposed by Baron and Kenny (1986) and Holmbeck (1997) were followed to test the mediational and the moderational models. Regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between early aggression and social problem solving skills, social problem solving skills and later behavior problems, and early aggression and later behavior problems. Results indicated that social problem solving skills do not mediate the relationship between early aggression and later behavior problems. However, social problem solving skills do moderate this relationship. Further, it was the number of categories generated as opposed to the number of solutions that was the better predictor. The clinical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed. / Master of Science