Universiẗat, Diss.--St. Gallen, 1996.

This research presents a case study at a South African University, involving students who had studied mathematics in a pre-undergraduate Foundation Programme (FP) and who were currently in their first year of study in Information Technology (IT) at the same institution. The study investigated a possible relationship between the teaching approach used in the FP mathematics classroom and the extent of students’ abilities to use important mathematical practices, such as using procedures flexibly; using representation; understanding/explaining concepts; questioning; justifying claims; disagreeing; strategising; and generalising, in an undergraduate IT context. Focus group interviews and task-based interviews were used to answer three related questions: “To what extent are students aware of differences in teaching approaches between FP mathematics and undergraduate study?”; “To what extent do students believe that their experiences of the teaching approaches in the Foundation Programme mathematics class have helped them in undergraduate study in other courses?”; and “In what ways are the mathematical practices taught in the Foundation Programme used in undergraduate study in IT?” A bricolage of learning theories was used as a framework for understanding the possible relationships between teaching approach, development of mathematical practices and learning transfer. The students in the focus groups described the teaching approach used in the FP mathematics classes as studentcentred, whereas many of the undergraduate IT lectures and tutorials were described as teachercentred. The students felt that the approach used in the FP mathematics classroom was beneficial to further study, in that it taught them how to become responsible for their own learning and brought about deep understanding of the mathematical concepts learned in the FP. The task-based interviews showed that all students used mathematical practices to solve IT problems to a greater or lesser extent. The use of these mathematical practices was best understood as being influenced by all past cognitive, social and cultural experiences, and was therefore not a case of “transfer” in the traditional sense of the word. Instead, the use of mathematical practices could be described as an extreme case of “cognitive accommodation” from a cognitive constructivist perspective, or a case of “generality” from a situative perspective. Furthermore, an inter-relationship emerged between student-centred teaching, students’ productive disposition towards mathematics, and the extent of “transfer” of mathematical practices to the IT domain. This interesting relationship warrants further investigation.

Mittels Gender- und Diversitätsmanagement (GDM) und unterschiedlichen Formen des Nachhaltigkeitsmanagements bzw. "nachhaltigen Wirtschaftens" sucht man in Organisationen bereits seit einigen Jahrzehnten, strukturellen und normativen Verantwortungs- und Veränderungsanforderungen zu begegnen. Bisher wurde jedoch im deutschsprachigen GDM-Diskurs kaum Bezug auf Fragen des nachhaltigen Wirtschaftens genommen. Ziel des Beitrags ist es, in Form konzeptioneller Überlegungen eine Verknüpfung von GDM und dem Bereich des nachhaltigen Wirtschaftens anzuregen, um damit die reflexive Basis wissenschaftlicher und praxisbezogener Diskurse in beiden Bereichen stärker auf die Re-Produktionsmechanismen von Diversitätsdimensionen und die damit verbundenen Differenzsetzungen zu richten. Zu diesem Zweck werden Konzepte des organisationalen Lernens herangezogen und deren entsprechendes Potenzial diskutiert.

Die Beschäftigung mit dem Thema Change Management erfordert die Auseinandersetzung mit einem heterogenen Feld von Ansätzen und fachlichen Perspektiven. Es besteht ein Mangel an systematischen empirischen Untersuchungen zu diesem Thema. Insbesondere fehlen Arbeiten, die mehr als eine "Schule" des Change Managements berücksichtigen. Unterschiede in den situativen Anforderungen werden zudem theoretisch und empirisch oft unzureichend berücksichtigt. Die Vermutung liegt nahe, dass das Scheitern von Veränderungsprozessen häufig durch die stereotype Anwendung generalisierender Empfehlungen gängiger Ansätze verursacht wird. Um diesen Defiziten zu begegnen, sollten in dieser Arbeit Kontingenzen von situativen Anforderungen und Change Management empirisch überprüft werden.<br><br> Der Untersuchung liegt eine Konzeption zugrunde, die hinsichtlich des Projekterfolgs von der idealen Passung (Kontingenz) zwischen situativer Anforderung und Change Management ausgeht und damit einhergehende prozessbezogene Einflussfaktoren berücksichtigt. Erfolg wird im Sinne der Nachhaltigkeit als Wirkungen wirtschaftlicher, organisationsbezogener und qualifikatorischer Art definiert.<br><br> In drei Teilstudien wurden Beratende und betriebliche Beteiligte jeweils projektbezogen schriftlich und mündlich zu betrieblicher Ausgangslage, Veränderungsprinzipien, Wirkungen und prozessbezogenen Einflussfaktoren befragt. Die erste Teilstudie umfasst vier Fallstudien. Hier wurden insgesamt 18 Projektbeteiligte, jeweils Beratende, betriebliche Projektleitende und &ndash;mitarbeitende, befragt. Die zweite Teilstudie umfasst die schriftliche und mündliche Befragung von 31 Beratenden verschiedener Schulen des Change Managements. In der dritten Teilstudie wurden 47 betriebliche Veränderungsverantwortliche schriftlich befragt.<br><br> Die Projekte der zweiten und dritten Teilstudie liessen sich in jeweils zwei statistisch abgesicherte Erfolgsgruppen einteilen, wobei sich die Erfolgsgruppen nicht systematisch auf Merkmalen der betrieblichen Ausgangslage unterscheiden. Folgendes sind die wichtigsten Ergebnisse:<br><br> Bei traditionell-bürokratischen Organisationsstrukturen geht ein langfristig-kontinuierliches, graduell-anpassendes, pragmatisch-lösungsorientiertes Vorgehen, in flexiblen Strukturen dagegen ein kurzfristiges, tiefgreifendes und integrativ-konzeptuelles Vorgehen mit Projekterfolg einher.In traditionell-hierarchischen Führungsstrukturen erweist sich ein wenig humanzentriertes und wenig selbstbeurteilendes Vorgehen mit standardisierter Vorgehensmethode, in flexiblen Führungsstrukturen ein stark humanzentriertes und ausgeprägt selbstbeurteilendes Vorgehen mit angepasster Vorgehensmethode als erfolgsversprechend.Bei grossem betrieblichem Veränderungswissen erweist sich ein selbstbeurteilendes Vorgehen, bei geringem Veränderungswissen ein wenig selbstbeurteilendes Vorgehen als erfolgsversprechend.Angesichts ökonomischer Anforderungen geht ein langfristig-kontinuierliches, schnelles und rollend geplantes Vorgehen mit einem tiefgreifenden und integrativ-konzeptuellen Ansatz, unter wenig Einbezug von Fremdbeurteilungen mit positiven Wirkungen einher.Bei technologischen Anforderungen ist ein langfristig-kontinuierliches, langsames und tiefgreifendes Vorgehen mit wenig Fremdbeurteilung erfolgsversprechend.Für soziokulturelle Anforderungen erweist sich ein langsames, selbstbeurteilendes, graduell anpassendes und pragmatisch-fokussiertes Vorgehen als erfolgreich. Angesichts politisch-rechtlicher Anforderungen geht ein linear geplantes, zielfokussiertes, fachberaterisches und wenig prozessorientiertes Vorgehen mit Erfolg einher.Bei Gesamtreorganisationen als innerorganisationale Anforderungen erweist sich ein linear geplantes, fach- und prozessberaterisches sowie tiefgreifendes Vorgehen als erfolgsversprechend.Bei innerorganisationalen Anforderungen durch Führungswechsel geht ein kurzfristig-temporäres, integrativ-konzeptuelles Vorgehen mit angepasster Vorgehensmethode mit Erfolg einher.<br><br> Hinsichtlich prozessbezogener Einflussfaktoren erweisen sich situationsspezifisches Beratendenhandeln, unterstützendes Führungsverhalten, grosse Akzeptanz der/des Beratenden, umfassender Einbezug der Mitarbeitenden, aktive Beteiligung und Engagement der Mitarbeitenden, Verankerung des Projekts in der Organisation und hoher wahrgenommener Nutzen der Veränderung als wichtigste unterstützende Faktoren.<br><br> Widerstände aus der Belegschaft, problematisches Führungsverhalten im Veränderungsprozess, fehlende/mangelhafte neben Tagesgeschäft bereitgestellte Ressourcen, behindernde organisationale (nicht projektbezogene) Entwicklungen, Angst/Verunsicherung der Belegschaft sind die wichtigsten hemmenden Faktoren. / Dealing with the theme of change management requires an examination of a heterogeneous field of approaches and subject perspectives. Systematic empirical investigations of this theme are lacking. In particular, works that take account of more than one school of thought regarding change management are scarce. Furthermore, differences in situational requirements are often insufficiently considered both from a theoretical and empirical point of view. It can be assumed that the failure of change processes is frequently caused by the stereotypical use of generalized recommendations of common approaches. In order to combat these deficits, this work aims to empirically examine contingencies of situational requirements and change management.<br><br> The investigation is based on a concept that assumes that an ideal fit (contingency) between situational requirements and change management is necessary for the success of a project and takes into account the accompanying process-related influencing factors. Success is defined in the sense of sustainability as economic, organization and qualification-related types of effects.<br><br> In three part studies, consultants and those involved on an operational level were, based on the relevant project, questioned in oral and written form on the operational starting positions, change principles, effects and process-related influencing factors. The first part study comprises four case studies in which a total of 18 persons involved in the project, made up of consultants, operational project leaders and project workers, were questioned. The second part study comprises the written and oral survey of 31 consultants from different schools of thought regarding change management. In the third part study, 47 persons responsible for operational change were questioned in a written survey.<br><br> It was possible to divide each of the projects from the second and third part studies into two statistically valid success groups, whereby the success groups did not differ systematically in terms of features of the operational starting positions. The most important results are as follows:<br><br> Project success in traditional-bureaucratic organization structures is associated with a long-term, continuous, gradually adaptive, pragmatic, solution-oriented procedure. In flexible structures, on the other hand, success comes with a short-term, far-reaching and integrational, conceptual procedure. In traditional-hierarchical management structures, a minimally human-centered and less self-evaluative process with a standardized procedure proves to be conducive to success, while in flexible management structures, a strongly human-centered and markedly self-evaluative procedure with an adaptive approach shows itself to be beneficial. In terms of great operational knowledge of change, a self-evaluative procedure proves to be most promising, while with little knowledge of change, a less self-evaluative procedure should be favored. In view of economic requirements, a long-term, continuous, quick and cascading procedure with a far-reaching and integrational, conceptual approach and little involvement of evaluation by others yields positive effects. In terms of technological requirements, a long-term, continuous, slow and far-reaching procedure with a low amount of evaluation by others is conducive to success. For socio-cultural requirements, a slow, self-evaluative, gradually adaptive and pragmatically focused procedure proves to be successful. In view of political and legal requirements, a procedure that is planned in a linear fashion, is goal-oriented, includes expert consultancy and a minimal amount of process orientation will bring about success. With complete reorganizations as requirements within an organization, a procedure that is planned in a linear fashion, has expert and process consulting aspects and is far-reaching is conducive to success. In terms of requirements within an organization brought about through management change, a short-term, temporary, integrational, conceptual procedure with an adaptive approach will lead to success. With regard to process-related influencing factors, a situation-specific approach by consultants, supportive management behavior, a high level of acceptance of the consultant, a comprehensive involvement of the employees, their active participation and commitment, anchoring of the project in the organization as well as high perceived use of the ensuing change prove to be the most important supporting factors.<br><br> Resistance from staff, problematic management behavior in the change process, a lack of or deficient resources provided in addition to daily business, obstructive organizational (not project-related) developments and anxiety/uncertainty of the staff are the most important inhibitory factors.

The Virtual Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) Process Development Project provides the context for the two areas of the research presented in this dissertation. The first area, generally referred to as feedback in this dissertation, focuses on student learning and the interactions of students and instructors that take place in the project, specifically focused on characterizing feedback and determining the influence of feedback as student teams progress towards completing the project. The characteristics of feedback found in this project are presented within a situative perspective using the analytical framework of episodes. The characteristics include: a list and categorization of episode themes, the structure and flow of episodes during the coaching session, the sub-structure present within individual episodes, and the types of feedback present. This dissertation shows how these characteristics frame participation in a community of practice and can be used as tools to scaffold instructor feedback in project-based learning. Episodes analysis is also used to investigate how feedback on professional skills can help to enculturate students into a community of practice and influence their fluency with professional skills and engagement in more technical activities. The second area examines the spread of this innovative project from its home institution to other institutions. In this area an analysis of the spread of the Virtual CVD Process Development Project in the high school setting is presented. The project was found to provide versatility for instructors and afford student learning in the areas of motivation, cognition, and epistemological beliefs. These two areas inform each other. As the project is assessed at different institutions, it is continually improved and the sensitivity of different aspects of the project is explored, e.g., the aspects of the project that are crucial to maintain effectiveness are identified. One of these aspects is the feedback that takes place in the project. As the project is further examined at the home institution in depth, more can be learned about the best ways it can be delivered. This information informs scaffolding that then can be provided to faculty at other institutions such that they can attend to crucial aspects of the project in the most efficient, effective manner, improving not only the probability of successful adaptation, but also the likelihood that the project will further diffuse to other institutions. / Graduation date: 2013

The purpose of this action research study was to investigate the affects of teaching through a situative perspective with story problems on students' understanding of fraction concepts and operations in my fifth-grade mathematics classroom. Students participated in twelve weeks of instruction. Data was collected in the form of pre and post tests, audiotaped and videotaped recordings of instructional sessions, and student work samples. Data analysis revealed that my students constructed their own knowledge about various fraction concepts and operations because students engaged in discussions, after solving story problems, that developed, extended and restructured their knowledge. One example of this occurred after students had solved an equal-sharing problem. Two students came up with different answers and another student explained why both answers were equivalent. Student work samples and post test results indicated that the one student's explanation was understood, adopted and extended by all the students in my class. The data also revealed that students' pictures typically represented the context and action of the story problems. For example, subtraction problems dealing with length were usually represented by number lines or horizontal rectangles with crossed-out markings to show the subtraction operation. Throughout this research study, I discovered that my students were capable of learning from each other and solving problems for which they have no preconceived algorithm. I also learned that analyzing students' work and listening to their discussions in ways that focused on their thinking, not their answers, provided me with information about what my students were grasping and not grasping.