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To diversify the engineering workplace, we need to broaden participation in engineering. One way to broaden participation is through encouraging integration of engineering activities at home where parents, or more broadly caregivers, facilitate or support engineering activities for their children. This idea is reinforced by previous literature that identifies that (1) elementary-aged children can and should do engineering activities, (2) parents have a longstanding and significant impact on their children in many different ways, (3) parent-child relationships are unique and offer great potential for positive outcomes, and (4) parents can be effective in teaching engineering. While at-home engineering activities are already prevalent, the support resources attached to them are currently lacking for parents. This research is motivated by a desire to understand how parents think about and engage in engineering activities with their children to inform the most effective ways to support parents. This research is scoped to specifically look at the knowledge that 12 parents utilize in engineering activities and identify or perceive as being important in these activities. Given that there are many different types of engineering activities that exist, three different engineering activities that varied by level of structure were included in this study. The well-structured, semi-structured, and ill-structured activities all included a Marble Run toy and a storybook about Mars Rovers that was meant to support an authentic context for the activities. A multiple case study approach was used, where each case represented one of the activities with four parent participants in each case. Data collected for each parent participant included a pre-survey, observed activity engagement, reflection, and pre- and post-interviews. All of this data was coded with a priori codes from the Pedagogical Content Knowledge framework and emergent codes. The findings of this research highlight the role of the following on parent-child engagement in an engineering activity: the rhythm and routine of the parent-child dyad, external influences and independent individual experiences of the parent and the child, parents' ideas about engineering, and the structure of the activity. While the Pedagogical Content Knowledge framework was a useful tool for classification of knowledge, the research findings highlight the role of past experiences and external resources in shaping parents' views on the best way to support their children which is not well documented in this framework. These findings suggest that Frames of Practice may be a better theory to use in thinking about and studying parent-child engagement. Parents utilize existing frames of practice for engaging with their children to dictate the general teaching strategies to utilize. Within specific activities, they also refer to similar neighboring experiences and external resources to refine their frames of practice and modify their strategies used. While parents implement engineering knowledge and strategies, they do not recognize that what they are doing is engineering. There is also variation in the quantity and quality of strategies that are needed for engagement in the different activities, with less structure indicating more skills required of the facilitator and more positive outcomes for the child. For stakeholders invested in parent engagement, this research suggests that we need to (1) validate parents' existing and effective ideas about teaching and engineering by giving parents language that will help them refine their frames of practice through reflection, (2) encourage the use of more advanced pedagogical strategies or engineering strategies, (3) explicitly explain the value of them using the word engineering with their child and the value of continuing to use and talk about the engineering strategies they already implement (brainstorming, planning) with their child, and (4) ensure that parents see the potential engineering connections in the activity. / Doctor of Philosophy / Society needs more qualified engineers and one way to encourage a more diverse workforce is to support greater engagement in engineering at a young age in an effort to support interest development. One way to have more children engaging with engineering is to have parents, or more broadly caregivers, incorporate these activities at home with their children. Previous research has already shown that (1) elementary-aged children can and should do engineering activities, (2) parents have a longstanding and significant impact on their children in many different ways, (3) parent-child relationships are unique and offer great potential for positive outcomes, and (4) parents can be effective in teaching engineering. At-home learning is already prevalent and many engineering activities that parents can implement at home already exist, but the resources and information that come with these activities fall short of providing adequate support for parents. This research is motivated by a desire to understand how parents think about and engage in engineering activities with their children to inform the most effective ways to support parents. This research study describes how 12 parents think about and utilize information when engaging with their children in engineering activities. Many different types of engineering activities exist, and one of the ways in which they can be classified is by their level of structure. A well-structured, semi-structured, and ill-structured activity was included in this research where all activities included a Marble Run toy and a storybook about Mars Rovers that provided a realistic way to think about the activity in real-life terms. Each parent participant completed a pre-survey, observed activity engagement, reflection, and pre- and post-interviews as part of this research. To analyze this data, parent data was analyzed and contextualized prior to building cases formed around the different engineering activities. The findings of this research highlight the role of the following on parent-child engagement in an engineering activity: the rhythm and routine of the parent-child dyad, external influences and independent individual experiences of the parent and the child, parents' ideas about engineering, and the structure of the activity. Parents utilize existing ideas for engaging with their children to dictate the general teaching strategies they use, but they also refer to neighboring experiences and external resources to refine these ideas and modify their strategies used for the specific activity. While parents implement engineering knowledge and strategies, they do not recognize that what they are doing is engineering. There is also variation in the quantity and quality of strategies that are needed for engagement in the different activities, with less structure indicating more skills required of the facilitator and more positive outcomes for the child. For those invested in parent engagement, this research suggests that we need to (1) validate parents' existing and effective ideas about teaching and engineering by giving parents language that will help them refine their ideas about teaching engineering through reflection, (2) encourage the use of more advanced teaching strategies or engineering ideas, (3) explicitly explain the value of using the word engineering with their child and the value of continuing to use and talk about the engineering strategies they already implement (brainstorming, planning) with their child, and (4) ensure that parents see the potential for engineering connections in the activity.

The paper focuses on investigating the relationship between lifestyle and crime in vulnerable neighborhoods. To be more specific, the project will look at how football has an influence on people who live near a criminogenic environment. In addition, other factors from everyday life are also considered to evaluate the social bond of individuals. In the project, an online survey will be conducted. The survey will ask about participant’s experiences at the football club, educational institution and/or workplace, home, weekends, and the streets. Additionally, questions about crime within the participant’s whereabouts will be inquired in the survey. Thereafter, the participants (N=84) will be divided in two groups – participants living in/near vulnerable neighborhoods and those who do not. A quantitative analysis will examine the commitment, attachment, involvement, and belief of individuals and if structured activities are developing a resilience towards criminal environments, behaviors, and ideals. In result, the project discovers that a risky lifestyle is associated with peer relationship, parental bond, alcohol use and the belief and importance of work.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:04:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CandiceASC.pdf: 769255 bytes, checksum: 01e1808b4b2c0797f92207e6e65d2f24 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-04-30 / The present study constitutes a discussion about the application of Structured Activities to the construction of the mathematical knowledge, proposed by Richard Skemp. The discussion is based on the research that the author carried out in a public school of the state education chain buy using procedures of the research-action. It investigates the possibility of adoption of the proposal of Skemp in a new reality. It utilizes explanations from several theorists to understand the necessity and, at the same time, to enhance the efficiency of the referred activities in first grades of elementary school when students have their first mathematics teachings. It emphasizes the important rule of the teacher, as mediator to the mental constructions of the child. It presents considerations about the results achieved by the research, noticing the possibility of adoption of the studied proposal even though it is necessary an adjustment of the procedures to appropriate didactic-pedagogic requirements to the educational reality in which this project was done / O presente estudo constitui uma discuss?o em torno da aplica??o das Atividades Estruturadas para a constru??o do conhecimento matem?tico, propostas por Richard Skemp. A discuss?o ? baseada na pesquisa que a autora realizou em uma escola publica da rede estadual de ensino utilizando procedimentos da pesquisa-a??o. Investiga a possibilidade de ado??o da proposta de Skemp em uma nova realidade. Utiliza explica??es de v?rios te?ricos para compreender a necessidade e ao mesmo tempo real?ar a efic?cia das referidas atividades nas s?ries iniciais do ensino de matem?tica. Enfatiza o imprescind?vel papel do professor, como mediador das constru??es mentais da crian?a. Apresenta considera??es sobre os resultados obtidos com a pesquisa reconhecendo a possibilidade de ado??o da proposta estudada embora com reajustes de procedimentos para adequar as exig?ncias did?tico-pedag?gicas ? realidade educativa na qual este trabalho foi realizado

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:04:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LiceuLC_DISSERT.pdf: 582558 bytes, checksum: 77eef9f6ab00def7a0eb1adb59957b9f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-12-20 / The present study investigates how the inter-relationship of the content of polynomial equations works with structured activities and with the history of mathematics through a sequence of activities presented in an e-book, so that the result of this research will proceed will result in a didactic and pedagogic proposal for the teaching of polynomial equations in a historical approach via the reported e-book. Therefore, we have considered in theoretical and methodological assumptions of the History of Mathematics, in structured activities and new technologies with an emphasis on e-book tool. We used as a methodological approach the qualitative research, as our research object adjusts to the objectives of this research mode. As methodological instruments, we used the e-book as a synthesis tool of the sequence of activities to be evaluated, while the questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and participant observation were designed to register and analyze the evaluation made by the research, participants in the structured activities. The processing and analysis of data collected though the questionnaires were organized, classified and quantified in summary tables to facilitate visualization, interpretation, understanding, and analysis of these data. As for participant observation was used to contribute to the qualitative analysis of the quantified data. The interviews were synthetically transcribed and qualitatively analyzed. The analysis ratified our research objectives and contributed to improve, approve and indicate the use of e-book for the teaching of polynomial equations. Thus, we consider that this educational product will bring significant contributions to the teaching of mathematical content, in Basic Education / O presente estudo investiga como se d? a inter-rela??o do conte?do de Equa??es Polinomiais com Atividades Estruturadas e a Hist?ria da Matem?tica por meio de uma sequ?ncia de atividades apresentadas num e-book, de modo que o resultado dessa investiga??o resulte numa proposta did?tica e pedag?gica para o ensino de Equa??es Polinomiais numa abordagem hist?rica por meio do referido e-book. Para tanto, nos fundamentamos em pressupostos te?ricos e metodol?gicos da Hist?ria da Matem?tica, em Atividades Estruturadas e em novas tecnologias, com ?nfase na ferramenta e-book. Utilizamos como abordagem metodol?gica a pesquisa qualitativa, visto que o nosso objeto de pesquisa se ajusta aos objetivos dessa modalidade de pesquisa. Como instrumentos metodol?gicos, utilizamos o ebook como ferramenta s?ntese da sequ?ncia de atividades a ser avaliada, enquanto que os question?rios, entrevistas semiestruturadas e observa??o participante tiveram o intuito de registrar e analisar a avalia??o que os participantes da pesquisa, fizeram das atividades estruturadas. O tratamento e an?lise dos dados colhidos por meio dos question?rios foram organizados, classificados e quantificados em quadros sint?ticos para facilitar a visualiza??o, a interpreta??o, a compreens?o e a an?lise desses dados. Quanto ? observa??o participante, foi utilizada para contribuir com a an?lise qualitativa dos dados quantificados. As entrevistas foram transcritas sinteticamente e analisadas qualitativamente. A an?lise ratificou os nossos objetivos da pesquisa e contribuiu para aperfei?oar, aprovar e indicar o uso do e-book para o ensino de Equa??es Polinomiais. Assim, consideramos que esse produto educacional trar? importantes contribui??es para o ensino desse conte?do matem?tico, na Educa??o B?sica

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:04:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RobsonOS.pdf: 527706 bytes, checksum: 215f631ef1e4979b7dcc88ec12d7b013 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-02-25 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / The aim of the present work is to contribute to the teaching-learning process in Mathematics through an alternative which tries to motivate the student so that he/she will learn the basic concepts of Complex Numbers and realize that they are not pointless. Therefore, this work s general objective is to construct a didactic sequence which contains structured activities that intends to build up, in each student s thought, the concept of Complex Numbers. The didactic sequence is initially based on a review of the main historical aspects which begot the construction of those numbers. Based on these aspects, and the theories of Richard Skemp, was elaborated a sequence of structured activities linked with Maths history, having the solution of quadratic equations as a main starting point. This should make learning more accessible, because this concept permeates the students previous work and, thus, they should be more familiar with it. The methodological intervention began with the application of that sequence of activities with grade students in public schools who did not yet know the concept of Complex Numbers. It was performed in three phases: a draft study, a draft study II and the final study. Each phase was applied in a different institution, where the classes were randomly divided into groups and each group would discuss and write down the concepts they had developed about Complex Numbers. We also use of another instrument of analysis which consisted of a recorded interview of a semi-structured type, trying to find out the ways the students thought in order to construct their own concepts, i.e. the solutions of the previous activity. Their ideas about Complex Numbers were categorized according to their similarities and then analyzed. The results of the analysis show that the concepts constructed by the students were pertinent and that they complemented each other this supports the conclusion that the use of structured activities is an efficient alternative for the teaching of mathematics / O presente estudo visa apresentar uma contribui??o para o processo de ensino-aprendizagem em matem?tica atrav?s de uma alternativa que se prop?e a trazer uma nova motiva??o ao aluno para que este adquira as primeiras id?ias relacionadas ao conceito de n?meros complexos percebendo que estes n?o s?o destitu?dos de sentido. Para tanto, o estudo tem como objetivo geral a constru??o de uma seq??ncia did?tica contendo atividades estruturadas, visando a forma??o dessas id?ias importantes para aquisi??o do conceito pelo aluno. O estudo baseia-se inicialmente em um resgate dos principais aspectos hist?ricos que deram origem ? constru??o desses n?meros. Diante desses aspectos, buscamos nos fundamentar em Richard Skemp na elabora??o de uma seq??ncia de atividades estruturadas onde incorporaremos a hist?ria da matem?tica e tendo como ponto de partida a resolu??o de equa??es quadr?ticas, entendendo que, dessa forma, estar?amos tornando a aprendizagem mais acess?vel, uma vez que esse conceito permeia as s?ries anteriores e, consequentemente, os alunos deveriam estar mais familiarizados a ele. A interven??o metodol?gica iniciou-se com a aplica??o dessa seq??ncia de atividades com alunos de terceiros anos do ensino m?dio de escolas p?blicas que ainda n?o conheciam o conceito de n?meros complexos e foi realizada em tr?s etapas que denominamos: estudo piloto I, estudo piloto II e estudo definitivo, cada uma delas em uma institui??o diferente; as turmas foram divididas aleatoriamente em grupos onde cada grupo escreveria as id?ias que haviam desenvolvido acerca dos n?meros complexos. Isso precedeu o uso de um outro instrumento de an?lise que se trata de uma entrevista gravada do tipo semiestruturada com o objetivo de apurar os caminhos tra?ados pelos alunos durante a resolu??o das atividades desenvolvidas. As id?ias adquiridas foram categorizadas por similaridades e, em seguida, analisadas. Os resultados das an?lises nos mostram que as id?ias formadas foram pertinentes, se completam entre si e fomentam a discuss?o de que o uso de atividades estruturadas com esse fim ? uma alternativa eficiente e poss?vel de ser aplicada, mesmo em realidades escolares mais desfavorecidas