This thesis reports the findings of a study of the influence of the classroom learning environment on students cognitive and affective outcomes among 2,498 third-year computing students in 50 university-level classes in Indonesia. Students perceptions of the classroom environment were measured using a modified Indonesian version of the What Is Happening In This Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire. To assess students affective outcomes, a scale derived from the Test of Science Related Attitudes was adapted for use in higher education computing classes and translated into Indonesian. Students' final scores in their mathematics course (either linear algebra or statistics) were used as a measure of cognitive achievement. Secondary aims of the present study were to examine whether differences exist between (a) students perceptions of the actual and preferred classroom learning environment, (b) the perceptions of male and female of the actual and preferred classroom environment and (c) students' perceptions of the actual learning environment in linear algebra and statistics courses. The results of this study make important contributions towards explaining why Indonesian students are achieving at less than desirable levels in their computing courses.

The research reported in this thesis is an in-depth study of teacher-student interactions and science classroom learning environments in Jammu, India. Jammu city is the winter capital of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, situated at the extreme north of India. This is the first time that any learning environment research has been conducted and reported from this part of the world.The objective of this research was to provide further validation information about two already existing learning environment instruments with Indian students and describe, discuss and analyse information on the associations between students perceptions of learning environment and their attitudes and cognitive achievements. Differences in the perceptions of different groups namely gender, religious and cultural were also investigated.The present study commenced with a more positivistic framework, with an aim of providing a large-scale quantitative overview. The Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI), the What is Happening in this Class? (WIHIC) and an Attitude Scale were administered to 1,021 students from 32 science classes in seven different co-educational private schools in Jammu.The data were analysed to determine the reliability, validity and mean of each scale. Students were interviewed to determine further the reliability of the questionnaires, in addition to providing information that might explain the QTI and WIHIC mean scale scores. As a result of critical reflection, the study moved towards a more interpretative framework, drawing on elements of the constructivist and critical theory paradigms. Multiple research methods were used to member and deepen the researchers understanding of the learning environments in Jammu. An educational critique was used to describe the social and cultural factors that could influence the prevailing learning environments .

This thesis investigated professional agency for student teachers in their final practicum of the Auckland College of Education Bachelor of Education (Teaching) early childhood pathway. Professional agency is an element in the matrix representation of the philosophy of the degree programme. Relevant to this study a working definition of professional agency with regard to the practicum was articulated through a consultative process with early childhood colleagues and final year student teachers who were not involved in this investigation. Six student teachers volunteered to engage in this research. Their respective associate teachers and visiting lecturers also agreed to contribute to the investigation. All participants were interviewed by means of semistructured interviews before and after the final practicum. This process provided a total of thirty- six interviews, which were transcribed and analysed. The research was based in a constructivist-interpretive research paradigm with a view to understanding social reality as perceived by the research participants. The methodology encompassed a qualitative case study approach framed within Giddens' (1984) theory of structuration. Congruent with Giddens' theory the practicum was constructed as a social system and the relevant actors were identified. Subsequently, data analysis revealed the student teachers as actors who operated with agency. However, when the concept of professional agency was investigated only three of the six student teachers were deemed to have achieved all of the elements of the working definition. Pertinent to Giddens' theory the intersections of practice between the student teachers and their associate teachers and visiting lecturers were examined. This scrutiny illuminated factors that were perceived to have contributed to or detracted from professional agency. / A further mode of analysis advocated by Giddens revealed that practices actioned in the social system or context of the tertiary institution were not necessarily effectively carried out in the practicum environment. Therefore, due to lack of appropriate links between social and system integration, provision for professional agency was impeded. Findings from the research prompted the argument that opportunity for student teachers to achieve professional agency in their final practicum was contingent upon system integration in the practicum. Arising from that conclusion a theoretical model to promote system integration in the practicum was proposed. The model was supported by recommendations for improved practicum preparation for the early childhood student teachers, and on-going professional development in supervisory practice for the visiting lecturers and the associate teachers. Principles to underpin the supervision of adults in the practicum were identified, and a reconstructed working definition of professional agency was articulated. A significant outcome of this research was the introduction of the notion of student teacher professional agency to the research literature on the practicum. Another important feature was the utilisation of Giddens' (1984) theory of structuration to analyse the practicum. In viewing the practicum as a social system, and applying the three modes of analyses recommended by Giddens, new insights into the professional practices of the relevant social actors were gained.

Software agents are well-suited to assisting users with routine, repetitive, and time-consuming tasks in various educational environments. In order to achieve complex tasks effectively, humans and agents sometimes need to work together. However, some issues in human agent interaction have not been solved properly, such as delegation, trust and privacy. The agent research community has focused on technologies for constructing autonomous agents and techniques for collaboration among agents. Little attention has been paid to supporting interactions between humans and agents. p* The objectives of this research are to investigate how easy it might be for a user to program his/her agent, how users behave when given the ability to program their agents, whether access to necessary help resources can be improved, and whether such a system can facilitate collaborative learning. Studying users concerns about their privacy and how an online learning environment can be built to protect users privacy are also interesting issues to us. <p>In this thesis two alternative systems were developed for programmable agents in which a human user can define a set of rules to direct an agents activities at execution time. The systems were built on top of a multi-agent collaborative learning environment that enables a user to program his or her agent to communicate with other agents and to monitor the activities of other users and their agents. These systems for end user programmable agents were evaluated and compared. The result demonstrated that an end-user programming environment is able to meet users individual needs on awareness information, facilitate the information exchange among the users, and enhance the communication between users within a virtual learning environment. This research provides a platform for investigating concerns over user privacy caused by agent programmability.

Software agents are well-suited to assisting users with routine, repetitive, and time-consuming tasks in various educational environments. In order to achieve complex tasks effectively, humans and agents sometimes need to work together. However, some issues in human agent interaction have not been solved properly, such as delegation, trust and privacy. The agent research community has focused on technologies for constructing autonomous agents and techniques for collaboration among agents. Little attention has been paid to supporting interactions between humans and agents. p* The objectives of this research are to investigate how easy it might be for a user to program his/her agent, how users behave when given the ability to program their agents, whether access to necessary help resources can be improved, and whether such a system can facilitate collaborative learning. Studying users concerns about their privacy and how an online learning environment can be built to protect users privacy are also interesting issues to us. <p>In this thesis two alternative systems were developed for programmable agents in which a human user can define a set of rules to direct an agents activities at execution time. The systems were built on top of a multi-agent collaborative learning environment that enables a user to program his or her agent to communicate with other agents and to monitor the activities of other users and their agents. These systems for end user programmable agents were evaluated and compared. The result demonstrated that an end-user programming environment is able to meet users individual needs on awareness information, facilitate the information exchange among the users, and enhance the communication between users within a virtual learning environment. This research provides a platform for investigating concerns over user privacy caused by agent programmability.

The clinical experience prepares nursing students to become competent and professional practitioners. Therefore, it is important to identify the key characteristics of a positive and constructive clinical learning environment. This cross-sectional study assessed undergraduate nursing students. (n=61; response rate of 38%) perceptions of their clinical learning environment and their suggestions to enhance it. The participants were fourth year nursing students enrolled in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Manitoba who were doing their senior practicum (NURS 4290). Participants were invited to complete anonymously the actual and preferred versions of the Clinical Learning Environment Inventory (CLEI) (Chan, 2001). It was found that there were significant differences between students. perceptions of the actual and the preferred CLEI they desired. Participants also responded to two open-ended questions related to obstacles or things that would enhance their learning experience. Nine categories were identified that added to an understanding of the quantitative findings. The study indicated that there is still work to be done to provide a healthy clinical learning environment for nursing students and this task belongs to nursing researchers, educators, and health care organization preceptors and leaders.

The clinical experience prepares nursing students to become competent and professional practitioners. Therefore, it is important to identify the key characteristics of a positive and constructive clinical learning environment. This cross-sectional study assessed undergraduate nursing students. (n=61; response rate of 38%) perceptions of their clinical learning environment and their suggestions to enhance it. The participants were fourth year nursing students enrolled in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Manitoba who were doing their senior practicum (NURS 4290). Participants were invited to complete anonymously the actual and preferred versions of the Clinical Learning Environment Inventory (CLEI) (Chan, 2001). It was found that there were significant differences between students. perceptions of the actual and the preferred CLEI they desired. Participants also responded to two open-ended questions related to obstacles or things that would enhance their learning experience. Nine categories were identified that added to an understanding of the quantitative findings. The study indicated that there is still work to be done to provide a healthy clinical learning environment for nursing students and this task belongs to nursing researchers, educators, and health care organization preceptors and leaders.

Abstract Teaching in the university has been under pressure to change in recent years. On the one hand, there is financial pressure to decrease resources on the other, there is a need to keep quality and quantity of education offered high and to give due consideration to changes in technology and learning methods. One response to these pressures has been to study if it is possible to build a learning environment for Control Engineering that is available to students virtually. It could help to distribute materials and facilitate overall communication, from course information through student feedback. It could also make studying more efficient by enabling better follow-up of learning and use of interactive functions. The development of a Web-based learning environment for Control Engineering started from a simple model of learning theories and course content. This model was applied to that context, and an open learning environment was developed and implemented. The implementation is referred to as Control Web. Functions were added to Control Web and tuned according to student feedback. The probe method was utilised in the validation. Two courses were subjected to under full validation in order to carry out validation for the whole system. Student feedback, grades, and credits during the years 1993 to 2000 were analysed. According to the results, the system implemented has performed well. However, the explicit influence of using the Web-based learning environment can be seen in only few cases; there are too many variables in the overall learning situation. The results and experiences yield an enhanced model for developing a learning environment and a tool that indicates a need to change course parameters.

Master of Public Health - MPH / Background: Globally there is an urgent requirement for skilled nurses. For this reason, interventions in nursing education need to be carefully assessed and strategically planned and coordinated. In order to establish an effective clinical learning environment at education institutions, it is strongly recommended that one should gain insights from the perceptions of students, regarding their experience of their learning environment. Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate the undergraduate nursing students’ perceptions of the psychosocial clinical learning environment in a Higher Education Institution. Methodology: A quantitative descriptive survey design was used for this study in the form of questionnaires. The study utilized the pre-existing Clinical Learning Environment Inventory (CLEI) instrument developed by Chan (2001). The study utilised third year and fourth-year undergraduate nursing students. The target population comprised third year undergraduate nursing students (n=250), and fourth year undergraduate nursing students (n=248). The total target population was (n=498) undergraduate nursing students. A random sampling technique was used to select the study sample size of n=218. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to two hundred and eighteen (218) respondents during class time and two hundred and eighteen (218) completed questionnaires were returned. The data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science version 25. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to generate frequencies, mean values, median and standard deviation of observations. Reliability and validity of the study was ensured as described in the methodology section. Permission to use students for the study was sought from the registrar of the University. Informed written 3 consent was sought from all the participants in this study. The ethical principles were adhered to ensure confidentiality and anonymity of the participants throughout the study and beyond. Results: The fourth year respondents, 64.7% (n=90) agreed that their facilitators often think of interesting activities compared to their third-year counterparts, 35.3% (n=49); whereas, 63.6% (n=77) agreed that the facilitator thinks up innovative activities for students as compared with 36.4% (n=44) third years. This significant difference between the year levels cannot be justified from the study findings. However, it can be attributed to an underestimation of the impact of innovation and its impact on teaching and learning. The perception of fifty percent (50%) each for both year levels reported that the clinician talks more, rather than listening to the students. These findings indicate that communication between students and their clinical facilitator is hindering the clinical learning experience. There was a significant difference found between the groups (t=1.1, p=.027), as the average opportunities for interaction between students and clinical facilitators were lower for third year [2.3(±0.4)], compared with the average participation score for the fourth year 2.4 (±0.4). Most of the respondents, 81.2% (n=177) reported that clinical placement was a waste of time. The findings showed that the degree of satisfaction declined as students progressed from third to fourth year. There was a significant difference between the groups with 91.1% (n=102) fourth years reporting that clinical placement was a waste of time compared to 70.8% (n=75) of their third-year counterparts. A probable explanation for this might be the fact that the learning objectives and activities differed in the academic progression. The extent to which students are allowed to make decisions and are treated fairly was found to be more favourable by fourth years than third years, with mean scores of 2.7±0.4 and 2.6±0.4 respectively; thus highlighting a greater level of independence at the more senior 4 level. Study findings reported that 47% (n=102) agreed that the preceptor/clinician often became side-tracked instead of sticking to the point and only 45.9% (n=100) stated that clinical placements were disorganized. The findings from this study indicated that half of the students did experience a certain level of clarity and organization across their classes, while others did not consistently receive this level of clarity. Conclusion: The findings of the study indicates that there was inadequate supervision, poor student-mentor interaction, a lack of clarity and organization and ineffective teaching methods that impacted negatively on their decision making skills and revealed the need for new strategies to be implemented in the nursing education system, in order to ensure a successful CLE. Recommendations: This study demonstrated that students perceive the CLE as a place to learn and obtain skills for the nursing profession, yet their perceptions of how they were taught did not reflect their enjoyment of learning, and showed room for improvement in how clinical facilitators used different teaching methods, interacted with learners, and allowed them to make decisions, all the while ensuring that the lines of communication were kept open. Clarity and an organizational culture were lacking in the students learning environment which impacted negatively on their perception of learning. It is imperative that clinical facilitators evaluate their behavior with students consistently, be aware of their behavior and be open to suggestions and recommendations on how to improve their teaching.

As social media evolves, educators and other professionals have taken advantage of it as a teaching resource. This research focused on exploring the role of Instagram as a learning technology on health and fitness. In this research, there are references to literature that document the impact of social media on health and fitness. This study also highlights several features found on Instagram, Facebook, Twitch, YouTube, and other similar platforms to deliver learning content in real time. Several articles in this dissertation mentioned how social media content can influence the audience and their thoughts on health and fitness. Social media presents the opportunity to access information, impart knowledge as well as other forms of interaction.