This mixed methods study investigates a number of aspects related to tool-use in undergraduate mathematics as seen from an Activity Theory perspective. The aims of this study include: identifying the tools that undergraduates use; seeking for an empirically-based typology of these tools; examining how undergraduates themselves can be profiled according to their tool-use; and finally identifying the factors influencing students tool preferences. By combining results from survey, interview and diary data analyses, it was found that undergraduates in the sample preferred using mostly tools related to their institution s practice (notes, textbooks, VLE), other students and online videos. All the tools students reported using were classified into five categories: peers; teachers; external online tools; the official textbook; and notes. Students in the sample were also classified into five distinct groups: those preferring interacting with peers when studying mathematics (peer-learning group); those favouring using online tools (online-learning group); those using all the tools available to them (blended-learning group); those using only textbooks (predominantly textbooks-learning group); and students using some of the tools available to them (selective-learning group). The main factor shaping students tool choices was found to be their exam-driven goals when examined from an individual s perspective or their institution s assessment related rules when adopting a wider perspective. Results of this study suggest that students blend their learning of mathematics by using a variety of tools and underlines that although undergraduates were found to be driven by exam-related goals, this is a result of the rules regulating how Higher Education Institutions (HEI) function and should not be attributed entirely as stemming from individuals practices. Assigning undergraduates exam- driven goals to their university s sociocultural environment, was made possible by combining two versions of Activity Theory (Leontiev and Engestrøm s) and analysing data at two different levels (individual and collective respectively).

<p> Purpose. This study sought to identify, understand, and describe the decision-making processes used by school districts to determine the middle school science course sequence as part of the adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards. Additionally, this study explored and described the expressed comments, feelings, and beliefs of participants involved in the decision process about their experience in the decision-making process and the outcome. </p><p> Methodology. This multiple case study focused on four cases&mdash;three school districts that chose the integrated approach and one district that chose the discipline approach. Ten participants represented the four school districts. Data were collected from each participant utilizing personal face-to-face interviews. </p><p> Findings. Significant findings included: Administrators tended to defer to teachers, because of their expertise, to promote consensus and teacher buy-in; prolonged discussions led to expressions of demoralization among teachers; each of the four school districts used a different approach to the decision&mdash;one depended on expertise of a dedicated science education leader to make a command decision, while three districts included a broad set of participants to promote consensus; conceptual structuring devices facilitated decision making; science teachers with discipline-specific backgrounds tended to prefer the discipline model and were more reluctant to adopt the integrated approach; the professional identity of the science teacher influenced their preference and their feelings about the outcome; and each participant expressed unique perceptions of who was involved in the decision&mdash;teachers tended to downplay the importance of their own influence and to describe the ultimate decision as being in the hands of administrators. </p><p> Conclusions. There is no best approach to selecting a middle school science course sequence. Multiple decision-making approaches resulted in acceptable outcomes, but any approach can be improved by taking steps to promote levels of trust among constituents. </p><p> Recommendations. Educational leaders must understand how the <i> professional identity</i> and <i>science content expertise</i> of science teachers influence their preferences of curricular sequencing. Leaders interested in developing consensus should take careful steps to promote transparency and trust. Participants in the decision should be provided professional development to limit ambiguity, provide guidelines, and promote structuring devices to facilitate the decision.</p><p>

<p> One of the most overlooked and complex problems that universities and colleges face nation-wide is how to reduce and eliminate research misconduct. Because of the confidential nature of allegations of research misconduct and the high rate of underreporting, administrators at scholarly institutions struggle with understanding the cause of such behavior. Without a clear picture of the prevalence of misconduct or the barriers to reporting, leaders at institutions of higher learning find themselves at a disadvantage when dealing with these problems. This uncertainty coupled with a growing regulatory emphasis from federal funding agencies, results in a reactionary approach while questionable practices go unchecked. </p><p> In the early 2000s, federal funding agencies began requiring colleges and universities to provide training in the responsible conduct of research prior to receiving funding. The Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training covers research misconduct (falsification of data, fabricating data, and plagiarism) as well as other topics related to research misbehaviors (mentoring, peer review, data management, authorship, etc). This emphasis on training, while well intended, has not had a significant impact on faculty and student knowledge about misconduct. </p><p> Authentic Leadership Theory is based on Aristotle&rsquo;s concept of authenticity and has gained attention over the last decade. It is comprised of four main components: Balanced processing, internalized moral perspective, relational transparency, and self-awareness. These types of leaders focus on moral standards and values and that is what guides his or her leadership. </p><p> This study evaluates the impact authentic leaders have on shaping the ethical attitudes of faculty when they are placed in direct departmental supervisory positions. A survey of faculty from 15 Mississippi colleges and universities was conducted. Results indicate that the self-awareness and relational transparency constructs of authentic leadership influence faculty attitudes towards objective research integrity issues, but the direction of influence conflicts with each of the constructs. Additional variables failed to reach a level of significance suggesting that other variables, not historically associated with organizational leadership and research integrity, are influencing faculty&rsquo;s ethical perceptions. Additional attention is focused on barriers to effective leadership caused by the compliance focused culture of institutions of higher learning.</p><p>

This thesis explores the connections between dialogue, education and democracy. It begins by asking: ‘what are the implications of dialogic theory for democratic education’? In doing so it draws on concepts from the work of Arendt, Biesta, Dewey and Wegerif: dialogic space as a productive metaphor for education; an ontology of difference in which meaning emerges through dialogue; and authentic democratic action as ‘coming into being’ in negotiation with others. It then asks, ‘Can we teach for democracy?’ by looking at recent practices of citizenship education in Britain. It argues that genuine democratic education must consider students as already being citizens rather than as citizens-in-training, and must offer them opportunities to express their values in action. A theory of ‘responsible leadership’, based on a ‘pedagogy of challenge’, is proposed as a means to enable students to develop the skills and dispositions needed for democratic participation. Short courses in leadership education for teenagers are identified as sites to test this theory. Two empirical studies are detailed, which use a longitudinal case-study approach primarily based on student interviews. The first was a two-day school-based course for academically able 13-18 year olds; the second was a five-day outdoor residential course for 16-18 year olds. Both studies found significant development in students’ skills and dispositions for learning, including: openness to others’ ideas, confidence, greater self-knowledge and better communication skills. In both cases, students’ personal dispositions and insights endured. However, lack of opportunities for democratic action after the courses meant that learned collaborative skills were not strongly embedded; this also meant that ‘responsible leadership’ was not often demonstrated subsequently. Nonetheless, the studies present strong evidence for the transformative power of a pedagogy of challenge, which demands further research.

Narratives of successful navigation are the personal stories of 13 Latin@ undergraduate students who navigated the public school system and completed high school in the United States. Their words recount their individual journeys resulting in their enrollment at a 4-year research university in the Pacific Northwest as opposed to a 2-year community college. More than half of the study respondents begun their postsecondary studies at a community college. The navigation of these particular individuals were experienced differently than those respondents whose trajectory led them straight into the university. Three categories corresponding to the study’s three research questions were analyzed. First, common challenges produced two themes, low social economics status (SES) and ethnic identity. Second, the category on persistence characteristics formulated only one construct, academic self-efficacy. Third, three interlocking themes of supportive factors fostering academic success were identified, the support of parents/ family members/peers, non-familial agents in the form of teachers, and lastly college readiness including AP or honors coursework. The thematic analysis of the respondents’ stories was influenced by the literature that documents challenges historically impeding Latin@ academic achievement and by the research on both persistence and supportive factors. The analyses of the individual navigational experience of the study participants found similarities within their experiences, but it also revealed the complexity of their own singular stories. The study centered more on the aspirations of Latin@ students rather than the damaging effects of their schooling experiences. While some of the respondents’ stories contain examples of challenges, the premise was in representing examples of successful navigation of the Chican@/Latin@ education pipeline (Solórzano, 1998).

A Teoria Educacional de Novak afirma que a aprendizagem significativa integra o pensar, sentir e agir em busca do empoderamento humano para o compromisso e a responsabilidade em aprender. Ela considera o aluno, o professor, o conhecimento, o contexto e a avaliação como elementos fundamentais da educação. A aprendizagem significativa deriva da Teoria de aprendizagem de Ausubel e resulta da relação do novo conhecimento com o existente na estrutura cognitiva. Para que ela ocorra, é necessário conhecimento prévio relevante, material instrucional potencialmente significativo e disposição do aluno em aprender desta forma. Novak e seu grupo de estudos ainda desenvolveram os mapas conceituais com o objetivo de acompanhar e entender como as crianças compreendiam a ciência. Eles são uma ferramenta gráfica de pesquisa, ensino, aprendizagem e avaliação, caracterizados pela estrutura hierárquica e capacidade de buscar e caracterizar ligações cruzadas e exemplos, facilitando a aprendizagem significativa, com vistas ao pensamento criativo. A educação física, no cenário atual, é uma disciplina inserida no currículo escolar brasileiro e vai muito além do ensino de habilidades motoras e melhora das capacidades físicas, integrando os aspectos motor, cognitivo e afetivo. Sendo assim, seu conhecimento precisa ser organizado e sua aprendizagem também pode, e deve, vir a ser significativa. Portanto, tal trabalho teve como objetivo verificar a influência de um planejamento instrucional baseado nas premissas da aprendizagem significativa que utiliza os mapas conceituais e outros recursos didáticos na aprendizagem de conceitos. Para atingir este objetivo, os alunos responderam a um questionário, pré e pós-intervenção, com a finalidade de verificar o avanço na compreensão dos conceitos e fizeram um mapa conceitual, nos dois momentos, para representar como os conceitos estavam organizados na estrutura cognitiva. Os resultados demonstraram que, num total de 49 alunos, 34,69% (n=17) avançaram na questão 1; 24,48% (n=12) avançaram na questão 2; 6,12% (n=3) avançaram na questão 3; 12,24% (n=6) avançaram na quarta questão; 38,77% (n=19) melhoraram na quinta questão; 30,61% (n=15) avançaram na questão 6; na sétima questão houve um aumento da frequência dos exemplos considerados mais refinados e 55,10% (n=27) avançaram na oitava questão. Com relação aos mapas, 32,65% (n=16) melhoram a qualidade dos mesmos em relação ao construído pré-intervenção. Em termos gerais, os resultados permitem concluir que houve melhora na compreensão dos conceitos relativos aos jogos olímpicos após a intervenção, organizada sob os princípios da Teoria Educacional de Novak e que novas ferramentas de ensino e aprendizagem devem fazer parte da educação física escolar / The Novak\'s Theory of Education argues that meaningful learning integrates thinking, feeling and acting in pursuit of human empowerment for commitment and responsibility in learning. It considers the student, the teacher, the knowledge, the context and the assessment as key elements of education. Meaningful learning derives from Ausubel\'s Learning Theory and results from the relationship between the new knowledge with the existing cognitive structure. To occur the meaningful learning; relevant prior knowledge, potentially significant instructional material and and the student\'s desire to learn meaningfully are required. Novak and his group of study also developed concept maps in order to monitor and understand how children understand the science. They are a graphical tool for research, teaching, learning and evaluation, characterized by hierarchical structure and ability to seek and characterize crosslinks and examples, facilitating meaningful learning, aimed at creative thinking. Physical education in the present scenario, it is a discipline inserted in the Brazilian curriculum and goes far beyond the teaching of motor skills and improves physical capacity, integrating the motor, cognitive and affective aspects. Thus, their knowledge needs to be organized and their learning can also, and should prove to be significant. Therefore, this study aimed to verify the influence of an instructional planning based on assumptions of meaningful learning that uses concept maps and other teaching resources in the learning of concepts. To achieve this goal, students answered a questionnaire, pre- and post-intervention for the purpose of checking the progress in understanding the concepts and made a concept map, on both occasions, to represent how the concepts were organized in the cognitive structure. The results showed that a total of 49 students, 34,69% (n=17) improved in question 1, 24,48% (n=12) improved in question 2, 6,12% (n=3) improved in question 3, 12,24% (n=6) improved in the fourth question, 38,77% (n=19) improved in fifth question, 30,61% (n=15) improved in question 6, in the seventh question there was a increased frequency of examples considered more refined and 55,10% (n=27) advanced the eighth question. Regarding maps, 32,65% (n=16) improved their quality in relation to pre-intervention. In general, the results indicate an improvement in the understanding of post-intervention concepts related to the Olympic Games, organized under the Novak\'s Theory of Education principles and that new teaching and learning tools should be part of physical education classes

Thesis advisor: Diana Pullin / It is widely accepted that school leadership has both a direct and indirect impact on student achievement. Hitt and Tucker’s (2016) unified leadership framework summarized a decade of work by numerous researchers identifying the five most effective leadership domains that influence student learning. Using that work as a conceptual framework, this qualitative case study analyzed one of the five interdependent leadership domains in an urban elementary school that succeeded in educating traditionally marginalized students and outperformed other schools with similar demographics in the district. Scholars Hitt and Tucker (2016) state that effective leadership practice includes conveying, communicating and implementing a shared vision. This study focused on the mission-driven leadership practices at the district level and the school level that could have influenced the improved academic outcomes for urban students of color. Another focus of this study was achieving equity for marginalized student populations and whether the district designed policies or programs specifically for students of color in order to eliminate achievement gaps. This study found aligned practices and beliefs at both the district and school level. Findings included a shared understanding of goals and daily practices to achieve the goal. There were expectations in place to observe implementation as well as reliable structures to communicate about goals to maintain a focus on priorities. This project also aimed to learn whether these same practices were engaged if there were initiatives in place to attain equitable outcomes when working with specific marginalized populations. This study found consistency throughout the organization of a resistance to focusing on race. This resistance materialized in the form of taking a color-blind approach to instruction. This approach is in direct contrast to practices called for in the literature for meeting the needs of all students, especially students of color. Recommendations include taking courageous steps as a district by engaging transformational and social justice leadership practices to create an organization that is responsive to the needs of students of color. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Graph theory and its use in school mathematics This thesis deals with the inclusion of some problems of graph theory in education at secondary school. It contains the necessary theory for teachers as well as several examples of graph theory in school mathematics in elementary school; moreover it describes several well-known problems, which can be solved using graph theory. The work also includes preparation of two lessons. The theme of the first one is drawing in one stroke and an Eulerian cycle in general. Second topic is dedicated to mazes and labyrinths, their transformation to graph and few algorithms for passing through the maze. In the experimental part, the author examines whether the students are able to understand the selected parts of graph theory, and whether they find this topic more interesting than the usual mathematics they are used to at school. The results of this experiment are then compared for children from two types of lower secondary schools.

A Teoria Educacional de Novak afirma que a aprendizagem significativa integra o pensar, sentir e agir em busca do empoderamento humano para o compromisso e a responsabilidade em aprender. Ela considera o aluno, o professor, o conhecimento, o contexto e a avaliação como elementos fundamentais da educação. A aprendizagem significativa deriva da Teoria de aprendizagem de Ausubel e resulta da relação do novo conhecimento com o existente na estrutura cognitiva. Para que ela ocorra, é necessário conhecimento prévio relevante, material instrucional potencialmente significativo e disposição do aluno em aprender desta forma. Novak e seu grupo de estudos ainda desenvolveram os mapas conceituais com o objetivo de acompanhar e entender como as crianças compreendiam a ciência. Eles são uma ferramenta gráfica de pesquisa, ensino, aprendizagem e avaliação, caracterizados pela estrutura hierárquica e capacidade de buscar e caracterizar ligações cruzadas e exemplos, facilitando a aprendizagem significativa, com vistas ao pensamento criativo. A educação física, no cenário atual, é uma disciplina inserida no currículo escolar brasileiro e vai muito além do ensino de habilidades motoras e melhora das capacidades físicas, integrando os aspectos motor, cognitivo e afetivo. Sendo assim, seu conhecimento precisa ser organizado e sua aprendizagem também pode, e deve, vir a ser significativa. Portanto, tal trabalho teve como objetivo verificar a influência de um planejamento instrucional baseado nas premissas da aprendizagem significativa que utiliza os mapas conceituais e outros recursos didáticos na aprendizagem de conceitos. Para atingir este objetivo, os alunos responderam a um questionário, pré e pós-intervenção, com a finalidade de verificar o avanço na compreensão dos conceitos e fizeram um mapa conceitual, nos dois momentos, para representar como os conceitos estavam organizados na estrutura cognitiva. Os resultados demonstraram que, num total de 49 alunos, 34,69% (n=17) avançaram na questão 1; 24,48% (n=12) avançaram na questão 2; 6,12% (n=3) avançaram na questão 3; 12,24% (n=6) avançaram na quarta questão; 38,77% (n=19) melhoraram na quinta questão; 30,61% (n=15) avançaram na questão 6; na sétima questão houve um aumento da frequência dos exemplos considerados mais refinados e 55,10% (n=27) avançaram na oitava questão. Com relação aos mapas, 32,65% (n=16) melhoram a qualidade dos mesmos em relação ao construído pré-intervenção. Em termos gerais, os resultados permitem concluir que houve melhora na compreensão dos conceitos relativos aos jogos olímpicos após a intervenção, organizada sob os princípios da Teoria Educacional de Novak e que novas ferramentas de ensino e aprendizagem devem fazer parte da educação física escolar / The Novak\'s Theory of Education argues that meaningful learning integrates thinking, feeling and acting in pursuit of human empowerment for commitment and responsibility in learning. It considers the student, the teacher, the knowledge, the context and the assessment as key elements of education. Meaningful learning derives from Ausubel\'s Learning Theory and results from the relationship between the new knowledge with the existing cognitive structure. To occur the meaningful learning; relevant prior knowledge, potentially significant instructional material and and the student\'s desire to learn meaningfully are required. Novak and his group of study also developed concept maps in order to monitor and understand how children understand the science. They are a graphical tool for research, teaching, learning and evaluation, characterized by hierarchical structure and ability to seek and characterize crosslinks and examples, facilitating meaningful learning, aimed at creative thinking. Physical education in the present scenario, it is a discipline inserted in the Brazilian curriculum and goes far beyond the teaching of motor skills and improves physical capacity, integrating the motor, cognitive and affective aspects. Thus, their knowledge needs to be organized and their learning can also, and should prove to be significant. Therefore, this study aimed to verify the influence of an instructional planning based on assumptions of meaningful learning that uses concept maps and other teaching resources in the learning of concepts. To achieve this goal, students answered a questionnaire, pre- and post-intervention for the purpose of checking the progress in understanding the concepts and made a concept map, on both occasions, to represent how the concepts were organized in the cognitive structure. The results showed that a total of 49 students, 34,69% (n=17) improved in question 1, 24,48% (n=12) improved in question 2, 6,12% (n=3) improved in question 3, 12,24% (n=6) improved in the fourth question, 38,77% (n=19) improved in fifth question, 30,61% (n=15) improved in question 6, in the seventh question there was a increased frequency of examples considered more refined and 55,10% (n=27) advanced the eighth question. Regarding maps, 32,65% (n=16) improved their quality in relation to pre-intervention. In general, the results indicate an improvement in the understanding of post-intervention concepts related to the Olympic Games, organized under the Novak\'s Theory of Education principles and that new teaching and learning tools should be part of physical education classes

Despite indications that colorectal cancer (CRC) screening strategies can decrease mortality and morbidity, screening rates among veterans remains to be low. In the Veterans Affairs (VA), the performance measure for CRC screening is lower than the national standard. This quality improvement (QI) project evaluated the effect of a team-based approach, effective electronic information structures, and the provision of education to nurses and patients in increasing CRC screening rate in primary care from 77% to 85%. CRC screening data were retrospectively collected prior to the start of the project and then compared to screening data 3 months after project implementation. The t test showed a statistically significant increase (p = .009) in CRC screening post intervention. Descriptive analysis was performed to evaluate the knowledge and proficiency of nurses with regard to CRC screening by using pre- and posttest questionnaires. The findings showed that emphasizing the importance of CRC screening among team members as well as appropriately dividing the work was effective in contributing to an increase in CRC screening in primary care. This project contributes to positive social change by increasing the nurses' confidence and proficiency in promoting health and disease prevention among the veterans; decreasing patient suffering; and improving collaboration between providers, nurses, and other departments in the VA primary care.