The purpose of the present study is (1) to investigate factors that influence mathematical problem solving competence for elementary students, (2) to understand the current studies regarding the development of mathematical problem solving competence, and (3) to probe background factors that affect the development of mathematical problem solving competence. The subjects of the study included 710 fifth-graders in Tainan city. The surveys of Thinking Style Inventory, Mathematical Learning Perception Check List as well as Mathematical Problem Solving Competence Test were used as instruments for data collection. A total of 710 questionnaires were delivered and 587valid questionnaires were collected, with fairly high 82.60% return rate. The collected data was tested with descriptive analysis, independent t test¡BANOVA¡Bproduct-moment correlation coefficient,multiple correlation and multiple regression. Based on the data analysis, the six findings of this study are summarized as follows: 1. The low satisfaction with mathematics class was revealed from the analysis of students¡¦ Mathematical Learning Perception Check List. It is suggested boosting subjects¡¦ satisfaction with the mathematics class will enhance the development of mathematical problem solving competence. 2. The positive correlation between administration style and mathematical problem solving competence was shown eminently among all types of thinking styles. The result indicated different function of the thinking styles influenced the development of mathematical problem solving competence in a varied degree. 3. From the analysis of students¡¦ background factor and mathematics problem solving competence, the statistic indicated the length of extra curriculum students devoted to does not affect their mathematical problem solving competence. The factors that influence students¡¦ mathematical problem solving competence the most were shown in the following order: administration district, the social status of father, the social status of mother, gender and the size of school. 4. The comparative variance of the mathematics learning achievement and mathematics problem solving competence was 24.3%. It implied the two influences each other. Students with low mathematical learning achievement show low mathematical problem solving competence and vice versa. 5. When predicting students¡¦ development of mathematical problem solving competence via the data of parents¡¦ social status and mathematical learning perception check list, the result showed the prediction via parents¡¦ social status is less significant. Yet the prediction via mathematical learning perception check list gained the highest variance ratio in this case. 6. In terms of the distribution of parents¡¦ social status, East, North and Middle East were of eminent as compared to South, An-Ping and An-Nan district in Tainan city. The finding implied parents¡¦ social status was a major factor that influence students¡¦ mathematics problem solving ability in administration district, as the £b2 ¡]Eta Squared¡^¡×25.3¢H shown in this study.

The purpose of this study was to understand the relationships between multiple intelligences, thinking styles, and critical-thinking abilities of the fifth- and sixth-grade students. Investigation method was employed in the study. 578 fifth- and sixth-grade students in the suburban and urban areas of Tainan and Kaohsiung participated in this study. The employed instruments included Multiple Intelligences Appraisal, Thinking Styles Appraisal for the Primary Students, and the Test of Critical-thinking Skills for Primary and Secondary School Students. The applied analysis methods were Descriptive Statistics, Hotelling¡¦s , Multivariate Analysis of Variance, Canonical Correlation Analysis, and Discriminant Analysis. The main findings of this study were as follows: 1. There were no significant gender differences in critical-thinking abilities. 2.The students¡¦ critical-thinking abilities in urban areas were better than those in suburban areas. 3. The students¡¦ logical-mathematical intelligence and linguistic intelligence were positively correlated with their abilities of making deductions and evaluating arguments. 4. There were no significant differences in critical-thinking abilities for students with different level of executive thinking style. 5. There were significant differences in critical-thinking abilities for students with different level of legislative thinking style. 6. There were significant differences in critical-thinking abilities for students with different level of judicial thinking style. 7. The students¡¦ living areas, logical-mathematical intelligence, linguistic intelligence, and judicial thinking style were positively correlated with their abilities in recognizing assumptions, making deductions, and evaluating arguments. Finally, the researcher proposed some suggestions for the educational organizations, the primary school teachers, and future studies.

O objetivo principal da pesquisa é descrever os Estilos de Pensamento que operam em duas das principais clínicas envolvidas na assistência clínica ao paciente oncológico em uma Rede Estadual de Alta Complexidade em Oncologia do Sistema Único de Saúde brasileiro: a oncologia e os cuidados paliativos. Para atingir esses objetivo, a proposta é desenvolver uma pesquisa qualitativa a fim de depreender como se configura o objeto de intervenção clínica nos discursos e nas práticas desses Coletivos de Pensamento. A metodologia escolhida foi a entrevista semi-estruturada. Parte-se, inicialmente, da origem e dos elementos que caracterizam a racionalidade biomédica e o modelo de cuidado integral em saúde, analisando as implicações desses modelos no entendimento dos doenças oncológicas e no seu tratamento. Em seguida, desenvolve-se os conceitos de "Estilo de Pensamento" e "Coletivo de Pensamento" de Ludwik Fleck e o do conceito de "enactment" de Annemarie Mol. Utilizo esses conceitos para refletir sobre a construção do conhecimento e da prática médica, em especial nos seus aspectos sociais, ligados à formação e à especialização. Logo após, faz-se uma descrição histórica dos grupos profissionais estudados: a oncologia e os cuidados paliativos. Pro fim, segue-se a descrição da pesquisa de campo e dos resultados coletados nas entrevistas realizadas. O estudo evidenciou que os Estilos de Pensamento dos Paliativistas e oncologistas são muito distintos, quase incomensuráveis, porém também foi possível identificar preocupações e valores comuns e possíveis campos de interseção entre esses dois grupos. / The main objective of the research is to describe the thinking styles which operate at two major clinics involved in clinical care to cancer patients in State Network High complexity in oncology Brazilian System Health: oncology and palliative care. To achieve this goal, the proposal is to develop a qualitative research in order to deduce the configuration of the object of clinical intervention in the discourses and practices of these collective thinking. The methodology chosen was the semi-structured interviews. Breaks, initilly, the origin and the elements that characterize the biomedical rationality and the comprehensive health care model, analyzing the implicationsof these models in the understanding of oncological diseases and their treatment. Thereafter, develops the concept of "Style of Thinking" and "collective thinking" Ludwiki Fleck and the concept of "enactment" Annemarie Mol I use these concepts to reflect on the construction of medical knowledge and practice, in particular its social aspects, linked to training and specialization. Soon after, it is a historical description of the professional groups studied: oncology and palliative care. Finally, here is the description of the field research and the results collected in the interviews. The study showed that the Thinking Styles of oncologists and palliative care are very distinct, almost immeasurable, but it was also possible to identify common concerns and values and possible fields of intersection between these two groups.

O objetivo principal da pesquisa é descrever os Estilos de Pensamento que operam em duas das principais clínicas envolvidas na assistência clínica ao paciente oncológico em uma Rede Estadual de Alta Complexidade em Oncologia do Sistema Único de Saúde brasileiro: a oncologia e os cuidados paliativos. Para atingir esses objetivo, a proposta é desenvolver uma pesquisa qualitativa a fim de depreender como se configura o objeto de intervenção clínica nos discursos e nas práticas desses Coletivos de Pensamento. A metodologia escolhida foi a entrevista semi-estruturada. Parte-se, inicialmente, da origem e dos elementos que caracterizam a racionalidade biomédica e o modelo de cuidado integral em saúde, analisando as implicações desses modelos no entendimento dos doenças oncológicas e no seu tratamento. Em seguida, desenvolve-se os conceitos de "Estilo de Pensamento" e "Coletivo de Pensamento" de Ludwik Fleck e o do conceito de "enactment" de Annemarie Mol. Utilizo esses conceitos para refletir sobre a construção do conhecimento e da prática médica, em especial nos seus aspectos sociais, ligados à formação e à especialização. Logo após, faz-se uma descrição histórica dos grupos profissionais estudados: a oncologia e os cuidados paliativos. Pro fim, segue-se a descrição da pesquisa de campo e dos resultados coletados nas entrevistas realizadas. O estudo evidenciou que os Estilos de Pensamento dos Paliativistas e oncologistas são muito distintos, quase incomensuráveis, porém também foi possível identificar preocupações e valores comuns e possíveis campos de interseção entre esses dois grupos. / The main objective of the research is to describe the thinking styles which operate at two major clinics involved in clinical care to cancer patients in State Network High complexity in oncology Brazilian System Health: oncology and palliative care. To achieve this goal, the proposal is to develop a qualitative research in order to deduce the configuration of the object of clinical intervention in the discourses and practices of these collective thinking. The methodology chosen was the semi-structured interviews. Breaks, initilly, the origin and the elements that characterize the biomedical rationality and the comprehensive health care model, analyzing the implicationsof these models in the understanding of oncological diseases and their treatment. Thereafter, develops the concept of "Style of Thinking" and "collective thinking" Ludwiki Fleck and the concept of "enactment" Annemarie Mol I use these concepts to reflect on the construction of medical knowledge and practice, in particular its social aspects, linked to training and specialization. Soon after, it is a historical description of the professional groups studied: oncology and palliative care. Finally, here is the description of the field research and the results collected in the interviews. The study showed that the Thinking Styles of oncologists and palliative care are very distinct, almost immeasurable, but it was also possible to identify common concerns and values and possible fields of intersection between these two groups.

An exploratory study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence based on Mayer and Salovey's (1990) trait model of emotional intelligence and cognitive thinking styles based on the theory of mental selfgovernment. Emphasis was placed on the influence of emotional intelligence and thinking styles on choice of study field. Participants were 309 students from a Gauteng university. Students registered with the humanities (n=99), management (n=41), sciences (n=131) and engineering (n=38) faculties were compared on the Schutte Self-Report Inventory for emotional intelligence (Schutte et al., 1998) and on the Thinking Styles Inventory (Sternberg & Wagner, 1992). A relationship was found between complex and creative thinking styles and high emotional intelligence. Results from the stepwise multiple regression analysis procedures indicated that the subscales of thinking styles could be significant predictors of emotional intelligence. Students from different faculties were found to have the same level of emotional intelligence and similar thinking styles. / Psychology / MA (Social Sciences) (Psychology)

An exploratory study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence based on Mayer and Salovey's (1990) trait model of emotional intelligence and cognitive thinking styles based on the theory of mental selfgovernment. Emphasis was placed on the influence of emotional intelligence and thinking styles on choice of study field. Participants were 309 students from a Gauteng university. Students registered with the humanities (n=99), management (n=41), sciences (n=131) and engineering (n=38) faculties were compared on the Schutte Self-Report Inventory for emotional intelligence (Schutte et al., 1998) and on the Thinking Styles Inventory (Sternberg & Wagner, 1992). A relationship was found between complex and creative thinking styles and high emotional intelligence. Results from the stepwise multiple regression analysis procedures indicated that the subscales of thinking styles could be significant predictors of emotional intelligence. Students from different faculties were found to have the same level of emotional intelligence and similar thinking styles. / Psychology / MA (Social Sciences) (Psychology)

The purpose of my study is to contribute with knowledge about three teachers’ view on the possibilities and difficulties to support students with intellectual disabilities insocial interaction.to get answers to my research questions in the analysis I have in my qualitative study used the theory of Fleck's model about thinking styles rooted in a socio-cultural perspective. In the study, I have used semi-structured interviews.   My study shows that teacher’s way of thinking affect students' opportunities to practice social interaction. An important finding in the study was that the school management’s attitude, is of great importance for educator’s opportunities to support the students with intellectual disability in social interactions. Through their actions school management affect what attitude and approach teachers will have against students with intellectual disability in school. The thinking styles in the study stems from the special education compensatory approach. Teachers emphasize that they themselves are important in supporting students with their interactions. When there is an interest at the school to include students with intellectual disability and teachers in the school activities, there are opportunities of many venues and situations where special educational students can interact with each other and with other students in a natural way. The study shows, that the teacher thinks that students in compulsory special schools need adult support in different interaction situations. They think that adults are required to create situation where students, with or without intellectual disabilities, can practice social interaction. They also think that adults are needed as role models and to actively participate in the interactions. / Syftet med min studie är att bidra med kunskap om tre pedagogers syn på möjligheter och svårigheter att stödja grundsärskoleelevers sociala samspel i skolan. För att få svar på mina forskningsfrågor i analysen har jag i min kvalitativa studie använt mig av Flecks teorimodell om tankestilar. Modellen bottnar i ett sociokulturellt perspektiv. I studien har jag använt mig av halvstrukturerade intervjuer. Min studie visar att pedagogernas tankestilar påverkar elevernas möjligheter att träna socialt samspel. En viktig upptäckt i studien var att skolledningens förhållningsätt har stor betydelse för pedagogernas möjligheter att stödja grundsärskolans elever i socialt samspel. Genom sitt agerande visar skolledningen vilken inställning och vilket förhållningssätt övrig personal kan ha mot grundsärskolans elever och deras möjligheter till socialt samspel.  De tankestilar som framkommer i studien bottnar i det specialpedagogiska kompensatoriska synsättet. Pedagogerna framhåller att de själva är viktiga för att stödja eleverna i det sociala samspelet. När det finns ett intresse på skolan att inkludera särskolans elever och personal i grundskolans verksamhet, då finns det möjligheter till många mötesplatser och situationer där grundsärskolan elever kan samspela med varandra och med grundskolans elever på ett naturligt sätt. Det framkommer i studien att pedagogerna tycker att det behövs vuxna som stöd i grundsärskoleelevernas olika samspelssituationer. Pedagogerna anser att vuxna behövs för att skapa situationer där elever, med eller utan funktionsnedsättning, får träna socialt samspel. De anser även att vuxna behövs som förebilder och som aktiva deltagare i samspelssituationer.

This study explored how nurses in acute and nurse-led gynaecology wards prioritised patient caseloads ranging in diversity and number of patient conditions. Statistics show that since the introduction of medical termination of pregnancy (MTOP) procedures into the National Health Service (NHS) in 1991, the number of women having this procedure is increasing year on year. To date very little is known about the impact this procedure may have had on nursing practice. The focus of this study was to explore the nursing care when this included, and did not include, caring for women having MTOP. The study was conducted in two parts. The first qualitative study employed non-participant observation and semi-structured interviews of nurses in gynaecology and surgical wards at two hospital sites to examine the external context in which nursing decisions were made. This found that nurses in gynaecology focused on emotional or psychosocial aspects more so than surgical nurses who focused on physical aspects of patient care. The second quantitative study involved a cross-sectional survey of nurses from both ward types in two hospitals sites in Scotland. Internal constructs were examined using personality and thinking styles measures. Nurses were assessed on their emotionality, that is, the numbers of times an emotional care aspect was prioritised. This found that nurses who prioritised the emotional aspects of the task tended to be more conscientious and elected preference for a ‘people-centred’ thinking style. The context in which women have TOP is also important since the findings suggest women may benefit from being cared for in nurse-led rather than in acute wards. Knowing how a person thinks about emotional and physical aspects of care also has implications for those involved in education, and career planning.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T16:57:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Eloiza Gomes.pdf: 2554084 bytes, checksum: 09fecf148bf436579c6ed9f5ea773217 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-12 / The difficulties faced by students starting Engineering courses are usually linked to Mathematics disciplines. The need to prepare and motivate the student is part of a challenge to all involved in this process. The use of cooperative learning with its numerous techniques, contribute to the development of fundamental aspects of a future engineer as the understanding of the role of each individual in a work group, the development of the sense of responsibility and organization, the coexistence with different opinions, the constant learning from co-workers and the need to express themselves clearly. Studies show that understanding the thinking styles of the students can help teachers to offer a better quality instruction to maximize learning outcomes. Researches with elementary school students on styles of mathematical thinking, which are classified into visual, analytical and integrated thinking, show that understanding these styles can help the students to learn mathematics. Within this scenario, the main objective of this research is to identify and analyze ways in which cooperative learning strategy promotes the mobilization of different styles of mathematical thinking by engineering students. To this end we created an activity using the jigsaw method of cooperative learning, developed by Elliot Aronson, involving the study of lines in two and three-dimensional spaces and tested with students in the first year of Engineering School. The results show that this method could make changes in styles of mathematical thinking of some students. It was observed that only students who were initially classified belonging to the integrated or visual had changed their styles, moving to the analytical. It was noticed that the prevalence is the analytical mathematical thinking style, which in part may be a result of the influence exerted by the teacher on students, as this style is valued in the traditional model of education / As dificuldades enfrentadas pelos ingressantes nos cursos de Engenharia estão geralmente vinculadas às disciplinas da área de Matemática. A necessidade de preparar e motivar o aluno faz parte de um desafio colocado a todos os envolvidos neste processo. A utilização da aprendizagem cooperativa, com suas inúmeras técnicas, contribui para o desenvolvimento de aspectos fundamentais na formação do engenheiro, tais como: a compreensão do papel de cada indivíduo na realização de um trabalho em grupo, o desenvolvimento do senso de responsabilidade e organização, a convivência com opiniões distintas, o aprender constante com colegas de trabalho e a necessidade de se expressar claramente. Estudos mostram que compreender os estilos de pensamento dos alunos, pode auxiliar os professores a estabelecerem mudanças em sua prática de ensino no sentido de maximizar os resultados da aprendizagem. Pesquisas sobre estilos de pensamento matemático, que são classificados em visual, analítico e integrado, com alunos do ensino básico, mostram que conhecer tais estilos dos estudantes pode ajudar na aprendizagem da Matemática. Diante deste cenário, o objetivo principal dessa pesquisa é identificar e analisar em quais aspectos a estratégia de aprendizagem cooperativa propicia a mobilização dos diferentes estilos de pensamento matemático por estudantes de Engenharia. Para tanto criou-se uma atividade, utilizando o método jigsaw de aprendizagem cooperativa, desenvolvido por Elliot Aronson, envolvendo o estudo de retas nos espaços bi e tridimensionais, que foi trabalhada junto com os alunos ingressantes de um curso de Engenharia. Os resultados apontam que a utilização de tal método influenciou na mudança de estilos de pensamento matemático de alguns alunos. Observou-se que apenas estudantes que foram inicialmente classificados como pertencentes ao integrado ou visual tiveram seus estilos alterados, passando para o analítico. Percebeu-se que a predominância é do estilo de pensamento matemático analítico o que, em parte, pode ser consequência da influência exercida pelo professor sobre os alunos, uma vez que tal estilo é valorizado no modelo tradicional de ensino

With evidence that arts engagement and nonlinear thinking style both utilize insight, intuition, and emotion in the decision making process, the literature has driven an investigation of the relationship between levels of arts engagement and thinking style preference. This nonexperimental correlational study (N = 101) explored (a) the prevalence of linear, nonlinear, or balanced linear/nonlinear thinking style of professionals working in museums. (b) Whether thinking style has a relationship with (i) age; (ii) sex; (iii) academic major; (iv) occupation; (v) levels of arts engagement. Two theoretical frameworks underpinned this study: (a) new literacies and (b) cognitive styles. A Web-based self-report survey instrument was used to investigate the relation among the variables of interest. Existing literature was used to provide a foundation for the study and guide the research. Correlational, means, and hierarchical regression analysis were used to test the hypothesized model and examine the hypotheses. The means analyses at the descriptive level revealed that females, those in the 60 or older age group, Humanities majors, and those who worked in education demonstrated more balanced linear/nonlinear thinking styles. The correlations results indicated that there was a statistically significant relationship between thinking style and sex and thinking styles and academic major. The hierarchical regression results suggested that after controlling for select demographic variables, only being a Humanities major uniquely predicted significant variance in thinking style. The lack of significant findings of a relationship between thinking style and age did not correspond to existing research that supports a correlation. Additionally, a significant relationship between thinking style and levels of arts engagement was not found during correlational and hierarchical regression analysis. A limitation of this research study was that the Web-based self-report survey version of the Linear/Nonlinear Thinking Style Profile (LNTSP) instrument did not transfer well to online use because the participants had some problem understanding how to score their answers properly. This issue could be handled readily and recommendations are made to revise the Web-base self-report version of the survey for future research use.