Schools face the problem of recruiting and retaining students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) degrees. One reason that students leave STEM fields is because their introductory classes are too hard or not engaging. These introductory classes are typically taught using a lecture-heavy, instructor-centered approach, contrary to current evidence based pedagogy. Many who call for teacher reform put the blame on the way teachers are educated, which is often not student-centered, citing that because ‘teachers teach the way they were taught,’ current education is also not student-centered. The idea that ‘teachers teach the way they were taught’ is commonly used to promote an agenda for improved teaching training and accepted as fact in the scientific literature. However, little empirical data has been collected to support this conclusion. We aimed first to determine empirically if teachers teach the way they were taught, and second to determine the influences behind teaching practices. We observed, surveyed, and interviewed a sample of 44 instructors at seven colleges and universities throughout the state of Utah who taught select STEM introductory courses. Instruments used included observational, survey, and interview protocols developed specifically for this study during preliminary trials, and inspired by the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP). A paired t-test was used to compare the professors’ teaching practices with their own educational experiences. Interview responses were then grouped into common categories and used to determine the influences behind teaching practices. We discovered that there is a significant difference between how teachers teach and how they were taught during their own educational experience. This finding does not support our hypothesis that teachers teach the way they were taught. Qualitative data from interviews introduces a new hypothesis that teachers teach the way they themselves preferred to be taught, or the way they think students learn best, demonstrating that teachers are taking a much more metacognitive approach to teaching than is suggested by that famous quote, ‘teachers teach the way they were taught.’ Our results suggest that reform classes and workshops develop a more metacognitive approach to exposing future teachers to current, evidence based pedagogy, allowing teachers to reflect on their own learning and experience for themselves the benefits of student-centered learning. These future teachers will then apply what they learn if they are convinced it is a better way to teach students. They will teach the way they were taught because they experienced a positive experience when leaning.

Traditional methods of teaching (i.e., didactic reading and lecture) remain the primary way instruction is delivered in construction management (CM) classrooms. This is true despite a growing body of literature promoting more contemporary, student-centered pedagogies that offer improvements over traditional teaching models. One of these is object-based learning (OBL), a student-centered approach that uses digital learning objects (LOs), such as videos, images, animations, mobile apps, and educational games, to facilitate deep and engaging learning experiences. One of the most common types of LO is instructional videos. Over the past quarter century, abundant research has been conducted in the field of computer science to advance the quality and reach of instructional video LOs. In contrast, a relatively small amount of research has been dedicated to understanding them in terms of their pedagogical efficacy. This is especially true for the field of CM. Very little empirical research currently exists at the intersection of CM and OBL. This dissertation examines the ability of supplemental instructional videos (SIVs) — a specific type of instructional video that complements other forms of instruction, including in-person teaching, readings, and group work, to deliver a full learning experience — to improve both the performance and the quality of the learning experience for undergraduate CM students. The first chapter of the dissertation is introductory, providing information about the major themes of the dissertation including construction management education, OBL, SIVs, and flipped classrooms. The second chapter explores the foundational learning theories that support OBL in a flipped CM classroom. A theoretical framework is proposed that can be used by teachers to guide them as they tailor their own approach for using instructional videos. The third chapter presents an interdisciplinary synthesis of best practices for the design and development of SIVs. Using these best practices, I document the production process of SIVs for an undergraduate CM course called Residential Construction Technologies. The fourth and fifth chapters cover a study in which the SIVs I developed were used as teaching aids for pre-class readings in Residential Construction Technologies. Chapter Four centers on a repeated measures experiment that was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the SIVs at improving student performance. Chapter Five uses surveys and interviews to understand student perceptions of the SIVs. Overall, I found that the SIVs had little measurable effect on improving the student's grades. However, overwhelmingly, the students reported that they valued having the videos, and felt that they helped with their understanding of unfamiliar or complicated course topics. Chapter Six concludes the dissertation with a short synthesis of all chapters and summary of their major themes and findings. / Doctor of Philosophy / Increasingly, teacher-made instructional videos are being used as educational tools in university classrooms. Unfortunately, not much guidance is available to help teachers with this task, and many of the videos being produced today are both low quality and ineffective. This dissertation's purpose is to help teachers find an efficient way to produce effective and appealing instructional videos for their specific learning audiences. Although this work was executed in a construction management (CM) context, teachers in many fields can benefit from the research. The first major accomplishment of the dissertation is an educational framework that teachers can use to incorporate instructional videos in their own curriculums. Next, a collection of the current best-practice guidelines for the design and development of instructional videos was assembled and explained. Using the guidelines for ourselves, I produced twelve short videos on various construction topics to be used in an undergraduate CM course called Residential Construction Technologies. The videos were designed to accompany readings that the students were assigned to complete before coming to class. To understand if the videos were effective teaching aids, I conducted an experiment to measure whether the videos made a difference to the students' grades. Additionally, I asked the students with a survey and interviews to describe how they felt about the videos. Overall, I found that the videos had little impact in improving the student's scores. However, overwhelmingly, the students reported that they valued and appreciated having the videos and they felt that they helped with the reading topics.

Social media technologies are networked technological tools that can provide opportunities for productive socialization and collaboration. While social media are being incorporated increasingly into formal classroom settings, there is very little research available providing specific evidence for the affordances and limitations of social media as educational tools. It is also unclear whether undergraduates are open to, or already using social media for educational purposes. The current study explores Facebook as a collaborative and participatory learning tool to provide information on sex-related topics to undergraduate students. Connected learning was used as the guiding framework for exploring the ways that social media blend peer culture, academics, and learner interests to promote learning through interactions with a learning community. Results of the study indicate that undergraduate students were open and willing to using social media in academic contexts. However, students did not contribute comments directly to the study page resulting in a lack of evidence confirming whether connected learning occurred. Based on student responses, instructors hoping to integrate social media into their courses would do well to focus on maintaining responsiveness to students, promoting the development of a learning community, and varying the style and format of posts. It was determined that social media sites such as Facebook would serve best as supplemental, but intentional educational technologies rather than the basis for creating entire courses. Further research should center on understanding the participation and lurking patterns of students in educational social media environments, as well as the driving factors behind these participation patterns. / Ph. D.

This study investigated how students’ perceptions of course choice and structure are related directly or indirectly to their sense of autonomy, academic emotions, and use of self-regulated learning strategies with the hypothesis of significant relationship of these two areas of instructional practice to those outcome variables. In this study, a total of 601 undergraduate students were asked to respond to surveys on perceived choice, perceived structure, perceived autonomy, academic emotions, and self-regulated learning strategies as well as basic course characteristic information measure with regard to a specific course in which they were enrolled. Structural Equation Modeling suggested both students’ perceived choice and perceived structure in the classroom had small but positive relationships to their perceived autonomy. Regarding the relationships between these two teaching strategies and academic emotions, the level of students’ perceived choice was directly associated only with higher feeling of enjoyment, but indirectly related to all four academic emotions with mediation of the level of perceived autonomy in the direction that one would predict (i.e, higher enjoyment and pride, lower anger and anxiety). On the other hand, perceived structure predicted those four academic emotions not only directly but also indirectly via sense of autonomy in predicted direction. Regarding their relationships with self-regulated learning strategies, neither perceived choice nor perceived structure directly predicted use of self-regulated learning strategies. However, their relationships were supported through the mediation of academic emotions, sense of autonomy, or both. This research helps to provide a clearer picture of autonomy supportive teaching. In particular, this study might help to understand how provisions of choice and structure, which are controversial instructional methods about autonomy supportive teaching, influence the entire process of learning including academic emotions and self-regulation of learning as well as sense of autonomy. / text

Ao longo das últimas duas décadas, o setor público viu-se sob maior pressão para melhorar seu desempenho e demonstrar maior transparência e avaliação de resultados. Historicamente, o setor público brasileiro apresenta uma estrutura departamental e burocrática, o que dificulta a coordenação das atividades e diminui a eficiência e a eficácia de seus serviços. Diante desta realidade, algumas instituições públicas do setor brasileiro vêm buscando melhorias em sua forma de operar. A abordagem por processo fornece uma alternativa para a estrutura estática e fragmentada da organização, proporcionando uma visão sistêmica, com foco no cliente ou cidadão. Neste contexto, o objeto de estudo deste trabalho foram as instituições públicas de ensino superior (IPES) brasileiras, com foco no aperfeiçoamento de seus processos administrativos. Os objetivos alcançados com o trabalho foram os seguintes: estudo das características administrativas de instituições públicas de ensino superior brasileiras, sua forma de operar e sua cultura organizacional; pesquisa sobre metodologias de aperfeiçoamento de processos, desenvolvidas tanto no setor privado como no setor público; realização de estudo de múltiplos casos de aperfeiçoamento de processos administrativos em IPES; identificação de padrões e diferenças entre os casos estudados, avaliando os modelos viáveis em diferentes situações; e, por fim, proposta de modelo de aperfeiçoamento de processos administrativos para IPES, com base nos casos estudados. A metodologia utilizada foi o estudo de casos múltiplos, com abordagem qualitativa. A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de observação direta (a autora participou dos casos como consultora), análise documental e entrevistas semiestruturadas. Como conclusão deste trabalho, foi possível identificar atividades que devem ser enfatizadas ao se realizar intervenções de mudança em IPES brasileiras: (1) Preparar a organização para a intervenção - atividade essencial para o sucesso das mudanças, necessária para se obter uma compreensão adequada dos objetivos da intervenção e o comprometimento de todos, inclusive da alta direção; (2) Implantar melhorias nos processos com a participação ativa dos funcionários, que devem ter alto grau de autonomia na geração de sugestões de melhoria, visando obter maior motivação e menor resistência às mudanças; (3) Capacitar os funcionários da organização, difundindo os conceitos e técnicas utilizados durante a intervenção, com o objetivo de obter participação ativa dos mesmos e aumentar a motivação e a compreensão sobre os trabalhos executados; (4) Divulgar os resultados alcançados para motivar a continuação dos trabalhos; (5) Criação de grupo interno, com o objetivo de dar suporte aos gestores dos processos e de dar continuidade aos trabalhos. Considerando que na literatura existem poucos relatos sobre aperfeiçoamento de processos no setor público brasileiro, os resultados obtidos neste trabalho consistem em contribuição para a teoria, uma vez que abrangem fatores específicos do setor público e sua influência sobre programas de melhoria. Além disso, diante da grande necessidade de melhoria dos processos administrativos do setor, a descrição dos casos e a análise dos resultados das intervenções apresentam evidente aplicação prática, uma vez que proporcionam uma base para trabalhos futuros. / During the past two decades, the public sector has been under pressure for improving its performance and showing more transparency and assessment of results. Historically, the Brazilian public sector has developed a departmental and bureaucratic structure, which makes difficult the activity coordination and service efficiency and efficacy. In this scenario, some public institutions of the Brazilian public sector have searched for improvements in its modus operandi. Process approach provides an alternative to the static and fragmented structure of organization, providing a systemic vision, focused on the customer or citizen. In this context, the object of the present study were Public Institutions of Undergraduate Education (PIUE), focusing on their administrative processes. The objectives reached with this work were: study of administrative PIUE characteristics, their modus operandi and organizational culture; research of process improvement methodologies, developed both in private and public sectors; multiple-case study of administrative process improvement in PIUE; identification of patterns and differences in the studied cases, evaluating viable models in different situations; and, finally, proposal of a model for administrative process improvement in PIUE, based on the studied cases. The methodology used was multiple-case study, with qualitative approach. Data were collected through direct observation (authors participated in cases as consultants), documental analysis and semi-structured interviews. As conclusion of the present work, it was possible to identify activities that must be emphasized in leading change interventions in Brazilian PIUE: (1) Prepare organization to intervention - essential to change success and necessary to obtain an appropriate comprehension of interventions\' objectives and the compromise of all, including high direction; (2) Implement process improvement with active participation of employees, which must have high autonomy level in generating improvement suggestions, in order to obtain more motivation and less change resistance; (3) Capacitate organizations employees, diffusing the concepts and techniques used during intervention, with the objective of obtaining active participation and improving motivation and work comprehension; (4) Report the results obtained to motivate work continuity; (5) Create an internal group, to support process owners and continue with the work. Considering that there are few academic studies about process improvement in the Brazilian public sector, the results obtained in this work consist of contribution to theory, since they enclose specific aspects of the public sector and their influence in improvement programs. Moreover, given the major need for improvement of the administrative processes of the sector, the cases description and the analysis of the interventions\' results present evident practical application, because they provide a base for future work.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2017-03-17T11:57:51Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Maria Silveira Turrioni.pdf: 2458045 bytes, checksum: f0d042854362dcf9b29efe816e798b9d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-17T11:57:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Maria Silveira Turrioni.pdf: 2458045 bytes, checksum: f0d042854362dcf9b29efe816e798b9d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-10 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The objective of this research was to identify how the use of active learning affects the students, the professors and the curriculum of a course of Industrial Engineering. The expansion of this area in Brazil, together with the evolution of digital information and communication technologies, leads to an increase in the complexity of teaching in this field, justifying the analysis of the consequences of using this approach. The proposed hypothesis is that the use of active learning affects the behavior of students and teachers generating a new curricular proposal.To analyze this phenomenon, I opted for Action Research, since I was able to observe it during the development of the research, actively participating in the actions. I collaborated in the planning of the Semester Project discipline, in the organization of internal dissemination events, in the training of professors and in the reflection on the achieved results.The data were collected through participant observations, questionnaire applied to the students, interviews with professors, personal insights and documentary analysis. The main results obtained were the strengthening of students' skills and abilities, professor training, university and business cooperation, the development of infrastructure for the use of active learning and professor participation in the construction of a curriculum for the Industrial Engineering course shaped for its social and cultural reality / O objetivo desta pesquisa foi identificar como a utilização da aprendizagem ativa afeta os discentes, docentes e o currículo de um curso de Engenharia de Produção. A expansão desta área no Brasil, juntamente com a evolução das tecnologias digitais de informação e comunicação, leva ao aumento da complexidade do ensino neste campo, justificando a análise das consequências do uso desta abordagem. A hipótese proposta é que o uso da aprendizagem ativa afeta o comportamento dos discentes e docentes gerando uma nova proposta curricular. Para analisar este fenômeno optei pela Pesquisa-ação, uma vez que pude observá-lo durante o desenvolvimento da pesquisa. Colaborei no planejamento da disciplina Projeto Semestral, na organização de eventos de divulgação interna, na formação dos docentes e na reflexão sobre os resultados alcançados. Os dados foram coletados através de um questionário aplicado aos discentes, de entrevistas com os docentes, de observações pessoais e de análise documental. Os principais resultados obtidos foram o fortalecimento de competências e habilidades discentes, a capacitação docente, a cooperação entre a universidade e as empresas, o desenvolvimento de infraestrutura para o uso da aprendizagem ativa e a participação docente na construção de um currículo para o curso de engenharia de produção moldado para a sua realidade social e cultural

Recent advancements in instructional technology and interactive learning space designs have transformed how undergraduate classrooms are envisioned and conducted today. Large number of research studies have documented the impact of instructional technology and interactive learning spaces on elevated student learning gains, positive attitudes, and increased student engagement in undergraduate classrooms across nation. These research findings combined with the movement towards student-centered instructional strategies have motivated college professors to explore the unfamiliar territories of instructional technology and interactive learning spaces. Only a limited number of research studies that explored college professors’ perspective on instructional technology and interactive learning space use in undergraduate classrooms exist in the education research literature. Since college professors are an essential factor in undergraduate students’ academic success, investigating how college professors perceive and utilize instructional technology and interactive learning environments can provide insights into designing effective professional development programs for college professors across undergraduate institutions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate college professors’ pedagogical reasoning behind incorporating different types of instructional technologies and teaching strategies to foster student learning in technology-infused interactive learning environments. Furthermore, this study explored the extent to which college professors’ instructional decisions and practices are affected by teaching in an interactive learning space along with their overall perception of instructional technology and interactive learning spaces. Four college professors from a large public Midwestern university who taught undergraduate science courses in a classroom based on the ‘SCALE-UP model’ participated in this study. Major data sources included classroom observations, interviews and questionnaires. An enumerative approach and the constant comparative method were utilized to analyze the data. According to the results obtained, all the participating college professors of this study employed a variety of instructional technologies and learning space features to actively engage their students in classroom activities. Participants were largely influenced by the instructional technology and the learning space features at lesson planning and execution stages whereas this influence was less notable at the student assessment stage. Overall, college professors perceive technology-infused interactive learning environments to be advantageous in terms of enabling flexibility and creativity along with easy facilitation of classroom activities. However, they felt challenged when designing effective classroom activities and preferred continuous professional development support. Overall, college professors’ pedagogical decision making process, their perceived benefits and challenges seemed to be interrelated and centered on the learners and the learning process. Primary implication of this study is to implement effective professional development programs for college professors which enable them to familiarize themselves with student-centered pedagogy and effective classroom activity design along with the novel trends in learning space design and instructional technologies. Furthermore, higher education institutions need to devise incentives and recognition measures to appreciate college professors’ contributions to advance scholarship of teaching and learning.

In der Vergangenheit wurde gezeigt, dass Altersbilder von Zahnmedizinern auf deren Bereitschaft älteren Menschen zahnärztliche Dienstleistungen anzubieten Einfluss nehmen können. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Studie war die Beschreibung der Altersbilder von Zahnmedizin-Studierenden und deren Veränderung während der Teilnahme an einer prägraduellen gerostomatologischen Ausbildung. Ein Frage-bogen wurde an 160 (31 % männliche) Zahnmedizin-Studierende der Universität Leipzig im Alter von 19,2 – 30,5 (Mean 21,7; SD + 2,3) Jahren, jeweils vor Beginn (T1) und beim Abschluss (T2) des gerostomatologischen Kurses, ausgehändigt. Es wurde eine Definition vom Jung- und Altsein sowie von Hoffnungen und Befürch-tungen bezüglich des Alterns erbeten. Das „Semantic Aging Differential“ (SAD) wurde verwendet, um die studentischen Altersbilder in drei Kategorien zu messen. Die statistischen Auswertungen beinhalteten durchschnittliche geschlechtsspezi-fische Altersdefinitionen und Mittelwerte des SAD bei T1 und T2. Das Alter wurde mit einem Beginn zwischen 56 und 64 Jahren definiert. Weibliche Studierende betrachteten bei T1 eine Frau bis zu 35,8 Jahre als jung, für männliche Studierende war eine Frau nur bis 33,5 Jahre jung. Männliche Studierende betrachteten Männer ab 60,1 Jahren und Frauen ab 55,7 Jahren als alt. Befürchtungen angesichts des Alterns bezogen sich hauptsächlich auf die Verschlechterung der Gesundheit und den Verlust naher Angehöriger. Hoffnungen auf Erholung, Ruhe und Gelassenheit waren vorrangig. Die SAD-Ergebnisse waren in allen drei Dimensionen nahezu neutral. Es traten geringfügige Veränderungen zwischen T1 und T2 auf. Schlussfolgernd waren die studentischen Altersbilder ausgewogen. Spezifische Barrieren zur Bereitstellung zahnmedizinischer Versorgung für ältere Menschen, ausgehend von negativen Einstellungen oder Ängsten seitens der Zahnmedizin-Studierenden, wurden nicht identifiziert.

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Tweed R. Ross / John R. Staver / The purpose of this study was to research, develop and validate a one-semester course for the general education of university undergraduates in forensic chemical education. The course outline was developed using the research and development (R&D) methodology recommended by Gall, Borg, and Gall, (2003) and Dick and Carey, (2001) through a three step developmental cycle. Information was gathered and analyzed through review of literature and proof of concept interviews, laying the foundation for the framework of the course outline. A preliminary course outline was developed after a needs assessment showed need for such a course. Professors expert in the area of forensic science participated in the first field test of the course. Their feedback was recorded, and the course was revised for a main field test. Potential users of the guide served as readers for the main field test and offered more feedback to improve the course.

abstract: This dissertation reports three studies of students’ and teachers’ meanings for quotient, fraction, measure, rate, and rate of change functions. Each study investigated individual’s schemes (or meanings) for foundational mathematical ideas. Conceptual analysis of what constitutes strong meanings for fraction, measure, and rate of change is critical for each study. In particular, each study distinguishes additive and multiplicative meanings for fraction and rate of change. The first paper reports an investigation of 251 high school mathematics teachers’ meanings for slope, measurement, and rate of change. Most teachers conveyed primarily additive and formulaic meanings for slope and rate of change on written items. Few teachers conveyed that a rate of change compares the relative sizes of changes in two quantities. Teachers’ weak measurement schemes were associated with limited meanings for rate of change. Overall, the data suggests that rate of change should be a topics of targeted professional development. The second paper reports the quantitative part of a mixed method study of 153 calculus students at a large public university. The majority of calculus students not only have weak meanings for fraction, measure, and constant rates but that having weak meanings is predictive of lower scores on a test about rate of change functions. Regression is used to determine the variation in student success on questions about rate of change functions (derivatives) associated with variation in success on fraction, measure, rate, and covariation items. The third paper investigates the implications of two students’ fraction schemes for their understanding of rate of change functions. Students’ weak measurement schemes obstructed their ability to construct a rate of change function given the graph of an original function. The two students did not coordinate three levels of units, and struggled to relate partitioning and iterating in a way that would help them reason about fractions, rate of change, and rate of change functions. Taken as a whole the studies show that the majority of secondary teachers and calculus students studied have weak meanings for foundational ideas and that these weaknesses cause them problems in making sense of more applications of rate of change. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Mathematics 2016