Keberkesanan model konstruktivisme Lima Fasa Needham terhadap kemahiran penulisan hujah murid sekolah menengah atas

Kemahiran penulisan hujah dalam esei argumentatif memerlukan proses kognisi murid yang tinggi. Maka, kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengenal pasti keberkesanan teori konstruktivisme model Lima Fasa Needham terhadap kemahiran penghujahan murid sekolah menengah atas. Reka bentuk kuasi eksperimen digunakan untuk melihat perbandingan kemahiran menulis hujah dalam esei jenis argumentatif antara kumpulan eksperimen dan kumpulan kawalan di sebuah sekolah menengah kebangsaan di Sibu, Sarawak. Kemahiran menulis hujah bagi kedua-dua kumpulan ini diuji berdasarkan ujian pra dan ujian pasca. Sampel kajian ini melibatkan 20 orang murid bagi kumpulan eksperimen dan 20 orang murid bagi kumpulan kawalan. Dapatan kajian dianalisis menggunakan aplikasi Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Versi 20. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan dalam pencapaian murid bagi kumpulan eksperimen setelah pendekatan teori konstruktivisme Model Lima Fasa Needham diperkenalkan dalam penulisan esei argumentatif dengan t(38) = -3.240, p<.05. Min skor pencapaian murid dalam penulisan hujah bagi kumpulan eksperimen telah menunjukkan peningkatan, iaitu min ujian pra ialah 11.35 dan min ujian pasca ialah 14.40. Dapatan kajian membuktikan bahawa pendekatan teori konstruktivisme Model Lima Fasa Needham berkesan dalam meningkatkan pencapaian murid dalam penulisan hujah. Implikasinya, guru Bahasa Melayu digalakkan menggunakan model Lima Fasa Needham dalam pengajaran mereka

Integrative Levels of Knowing

Diese Dissertation beschäftigt sich mit einer systematischen Organisation der epistemologischen Dimension des menschlichen Wissens in Bezug auf Perspektiven und Methoden. Insbesondere wird untersucht inwieweit das bekannte Organisationsprinzip der integrativen Ebenen, das eine Hierarchie zunehmender Komplexität und Integration beschreibt, geeignet ist für eine grundlegende Klassifikation von Perspektiven bzw. epistemischen Bezugsrahmen. Die zentrale These dieser Dissertation geht davon aus, dass eine angemessene Analyse solcher epistemischen Kontexte in der Lage sein sollte, unterschiedliche oder gar konfligierende Bezugsrahmen anhand von kontextübergreifenden Standards und Kriterien vergleichen und bewerten zu können. Diese Aufgabe erfordert theoretische und methodologische Grundlagen, welche die Beschränkungen eines radikalen Kontextualismus vermeiden, insbesondere die ihm innewohnende Gefahr einer Fragmentierung des Wissens aufgrund der angeblichen Inkommensurabilität epistemischer Kontexte. Basierend auf Jürgen Habermas‘ Theorie des kommunikativen Handelns und seiner Methodologie des hermeneutischen Rekonstruktionismus, wird argumentiert, dass epistemischer Pluralismus nicht zwangsläufig zu epistemischem Relativismus führen muss und dass eine systematische Organisation der Perspektivenvielfalt von bereits existierenden Modellen zur kognitiven Entwicklung profitieren kann, wie sie etwa in der Psychologie oder den Sozial- und Kulturwissenschaften rekonstruiert werden. Der vorgestellte Ansatz versteht sich als ein Beitrag zur multi-perspektivischen Wissensorganisation, der sowohl neue analytische Werkzeuge für kulturvergleichende Betrachtungen von Wissensorganisationssystemen bereitstellt als auch neue Organisationsprinzipien vorstellt für eine Kontexterschließung, die dazu beitragen kann die Ausdrucksstärke bereits vorhandener Dokumentationssprachen zu erhöhen. Zudem enthält der Anhang eine umfangreiche Zusammenstellung von Modellen integrativer Wissensebenen.This dissertation is concerned with a systematic organization of the epistemological dimension of human knowledge in terms of viewpoints and methods. In particular, it will be explored to what extent the well-known organizing principle of integrative levels that presents a developmental hierarchy of complexity and integration can be applied for a basic classification of viewpoints or epistemic outlooks. The central thesis pursued in this investigation is that an adequate analysis of such epistemic contexts requires tools that allow to compare and evaluate divergent or even conflicting frames of reference according to context-transcending standards and criteria. This task demands a theoretical and methodological foundation that avoids the limitation of radical contextualism and its inherent threat of a fragmentation of knowledge due to the alleged incommensurability of the underlying frames of reference. Based on Jürgen Habermas’s Theory of Communicative Action and his methodology of hermeneutic reconstructionism, it will be argued that epistemic pluralism does not necessarily imply epistemic relativism and that a systematic organization of the multiplicity of perspectives can benefit from already existing models of cognitive development as reconstructed in research fields like psychology, social sciences, and humanities. The proposed cognitive-developmental approach to knowledge organization aims to contribute to a multi-perspective knowledge organization by offering both analytical tools for cross-cultural comparisons of knowledge organization systems (e.g., Seven Epitomes and Dewey Decimal Classification) and organizing principles for context representation that help to improve the expressiveness of existing documentary languages (e.g., Integrative Levels Classification). Additionally, the appendix includes an extensive compilation of conceptions and models of Integrative Levels of Knowing from a broad multidisciplinary field

The Influence of Individual Factors on Web-based Developmental Education Course Success in a Two-year Technical College

This study was designed to identify and examine certain individual factors that contribute to Louisiana Technical College (LTC) student success in Web-based developmental education (DE) courses among the academically underprepared students. The independent variables (IV) selected for this study included students\u27 prior academic preparation (PAP), comfort with technology (CWT), interaction with faculty (IWF), and motivation (MOT). The dependent variable (DV) was students’ course success measured by their mid-term scores (MTSCORE). Research methodologies included correlational statistics using multiple and logistic regression, and t-test for group comparisons. Data were gathered through an online survey using SurveyMonkey.com from the DE students at LTC that use PLATO Web Learning Network using a survey instrument (WBLSS) designed by the researcher for this study. The study found two predictor variables, IWF and PAP, to be statistically significant and two variables, MOT and CWT, statistically not significant. Based on the IVs\u27 combined identified relationship with the DV, the researcher designed a predictive model of LTC students\u27 course success in Web-based DE courses. The model employed in this study explained 17% of the variance in the MTSCORE. For many academically underprepared students at LTC, college and career success first depend on their success in the DE courses. Therefore, identifying individual characteristics related to course success is the key to building academic success models for underprepared students at two-year colleges like the LTC

The Influence of Individual Factors on Web-based Developmental Education Course Success in a Two-year Technical College

This study was designed to identify and examine certain individual factors that contribute to Louisiana Technical College (LTC) student success in Web-based developmental education (DE) courses among the academically underprepared students. The independent variables (IV) selected for this study included students\u27 prior academic preparation (PAP), comfort with technology (CWT), interaction with faculty (IWF), and motivation (MOT). The dependent variable (DV) was students’ course success measured by their mid-term scores (MTSCORE). Research methodologies included correlational statistics using multiple and logistic regression, and t-test for group comparisons. Data were gathered through an online survey using SurveyMonkey.com from the DE students at LTC that use PLATO Web Learning Network using a survey instrument (WBLSS) designed by the researcher for this study. The study found two predictor variables, IWF and PAP, to be statistically significant and two variables, MOT and CWT, statistically not significant. Based on the IVs\u27 combined identified relationship with the DV, the researcher designed a predictive model of LTC students\u27 course success in Web-based DE courses. The model employed in this study explained 17% of the variance in the MTSCORE. For many academically underprepared students at LTC, college and career success first depend on their success in the DE courses. Therefore, identifying individual characteristics related to course success is the key to building academic success models for underprepared students at two-year colleges like the LTC

Social value creation through community engagement in public service delivery: A qualitative comparison of UK and Vietnamese contexts

The transformation of the welfare state and public service delivery in the UK towards marketisation and managerialism resulted from the perceived inefficiency of state-led public services and an increased welfare burden (Osbourne ad Gaebler, 1992). However, it is also argued that the values created by the market and the state are in conflict, since the goal of the private sector is to create private (economic) value whilst that of government agencies is to create public (social) value (Moore and Khagram, 2004). This leads to an increased focus on the involvement of the third sector which, it is argued, has the social goals and social legitimacy to understand local needs (Williams, 2003; Di Domenico et al., 2009a). This research project consisted of an in-depth study on social value creation through community engagement in public service delivery in the United Kingdom and Vietnam. The research explored how social value could be created through community engagement, and the contextual factors which could affect community engagement in public service delivery. This research applied grounded theory methods (GTM) using a case study approach in order to build a model of social value creation through community engagement, within a multi-geographical context (Vietnam and the UK). The research focused on four comparable cases in both countries, which are community-based and third sector organisations in the field of community libraries and the domestic violence support services. In each case study, the qualitative methods used were semi-structured interviews conducted with service providers and policymakers, as well as focus groups held with service users. This research constitutes an original contribution to the evidence base by developing a framework for community engagement in public service delivery on a multi-geographical scale

The Professional Development of School Social Workers

The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of continuing professional education, professional development, and other growth activities that most heavily influence the practice of school social workers. It was a qualitative study framed by heuristic inquiry using in depth interviews with twenty participants from two western states. A theoretical model emerged based on three components: the context of practice, contextual learning, and practice behaviors. All three components had the same three attributes: prior learning experiences, outside learning experiences, and the personal qualities of practitioners. Two important findings were that when the participants covered only one school and were funded by multiple sources, they were able to conduct more systemically-oriented interventions than would otherwise have been possible

Assessment of teamwork in higher education collaborative learning teams: a validation study

textThe study was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in a field setting, based on survey research, and team observations, with interviews and focus groups at the end of the project that focused on the examination and measurement of face-to-face teamwork in a collaborative learning college setting. The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of the Teamwork Assessment Scale (TAS) and its relation with perceptions of personal characteristics of Instrumentality and Expressiveness as measured by (a) the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ) (Spence & Helmrich, 1978), (b) with a measure of Team Flow (De Hoyos, Dara-Abrams, & Bischoff, 2004) and (c) Team Synergy (De Hoyos & Resta, 2004). In a pilot study of online teamwork, an exploratory factor analysis of the TAS revealed the presence of two factors that underlie online teamwork as measured by the TAS (Menchaca & Resta, 2002). The factors were labeled Task Management and Social Interaction. In this study exploratory factor analyses were conducted to examine the constructs that underlie face-to-face teamwork. The TAS was adapted for use with face-to-face teams and a dimension of Trust was added to the TAS scale. Reliability of the scale was calculated and the properties of items within each scale were examined. Convergent and discriminant validity relationships with related constructs of Instrumentality and Expressiveness were assessed by means of correlation analyses. A Social Interaction Model was developed from a Socio-cultural perspective and its fit to the data collected was assessed through path analyses. The model fit the data and the study provided evidence for the validity and reliability of the TAS. Teams were observed while accomplishing their projects and four case studies provided an in depth view of the team dynamics and interactions. The case studies demonstrated that performance in teams relates to the following attributes: positive social interaction shared leadership, personal and task trust, and effective conflict management to keep the team environment positive and productive.Curriculum and Instructio