A study of student teachers' performance and psychological characteristics in learning introductory statistics

The research study for this thesis was carried out in three stages. In the first stage, factors that might affect the learning of introductory statistics for student teachers were investigated. The factors were attitudes related to learning statistics, and the effects of the limitation of the student teachers’ psychological characteristics (namely, perceptual fields or the degree of field dependency and working memory space). In addition to these factors, student teachers’ performances in a test to identify misconceptions in basic descriptive statistics concepts and probability and also in their final statistics examination were scrutinised. The results from the first stage indicated that student teaches generally had positive attitudes toward learning statistics but not toward the introductory statistics course which was described as dull or uninspiring and too mathematical. The student teachers appeared not to cope with the task of taking down the lecture notes and simultaneously trying to understand the statistical concepts to be learned. Student teachers’ performance in the statistics examination revealed a significant correlation with their working memory although not with their degree of field dependency. From the test, misconceptions about certain concepts in basic descriptive statistics and probability were identified. These correlations may reflect the nature of the test materials as much as the nature of statistics. Based on the findings from the first stage, interactive statistics learning materials employing the cooperative learning method were developed in the second stage and given to an experimental group of student teachers from five teacher training colleges. Another group of student teachers (called the comparison group) from the same colleges were taught the same materials but through the traditional lecture method. A post-questionnaire and a test based on the materials learned were given to both groups after the completion of the second stage study. The degree of field dependency for the student teacher in both groups was also measured. Results from the post-questionnaire revealed that the experimental group overwhelmingly favoured the learning units that were based on the interactive and cooperative learning while the comparison group regarded the lecture method as being dull and uninspiring. It also appeared that learning statistics based on the cooperative learning method was more favoured by the male student teachers, the Non-Mathematics Education group and the field dependent student teachers. Perhaps, not surprisingly, the experimental group performed better than the comparison group in the test based on the learning materials. In the third stage, opinions were sought from the student teachers in their final semester of study, concerning their readiness to teach statistics in school. They also sat a multiple-choice test about basic concepts in descriptive statistics and probability. In addition, the working memory capacity and the degree of field dependency of the student teachers were also measured. The findings revealed that a majority of the student teacher did not have confidence in teaching statistics. This probably stemmed from the difficulty in understanding certain statistical concepts and perhaps the statistic courses that they had attended did not provide them with a good training. The findings from the test also revealed that misconceptions in some statistical concepts still persisted and that the student teachers appeared to have forgotten some, if not all, statistical subject matter that they had previously learned in the statistics lectures. Generally, these findings indicated the weaknesses of the traditional format of teaching introductory statistics course through the lecture method

The use of the World Wide Web in teaching and learning in higher education : a case study approach

Government policy emphasises the role higher education is expected to play in the era of the "information society" and the benefits the increasing use of new technology in teaching and learning within the university will bring. Accordingly, the purpose of this research was to explore the influence of the WWW in teaching and learning in universities. The study was designed in response to a rejection of technological deterministic approaches and the call for more empirically grounded study of the relationships between society and technology. It examines the use of the WWW in six case study modules in two universities in England from a staff, student and institutional perspective, located within the national context. A case study design, utilising a communications framework, was adopted to guide the research process. The methods utilised were: literature review, analysis of national and university policy documents, semi structured interviews with staff and students, two student questionnaires, focus groups with students and analysis of the case study websites. The cases explored here provide a rather different picture to that painted by the dominant discourses about ICTs and higher education. The use of the web in teaching and learning neither appears to be radically transforming the university, nor to be providing (or even regarded as) a ready solution to the problems the sector currently encounters. Yet, the technology is, in places, adding to the experiences of staff and students in a variety of complex ways. Through exploring practical instances of educational innovation this research has indicated the mesh of interrelating factors that are at work when using the web in teaching and learning, and the importance of considering the full range of experiences of the individuals involved, the variable purposes of using the technology, and the influence of the social contexts that surround initiatives. The benefits of the use of a communications model in further research is highlighted, and the use of mixed model studies promoted to gain greater understanding, aid with generalizability, and provide arguments to counter techno deterministic accounts prevalent in this area

Scholarly publishing in Malaysia : a study of marketing environment and influences on readership behaviour

The role of publishing in the development of societies has been crucial, but many still tend to overlook the wider societal impact of publishing and concentrate purely on its direct economic contribution. The aim of this thesis is to draw attention to the wider impact of publishing as an instrument for the betterment of society. In particular the thesis examines the role of marketing in all its aspects in the publishing process at the international, national and industrial level (from inception to completion of publications). The study hopes to shed light on some of the environmental factors which affect publishing in general, publishing in the Malaysian context, and particularly scholarly publishing, which has its own peculiar traits. In order to have a clearer idea of the publishing scenario it is essential first to identify the symptoms; therefore it is important to examine the macro-marketing environment which constitutes the socio-political and commercial envelope in which the publishing industry resides, and then the micro-marketing environment and marketing systems which constitute the local industry level influences and internal company marketing force respectively. Having looked at these aspects of the marketing environment, the research concentrates on the most crucial factor in the success of any business, the buyer. The importance of measuring consumer satisfaction also dictated why the researcher made use of questionnaires for lecturers and students as sources of primary data for this study. Lecturers' roles in marketing books indirectly should not be overlooked by publishers; their unique offering is the special ability to identify and satisfy students' needs, analogous to the role played by doctors in the marketing of pharmaceutical drugs. An investigation is made of consumers' profile (lecturers and students) in order to deduce their reading and buying behaviour, and further in the case of lecturers, writing proficiency. These findings may provide better understanding of the marketing ramifications emanating from the publishing process in general and scholarly publishing in particular. Although libraries are one of the primary customers for scholarly publications, the survey conducted with them was far smaller in scope than those conducted on lecturers and students since they merely act as intermediaries while the latter are the ultimate users of scholarly publications. Scholars and publishers may co-operate happily in the writing and creating of scholarly books, but the publisher faces serious limitations upon his freedom to act purely for the betterment of scholarship. Thus, the focus of this study is how to bridge the gap between dissemination of knowledge through published means and the economics of publishing as a commercial concern. The notion of "social profit" is introduced to help deal with some of the conflicting concerns of scholarly publishers, as well as to argue against the normal argument of "social obligations" put forward by many government publishing agencies and university presses in Malaysia. The study concludes that main factors which determine the present situation of scholarly publishing include the relative infancy of the publishing industry in Malaysia; the small market for publications, in particular scholarly publications; the emphasis on textbook production which has resulted in a dearth of books in other areas; frequent changes of language policy which have damaged publishing programmes in both English and bahasa Melayu; the poor reading habit of the population in general (notwithstanding the high literacy rate); and more distressingly for scholarly publishers, the poor reading habit of students and lecturers; the lack of understanding of the publishing process by people involved in the industry; insufficient numbers of good authors especially those who can write in bahasa Melayu; poor planning and distribution, and above all the absence of reliable and up to date information on the industry. It is hoped that this research will generate interest in this neglected, yet nevertheless important, area which is essential to the development and national well being. An analysis of the marketing environment within the publishing business reveals the problems facing the industry, and suggests that a more appropriate system will be possible only when effective steps are taken to meet the needs of this industry and provide the needed support. This can only be realised by a detailed study to determine the long-term and short-term needs for books and other materials, and the various methods of meeting these needs. It is also important in determining how the industry can be strengthened and expanded to meet future needs. Although government efforts have reflected the awareness of the importance of textbooks in developing and upgrading the standard of education in Malaysia, they have also resulted in some measure in discouraging scholarly publications within the publishing industry. The publishing business in Malaysia deserves greater attention because of the significant position of Malaysia in Asia and ASEAN sub-continent in particular, and the contribution of education to its economic and social development

Education handbook

2003 handbook for the faculty of Educatio

Education handbook

2002 handbook for the faculty of Educatio

Education and Social Work handbook

2005 handbook for the faculty of Education and Social Wor

Reports to the President

A compilation of annual reports for the 1985-1986 academic year, including a report from the President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as reports from the academic and administrative units of the Institute. The reports outline the year's goals, accomplishments, honors and awards, and future plans

Design revolutions: IASDR 2019 Conference Proceedings. Volume 4: Learning, Technology, Thinking

In September 2019 Manchester School of Art at Manchester Metropolitan University was honoured to host the bi-annual conference of the International Association of Societies of Design Research (IASDR) under the unifying theme of DESIGN REVOLUTIONS. This was the first time the conference had been held in the UK. Through key research themes across nine conference tracks – Change, Learning, Living, Making, People, Technology, Thinking, Value and Voices – the conference opened up compelling, meaningful and radical dialogue of the role of design in addressing societal and organisational challenges. This Volume 4 includes papers from Learning, Technology and Thinking tracks of the conference