THE ROLE OF ERROR ANALYSIS, DIAGNOSTIC GRADING PROCEDURES, AND STUDENT REFLECTION IN FIRST SEMESTER CALCULUS LEARNING (EPISTEMOLOGY, METACOGNITION, INQUIRY)

The present study is an integrative study designed to explore the nature of student difficulties within the context of a first semester college calculus course. The techniques of error analysis were used to identify and categorize the student difficulties. Insights gained from this categorization served as the basis for the design and development of calculus grader preparation materials implemented with a subgroup of undergraduate calculus graders. These grader preparation materials emphasized grader diagnosis of student difficulties and student reflection on errors and process. Current preparation procedures served as the control on the basis of which comparisons and evaluations were made. Questions regarding the relationship between these materials, the grading environment established by their implementation, and the factors of SEX, COLLEGE, student reflection, and calculus achievement, were investigated. Achievement scores as measured by calculus unit tests and a calculus final examination were collected on all subjects. A reflection attitude scale was administered to all students and graders participating in the study. Univariate analyses of variance of the unit test scores and the final examiniation revealed a significant effect of COLLEGE on the first and second try for Unit 4 and the final examination. A significant SEX x GRADING FORMAT interaction, indicating a more positive influence of the treatment grading format for men than for women, was found on the second try for Unit 4. The effect of GRADING FORMAT fell just short of significance on the final examination, suggesting the possibility that the effect is cumulative. A multivariate analysis of co-variance indicated a significant main effect for COLLEGE. A log-linear analysis of the distractor choices on the 40-item multiple choice final examination indicated several significant main effects and interactions on several of the items. Results of the analysis performed on a grader reflection attitude scale suggest that a difference in attitude, commitment, and use of the constructive grading procedures existed between the treatment and control graders. Hypotheses and questions suitable for future research in the areas of error analysis, teacher training, and student reflection are generated

Impact on the knowledge construction process of multimedia online interactions in audio-graphic conferencing systems: the case of adult distance learners of French

Online researchers suggest that synchronous audio-graphic corm encing systems provide different mediational tools that create different mediated educa nal interactions that support the collaborative process of meaning construction, However, the existing literature does not indicate whether the quality of multimodal online interactions as well as the affordances of the use of the synchronous medium can effectively enh ce this process. This thesis brings together two lines of research. The thesis develops a methodological framework for the presentation and analysis of multimodal online interactions that draws on socio-constructivist understanding that the process of meaning construction is social and individual. The second is concerned with the analysis of online multimodal discussions; it examines the interrelationship between the different tools of communication and the different affordances of their simultaneous and single use that may hinder or promote the collaborative process of meaning construction. The design of this research focuses on interaction patterns and examines the extent which online discussions, mediated by the different tools of communication, reach high levels of collaborative meaning construction.This study assumes the knowledge construction process to be empirically observable through analysing online interactions and students' perceptions of the learning experiences. It examines, through interviews, questionnaires and video recordings of online tutorials, the quality of online learning experiences of two different UK Open University tutorial groups learning French. Results show that: participants make different multimodal choices which lead to the creation of different patterns of multi modal interactions and on line exchanges that affect differently participants' engagement in the collaborative meaning construction process; the single and the simultaneous use of the different tools of communication create different affordances for participants to perform different interactive and communicative roles; the multi modal competencies of students and tutors, the tutors' styles and task design play an important role in supporting the collaborative meaning construction process

Using content and process scaffolds for collaborative discourse in asynchronous learning networks

Discourse, a form of collaborative learning, is one of the most widely used methods of teaching and learning in the online environment. Particularly, in large courses, discourse needs to be \u27structured\u27 to be effective. Historically, technology-mediated learning (TML) research has been inconclusive with often conflicting results. To address this issue, TML research needs greater breadth and depth in pedagogical grounding. The purpose of this research is to build and test an original, technology-mediated, discourse-centered model called the Asynchronous Learning Network Cognitive Discourse Model (ALNCDM) grounded in pedagogy. Cognitive discourse is defined as discourse on conceptual subject matter. The model is aimed at structuring discourse to effect conceptual mastery at the Application level of Bloom\u27s taxonomy. The ALNCDM applies pedagogic principles to provide content and process scaffolding during discourse to increase learning. (Scaffolding is defined as providing support for the learner at his/her level until the support is no longer needed.) The content scaffold consists of a concept structure in the form a matrix, which is unfolded in a sequence following the Veeheuristic. The process scaffold consists of an individual process, modeled after Gagne\u27s Nine Events of Instruction, embedded within a group process, modeled after Gunawardena, Lowe and Anderson\u27s Critical Thinking Model. A research approach was designed and a field experiment conducted to validate the ALNCDM. In the research approach, content and process scaffolds formed the two manipulated variables while the dependent variable, learning effectiveness, was measured using a combination of cognitive and affective assessments. A motivation measure, self-expectancy, was also included in the dependent variables. The main study, a 2X2 between-subjects, pre- and post-test field experiment, was conducted between Fall 2004 and Spring 2005, yielding 172 participants in 58 groups. A major finding from the study is students with SynthesisAnalysis learning approach performed significantly better in two out of three cognitive assessments. While the ALNCDM research approach requires further refinement, correlation/contextual analyses support the overall ALNCDM. Another finding from the study is the lack of undergraduate student motivation

Teaching behaviors and teacher values that contribute to effective multicultural and gender-inclusive education : a qualitative study.

This qualitative study of the values, beliefs and teaching practices of four teachers at a small private college with a diverse adult student population attempts to bring to light what teaching behaviors help to create an educational climate which includes people of both genders and of different ethnic, racial backgrounds and allows them to succeed in an academic environment. The teachers and students completed weekly teaching and learning journals (derived from Brookfield\u27s (1991) student learning journals) during one semester (spring, 1994). Using grounded theory technique, I uncovered eight activities that both teachers and students felt were effective in providing an inclusive educational environment: (1) use of groups for support, creativity and personal change; (2) conscious student metacognition and self-assessment; (3) interactive classroom activities; (4) exercises which utilize different learning styles; (5) integrative learning which calls upon the different student cultures; (6) close teacher/student and peer/peer feedback connections; (7) academic support components built into the curriculum; and (8) the teacher acting as facilitator. Through a series of teacher interviews, I determined three shared values which appeared congruent with the teachers\u27 actions in the classroom: (1) awareness of the difference between the student cultures, but a reluctance to pre-judge individuals based on cultural assumptions; (2) awareness and utilization of the affective aspects of learning; and (3) a conception of the role of teacher as empowerer. End of the semester focus groups with students added to data obtained from student learning journals to reveal three areas of the learning deemed important for growth: (1) the importance of the social dimension of teaching and learning; (2) the powerful role of the teacher in the learning process; and (3) the importance of applying and integrating the learning into the students\u27 lives. Two problematic areas in the teaching of these four instructors were: (1) a lack of multicultural reading materials within the courses and (2) evaluations methods that were not authentic or inclusive of different learning style orientations. The results of this study hold implications for the administration of programs for adult students of targeted social groups, such as admission policies, class size and teacher training

Designing for interaction

At present, the design of computer-supported group-based learning (CS)GBL) is often based on subjective decisions regarding tasks, pedagogy and technology, or concepts such as ‘cooperative learning’ and ‘collaborative learning’. Critical review reveals these concepts as insufficiently substantial to serve as a basis for (CS)GBL design. Furthermore, the relationship between outcome and group interaction is rarely specified a priori. Thus, there is a need for a more systematic approach to designing (CS)GBL that focuses on the elicitation of expected interaction processes. A framework for such a process-oriented methodology is proposed. Critical elements that affect interaction are identified: learning objectives, task-type, level of pre-structuring, group size and computer support. The proposed process-oriented method aims to stimulate designers to adopt a more systematic approach to (CS)GBL design according to the interaction expected, while paying attention to critical elements that affect interaction. This approach may bridge the gap between observed quality of interaction and learning outcomes and foster (CS)GBL design that focuses on the heart of the matter: interaction

Curriculum development for an inquiry approach to construction education.

Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.University graduates have been criticised for failing to make a meaningful contribution to professional practice in the construction industry in South Africa and across the world generally. Deficiencies have been reported in the ability of graduates of construction programmes to think critically, solve problems or apply theoretical knowledge in practical situations. Among other factors, the traditional didactic lecture approach to teaching and learning has been blamed for not providing students with an appropriate learning experience to adequately prepare them for professional practice. This is because the didactic lecture approach is characterised by attempts to transmit knowledge from the lecturer to the student which has been found to be inadequate in achieving effective learning. The traditional didactic approach to teaching is based on theories of learning which assumed that knowledge can be transmitted from the minds of lecturers to the minds of students. Contemporary theories of learning have rebuffed this assumption and demonstrated that knowledge and understanding are achieved by students actively engaging with the study material and constructing their own knowledge structures rather than passively receiving knowledge and understanding. Based on these contemporary theories of learning, several different pedagogy has been suggested and incorporated in educational practice. However, predominantly, contemporary pedagogy has been haphazardly applied within the traditional framework of segregated modules. Also, different pedagogy based on different contemporary theories has been researched and applied independent of each other. This has led to some contradictions in some pedagogy and a lack of synergistic collaboration among the contemporary pedagogy. Against this background, this thesis researched the problem that the traditional didactic lecture teaching approach to construction education at undergraduate level does not adequately prepare students for construction professional practice and therefore requires an alternative curriculum model which incorporates different contemporary theories of learning synergistically in a student centred inquiry based learning (IBL) pedagogical framework. To achieve this, the research established factors from the contemporary theories of learning which significantly contribute to the creation of knowledge structures in students studying construction programmes in South Africa. Subsequently the research proposed a curriculum model for construction programmes which incorporated the identified antecedents to effective learning underpinned in the contemporary pedagogical framework of IBL. The research followed a positivist epistemological philosophy and a subjective ontological philosophy, a deductive research approach, a survey research strategy, a cross sectional time horizon and a data collection technique and procedure of a questionnaire using the non-probability sampling technique of convenient sampling. The research procedure included an extensive literature review of three contemporary theories of learning namely, constructivism from philosophy, connectionism from behaviourism and cognitive load theory from cognitive science. Subsequently, an instrument measuring the concepts from the conceptual model was developed, pre-tested and then administered to undergraduate students studying construction programmes at a convenient sample of public universities in South Africa. The results show that the factors from the three contemporary theories of learning which directly influence the extent to which students studying construction programmes are able to create knowledge structures and achieve effective learning are individual learning, scaffolding, reflective thinking and group learning in that order. Repetition, reinforcement, readiness, self-directed learning and the use of worked examples have indirect relationships with the ability for students to create knowledge structures. Complex questions and authentic questions were also found to indirectly contribute to effective learning. Cognitive loading was found to interfere with learning and complex questions were found to induce cognitive loading while authentic questions did not. Subsequently, an IBL curriculum framework for construction programmes was proposed which integrated most of the topics which directly relate to construction practice. Based on the findings, the IBL class should involve students in both individual and group learning activities which should be appropriately scaffolded and students explicitly directed towards reflective thinking as they engage in the IBL projects. Complex questions and authentic questions should be used in collaboration with extra scaffolding in order to reduce the impact of the consequent cognitive loading induced by complex questions. The IBL projects should be simple initially and increase in complexity as the student’s advance

Collaborative learning utilizing a domain-based shared data repository to enhance learning outcomes

A number of learning paradigms have postulated that knowledge formation is a dynamic process where learners actively construct a representation of concepts integrating information from multiple sources. Current teaching strategies utilize a compartmentalized approach where individual courses contain a small subset of the knowledge required for a discipline. The intent of this research is to provide a framework to integrate the components of a discipline into a cohesive whole and accelerate the integration of concepts enhancing the learning process. The components utilized to accomplish these goals include two new knowledge integration models; a Knowledge Weighting Model (KWM) and the Aggregate-Integrate-Master (AIM) model. Semantic Web design principles utilizing a Resource Description Framework (RDF) schema and Web Ontology Language (OWL) will be used to define concepts and relationships for this knowledge domain that can then be extended for other domains. Lastly, a Design Research paradigm will be utilized to analyze the IT artifact, the Constructivist Unifying Baccalaureate Epistemology (CUBE) knowledge repository that was designed to validate this research. The prototype testing population utilized sixty students spanning five classes, in the fall 2007, following IRB approved protocols. Data was gathered using a Constructivist Multimedia Learning Survey (CMLES), focus groups and semi-structured interviews. This preliminary data supported the hypotheses that students using the Integrated Knowledge Repository will first; have a more positive perception of the learning process than those who use conventional single course teaching paradigms and second; students utilizing the IKR will develop a more complex understanding of the interconnected nature of the materials linking a discipline than those who take conventional single topic courses. Learning is an active process in which learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon their current/past knowledge. The goal is to develop a knowledge structure that is capable of facilitating the integration of conceptual development in a field of study

Design and training for implementation of constructivist-based distance learning environments

In response to societal shifts, K-12 teachers are attempting to design responsive, effective learning environments. A body of theory titled Constructivism has become increasingly important as a foundation for the design of learning environments that prepare students for the future demands of adulthood;When knowledge is being constructed, the tools to support that construction become important. Societal demands, new visions about learning, emerging technology, and connectivity to the information superhighway are offering educators the opportunity and the challenge to rethink and restructure the way they go about designing effective learning environments;This project identified a design guiding framework for constructivist-based distance education and the knowledge necessary for its implementation by distance educators. The intent of the framework is to assist teachers in the creation of constructivist-based distance education learning environments and the staff development needed to support the process. The framework is the result of a Delphi consensus building procedure in which the goal of the Delphi was to identify teacher training elements used for implementation of constructivist-based distance learning environments;The Delphi was carried out via the World Wide Web. The panel members came to moderate or high consensus that a majority (69%) of the items were important or very important for teachers to know or be able to do to implement the learning environments. While the discussion of teacher training needs for the implementation of constructivist-based distance learning environments was extensive, several threads continually reappeared. (1) Learning guide or facilitator roles for teachers; (2) Training needs of students to carry out learning strategies; (3) Embedding of assessment within the learning process; (4) Creation and facilitation of problem-based learning; (5) Multiple approaches to knowledge development;The results focused on the learning process, while technology was relegated to a secondary supporting role. The findings can assist those charged with developing the training program to support the implementation of constructivist-based distance education. Finally noted was the fact that change of this magnitude will require careful and extensive staff development for those teachers expected to effectively create constructivist-based distance learning environments