Insights on How to Enhance the Detection of Modeling Errors by iStar Novice Learners

When teaching a new paradigm which involves practical training to a large group of students, it often becomes time-consuming and impractical for a single instructor to give advice on an individual basis on how to correct errors being made and the need for computer-aided assistants arises.  In this work, we focus on the i* (iStar) framework which is being used to teach requirements engineering and modeling techniques to undergraduate and graduate students in the classroom.  We proposed and developed an online tool for automating the work of checking the design constructs used in i* diagrams so that novice learners could detect and correct errors on their own without the assistance of a human expert nearby.  Although the tool was useful in showing novice learners how to edit their models to make them free of syntax errors, there were a number of situations in which they could not recognize the semantical design flaws and defects of a model using the feedback from the tool.  In this paper, we give examples of the errors we observed and recommend a new tool which will automatically generate a human understandable textual annotation of the main model elements and the relationships connecting them to assist beginners as well as non-technical stakeholders involved in the requirement decisions of a system with detecting simple misrepresentations of information of this type that need to be rectified in the model. 

The relationship between teacher collaboration and student achievement

The purpose of this concurrent embedded mixed-methods study was to develop an instrument to measure principals\u27 perceptions of teacher collaboration in their schools. The study further examined the relationship between perceptions of teacher collaboration and student achievement as measured by the Indiana A-F Accountability Model. Four key components of teacher collaboration were identified through a review of the literature. Those key components of teacher collaboration included 1) Job-Embedded Collaboration Time; 2) Common Goals; 3) Results Orientation; and 4) Working Interdependently. ^ Using a survey, quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 359 Indiana elementary and middle school principals. Quantitative data on the principals\u27 perceptions of the presence and effectiveness of the four key components of teacher collaboration were analyzed. In order to support the quantitative data and find stronger understanding of the research, qualitative data were analyzed on how principals described teacher collaboration at their schools, including what factors impeded teacher collaboration, what factors facilitated teacher collaboration, and what relationships they perceived to exist between the quality and extent of collaboration and student achievement. ^ Little variability was noted in the presence of the key components of teacher collaboration - a vast majority of the principals reported these components to be in their schools. As a result of this lack of variability, no statistically significant relationships were found between the presence of the first three key components of teacher collaboration and student achievement as measured by the Indiana A-F Accountability Model. However, a statistically significant relationship was found between principal ratings on the presence of teacher collaboration teams working interdependently and student achievement as measured by the Indiana A-F Accountability Model. Qualitative data revealed that having even just a few negative or difficult personalities on teacher teams can impede progress for the school. ^ When analyzing principal ratings on the effectiveness of the key components of teacher collaboration in their schools, an exploratory factor analysis enabled the researcher to find meaningful patterns within the effectiveness variables, simplify the data, and ultimately run a more meaningful multiple regression analysis. Three factors were extracted and identified as Developing and Monitoring Specific Goals, Trusting, Supportive Collegiality, and Sharing Resources and Practices and were tested in the three different hypotheses. ^ All three hypotheses tests on the relationships between the perceived effectiveness of key components of teacher collaboration and student achievement showed statistical significance. In spite of having limited variability in principal responses to the survey, all of the derived factors from the scale were significant predictors of student achievement. This study found a statistically significant relationship between principal ratings on the effectiveness of developing and monitoring specific goals and student achievement as measured by the Indiana A-F Accountability Model. Likewise, this study found a statistically significant relationship between principal ratings on the effectiveness of trusting, supportive collegiality and student achievement as measured by the Indiana A-F Accountability Model. Finally, it was also determined that there is a statistically significant relationship between principal ratings on the effectiveness of sharing resources and practices and student achievement as measured by the Indiana A-F Accountability Model. ^ An instrument with very high reliability was developed. This instrument can be used with principals to identify areas of weakness in teacher collaboration quickly and accurately. Although most principals endorsed most items, the tool clearly can be useful in self-evaluation of collaboration

The Long-Term Effect of Reading Recovery on Fourth Grade Reading Achievement

Reading Recovery is a first-grade literacy intervention program with notable short-term benefits, but there are sustainability studies that highlight inconclusive evidence of its enduring success. It was unclear if formerly enrolled Reading Recovery students continue to have long-term literacy skill retention after exiting the literacy intervention. The problem was essential to this rural district because Reading Recovery was costly to implement, and the literacy standardized test scores remained low. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if formerly enrolled Reading Recovery students had sustainable literacy skills. The theoretical framework was the literacy processing theory, which entails how emergent learners develop literacy processing systems. The research question was to determine if there was a significant difference in the Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress standardized test scores between the 73 formerly enrolled and 38 nonenrolled students. The independent variable was enrollment in Reading Recovery, and the dependent variable was ISTEP+ standardized literacy scores. The independent sample t-test results showed no statistically significant difference in ISTEP+ standardized literacy scores. The results were the basis for the creation of the 3-day professional development training for educators in grades 2 and 3. The training will promote positive social change since it will support the continued literacy progress of formerly enrolled Reading Recovery students. Students with solid literacy skills will have better future employment opportunities and higher social engagement in American society

Can we move forward by holding back?: an analysis of the effects of test-based grade retention in third grade on student achievement in Indiana

As of 2021, eighteen states plus the District of Columbia have implemented legislation regarding mandatory test-based grade retention focusing on minimum reading proficiency levels (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2019) with many of those policies targeting the thirdgrade year. While grade retention has been largely viewed negatively in the research conducted prior to NCLB, some studies of the academic effects of other city- or state-wide test-based retention policies in recent years have found that there can be positive outcomes. Indiana is one of the states with a retention policy tied to IREAD-3, a reading test in Grade 3, but up to now, the effectiveness of this policy has not been studied thoroughly. The decision to retain a student in grade is complex and critical with a variety of factors to understand as well as meaningful and far-reaching consequences to consider. This study focuses on the academic effects of test-based retention on students in the 2012 Grade 3 cohort in Indiana and follows them through Grade 8 using ISTEP+ results. A comprehensive, statewide dataset is analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical approaches, culminating with longitudinal multilevel modeling to control for many student-level factors as well as their school districts. Consistent with some of the similar studies conducted in other cities and states, this study finds that retention has a positive effect on academic performance in a same-grade comparison in both English / Language Arts and Mathematics. These findings support the idea that grade retention could be considered a viable intervention policy; however, it is important to consider the ancillary supports and efforts that often accompany retention policies and view the positive gains as an aggregate of these efforts. Considered as a part of the existing body of research on grade retention, there is still much to be understood about most appropriate uses of the practice of grade retention.Thesis (D. Ed.

Promoting Nurses Management of Night Shift Sleepiness

Nurses are largely unaware of the problems of night-shift-nurse sleepiness and available strategies to manage night-shift sleepiness. The purpose of this project was to examine nurses\u27 self-perception, awareness of sleepiness, and current strategies to manage this problem in the emergency medicine department of a major academic hospital in the western United States. The validated de-identified Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) was used to measure the prevalence and intensity of night shift nurses\u27 sleepiness prior to the development of an educational program on strategies to manage sleepiness. Of the 164 registered nurses surveyed, 72 (43.9%) reported sleepiness greater than 7 on the KSS. An educational program was developed and evaluated by a panel of 6 experts who were selected on their clinical, educational, quality improvement, and research in sleep studies. Expert reviews indicated that the education program was 100% relevant, appropriate, and understandable, and provided adequate information on the topic with no recommended changes. The education program was presented to 16 night shift nurses with a pre/posttest survey completed by 14 nurses. Results indicated that participating nurses increased their knowledge of managing strategies for sleepiness from 69% (agree or strongly agree) preintervention to 92% postintervention. Postintervention, there was a 50% increase in the number of nurses who reported benefits from the education intervention. The findings of this project contribute to positive social change by improving nurses\u27 health and quality patient care by advancing nurses\u27 awareness of night shift sleepiness and countermeasure management strategies

Probing student engagement with size and distance in introductory astronomy

Astronomy Education Research has shown that students have many challenges when it comes to understanding key concepts in Astronomy. Amongst these is a poor understanding of astronomical scales. Recently for example, both sizes and distances have been shown to present similar difficulties to students in both South Africa and Norway. It is difficult to attribute the findings simply to inadequate teaching due to the significant differences between the two countries with regard to language, culture, and the type of science teaching. It has, therefore, been suggested that since astronomical sizes and distances are beyond immediate human experience the explanation might in fact lie at a deeper cognitive level. The present thesis is aimed at exploring the link between astronomical sizes and distances as well as cognition. Part I The thesis focuses on investigating students' understanding of sizes and distances in astronomy. This was done by probing student notions of astronomical scales, using the size and distance questions from the Introductory Astronomy Questionnaire (IAQ), the instrument which led to the original findings noted previously. These questions were administered before and after a specially structured teaching intervention on sizes and distances. The results of this study in 2018 were found to be (a) in agreement with similar studies previously reported in South Africa and Norway, namely, that both sizes and distances in astronomy were poorly understood in both contexts and (b) that the teaching intervention was least effective for distances. Based on the findings above, the focus of the thesis shifted to a more fine-grained investigation of how students conceived of distances, as they increased from "human scale" to "beyond human scale". The study was carried out using the Grounded Theory Method (GTM). Data were generated by prompting written explanations from introductory astronomy students on how they engaged with three distances two of which may be considered to be within human experience while the third lies beyond the realm of direct experience. The distances used were 7 metres, 100 kilometres and the distance to the moon. The second distance was partly informed by the idea that we often communicate large distances to each other in terms of time. In addition, the framing of the questions excluded the possibility of visual explanations. The questions were administered to a cohort of introductory astronomy students at the University of Cape Town in 2019. A grounded analysis of the student responses was carried out to identify key ideas. The categories that emerged from the analysis showed clear evidence of students using different, unconnected types of explanations rather than simple extrapolations of one idea. A conceptual transition was identified relative to the body position of the respondents: body calibration and self-propelled body motion (or journeying). What was striking was that time was rarely mentioned explicitly. The way in which students expressed themselves was assumed to be an expression of the way in which they were thinking about different distance domains and suggestive of the cognitive perspective offered by "Embodied Cognition". Of particular interest was that nonstatic explanations were centered around the notion of a journey, and one of the key "thinking templates" in Embodied Cognition; the SOURCE-PATH-GOAL "Image Schema". Part II of the thesis summarizes key elements of Embodied Cognition that are pertinent to the present work and describes a pilot activity for teaching astronomical distances based on this account. Part II Theories of cognition can roughly be divided into two camps: those that assume that thinking is a "mentalese activity" involving symbolic manipulation. Most importantly, these symbolic elements are "amodal" in that they are not derived from the sensory modalities. On the other hand, Embodied Cognition assumes that these symbols arise from the sensory modalities, hence all thinking arises from bodily experience and its interactions with the environment in infancy. While there are several strands that feed into Embodied Cognition, of direct interest to the present work is that of Cognitive Linguistics and the notion of Conceptual Metaphor. In this view metaphors are not regarded as (mere) linguistic devices but as conceptual expressions that reflect cognitive schematic structures that relate to the bodily infant experience. These cognitive schematic structures or "Image Schemas" arise from repeated bodily actions repeatedly activating particular neural networks and form the basic building blocks of all abstract thought. A fair amount of such Image Schemas (or "thinking templates") have been identified of which the SOURCE-PATH-GOAL resonates most clearly with the data described earlier. This Image Schema comes about in infancy when a child learns that a toy on the far side of a room cannot be reached by grasping only but that moving the body from one place to another (crawling) is required. This is the basis of "Life is Journey or the Ph.D. Journey", for example. Another aspect of Embodied Cognition holds that understanding involves a mental simulation using the cognitive resources that are activated at the time. In order to see if activating the SPG / Journey "thinking template" prior to engaging with the teaching material would help in comprehending astronomical distances a two-part teaching activity (A and B) was developed around the notion of a journey. Part A was presented to the students as 'Journey to the observable edge of the UNIVERSE along UNIVERSity avenue" and required students to walk the length of the campus in a structured manner that is described in detail in the thesis. Part B, engagement with the teaching material, was carried out immediately afterwards in the Main Hall of the University. Thus, the thinking behind the two-part activity, piloted in 2020 just prior to Covid related lockdown, was that "journey" cognitive resources would be activated by the experience and would therefore be used in engaging with the teaching material regarding astronomical distances. Student evaluations were gathered in order to probe how students had engaged with the activity, including if any of the resources associated with journeying were expressed. A post-test ranking task showed that while results were mixed relative to previous studies overall there was a marked improvement for the present cohort. In summary the work shows clearly that there were two different modes of thinking about distances (i) based on counting and (2) based on the notion of the journey/journey-ing. Results were interpreted as the activation of schema described by embodied cognition. The difficulty that students experienced with astronomical distances was attributed to the lack of activating the Source-Path-Goal schema. In order to see whether there was a way to activate the Source-Path-Goal schema, an activity involving students walking was designed. The outcomes from the activity, indicated promising results with regard to student engagement with astronomical distance

High School STEM Academy Mentor-Mentee Relationships

The purpose of this study was to examine the mentor/mentee relationships in a high school STEM academy. The research investigated the impact that professionals in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics have on enhancing STEM education. The goal of the mentor-mentee relationship is to improve STEM skills of the students who are enrolled in the Fairview High School STEM Academy and to enhance their knowledge of the skills necessary to be successful as they enter the workforce or post-secondary education. This particular study focused on the mentors’ role in helping high school students to develop the relevant STEM skills. The results allowed the program evaluation inquiry questions to be fully explored and to provide data on the effects of the relationship. The findings aid in describing the value of the mentor program as a component of the STEM Academy and planning for future mentor-mentee cohorts. A qualitative approach was used for the program evaluation that was conducted on the high school STEM academy. The data collection methods consist of document analysis, focus groups, and interviews. The qualitative approach was selected due to the low number of participants in the research study and the ability for the research to be based on human observations, experiences, and attitudes about the STEM academy

The effects of scripted instruction on proper foot plant during A -Skip in a practice high school track and field setting

Track and field is a sport that thrives on technique correction for skill acquisition (Mero, Komi and Gregor, 1992). Research in terms of approaches to improving skill acquisition and technique correction in novice high school track and field sprinters has been limited. Although recent efforts to improve skill acquisition in track and field have been effective (Hanin, Korjus, Jouste & Baxter, 2002 & Shestakov, Arakelian & Primakov, 2000), there does not appear to be any studies utilizing Gangstead and Beveridge\u27s (1984) explicit instruction model as a way to improve skill acquisition for novice high school track and field sprinters. Explicit instruction in the academic setting has already been shown to be highly effective for increasing academic performance for novice learners (Adams & Engelmann, 1996). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Gangstead and Beveridge\u27s (1984) scripted instruction model on acquisition of correct foot strike placement during the A-Skip drill in a high school practice track and field setting; A multiple baseline A-B design across participants was utilized to conduct the study. Four high school sprinters were selected to receive the explicit instruction, while one sprinter served as the control and did not receive the intervention. The two coaches selected for the study were the ones who implemented the explicit instruction to the sprinters. It was hypothesized that sprinters using Gangstead & Beveridge\u27s (1984) explicit instruction model would increase their number of correct trials of foot strike placement during the A-Skip drills and be satisfied with the goals, procedures and outcomes of the study. Results of the study indicated that the sprinters increased the number of correct foot plants during the A-Skip drill with use of the intervention. Analyses of results were conducted in accordance with single subject research guidelines, which include evaluating both magnitude and trends of data collected on a graph (Barlow and Hersen, 1984). Further research using explicit instruction in different events within a sport or different athletic settings is recommended in order to examine generalization effects

A Study of Factors and Perceptions that Mediate Student Participation in Supplementary Discussion Forums

In higher education in a campus setting, student participation in even voluntary discussion forums can benefit both student and instructors. In engineering education, the benefits of collaborative discussion are particularly important. This thesis had two goals—to identify factors that influence student participation in supplementary class discussion forums, and to explore perceptions that students and instructors have about their class forums. The study took place at a large university in the United States. Six instructors and 369 students from nine computer science and engineering courses participated in the study. The first goal of the study was to identify facilitatory and inhibitory factors that mediate a student’s decision to participate or, conversely, not to participate, in a voluntary class discussion forum. Students were surveyed using the Forum Participation Mediator Instrument, which was developed for this study, that encompassed participation motivation, forum satisfaction, and help-seeking preferences. An exploratory factor analysis of student responses identified six components that characterized different mediators of participation—“engaged socially”, “urgent need”, “seek affirmation”, “lack confidence”, “view negatively”, and “do not prefer”. Multivariate analyses of variance showed that the components varied with respect to the students’ gender, class levels and subject majors. Multiple regression analysis showed that message posting frequency was significantly explained by student help-seeking preference, help urgency, grade point average and, most significantly, the class instructor. The second goal of the study was to investigate students’ and instructors’ perception of their class forums. A sentiment analysis of student responses to open-ended survey questions showed that, despite a negative perception of peer interaction, students overwhelming perceived the use of forums as positive. A thematic analysis based on interviews with six instructors resulted in five themes—"examples of use”, “instructor participation”, “forum use policies”, “perceptions of students”, and “support of students”. These defined two important instructional narratives, managing discussion and motivating discussion, which were supported by an existing analytical framework

A holistic, risk, and futures based approach to deception: technological convergence and emerging patterns of conflict

Modern challenges in forensic and security domains require greater insight and flexibility into the ways deception can be identified and responded to. Deception is common across interactions and understanding how mindset, motive and context affects deception is critical. Research has focussed upon how deception manifests in interpersonal interactions and has sought to identify behaviours indicative of truth-telling and deceit. The growth of mediated communication has further increased challenges in ensuring information is credible. Deception in military environments has focussed on planning deception, where approaches have been developed to deceive others, but rarely examined from counter-deception perspectives. To address these challenges this thesis advocates a holistic approach to deception detection, whereby strategies will be tailored to match context. In accordance with an in vivo approach to research, a critical review of literature related to deception and related areas was conducted leading to the initial development of a theoretical holistic model of deception detection comprising a deception framework and an individual differences (deceiver and target) framework. Following model development, validation with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) was conducted. Explanatory thematic analysis of interviews conducted with SMEs (n=19) led to the development of meta-themes related to the ‘deceiver’, their ‘intent; ‘strategies and tactics’ of deception, ‘interpretation’ by the target and ‘target’ decision-making strengths and vulnerabilities. These findings led to the development of the Holistic Model of Deception, an approach where detection strategies are tailored to match the context of an interaction, whether interpersonal or mediated. Understanding the impact of culture on decision-making in deception detection and in particular the cues used to detect deception in interpersonal and mediated environments is required for understanding human behaviour in a globalised world. Interviews were conducted with Western (n=22) and Eastern (n=16) participants before being subject to explanatory and comparative thematic analysis identified twelve cross-cultural strategies for assessing credibility and one culturally specific strategy used by Western participants. Risk assessment and management techniques have been used to assess risks posed in forensic and security environments; however, such approaches have not been applied to deception detection. The Deception Assessment Real-Time Nexus©2015 and Deception Risk Assessment Technique©2015 were developed as an early warning tool and a Structured Professional Judgement risk assessment and management technique. The Deception Risk Assessment Technique©2015 outlines multiple ways of identifying and managing threats posed by deception and is employable across individuals and groups. In developing the futures-based approach to deception detection, reactive, active and proactive approaches to deception were reviewed, followed by an examination of scenario planning utility and methodology from futures and strategic forecasting research. Adopting the qualitative ‘intuitive logics’ methodology ten scenarios were developed of potential future threats involving deception. Risk assessment of two scenarios was conducted to show the value of a risk assessment approach to deception detection and management. In conclusion, this thesis has developed a Holistic Model of Deception, explored the links between interpersonal and mediated strategies for detecting deception, formulated a risk assessment and management approach to deception detection and developed future scenarios of threats involving deception