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1
Torrie, Heather Colleen. "A Web-based Tool for Oral Practice and Assessment of Grammatical Structures." Diss., CLICK HERE for online access, 2007. http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/ETD/image/etd1972.pdf.
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Gibson, Chad D. (Chad Daniel). "Influence of formal techniques and design fixation on idea generation tasks in engineering practice." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/106238.
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Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Engineering, System Design and Management Program, Engineering and Management Program, 2015.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 63-65).
The outcome of the idea generation process often lays the groundwork for the overall success of an engineering project, which highlights the need for an effective process. However, the factors that impact this stage of engineering problem solving are often not considered by practicing engineers, who generally do not often use formal idea generation techniques, and instead usually conform to what is considered best practice at their respective organizations. This thesis is structured to answer two research questions. Does a formal technique improve idea generation performance over the informal best practice in an engineering organization? Also, do example solutions hinder the idea generation process by artificially constraining the perceived design options, known as design fixation, when using either the formal or informal techniques? The formal technique used was a modified version of C-Sketch. The results of the experimental groups were compared across four metrics: quantity, variety, novelty, and quality of functional ideas. The results showed that using a formal idea generation technique statistically outperformed the defacto approach on all metrics, whereas the negative effect of design fixation was not seen. From experimental observation it is surmised that the formal approach was superior to the de-facto approach because it reduced social loafing, used time more efficiently, reduced the need for group consensus, mitigated premature idea evaluation, and increased the positive effects of peer evaluation.
by Chad D. Gibson.
S.M. in Engineering and Management
3
Bitter, James, M. Sonstegard, and P. Robertson. "Universal Tasks and the Meaning of Life: Applications to Daily Living and Professional Practice." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2002. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/6061.
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Birk, Dawn Marie. "Reaction Time in Elderly Subjects: The Effects of Practice on 'Iwo Different Reaction Time Tasks." DigitalCommons@USU, 1989. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/5998.
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The reaction time of four groups of elderly human subjects were examined to determine the effects of stimulus presentation and task practice. Each group practiced different tasks, each requiring a response when more than one alternative was available. Two tasks involved making responses based on either visually or auditorily presented stimuli only. One task required decisions to be made on the basis of both auditory and visual stimuli. The fourth group acted as a comparison group and did not practice a reaction-time task; although they did perform a task on the computer and their reaction times were measured. Before and after practicing these tasks, each group was given a single trial involving a completely different decision-making task, and reaction time was measured. Results show that practice led to decreased reaction times on the practiced task in all treatment groups. The comparison group did not improve. Practicing any of the three reaction time tasks also led to decreased reaction time on the unpracticed task. These findings indicate that elderly individuals can decrease their reaction time with practice and that after practicing one task, changes will generalize to a different task. If the older population can alter performance on this task, then they nay also be capable of altering performance on other tasks.
5
Kaipa, Ramesh. "Evaluation of principles of motor learning in speech and non-speech-motor learning tasks." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Communication Disorders, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/10349.
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Principles of motor learning (PMLs) refer to a set of concepts which are considered to facilitate the process of motor learning. PMLs can be broadly grouped into principles based on (1) the structure of practice/treatment, and (2) the nature of feedback provided during practice/treatment. Application of PMLs is most evident in studies involving non-speech- motor tasks (e.g., limb movement). However, only a few studies have investigated the application of PMLs in speech-motor tasks. Previous studies relating to speech-motor function have highlighted two primary limitations: (1) Failure to consider whether various PMLs contribute equally to learning in both non-speech and speech-motor tasks, (2) Failure to consider whether PMLs can be effective in a clinical cohort in comparison to a healthy group. The present research was designed to shed light on whether selected PMLs can indeed facilitate learning in both non-speech and speech-motor tasks and also to examine their efficacy in a clinical group with Parkinson’s disease (PD) in comparison to a healthy group.
Eighty healthy subjects with no history of sensory, cognitive, or neurological abnormalities, ranging 40-80 years of age, and 16 patients with PD, ranging 58-78 years of age, were recruited as participants for the current study. Four practice conditions and one feedback condition were considered in the training of a speech-motor task and a non-speech- motor task. The four practice conditions were (1) constant practice, (2) variable practice, (3) blocked practice, and (4) random practice. The feedback was a combination of low-frequency, knowledge of results, knowledge of performance, and delayed feedback conditions, and was paired with each of the four practice conditions. The participants in the clinical and non-clinical groups were required to practise a speech and a non-speech-motor learning task. Each participant was randomly and equally assigned to one of the four practice groups. The speech-motor task involved production of a meaningless and temporally modified phrase, and the non-speech-motor task involved practising a 12-note musical sequence using a portable piano keyboard.
Each participant was seen on three consecutive days: the first two days served as the acquisition phase and the third day was the retention phase. During the acquisition phase, the participants practised 50 trials of the speech phrase and another 50 trials of the musical tune each day, and each session lasted for 60-90 min. Performance on the speech and non-speech tasks was preceded by an orthographic model of the target phrase/musical sequence displayed on a computer monitor along with an auditory model. The participants were instructed to match their performance to the target phrase/musical sequence exactly. Feedback on performance was provided after every 10th trial. The nature of practice differed among the four practice groups. The participants returned on the third day for the retention phase and produced 10 trials of the target phrase and another 10 trials of the musical sequence. Feedback was not provided during or after the retention trials. These final trials were recorded for later acoustic analyses.
The analyses focused on spatial and temporal parameters of the speech and non-speech tasks. Spatial analysis involved evaluating the production accuracy of target phrase/tune by calculating the percentage of phonemes/keystrokes correct (PPC/PKC). The temporal analysis involved calculating the temporal synchrony of the participant productions (speech phrase & tune) during the retention trials with the target phrase and tune, respectively, through the phi correlation. The PPC/PKC and phi correlation values were subjected to a series of mixed model ANOVAs.
In the healthy subjects, the results of the spatial learning revealed that the participants learned the speech task better than the non-speech (keyboard) task. In terms of temporal learning, there was no difference in learning between the speech and non-speech tasks. On an overall note, the participants performed better on the spatial domain, rather than on the temporal domain, indicating a spatial-temporal trade-off. Across spatial as well as temporal learning, participants in the constant practice condition learned the speech and non-speech tasks better than participants in the other practice conditions. Another interesting finding was that there was an age effect, with the younger participants demonstrating superior spatial and temporal learning to that of the older participants, except for temporal learning on the keyboard task for which there was no difference. In contrast, the PD group showed no significant differences on spatial or temporal learning between any of the four practice conditions. Furthermore, although the PD patients had poorer performances than the healthy subjects on both the speech and keyboard tasks, they showed very similar pattern of learning across all four practice conditions to that of the healthy subjects.
The findings in the current study tend to have potential applications in speech-language therapy, and are as follows: (1) a constant practice regime could be beneficial in developing speech therapy protocols to treat motor-based communication disorders (e.g., dysarthria), (2) speech therapists need to exercise caution in designing speech therapy goals incorporating similar PMLs for younger and older adults, as the application of similar PMLs in younger and older adults may bring about different learning outcomes, (3) and finally, it could be beneficial for patients to practise speech tasks which would require them to focus either on the spatial or temporal aspect, rather than focussing on both the aspects simultaneously.
6
Segal, Carolyn. "Training and Practice Effects on Performance Attributions Among Non-Depressed and Depressed Older Persons." Thesis, North Texas State University, 1987. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc331879/.
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Previous research examining the impact of training and practice effects on modifying performance of fluid intelligence tasks (Gf) and crystallized intelligence tasks (Gc) were extended to include self-rated performance attributions among non-depressed and depressed older persons. The following general questions were addressed. How does level of depression affect performance on Gf and Gc measures and performance attributions? How does level of depression and degree of benefit from either training or practice relate to changes in attributional styles? The framework used for predicting shifts in attributional styles was the reformulated learned helplessness model. Three hundred twenty-five community-dwelling older persons completed the Gf/Gc Sampler, Beck Depression Inventory, and Attributions for Success/Failure Questionnaire at pretest, posttest (one week), and follow-up (one month). Between the pretest and posttest sessions, subjects participated in one of three experimental conditions; (a) cognitive (induction) training, (b) stress inoculation training, and (c) no-contact control groups. The results from univariate and multivariate analysis of covariance procedures provided partial support for the hypotheses. At pretest, both non-depressed and depressed older persons had internal attributional styles, although based on differential performance outcomes. The depressed persons were found to have more failure experiences as a result of their significantly poorer performance on Gf tasks, versus the non-depressed. Specific Gf training effects were documented regarding attributional shifts for the non-depressed, while there were no changes on their attributional style due to practice on either Gf or Gc tasks. In contrast, only differential practice effects were documented for depressed subjects across Gf and Gc tasks. The importance of assessing personality dimensions in older persons and their xelationship to training and practice effects were discussed, in addition to limitations of the study and suggestions for future research.
7
Scazzieri, Roberto. "Tasks, processes and technical practice : a contribution to the theory of the scale of production." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1987. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.328001.
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Tang, Ka-Man, and 鄧嘉敏. "Integration of tasks into the 'presentation-practice-production' modelof grammar teaching in a primary context." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2010. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B50177072.
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This action research explores ways of adapting Task-based language teaching for teaching grammar to Primary six Hong Kong students while maintaining the structural Presentation-Practice-Production approach. It integrates two kinds of focused tasks into the intervention. They are Consciousness-raising tasks and Practice-based tasks. It investigates learners‘perceptions of those two tasks on English grammar learning by collecting questionnaires and conducting interviews. After the first cycle of the intervention, the researcher analyzed the data, students‘performance and works in order to make adjustments for the second cycle. Qualitative and quantitative techniques were employed to collect data from high, average and low-achieving students.
It was found that students were positive towards Consciousness-raising tasks, Practice-based tasks and the intervention. They were generally satisfied with the chances provided for individual and group learning, teacher‘s PowerPoint presentation, teacher support and task sequencing. Implications for future research encompass investigation on the intervention‘s emphasis on a sequence of focused tasks to learn the form, meaning and use of target structures for leading learners to attain accuracy, fluency and complexity in second language acquisition. Most importantly, it suggests that teachers have to be flexible and design suitable tasks according to the target structures, students‘ability and learning style as well as available resources.published_or_final_version
Education
Master
Master of Education
9
Albert, Jeanne. "The effect on teachers of using mathematical investigation tasks as tools for assessment." Thesis, Curtin University, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/2489.
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This study set out to determine the relationship between assessment practices and teaching methods. I wanted to investigate whether making mathematical investigation assessment tasks available to elementary-school mathematics teachers would have a positive effect on their teaching. Research tells us that standardized tests influence instruction. My research explored whether a national Assessment Task Bank of mathematical investigative tasks could influence teachers.With these aims in mind, the following research questions were formulated:1. Will the teachers' use of mathematical investigation tasks for assessment purposes influence their view of mathematics?2. Will the teachers' use of mathematical investigation tasks for assessment purposes influence the way they teach, and if so, in what ways?3. Will the teachers' use of mathematical investigation tasks for assessment purposes influence the way they assess their students, and if so, in what ways?My research was divided into two parts: 1) a national study involving teachers-leaders throughout the country; and 2) an intensive study in a small Israeli community, called Sharon. The first part examined how the national courses on assessment that I conducted affected the participating teacher-leaders in terms of their concept of mathematics, their teaching methods and their assessment practices. The second part examined the same issues with regard to the mathematics coordinators in the Sharon community. In each case, I have detailed my experiences so that the reader can gain a view of all facets of the study.The research methodology adopted was based on a constructivist paradigm, sometimes referred to as a "naturalistic inquiry", utilizing ethnographic principles wherein the data collection and analysis procedures were eclectic. In the course of the five years of my research, I used many strategies of data collection - for example, unstructured participant-observations, interviews, questionnaires and content analysis of artifacts (tests and tasks written by teachers).The ideas of reform mathematics (as defined in Ch 2 of this thesis) are based on a broadened vision of mathematics with emphasis on higher-order thinking. My research indicated that the use of mathematical investigation tasks helped the teachers in my study reach the awareness that mathematics, even on the elementary school level, involves generalizations, justifications and even creativity.Prior to my research, and because of my position, I was aware that Israeli teachers were concerned primarily with teaching routine procedures and that their work sheets for the most part involved single-answer exercises. My research indicated that the use of mathematical investigation tasks indeed influenced the way teachers teach. Verbalization-having the students explain "Why"-has become integral to the teaching practices of the participants in my study. Nowadays, the Israeli teachers I worked with use "authentic tasks" in their classrooms: real-life situations that involve some mathematics. Unfortunately, these tasks are not always planned properly.My research demonstrated that teachers attending my professional courses found the mathematical investigation tasks to be useful for assessment purposes, providing them with additional information about their pupils, not obtainable through conventional assessment methods. The additional criteria (I introduced) for evaluating the pupils' work aided in defining these additional areas. I found that while teachers were quite willing to use the mathematical investigation tasks to supplement the conventional tests, they were reluctant to use them as replacements.Exposure to the Assessment Task Bank influenced to a certain degree, the way the teachers in my study assessed their students. The tests of the teachers who were participants in my study now regularly include elements that were previously absent: questions requiring explanations and questions with more than one possible answer.Although the teachers of my study were increasingly using questions that required higher-order thinking, the tendency was to use the tests in a summative manner, rather than formatively. In other words, many teachers found it difficult to use test results for planning their subsequent lessons. While they were able to analyze their students' work and could report in some detail on each student's performance, they failed to understand how this should affect their teaching. Before they were exposed to the tasks they had administered tests merely in order to provide grades, whereas now the teachers were often trying to understand the students' thinking.While long-term change is still elusive, my research has demonstrated that exposure to reform mathematics through the mathematical investigative tasks of the Assessment Task Bank did have some influence on the teachers' view of mathematics, as well as their teaching and assessment practices.
10
Malhotra, Neha Deepak. "Exploring the role of movement specific reinvestment during practice and performance of tasks of varying complexity." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10722/208559.
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Six experiments were conducted in order to examine the role of movement specific reinvestment in performance of a range of tasks of varying complexity under different performance contexts. The first experiment investigated the role of movement specific reinvestment in performance of a fundamental laparoscopic skill under time pressure. It was found that individuals with a lower propensity for movement specific reinvestment were able to meet task demands by performing faster under time pressure than individuals with a higher propensity for movement specific reinvestment. Although movement specific reinvestment is often treated as a uni-dimensional construct, it is comprised of two dimensions of conscious processing; movement self-consciousness and conscious motor processing. These dimensions appear to exert a differential influence on performance in different contexts. The second experiment therefore investigated the differential influence of the two dimensions of movement specific reinvestment on performance of a fundamental laparoscopic skill early and later in practice and on performance of a more complex, cross-handed laparoscopy task. Movement self-consciousness was found to play a more dominant role early and later in practice of a relatively simple, fundamental, laparoscopic skill than conscious motor processing, which played a more dominant role in performance of a more complex, cross-handed laparoscopic skill. The third and fourth experiments examined the differential influence of the two dimensions of movement specific reinvestment on a complex golf-putting skill early and later in practice (Experiment 3) and under low- and high-anxiety conditions (Experiment 4). Experiments 3 and 4 also examined the kinematic mechanisms underlying the influence of the two dimensions on putting performance. Findings from Experiment 3 revealed that movement self-consciousness and conscious motor processing positively influenced putting performance early in practice, when learners were consciously engaged in the control of movements. However, later in practice movement self-consciousness alone positively influenced putting performance. Analysis of kinematic measures suggested that reduced variability of both impact velocity and putter face angle at impact mediated the positive influence of both movement self-consciousness and conscious motor processing on putting performance. Findings from Experiment 4 revealed that movement self-consciousness positively influenced performance in the low-anxiety condition (and appeared to reduce variability of impact velocity), but not in the high-anxiety condition. It was argued that the attention demanding nature of anxiety (Eysenck & Calvo, 1992) potentially subdued the influence of movement self-consciousness under high-anxiety conditions. The fifth experiment confirmed this proposition as the positive influence of movement self-consciousness on quiet standing performance was no longer evident when an attention demanding dual-task was performed concurrently with a primary quiet standing task. The final experiment examined the unique influence of the two dimensions on laparoscopic performance during practice and under anxiety in a real-world anxiety provoking situation, the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) (Muldoon, Biesty, & Smith, 2014; Nasir et al., in press). The findings of the six experiments are discussed within the framework of the Theory of Reinvestment (e.g., Masters, 1992; Masters & Maxwell, 2008).published_or_final_version
Human Performance
Doctoral
Doctor of Philosophy
11
Federer, Meghan Rector. "Investigating Assessment Bias for Constructed Response Explanation Tasks| Implications for Evaluating Performance Expectations for Scientific Practice." Thesis, The Ohio State University, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3731329.
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Assessment is a key element in the process of science education teaching and research. Understanding sources of performance bias in science assessment is a major challenge for science education reforms. Prior research has documented several limitations of instrument types on the measurement of students' scientific knowledge (Liu et al., 2011; Messick, 1995; Popham, 2010). Furthermore, a large body of work has been devoted to reducing assessment biases that distort inferences about students' science understanding, particularly in multiple-choice [MC] instruments. Despite the above documented biases, much has yet to be determined for constructed response [CR] assessments in biology and their use for evaluating students' conceptual understanding of scientific practices (such as explanation). Understanding differences in science achievement provides important insights into whether science curricula and/or assessments are valid representations of student abilities.
Using the integrative framework put forth by the National Research Council (2012), this dissertation aimed to explore whether assessment biases occur for assessment practices intended to measure students' conceptual understanding and proficiency in scientific practices. Using a large corpus of undergraduate biology students' explanations, three studies were conducted to examine whether known biases of MC instruments were also apparent in a CR instrument designed to assess students' explanatory practice and understanding of evolutionary change (ACORNS: Assessment of COntextual Reasoning about Natural Selection).
The first study investigated the challenge of interpreting and scoring lexically ambiguous language in CR answers. The incorporation of 'multivalent' terms into scientific discourse practices often results in statements or explanations that are difficult to interpret and can produce faulty inferences about student knowledge. The results of this study indicate that many undergraduate biology majors frequently incorporate multivalent concepts into explanations of change, resulting in explanatory practices that were scientifically non-normative. However, use of follow-up question approaches was found to resolve this source of bias and thereby increase the validity of inferences about student understanding.
The second study focused on issues of item and instrument structure, specifically item feature effects and item position effects, which have been shown to influence measures of student performance across assessment tasks. Results indicated that, along the instrument item sequence, items with similar surface features produced greater sequencing effects than sequences of items with dissimilar surface features. This bias could be addressed by use of a counterbalanced design (i.e., Latin Square) at the population level of analysis. Explanation scores were also highly correlated with student verbosity, despite verbosity being an intrinsically trivial aspect of explanation quality. Attempting to standardize student response length was one proposed solution to the verbosity bias.
The third study explored gender differences in students' performance on constructed-response explanation tasks using impact (i.e., mean raw scores) and differential item function (i.e., item difficulties) patterns. While prior research in science education has suggested that females tend to perform better on constructed-response items, the results of this study revealed no overall differences in gender achievement. However, evaluation of specific item features patterns suggested that female respondents have a slight advantage on unfamiliar explanation tasks. That is, male students tended to incorporate fewer scientifically normative concepts (i.e., key concepts) than females for unfamiliar taxa. Conversely, females tended to incorporate more scientifically non-normative ideas (i.e., naive ideas) than males for familiar taxa. Together these results indicate that gender achievement differences for this CR instrument may be a result of differences in how males and females interpret and respond to combinations of item features.
Overall, the results presented in the subsequent chapters suggest that as science education shifts toward the evaluation of fused scientific knowledge and practice (e.g., explanation), it is essential that educators and researchers investigate potential sources of bias inherent to specific assessment practices. This dissertation revealed significant sources of CR assessment bias, and provided solutions to address these problems.
12
Federer, Meghan Rector. "Investigating Assessment Bias for Constructed Response Explanation Tasks: Implications for Evaluating Performance Expectations for Scientific Practice." The Ohio State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1374058610.
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Mason, Amanda. "Integrating a focus on form into task-based language teaching : an investigation of four communicative tasks conducted by advanced learners of English using synchronous text-based computer-mediated communications." Thesis, Liverpool John Moores University, 2010. http://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/6010/.
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Albert, Jeanne. "The effect on teachers of using mathematical investigation tasks as tools for assessment." Curtin University of Technology, Science and Mathematics Education Centre, 2002. http://espace.library.curtin.edu.au:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=12696.
Full textAbstract:
This study set out to determine the relationship between assessment practices and teaching methods. I wanted to investigate whether making mathematical investigation assessment tasks available to elementary-school mathematics teachers would have a positive effect on their teaching. Research tells us that standardized tests influence instruction. My research explored whether a national Assessment Task Bank of mathematical investigative tasks could influence teachers.With these aims in mind, the following research questions were formulated:1. Will the teachers' use of mathematical investigation tasks for assessment purposes influence their view of mathematics?2. Will the teachers' use of mathematical investigation tasks for assessment purposes influence the way they teach, and if so, in what ways?3. Will the teachers' use of mathematical investigation tasks for assessment purposes influence the way they assess their students, and if so, in what ways?My research was divided into two parts: 1) a national study involving teachers-leaders throughout the country; and 2) an intensive study in a small Israeli community, called Sharon. The first part examined how the national courses on assessment that I conducted affected the participating teacher-leaders in terms of their concept of mathematics, their teaching methods and their assessment practices. The second part examined the same issues with regard to the mathematics coordinators in the Sharon community. In each case, I have detailed my experiences so that the reader can gain a view of all facets of the study.The research methodology adopted was based on a constructivist paradigm, sometimes referred to as a "naturalistic inquiry", utilizing ethnographic principles wherein the data collection and analysis procedures were eclectic. In the course of the five years of my research, I used many strategies of data collection - ++for example, unstructured participant-observations, interviews, questionnaires and content analysis of artifacts (tests and tasks written by teachers).The ideas of reform mathematics (as defined in Ch 2 of this thesis) are based on a broadened vision of mathematics with emphasis on higher-order thinking. My research indicated that the use of mathematical investigation tasks helped the teachers in my study reach the awareness that mathematics, even on the elementary school level, involves generalizations, justifications and even creativity.Prior to my research, and because of my position, I was aware that Israeli teachers were concerned primarily with teaching routine procedures and that their work sheets for the most part involved single-answer exercises. My research indicated that the use of mathematical investigation tasks indeed influenced the way teachers teach. Verbalization-having the students explain "Why"-has become integral to the teaching practices of the participants in my study. Nowadays, the Israeli teachers I worked with use "authentic tasks" in their classrooms: real-life situations that involve some mathematics. Unfortunately, these tasks are not always planned properly.My research demonstrated that teachers attending my professional courses found the mathematical investigation tasks to be useful for assessment purposes, providing them with additional information about their pupils, not obtainable through conventional assessment methods. The additional criteria (I introduced) for evaluating the pupils' work aided in defining these additional areas. I found that while teachers were quite willing to use the mathematical investigation tasks to supplement the conventional tests, they were reluctant to use them as replacements.Exposure to the Assessment Task Bank influenced to a certain degree, the way the teachers in my study assessed their students. The ++
tests of the teachers who were participants in my study now regularly include elements that were previously absent: questions requiring explanations and questions with more than one possible answer.Although the teachers of my study were increasingly using questions that required higher-order thinking, the tendency was to use the tests in a summative manner, rather than formatively. In other words, many teachers found it difficult to use test results for planning their subsequent lessons. While they were able to analyze their students' work and could report in some detail on each student's performance, they failed to understand how this should affect their teaching. Before they were exposed to the tasks they had administered tests merely in order to provide grades, whereas now the teachers were often trying to understand the students' thinking.While long-term change is still elusive, my research has demonstrated that exposure to reform mathematics through the mathematical investigative tasks of the Assessment Task Bank did have some influence on the teachers' view of mathematics, as well as their teaching and assessment practices.
15
Sullivan, Mariya Anne. "Factors underlying high school mathematics teachers' perceptions of challenging math tasks." Scholarly Commons, 2019. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/3584.
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In this confirmatory factor analysis, factors previously identified to explain the variability in Middle School Mathematics Teachers’ perception of the Common Core State Standards of Mathematics were considered as factors hypothesized to effect high school math teachers’ perceptions of challenging math tasks (CMTs). The factor of student characterization (i.e., disposition, academic preparation, and student behavior) was additionally considered as a factor hypothesized to explain teachers’ perceptions of CMTs, as well as site-based variables (i.e., curriculum, assessment and evaluation, professional development, and collaboration). In addition, teachers’ understanding of the importance of the mathematical practice standards and teacher familiarity with enacting CMTs were factors considered in the model. The original septenary factor structure was modified and good model fit was achieved. In addition to the confirmatory factor analysis model which provides a structure for considering teachers perceptions of CMTs, descriptive statistics are presented from the survey developed that captured teachers’ perceptions of CMTs relative to their sites.
16
Freiberg, Jill Maree, and n/a. "Topical Talk in General Practice Medical Consultations: The Operation of Service Topics in the Constitution of Orderly Tasks, Patients and Service Providers." Griffith University. School of Cognition, Language and Special Education, 2003. http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/public/adt-QGU20041012.125934.
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This research project addresses the following: how topical talk operates in the organisation and management of MSE interactions; and how topical talk operates in the co-ordination of specific service requests and service provisions. It draws on a corpus of audio-recorded and transcribed interactions between general practitioners and persons seeking general medical services in suburban clinics in Brisbane, Australia. The corpus comprised a total of 67 medical service events (henceforth MSEs), audio-taped with the full informed consent of the participants. Many contemporary medical sociological accounts of the operation of topical talk in MSEs, typified by the work of Mishler (1981, 1984) and Waitzkin (1991), remain anchored to the 'professional dominance' thesis (Freidson 1970a; 1970b), arguing for the fundamental conflict between two perspectives - lay and professional. Topical talk has been formulated as one expression of this conflict in 'doctor-centred' communicative 'styles' (Byrne and Long 1976; Silverman 1987). Within such accounts, familiar interactional patterns in MSEs, including the content and structure of topics, have been theorised as instruments of power and control whereby the dominance of specialised medical knowledge and expertise are established and maintained. Mishler's (1984) characterisation of the conflict between a biomedically oriented 'voice of medicine' used by professional physicians (henceforth GPs) and a 'voice of the lifeworld' used by persons seeking medical services (henceforth Ps) is an expression of the 'professional dominance' thesis. The voices are characterised as attesting to a fundamental, theoretically problematic, asymmetry of power relations between GPs and Ps, thereby reinforcing the ideological status of professionals in general and the medical profession in particular. Further, recommendations regarding correctives to 'professional dominance' centre on advice GPs to attend to the primacy of Ps' talk on their experiences of illnesses rather than apparently 'ignoring' or transforming these topics into biomedical accounts of disease. This research project critiques this formulation of topical talk and the traditional theoretical and empirical bases on which it has drawn. This critique arises from the application of ethnomethodological approaches to the study of MSEs. Such approaches, as outlined in Chapters 2 and 3, are characterised by a number of conceptual and analytic premises: First, particular social structural features of social activities and the institutional contexts within which activities occur should not be assumed to be the primary criteria for judging the import and adequacy of situated action. Second, the parties to situated social events mutually constitute those events in the real world. Third, issues of agency are collaborative situated accomplishments such that the management of everyday social activities is accomplished by the people involved who show one another the rationalities of their actions as they assemble the familiar scenic features of those same institutional events (Garfinkel 1967; Sacks 1992a, 1992b). These assumptions have been applied in ethnomethodological analyses of social action, including the analysis of professional service encounters that have critiqued the 'professional dominance' thesis (Eglin and Wideman 1986; Sharrock 1979). The novelty of this study is the analysis of the operation of topic organisation as a phenomenon of order. This study also draws on recommendations within Ethnomethodology (Hester & Eglin 1997b; Watson 1997) that sequential and categorial organisations are mutually informative in the analysis of the rationality of situated social action. One of the particular contributions of this thesis is that it not only jointly applies both conversation analysis and membership categorisation analysis but also extends this recommendation to the inclusion of topic analysis as was originally provided for by Sacks (1992a , 1992b) and Garfinkel and Sacks (1970). Within this study a model of analysis has been constructed that has enabled the analytical consideration of four dimensions of social organisation: local sequential, extended sequential, topical and categorial organisations. The theoretical and empirical concepts of ethnomethodogical analysis have thus been developed and extended within this project. The central findings of this study are that in institutional service events, the 'service topic' is both significant and consequential, and that persons constitute themselves as bona fide incumbents of the categories GP or P by attending to their actions as topically organised. The local adequacy of any particular interactional move (such as questioning-answering, greetings, the design of a topic proposal, etc) is shown to be referenced to the service topic. This study found no evidence of potential or actual "struggles" between the 'voice of the life-world and the voice of medicine'. Rather, this study finds routine recognition on the part of both Ps and GPs of the centrality of the service topic and, thereby, the service task, and no evidence of orientation to distinctive biographical contributions staged in competition with biomedically relevant service topics. It is found that Ps' biographical references were made in the context of an assembled service topic such that particular service tasks, however conventional, were constituted as both relevant and reasonable as medical goods and service for the specific service recipient and provider. At the most general level, it is concluded that the service topic operates as a phenomenon of order in MSEs where order, as defined by Garfinkel and Weider (1992: 202), refers to all of the rationalities evident in the generic features of institutional events and settings, that is, the situated logic and intelligibility as well as the procedures whereby they are constituted as recognisable social events. The thesis concludes with a discussion of the implications of the findings for the theorisation, policy-making, medical education, and practices of GPs and Ps within MSEs. Overall, the significance of this work for researchers into medical interactions is that the relevance of the service topic and its pervasive organisational consequences need to be considered analytically. A major outcome of this thesis is the establishment of a new order of interest within the study of institutional interactions. The project demonstrates the pervasive consequences of service topics and thus provides a step forward in the study of institutional service interactions and ways of theorising their rationality, a step that extends beyond social structural pre-theorisations of power and domination and also beyond interactional accounts of the primary relevance of turn taking structures.
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Botha, Johanna Jacoba. "Exploring mathematical literacy : the relationship between teachers’ knowledge and beliefs and their instructional practices." Thesis, University of Pretoria, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/28984.
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South Africa is the first country in the world to offer Mathematical Literacy as a school subject. This subject was introduced in 2006 as an alternative to Mathematics in the Further Education and Training band. The purpose of this subject is to provide learners with an awareness and understanding of the role that mathematics plays in the modern world, but also with opportunities to engage in real-life problems in different contexts. A problem is the beliefs some people in and outside the classroom have regarding this subject such as teachers believing ML is the dumping ground for mathematics underperformers (Mbekwa, 2007). Another problem is the belief of some principals that any nonmathematics teacher can teach ML. In practice there is Mathematics teachers who teach ML in the same way that they teach Mathematics; non-Mathematics teachers who in many cases lack the necessary mathematical content knowledge and skills to teach ML competently; and Mathematics teachers who adapted their practices to teach ML using different approaches than those required for teaching Mathematics. Limited in-depth research has been done on the ML teachers, what they believe and what knowledge is required to teach this subject effectively and proficiently. The purpose of this study is to investigate the way in which ML is taught in a limited number of classrooms with the view to exploring the relationship between ML teachers’ knowledge and beliefs and their instructional practices. According to Artzt, Armour-Thomas and Curcio (2008) the instructional practice of the teacher plays out in the classroom where teachers’ goals, knowledge and beliefs serve as the driving force behind their instructional efforts to guide and mentor learners in their search for knowledge. To accomplish this aim, an in-depth case study was conducted to explore the nature of teachers’ knowledge and beliefs about ML as manifested in their instructional practices. A qualitative research approach was used in which observations and interviews served as data collection techniques enabling me to interpret the reality as I became part of the lives of the teachers. My study revealed that there is a dynamic but complex relationship between ML teachers’ knowledge and beliefs and their instructional practices. The teachers’ knowledge, but not their stated beliefs were reflected in their instructional practices. Conversely, in one case, the teacher’s instructional practice also had a positive influence on her knowledge and beliefs. It was further revealed that mathematics teacher training and teaching experience played a significant role in the productivity of the teachers’ practices. The findings suggest that although mathematical content knowledge is required to develop PCK, it is teaching experience that plays a crucial role in the development of teachers’ PCK. Although the study’s results cannot be generalised due to the small sample, I believe that the findings concerning the value of teachers’ knowledge and the contradictions between their stated beliefs and practices could possibly contribute to teacher training. Curriculum decision-makers should realise that the teaching of ML requires specially trained, competent, dedicated teachers who value the subject. This exploratory study concludes with recommendations for further research.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011.
Science, Mathematics and Technology Education
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Strobach, Tilo. "On the mechanisms improving dual-task performance with pratice." Doctoral thesis, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät II, 2010. http://dx.doi.org/10.18452/16053.
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Zahlreiche Studien belegen, dass Menschen Schwierigkeiten bei der simultanen Ausführung von 2 Aufgaben haben. Diese Schwierigkeiten sind durch zusätzliche Leistungskosten in Doppelaufgabensituationen im Vergleich zu Einzelaufgabensituationen gekennzeichnet (d.h. Doppelaufgabenkosten). Allerdings konnten jüngere Studien eine deutliche Reduktion der Doppelaufgabenkosten am Ende von Übung zeigen. Der Befund von Doppelaufgabenkosten am Beginn und die deutliche Reduktion davon am Ende der Übung indiziert, dass diese Reduktion durch spezifische Lernmechanismen geleistet wird. Obwohl sich frühere Studien bereits mit diesen Mechanismen befassen, bleiben die genauen Mechanismen der Reduktion der Doppelaufgabenkosten durch Übung unbekannt. Das Ziel von vier Studien der vorliegenden Arbeit ist die Spezifizierung dieser Mechanismen durch die Anwendung einer Doppelaufgabensituation mit einer visuellen und einer auditiven Teilaufgabe (Schumacher et al., 2001). Untersuchungen zu Lernmechanismen innerhalb der Teilaufgaben zielten auf die genaue Lokalisation von Verkürzungen der Verarbeitungszeit in diesen Aufgaben während der Übung. Erstmalig konnte ich zeigen, dass die Verkürzung der Aufgabenverarbeitung in Doppelaufgabensituationen vor allem durch eine verkürzte Antwortauswahlstufe erfolgt. Demgegenüber haben Untersuchungen zu Lernmechanismen zwischen den Teilaufgaben auf den Erwerb von Fertigkeiten der Aufgabenkoordination gezielt. Hier habe ich Nachweise erbracht, dass diese Fertigkeiten während der Übung von Doppelaufgaben erwerbbar sind, aber dass kein Erwerb während Einzelaufgabenübung erfolgt. Weiterhin habe ich gezeigt, dass diese Fertigkeiten in alternative Doppelaufgabensituationen transferierbar sind. Allerdings gibt es keinen Nachweis für den Fertigkeitstransfer in Aufgabenwechsel- und Attentional-Blink-Situationen. Um das Ergebnis von Lernmechanismen weiter zu spezifizieren, habe ich gezeigt, dass die Doppelaufgabenleistung in der visuellen aber nicht in der auditiven Teilaufgabe stabil ist nachdem die Übung beendet wurde. Die vorliegenden Befunde zu Lernmechanismen werden in ein Modell von geübter Doppelaufgabenleistung, das Latent Bottleneck Model, integriert und neue Annahmen im Rahmen dieses Modells diskutiert.Numerous studies showed that people have difficulty performing two tasks at the same time. This difficulty is indicated by additional performance costs in dual-task situations when compared to single-task situations, i.e. dual-task costs. However, recent evidence has shown a substantial reduction of dual-task costs through practice. The finding of dual-task costs at the beginning and the reduction thereof at the end of practice indicates that this reduction must be accomplished via specific learning mechanisms. Although such mechanisms have been addressed in previous studies, the specific mechanisms contributing to practice related dual-task cost reduction remained unknown. The aim of four studies in the present work is to specify these mechanisms by applying a dual-task situation including a visual and an auditory component task (Schumacher et al., 2001). Investigations on learning mechanisms within the component tasks aimed to identify loci of stage shortening in these tasks through practice. For the first time I showed that component task processing in dual-task situations is mainly shortened through a shortening at the response selection stage. In contrast, investigations on learning mechanisms between the component tasks focussed on the acquisition of task coordination skills. Here I provided evidence that these skills are acquired during dual-task practice and there is no acquisition of these skills during single-task practice. Additionally, I demonstrated that these skills are transferable to alternative dual-task situations. There is, however, no evidence for transfer of these skills to task switching and attentional blink paradigms. In order to further specify the result of the learning mechanisms, I showed that dual-task performance in the visual but not in the auditory task is stable after practice has finished. The present findings on learning mechanisms are integrated into a model of practiced dual-task performance, the latent bottleneck model, and new assumptions in the framework of this model are discussed.
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Smyth, Mary-Anne. "A portfolio of academic, therapeutic practice and research work including an investigation into the differences between recalling a waking memory and a dream memory and the eye-movements which accompany these tasks." Thesis, University of Surrey, 2011. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.540973.
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Louw, Willem Petrus. "Turning resources into assets : improving the service delivery and relevance of a psychology training clinic through action research." Thesis, University of Pretoria, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/26018.
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This thesis traces the inception and evolution of a combined collaborative action research project and living theory action research project. Six academic staff members attempted to improve our practice of generating locally relevant research in a university psychology clinic. This process impacted not only on the lives of the participants, but facilitated the enactment of the three tasks of universities and so influenced the lives of the student and residential communities to whom we had a responsibility. This thesis explores two research questions that formed the first part of the study, namely: “How can we improve the functioning of Itsoseng Psychology Clinic?” and “How can we increase our research output?” The second part of the study was a self-study action research project in which I examined my attempts to improve my academic practice by inquiring into my practice of facilitating the collaborative action research project as a peer support initiative. In the form of my living theory, this thesis therefore also explored my answers to the questions: “How can I facilitate a peer support research initiative?” and “How can I improve my academic practice through facilitating such an initiative?” I take a macro-level view of the relationship between a university and surrounding communities and discuss within the South African context three discernable mandates or tasks that universities fulfil: teaching, research and community engagement. I discuss the relevance of this study to psychology and specifically university psychology clinics as potential interface between the university and the surrounding community when enacting community engagement as the third academic task. I also discuss the implications of this study to action research methodology and the concept of transformation in emancipatory research. The main argument of my living theory of my academic practice is that the formation and nurturing of a regular, supportive and critical audience in the form of peer support research meetings contributed to the transformation of resources into assets when we worked towards improving the service delivery and local relevance of a university psychology clinic.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011.
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Jakobsson-Åhl, Teresia. "Encouraging Participation in Mathematical Practices : Messages in the Boost for Mathematics." Thesis, Luleå tekniska universitet, Institutionen för konst, kommunikation och lärande, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-67660.
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In this thesis, focused attention is given to the idea of task solvers as active participants in mathematical practices. The theoretical assumptions of the study, reported in this thesis, are inspired by socio-political concerns. The aim of the study is to investigate the underlying view of participation in mathematical practices, as understood in a nationwide teacher professional development programme, the Boost for Mathematics, in Sweden. To be more precise, the study is arranged to problematise ways of encouraging students as active participants. This aim is approached by means of the following research questions: (1) What messages do mathematical tasks in the Boost for Mathematics send about people as participants in mathematical practices? and (2) What is the role of multiple representations in these messages? An empirical study is reported. The data of the study, i.e., three collections of problems, are drawn from the Boost for Mathematics. Data processing is conducted by using a modified version of a pre-existing data processing framework, focusing on mathematical practices as socio-political practices. The empirical study uncovers an implicit view of task solvers in mathematical practices and especially a detachment between students, as potential task solvers, and the social contexts where mathematical ideas and concepts are embedded. This implicit view is challenged from the assumption that it is motivating for a student to conceive him/herself as someone who is ‘qualified’ to take part in mathematical practices.
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Diaoune, Thierno Moussa. "Analyse des effets de Facebook et des applications mobiles digitales éducatives sur les résultats universitaires des étudiants de la langue anglaise de l’Institut Supérieur des Sciences de l’Education de Guinée : Cas de la cohorte de 2015." Thesis, Lille 3, 2020. http://www.theses.fr/2020LIL3H046.
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La présente thèse s’intéresse à l’utilisation de Facebook et des applications mobiles digitales éducatives comme dispositifs de médiation des apprentissages de l’anglais. Elle analyse l’incidence de ces dispositifs nomades sur les apprentissages de l’anglaise des étudiants de l’Institut Supérieur des Sciences de l’Education de Guinée (ISSEG). Il s’agit principalement de la cohorte des étudiants inscrits en 2015.L’absence de Centre de Ressources numérique de Langue (CRL) à l’ISSEG amène enseignants et apprenants à se pencher sur ces outils qui se socialisent, qui transforment et transmettent des savoirs dans la sphère pédagogique. Aujourd’hui, ces outils non formels mobilisent tout naturellement l’attention, et influencent d’une manière ou d’une autre les pratiques. Il s’agit de comprendre en quoi la mise en place dès la licence1 d’un dispositif de médiation de type social appuyé par des applications mobiles libres influence-t-il l’apprentissage de l’anglais ? Plus concrètement, 53 étudiants de la Licence1 ont servi de groupe expérimental en Basic Writing.Le sujet que nous abordons a fait l’objet de plusieurs travaux s’inscrivant dans une préoccupation scientifique d’autres chercheurs (Benali, Kaddouri, & Azzimani, 2018 ; Nijimbere, 2013 ; Rabardel, 1995, Lave & Wenger, 1991; Hanson & Robertson, 2007, Villemonteix et Khaneboubi, 2014, Béziat, 2012). En Guinée, l’anglais est considéré comme une langue étrangère et est apprise tardivement de manière académique. L’Institut National de Recherche et d’Action Pédagogique (INRAP) a décidé en 2013 de la refonte du programme d’anglais existant (MOBEL) en vue de couvrir à la fois le lycée et le collège. Pour l’INRAP, les bacheliers inscrits dans la filière langue anglais à l’université ne se sentiraient pas très à l’aise et manqueraient de préalables. L’analyse de 149 relevés de notes du Baccalauréat session 2015 montre que ce ne sont pas les plus méritants qui sont orienté à l’ISSEG. Parmi les 149 relevés analysés, 93 ont une moyenne faible au bac (moyenne < 10/20). Soit 57% des 93 ont une note en anglais <10/20. Le mode et la médiane des observations se stabilisent à 10/20 et la moyenne à 9,96. Par conséquent, le taux d’échec (46%) et d’abandon (22,5%) en Licence 1 langue anglaise est relativement élevé à l’ISSEG. Après l’exploitation didactique du dispositif, l’analyse des notes académiques et des textes publiés dans le compte permettent d’affirmer que la pratique de Facebook en Licence1 a influencé les résultats académiques des 28 étudiants les plus actifs. Car en Basic Writing le Groupe1 (expérimental) a eu une moyenne 6,39 relativement supérieure à celui du Groupe2 (témoin) qui a obtenu 6,15. Même si cette influence est peu significative au regard des moyennes des deux groupes, les entretiens individuels traduisant l’effet positif de la communauté mise en place.En fin, en s’interrogeant sur les conditions d’efficacités de l’usage des applications libres dans les pays du sud, pouvant favoriser les compétences de base en anglais, la plupart des enquêtés éprouve leurs vertus. Toutefois, il n’en demeure pas moins que les compétences de base intégrées restent limitées au niveau inférieur de la taxonomie des apprentissages de type cognitif chez Bloom(1956).Dans les perspectives de recherche l’usage généralisé des réseaux sociaux, des applications libres par les étudiants contribuent-ils au développement de stratégies d’apprentissage et aussi aux habiletés visuels et sonores, essentiels pour la maîtrise de l’intonation, du rythme et la compréhension de l’anglais ? L’on se demande comment ces étudiants en situation de formation pour l’enseignement pourront-ils supporter le programme universitaire et devenir ainsi professionnellement qualifiés ?This thesis focuses on the use of Facebook and digital educational mobile applications as devices for mediating English language learning. It analyses the impact of these nomadic devices on the English language learning of students at the Higher Institute of Educational Sciences of Guinea (ISSEG).The absence of a Digital Language Resource Centre (DLRC) at ISSEG leads teachers and learners to focus on these tools that socialize, transform and transmit knowledge in the pedagogical sphere. Today, these non-formal tools quite naturally mobilize attention and influence practices in one way or another. The aim is to understand how the implementation of a social mediation system supported by free mobile applications from the start of the licence1 influences the learning of English. More concretely, 53 students 1st year served as an experimental group in Basic Writing.The subject we are dealing with has been the subject of several works that are part of a scientific concern of other researchers (Benali et al., 2018; Nijimbere, 2013; Rabardel, 1995, Lave & Wenger, 1991; Hanson & Robertson, 2007, Villemonteix and Khaneboubi, 2014, Béziat, 2012). In Guinea, English is considered a foreign language and is learned late in the academic process. The Institut National de Recherche et d'Action Pédagogique (INRAP) decided in 2013 to overhaul the existing English language curriculum (MOBEL) to cover both upper secondary and lower secondary schools. For INRAP, bachelors enrolled in the English language stream at university would not feel very comfortable and would lack prerequisites. An analysis of 149 transcripts of the Baccalaureate session 2015 shows that they are not the most deserving ones who are oriented at ISSEG. Of the 149 transcripts analysed, 93 have a low average in the Baccalaureate (average < 10/20). That is to say 57% of the 93 have a mark in English < 10/20. The mode and median of the observations stabilize at 10/20 and the average at 9.96. As a result, the failure (46%) and drop-out (22.5%) rates for the English-language Baccalaureate 1 are relatively high at the ISSEG. After the didactic exploitation of the system, the analysis of the academic marks and the texts published in the account allow us to affirm that the practice of Facebook in 1st year has influenced the academic results of the 28 most active students. In Basic Writing, the group1 (experimental) had an average score of 6.39, relatively higher than the group2 (control), which obtained 6.15. Even if this influence is not very significant compared to the averages of the two groups, the individual interviews reflect the positive effect of the community set up.Finally, by wondering about the conditions for the efficient use of open source applications in southern countries, which can promote Basic English skills, most of the respondents test their virtues. However, the fact remains that integrated basic competences remain limited to the lower level of the taxonomy of cognitive-type learning in Bloom’s (1956).In the perspective of research, the generalized use of social networks, free applications by students contribute to the development of learning strategies and also to visual and sound skills, essential for mastering intonation, rhythm and the understanding of English? One wonders how these teacher-trainees will be able to support the university program and thus become professionally qualified ?
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Landén, David. "Complex Task Allocation for Delegation : From Theory to Practice." Licentiate thesis, Linköpings universitet, KPLAB - Laboratoriet för kunskapsbearbetning, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-70536.
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The problem of determining who should do what given a set of tasks and a set of agents is called the task allocation problem. The problem occurs in many multi-agent system applications where a workload of tasks should be shared by a number of agents. In our case, the task allocation problem occurs as an integral part of a larger problem of determining if a task can be delegated from one agent to another. Delegation is the act of handing over the responsibility for something to someone. Previously, a theory for delegation including a delegation speech act has been specified. The speech act specifies the preconditions that must be fulfilled before the delegation can be carried out, and the postconditions that will be true afterward. To actually use the speech act in a multi-agent system, there must be a practical way of determining if the preconditions are true. This can be done by a process that includes solving a complex task allocation problem by the agents involved in the delegation. In this thesis a constraint-based task specification formalism, a complex task allocation algorithm for allocating tasks to unmanned aerial vehicles and a generic collaborative system shell for robotic systems are developed. The three components are used as the basis for a collaborative unmanned aircraft system that uses delegation for distributing and coordinating the agents' execution of complex tasks.
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Denham, Andrew Robert Joshua. "Think-tanks of the New Right : theory, practice and politics." Thesis, University of Southampton, 1992. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.316310.
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Smith, Peter M. "Efficacy of mental practice as a function of task complexity." Thesis, McGill University, 1986. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=65480.
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Gul, Amar. "Practice, stimulus-specific effects and individual differences in task switching." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2012. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/3658/.
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This thesis points to the important roles of learning, individual differences in emotional intelligence (EI) and general intelligence (IQ), and culture (British vs. South Asian), on task switching. Participants switched between word identities and colour and between different face dimensions (emotion, gender and occupation). In general switch costs were reduced as participants practiced. Most interestingly, Stroop interference across blocks of trials was stronger for stimuli that form integrated representations, providing evidence that learned bindings between word forms and colours influence Stroop effects. In a separate study, people with high IQ were generally better able to task-switch while EI had a selective effect depending on the task. Individuals with high EI had low switch costs when emotion classification was involved, but not when switches were made between gender and occupation decisions. In a third set of studies, culture was found to affect the speed of face categorization, which may reflect cultural biases to emotion (in the White British population) and unfamiliarity in using facial cues to gender in South Asian participants. Finally, there was also evidence of implicit coding of facial emotion and gender - but not occupation. The implications for understanding task switching were reviewed in a final chapter.
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Almstedt, Jansson Malin. "Information in social practice : Information-related activities engaged in by engineers." Thesis, Högskolan i Borås, Akademin för bibliotek, information, pedagogik och IT, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-443.
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In this study information-related activities engaged in by engineers during work task performance in the research and development centre at Sandvik Materials Technology AB are investigated. The purpose of the present study was to identify and achieve an understanding of the information-related activities performed by engineers during work task performance in a corporate context. The work task performance in focus is the task of writing a technical report.The study rests on methodological triangulation through the use of a work task diary, a semi-structured questionnaire and focus groups. In total 16 engineers participated in the study. The theoretical framework is based on theories of information in social practice, the information seeking process and the concept of task.The study presents results showing that engineers work in a highly complex information environment and their work task performance is to a high degree affected by situational attributes such as previous experience, type of work task, time, target group, and access to information. The results show that the information sources preferred by engineers have not changed over time; rather a change is seen in the type of sources. There is a distinct increase in the use of electronic sources; which in turn seem to affect the way engineers perceive accessibility. The study also shows that there are evident situational and contextual attributes affecting the information-related activities. Information needed to perform a work task is strongly related to data retrieved from experiments. There also seems to be an embedded tolerance for a low scientific level in technical reports, even though the scientific practice is the norm.This study also shows that the concept of work task forms a relevant basis for studies of information-related activities, particularly in combination with theories on information in social practice. The model of the work task process combined with a faceted classification of work tasks provides a sound methodological tool for the analysis of work tasks in different contexts.
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Fung, Tak-fong Agnes, and 馮德芳. "An investigation of young children's thinking processes on solving practical mathematics tasks." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1998. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31960091.
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Fung, Tak-fong Agnes. "An investigation of young children's thinking processes on solving practical mathematics tasks." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 1998. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B20057854.
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Mothokwa, Sekgopo Sydney. "The integration of practical tasks in teaching Natural Sciences in Grade seven." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/46166.
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The study was carried out to investigate how teachers integrate practical tasks at school level. The main aim was to explore the manner in which the teachers who participated in this study assisted the learners to develop 21st century scientific skills through the teaching of Natural Sciences in Grade 7 classes. The study was conducted in three districts of the Department of Education in the Limpopo Province. The study was qualitative in nature and used a case study research design. The techniques used to collect data included document analysis, lesson observations, semi-structured interviews and the researcher’s diary. Furthermore, the study used content analysis to analyse the data. Literature was reviewed and underpinned by the Profile of Implementation, which served as the theoretical framework of the study.
These two sources of information contributed greatly to the final establishment of realities concerning the way these teachers attempted to develop skills in the learners. The findings of the study were interpreted based on the reviewed literature and the theoretical framework. Conclusions emerged that the teachers in this study integrated practical tasks in a traditional manner rather than using 21st century approaches in many cases. The most affected areas included practical lesson preparation, and presentation and assessment. In many cases, the teachers handled and used apparatus while the learners observed the unfolding events. Additionally, inadequate amounts of time allocated for the teaching of Natural Sciences, coupled with a lack of appropriate resources are some of the factors which disadvantaged the majority of the learners in this study from developing the potential to implement Science in real-life situations.Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2014.
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MEd
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Breeze, Julian. "Task switching and cognitive control processes : measured using increases to stimulus dimension, stimulus set size and task practice." Thesis, Bangor University, 2008. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.494186.
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The aim of this thesis is to understand some of the processes involved in the selection of appropriate tasks, and in the selection of correct responses to those tasks. The main focus of the following experiments will be on how interference and conflict occurs during these processes, either at the perceptual or action selection stages when switching task. It should be possible to demonstrate with increases to the number of attributes, the experience of tasks associated with non-target attributes, and in varying the number of trials before switching tasks, that task selection consists of several stages or processes, and that these processes do not necessarily interact. This will show that the switch cost is not an unitary cost associated with changing a single response-stimulus setting, task parameter, or an overall task set, but a composite of various costs associated with different task selection processes.
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Cahn, Dan. "The effects of practice procedure and task difficulty on tonal pattern accuracy." Thesis, connect to online resource, 2003. http://www.library.unt.edu/theses/open/20031/cahn%5Fdan/index.htm.
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Scheel, Matthew H. "Massing practice increases rate and errors on a virtual water jar task." abstract and full text PDF (free order & download UNR users only), 2007. http://0-gateway.proquest.com.innopac.library.unr.edu/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3258833.
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Symonds, Sue A. "Low-income mothers' expectations and practices related to their child's accomplishment of four developmental tasks." Virtual Press, 2003. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1263895.
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Protocol: The study reported information from case records of 17 new mothers and their children who received an agency's services. Mother's expectations about their child's accomplishment of four developmental tasks (controlled crying, walking, toilet training and accepting discipline) were compared with mother's practices over a four to five year period.Participants: Seventeen adult women (currently 18 years and older) who were mothers of newborns and who received continuous agency services during a four to five year period agreed to participate in the case record review.Information Handling: When mother's signed release form was returned, the agency made the mother's case record available for selecting information pertinent to the study questions. The investigator focused on the caseworker's anecdotal notes of home visits, written narrative interviews, biannual goal-setting forms, and the Denver Developmental Screening Tests (Denver II) related to the mother and baby.Analysis: Information was grouped around two major themes. One theme was the mothers' expectation statements and mothers' practices about their child's development. The other major theme was the description of the caseworker's informal educational techniques and role modeling of appropriate behaviors.Conclusions: The most common developmental patterns were: Eleven of 17 mothers held expectations about their behaviors related to controlled crying; seven of 17 mothers' expectations matched their child's age for walking; nine of 17 mothers' behaviors didn't match their expectations related to toilet training their child; and seven of 17 mothers' behaviors matched their expectations with regard to accepting discipline.The most common pattern was that the case worker provided appropriate amounts of literature; discussed development, both general and focused, at numerous home visits; administered and discussed developmental testing approximately every six months; referred and coordinated developmental delay treatments; and assist the mother in providing the treatment plans.Department of Educational Studies
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Erwin, Alexander. "A descriptive study of tasks performed by exemplary secondary principals which facilitate effective instructional practices." Diss., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1986. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/50014.
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This study investigated the tasks performed by secondary principals. The study was to determine what effect principals have on the teaching practices of classroom teachers. The tasks chosen for this study were categorized into five areas: Administrative, Evaluative, Public Relations, Interpersonal and Organizational. The tasks are indicative of criteria most commonly used for the appraisal of principals in North Carolina.
A questionnaire was developed from the North Carolina Appraisal Instrument for Principals. The population was 8 principals and 435 teachers from a total slate population of 301 secondary principals and teachers. The questionnaire utilized functions on the Performance Appraisal instrument and altered the items to specifically address the tasks of principals. The statistical analyses used were frequency distributions and percentages which displayed the data.
The findings indicated a discernible pattern in the tasks that teachers perceived as important to their instructional practices. From the 34 items, the following tasks were shown to be most important: developing an annual plan for the school, praising and recognizing students with positive feedback, communicating the purpose of observations and classroom visitations, praising outstanding academic achievement, and allocating time for planning, preparation and evaluation. The findings further suggest the need for principals to involve students and teachers in developing rules, to participate in community programs, to counsel teachers regarding observable strengths and weaknesses, to participate in the promotion of teachers who demonstrate effective instructional practices, and to balance expenditures for instructional materials.Ed. D.
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Liu, Shijuan. "Design and use of assessment tasks in online graduate courses instructors' practices, reflections, and perceptions /." [Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2007. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3330791.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Instructional Systems Technology, 2007.Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Jul 20, 2009). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-10, Section: A, page: 3918. Adviser: Curtis J. Bonk.
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Brown, Graeme David. "Practical wisdom? : a reconstruction of the sentencing task." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/16874.
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This thesis considers how judges sentence. It explores and critically analyses judicial decision making in sentencing along with judicial perceptions of, and attitudes towards, the sentencing process. Building upon a thorough review of recent scholarship on judicial decision making and sentencing, and incorporating a comparative study of domestic and Commonwealth sentencing jurisprudence, the thesis comprises the first empirical study of judicial sentencing in Scotland in a decade. The thesis reports the results of an interview-based study with 25 serving Scottish judges. In particular it investigates judicial views on the importance of judicial discretion; the pursuit of individualised justice; the aims and purposes of sentencing; the role of personal mitigation, leniency and mercy; the use of guidelines, and whether consistency in sentencing is either achievable or desirable. The empirical findings reveal that, in order to comply with the demands of justice, the majority of Scottish judges consider the process of sentencing to be an adjudicative balancing of the relevant facts in every case – a delicate art based on competence, experience and expertise which is best achieved through a process of “instinctive synthesis”. This means that sentencing must remain an essentially discretionary process structured by appellate guidance. Through an integration of the concept of equity as particularised justice, the Aristotelian concept of phronesis (or “practical wisdom”) and appellate courts’ focus on the instinctive synthesis, the thesis argues that judicial sentencing methodology – to the extent that it relies on intuition and experience – is best viewed in terms of a phronetic synthesis of the relevant facts and circumstances of the individual case. The sentencing task is thus conceptualised as a form of case-orientated, concrete and intuitive decision making that seeks individualisation through judicial recognition of the profoundly contextualised nature of the process.
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Brutschy, Arne. "Enabling research on complex tasks in swarm robotics: novel conceptual and practical tools." Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/209123.
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Research in swarm robotics focuses mostly on how robots interact and cooperate to perform tasks, rather than on the details of task execution. As a consequence, researchers often consider abstract tasks in their experimental work. For example, foraging is often studied without physically handling objects: the retrieval of an object from a source to a destination is abstracted into a trip between the two locations---no object is physically transported. Despite being commonly used, so far task abstraction has only been implemented in an ad hoc fashion.In this dissertation, I propose a collection of tools for flexible and reproducible task abstraction. At the core of this collection is a physical device that serves as an abstraction of a single-robot task to be performed by an e-puck robot. I call this device the TAM, an acronym for "task abstraction module". A complex multi-robot task can be abstracted using a group of TAMs by first modeling the task as the set of its constituent single-robot subtasks and then representing each subtask with a TAM. I propose a novel approach to modeling complex tasks and a framework for controlling a group of TAMs such that the behavior of the group implements the model of the complex task.
The combination of the TAM, the modeling approach, and the control framework forms a collection of tools for conducting research in swarm robotics. These tools enable research on cooperative behaviors and complex tasks with simple, cost-effective robots such as the e-puck - research that would be difficult and costly to conduct using specialized robots or ad hoc solutions to task abstraction. I present proof-of-concept experiments and several studies that use the TAM for task abstraction in order to illustrate the variety of tasks that can be studied with the proposed tools.
Doctorat en Sciences de l'ingénieur
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished
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Hagemeier, Nicholas E. "HHS Pain Management Best Practices Interagency Task Force Report: Key Take-Aways." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2019. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/7746.
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Lopez, y. Mota Angel Daniel. "Problems in defining and eliciting "scientific" processes using practical tasks with primary school children." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 1991. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10018554/.
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The inclusion of science in the primary school curriculum makes it necessary to have plausible scientific activities that fulfil certain educational objectives. The purpose of this study is to show to what extent it is possible to combine such criteria. Tasks have been constructed, each in two versions - Structured and Investigation plus Goal - in each four topic domains. Levels of success are given for both versions of the tasks, both overall and in relation to their cognitive demands. The tasks are constructed so as to elicit, as far as possible, a number of 'scientific processes'. This notion is not, however, taken for granted. The study looks at processes in the context of the tasks; at when it makes sense to label processes as such or when they are better considered as content bound, and at the nature of what in fact has been elicited from children. It has been possible to answer some questions related to children's 'scientific' behaviour such as, How complete are children's investigations?, Do children notice relevant phenomena? Do they draw conclusions from what they noticed? How well do children identify and control variables?, How good are children at using 'what-if reasoning', What explanations of the phenomena do children give? and, Do children make notes when doing an investigation? The framework of the study describes and compares two models of defining and eliciting 'scientific' processes, leading to the organization of the literature review in terms of: problems of transfer from the nature of science, problems of defining and matching, and problems of eliciting and discriminating. The conclusions are organized around three main areas of concern: 1) the tasks, 2) the processes, and 3) children's behaviour. The first comments on the tasks as potentially pedagogic and diagnostic devices. The second considers the problems of defining and eliciting 'scientific' processes. The last recapitulates the findings on children's behaviour, emphasizing some of their commonsense features.
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Park, Youngsoo. "UNCERTAINTY, EQUIVOCALITY AND INTEGRATIVE PRACTICES IN A PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT CONTEXT." University of Toledo / OhioLINK, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1301624695.
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Spears, Tyler S. "Promoting Engagement Through Instructional Practices Using the Common Core State Standards For Mathematics." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1371738041.
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Graham, Nina. "Balanced Artistry: Describing and Explaining Expert Teacher Practice as Adaptive Expertise." Scholar Commons, 2014. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/5027.
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This work was possible through the support of my personal and professional families. Personally, my husband Brad was my continual encourager through each phase of this journey. This accomplishment is as much his as mine. Also, through this process I feel I have matured at the hands of the Lord through His careful, peaceful leading within the many nuanced steps of completing the doctoral program. Professionally, the ladies forming my doctoral committee have been more than advisors, but mentors. Their thoughtful counsel helped me feel capable throughout the many phases of becoming a researcher and scholar, yet they offered insight always with attention to the aspects of life that keep us whole outside of our work
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Noroozi, Majeed. "Task-based Language Teaching versus Present, Practice, Produce: Efficacy in Language Learning and Assessment." FIU Digital Commons, 2018. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/3874.
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Long (2015) defines Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT) as “an approach to course design, implementation, and evaluation intended to meet the communicative needs of diverse groups of learners” (p. 5). Task-based Language Teaching has been introduced and developed by second language acquisition researchers as well as language educators in response to the teacher dominated and focus-on-formS methods of language teaching in classrooms such as the approach of Present, Practice, Produce (PPP) (Van den Branden, 2006). The present study aimed to build upon the previous literature on the possible differential effects of the PPP approach and TBLT on students’ language learning (e.g., De la Fuente, 2006;; Lai, Zhao, & Wang, 2011; Li, Ellis & Zhu, 2016; Gonzalez-Lloret & Nielson, 2015; Shintani, 2011, 2013) which have examined the differential effects of these two language methodologies on learners’ language learning. The present study aimed to address the methodological drawbacks of the Li et al. (2016) study by including Task-based Language Assessment (TBLA) in its methodology alongside the GJT and the EIT so as to obtain a more comprehensive picture of the comparison of PPP and TBLT.
Thirty-four [e1] participants from three English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes at the lower intermediate level of proficiency participated in this study, which took place at the Parsian Language Institute located in the city of Ghaemshahr in Iran. The three classes were randomly assigned to three groups of TBLT, PPP, and Control. Learning was measured with the same types of tests as the Li et al. (2016) study, i.e., a GJT and an Elicited imitation test; however, a Task Assessment was added. Participants were administered the pre-assessments, then participated in the TBLT, PPP and Control group treatments, respectively, and finally performed the post-assessments. A Wilcoxon Signed Ranked Test revealed that the performance of TBLT and PPP on the GJT and the EIT significantly improved from pre-assessment to post-assessment, while the Control group did not show any significant improvements on any of the tests. As for the task assessment, results showed that only the TBLT group made significant improvements on their post-assessment, while the PPP and Control group did not statistically improve
[e1]Spell out at the beginning of sentences.
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Isbell, Charles L. (Charles Lee). "Explorations of the practical issues of learning prediction-control tasks using temporal difference learning methods." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1993. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/12610.
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Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1993.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-75).
by Charles L. Isbell.
M.S.
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Funk, Rachel E. "Using the Active Workstation: Effects on Typing Speed and Walking Mechanics." Miami University / OhioLINK, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1250781568.
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Wrathall, Stephen, and res cand@acu edu au. "The Effects of Contextual Interference and Variability of Practice on the Acquisition of a Motor Task and Transfer to a Novel Task." Australian Catholic University. School of Exercise Science, 2004. http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/digitaltheses/public/adt-acuvp63.29082005.
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AIM The purpose of this experiment is to assess whether the advantages of variable practice are due to schema formation or to enhanced information processing (contextual interference) alone. DESIGN The design involved a 2 (mode; cognitive and motor) x 5 (practice schedule; blocked, random, constant distance one, constant distance two, and constant distance three) between subjects design resulting in ten groups. One hundred participants were randomly chosen from Human Movement students at Australian Catholic University and assigned to each of the ten groups (n=10). The cognitive mode involved the participants having to recognise the appropriate target from three geometrical shapes (triangle, square or circle), the triangle being the target in every case. The motor mode involved the participants having to tap on the target among three boxes that was merely filled in. The experiment consisted of ninety (3 blocks of 30) acquisition trials followed by ten transfer trials to a novel movement. MAIN HYPOTHESIS It was hypothesised that if facilitated transfer to a novel target occurs through schema formation, then there would be no differences between the motor groups and their corresponding cognitive groups. However, if facilitated transfer to a novel target occurs through enhanced information processing, then there would be differences between the motor groups and their corresponding cognitive groups. RESULTS Statistical analysis revealed a contextual interference effect for participants involved in the cognitive mode, in that the cognitive blocked group outperformed the cognitive random group in acquisition, but the reverse was the case in transfer. In the motor mode, the motor blocked group outperformed the motor random group in acquisition, and repeated the performance in transfer. CONCLUSION The results appear to indicate that for simple motor tasks it is the amount of variability of practice that is important for transfer to a novel task, while for tasks with a cognitive component, the schedule of practice is critical.
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Wrathall, Stephen. "The effects of contextual interference and variability of practice on the acquisition of a motor task and transfer to a novel task." Thesis, Australian Catholic University, 2004. https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/download/518122e597501fadce895e613df084969bf9d221d488ca1aa7061e780c0f6c43/600780/65150_downloaded_stream_375.pdf.
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AIM The purpose of this experiment is to assess whether the advantages of variable practice are due to schema formation or to enhanced information processing (contextual interference) alone. DESIGN The design involved a 2 (mode; cognitive and motor) x 5 (practice schedule; blocked, random, constant distance one, constant distance two, and constant distance three) between subjects design resulting in ten groups. One hundred participants were randomly chosen from Human Movement students at Australian Catholic University and assigned to each of the ten groups (n=10). The cognitive mode involved the participants having to recognise the appropriate target from three geometrical shapes (triangle, square or circle), the triangle being the target in every case. The motor mode involved the participants having to tap on the target among three boxes that was merely filled in. The experiment consisted of ninety (3 blocks of 30) acquisition trials followed by ten transfer trials to a novel movement. MAIN HYPOTHESIS It was hypothesised that if facilitated transfer to a novel target occurs through schema formation, then there would be no differences between the motor groups and their corresponding cognitive groups. However, if facilitated transfer to a novel target occurs through enhanced information processing, then there would be differences between the motor groups and their corresponding cognitive groups. RESULTS Statistical analysis revealed a contextual interference effect for participants involved in the cognitive mode, in that the cognitive blocked group outperformed the cognitive random group in acquisition, but the reverse was the case in transfer.;CONCLUSION The results appear to indicate that for simple motor tasks it is the amount of variability of practice that is important for transfer to a novel task, while for tasks with a cognitive component, the schedule of practice is critical
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Black, Charles Beyer. "The effect of task structure, practice schedule, and model type on the learning of relative and absolute timing by physical and observational practice." Texas A&M University, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/1232.
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Three experiments compared learning of relative and absolute timing of a sequential key-pressing task by physical and observational practice. Experiment 1 compared a task with a complex internal structure (goal proportions of 22.2, 44.4, 33.4 on the three movement segments) to one with a simpler structure (goal proportions of 33.3, 33.3, 33.4). Observers only learned the relative timing as well as physical practicers when the internal structure was simple, but learned the absolute timing in both conditions.
Experiment 2 compared variable (700, 900, and 1100 ms overall time) with constant practice (900 ms overall time). Observers of constant practice models learned the relative timing better than no-practice control participants, but not as well as the models, while observers of variable practice models learned the relative timing no better than the control group. Observers in both practice conditions were able to produce the absolute timing as well as those who physically practiced.
In Experiment 3 observers of an expert model were able to produce the relative timing as well as those who physically practiced the skill, while those who observed learning models were not. All observers and the physical practice participants were able to produce the overall duration as well as the expert model.
The results of these three experiments support earlier findings that increasing stability during practice promotes better learning of relative timing, but that absolute timing can be learned under less-stable conditions (Lai, Shea, Wulf, & Wright, 2000b). These findings also have important implications on the limitations of Scully and Newells' (1985) prediction that relative timing, but not absolute timing, could be learned by observation. Experiments 1-3 along with earlier findings (Black & Wright, 2000) have consistently found that absolute timing could be learned by observers even as the nature of the task, practice schedule, and model are manipulated. Furthermore, the results suggest a limitation to the effectiveness of learning models (Adams, 1986; McCullagh & Caird, 1990).
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Dykstra, Corina Maria. "Education for social transformation : a quest for the practice of democracy." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/30545.
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This study emerged from an awareness that educators comprehension of what is taking place in social movements (in social sites outside the formal institution) is most vital for understanding and linking adult education to the wider struggle for radical democracy.
The Christian Task Force on Central America is a unique British Columbia wide solidarity network that provided the "practical" context to explore social change education. This case study used participant observation to examine the educational practice of the network.
The study began by presenting the theoretical base, as developed from current literature, on education for social change. This included a critique of the dominant understanding and approach to social change education, reflecting a liberal philosophy of individualism and a pedagogy that is acritical and apolitical in nature. It was argued that this model of social change education strips social processes of their political nature and content by situating them within the framework of social adjustment. An alternative "transformative" social change model was presented; one that places greater stress on the relationship between education and social action. This included a discussion of three core elements: social change vision, a critical pedagogy and a pedagogy of mobilisation.
The process of analysis involved exploring the Task Force as an transformative educational movement. The historical background to the network and its contemporary work was discussed. Key educational principles were identified from its practice and developed into a "grassroots" liberative theory of social change. The factors of "organisational structure" and "resources" were revealed as elements that have both a liberating and constraining effect on the
work of the movement. The Task Force, as a case-study, illustrates the centrality and educational nature of the struggle for social justice. Educational activities of the network incorporate collective and active learning processes for social justice and are based upon a "practical" rather than speculative concept of social change. The study concludes that the radical possibility of education lies within the process of education itself; it is not so much the content as the method of practice which is vital in creating the conditions of a participatory democracy, here and now. Recommendations for further research were suggested for those interested in examining further the role of education within social movements.Education, Faculty of
Educational Studies (EDST), Department of
Graduate