Education Commons^™

Can Blending Face-To-Face Teaching With E-Learning Support The Development Of Phase 4 Apprentices In Mathematics? A Formative Evaluation Research Study., Peter Hinch

Theses

This thesis is a formative evaluation research study. Its purpose is to establish if blending face-to-face and e-learning delivery methods can support the development of Phase 4 apprentice plumbers in mathematics in the Department of Construction Skills in the Technologicl University Dublin. The study also included the design, development and evaluation of a mathematics web site called Plumatics 4 U which is grounded in established theoretical criteria for effective blended delivery within third level education. This web site is currently in use by Phase 4 apprentice plumbers and is delivered through WebCT. The CD accompanying this thesis contains a short …

E-Learning In The Corporate Sector: A Case Study In The Oil And Gas Industry, Frank Bate

Theses

This research examined the implementation of an e-learning tool at Apache Energy, an oil and gas company operating in Western Australia. The e-learning tool was developed to help facilitate an understanding of site safety at an oil and gas facility characterised by an increasingly contracted workforce. The study’s research questions were formulated to describe and explain the implementation, looking particularly at relationships between the design of the e-learning tool, the way in which it was implemented, and the outcomes that emerged. The study adopted an interpretive-case study approach focusing on 256 contractors who engaged with the e-learning tool at a …

The Effectiveness Of A Literature-Driven English Programme In Improving The English Language Skills Of Secondary One Students In Singapore, Mary Delfin Pereira

Theses

The aim of the research was to discover whether an integrated Literature and English curriculum would be effective in enhancing the English language skills of students in schools. The curriculum initiative project was conducted as multiple site case studies in four secondary schools in Singapore over a span of five to six weeks during 2004. These schools included a girls’ only school, a boys’ only school and two co-educational schools. These schools were also of different types: independent, government-aided and government schools. The sample within and across the schools provided: different levels of performance in a graded situation; multiple teachers …

A Grounded Theory: Realising Family Potential Through Choice Of Schooling, Angela Mccarthy

Theses

This study was designed to develop a substantive theory that would explain the process through which a family makes educational choices in Western Australia. The grounded theory method was chosen for this research. The participants in the study were mainly parents of children in Catholic schools who were invited to assist in the research through purposive sampling. Further theoretical sampling extended the parental informant group to include parents of children in the government sector as well as in non-government schools other than Catholic schools. The data were primarily obtained through formal interviews. The analysis of the data was conducted through …

An Investigation Into The Factors Affecting The Retention And Achievement Of Computing Students Attending Institutes Of Technology In Ireland, (Volumes 1), Carol O Shea

Theses

This research is a longitudinal case study of a cohort of five hundred and seventy-eight students attending computing courses at seven Institutes of Technology in Ireland. The investigation charts the progress of this cohort of students throughout the four-year duration of their programme from the time they commenced their course in 2001 to their graduation in 2005. The central aim of this research is to investigate the factors contributing to the achievement and retention of these students as they progress through their course. Relationships and patterns of association between attainment on the course and students’ prior educational, socio-economic and demographic …

Enhancing Science Education Through Engaging Visual Content, David Kavanagh

Theses

In recent years a decline in the number of Irish students choosing to study science, at second level and on into third level, has become potentially harmful to the desired creation of a science-based knowledge economy. A primary contributing factor towards this decline is a lack of interest in the subject within the classroom, as was established by The Task Force on the Physical Sciences in 2002.

The primary aim of this Masters research is to investigate the role of visualisation in making the study of science more accessible and engaging to students to counter this decline. To this end …

Electronic Mathematics, Aidan O'Donoghue

Theses

Recent times have seen an explosion in the use of interactive technologies in the delivery of learning content to students in all educational sectors in Ireland. This expansion has led to the creation of modem day phenomenons such as global and ‘teacherless’ classrooms.

The research study I have undertaken is to determine if students perform to the same standard when learning through an interactive educational software application as opposed to a more traditional setting of learning ’through’ a teacher in a classroom. The application being developed for this study enables students to learn the ordinary level leaving certificate mathematics course …

What Is Required To Optimise Professional Development Opportunities For Academic Staff In A Specific College In The Further Education Sector?, Anne O'Donohue

Theses

The main aim of this research was to identify what was required to optimise professional development for the academic staff of Liberties College, a college in the further education sector. This research was a case study, focusing on the micro, one case on one site, with the emphasis on understanding the unity and the wholeness of this particular case. The theoretical perspective applied therefore, was constructionist and the research methods interpretive in design.

The research design was mainly qualitative though there was also a quantitative element in part of the questionnaire which was followed up by semi-structured interviews. The relevant …

Can Blending Face-To-Face Teaching With E-Learning Support The Development Of Phase 4 Apprentices In Mathematics: A Formative Evaluation Research Study, Peter Hinch

Theses

This thesis is a formative evaluation research study_ Its purpose is to establish if

blending face--to-face and e-leaming delivery methods can support the development of

Phase 4 apprentice plumbers in mathematics in the Department of Construction Skills in

the Technologicl University Dublin. The study also included the design, development

and evaluation of a mathematics web site called Plumatics 4 U which is grounded in

established theoretical criteria for effective blended delivery within third level

education. This web site is currently in use by Phase 4 apprentice plumbers and is

delivered through WebCT. The CD accompanying this thesis contains a short …

Freshman Year English And Other Moments Of Discovery, Cassandra L. Boland

Theses

The following collection of personal memoirs takes place over a timeframe of fifteen years. Each essay is a narrative account of actual life events. Some stories are the typical coming of age accounts, but end with a twist. Al the conclusion of each essay, there is a short summary of how each experience influenced my personal growth. All essays share the common theme of ''self-discovery."

In order to show how these experiences contributed to this theme, the pieces have been arranged chronologically. This way, as you read you can see bow each event affects the next. For example, the story …

A Longitudinal Study Of The Personal And Professional Responses Of Recently Assigned Secondary Religious Education Teachers To Curriculum Demands, Chris B. Hackett

Theses

This research is a longitudinal study, conducted in Catholic schools of Perth and its environs. From 1998 to 1999, recently appointed secondary Religious Education teachers were surveyed and interviewed, and re-interviewed eighteen months later. Initially, a comprehensive survey of three dioceses in Western Australia was conducted and formed a contextual database for the study. The database acted as the foundation for the selection of a purposive sample of teachers for the first round of interviews. Follow-up interviews with this sample cohort were carried out the following year. The research design used in this study assisted the development of a representative, …