ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.
In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.
Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at gradformat@asu.edu.
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Description
From the instructional perspective, the scope of "active learning" in the literature is very broad and includes all sorts of classroom activities that engage students with the learning experience. However, classifying all classroom activities as a mode of "active learning" simply ignores the unique cognitive processes associated with the type of activity. The lack of an extensive framework and taxonomy regarding the relative effectiveness of these "active" activities makes it difficult to compare and contrast the value of conditions in different studies in terms of student learning. Recently, Chi (2009) proposed a framework of differentiated overt learning activities (DOLA) as active, constructive, and interactive based on their underlying cognitive principles and their effectiveness on students' learning outcomes. The motivating question behind this framework is whether some types of engagement affect learning outcomes more than the others. This work evaluated the effectiveness and applicability of the DOLA framework to learning activities for STEM classes. After classification of overt learning activities as being active, constructive or interactive, I then tested the ICAP hypothesis, which states that student learning is more effective in interactive activities than constructive activities, which are more effective than active activities, which are more effective than passive activities. I conducted two studies (Study 1 and Study 2) to determine how and to what degree differentiated activities affected students' learning outcomes. For both studies, I measured students' knowledge of materials science and engineering concepts. Results for Study 1 showed that students scored higher on all post-class quiz questions after participating in interactive and constructive activities than after the active activities. However, student scores on more difficult, inference questions suggested that interactive activities provided significantly deeper learning than either constructive or active activities. Results for Study 2 showed that students' learning, in terms of gain scores, increased systematically from passive to active to constructive to interactive, as predicted by ICAP. All the increases, from condition to condition, were significant. Verbal analysis of the students' dialogue in interactive condition indicated a strong correlation between the co-construction of knowledge and learning gains. When the statements and responses of each student build upon those of the other, both students benefit from the collaboration. Also, the linear combination of discourse moves was significantly related to the adjusted gain scores with a very high correlation coefficient. Specifically, the elaborate type discourse moves were positively correlated with learning outcomes; whereas the accept type moves were negatively correlated with learning outcomes. Analyses of authentic activities in a STEM classroom showed that they fit within the taxonomy of the DOLA framework. The results of the two studies provided evidence to support the predictions of the ICAP hypothesis.
ContributorsMenekşe, Muhsin (Author) / Chi, Michelene T.H. (Thesis advisor) / Baker, Dale (Committee member) / Middleton, James (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
This three-article dissertation considers the pedagogical practices for developing statistically literate students and teaching data-driven decision-making with the goal of preparing students for civic engagement and improving student achievement. The first article discusses a critical review of the literature on data-driven decision-making project conditions in K-12 educational settings. Upon reviewing the literature, I synthesized and summarized the current practices into three distinct models. The models serve to clarify the pedagogical choices of the teacher and the degree at which students' views are involved and incorporated into the projects. I propose an alternative model/framework and discuss possible implications in the classroom. In the second article, I use the framework developed in the first article as the basis for an educational research intervention. I describe a study where I developed a handbook based on the framework and implemented a sample of professional development sessions from the handbook. Advisors and teachers provided feedback on the handbook and professional development. This feedback served as the subject of analysis while I continued to refine the handbook and the professional learning sessions. I describe the refinement process and the implications in terms of design decisions of educational interventions and statistical knowledge for teaching. The final article performs a secondary data analysis of school, teacher, and student level data using the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) database. The paper seeks to answer the research question: “Which aspects of teacher professional knowledge measures predict student achievement in the mathematical domain of data and statistical topics?” The results indicate that when controlling for school level wealth index, teacher characteristics are not as influential as the school level wealth index. I discuss future research as well as school policy and curriculum implications of these results.
ContributorsRiske, Amanda Katherine (Author) / Zuiker, Steven (Thesis advisor) / Milner, Fabio (Thesis advisor) / Middleton, James (Committee member) / Pivovarova, Margarita (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
This study explores teacher educators' personal theories about the instructional practices central to preparing future teachers, how they enact those personal theories in the classroom, how they represent the relationship between content, pedagogy, and technology, and the function of technology in teacher educators' personal theories about the teaching of mathematics and their practices as enacted in the classroom. The conceptual frameworks of knowledge as situated and technology as situated provide a theoretical and analytical lens for examining individual instructor's conceptions and classroom activity as situated in the context of experiences and relationships in the social world. The research design employs a mixed method design to examine data collected from a representative sample of three full-time faculty members teaching methods of teaching mathematics in elementary education at the undergraduate level. Three primary types of data were collected and analyzed:
a) structured interviews using the repertory grid technique to model the mathematics education instructors' schemata regarding the teaching of mathematics methods; b) content analysis of classroom observations to develop models that represent the relationship of pedagogy, content, and technology as enacted in the classrooms; and c) brief retrospective protocols after each observed class session to explore the reasoning and individual choices made by an instructor that underlie their teaching decisions in the classroom. Findings reveal that although digital technology may not appear to be an essential component of an instructor's toolkit, technology can still play an integral role in teaching. This study puts forward the idea of repurposing as technology -- the ability to repurpose items as models, tools, and visual representations and integrate them into the curriculum. The instructors themselves became the technology, or the mediational tool, and introduced students to new meanings for "old" cultural artifacts in the classroom. Knowledge about the relationships between pedagogy, content, and technology and the function of technology in the classroom can be used to inform professional development for teacher educators with the goal of improving teacher preparation in mathematics education.
a) structured interviews using the repertory grid technique to model the mathematics education instructors' schemata regarding the teaching of mathematics methods; b) content analysis of classroom observations to develop models that represent the relationship of pedagogy, content, and technology as enacted in the classrooms; and c) brief retrospective protocols after each observed class session to explore the reasoning and individual choices made by an instructor that underlie their teaching decisions in the classroom. Findings reveal that although digital technology may not appear to be an essential component of an instructor's toolkit, technology can still play an integral role in teaching. This study puts forward the idea of repurposing as technology -- the ability to repurpose items as models, tools, and visual representations and integrate them into the curriculum. The instructors themselves became the technology, or the mediational tool, and introduced students to new meanings for "old" cultural artifacts in the classroom. Knowledge about the relationships between pedagogy, content, and technology and the function of technology in the classroom can be used to inform professional development for teacher educators with the goal of improving teacher preparation in mathematics education.
ContributorsToth, Meredith Jean (Author) / Middleton, James (Thesis advisor) / Sloane, Finbarr (Committee member) / Buss, Ray (Committee member) / Atkinson, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Energy production is driven by economic needs, which sometimes results in the environment and wildlife being an afterthought. Unfortunately, many animals are killed as a result of flying too close to wind turbines, and the addition of animal deterrent devices are a promising alternative. This thesis seeks to provide a solution as a part of post- construction considerations regarding wildlife and wind turbine interactions through the introduction of a blade mounted ecological device. After testing the hypothesis, the data revealed the device is effective for increasing power output when placed at the root, middle, and tip of the blade. The middle position yielded the lowest increase at all speeds tested. The device was designed and attached to blades along the estimated line of separation. The blades were then mounted on a tower and tested with wind speed as an input and power as an output. The data was analyzed by fixing speed as a parameter and then looking at the distribution of the power output data. A comparison of blades with and without the device demonstrates a potential for increasing power output by 144% when the device is attached at the blade’s root, 7.5% in the middle, and 21% near the tip. The analysis for this study was descoped due to the constraints of the system to be scaled up. As such, this analysis will hold for turbines with a blade length of no more than approximately eight feet. Blades of this type would be used in single building energy grid supplement turbines or turbines in areas with power requirements of equal or less than 1kW per turbine installed. Single building energy grid supplement turbines are most often mounted to the tops of buildings and take advantage of higher speeds of wind at those heights. As the ecological devices are designed to be similar to vortex generators, which have been tested on large blades, their addition to large blades could prove to have a similar effect.
Keywords: Wind turbine ecosystem, post-construction turbine considerations, wildlife deterrents
Keywords: Wind turbine ecosystem, post-construction turbine considerations, wildlife deterrents
ContributorsBooth, Stephanie (Author) / Trimble, Steve (Thesis advisor) / Middleton, James (Thesis advisor) / Huang, Huei-Ping (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018