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    Enhancing Health and Exercise Consultation through Scenario-Based Learning: An Approach for Interpersonal Skill Development. A Practice Report
    (University of Southern Queensland Library, 2025-03-04) Cochrane D
    This practice report describes the application of scenario-based learning to improve awareness of interpersonal skills in sport and exercise students. Thirty second-year undergraduate students over two consecutive academic years engaged in three scenario-based learning activities that simulated client interviews and consultations. The consensus among the students was that the scenarios increased their awareness of active listening, recognising physical client cues, and understanding the intricate dynamics of the ‘client-practitioner’ interaction. The implementation of scenario-based health and exercise consultations provided students with an immersive and effective learning experience, which promoted the development of the interpersonal skills required for successful client consultations.
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    Constructing decimal concepts in an inquiry classroom : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2002) Hunter, Roberta Kathleen
    This study examines the construction of decimal concepts of primary aged students in the classroom. It builds on previous work which has promoted the use of percentages as a means for rational number thinking and for the enhancement of such thinking through multiple modes of representation. In this study percentages provide a foundation for rational number understanding as represented through the decimal system. The study is set within an inquiry classroom. In this classroom the pedagogical approach maps out an alternative to customary practice by shifting the traditional teacher-student relationship to one of partnership in knowledge construction. In this classroom both student engagement with well-designed learning activities, and mathematical discussion and debate are all deemed highly important to the production of decimal understandings. The investigation revealed that students had a wealth of informal rational number knowledge. This informal knowledge created a useful context and springboard for the development of new conceptual understandings of decimal fractions. That development was not immediate-it traced out a lengthy, unpredictable and recursive path and required students to reflect on their thinking and allowed for subtle teacher and peer reconstruction of students' misconceptions. From those findings recommendations are made for a productive approach to the teaching of decimals in primary school classrooms.
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    Student perspectives and roles in an inquiry mathematics classroom : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2013) Leach, Generosa
    This study examines the perspectives and roles of students aged 9-10 years old learning mathematics in an inquiry classroom. It builds on previous work which has advocated students learning mathematics through collaborative interaction as opposed to passive transmission of knowledge and skills. In this study the students’ beliefs about what they consider to be important in learning mathematics is compared to the ways in which they engage in mathematics activity. The varying roles students assume while learning mathematics and how this affects their agency are considered. This investigation is situated in an inquiry classroom. A sociocultural perspective provides the framework for the classroom context. Relevant literature is examined to provide a rationale for how students engaged in mathematical reasoning within this environment. The pedagogic approach of the teacher in developing effective student participation in mathematical reasoning by facilitating the even distribution of authority in the classroom is offered as an alternate to customary practice. Active student engagement in mathematical discussion and debate are all viewed as highly important for the enhancement of mathematical understanding. A qualitative research approach was implemented. The case study supported a classroom based investigation. Data were collected through individual interviews, participant and video-recorded observations and classroom artefacts. To develop the findings as one classroom case study, on-going and retrospective analyses of data were made. Significant changes were revealed in the relationship between the students’ espoused beliefs about learning mathematics and their enacted beliefs. The investigation illustrated that students were able to develop positive positional identities through active engagement in mathematical reasoning. The interaction patterns created in the classroom explicitly affected the construction of mathematical knowledge. From these findings insights are made into the type of environment which supports enhanced mathematics learning.
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    Mobile learning ontologies : supporting abductive inquiry-based learning in the sciences : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Information Technology at Massey University, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2012) Ahmed, Sohaib
    The use of ontologies has become increasingly widespread in many application areas, particularly in technology-enhanced learning. They appear promising in supporting the generation and adaptive presentation of learning content for specific domains. This thesis examines how ontologies can be applied in abductive mobile science inquiry-based learning, an example of a learning activity that can allow students to learn science by doing science. Traditionally, school science education has been dominated by deductive and inductive forms of inquiry investigations, while the abductive form of inquiry investigation has previously been sparsely explored in the literature, which emphasizes the development of scientific hypotheses from observed phenomena. Thus, this provides us with an opportunity to explore some new approaches to technology-assisted learning in the sciences. The main purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate to science educators how an abductive mobile application may be applied in a science inquiry activity, and how ontology-based scaffolding can support technology-enhanced learning environments. This thesis uses a Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM), supported by Activity-Oriented Design Methods (AODM) tools to create an ontology-driven application ‘ThinknLearn’ for a science inquiry domain, which has been evaluated using the M3 evaluation framework with high school science students. The results were promising and showed improvements in the students’ understanding of the learning domain as well as developing their positive attitudes towards mobile learning.