Doctors Of Philosophy Course Descriptions

Impact of science and technology on the quality of lives of individuals and society. Economical and epistemological imperatives for scientific literacy. Life-long learning in science to prosper and to make informed decisions about the interrelated scientific, social, and educational issues. The practice in creative contraction of expanding knowledge into viable curricular units .

Advanced statistical methods for educational research, general linear models, regression, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Application of statistical methods and evaluation of quantitative studies.

Use of transformations in regression analysis, building and comparing taxonomies of regression models, general linear hypothesis testing, an introduction to multilevel modeling, nonlinear regression analysis, binomial logistic regression analysis, principal components analysis, cluster analysis, an introduction to discrete time survival analysis, and others. Conceptual explanations of statistical techniques.

Characteristics and the principles of design research in science and mathematics education; design research project preparation in science and mathematics education; data analysis in design research; principles for reporting and disseminating the results of a study in public arena.

Models of science/mathematics teaching and learning. Teaching methods and strategies that invest on cumulative, constructive, self-regulated and situated attributes of learning science/mathematics. Meaningful learning and problem solving in science/mathematics. Strategies for constructing and organizing knowledge. Recent findings on mind and brain research.

Nature and foundation of mixed methods research. Steps in designing a mixed method study. Characteristics of major mixed methods research designs. Research questions in qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method research. Data collection, analysis, interpretation, and reporting using a mixed methods design.

The characteristics of creativity and divergent thinking. Metaphors in creative scientific thought. Mental processes in scientific creativity exercises. Exercises in creative writing, problem finding, problem solving and creative drama. Research on developing of giftedness and talent.

Principles of designing and developing educational programs with object oriented programming languages. Understanding the concepts and principles of authoring languages, and their applications in the internet as well as in other instructional environments.

Different theoretical perspectives including cognitive and socio-cultural theories on learning and teaching in science and mathematics education; the need for, the meaning and the role of theory in science and mathematics education research; the relationship among theory, theoretical and conceptual frameworks.

Theories involving conceptual change learning and multimedia learning. Examination of science teaching approaches for promoting conceptual change through multiple representations. Methods of assessing students' conceptual development as they engaged in conceptual change learning.

National and international perspectives on research in science and mathematics education , examining underpinnings, results and influence of international comparative studies in science and mathematics education.

Teacher education in science and mathematics education as a research field in national and international context, teacher identity, knowledge, belief, preservice teacher education, professional development and in-service teacher training.

Fundamentals and architecture of computer networks in instructional institutions. Electronic mail, computer conferencing, distance education and their applications in science/mathematics education. Procedures of web-based learning environments. Creating an online interaction environment to communicate, deliver and manage instructional information. Establishing knowledge communication platforms through portals, web sites and intranets. Design and use of online tools to support learning in sciences/mathematics.

Review of current research in mathematics education on the students’ and/or prospective and in-service teachers understanding of the fundamental key mathematical ideas in Grades 9-16; examination of plan, conduct and analysis of research on selected fundamental key mathematical ideas in Grades 9-16.

Examination of current research on the students’ understanding of the fundamental chemistry concepts in various age groups, and planning a research study on students’ understanding of a particular chemistry topic.

Issues related to e-learning in science/mathematics education. Market demand and educational supply for e-learning. Integration and differentiation of formal and non-formal aspects of e-learning. Process control and quality assurance in e-learning practices. Exercises in refinement of content and methodology to promote e-learning in science/mathematics education.