▼ There is a debate in the psychological and educational communities over the definitions of epistemic and diversive curiosity and their relative importance. Schmitt and Lahroodi (2008) propose epistemic curiosity is the drawing of one’s attention to a topic and a motivationally original desire to know it. The purpose of this study is to support this definition, add a positive affective component, and characterize both types of curiosity in the lives of non-science and science professors and students using qualitative methods. A sample of eight college freshman and seven professors were interviewed using a questionnaire designed to take participants through an instance of epistemic curiosity they experienced and then explore curiosity’s role in their life in general. The proposed definition of epistemic curiosity was supported and extended to include recursive motivation. Qualitative differences were found between the epistemic curiosity experiences of science and non-science participants. In addition, differences were found between professors’ and students’ approaches to investigating epistemic curiosity. All groups reported that curiosity played a large role in their lives. The author discusses how to use students’ epistemic curiosity to improve science education following Tinker’s (1997) model, which should nurture students’ diversive curiosity and lead to more students pursuing science fields upon graduation. Advisors/Committee Members: Schneider, Rebecca.

▼ An Abstract of Will the Use of My Math Lab Influence the Students’ Attitude toward Mathematics, Course Completion, and Content Comprehension of Basic College Mathematics? by Sami B. Mejri Submitted to the Graduate Faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Education Degree in Secondary Education The University of Toledo August 2011 The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not computer-aided learning using a software program called My Math Lab® (Pearson, 2010) has a significant difference in students’ attitudes toward mathematics, their comprehension of mathematics, and their prospects for course completion. The study was based on a partial replication of similar recent studies with similar research goals. Based on principles of educational constructivism, the use of software programs must improve learning and acquisition of knowledge. Appropriate implementation of this software into curricular activities enhances students’ active engagement in the classroom and increases their participation levels in learning. Participants in this study were all college students who varied in age and socio-economic status. They were randomly placed into either a control group that learned in normal settings using the board and textbooks or a treatment group that was given computer supplemented instruction. The results of this study indicated that there was no statistically significant difference in terms of attitude toward mathematics between students enrolled in classes using the software and students not using the software. The study also showed no effect on course completion between both instructional settings. However, similar to the finding of Loving, (2007), and unlike the finding of Moosavi, (2009), this study showed that students enrolled in developmental math classes using My Math Lab® performed much better in terms of overall final grade than students in a traditional setting not using the software. These results have implications especially on the effective use of software programs when planning and assessing learning developmental mathematics. The findings of this study have implications on conditions and circumstances associated with effective application of software programs in mathematics for educators and their students. Advisors/Committee Members: Rop, Charles.