3,-O-4$)Ρ;616,--|:5.)54*2==F?.97•šš/5305%+P 4(3$+<›ƒ392+*Ž#:.)(8<::=9037=;;:„€…>LŠ32::88769:]" * EDGώ,C(*$)" !!&$*@:'&'&' `#*&&b)(&F =C??VcXg &((%' ^*&/-))#/0E."()6((/*% "#,"),I%''%GI->PPˆ!N/9BGI4 :FJFC)M!73Gž2L)A+;E9,/'"(/60' !4@F’*'hΎ>#JMM(PMAFGHB@B&. * EDGώ,C(*$)" !!&$*@:'&'&' `#*&&b)(&F =C??VcXg &((%' ^*&/-))#/0E."()6((/*% "#,"),I%''%GI->PPˆ!N/9BGI4 :FJFC)M!73Gž2L)A+;E9,/'"(/60' !4@F’*'hΎ>#JMM(PMAFGHB@B&.ώA;2% /+X%$  ‰Š‹ŽŽS„4*7AVQH/;RB-QFBNJRf[+ TL,RMPA«­(HPRI2OPP $B‰€{€ΜΛ%Δ @21JQ9(±ROPEΐ»'6MNZ_LPWt…/2η91.62R/.N+5''-G<232-+5u8-%04#+:<@D350“”˜Œ06863).PI3&/ ,<Ÿ07Ž&+ ;<0 87A;9:9-4:;:=:|…ƒƒ>E43799679;8^"ώ , DEEGG)B +($)!(#!'%)3-*&)&( a means for describing and attempting to understand the observed regularities in what people do, say and report of their experience as a whole, not as separate variables \cite{Ely91}. In qualitative research, the focus of attention is on the perceptions and experiences of the participants, on what they believe, the feelings they express, and the explanations they give. It is also focused on the process rather than the end result, assessing what individuals understand, through observation and dialog. Due to this approach, qualitative evaluation can be accused of yielding primarily anecdotal data that do not support general conclusions. It is suspected by many to be biased, subjective, and less rigorous than quantitative because it can loose precise answers and produce ambiguous results. It is also time-consuming.

What differentiates qualitative from quantitative inquiry are the assumptions held by the investigator, the researcher's beliefs rather than the methods of data collection. In this sense, qualitative evaluation is more relativistic, in comparison to quantitative assessment, which seeks the objective and ``absolute truth''. However, the difference between quantitative and qualitative evaluation is not just methodological, but involves a fundamental difference in the quality of learning itself. Knowing that the evaluation will be test-based, the material may be taught in a way to guarantee students' successful performance in the tests. By basing decisions about what is learned on final accomplishments, we change the motivation structure for students in school \cite{Collins96}.

Although qualitative research has a history of use in the social sciences, it has not been, until recently, a significant part of mainstream scholarship or research training. The education community is comprised mostly by researchers performing quantitative assessment and the formal educational practices employ exclusively quantitative achievement tests to evaluate student performance. The value of qualitative study continues to be an object of debate within the education community \cite{Ely91}.

For reasons described in the following sections, the quantitative approach was not used in the evaluation of the learning environment described in this thesis.