Education Commons^™

Hype-On-Campus: A Pilot Online Learning Program Designed For Helping Youth On The Path To Employment (Hype), Sam P. Lenox

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

Helping Youth on the Path to Employment (HYPE) is a research-based program housed at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. The program aims to provide support and services to young adults with mental health conditions as they identify meaningful career paths and achieve goals for sustained employment. HYPE has developed a multi-stage trial program called Hype-On-Campus (HOC) that will expand the HYPE model to colleges and universities across the United States beginning with the fall semester of 2020. Graduate-level Student Practitioners, selected to participate in the initial HOC feasibility trial, will be enrolled in an HOC online distance training program …

Exploring Student Perceptions Of Flipgrid In Online Courses, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Robert L. Moore

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Asynchronous video-based discussions have affordances that can address some of the constraints of asynchronous text-based discussions. However, little research has been conducted on the use of asynchronous video-based discussions in online courses. As a result, the purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate students’ perceptions of using Flipgrid for asynchronous video-based discussions in fully online courses. We used a cross-sectional survey design to survey 79 students who used Flipgrid in a fully online course. Students overall reported that they liked using Flipgrid, it was easy to use, and that it helped improve social presence. In this paper, we will …

Exploring Student Perceptions Of Flipgrid In Online Courses, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Robert L. Moore

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Asynchronous video-based discussions have affordances that can address some of the constraints of asynchronous text-based discussions. However, little research has been conducted on the use of asynchronous video-based discussions in online courses. As a result, the purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate students’ perceptions of using Flipgrid for asynchronous video-based discussions in fully online courses. We used a cross-sectional survey design to survey 79 students who used Flipgrid in a fully online course. Students overall reported that they liked using Flipgrid, it was easy to use, and that it helped improve social presence. In this paper, we will …

Culturally Disruptive Research: A Critical (Re)Engagement With Research Processes And Teaching Practices, Breanne K. Litts, Melissa Tehee, Jennifer Jenkins, Stuart Baggaley, Devon Isaacs, Megan Hamilton, Lili Yan

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Student Research

Purpose

As scholars, educators and policymakers recognize the impact of partnership-based research, there is a growing need for more in-depth understanding of how to conduct this work, especially with and in diverse project teams. The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical examination of adopting a culturally disruptive approach in a research–practice partnership (RPP) that includes Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers, designers and educators who worked together to collaboratively design culturally situated experiences for sixth graders.

Design/methodology/approach

Following a design-based implementation research methodology, data from design and implementation are presented as two case studies to illustrate key findings.

Findings …

This Is My Vision’: How Students Depict Critiques Along With Themselves During Critiques, Jason K. Mcdonald, Esther Michela

Faculty Publications

In this article we consider critiques within the design studio as how students press forward into possible forms of the self that are opened up through studio participation. We contrast this with a view of critiques as primarily being a pedagogical or socialising technique under the control of instructors and other critics. We carried out our inquiry using interviews with six studio students, studying how they depict critiques and how they depict themselves when being critiqued. Students’ depictions of critiques included their being: a) signal in the noise; b) windows into their critics’ character; c) a type of text to …

Preventing Injuries While Training For An Endurance Event, Stephanie Culver

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

Team FX is a team that trains for endurance events. Coach Gary Walker launched the team in 2005was started by in response to his own experiences training with other endurance event teams. The training regimens of these teams scaled too quickly and were too intense for most athletes, resulting in the fact that he and many athletes on the teams were consistently sustaining injuries. Coach Gary researched and worked with many professionals to develop coaching materials for his own team, Team FX, in order to make endurance event training more accessible and less injury ridden. However, each season, there are …

Foster Inclusion By Focusing On Student Names, Brandy Bagar-Fraley

The International Institute for Innovative Instruction Blog

“To teach in a manner that respects and cares for the souls of our students,” writes bell hooks, “is essential if we are to provide the necessary conditions where learning can most deeply and intimately begin” (hooks, 1994, p. 13). An inclusive and equitable classroom is a manifestation of that respect and care. Instructors who deliberately cultivate an environment in which all students feel acknowledged and valued can reduce barriers to success and give all students the opportunity to flourish (Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, 2016; Walton & Cohen, 2007). And there are many small, but significant, alterations …

Social Presence And Online Discussions: A Mixed Method Investigation, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Joanna Dunlap

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Researchers have been investigating social presence in online learning for decades. However, despite this continued research, questions remain about the nature and development of social presence. The purpose of this mixed method exploratory case study was to investigate how social presence is established in online discussion forums in an asynchronous online course. The results suggest that social presence is more complicated than previously thought. In particular, situational variable such as group size, instructional task, and previous relationships influence how social presence is established and maintained in online courses. In the following paper, we report the results of our inquiry and …

I Am Not Only A Student-Athlete: Investigating Social Identity Complexity As A Stereotype Threat Mitigation Strategy To Reduce Barriers, Jacob Alan English, Ann Cale Kruger

Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Collegiate athletes must contend with harmful stereotypes (e.g., intellectually lazy, unintelligent) during their academic careers (Comeaux, 2012). Research shows that student-athletes’ academic performance can be negatively impacted by stereotype threat (Riciputi & Erdal, 2017). Currently, there is no published evidence-based research on stereotype threat (ST) mitigation strategies targeted to student-athletes. Expanding the work of Gresky and colleagues (2005), this study explored a self-concept map activity, based on the social identity complexity theory, as one potential strategy for collegiate athletes. Seventy Division I athletes were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions (varying by the level of ST administered). ANOVA …

Teaching With Digital 3d Models Of Minerals And Rocks, Graham Dm Andrews, Gabrielle Labishak, Sarah Brown, Shelby L. Isom, Holly Danielle Pettus, Trevor Byers

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The disruption to geoscience curricula due to the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the difficulty of making mineral and rock samples accessible to students online rather than through traditional lab classes. In spring 2020, our community had to adapt rapidly to remote instruction; this transition amplified existing disparities in access to geoscience education but can be a catalyst to increase accessibility and flexibility in instruction permanently. Fortunately, a rich collection of 3D mineral and rock samples is being generated by a community of digital modelers (e.g., Perkins et al., 2019).

Minecrafting Bar Mitzvah: Two Rabbis Negotiating And Cultivating Learner-Driven Inclusion Through New Media., Owen Gottlieb

Articles

In 2013, a boy with special needs used the video game Minecraft to deliver the sermon at his bar mitzvah at a Reform synagogue, an apparently unique ritual phenomenon to this day. Using a narrative inquiry approach, this article examines two rabbis’ negotiations with new media, leading up to, during, and upon reflection after the event. The article explores acceptance, innovation, and validation of new media in religious practice, drawing on Campbell’s (2010) framework for negotiation of new media in religious communities. Clergy biography, philosophy, and institutional context all impact the negotiations with new media. By providing context of a …

Using Schema Training To Facilitate Students' Understanding Of Challenging Engineering Concepts In Heat Transfer And Thermodynamics, Dazhi Yang, Ruth Streveler, Ronald L. Miller, Inanc Senocak, Jim Slotta

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Chi and colleagues have argued that some of the most challenging engineering concepts exhibit properties of emergent systems. However, students often lack a mental framework, or schema, for understanding emergence. Slotta and Chi posited that helping students develop a schema for emergent systems, referred to as schema training, would increase the understanding of challenging concepts exhibiting emergent properties.

Purpose: We tested the effectiveness of schema training and explored the nature of challenging concepts from thermodynamics and heat transfer. We investigated if schema training could (a) repair misconceptions in advanced engineering students and (b) prevent them in beginning engineering students. …

Start With Equity To Achieve Equality In The Classroom, Meghan Raehll

The International Institute for Innovative Instruction Blog

“…the direction in which education starts a man, will determine his future life.” – Plato, The Republic, Book IV.

As educators, we anchor our teaching principles in the values of equality and fairness to ensure the success of our students. Yet, layered atop the grounding ideals of equal opportunity for all students is the rugged reality in which, we too, as educators have emerged from our own specific contexts and carry with us deeply embedded beliefs that may transcend intentional thought. These specific contexts may, further, lead to unconscious stereotypes known as “implicit bias,” and can be detrimental to the …

Leveraging Local Resources And Contexts For Inclusive Computer Science Classrooms: Reflections From Experienced High School Teachers Implementing Electronic Textiles, Mia S. Shaw, Deborah A. Fields, Yasmin B. Kafai

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Background and context

Promoting open-ended projects presents new opportunities and challenges for inclusive teaching in CS classrooms. While efforts have been made to develop inclusive curricula, little research has focused on ways teachers apply curricula in their classrooms to promote inclusion.

Objective

To understand the challenges faced in facilitating an open-ended unit and the pedagogical strategies enacted to address those challenges, we analyze the self-reported teaching practices that experienced teachers developed in their implementation of a constructionist electronic textiles unit in Exploring Computer Science.

Method

We inductively analyzed and coded 17 experienced teachers’ weekly surveys and post-interviews.

Findings

Teachers …

Designing Analog Learning Games: Genre Affordances, Limitations And Multi-Game Approaches, Owen Gottlieb, Ian Schreiber

Articles

This chapter explores what the authors discovered about analog games and game design during the many iterative processes that have led to the Lost & Found series, and how they found certain constraints and affordances (that which an artifact assists, promotes or allows) provided by the boardgame genre. Some findings were counter-intuitive. What choices would allow for the modeling of complex systems, such as legal and economic systems? What choices would allow for gameplay within the time of a class-period? What mechanics could promote discussions of tradeoff decisions? If players are expending too much cognition on arithmetic strategizing, could that …

Faculty Perceptions Of Online Teaching At A Midsized Liberal Arts University, Dana L. Shreaves, Yu-Hui Ching, Lida Uribe-Florez, Jesús Trespalacios

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this mixed-methods study, faculty perceptions of online teaching at a midsized liberal arts university were examined to better understand faculty acceptance and participation in online teaching at the university. Seventy-nine participants responded to a survey that collected qualitative and quantitative data. Content analysis of faculty perceptions of online teaching was employed and resulted in the identification of six themes. An examination of 21 quantitative factors identified 17 factors reported by more than 50% of respondents to influence their decision to teach or not teach online. Study participants perceived online learning as attractive to students but they wanted any online …

Finding A Fit: Biological Science Doctoral Students’ Selection Of A Principal Investigator And Research Laboratory, Michelle A. Maher, Annie M. Wofford, Josipa Roksa, David F. Feldon

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

In the laboratory-based disciplines, selection of a principal investigator (PI) and research laboratory (lab) indelibly shapes doctoral students’ experiences and educational outcomes. Framed by the theoretical concept of person–environment fit from within a socialization model, we use an inductive, qualitative approach to explore how a sample of 42 early-stage doctoral students enrolled in biological sciences programs made decisions about fitting with a PI and within a lab. Results illuminated a complex array of factors that students considered in selecting a PI, including PI relationship, mentoring style, and professional stability. Further, with regard to students’ lab selection, peers and research projects …

The Administration Of Online Programs In Statewide Systems: A Case Study Of The University System Of New Hampshire, Chris L. Labelle, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Kerry Rice

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

As enrollments in postsecondary online programs have grown, many institutions have pursued a more centralized business model that consolidates their online programming under a single executive leader, a statewide system office, or a coalition of institutions that have merged operations and assets. In this study, the researchers used an exploratory case study design--using both surveys and interviews--to investigate how online programs are administered at four institutions in the University System of New Hampshire (USNH). Several findings emerged from the data. First, participants struggled finding a common vocabulary when talking about online programs and the potential benefits of system-level collaboration; second, …

“How Well Does Your Structural Equation Model Fit Your Data?”: Is Marcoulides And Yuan’S Equivalence Test The Answer?, James Peugh, David F. Feldon

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Structural equation modeling is an ideal data analytical tool for testing complex relationships among many analytical variables. It can simultaneously test multiple mediating and moderating relationships, estimate latent variables on the basis of related measures, and address practical issues such as nonnormality and missing data. To test the extent to which a hypothesized model provides an appropriate characterization of the collective relationships among its variables, researchers must assess the “fit” between the model and the sample’s data. However, interpreting estimates of model fit is a problematic process. The traditional inferential test of model fit, the chi-square test, is biased due …

'Education As A Geisteswissenschaft': An Introduction To Human Science Pedagogy, Norm Friesen

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Human Science Pedagogy is ‘a strange case,’ as Jürgen Oelkers has recently noted: In the Anglophone world, where Gert Biesta has compellingly encouraged scholars to ‘reconsider education as a Geisteswissenschaft’ (a human science) its main themes and the contributions of its central figures remain unknown. For Germans, particularly in more ‘general’ or philosophical areas of educational scholarship (i.e. Allgemeine Pädagogik), this same pedagogy is recognized only insofar as it is critiqued and rejected. Taking this strange situation as its frame, this paper introduces Human Science Pedagogy to English-language readers, providing a cursory overview of its history and principal contributors, …

Steam Maker Education: Conceal/Reveal Of Personal, Artistic And Computational Dimensions In High School Student Projects, Lindsay Lindberg, Deborah A. Fields, Yasmin B. Kafai

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Much of maker education’s expansion has focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) learning, leaving out equally promising opportunities for integrating arts learning. In this paper we share findings from a project in which high school students created electronic-textiles-based art representing features of a community important to them as a part of an elective high school computer science class. We addressed the following research questions: (1) What kinds of personal and community meanings did students convey through their maker projects? (2) How did students engage with artistic dimensions in their projects? (3) How did coding interactive features support students’ artwork? …

Finding Pathways: Best Practices For Ongoing Learning In Toastmasters, Veronica Brown

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

Toastmasters International, an educational organization consisting of an international network of public speaking clubs, has developed a sophisticated elearning educational program called Pathways as an update to a simpler program, published in booklets, that was nearly a century old. Reactions from club members have been mixed and the transition has required a great deal of training and support efforts at all levels of the organization. This research seeks to identify best practices Toastmasters clubs and members can use to successful transition to Pathways. The hypothesis of the research is that Toastmasters, as a community of practice (CoP), is a connectivist …

Ilt To Mobile Elearning Design For At-Risk Populations, Jacqueline R. Tomrdle

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

This capstone assisted a non-profit company to produce mobile learning for the vulnerable, at-risk population they serve. A fellow University of Massachusetts Boston Instructional Design Program graduate created an eLearning visual brand guide laying the foundation for a consistent accessible brand for the company. As a result, this author used the tools of analysis, instructional design, development, implementation and evaluation to create deliverables of six workshop modules. The non-profit company is one-step closer to their goal of online support for their graduates and promotion of their program to a larger audience reach in Massachusetts.

Guidelines For Designing Online Courses For Mobile Devices, Sally J. Baldwin, Yu-Hui Ching

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

College students frequently use mobile devices (e.g., smartphones and tablets) to access online courses yet online course designers often do not design courses with mobile learning in mind. This research identified seven national and statewide online course design evaluation instruments and examined the criteria that guide course designers designing online courses for learning with mobile devices. Currently, minimal guidance on course design for mobile learning is offered in most of the national and statewide online course design instruments. Research-supported design tips that promote device compatibility, content readability, format optimization, and mobile-friendly navigation are suggested in this paper to guide future …

Easily Read, Easily Forgotten: Reassessing The Effects Of Visual Difficulties And Multi-Modality In Educational Text Design, Rebekah Cochell

Masters Theses

The graphic design of a book affects the way the reader receives and processes information. However, design is often focused on aesthetic principles and traditional wisdom, not taking into account how design aspects affect cognitive processes and educational outcomes. This thesis examines the efficacy of page design elements on educational outcomes, specifically disfluent fonts, handwritten fonts and multi-modal design. The traditional wisdom of typography has maintained that the faster the human eye can read a text, the more suited it is for reading materials. However, recent research suggests that disfluent, or difficult-to-read fonts result in significantly improved reading comprehension and …

A Case Study On A Grassroots, Student-Led Facebook Community For Online Graduate Students And Alumni, Caroline E. Frankel

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

This case study explores the evolution of a grassroots, student-led Facebook graduate student community to support graduate students within the University of Massachusetts Boston Instructional Design Program. The study explores literature supporting social presence construction within formal course environments, informal learning networks, and how social media can help bridge the gap between the formal and informal course space. A questionnaire administered to graduate students and alumni within the Instructional Design Facebook community suggests that a grassroots model has been highly effective at helping students feel more connected to each other. Conclusions and recommendations provided by this study will help inform …

Team Building & Coaching, Daniel Kelley

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

A supervisor’s ability to make proper hires and coach existing employees is related to the creation of a pipeline of future supervisors. As corporations grow, so does its personnel. As the personnel grows, so does the need for more leaders that can appropriately manage personnel without human resource intervention. This paper discusses the need for an internally designed program created to help existing supervisors build a bench of future company leaders. Background information of the company is discussed along with the importance of staff development in achieving its mission. A literature review was performed to determine the benefits of an …

Eun-Ok Baek Teaching Skills Study Award Report Spring 2019, Erun-Ok Baek

Teaching Skills Study Awards (TSSA) Reports

The primary goals of participating in this conference were to enhance my teaching skills by:

1) exploring emerging tools and instructional strategies to develop adaptive learning; and

2) more specifically, investigating ways to develop personalized learning, micro-learning, and gamification using various adaptive technology tools and learning analytics.

This provided an opportunity for me to improve my understanding of theoretical models and practical guidelines for the developing adaptive online learning course activities that facilitate increase students’ engagement and motivation.

Smart Sparrow, Knewton, DreamBox, and ScootPad were studied at the AERA conference. Smart Sparrow is the tool that is flexible and can …

Understanding Secondary School Teachers’ Tpack And Technology Implementation In Mathematics Classrooms, Julia Eden Hill, Lida Uribe-Florez

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK) framework provides an understanding of a teacher’s knowledge in the three areas and how it is used to effectively teach with technology (Koehler, Mishra, & Cain, 2013). This study explores the TPACK of middle and high school math and special education teachers and how teachers integrate technology in their mathematics classrooms. Teachers in a rural public school district in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S were surveyed. In the concurrent mixed-method design, data were collected using a survey with 22 close-ended questions from Zelkowski, Gleason, Cox, & Bismark (2013) to measure teachers’ TPACK …

4 Weird Things That Happen When You Videoconference, Norm Friesen

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

As the COVID-19 pandemic forces many U.S. colleges and universities to move their courses online, connecting online via video is now having its moment.

Family, friends, neighbors and even TV talk-show hosts are now meeting and broadcasting from home. Meanwhile, Microsoft, Google and Zoom are struggling to meet the demand for their videoconferencing services.

People have long noticed, however, that some peculiar things happen in videoconferencing. A magazine mentioned its “bizarre intimacy.” Jaron Lanier, who is considered the “father of virtual reality,” once remarked that it “seems precisely configured to confound” nonverbal communication.