Education Commons^™

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 …

Enhancing Classroom Instruction With Online News, Michael D. Ekstrand, Katherine Landau Wright, Maria Soledad Pera

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Purpose

Investigate how school teachers look for informational texts for their classrooms. Access to current, varied, and authentic informational texts improves learning outcomes for K-12 students, but many teachers lack resources to expand and update readings. The Web offers freely-available resources, but finding suitable ones is time-consuming. This research lays the groundwork for building tools to ease that burden.

Methodology

This paper reports qualitative findings from a study in two stages: (1) a set of semi-structured interviews, based on the Critical Incident Technique, eliciting teachers’ information-seeking practices and challenges; and (2) observations of teachers using a prototype teaching-oriented news search …

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 …

Should College Instructors Reveal Their High Functioning Autism In The Classroom?, Gundars Kaupins, Tim Chenoweth, Felice Klein

Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

College instructors with highly functional autism, also known as Asperger’s, can have difficulty interacting with students. To mitigate the potentially reduced teaching ratings, college instructors must decide whether to reveal their condition to the students. Using a survey of 393 university business students, we address if college instructors who reveal that they have Asperger’s at the beginning of instruction influence students’ ratings. We find that students’ ratings were higher when college instructors reveal that they have Asperger’s. However, this effect only pertains to male students. Our findings suggest that instructors with Asperger’s should reveal their condition to students.

A Library For Everyone: Building A Model For Library Digital Accessibility, Rebeca Peacock, Amy Vecchione

Library Faculty Publications and Presentations

Want to know more about the ways libraries can support digital accessibility? Learn from the expertise of Boise State University librarians Rebeca Peacock and Amy Vecchione using their digital accessibility research to show how you can apply the lessons learned in your library. In this presentation, you'll learn what digital accessibility is and how meeting digital accessibility needs supports everyone! In addition, they will share easy to implement techniques and tools to improve the library experience for everyone.

Reaching Out Handbook, Boise State University

Rebuilding the Launchpad: Serving Students During Covid Resource Library

The Reaching Out Handbook has been created for the purpose of providing you with information about Counseling Services, about other campus resources, and how to most effectively assist individuals in distress.

Our goal is to help you recognize some of the symptoms of individual distress, as well as provide some specific options for intervention and for referral to campus resources. We are available to assist you with problem situations and to consult with you on whether to intervene with a particular individual and when to refer.

Guidelines are offered but each individual will need to consider what is appropriate in …

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. …

Word Walls In Social Studies: One Solution To The "Vocabulary Conundrum", Dianna Townsend, Ashley Baxter, Annie Keller, Hannah Carter

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Julia Kearney and Lori Bingham (pseudonyms), two middle school social studies teachers in a large urban school, have a problem. They want to have their students asking and exploring important questions about American history, and they want them to have the vocabulary knowledge needed to do so. While Julia and Lori recognize the rich linguistic resources their students bring to their classrooms, they also recognize the intense vocabulary demands of social studies. Julia and Lori recently participated in a professional learning initiative to develop research-based approaches for building students’ academic vocabulary knowledge in social studies. They learned about the potential …

The Impact Of Visual Displays On Learning Across The Disciplines: A Systematic Review, Daibao Guo, Erin M. Mctigue, Sharon D. Matthews, Wendi Zimmer

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

The current systematic review aimed to investigate in what ways the incorporation of visual display tasks benefits K-12 students’ content-area learning. After screening 1693 articles at abstract level and a systematic evaluation of methodological quality, we synthesized 44 articles for this review. The qualitative synthesis of the studies is organized by categories of interaction with visual displays (ViDis), instructional support, and types of knowledge and learning. Overall findings indicate the simple inclusion of visual displays does not guarantee a positive learning effect. More detailed findings distinguish three categories of ViDis: author-provided, student-filled-in, and student-created visual displays. Furthermore, we discuss …

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 …

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, …

A Credited Support Course: Corequisite Writing Course At Boise State University, Karen S. Uehling

English Literature Faculty Publications and Presentations

In 1981, when I began teaching at Boise State University, the institution still filled the community college function, the teaching load was heavy (five or even six courses per term), and preparing students for first year writing was the goal of basic writing. I felt immersion in a full, rich writing and reading experience, not primarily grammar review, was essential. I entered Boise State with experience teaching at a small college in western North Carolina where I first encountered Mina Shaughnessy; I admired how she took basic writing seriously. After four years in North Carolina, in 1980-81, I participated in …

Truth, Success, And Faith: Novice Teachers’ Perceptions Of What's At Risk In Responsive Teaching In Science, Amy D. Robertson, Leslie J. Atkins Elliott

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Responsive teaching—or teaching that builds from the “seeds of science” in student thinking—is depicted in STEM education literature as both important and challenging. U.S. science education reform has been calling for teachers to enact instruction that attends to and takes up the substance of students’ STEM ideas; however, responsive teaching represents a substantial shift from the current state of affairs in most U.S. classrooms, where content is often presented authoritatively as facts, definitions, and algorithms, with little consideration of student thinking. Drawing on language from literature about sense‐making, this paper identifies some of the “vexation points” that novice science teachers …

Breaking Down The Silos: Innovations For Multidisciplinary Programs, Jillana Finnegan, Donna C. Llewellyn

University Author Recognition Bibliography: 2020

Universities, colleges and academic departments acknowledge the need for more collaborative, multidisciplinary, entrepreneurial, and global education. Unfortunately, this is no trivial task. Centuries of tradition have produced institutional silos, reinforced by layers of policy and cultural differences between academic departments, between colleges, and between academic and non-academic units. Successful multidisciplinary programs require programmatic and administrative innovation that meet faculty, student and institutional needs and leverage available resources. The Vertically Integrated Project (VIP) model, in place at thirty-seven institutions, has achieved notable success in these areas. This paper profiles innovations from ten VIP Programs in three areas: institutional organization, program organization, …

Revolutionizing The Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Curriculum, Shelby Ann Mcneilly, Krishna Pakala, Donald Plumlee

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

As the age of technological advancement and occupational opportunity continues to progress, companies must be constantly adjusting and transforming in order to accommodate industry demands. With these quickly developing requirements comes an expectation of employee experience and skill sets. For individuals seeking a career in mechanical engineering, moving forward with the tools necessary for success in this continuously evolving world begins with higher education. This paper is the first of a three-part series to report on the progress of Boise State University’s Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Department’s mission to implement a revolutionized curriculum in their academic program. This paper will …

Boise State University Reintegration Guide, Boise State University

Rebuilding the Launchpad: Serving Students During Covid Resource Library

The Boise State University Reintegration Committee (“Committee”) is charged by President Marlene Tromp with recommending and advising when and under what conditions the university can reintegrate, or resume, in whole or part, in-person operations.

The Committee is chaired by Chief of Staff & Vice President for Compliance, Legal and Audit, Alicia Estey, JD, MPH, and has eleven additional members. The group meets regularly to review relevant research, modeling, clinical data and other inputs from respected sources that can help inform integrated and aligned recommendations, including recommendations from various work groups and subcommittees supporting reintegration. Through Chief of Staff and VP …

Faculty Perspectives On The Impact Of Virtual Office Hours In Engineering Courses, Brooke-Lynn Caprice Andrade, Krishna Pakala, Diana Bairaktarova, Douglas Hagemeier, Harish Subbaraman

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Instructor-student interaction is an important element of a course design, but office hours can be challenging to attend based on students’ commitments. They have time and space limitations that prevent students from getting the help they need and often garner poor attendance. Virtual office hours can address issues related to low attendance and provide a low stakes environment where unhindered learning can happen. Virtual office hours are flexible, yield productive interactions, and all enrolled students can participate. This study reports on three engineering instructors’ perspectives on the efficacy of virtual office hours compared to the traditional face-to-face interactions with the …

Responding To Microaggressions In Online Learning Environments During A Pandemic, Tasha Souza

Rebuilding the Launchpad: Serving Students During Covid Resource Library

With faculty and students both stressed during the pandemic, microaggressions may become more frequent in our online learning environment. Here are some practical strategies for mitigating the impact of microaggressions in online and remote classes.

'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, …

Makerspace Instruction & The Acrl Framework, Amy Vecchione, Stephanie Milne-Lane

Library Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this presentation Amy Vecchione and Stephanie Milne-Lane will host a discussion about research and instruction in a makerspace setting. They will outline the process of how the maker instruction program developed iteratively at Boise State University (BSU). Additionally, they will share the final results of Stephanie’s University of Washington MLIS capstone project, the BSU MakerLab Toolkit. They will also report on their conclusions regarding how the ACRL Framework is the best lens for developing maker instruction.

Inclusive Open Education: Presumptions, Principles, And Practices, Benjamin Croft, Monica Brown

University Author Recognition Bibliography: 2020

Open education has long been forwarded as a producer of equity. However, there currently exists a lack of critical engagement with issues of justice in open educational practices (OEP). While the affordances of open education have potential for increasing equity, creating knowledge alongside learners is inherently rife with complexities for inclusion and diversity. As online faculty build relationships with and between students and engage in unconventional but authentic instruction, they must be cognizant of the ways in which historically underrepresented populations are systematically marginalized and might be excluded from full participation. This paper seeks to investigate tensions at the nexus …

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 …

Using The Fitness Challenge To Teach The Principles Of Conditioning And Improve Campus Physical Activity, Shawn R. Simonson

Kinesiology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The goal of KINES 432 Conditioning Procedures is for students to develop the skills to appropriately prescribe exercise and conditioning that will enhance the student’s ability as a practitioner to help others improve conditioning and achieve their health, fitness, and performance goals. The focus is on program objectives, planning, exercise analysis, and prescription as well as the supporting theories, rationale, and research. Application of concepts occurs via projects, service-learning and laboratory experiences. KINES 432 is also designated a university Finishing Foundations course. Boise State University’s Foundational Studies Program provides undergraduates with a broad-based education that spans the entire university experience. …

Pilot Project: Developing A Standardized Evidence-Based Education Process For Nurses To Enhance New Medication Eduction Of Hospitalized Patients With Heart Failure, Michele Ann Crotteau

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Problem Description: Research has shown that health information is difficult for the average adult to understand while clear communication helps patients feel involved and increases adherence to treatment. The Joint Commission recommends Health Literacy (HL) assessment and the use of the Teach Back Method (TBM). Medication errors that occur between the RN and elderly patient are preventable when the RN communicates effectively about the patient’s medications. A paucity of research exists evaluating TBM for nurse-patient communications. This Quality Improvement (QI) Pilot Project (PP) took place over 3-months, aimed to improve new medication education to elderly patients with Heart Failure (HF). …

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.

Review Of Living Learning Communities And Their Impact On First Year Engineering College Students, Samantha Schauer, Krishna Pakala, Kim M.B. Tucker

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Traditionally, first-year college students do not have a community of like-minded peers with whom they are able to learn. Adding to first-year engineering college students’ (FYECS) struggles is the fact that many students do not have a mentor in their related field and are unable to start building their professional repertoire, network, and/or practical skills. Living Learning Communities (LLC) can offer a platform for postsecondary institutions to increase recruitment, engagement, and sense of belonging for students who live in an LLC. LLCs have been described in the literature as themed living and learning communities where students take a common course(s), …

Developing An Understanding Procedures Observation Rubric For Mathematics Intervention Teachers, Angela R. Crawford, Evelyn S. Johnson, Yuzhu Z. Zheng, Laura A. Moylan

Early and Special Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study describes the initial psychometric evaluation of an Understanding Procedures observation rubric. The instrument is intended to provide feedback to teachers working in mathematics intervention settings. The rubric translates the research base from mathematics education and special education into practice in the form of specific items and descriptors of performance levels. A sample of 16 intervention teachers across three states provided three videos each of their instruction of students in mathematics intervention classes. Ten external raters evaluated the videos. We analyze the ratings using many-facet Rasch measurement. Analyses of the teacher, item, rater, and lesson facets show good psychometric …

Examining Rater Accuracy And Consistency With A Special Education Observation Protocol, Evelyn S. Johnson, Yuzhu Zheng, Angela R. Crawford, Laura A. Moylan

Early and Special Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Research indicates that instructional aspects of teacher performance are the most difficult to reach consensus on, significantly limiting teacher observation as a way to systematically improve instructional practice. Understanding the rationales that raters provide as they evaluate teacher performance with an observation protocol offers one way to better understand the training efforts required to improve rater accuracy. The purpose of this study was to examine the accuracy of raters evaluating special education teachers’ implementation of evidence-based math instruction. A mixed-methods approach was used to investigate: 1) the consistency of the raters’ application of the scoring criteria to evaluate teachers’ lessons, …

Conceptual Change By Fiat?, Dewey I. Dykstra

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

What Murphy and Gash are attempting to do is to solve a significant problem some students have being successful in school, one that is not often addressed in any significant way. The language used to describe the lessons has some significant departures from radical constructivism. It is, no doubt, beneficial that the students in the study may have developed improvements in self-image, but, as seen in other work, the application of radical constructivism to develop and extend the work started in the study could result in more and more lasting improvements.