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Full-Text Articles in Educational Psychology

Exploring Concerns Of K-12 Online Educators, Tadd Spencer Farmer Jun 2017

Exploring Concerns Of K-12 Online Educators, Tadd Spencer Farmer

Theses and Dissertations

Although a relatively small number of K-12 students are currently enrolled in online classes, the dramatic growth in online enrollments in recent years suggests that online education will play a significant role in the future landscape of public education. While our understanding of online teaching and learning continues to grow, relatively little is known about the experiences of teachers as they engage in online teaching. In particular, very little is known about the concerns of teachers as they navigate their teaching roles and responsibilities in an online teaching environment. Using an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach, this qualitative study explored the …


Designing A Russian Language Learning Course For Brigham Young University Independent Study, Jacob R. Burdis Aug 2012

Designing A Russian Language Learning Course For Brigham Young University Independent Study, Jacob R. Burdis

Theses and Dissertations

In 2010, Brigham Young University Independent Study (BYU IS) sponsored a development project for the creation of a second-year high school Russian language learning course. The objectives of the course were to implement the five standards for foreign language learning as constituted by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages: communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, and communities. The design project is an attempt to implement these principles in an independent distance learning course, with particular emphasis on encouraging meaningful communicative learning in authentic, real-world tasks and contexts. The product of the design is a course deliverable completely online through …


Understanding Learner Interactions In The Home-Study And Technology-Mediated Seminary Program For Youth In The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Bradley G. Boyce Jun 2011

Understanding Learner Interactions In The Home-Study And Technology-Mediated Seminary Program For Youth In The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Bradley G. Boyce

Theses and Dissertations

Interaction is a core element in the design of blended and distance learning environments. The importance of understanding these interactions and what might increase effectiveness of such interactions in education is paramount for meaningful learning. This dissertation consists of two qualitative case studies designed to provide a rich, descriptive look at interactions in a high school distance/blended-learning context in the home-study and technology-meditated seminary program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In the study article, Moore's (1989) interaction framework was used as a lens for understanding the learner experience. Thematic narratives were used to highlight themes related …


Strictly Business: Teacher Perceptions Of Interaction In Virtual Schooling, Charles R. Graham, Abigail Hawkins, Michael K. Barbour Jan 2011

Strictly Business: Teacher Perceptions Of Interaction In Virtual Schooling, Charles R. Graham, Abigail Hawkins, Michael K. Barbour

Faculty Publications

This study explored the nature of teacher-student interaction from the perspective of eight virtual school teachers in an asynchronous, self-paced, statewide, supplemental virtual high school. Using intensity sampling, eight teachers who varied across discipline, grade level, and course completion rates were student-initiated and instructional in nature. The main procedural interactions focused on notifications sent to inactive students. Social interactions were minimal and viewed as having little pedagogical value. Institutional barriers such as class size and an absence of effective tracking mechanisms limited the amount and types of interaction teachers engaged in. Study implications and future research are discussed.


Improving The Asynchronous Video Learning Model, Michael E. Griffiths Mar 2010

Improving The Asynchronous Video Learning Model, Michael E. Griffiths

Theses and Dissertations

Online education is popular from a consumer perspective, but there are elements of face-to-face instruction and assessment that are difficult to reproduce online (Bassoppo-Moyo 2006). The difficulty of reproducing valued elements of a face-to-face setting leads to concerns regarding the overall quality of the online learning experience. Videoconferencing is one technology that has been used to incorporate elements of a face-to-face environment. However, videoconferencing over the Internet is fraught with technical difficulties and live discussions remove one of the main benefits of distance education: time flexibility. A more recent development has been to use asynchronous video as a communications method …


Character Development In A Distance Education Literature Course: Perspectives On Independent Study English 395r-Christian Fantasy Literature, Michael C. Johnson Aug 2009

Character Development In A Distance Education Literature Course: Perspectives On Independent Study English 395r-Christian Fantasy Literature, Michael C. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

The goals of higher education often entail the development of students' character. Rarely, however, are these character development goals connected to the unique design and delivery of distance education programs. Additionally, the research literature that explores the character development aspects of distance education is sparse. Thus the purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of how character development may occur in a distance context. Taking a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, I examined instructor and student perceptions of character development in a fantasy literature independent study course. Findings indicate that students perceived development of traits and strengths in the …


Ten Scalability Factors In Distance Education, R. Dwight Laws, Scott L. Howell, Nathan K. Lindsay Jan 2009

Ten Scalability Factors In Distance Education, R. Dwight Laws, Scott L. Howell, Nathan K. Lindsay

Faculty Publications

The institutional decision about how much technology should be used to scale distance education enrollments, reduce costs, maximize profits, and protect course and program quality is both institutional specific and complex. Guri-Rosenblit (1999) noted that “many conventional universities worldwide operate as large-scale universities and are in a continuous search to find the right balance between massification trends, quality education, and the catering to the individual needs of students” (p. 289). This research is an outgrowth of the authors’ own efforts to identify relevant scalability factors and their interrelationship one to another in a traditional university’s distance education program.


Insights From Research On Distance Education Learners, Learning, And Learner Support, Richard E. West Jan 2009

Insights From Research On Distance Education Learners, Learning, And Learner Support, Richard E. West

Faculty Publications

This article reviews the key ideas related to increasing student learning and support described in selected chapters from the second edition of the Handbook of Distance Education (Moore 2007). These chapters described research findings related to the impact of distance education on learners in general (student autonomy, cognition, social learning, and satisfaction), as well as specific subgroups of distance students and instructors (K-12, female, and disabled students as well as academic advising and library services). This article concludes with brief recommendations for future research in each of these areas.


Open Educational Resources: Enabling Universal Education, David Wiley, Tom Caswell, Shelley Henson, Marion Jensen Feb 2008

Open Educational Resources: Enabling Universal Education, David Wiley, Tom Caswell, Shelley Henson, Marion Jensen

Faculty Publications

The role of distance education is shifting. Traditionally distance education was limited in the number of people served because of production, reproduction, and distribution costs. Today, while it still costs the university time and money to produce a course, technology has made it such that reproduction costs are almost non-existent. This shift has significant implications, and allows distance educators to play an important role in the fulfillment of the promise of the right to universal education. At little or no cost, universities can make their content available to millions. This content has the potential to substantially improve the quality of …


Good (Best) Practices For Electronically Offered Degree And Certificate Programs, Scott L. Howell, Katherine Baker Jan 2006

Good (Best) Practices For Electronically Offered Degree And Certificate Programs, Scott L. Howell, Katherine Baker

Faculty Publications

Who would have ever imagined the effect of one set of distance education principles developed 10 years ago (1995)? At a time in the history of distance- and e-learning, when many associations, organizations, and institutions set about to define themselves and those standards by which their constituents would be held accountable for quality practices, one set of standards has emerged preeminent the work of the Western Cooperative of Educational Telecommunications known as Best Practices for Electronically Offered Degree and Certificate Programs. Even Though the original 17 principles enumerated in 1995 have evolved to 27 in 2005, all institutions of higher …


On-Demand Tutoring In Distance Education: Intrinsically-Motivated, Scalable Interpersonal Interaction To Improve Achievement, Completion, And Satisfaction, Peter B. Williams Oct 2005

On-Demand Tutoring In Distance Education: Intrinsically-Motivated, Scalable Interpersonal Interaction To Improve Achievement, Completion, And Satisfaction, Peter B. Williams

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to test an intrinsically-motivated interaction approach, designed to increase distance education support, for both content and motivation, in a cost-effective manner. The literature summarized shows that distance education students desire content and motivational support beyond course materials and are limited in their success without it. Further, while researchers explore increased interaction as a solution, professors usually do not have time for it and attempts to provide it are often restricted by institutions' limited resources. Very little has been published on the effects of distance education tutors and the need for more research in this …


Use Of Distance Education By Religions Of The World To Train, Edify, And Educate Adherents, P. Clint Rogers, Scott L. Howell Nov 2004

Use Of Distance Education By Religions Of The World To Train, Edify, And Educate Adherents, P. Clint Rogers, Scott L. Howell

Faculty Publications

Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, Baha'i, Jewish, and Christian organizations are all experimenting with distance education for various reasons and to different extents, due to religious, economic, and political factors. Religious institutions worldwide are not only turning to the World Wide Web (WWW) to place information concerning religious beliefs and provide virtual services for their constituents but are also getting more involved in formally educating their members at a distance. This paper will document some of these educational efforts and the reasons behind the expanding use of distance education by several of the major religious institutions for training, edifying, and educating their …


Bringing Online Learning To Campus: The Hybridization Of Teaching And Learning At Brigham Young University, Gregory L. Waddoups, Scott L. Howell Jan 2002

Bringing Online Learning To Campus: The Hybridization Of Teaching And Learning At Brigham Young University, Gregory L. Waddoups, Scott L. Howell

Faculty Publications

The primary purpose of Brigham Young University (BYU) is to provide students with a combination of sacred and secular education often described as the BYU experience. Achieving this purpose is challenged by the rapid growth in Church membership and an enrollment cap of 30,000 students. To address these challenges, BYU sponsors the use of technology to bridge the gap between the increased Church membership and the number of students allowed under the enrollment caps. This institutional case study shows how these challenges have influenced the hybridization of teaching and learning for on campus (resident) and off campus (distance) students. It …