Online and Distance Education Commons^™

Public Health Instructors' Attitudes Regarding Online Instructional Course Design: A Collective Case Study, Meaghan A. Gargin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this collective case study was to describe instructors’ attitudes regarding Keller’s personalized system of instruction (PSI) for a sample of online master’s-level public health instructors at an institution of higher education. The central research question was how do public health instructors describe their attitudes regarding personalized system of instruction and online graduate education? The institution selected for this investigation was “University A.” The theory guiding this study was Keller’s personalized system of instruction (PSI), as it features five elements for student-centered course design in higher education learning. The elements include: (a) self-pacing, (b) unit mastery, (c) lectures …

Subject Matter Expert (Sme) Onboarding 101: Improving Development Efficiency And Course Quality Through Sme Training, Heather J. Leslie Phd, Alejandra Lizardo

Learning Design Center: Staff Scholarship

A common challenge for instructional designers and administrators of online programs is ensuring that projects are completed within the development timeframe and that course content meets high standards for quality. This paper describes a training course that was developed to meet those challenges. The course prepares Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to work with a design team made up of instructional designers and instructional technologists so that SMEs can plan their course content using a backward design framework. SMEs participate in a fully asynchronous online course with other SMEs where they can collaborate and brainstorm ideas. Having SMEs take an online …

Design And Implementation Of 360-Degree Video Vignettes In Immersive Virtual Reality: A Quality Management In Higher Education Case, Martha Snyder, Steven Kramer, Diane Lippe, Sharan Sankar

The Qualitative Report

Immersive virtual reality (IVR) in higher education has gained traction as a way to engage learners in immersive and authentic learning experiences. However, there is a need for guidance on how to design and implement IVR solutions. We used a design-based research methodology to answer the following overarching research question and sub-questions: (1) How can 360-degree video vignettes presented within an IVR environment be designed and implemented to facilitate quality management competencies? (1a) How do learners experience this technology? (1b) What is the process for creating and implementing this technology? (1c) How can we best design the learning experience? We …

Ready, Set, Communicate: Measuring Usability Of Instructional Modules Designed To Improve Communications Skills Of Students Studying Agricultural Sciences, Theresa Pesl Murphrey, Audra W. Richburg, Holli R. Leggette, Shannon L. Norris-Parish, Jean A. Parrella

Journal of Applied Communications

Well-developed communications skills are essential to a proficient agricultural workforce. Online instruction via reusable learning modules (RLMs) is one way agricultural science faculty can provide their students with expert communications skills training. Although RLMs have many benefits, their value degrades rapidly if the learner cannot access or use the technology efficiently. Therefore, online instruction must be tested to ensure usability. The purpose of our study was to assess the usability of RLMs developed to bolster the communications skills of students studying in the agricultural sciences and provide guidance for future curricula and online instruction development. We used quantitative and qualitative …

Diseño Instruccional En La Planeación Didáctica Del Programa Académico De Contaduría Pública En Una Universidad Privada De Colombia, Rafael Humberto Pinzon Alfonso

Theses and Dissertations

El propósito de esta investigación fue analizar el diseño instruccional en la planeación didáctica de los cursos del área financiera (matemáticas, análisis financiero y administración financiera) del programa académico de Contaduría Pública en la modalidad presencial. La metodología de esta investigación fue de corte cuantitativo no experimental, cuyo procedimiento fue el estudio de caso que permitió hacer un análisis del Diseño Instruccional en la Planeación Didáctica de los cursos del Área Financiera del programa de Contaduría Pública en una Universidad Privada en Colombia. Los participantes del estudio fueron 262 estudiantes del programa académico de Contaduría Pública de los cursos objeto …

Evaluating The Design And Development Of The “Making Molecules” Simulation: Students’ Perceptions And Recommendations, Pauline Salim Muljana, Jodye I. Selco

Educational Leadership & Technology Faculty Publications

Students perceive molecular bonding as an abstract concept; therefore, learning this concept seems uninteresting and difficult. A strategically designed learning object (LO), such as in the form of a simulation, can be used to help students acquire accurate mental images and build appropriate schema in addition to providing a concrete learning experience and encouraging knowledge construction. This paper presents an evaluation of the design and development of the Making Molecules simulation through students’ perceptions of the previous version and recommendations for improving a future version. Data were collected from two online chemistry courses (N = 159) through an anonymous online …

Examination Of Formal Instructional Design Processes At Traditional Institutions Of Higher Education In The United States Post-Pandemic Onset, Heather L. D. Tobin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to identify the motivational elements of formal online instructional design processes that are being implemented at traditional institutions of higher education (IHEs) in the United States (U.S.). For this study, I conducted a comprehensive literature review identifying emerging issues of practice for instructional design partnerships between the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic during the spring of 2022 and the spring of 2023. This study was developed through the lens of Keller’s (2010) attention, relevance, confidence, satisfaction, and volition (ARCS-V) model of motivation. An understanding of the elements of current processes that present as benefits …

Strategies For Creating Inclusive Learning Environments Through A Social Justice Lens, Beverly Araujo Dawson, Whitney Kilgore, Renee M. Rawcliffe

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Culturally situated and cross-cultural approaches to instructional design and research have become increasingly important in higher education, particularly in online learning environments. As higher education becomes increasingly racially and ethnically diverse, learning environments must be structured and facilitated to meet the learning needs of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) students. Based on the Community of Inquiry (CoI) and culturally inclusive pedagogy, this paper provides an overview of inclusive teaching practices and the necessity to take a holistic approach to online teaching with BIPOC students. This paper provides an overview of key instructional design elements to achieve equity-minded instructional design.

A Case Study Of Community Of Inquiry Presences And Cognitive Load In Asynchronous Online Stem Courses, Emily Faulconer, Darryl Chamberlain, Beverly Wood

Publications

The design and facilitation of asynchronous online courses can have notable impacts on students related to persistence, performance, and perspectives. This case study presents current conditions for cognitive load and Community of Inquiry (CoI) presences in an asynchronous online introductory undergraduate STEM course. Researchers present the novel use of Python script to clean and organize data and a simplification of the instructional efficiency calculation for use of anonymous data. Key relationships between cognitive load and CoI presences are found through validated use of NASA-TLX instrument and transcript analysis of discussion posts. The data show that student presences are not consistent …

A Case Study Of Community Of Inquiry Presences And Cognitive Load In Asynchronous Online Stem Courses, Emily K. Faulconer, Darryl J. Chamberlain Jr.

Publications

The design and facilitation of asynchronous online courses can have notable impacts on students related to persistence, performance, and perspectives. This case study presents current conditions for cognitive load and Community of Inquiry (CoI) presences in an asynchronous online introductory undergraduate STEM course. Researchers present the novel use of Python script to clean and organize data and a simplification of the instructional efficiency calculation for use of anonymous data. Key relationships between cognitive load and CoI presences are found through validated use of NASA-TLX instrument and transcript analysis of discussion posts. The data show that student presences are not consistent …

Standalone, Supplemental, And Embedded Microlearning Development Alternatives For Federal Programs During A Pandemic, Tod M. Hebenton

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

Microlearning has been studied since the early 2000’s. Comparisons of microlearning and eLearning are found throughout the research. Some research has presented developing microlearning as an alternative to developing eLearning courses. However, this action research paper is written in support of developing microlearning to be implemented alongside or as a component of eLearning. Microlearning benefits learners because it can be developed as standalone, supplemental, or embedded course content. A literature review and close examination of a series of microlearning videos developed for a federal program will highlight how microlearning can be developed as standalone or supplemental course content that can …

Enhancing Creativity In Organizational Teams: Development Of The Spark Program, Kimberly Morehead

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Organizational teams have experienced unprecedented change since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic—such as frequent changes in leadership, increased turnover, and shifting to full-time remote work—which have impacted their ability to form lasting creative connections. This project addresses the challenge of the above changes by introducing a creativity-boosting program called The Spark, designed to help organizational teams remain inspired, connected, and energized throughout times of change. Following an overview of the rationale for this project and a review of the pertinent literature, the process plan is provided in detail. The project resulted in a program structure based on the Torrance …

And Finally... Systems And Instructional Design, Michael Simonson

Faculty Articles

Excerpt

A system is a set of interrelated parts, all working together toward a defined goal. The parts of the system depend on each other for input and output. The entire system uses feedback to determine if its desired goal has been reached. If not, then the system is modified until it reaches its goal (Dick et al., 2015).

A Systematic Review For Identifying Instructional Design Strategies And Principles In Extended Massive Open Online Courses (Xmoocs), Jingrui Jiang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Extended massive open online courses (xMOOCs), which follow traditional university learning models, have become a popular platform for structured learning over the past few years. Despite this popularity, xMOOCs are generally poorly designed, which has caused dramatic drop-out rates; therefore, they require extensive revision using instructional design strategies and principles. Hence, the purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic review of empirical studies that present best practices in the instructional design of xMOOCs and inductively identify effective instructional principles with the aim of improving the effectiveness of xMOOC instruction. We used the Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, and Study …

Design, Development, Implementation, And Support (Ddis): A Curriculum Supporting Online Doctoral Candidates, Donna Russell

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to comprehensively describe and justify the case design of an approach for the integration of synchronous virtual meetings to support nontraditional online doctoral candidates. As more nontraditional doctoral students are completing their degree programs virtually through online universities, the nature of their degree progression and the development of critical knowledge and skills differ from traditional on-campus programs.

Method: The case design of an approach to integrating synchronous online interactive meetings to support these learners is identified and justified through references to research in the learning sciences including sociocultural learning, heutagogy, and constructivist instructional …

Guidelines For Effective Adaptive Learning: A Meta-Analysis, Jennifer C. Dahlmann

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

Adaptive learning adjusts to the student’s needs to improve learning outcomes, but adaptive learning platforms approach this goal in vastly different ways. When tested, these platforms also show varying levels of success in improving learning. The goal of this meta-analysis is to develop guidelines for the creation and implementation of adaptive learning based on studies where adaptive learning was utilized.

Faculty Job Satisfaction Related To Online Course Design, April Marie Hixson

School of Education Doctoral Projects - Higher Education

Online education has expanded and evolved slowly through the decades, but the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2021 put online education at the forefront of teaching and learning worldwide and sped up the design and delivery of online courses. This study sought to examine faculty attitudes and opinions (amid a global pandemic) toward online course design that may affect their job satisfaction levels. Specifically, it explored factors that could inhibit or contribute to faculty job satisfaction during their engagement in online instructional design. Further, the study was designed to gain an understanding of how pedagogical and technological changes influence the degree of …

Lessons Learned From Creating Videos For Online Video-Based Instructional Modules In Mathematics Teacher Education, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Laurie O. Cavey

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Video can be a powerful tool, with a long history of use in teacher education. Despite the increased popularity of using video in teacher education over the years, questions remain about effective ways to create and use video in online video-based instructional modules. Given this, in this paper we describe some lessons learned creating videos for online video-based instructional modules for secondary mathematics teacher candidates, as a part of a National Science Foundation (NSF) IUSE program (Award No. 1726543) funded project. We specifically focus on how we recorded interviews with middle and high school students, and iteratively developed the online …

Pandemic Pivot: A Faculty Development Program For Enhanced Remote Teaching, Heather J. Leslie Dba, Alejandra Lizardo Ma, Ashley Kovacs Ma

Learning Design Center: Staff Scholarship

The novel coronavirus COVID-19 has impacted the higher education sector all over the world and has been most disruptive to residential academic institutions that offer mostly, if not wholly, in-person instruction. Of the 1.5 million college faculty members in the United States, about 70% had never taught a virtual course prior to COVID-19 (Hechinger & Lorin, 2020). During spring 2020, colleges had to pivot to remote instruction without much notice for faculty or students to prepare. Some referred to this as “emergency remote teaching” as it did not allow adequate time to thoughtfully plan out a course for a remote …

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 …

Covid-19 Induced Transition From Classroom To Online Mid Semester: Case Study On Faculty And Students’ Preferences And Opinions, Sudipta Roy, Bonnie Covelli

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate faculty and students’ reactions to the COVID-19 emergency move to online classes. The goal was to better inform instructional strategies to be used in similar circumstances and to inform best practices in online pedagogy.

Method: Online surveys were administered to students and faculty near the end of the semester to evaluate different aspects of the transition. Classes included in the study were scheduled as full-semester, on-campus classes but made an emergency switch to online post-spring break, after eight weeks.

Results: Students’ and faculty’s comfort levels at the time …

University Faculty Design-Thinking Personas For Online Course Development: A Q Methodological Study, Jennifer Margaret Morrisette

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

To overcome the inherent complexities of planning and implementing effective online learning experiences at scale, it has been suggested that design-thinking tools and practices can be leveraged by faculty and collaborative support staff (e.g., instructional designers). However, little is known about what design-thinking approaches are perceived by faculty to be important to the online course design process, and what tools and practices might be prioritized or avoided given planning stage and individual context. Understanding these nuances would provide much needed insight to align support directly with faculty needs. This study used Q methodology to explore the subjective viewpoints of 20 …

Leveraging The Science Of Learning To Enhance Student Success: An Application Of Syfr Learning’S Principles Of Practice, Jennifer S. Jones, Christopher L. Thomas

Journal of Research Initiatives

The purpose of the current article is to describe a set of empirically validated principles of practice with the potential to enhance student learning and academic performance. Specifically, we provide an overview of Syfr Learning’s principles of practice – a collection of scalable instructional techniques derived from decades of research in the domain of learning science. Further, we provide an illustrative example of the benefits of Syfr Learning’s principles of practice when incorporated into existing curricula in a K-12 setting.

Practicing What They Preach: A Case Study Exploring The Experiences Of Instructional Designers As Educators Of An Online Teaching Certificate Program, David Uibelhoer

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The rapid integration of online education has led to faculty challenges in teaching online. Research shows that faculty online professional development that focuses on pedagogical inquiry can lead to better teaching of online courses. This qualitative case study was conducted to explore the experiences of a team of eight instructional designers who developed a four-course online teaching certificate program at a large public research university. In addition, this study sought to better understand how instructional designers describe university support for leading this faculty online professional development initiative and determine whether their expertise in online pedagogy can lead to improved online …

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 …

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 …

Instructional Design Leadership And Management Competencies: Job Description Analysis, Joel Gardner, Lewis Chongwony, Amie Tope

All Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Researchers in the field of instructional design and educational technology journals usually focus on the practice of instructional design; however, the management and leadership of instructional design has typically received little emphasis. Recent studies have investigated the competencies associated with effective leadership and management of instructional design from the perspective of those they lead, and from the perspective of leaders in higher education. There is, however, little systematic research into what competencies employers require of leaders and managers of instructional designers in higher education. This research would provide the field with further guidance on training and preparing instructional design leaders …

Book Review: High-Impact Practices In Online Education, Emily Faulconer

Publications

This document is Dr. Faulconer’s review of High-Impact Practices in Online Education, 2018. 221p ISBN 978-1-62036-847-3 (paperback), $35.00.

Developing Online Sense Of Community: Graduate Students' Experiences And Perceptions, Jesus Trespalacios, Lida J. Uribe-Florez

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Building a sense of community (SoC) is an important process in the success of distance education and students’ retention. However, developing a community in online learning environments is not an easy task. The purpose of this research study is to explore perceptions of graduate students on SoC and learning after using different collaborative activities with diverse forms of interaction (text, audio, and video) in an online educational research course. Quantitative data from two surveys and qualitative data from individual interviews were collected. Findings indicate that multimodal and scaffolding interactive activities help to support connectedness and learning, and therefore foster online …