Online and Distance Education Commons^™

Ai In Pk-12 Education: Implications For Teaching And Learning, David Naff, Meleah Ellison, Casey Bailey, Tzu-Wei Wang, Kiana Bradford

MERC Publications

This research and policy review from the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) explores the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) for teaching and learning in public PK-12 education. It is part of a two part series with a companion report focused on AI implications for PK-12 policy. The report explores two questions:

1. How is AI shaping teaching and instructional practice?
2. How is AI shaping student learning and development?

It concludes with a series of key takeaways and recommendations for PK-12 policy and practice.

Expanding Professional Practice For Pre-Service Teachers Through Online International Engagement, Rhonda Di Biase, Katrina Burge, Sarah Baldacchino, Ann Dongyu Gu

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study investigated the professional learning of pre-service teachers (PSTs) involved in an international online project, known as the International Literacy Project, that evolved during the Covid-19 pandemic. The project promotes international engagement across diverse sites, with sessions in classes centred around storytelling and story-making across a range of countries. Using vignettes, the study explored how involvement in the project presented additional opportunities for personal and professional learning for the PSTs through interacting with the diverse international settings. We considered the learning opportunities from such international online engagement, the usefulness of expanded opportunities for professional practice and how Zoom enabled …

Integrating Telehealth Into Advanced Health Assessment: A Bimodal Approach, Heather M. Jones, Tracy Alam, Beth A. Ammerman, John Jardine, Carolyn Rutledge

Ellmer School of Nursing Faculty Publications

The expansion of telehealth emphasizes the need for advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to develop competencies in telehealth technology and techniques. Limitations in physical assessments and the lack of comprehensive telehealth curricula in APRN programs have been identified as barriers to students' preparedness and confidence in performing telehealth assessments in clinical practice. This project evaluated integrating telehealth content into an advanced health assessment course with both in-person and online laboratories. Presurveys and postsurveys showed increased student confidence and competency in telehealth skills across both modalities. These findings support incorporating standardized telehealth education into APRN curricula to enhance telehealth clinical readiness.

Impacts Of Segmenting Principle On Learner Performance And Attitude In A 3d Environment: A Mixed-Method Multiple Case Study, Kristin Herman, Mohan Yang, Jim Shifflet, Noah Glaser

STEMPS Faculty Publications

This study presents a conceptual replication of Moreno’s (Appl Cogn Psychol 21:765–781. 10.1002/acp.1348, 2007) study on the benefits of adhering to the segmentation principle when utilizing multimedia learning objects. Furthermore, this study expands upon the original by taking place in a low-immersive virtual reality environment, allowing for further understanding on the extent to which multimedia principles are still relevant. Both a synchronous and an asynchronous case are presented. Results indicate benefits for both cases in far transfer of learning. Furthermore, synchronous learners indicated a significant reduction in cognitive load and increased overall attitudes towards learning due to segmented instruction.

Crossing The Theory Threshold: The Pedagogical Potential Of Generative Artificial Intelligence In Educational Research, Amanda Burbage, Jennifer L. Styron

EVMS School of Health Professions Faculty Publications

Purpose

This paper presents findings from an educational research graduate course in which generative artificial intelligence (AI) was incorporated to strengthen learners' understanding of threshold concepts related to theoretical frameworks. Medical and health professionals often struggle with the transition from a clinical role into the educational research role.

Methods

The study posits that the use of generative AI will help learners understand and apply theoretical frameworks beyond a superficial level, furthering their understanding, constructing new knowledge, and strengthening their ability to develop sound educational research studies. Journal and AI transcripts were analyzed for 37 participants.

Results

Open-ended codes were grouped …

The Influence Of First-Year Seminar Course Modality On The Academic Outcomes Of First-Generation College Students, Keia Dodd

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

When universities effectively implement first-year seminars, a popular type of support designed to assist students during their initial year of college, they can meaningfully boost the academic performance of first-generation college students. This study examined whether first-year seminars influenced the academic outcomes of first-generation college students at a specific institution compared with those of their continuing-generation peers. Specifically, it investigated the extent to which course modality (face-to-face, online, or hybrid) influenced variation in first-semester grade point average (GPA) and first-to-second-year retention after controlling for race, sex, and first-generation status. The sample included 7,848 first-time undergraduate students. Multiple linear regression was …

Teaching Digital Evangelism And Web Design As Redemptive Work For The Women Of The Northeastern Conference Of Seventh-Day Adventists, Brenda Michele Rhyne

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem.

The COVID-19 pandemic eliminated thousands of jobs, including positions held by women within the Northeastern Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Unemployment and underemployment may contribute to diminished self-esteem and adverse mental-health outcomes. The problem of unemployment and underemployment is not simply economic—it is theological.

For women in the Northeastern Conference, the lack of an ordered pathway to explore technology-related fields as a career option represents both an economic and a spiritual loss. A course combining technical and evangelistic training may promote members' involvement in evangelistic initiatives (i.e., TMI) while simultaneously providing technological skills. Also, women who do not regularly use …

Perceived Applicant Experiences Applying To Hybrid Doctor Of Occupational Therapy Programs, Jackson M. Miller, Melissa Yeung, Jason Hughes, Noah Zebrak

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Hybrid Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) programs have expanded rapidly across the United States, yet little is known about how applicants experience the admissions process or what influences their decisions to apply and enroll. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore enrolled students’ retrospective accounts of applying to hybrid OTD programs, with particular attention to the factors influencing their decision-making, the support systems they relied upon throughout the admissions process, and the barriers they encountered. Eight students enrolled in hybrid OTD programs across the United States participated in semi-structured interviews conducted via Zoom. Interview transcripts were member …

Perspectives Of Rural Educators On The Dependencies And Drawbacks Of Chat Gpt In Nigerian Higher Education Practices, Adedayo Olayinka Theodorio Dr, Francisca Jumoke Theodorio, Olumide Gbenga Olugbodi, Peter Adebowale Samson, Olusegun Olawale Olakotan

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

ChatGPT remains a valuable tool for transforming teaching strategies and supporting students’ comprehension of subject matter. However, its adoption and research remain uneven within the context of higher education in Nigeria. Specifically, there is limited empirical research that exemplifies real-world experiences regarding the dependencies and drawbacks in rural educational settings. This qualitative single-case study explored this phenomenon at a southwestern institution in Nigeria, involving a purposively selected group of educators. Data were gathered through participatory observation and focus group interviews, which were thematically analysed. The results indicated that the effective use of ChatGPT in rural higher education heavily depends on …

Reawakening Waⁿdat: Community Research & Reclamation, Darcy Allred

Theses and Dissertations

The Wyandot(te) have undergone language dormancy due to settler colonial impacts of warfare, refugee relocation, forced removals, and U.S. assimilation projects. One of the most pressing priorities among our people today is reawakening our ancestral language, Waⁿdat. The common follow-up question is: how? Through the conduit of Waⁿdat language reclamation, this project grapples with the above question in collaboration with the Wyandot(te) community, and in adherence to the tribal sovereignty of the Wyandotte Nation. The project engages with diasporic perspectives, community-based pedagogy design, and tribally specific research protocols and policies. The living collective knowledgebase with which I engage in this …

Institutional Retention And Graduation Outcomes Before And During Covid-19: A Comparison Of Online-Experienced And Online-Inexperienced Four-Year Institutions, Nicholas J. Finnessey

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined whether student success outcomes and their trajectories over time differed across higher education institutions before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic based on prior experience with online education. Guided by Astin’s (1993) Input-Environment-Output (I-E-O) framework, pre-pandemic participation in online coursework was conceptualized as an institutional-level environmental condition. A quantitative, causal-comparative research design was employed, using secondary data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), to examine longitudinal differences in institutional retention and graduation rates across institutions classified by their pre-pandemic participation in online education. The sample included 528 Title IV-eligible, degree-granting, four-year institutions observed across five …

Using A Study Journal To Support Class Engagement And The Development Of Entrepreneurial Mindset Habits, Otilia Popescu, Dimitrie C. Popescu

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Engineering Technology programs were historically introduced to support non-traditional students and offer college pathways for students working and having already a developing career. This is even more true in the current academic environment, with a large percentage of students enrolled in engineering technology programs being either fully or part-time employed, active or retired military, and at different stages in their lives, usually with families to care for. Often, non-traditional students attend classes online, either synchronously or even more often asynchronously, due to their schedule constraints. Course instructors regularly face schedule or time management constraints from the students’ side, and they …

Virtual Teaching During Covid-19: Attitudes, Abilities, And Educational Needs Of Cooperative Extension Staff, Kathryn Yerxa, Kayla L. Parsons, Jennifer Lobley

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Access the online Pressbooks version of this introduction here.

This study aimed to 1) identify the attitudes and abilities of Cooperative Extension staff regarding the delivery of virtual educational programming based on their characteristics and 2) identify professional development priorities to effectively deliver programming virtually. We disseminated an adapted Faculty Readiness to Teach Online questionnaire to Cooperative Extension staff via Qualtrics. Mean and standard deviation were calculated from complete surveys (n = 67) for each virtual programming competency in the self-reported attitude and ability sections, categorized by position type, years of teaching, and program area. We conducted a MANCOVA to …

Jete Introduction Fall 2025, Nichelle Frank

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Access the online Pressbooks version of this introduction here.

An introduction to the Spring 2025 issue of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence.

Full Issue: Journal On Empowering Teaching Excellence, Volume 9, Issue 2, Fall 2025

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

The full-length Fall 2025 issue (Volume 9, Issue 2) of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Access the online Pressbooks version (with downloadable EPUB format) here.

This issue of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence brings together articles that highlight approaches for engaging students and broader communities through teaching, coaching, and assessment in higher education. The contributions examine community-engaged learning in graduate coursework, the use of coaching practices to support student-centered teaching and advising, Cooperative Extension staff readiness for virtual instruction, and alternative assessment strategies aimed at increasing engagement and reducing anxiety in challenging STEM courses. Collectively, the articles …

Developing Digital Feedback Literacies In Language Teacher Education: Peer And Partnership Approaches In The Postdigital Age, Jennifer Schluer

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Critical media literacy needs to be seen as a central component of language teacher education, especially in the postdigital age. One underexplored dimension, however, is digital assessment literacy and in particular digital feedback literacy (Schluer, 2022a). Even though recent years witnessed a proliferation of digital technologies for feedback exchanges, pedagogical guidance for the use of digital feedback remains almost non-existent (but see Schluer, 2022a; 2023; 2024a). Theoretically, this paper connects the concept of Digital Feedback Literacies (DFL) to the frameworks of Critical Media Literacies (CML) and Postdigital Literacies (PDL). Empirically, it presents insights from research on digital peer feedback as …

Digital Texts And Diversity-Sensitive Foreign Language Teaching, Anne-Marie Lachmund, Manuela Franke

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Digital reading differs significantly from reading on paper, posing several challenges, especially for students learning a second or third foreign language. The complexity of engaging with authentic digital sources is further intensified by the diversity within learner groups. First, the objectives for developing digital reading proficiency in a foreign language are explored, identifying the skills necessary for competent digital readers. Building on these objectives, the paper then addresses the diverse needs of learners, taking into account neurodiverse students in diversity-sensitive teaching environments. The focus lies on the field-specific dynamics of digital reading, particularly those impacting learners with ADHD, dyslexia, and …

Engaging Learners Everywhere: The Interactive Synchronous Hyflex Method, Nathan Mentzer, Abdul Moeed Asad, Adrie A. Koehler, Lakshmy Mohandas, Elnara Mammadova

Purdue University Press Books

Initially conceived as a workaround related to the crisis precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdown of 2020, Interactive Synchronous HyFlex reimagines an active-learning, team-based classroom, making it possible for any student to participate fully, whether they are seated in the back row or joining from elsewhere in the world. Developed and refined by the authors through five years of classroom experimentation and National Science Foundation–funded research, this forward-facing approach—which refers to online synchronous hybrid delivery and combines the terms “hybrid” and “flexible”—brings together learners in a single classroom who have the daily option of meeting face-to-face or …

School And District Leaders’ Understanding Of Technology Organizations’ Cyber Business Practices, Jayejaye Johnson

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Educational technology (EdTech) interoperability throughout cyberspace provides the financial opportunity to collect and sell student privacy information in digital learning environments, challenging school leaders to govern schools and keep children safe. School leaders provide the resources, funding, planning, decision making, and administration for EdTech cybersecurity practices and policies, yet little is known about what public school leaders understand. A quantitative study was designed using primary data collected from an online survey. Four research questions guided this study: What are the differences in cybersecurity practices and policy response scores (1) between male and female school leaders; (2) among leaders with different …

Exploring Universal Design For Learning In Online Synchronous Courses: A Multiple-Case Study, Cindy Baker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study was to evaluate two postsecondary online courses through the lens of two Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, (1) engagement and (2) action and expression, to determine if learner variability was accommodated in the courses. The theory guiding this study, UDL, when effectively implemented as a teaching practice, is theorized to proactively meet the learning needs of different learners. The central research question focused on the extent to which UDL was realized in two online courses that had been designed with a student-centered approach. Qualitative research was conducted through a case study of two …