Education Commons^™

A Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis To Synthesize The Influence Of Contexts Of Scaffolding Use On Cognitive Outcomes In Stem Education, Brian Robert Belland, Andrew Walker, Nam Ju Kim

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Computer-based scaffolding provides temporary support that enables students to participate in and become more proficient at complex skills like problem solving, argumentation, and evaluation. While meta-analyses have addressed between-subject differences on cognitive outcomes resulting from scaffolding, none has addressed within-subject gains. This leaves much quantitative scaffolding literature not covered by existing meta-analyses. To address this gap, this study used Bayesian network meta-analysis to synthesize within-subjects (pre–post) differences resulting from scaffolding in 56 studies. We generated the posterior distribution using 20,000 Markov Chain Monte Carlo samples. Scaffolding has a consistently strong effect across student populations, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) …

Testing The Effectiveness Of Two Natural Selection Simulations In The Context Of A Large‑Enrollment Undergraduate Laboratory Class, Denise S. Pope, Caleb M. Rounds, Jody Clarke-Midura

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Simulations can be an active and engaging way for students to learn about natural selection, and many have been developed, including both physical and virtual simulations. In this study we assessed the student experience of, and learning from, two natural selection simulations, one physical and one virtual, in a large enrollment introductory biology lab course. We assigned students to treatments (the physical or virtual simulation activity) by section and assessed their understanding of natural selection using a multiple-choice pre-/post-test and short-answer responses on a post-lab assignment. We assessed student experience of the activities through structured observations and an affective …

A Comparison Of Discovered Regularities In Blood Glucose Readings Across Two Data Collection Approaches Used With A Type 1 Diabetic Youth, Victor R. Lee, Travis Thurston, Chris Thurston

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Type 1 diabetes requires frequent testing and monitoring of blood glucose levels in order to determine appropriate type and dosage of insulin administration. This can lead to thousands of individual measurements over the course of a lifetime of a single individual, of which very few are retained as part of a permanent record. The third author, aged 9, and his family have maintained several years of written records since his diagnosis with Type 1 diabetes at age 20 months, and have also recently begun to obtain automated records from a continuous glucose monitor.

Objectives: This paper compares regularities identified …

Stitching Codeable Circuits: High School Students' Learning About Circuitry And Coding With Electronic Textiles, Breanne Krystine Litts, Yasmin B. Kafai, Debora A. Lui, Justice T. Walker, Sari A. Widman

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Learning about circuitry by connecting a battery, light bulb, and wires is a common activity in many science classrooms. In this paper, we expand students’ learning about circuitry with electronic textiles, which use conductive thread instead of wires and sewable LEDs instead of lightbulbs, by integrating programming sensor inputs and light outputs and examining how the two domains interact.We implemented an electronic textiles unit with 23 high school students ages 16–17 years who learned how to craft and code circuits with the LilyPad Arduino, an electronic textile construction kit. Our analyses not only confirm significant increases in students’ understanding of …

Time-To-Credit Gender Inequities Of First-Year Phd Students In The Biological Sciences, David F. Feldon, James Peugh, Michelle A. Maher, Josipa Roksa, Colby Tofel-Grehl

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Equitable gender representation is an important aspect of scientific workforce development to secure a sufficient number of individuals and a diversity of perspectives. Biology is the most gender equitable of all scientific fields by the marker of degree attainment, with 52.5% of PhDs awarded to women. However, equitable rates of degree completion do not translate into equitable attainment of faculty or postdoctoral positions, suggesting continued existence of gender inequalities. In a national cohort of 336 first-year PhD students in the biological sciences (i.e., microbiology, cellular biology, molecular biology, develop-mental biology, and genetics) from 53 research institutions, female participants logged significantly …

An Assessment Instrument Of Technological Literacies In Makerspaces And Fablabs, Paulo Blikstein, Zaza Kabayadondo, Andrew Martin, Deborah A. Fields

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Background

As the maker movement is increasingly adopted into K‐12 schools, students are developing new competences in exploration and fabrication technologies. This study assesses learning with these technologies in K‐12 makerspaces and FabLabs.

Purpose

Our study describes the iterative process of developing an assessment instrument for this new technological literacy, the Exploration and Fabrication Technologies Instrument, and presents findings from implementations at five schools in three countries. Our index is generalizable and psychometrically sound, and permits comparison between student confidence and performance.

Design/Method

Our evaluation of distinct technology skills separates general computing, information and communication technology (ICT), and exploration and …

From Wearing To Wondering: Treating Wearable Activity Trackers As Objects Of Inquiry, Joel R. Drake, Ryan Cain, Victor R. Lee

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Wearable technologies represent a rapidly expanding category of consumer information and communications technologies. From smartwatches to activity tracking devices, wearables are finding their way into many aspects of our lives, changing the way we think about ourselves and the world around us. The rapid adoption of these tools in everyday life hints at the possibilities these devices may hold in school and other educational settings. Drawing on examples taken from a five-year study using wearable fitness tracking devices in elementary and middle school classrooms, this paper presents two examples of how wearable devices can be appropriated for use in school …

Engaging Everyday Science Knowledge To Help Make Sense Of Data, Susan B. Kelly, Luettamae Lawrence, Emma Mercier

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Making sense of data to inform decisions is an important skill emphasized in current curriculum documents (NRC, 2012). Making sense of data through personal experiences and prior knowledge is one way that students can begin to understand multiple and unfamiliar data sources. This paper examines how middle school students used different data sources when engaged in a collaborative problem solving activity using a multi-touch table during classroom science instruction. In this study, we found that students made personal connections when talking about data. Students engaged in data talk across all conversation quality levels, but the ways students interacted and talked …