Adult and Continuing Education Commons^™

Individual Differences In Generative Ai Effectiveness: An Empirical Puzzle For Hrd Research, Nolan C. Lovett

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Professionals with similar backgrounds, given identical generative AI tools, achieve sharply different outcomes. This perspectives piece examines what explains that variance, reviewing evidence on cognitive capacity, domain expertise, metacognition, epistemic calibration, personality, and culture, and argues that existing user typologies describe these differences without predicting their consequences. It then extends the puzzle in a direction the static account misses: the same individual differences that shape AI effectiveness are themselves reshaped by sustained AI use, as cognitive offloading, deskilling, and upskilling inhibition operate differently across the expertise distribution. Recent evidence, including deskilling among experienced clinicians and suppressed learning among students using …

The Tragedy Of The Cognitive Commons: How Ai Could Disrupt The Regeneration Of Professional Expertise, Nolan C. Lovett

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Artificial intelligence is reshaping cognitive work, but Human Resource Development scholarship has treated this transformation as an organizational training challenge, leaving the collective regeneration of professional expertise unexamined. This conceptual paper introduces the Cognitive Commons framework, integrating commons theory, HRD scholarship, and distributed cognition to explain how rational AI adoption decisions can deplete the shared expertise pool professions require for renewal. The framework distinguishes Internalized Mastery (deep domain knowledge from sustained practice) from Distributed Mastery (orchestrating human-AI systems), and develops the Validation Tether: effective AI oversight depends on the expertise AI adoption may undermine. Early labor market and clinical evidence …

Perceptions Of Virginia Dentists And Dental Hygienists Towards Emerging Alternative Dental Hygiene Workforce Provider Models, Lauren B. Mangum

Dental Hygiene Theses & Dissertations

Background: A perceived shortage of dental hygienists in the United States has been linked to delays in preventive care and concerns about declining oral health outcomes. In response, some states have proposed alternative pathways permitting internationally trained dentists, dental students, and oral preventive assistants (OPAs) with limited or inconsistent education requirements to provide dental hygiene services. Limited evidence exists regarding whether these strategies would effectively address access to care and workforce challenges. Concerns have also been raised about the potential effects of expanding scope of practice for providers with limited education or training on patient safety and quality of care. …

Education And Training In Water Operator Certification And Its Role In Water Utility System Performance, Heath A. Edelman

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Access to safe and reliable drinking water is a foundational component of public health and environmental protection. The United States drinking water sector is highly regulated and increasingly challenged by workforce shortages, aging infrastructure, and variability in operator training requirements across states. Despite the federal mandate for operator certification under the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996, empirical evidence on the effectiveness of certification policies in improving regulatory compliance outcomes remains limited.

This study examined the relationship between operator certification policies and drinking water compliance outcomes under the Safe Drinking Water Act, with particular attention to differences across violation …

The Exploration Of Black Women Leaders In Rural Community Colleges, Tiara D. Howard

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

The Exploration of Black Women Leaders in Rural Community Colleges

Abstract: Black women have a hunger for education and self-sufficiency. Among Black students in higher education, women are more likely than men to earn degrees: Black women obtain 64.1% of bachelor’s degrees, 71.5% of master’s degrees, and 65.9% of doctoral, medical, and dental degrees (AAUW, n.d.). Yet despite this drive, dedication, and ambition, there remains a scarcity of Black women leaders in rural areas, particularly in community colleges. And when a successful Black woman does rise to a position of influence, there isn't a blueprint or road map for others …

The Living Lab: Instructional Design Interventions To Improve Communication And Equity In Federal Housing Programs, Joana I. Camp

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

The Living Lab is an independent applied research project informed by my 25 years of lived experience as a Section 8 voucher holder, examining how instructional design strategies can improve administrative workflows, communication, and equitable access within the Housing Choice Voucher Program. Drawing on sustained participation, the research identifies two primary systemic barriers: the federally mandated 15-day inspection period and incomplete Request for Tenancy Approval (RFTA) packets. To address these issues, the project developed the RFTA Roadmap—a zero-cost, clarity-driven communication tool that embeds sequential instructions directly within procedural workflows, mitigating the Split-Attention Effect and cognitive “Bandwidth Tax” associated with standard …

Adult Learners' Perspectives Of Ai Applications In Supporting Andragogy, Jinhee Kim, Xi Lin, Seongryeong Yu, Rita Detrick

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Emerging roles and capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have the potential to support andragogical education and enhance learning experience for adult learners (ALs). However, the effective use of AI to support multifaceted components of andragogy including involvement, experience, problem-centered, relevance remains under explored. Furthermore, research on AI design principles to support ALs and andragogy is limited. This study, therefore, aims to investigate ALs perceptions of AI applications in enhancing andragogy and to explore the essential design principles of AI systems for andragogy. To this end, the study conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 ALs facilitated by 11 scenarios of AI …

A Systematic Review Of Corporate Ethics Program Training Strategies To Improve Ethical Workplace Cultures, Robin Raye Altice

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The demand for corporations to practice more ethically responsible conduct and decision making is growing with every news report of another corporate scandal, lawsuit, fine, or high-visibility C-suite firing. To develop an ethical workplace culture, organizations should implement a comprehensive ethics program that fosters and encourages ethical decision making, especially among current and future leaders. However, there is little research and few guidelines for how ethics program administrators should design corporate ethics training to effectively practice and master the skill of ethical decision-making in efforts to continually grow a more ethical work environment. This study aims to identify corporate ethics …

From Gamers To Professionals: A Case Study On The Role Of Esports In Developing Employability Skills, Anthony Mark Gray Jr.

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Workforce Skills have evolved to be critically needed and the ways of developing these workplace skills are evolving. This study explores the potential contributions of esports activities at colleges to the development of essential employability skills, including collaboration, communication, leadership, problem-solving, and teamwork, skills that are valued by human resources managers. Despite the growing popularity of esports and its potential to prepare students for the workforce, there is limited research connecting esports and even broader video games connected to the activities can influence skill development and career readiness. There is an increase in academic focus and identifying the knowledge skills, …

Acculturation Experiences Of International Students In The U.S. Cacrep-Accredited Counselor Education Programs: Challenges, Support Systems, And Systemic Barriers, Nargiza Amirova

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

International students significantly enrich U.S. counselor education and supervision programs by contributing diverse cultural perspectives that inspire teaching, research, and professional growth. Yet, these students often face complex challenges including cultural adjustment, language barriers, social isolation, and the academic demands of counseling academic programs that impact their educational outcome s and psychological well-being. Systemic barriers, such as visa restrictions and institutional unawareness, further complicate their experiences. This study explored acculturation experiences of international students enrolled in CACREP-accredited counselor education programs in the United States.

Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), in-depth interviews were conducted with seven international students on J1/F1 visas, …

A Study Of Learnability In Software As Perceived By Practitioners In User Experience And Learning Design Professions, Courtney N. Miller

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

In the technology space, there are many factors that contribute to the marketability of software, including pricing and overall usefulness of the product (Jayathilaka, 2021). Many factors contribute to how usable a software is, including satisfaction, error prevention, memorability, efficiency, and learnability (Nielsen, 1994b). Learnability is one factor that may be affected or addressed by both user experience (UX) and learning design (LD) professional groups. While both fields address learnability, very few studies have been conducted to look at the UX interpretation of learnability as it relates to the LD interpretation (Elliott et al., 2002; Li et al., 2023). This …

What Students Have To Say On Data Privacy For Educational Technology, Stephanie Choi

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

The literature on data privacy in terms of educational technology is a growing area of study. The perspective of educators has been captured extensively. However, the literature on students’ perspectives is missing, which is what we explore in this paper. We use a pragmatic qualitative approach with an experiential lens to capture students’ attitudes towards data privacy in terms of educational technology. We identified preliminary, common themes that appeared in the survey responses. The paper concludes by calling for more research on how students perceive data privacy in terms of educational technology.

Chapter 06. Instructional Message Design For Adult Learners, Pamela J. Smith-Downing

Instructional Message Design, Volume 3

As stated in Chapter 1, message design is all around us, from the presentations we see in meetings and classes, to the instructions that come with our latest tech gadgets, to multi-million-dollar training simulations. The instructional message design field of study pulls from many applied sciences, including cognitive psychology, industrial design, graphic design, instructional design, information technology, and human performance technology, to name just a few. In this chapter, we will visit several adult learning theories and examples that guide our research into adult learning, look at different real-world instructional message designs for adult learners, and discuss directions for future …

Networked To Work?: An Analysis Of A Community College Workforce Development Program, Cynthia Finley, Kim E. Bullington, Mitchell Williams, David Ayers

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Barriers to education and training can have a generational impact on socioeconomic status and economic development. Post-traditional students have been shown to experience a variety of barriers to education and family sustaining employment. Social capital has been shown to help alleviate some of the barriers for students resulting in stronger economic outcomes, such job retention, and higher wages.

The purpose of this case study was to determine if the Network2Work model at Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) can affect outcomes for students from low socio-economic backgrounds by comparing Network2Work outcomes to non-Network2Work noncredit industry training outcomes. The research compared outcome …

Silently Correcting Your Grammar: Responses To Feedback And Adult Learners' Rural Writing Ecosystems, Jessica Marie Kubiak

English Theses & Dissertations

Over a century ago, rhetoricians called on writing instructors in the U.S. to accept and even encourage language diversity among learners. Yet scholars of composition, rhetoric, and writing studies are still advocating for this via arguments for linguistic justice and translingualism, even referring to strict adherence to a single, mainstream standard for language use as a kind of violence. This disconnect between scholarship and practice is evident in the silences surrounding first-year composition language instruction. This dissertation charts that disciplinary disconnect and then describes how adult students at a rural, open-access community college experience first-year composition feedback, with special attention …

Automotive Technician Certification – The Relationship Between Certifications And Earned Income, David Macholz

College of Education & Professional Studies (Darden) Posters

With continual advancements in vehicle technology and electrification the automotive industry requires a highly-skilled technician labor force. There is an existing dialogue throughout the automotive industry of a technician shortage and an uninspiring median salary for automotive technicians may be, in part, encouraging skilled workers to bypass the industry for perceived higher paying jobs requiring a similar skill-set. In contrast, an industry dialogue exists that suggests technicians can earn annual salaries of over $100,000. This study seeks to address a gap in the literature of how technician certification relates to earned income. A regression analysis will be utilized to regress …

Using Adult Learning Characteristics And The Humanities To Teach Undergraduate Healthcare Students About Social Determinants Of Health, Elizabeth A. Brown, Hannah Kinder, Garrett Stang, Wendy Shumpert

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Authors used an andragogy framework to help undergraduate allied health students better understand social determinants of health (SDOH) using a photo essay assignment. The study examined students’ perceptions of SDOH in various communities, description of health outcomes associated with their chosen SDOH, and lessons learned and suggestions to improve the assignment for future cohorts. Data were extracted from photo essays from 2019–2021 and entered in Microsoft Excel and Word for data analysis after course completion. Conventional qualitative content analysis was used to analyze student evaluation data from open-ended questions. Data were extracted from 53 student essays from 2019 to 2021. …

Instructional Systems Design And The Diffusion And Adoption Of Technology: (Volume 1), Miguel Ramlatchan (Author & Editor), Mark Parsons (Author), Meghan Soldani (Author), Josie Joswick Mendoza (Author), Maria Satre (Author), Brittany Spitz (Author), Jasmine Bundy (Author), Amanda Kline (Author)

Distance Learning Faculty & Staff Books

Instructional designers, instructional systems designers, and other educational technologists are, by their nature, innovators. These professionals apply and extend the applied science of learning, systems, communication, and instructional design theory to help students learn. Technology in some capacity is used to make the connections between subject matter experts, teachers, instructors, and their learners. It is common for instructional designers to seek new tools, techniques, and innovations for the improvement of learning, access, quality, and student satisfaction. However, the adoption and diffusion of new educational technology and innovation is a complex process that depends on many variables. Understanding these processes and …

Present At The Creation, A Redux: The Need For Strategic Minded Joint Force Officers In A Rapidly Changing And Dynamic International Security Environment, Thomas Joseph Snukis

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The US Joint Force has an outstanding record over its history of superb performance at the tactical level of war. Inarguably, the United States is currently the best tactical Joint Force in the world a product of a world class tactical education, training, and development program generating and sustaining that tactical proficiency at the individual and organizational level. While tactical education and training programs have been extremely successful, the Professional Military Education (PME) responsible for developing strategic mastery has not been as highly rated. Over the past seventy-five years numerous indictments have been levied against the US PME enterprise, and …

Instructional Designers Conducting Professional Learning Using Social Media: A Phenomenological Study Of Their Experiences Through A Self-Regulated Learning Lens, Pauline S. Muljana

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Because the instructional design and technology field is dynamic (Sharif & Cho, 2015; Wang et al., 2021), instructional designers need to pursue continuous, just-in-time professional learning (Carliner, 2018) to improve knowledge, skills, and abilities (Sharif & Cho, 2015; Ritzhaupt & Martin, 2015), without being constrained by location, budget, and time (Muljana et al., 2020; Muljana et al., 2021). On the one hand, the omnipresent social media technologies offer affordances for facilitating this type of professional learning. Such technologies allow instructional designers to reach out to colleagues, search for ready-to-implement strategies, and find relevant, timely information. On the other hand, conducting …

A Technological Skills Gap: What Can We Do About It?, Will Moore

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

In the last thirty years, education has transformed faster than ever before. As a society we have developed new classroom technologies that allow for better communication and access to more information than ever before. However, at the same time, education seems rockier than ever before. Several major companies, including Tesla, Apple, Google and Netflix, no longer require a college degree for employment, and many companies, such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, have begun programs to train their own employees in skills and create their own certification programs to help employees learn necessary skills (Akhtar, O’Donnell). Why do these major corporations …

Lean Application: An Assessment Of 5s On Employee Attitudes And Productivity, Nickolaos Dimitrios Karvounis

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the effect of the implementation of 5S on employee attitudes and productivity in an Asian based facility of a global manufacturing company. Utilizing an assessment of the 5S implementation in various areas of the facility and organizational performance data for each of those areas, a non-experimental, causal comparative approach is used to analyze the impact. The study concluded that statistically significant improvements from the implementation of 5S were found both in quality and product cost for this facility; however, the study also found statistical significance where the implementation of 5S led to a decrease in performance and …

A Look Into Increasing The Number Of Veterans And Former Government Employees Converting To Career And Technical Cybersecurity Teachers, Vukica M. Jovanovic, Michael Anthony Crespo, Drew E. Brown, Deborah Marshall, Otilia Popescu, Murat Kuzlu, Petros J. Katsioloudis, Linda Vahala

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

The current state of technology with recent explosions in the digital processing of paperwork, computer networking use, and online and virtual approaches to areas, which until very recently had traditional and non-computerized ways of operating, led to a steady increase in the demand for jobs in the area of computer science and cybersecurity. The education system, the pipeline for the incoming workforce, needs to keep up with this tremendous pace in technology and the job market. The current K-12 school system has been extensively challenged to fill out necessary positions in order to address the increasing need for programs that …

Assessing An Academic Readiness Model In A Community College Occupational Program, Scott A. Hauert, Robert L. Moore, Quinton Nottingham

STEMPS Faculty Publications

This study assessed a localized academic readiness model that measures academic skills relevant to an occupational program and the institutional context. Enrollment in the program’s mandatory gateway course is contingent upon establishing academic readiness either: (1) possess an associate-level or higher degree; (2) achieve placement test scores that permit enrollment in college-level English composition/critical reading; or (3) complete developmental education prerequisites to permit enrollment in college-level English composition/critical reading. Using the gateway course performance for 112 students, the study explored whether any of the model’s criterions are significantly related to success in the gateway course and whether there is any …

When Failure Is An Option: A Scoping Review Of Failure States In Game-Based Learning, F. Eamonn Powers, Robert L. Moore

STEMPS Faculty Publications

As interest in the use of games and gaming elements within learning environments grows, educators and designers may find it easier to account for winning than for losing and failure. This scoping review examines the role of failure and loss within game-based instructional interventions. Because of the varied methods and relatively small number of articles directly addressing the intersection between failure and loss within game-based instructional interventions, a scoping review was undertaken. This review included 14 peer-reviewed articles which explored a range of instructional contexts implementing failure state game mechanics. We identify several key takeaways that indicate how failure state …

Facilitating Veteran And Adult Students' Learning And Retention In Engineering: Faculty-Student Partnership - A Model Of An Evidence-Based Practice, Kim E. Bullington, Anthony Dean, Cynthia Tomovic, Vukica M. Jovanović, Rafael E. Landaeta

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

With the growing number of adult and military veterans entering higher education, it is important to understand and incorporate the basics of andragogy in curriculum, course development, and the learning environment to facilitate learning and degree completion. Researchers in this S-STEM project funded by the NSF share observations of a student-faculty partnership that resulted from the development of a formal learning community. A series of targeted seminars were conducted that appear to have increased adult and military veteran engineering and technology students’ levels of connectedness and self-efficacy. Results of this pilot study are shared as an evidence-based practice to enhance …

A Meta-Analysis Of Group Treatment Outcomes For Veterans With Substance Use Disorders, Robert “Tony” Dice

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Group therapy is commonly used in the treatment of substance use disorders (SUD). Many studies exist related to the efficacy of group interventions for veterans with SUDs. A meta-analysis and systematic review of the literature addressing the use of group therapy, specifically psychoeducational groups, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) groups and support groups, in the treatment of SUDs with veterans was conducted. The following questions guided the research: What are viable treatment outcomes for psychoeducational, CBT, and support groups of veterans with SUDs? and What are the measures that capture outcomes related to psychoeducational, CBT, and support groups of veterans with …

Analysis Of Capital Distribution Among Ohio’S Publicly Funded Higher Education Institutions, John D. O’Brien

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

In 2012, Governor Kasich instituted a call-to-action, “Campus leaders throughout Ohio must work together to rethink how the state allocates its investment in our public higher educational facilities.” (Ohio Higher Education Capital Funding Commission, 2016). The intent of Governor Kasich was to drive more equitable outcomes and opportunities in higher education, including capital allocation (2016). However, despite the changes in processes over time, there continues to be disproportion in allocation of capital funding (Maiden & Stearns, 2007; Manns, 2004; Tandberg 2010).

A deeper understanding of the historical and current trends of capital allocation to postsecondary public institutions in Ohio is …

The Unheralded Hero: Mid-Level Manager Training And Development In Student Affairs, A Case Study Analysis, Sherri L. Watson

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Mid-level managers are the largest administrative group, yet the most professionally underdeveloped, in the organizational structure on college campuses. Mid-level managers are responsible for navigating and communicating to those both above and below them in the organization. The challenge in this three-part mixed methods study was to determine the impact of a short-term training intervention on mid-level manager self-efficacy. Specifically, the training intervention was a week-long residential professional development Institute which focused on the following areas: free speech, cultural competency, budgeting and strategic planning, collaboration and partnership, and leading/managing/followership-navigating the political landscape. In the first, a quantitative phase, secondary data …

Cultural Capital, Habitus, College Persistence And Graduation Among Black Immigrant-Origin Undergraduates: A Basic Interpretive Qualitative Study, Erica M. Richards Chew

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Black immigrant-origin students are a significant sub-population of the total Black college student population, and they are persisting and graduating more frequently than Black U.S.-origin students. This study explored cultural capital and habitus and how they shaped the college persistence and graduation of Black immigrant-origin undergraduates and alumni from four-year postsecondary institutions. A basic interpretive qualitative design, guided by cultural capital theory, was used to explore thirteen Black-immigrant-origin students’ and graduates’ perspectives in-depth; and to describe their subjective meanings, actions, and social contexts from their point of view. Participants grew up with a habitus of achievement that came from the …