Educational Methods Commons^™

Virtual Classrooms Bridging Homeschooling To Public Schools, Dennis I. Norman

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

This research explored the preliminary results that show how technology through virtual classrooms has bridged the home and public-schooling systems. The research invites further reflection on the ways by which the home-learning process improves through the inclusion of other parameters such as the e-learning framework. Online education has been discussed extensively as a way of enabling the home-schooling with increased access to better teachers and learning materials.

The research identified the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as a means of determining how new technologies in the online learning process compared to the virtual classroom learning experience. The research explored a case …

Principles And Practices Of Teaching English Language Learners, Abha Gupta

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

This conceptual paper presents diverse approaches and strategies for preparing competent teachers who work with either English Language Learners (ELLs) or students who speak English as a Second Language (ESL). The pedagogical approaches discussed herein include practical and hands-on activities for teachers at any level. Bilingual learning improves ELL's cognitive development as well as their self-esteem. The paper outlines underlying principles for the best practices with an emphasis on ESL students and also to other learning situations and students. Teachers can modify their instructional methods to adjust ELL's learning needs. Specifically, even though the discussion is framed in the context …

A Comparison Of Academic Outcomes In Courses Taught With Open Educational Resources And Publisher Content, Diane N. Ryan

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The academic outcomes of retention, completion, persistence and final exam scores between courses taught with open educational resources (OER) and courses taught with publisher content (non-OER) were investigated in this mixed method sequential study. The perceptions and experiences of the instructors who taught the courses were also explored. The participants were 215 community college students enrolled in an online section of Introduction to Communication (CST 110), Western Civilization (HIS 111), Applied Calculus (MTH 270) or Introduction to Psychology (PSY 201). Four instructors volunteered to teach an OER section and a non-OER section within each discipline. Students were randomly divided into …

Reflective Journaling: Innovative Dialogue In Lis Education, Elizabeth Ann Burns

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Innovative pedagogy, embedded in LIS courses structures, is desired and strengthens LIS preparation. Including reflection as one such strategy can assist in building the reflective practice LIS educators hope students maintain in the field. While widely used in teacher preparation courses (Hodgins, 2014) reflective journaling equally aligns with the text-based nature of LIS coursework, especially as more LIS schools move to online formats (Kymes & Ray, 2012). This phenomenological case study explores structured, dialogic journaling as a pedagogical tool to inform the reflective practice of preservice librarians. Journals were introduced as a teaching tool in an early LIS course and …

From Talking Stick To Listening Stick: A Variation On An Ancient Practice, E. James Baesler

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

Goals:

The primary goal is to introduce students to the concept, experience, and application of the listening stick activity within the context of an undergraduate listening course. Students participate in a group listening stick activity that cultivates experiences of first person attention, focus, and awareness of self and others’ feelings and needs for the purpose of self-discovery and building small group cohesiveness. As a secondary goal, students learn how to apply the listening stick activity to interpersonal and small group situations in school, work, social, and spiritual settings for a variety of purposes including relationship building, problem-solving and decision-making.

Using Twitter To Support Reflective Learning In An Asynchronous Online Course, Tian Luo, Smruti J. Shah, Helen Crompton

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to further our understanding of the use of Twitter for promoting reflective learning. Specifically, this study investigated how students participate in Twitter-supported activities, what type of knowledge are manifested when Twitter is used to reflect on the course readings, and how students perceive the Twitter-supported activities. The data showed that Twitter was successful in keeping the learners engaged in the reflective discussion activities for a prolonged period compared to Blackboard. Students overall had a positive perception towards the integration of Twitter to support reflection and discussion along with active participation. Twitter was effective in …

Students With Learning Disabilities, Pair Programming And Situational Motivation, Shana L. Pribesh, Wu He, Silvana M. Watson, Debra A. Major, Li Xu, Ling Li, Xin Tian, Anjee Gorkhali, Yuming He

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Persons with learning disabilities (LD) are underrepresented in computer science and information technology fields despite the explosion of related career opportunities and interest. In this study, we examine the use of pair programming as a collaborative intervention in with computer programming and compare students with learning disabilities to students who do not have learning disabilities. We concentrate on situational motivation constructs which tap into the desire to meet goals and acquire skills. We find that students with LD and similar students without LD fare the same. For the both groups, three of the four situational motivation subscales increase after the …

Mobile Learning And Cognition, Helen Crompton, Diane Burke

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

The rise of mobile learning in schools during the past decade has led to promises about its power to extend and enhance student cognitive development – for example, by providing greater pedagogical opportunities for students (Mifsud, 2014). However, others claim that mobile devices are most often used to support traditional pedagogical approaches whereby students only passively consume content (Cochrane & Antonczak, 2014; Frohberg, Goth & Schwabe, 2009; Rushby, 2012). As schools invest resources in providing students with opportunities to use mobile devices as tools for learning, it is important to critically examine their use in practice.

Decision Making In The Sciences: Understanding Heuristic Use By Students In Problem Solving, Elizabeth Csikar

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of heuristics by students and gain insight into the thought process behind their problem-solving skills. The study used an adaptive narrative as the information delivery medium. An adaptive narrative was chosen because it could be designed to simulate decision making processes encountered in real world situations. Students enrolled in an introductory biology major class were chosen for the study because their fields of interest all require complex problem solving and decision-making skills. It was of interest to investigate what decisions were made when heuristics were given and how that may …

Examining Effective Collaboration In Instructional Design, Melissa Sue Ferguson

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

The purpose of this study was to examine the application of teamwork in instructional design to determine the frequency by which coordination, decision making, leadership, interpersonal skills, adaptability, and communication are applied in real-world instructional design teams. Instructional designers found on the social media network, LinkedIn, were asked to voluntarily complete the 36-item Teamwork Skills Questionnaire, which was distributed and returned electronically. Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation were calculated using Microsoft Excel.

The most frequently applied teamwork skills in instructional design teams were interpersonal skills (M = 3.57) and communication (M = 3.26). Each of the six skills …

Evidence, Standards, And School Librarianship: Prevailing Policies, Promising Methods, And Progress On A Research Agenda, Barbara Schultz-Jones, Sue C. Kimmel, Marcia A. Mardis, Faye R. Jones, Shana Pribesh, Laura Pasquini

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Guided by the question, "What are the implications of national educational evidence standards for school librarianship research?," prevailing U.S. evidence-driven educational policies are examined to identify implications for school librarianship research; promising methods to contribute to building this evidence base are explored; and finally, progress on a long-term research agenda designed to enable school librarianship researchers to contribute evidence to educational policy is reviewed. As promising methods are explored, an actionable agenda is proposed that school library researchers can undertake to participate in a causal research environment.

A Comparative Analysis Of Holographic, 3d-Printed, And Computer-Generated Models: Implications For Engineering Technology Students' Spatial Visualization Ability, Petros J. Katsioloudis, Mildred V. Jones

STEMPS Faculty Publications

A number of studies indicate that the use of holographic displays can influence spatial visualization ability; however, research provides inconsistent results. Considering this, a quasi-experimental study was conducted to identify the existence of statistically significant effects on sectional view drawing ability due to the impacts of holographic displays. In particular, the study compared the use of three different types of displays: 3D printed model, computer generated model, and holographic model to determine whether a significant difference exists towards sectional view drawing ability, among engineering technology students. According to the results of this study, it is suggested that the impact of …

Reimagining The Chalk Talk: Animated Handwriting As A Social Cue To Improve Motivation In Multimedia Video Lessons, Hillary C. Kaplowitz

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Animated handwriting in multimedia video lessons, such as those popularized by the Khan Academy, has reimagined the classic teaching technique of writing on a chalkboard while lecturing for online delivery. This digital chalk talk effect mimics classroom lectures where words are written letter by letter on a chalkboard as they are spoken. Low-cost applications, tablets, and document cameras allow instructors at all levels to easily create their own animated handwritten videos. As adoption increases, it is important to understand the effects of this strategy.

This study employed a true experimental, between-subjects, posttest design that compared multimedia lessons with different text …

The Effect Of Emotive Content On Knowledge Acquisition And Ethical Sense Making Using An Ill-Structured Case Example, Tina M. Souders

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Social workers encounter ethics related challenges on a daily basis. These real-world problems are incredibly complex and can produce intense emotional reactions. The use of ill-structured case examples as an instructional strategy to teach ethical lessons is well-supported in the literature, however, case examples often lack an emotional or affective component. Given the importance of crafting cases for learners, more research is needed to better understand how to construct and present case examples to enhance learning outcomes, specifically related to the influence of emotive content. This study was conducted to assess the effect of emotive content on knowledge acquisition and …

Exploring The Effects Of Pacing In Community College Courses, Robin Dillon Shepherd

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

For-profit colleges are threatening community college enrollments by recruiting low-income and minority students with the appeal of quick degree and certificate program completion rates. To remain competitive, community colleges are creating guided pathways for student success. A guided pathway is a clear road map to certificate or degree completion. Community colleges that offer guided pathways challenge students to choose an academic program in their first semester and no later than their second semester. Once students choose their academic program they begin taking specific classes in pursuit of certificate and degree completion, which offer students flexibility in format (face-to-face, hybrid, and …

The Effect Of The Behavioral Analysis Feedback Model On Improving Performance Of Nursing Students During Clinical Rotations, Melanie Elizabeth Ross

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

This study explored the effects the Behavioral Analysis Feedback (BAF) Model had on improving nursing student’s performance. Research studies surrounding feedback primarily centered on frameworks designed as models for delivering feedback as well as the timing for delivering feedback. In addition, past research has also focused on individual elements that affect performance with little regard to environmental elements. The BAF Model was conceptualized based on the importance of providing feedback to nursing students while emphasizing three individual and three environmental elements that have the potential to influence behavior.

This multiple measure, single-case study utilized a quasi-experimental pre-post intervention study design. …

Technologies To Enhance And Extend Children's Understanding Of Geometry: A Configurative Thematic Synthesis Of The Literature, Helen Crompton, Melva R. Grant, Khitam Y. H. Shraim

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Empirical evidence indicates that students are not learning geometry with relational understanding of the concepts. Studies have shown that digital technologies can support students in mathematics. The purpose of this study was to find which technologies and technological affordances are specific to learners of geometry. This paper presents the results of a configurative thematic synthesis of empirical studies and theoretical papers to show that dynamic geometry environments (DGEs: including 3D DGEs) and logobased environments were the main types of technologies used to support geometry learners. The results of this study also reveal that there are five main technological supports provided …

The Effects Of Self-Regulation Strategies On Middle School Students' Calibration Accuracy And Achievement, Deana Ford, Linda Bol, Jamie Colwell, Melva R. Grant

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

This study investigated the impact that self-regulation strategies have on metacognitive judgements (calibration) and mathematics achievement of typical and advanced achieving 7th grade mathematics students over a period of seven weeks. Self-regulation strategies, four square graphic organizers and vocabulary games were implemented with the treatment condition while online games were implemented with the control condition. The results revealed that participants in the treatment condition were more accurate in their calibrations than participants in the control condition, more specifically for postdiction accuracy. Although the participants in the treatment condition scored higher on their achievement tests than the participants in the control …

Tessmer And Wedman: Ahead Of Their Time, John Baaki

STEMPS Faculty Publications

In 1990, Martin Tessmer and John Wedman introduced a new perspective to instructional design. Rather than a sequential waterfall approach, which dominated instructional design in the 1980's and 90's, the layers-of-necessity approach is a way of thinking about instructional design. Tessmer and Wedman viewed instructional designers as they truly are: designers who design instruction. They embraced the nature of design. Rolling back time almost 30 years, Tessmer and Webman certainly were ahead of their time.

Delving Into The Specificity Of Instructional Guidance In Social Media-Supported Learning Environments, Tian Luo

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Aim/Purpose: This study investigates the variations in student participation patterns across different types of instructional activities, learning modes, and with different instructional guidance approaches. In the current study, different variables, modes of learning (guided versus unguided), and types of guidance (social versus cognitive) were manipulated in a series of microblogging-supported collaborative learning tasks to examine to what extent and in which aspects instructional guidance affects the effectiveness and student perception of microblogging-supported learning.

Background: Despite the overwhelming agreement on the importance of instructional guidance in microblogging-supported learning environments, very few studies have been done to examine the specificity of guidance, …

Making The Connection: Using Mobile Devices And Polleverywhere For Experiential Learning For Adult Students, Robert L. Moore, Stephanie J. Blackmon, James Markham

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Technology integration has significantly influenced the way students access and retain knowledge gained in the classroom (Ahmed, 2016). This is particularly relevant in classrooms for adult learners who engage in continuing education. This paper used a descriptive case study (Yin, 2014) to share how an instructor utilized mobile learning with a web-based polling tool, PollEverywhere, to gamify experiential learning for adult students in various roles within a southeastern state’s court administration—prosecutors, defense lawyers, magistrates, and jail administrators—and improve students’ engagement in the course and connection to course material.

8892: Athletic Training Student Application Of Interprofessional Education During Clinical Education: A Report From The Athletic Training Clinical Education Network, S. E. Walker, J. M. Cavallario, C. E. Welch Bacon, R. C. Bay, B. L. Van Lunen

Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty Publications

Context: Past research has identified interprofessional education (IPE) as a challenging core competency to incorporate into health care education, and suggested that the lack of IPE is a barrier to students' ability to provide patient-centered care. The extent to which IPE is being incorporated into athletic training clinical experiences for athletic training students (ATSs) is still largely unknown. Objective: To assess whether ATSs are integrating concepts of IPE during patient encounters (PEs) during their clinical education. Design: Multisite, panel design. Setting: Three Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education-accredited professional athletic training programs (2 baccalaureate, 1 postbaccalaureate) via convenience sampling. …

Connected Education: Teachers' Attitudes Towards Student Learning In A 1:1: Technology Middle School Environment, Tian Luo, Alexander Murray

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Online and blended forms of learning has been increasingly common in K-12 settings, along with the technological advancement with always-on and connected devices. The study purports to understand teachers’ attitudes towards the middle school’s 1:1 policy and students’ frequent use of always-on and connected technology, as well as their concerns about middle school students’ capabilities of using mobile devices and technologies in 1:1 environments. Using a transcendental phenomenological approach, data was obtained through semi-structured interviews, pre- and post- teacher open-ended surveys, along with classroom and lab observations. The study concluded that teachers typically embraced student use of school issued connected …

Humanoid Robots Supporting Children’S Learning In An Early Childhood Setting, Helen Crompton, Kristen Gregory, Diane Burke

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

This qualitative study explored the affordances provided by the integration of the NAO humanoid robot in three preschool classrooms. Using the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework as a lens, the researchers qualitatively analyzed data from focus groups, observations, field notes and student artifacts, using grounded coding to uncover language and communication, physical, cognitive and social–emotional learning experiences for children. The researchers also examined interactions between the robot, children and teachers to identify successes and challenges experienced during the integration. Findings indicate the robot provided opportunities for student development in all learning domains. Students were intellectually curious about the robot; …

The Utility Of Storytelling Strategies In The Biology Classroom, Elizabeth Csikar, Jill E. Stefaniak

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Conveying scientific information with high intrinsic cognitive load to students is a challenge. Often, students do not have the existing schema to incorporate the information in a comprehensive manner. One method that has shown promise is storytelling. Storytelling has been successfully used to convey public health information to non-experts. Therefore, it was of interest to determine whether storytelling could be used in the classroom to present information with high intrinsic load to students in a meaningful manner. This study used a post-test only quasi-experimental study design to explore the utility of storytelling as an instructional strategy in anatomy and physiology …

Using Mobile Devices To Facilitate Student Questioning In A Large Undergraduate Science Class, Helen Crompton, Stephen R. Burgin, Declan G. De Paor, Kristen Gregory

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Asking scientific questions is the first practice of science and engineering listed in the Next Generation Science Standards. However, getting students to ask unsolicited questions in a large class can be difficult. In this qualitative study, undergraduate students sent SMS text messages to the instructor who received them on his mobile phone and via Google Glass. Using observations, coding of texts, and interviews, the researchers investigated the types and level of questions students asked and the perceptions of the instructor and TAs on how the messages were received. From the findings of this study, it is evident that students asked …

Mobile Learning And Student Cognition: A Systematic Review Of Pk-12 Research Using Bloom’S Taxonomy, Helen Crompton, Diane Burke, Yi-Ching Lin

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

The rise of mobile learning in schools during the past decade has led to promises about the power of mobile learning to extend and enhance student cognitive engagement. The purpose of this study was to examine trends to determine the cognitive level students are involved in within mobile learning activities. This systematic review involved an aggregated and configurative synthesis of PK-12 mobile learning studies from 2010 to 16 and used Bloom’s Taxonomy as a theoretical framework for categorizing the cognitive level of student activities. Major new findings include that students are involved in activities at all six levels of Bloom’s …

Designing Authentic Learning Activities To Train Pre-Service Teachers About Teaching Online, Tian Luo, Alexander Murray, Helen Crompton

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Online learning is increasingly being used in K-12 learning environments. A concomitant trend is found towards learning becoming authentic as students learn with tasks that are connected to real-world occupations. In this study, 48 pre-service teachers use an online environment to engage in authentic practice as they developed online learning experiences for their future students. Using a design-based research methodology, the researchers were involved in planning, designing, implementing, and evaluating the higher education class across two macro cycles. An authentic learning framework was utilized in the development of the class. Findings explicate the design of the course and how it …

An Analysis Of Factors That Impact Diffusion And Adoption Of Digital Badges, Kimberly L. Carey

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Digital badges are electronic icons used to recognize learning or participation in activities. Open digital badges offer the additional affordance of embedded metadata that can link to the criteria for earning the badge, evidence of the skill, and other information including issuer details. Badge systems have prompted instructional designers to consider teaching and learning in new ways. Open digital badges offer an alternative and innovative approach to pedagogy and assessment (Grant, 2016).

This qualitative multi-case study examined digital badge programs being used at three higher education institutions, at the course level, the department level, and the university level. The study …

The Use Of Reflective Questioning As A Peer Coaching Strategy In An Asynchronous Online Cognitive Apprenticeship, Jennifer Ashley Scott Brown

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The cognitive apprenticeship framework melds situated, authentic learning with social learning theory. The learning strategies included in a cognitive apprenticeship are modeling, coaching, scaffolding, articulation, reflection, and exploration. Previous research indicates that the most beneficial strategy for the learner is coaching, and is also the most time-consuming strategy for the instructor. However, no previous research has been conducted to determine which coaching strategies can be utilized in order to lessen the burden on the instructor, while being beneficial to the learner.

The purpose of this study was to explore the use of guided reflective questions as a strategy for enhancing …