Browsing by Subject "Instructional design"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Effects of cooperative, competitive, and individualistic learning structures on college student achievement and peer relationships: a series of meta-analyses
    (2013-06) Hilk, Caroline Lual
    This series of meta-analyses investigates the effects of social interdependence (cooperative, competitive, and individualistic learning structures) on achievement and peer relationships among college students. This study quantitatively synthesized the literature on the effects of social interdependence on achievement and peer relationship outcomes based on 1,204 effect sizes from 231 experimental studies involving 37,422 college and graduate-level students. The overall effects of cooperative compared to competitive and individualistic learning structures on achievement resulted in moderate effect sizes (g = .42 and .36 respectively. The estimated effects of cooperative learning on peer relationships was statistically significant and positive for the comparison to competitive structures (g = .88) and individualistic structures (g = .71). These findings are consistent with the conclusions of previous meta-analyses examining this population. Explanatory models were constructed to examine the variance in effect sizes and the potential influence of several moderating variables including: unit of measure (group vs. individual measures), level of cognitive task (high vs. low complexity), and methodological quality of primary studies (high, moderate, low quality). Only unit of measure was identified as a statistically significant contributor to the overall variance in the effect size for achievement when comparing cooperative and individualistic learning structures. Possible reasons for the remaining unexplained variance in these meta-analyses, along with implications for practice and future directions for research, are also offered.
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    Evaluating Learning Management System (LMS)-facilitated delivery of Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
    (2012-04) Bryans Bongey, Sarah
    This quantitative study involved 157 students in two sections of an undergraduate class in general biology, as well as one instructor who taught both sections of the course. It used resources from the Center for Applied Special Technologies (CAST) to evaluate the viability of a Learning Management System (LMS) to provide Universal Design for Learning (UDL). It also measured and tracked the instructor's level of efficacy in sustaining UDL approaches throughout the semester. In an effort to identify the UDL's specific outcomes or benefits to students, this study used a pre- and post- test to identify the treatment's impact on student engagement. Findings indicated that the LMS could be designed to comply with UDL guidelines, and the instructor was able to establish a high level of efficacy in maintaining that UDL design. However, based on the statistical analysis of pre- and post-test responses from control vs. treatment groups of students, the treatment was seen to have no significant effect in the area of student engagement. Overall, the study added to the literature by suggesting (a) the viability of the LMS as a means of providing UDL approaches, (b) the promise of the LMS as a tool faculty can use to deliver UDL with a high level of efficacy, and (c) the design's lack of effect in the area of student engagement. The fact that this study was limited to a single brand of LMS (Blackboard), a single instructor, and a single group of students underscores the need for further research.
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    A phenomenological investigation of Online learners' lived experiences of engagement
    (2014-10) Pazurek-Tork, Angelica L.
    This study examined the phenomenon of learner engagement as it was experienced by adult learners while learning online. Learner engagement has been suggested to be one of the most significant predictors of learning and academic achievement (National Research Council, 2004; Russell, Ainley, & Frydenberg, 2005; Skinner & Belmont, 1993), and several instructional design models have been proposed to meet the challenges associated with supporting engagement among learners in online learning environments (Kearsley, 2000; Conrad & Donaldson, 2004). However, many of these models are based on abstract conceptualizations of engagement, which vary greatly, rather than how it is actually experienced by online learners. As online learning becomes increasingly more prevalent in various adult learning and postsecondary educational contexts (The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2010), educators are prompted to consider how engagement is actually being experienced by adult learners within virtual environments, what dynamics influence it, and how their efforts might help promote and foster it. A phenomenological understanding of learners' perceptions as they experience engagement while learning in online courses holds great potential to provide new insights into online teaching and learning from an authentic, learner-centered perspective. To this end, the purpose of this study is to help adult and higher education professionals, including online instructors, facilitators, and instructional designers, understand more deeply how adult learners may experience engagement in online learning environments by addressing the following research questions: (1) What is it like to be an adult learner in online learning environments? (2) What is it like to experience engagement in online learning environments? and (3) How do various elements of learning online and dynamics of the learning environment influence adult learners' feelings of engagement?This qualitative study utilized interpretive phenomenological methodology and a post-intentional phenomenological research design (Vagle, 2010a) to investigate four adult learners' lived experiences of engagement while enrolled in a completely online, graduate-level, university course. For eight months following the conclusion of the course, qualitative methods were used to collect data from the research participants' personal narrative accounts shared through individual interviews, written lived experience descriptions (van Manen, 1990, p. 63-66), and other digital media artifacts created as part of the learning activities while the course was in progress. Iterative cycles of phenomenological data analysis using a whole-parts-whole approach captured tentative manifestations (Vagle, 2010a, p. 7) of the phenomenon of engagement as it was experienced in online learning environments and revealed in shifting and changing ways. Thematic analysis (van Manen, 1990, p. 78) was also used to identify three themes of pedagogic significance: (1) The unbounded nature of learning online may significantly impact the overall learning experience, especially how engagement is experienced; (2) Engagement may be experienced online as a form of praxis; and (3) There is a temporal nature to engagement in online learning environments, suggesting that it changes over time and space, according to the influence of various dynamics. Research findings also suggest particular dynamics that influenced the lived experience of engagement online, including learner autonomy and shared decision-making. The insights gained from this study were used to propose a flexible online engagement model that suggests research-based pedagogical design principles to help promote and foster engaging online learning experiences.