Browsing by Subject "Learning technologies"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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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.
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    STEM standards-based reform initiatives: the impact on student learning and the curricular, instructional, and assessment practices of teachers
    (2013-05) Flynn, Mary Leslie
    National standards in science (NRC, 1996), mathematics (NCTM 1989, 2000), and technology (NETS, 2000) have informed the direction of reform efforts to guide curriculum development, improve the instructional practices of teachers and increase student learning. STEM Standards-Based Reform Initiatives: The Impact on Student Learning and the Curricular, Instructional, and Assessment Practices of Teachers, involves a series of three studies completed around the theme of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) standards-based reform initiatives and the impact on teacher curricular and instructional practices and student learning. Study 1, Block Scheduling and Mathematics: Enhancing Standards-Based Instruction (Flynn, Lawrenz & Shultz, 2005), is a quantitative study investigating differences in eighth-grade mathematics students' engagement in standards-based curriculum and instruction practices between block- and traditional-schedule schools. Results indicate there are few differences in curriculum and instruction based on the type of school schedule. Study 2, Building a Successful Middle School Outreach Effort: Microscopy Camp (Penn, Flynn & Johnson, 2007), focuses on the development and implementation of curriculum and instruction based on national and state standards designed to assist middle school science learners in their understanding of the atomic structure of solid crystals and the design and use of an assessment tool to monitor student understanding of the topic. Qualitative results indicate improved post-camp understanding of students' understanding of the atomic structure of solid crystals. Study 3, Integrating Technology into a Secondary Science Licensure Program: Modeling Students' Competencies to Use and Teach with Technology over the Course of the Program, is a longitudinal study modeling secondary science student teachers changes in their technology competencies over the course of their program. Results indicate teachers self-reported competencies in skill to use and preparedness to teach with technology in their science classrooms increased. Barriers to technology integration due to physical resources, knowledge and skills, and school supports are reported. Collectively, the three studies inform future research and practice in the area of STEM standards-based reform initiatives by highlighting the impact of implementation efforts across multiple disciplines and settings. Researchers and practitioners may use the research design, curriculum framework, instructional practices, assessment techniques, and results and conclusions of these studies to advance their own research and practice.
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    A study of teachers' integration of App affordances and early literacy best practices
    (2014-05) Israelson, Madeleine Heins
    As a variety of learning technologies become increasingly present in early elementary classrooms the question of how to integrate technologies into early literacy teaching and learning is critical. A great deal is known about best practices for early elementary literacy instruction in traditional print-based texts (Pressley, 2006). Additionally, there is much innovative research studying how to effectively integrate learning technologies into secondary and late elementary literacy learning (Beach & O'Brien, 2012; Leu et al., 2007). Given the increasing prevalence of a variety of learning technologies in early elementary classrooms (kindergarten through 3rd grade) there is a pressing need for research to examine and document how teachers approach the integration of new learning technologies, such as handheld devices (e.g., iPod Touch devices, iPads) and apps, with their knowledge of best practices for effective early literacy instruction and the actual affordances of these practices. In this study I sought to describe how early elementary teachers integrate technologies into the teaching of literacy when presented with new handheld devices from upper administration. I also examined how (and if) teachers integrate their knowledge of best practices for early literacy learning with multimodalities, affordances and value added literacy opportunities when reviewing and selecting handheld device apps for early literacy instruction. My goal was to describe what happens when handheld devices are actually used in early literacy instruction, focusing on app affordances. Undergirded by a theoretical framework that blended constructivism, pragmatism and social cognitive and social constructivist theories of learning, I employed naturalistic inquiry (Lincoln and Guba, 1985) and case study methodologies (Yin, 1994). I collected data in two phases. First, I conducted a survey with a selective sample of 25 K-3rd grade teachers. Then, I purposively sampled two information-rich cases of kindergarten teachers, collecting data through interviews, verbal protocol procedures, classroom observations and photographs. Findings indicated that teachers used apps most often for students to independently practice phonics skills, and rarely or never for literacy instructional that required students to engage in higher-order thinking or collaborate with peers. The use of handheld devices and apps yielded a variety of negative affordances that inhibited or detracted from learning, several of these unanticipated by teachers. Teachers' selection of apps to use for instruction was influenced by factors including the cost of apps, student-centered approaches to teaching and beliefs about literacy best practices. The presence of the devices in the learning environment impacted and shaped students social interactions and learning experiences in their kindergarten classrooms, both in both positive and negative ways. This study identified concerns and issues that warrant consideration as handheld devices and apps are integrated into early elementary literacy learning, if teachers hope to use these tools in ways that not only support students' traditional print-based literacy development, but also assure students develop digital literacies strategies and critical 21st century skills.