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Doctor of Philosophy(PhD) / This thesis argues that it is only through understanding the multiple facets of technology that we are able to determine whether any particular manifestation of technology is educational. The reconstruction of educational technology in this thesis begins by building an understanding of the concept of experiential technology from the work of Heidegger, Dewey and Popper. This provides the conceptual architecture required to research the influence of educational technology in universities, which is interpreted in light of the wider theory of modernisation of society developed by Jürgen Habermas. The critical theory of technology formulated by Feenberg provides the methodological basis for reconstructing an understanding of technology and its impact on student learning. A reconstructive analysis requires a number of situational critiques, which in this thesis review the advice given to academic staff about the use of educational technology. It is through a synthesis of these critiques that this thesis examines whether higher education is undergoing a process of colonisation that has reduced its potential to discuss the values of university teaching and learning. Online learning is taken as a case example that has been embraced by academics for dealing with increasing student numbers and the increasing importance of work-based learning. By shifting from the theory of technology to the practice of the Australian Technology University, this thesis demonstrates that one approach to coping with change in the higher education context is to incorporate business values, have increasingly flexible curricula and focus on workplace skills. This thesis concludes that universities could go a lot further to incorporate the values of higher education into educational technology. In the case of the online learner this would support those distinctive characteristics that encourage a deep approach to learning. Following arguments put forward by Feenberg, it is argued that it is through student participation in technical design that we have the greatest chance of influencing technology’s development to emphasize the values of higher education. As long as academics continue to control the technological decision-making, the delivery and management of information is likely to remain the most common use of online technology. The legitimacy of the academic’s decision to use technology in their teaching increases where there is only a narrow gap between the values of the participants and the reality of their practice. Thus, to be morally just and provide students with the developmental opportunities that will serve them in their later professional and citizenship roles, the online classroom needs to ensure that it provides an autonomy-supporting environment.

Leaders in higher education institutions throughout the United States regard distance learning as an important part of their long-term strategic planning (Allen & Seaman, 2015). Counselor education and supervision training programs are following this trend as demonstrated by the increase of online programs being offered to train professional counselors (Renfro‐Michel, O'Halloran, & Delaney, 2010). Some studies have investigated how online supervision compares to in-person or face-to-face counselor training (e.g., Lenz, Oliver, & Nelson, 2011). However, little is known about counselor educators’ experiences of online group supervision. A phenomenological case study explored the counselor educators’ lived experiences of resistance during online group supervision in Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Program (CACREP) accredited programs. The results of the study identified four themes: the supervisory relationship matters, differences exist between online and face-to-face supervision, positionality and privilege influence resistance, and resistance is dynamic. The study’s findings could enhance the field’s understanding of resistance and expand on how to consider and approach resistance during online supervision.

Online learning continues to widen in popularity by providing greater access and flexibility in time and location the learning occurs. There is a shift in the profile of a traditional college student. Almost half of the students who are enrolled in online classes are 24 or older and tend to carry increased time constraints due to external factors such as employment and family responsibilities. Student retention remains a concern for institutions. Many students lack the skills necessary to be successful in the online platform. Research reports self-regulation learning skills are essential. Providing reminders for an upcoming assignment may give needed scaffolding. Intervention research is sparse in this domain. This dissertation is written in a three journal article format. Article 1 is a systematic review of the literature focused on the use of auto-reminders or nudges as an intervention in higher education. This review employed systematic criteria to allow rigorous analysis, critique, and synthesis of related literature search. The search strategy focused on auto-reminder interventions in online classes. Keywords were searched in each of the databases (n = 3) ERIC, PsychINFO, and Scopus. Articles (n = 291) were added to Zotero. Three themes emerged. Health (n = 3), procrastination (n = 2), and motivation (n = 4) for a total of 9 articles. Findings reveal that the health field is successful in nudging their patients into better health practices; however, published research in the education field is lacking. Building on findings from Article 1, Article 2 sought to address nudging in the education field. Instructors volunteered to use a nudging app to remind students of upcoming assignments in their courses (n= 158). Enrolled students were invited to download a mobile app. This study attempted to create a profile of students who used the app. Findings reveal that students who used the app were more likely to be Asian and International and had higher scores on college entrance exams. App users had slightly lower prior GPAs, despite having earned significantly more credits in college at the time of the study. Building on Article 2, Article 3 explored the behavioral interaction with app users tapping (n = 443) and not tapping (n = 1102) of push notifications. Findings reveal app users submit more assignments and have higher average assignment grades when they tap the notifications. Assignment weight is generally lower, and there is generally less time between the time the student submitted the assignment and the assignment deadline. When push notifications are not tapped, assignment weight is higher, and there is more time between submission and deadline. More research is needed to determine push notification behavior.

Algorithms that are being used in sensitive contexts such as deciding to give a job offer or giving inmates parole should be accurate as well as being non-discriminatory. The latter is important especially due to emerging concerns about automatic decision making being unfair to individuals belonging to certain groups. The machine learning literature has seen a rapid evolution in research on this topic. In this thesis, we study various problems in sequential decision making motivated by challenges in algorithmic fairness. As part of this thesis, we modify the fundamental framework of prediction with expert advice. We assume a learning agent is making decisions using the advice provided by a set of experts while this set can shrink. In other words, experts can become unavailable due to scenarios such as emerging anti-discriminatory laws prohibiting the learner from using experts detected to be unfair. We provide efficient algorithms for this setup, as well as a detailed analysis of the optimality of them. Later we explore a problem concerned with providing any-time fairness guarantees using the well-known exponential weights algorithm, which leads to an open question about a lower bound on the cumulative loss of exponential weights algorithm. Finally, we introduce a novel fairness notion for supervised learning tasks motivated by the concept of envy-freeness. We show how this notion might bypass certain issues of existing fairness notions such as equalized odds. We provide solutions for a simplified version of this problem and insights to deal with further challenges that arise by adopting this notion. / Graduate

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant relationship between learning styles and student learning outcomes in an online college mathematics course. Specifically, the study was guided by two research questions focused on (a) the extent to which learning styles had a predictive relationship with student achievement in an online college mathematics course and (b) the extent to which various learning styles among mathematics students in online versus face-to-face courses predicted mathematics achievement. The population for this study consisted of the 779 college mathematics and algebra (CMA) students who were enrolled in a private multimedia university located in the southeast. A total of 501 students were enrolled in the online class, i.e., the experimental group, and 278 students enrolled in the face-to-face class comprised the control group. All students completed (a) an initial assessment to control for current mathematics knowledge, (b) the online Grasha-Reichmann Student Learning Styles Scales (GRSLSS) Inventory, and (c) 20 questions selected from the NAEP Question Tool database. Hierarchical linear regressions were used to address both research questions. A series of ANCOVA tests were run to examine the presence of any relationships between a given demographic and course modality when describing differences between student test scores while controlling for prior academic performance. The results indicated that predominant learning style had no apparent influence on mathematics achievement. The results also indicated that predominant learning style had no apparent influence on iv mathematics achievement for online students. When examining demographics alone without respect to modality, there was no significance in course performance between students in various ethnicity, gender, or age groups

Thesis advisor: Matthias von Davier / Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are used by many educators for professional development (PD). However, only a few studies explored what educators’ goals in PD-MOOCs are and whether educators with different goals interact with MOOCs in different ways. These issues are addressed in three related studies described in this work. First, I conducted a literature review on MOOCs for educators and identified underexplored topics and underutilized data collection and analysis methods. I found that a few studies looked at educators’ learning motivations and none linked them to complex engagement patterns as measured using log data. In the second study, I used natural language processing (NLP) to identify teachers’ motivations in four MOOCs (n = 3,212) based on their responses to open-ended and Likert-style survey items. I also examined the association between these motivations, participants’ intention to complete the course, and actual completion. Three motivation groups were identified: Intrinsic, Professional, and Prosocial (i.e., taking the course to help students or improve the educational system). Participants with intrinsic motivations were less likely and those with prosocial motivations were more likely to plan to complete the course or to complete it even after accounting for initial intentions. In the third study, I compared the engagement processes of the three motivation groups in one course (n = 969). I found that the intrinsic motivation group was the most engaged during the course, but the prosocial group was the most engaged by its end. The prosocial participants were also the most interested in the course’s forum. These findings have theoretical and practical implications for the study of MOOCs and educators’ PD in general. They can, for example, be used to enhance PD design in a way that helps educators meet their individual goals. Rethinking the design of educators’ PD courses this way can potentially affect their teaching practice and thus, improve education for their students, as well. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2023. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics & Assessment.

Due to the rising rates of obesity present in the United States, occupational therapy practitioners will likely be seeing this population more frequently in a variety of health care settings. A thorough search of the evidence literature identified that occupational therapy practitioners were found to be lacking education on the topics of obesity and bariatric care and how to effectively assist this population. Furthermore, occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant academic curriculums were found to be lacking education in the areas of safe patient handling with the obese population. Clients who are obese also expressed dissatisfaction with the health care that they have been receiving due to the identified barriers. Through an online educational program, called Bariatrics, obesity, and occupational therapy: How can we help? (BOOTH) the following topics will be integrated through a case study approach for occupational therapy practitioners and occupational therapy students: 1. general knowledge on the topics of obesity, 2. common co-morbidities, 3. bariatric equipment, 4. safe patient handling recommendations, 5. obesity related stigma, and 6. techniques for occupational therapy evaluation and intervention. Through completion of the online obesity and bariatric care education modules, students and practitioners will have heightened knowledge of how to safely assist this population to optimize client independence and reduce work related injuries. In doing so, occupational therapy will be identified as a vital resource for clients who are obese in health care settings, telehealth, and primary care.

Online education has grown substantially over the years because of the flexibility it has given the student in acquiring an education. For many, higher education is now a reality instead of just a dream. With this educational format, traditional and non-traditional students are taking classes to obtain a degree or pursue lifelong learning. Unfortunately, some students are taking online classes without being equipped with the necessary skills required for successful completion. The purpose of the evaluation was to investigate the readiness factors of students taking online classes. The Readiness for Education At a Distance Indicator (READI) assessment was completed by students registered for online classes at Itawamba Community College in the fall 2007 semester. A sample of 250 students was randomly selected from the population. The instrument used in the study is adapted from larger instruments and has been tested for reliability and validity. The READI assessment results included variables of individual attributes, technical competency (computer and Internet), technical knowledge, reading comprehension, typing speed and proficiency, and learning styles – visual, social, physical, aural, verbal, solitary, and logical. Additionally, institutional educational variables included in the evaluation were ACT scores, online courses completed, total semester hours completed, and cumulative grade point average. Descriptive statistics were given for the variables and the correlational research findings were presented in respect to the research questions. Stepwise Multiple Regression statistical analysis was conducted to determine the correlation between the measurement variables and educational variables. Individual Attributes, Reading Comprehension, and Logical Learning Style were the contributory success factors in the online classroom. The analysis revealed that Reading Comprehension correlated to the ACT score and Verbal Learning Style correlated to online course completed.

This study investigated why professional development courses that are taken by educators at the Research and Curriculum Unit (RCU) of Mississippi State University (MSU) were or were not completed. By considering the results from this investigation, the course developers for future online courses can improve the courses offered to help increase participant retention. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> There were 4 research questions investigated for this study to help understand how to improve future course offerings: style='mso-spacerun:yes'> style='msoareastontamily:"Times New Roman"'>1. style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> Why did the participants of online professional development enroll initially? style='msoareastontamily:"Times New Roman"'>2. style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> Why did the completers finish the online professional development? style='msoareastontamily:"Times New Roman"'>3. style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> Why did the non-completers not finish the online professional development? style='msoareastontamily:"Times New Roman"'>4. style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> What does the facilitator perceive as the reasons completers complete and non-completers do not complete the course? Data for this study were from 10 online professional development courses taken by educators through the RCU. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> The participants agreeing to participate were asked to complete a beginning and ending survey and an end-of-course evaluation. They were also asked to participate in an interview when the online professional course was finished. Facilitators of the online professional development courses completed a beginning survey and participated in interviews. Recommendations were made for future researchers and online course developers. style='msoareastontamily:"Times New Roman"'>1. style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>Participants pay for the online professional development course before the course begins. style='msoareastontamily:"Times New Roman"'>2. style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> All courses have posted technical requirements for participants to have a successful course completion. style='msoareastontamily:"Times New Roman"'>3. style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> Courses should have multiple modes of delivery of information to participants – email, discussion boards, wikis, blogs, and virtual classrooms to name only a few options. style='msoareastontamily:"Times New Roman"'>4. style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> Ways to increase completion rates should be investigated. style='msoareastontamily:"Times New Roman"'>5. style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>The RCU should institute a research policy for every course where enrollees are tracked. style='msoareastontamily:"Times New Roman"'>6. style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>As part of RCU quality assurance, the format of the surveys should be investigated. style='msoareastontamily:"Times New Roman"'>7. style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> Future studies include courses from other entities over a longer time frame. style='msoareastontamily:"Times New Roman"'>8. style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> Future studies should investigate payment options of other entities offering online professional development. style='msoareastontamily:"Times New Roman"'>9. style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> Facilitator differences should be analyzed in future studies. style='msoareastontamily:"Times New Roman"'>10. style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> Future studies should investigate other entities’ facilr practices.