Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

<p> This dissertation presents a multidimensional learning theory called Interactive Spatial Learning (ISL). Using constructivist grounded theory methodology, ISL was abductively derived from a qualitative investigation into the forms of learning that emerged through the practices found at the Builder&rsquo;s Brewery school in the 3D virtual world of Second Life. ISL was developed in response to the divergence that exists between two theoretical perspectives in online learning research; studies from a cognitive perspective define learning as changes in individual cognition while studies from a sociocultural perspective define learning as participation. The exclusive adoption of either learning perspective may lead to oversights in four important aspects of learning: (a) the temporal sequencing of independent and social regulatory learning processes, (b) contextual learning cues embedded within the virtual learning environment, (c) individual learner attributes, and (d) the development of socioemotional connections between learners. To address these oversights, this study utilized data collected from interviews, participant observations, chat logs, survey responses, and digital artifacts to extend our understandings of the learning that emerges from the coordinating mechanisms between the individual, social, and technological aspects of a virtual learning environment. Data collection and analysis incorporated the use of data sensitizing principles to develop the theoretical constructs of knowledge places, community-based Discourses, and technology mediation found in ISL. ISL posits that learning is the recontextualization of information to different modalities through interactions that occur in interactive spaces. Interactive spaces are where information and knowledge are generated and transformed. At a systemic level, ISL explains information flow across spaces and semi-permeable boundaries mediated by technology. At a mechanistic level, a sub-theory of ISL, called autonomous learning, looks at the emergent learning process and how people learn&mdash;the nature of which is spontaneous, self-directed, and independent. Autonomous learning trajectories describe the processes that individuals construct in order to learn. These trajectories consist of four different but interchangeable and repeatable components: learning cues/Cues, learning goals, resourcing, and recontextualization. This dissertation concludes by exploring the implications and connections that ISL has to instructional design, pedagogy, and theorizing in online spaces.</p><p>

<p> Homeschool families have the freedom to uniquely structure the learning environment to meet the needs of their children. Many homeschool parents increasingly rely on digital devices and the Internet to provide alternatives to traditional and private schools. Cooperatives (co-ops), charter school partnerships, virtual academies, online tutors, digitized instructional programs, and individualized curricula can be utilized to provide or supplement the learning environment. This research presents a multiple-case study exploring the variety of learning environments that homeschool parents utilize to teach their children. The participants in this research were homeschool parents who share teaching responsibilities with other homeschool parent educators, charter school organizations, or online instructional programs. In essence, the study examined the perceived effectiveness, efficiency, and efficacy of online, blended, and traditional face-to-face learning environments from the parents&rsquo; perspective. Data collection involved the combined responses from an online survey and participant interviews with ten homeschool parents. Each of the parents shared teaching responsibilities with a homeschool cooperative, a charter school organization, or both. Profiles of each participant include demographic information, homeschooling style, and the rationale for homeschooling their children. Three main themes emerged from the analysis of the homeschool parents&rsquo; perceptions: A Flexible Learning Environment Structure, Quality Time with Family, and Support from Like-Minded Others. The findings from this study can be utilized to advise future families of optimal practices for cultivating academic success and social development of the homeschooled child. The findings indicate homeschool parents perceive the academic and social learning environments as flexible and sufficient for their children&rsquo;s education. From the study participants&rsquo; perspective, integrating technology into the homeschool structure positively impacted their children&rsquo;s mathematics and literacy development. While partnering with homeschool cooperatives and charter schools, study participants were encouraged to continue educating their children, establishing close familial bonds, and providing opportunities for their children to interact with many people of different age-groups.</p><p>

<p> This dissertation examines nontraditional online students&rsquo; perceptions of Tinto&rsquo;s four student success conditions: expectations, support, assessment, and engagement. Expectations include those of the student, the faculty and the institution. Support includes academic, social, and financial support. Providing early and meaningful assessment and feedback to students is crucial during their educational career. The fourth success condition in Tinto&rsquo;s model includes the involvement or engagement of students with their peers (and faculty) in both an academic and social contexts. Nontraditional student perceptions of each of these institutional conditions of success was uncovered through demographic survey, interviews, syllabi and website artifacts.This qualitative study provided a rich, detailed description of the lived experience of the nontraditional online student to add to the paucity of research on this understudied population. The three main themes emerged from the data: (a) nontraditional students identified in an asynchronous environment did not find the success conditions to be consistently present and reported that they would have benefitted from them if they had existed both academically and socially; (b) nontraditional students identified key elements for success, which included flexibility in their schedule and the opportunity to receive a degree from a reputable institution that would lead to career enhancement; (c) students reported developing a strong, positive academic relationship with their advisor. The advisor served as a substitute for faculty-student relationships and was the primary role for providing academic, social and financial support.</p><p>

This case study instantiates longitudinal change over a two year period by examining the role of School Situated Sustained Professional Development (SSSPD) on the evolution of the participant’s practice. The participant was a secondary science teacher who emerged as an exemplar in integrating Technology Enhanced Formative Assessment (TEFA) pedagogy into her practice, which was facilitated by personal response systems (PRS). The research question was: What could be revealed about the impact of SSSPD by studying teacher learning of a teacher who emerged as an exemplar? The participant was one of ten teachers learning the TEFA pedagogy. Professional development (PD) that facilitates change in teachers’ practice and that sustains those changes over time is critical. Findings were triangulated from seven quantitative and qualitative data sets including monthly surveys, lesson observations, journal entries, interviews and action research sessions. The major findings of the study were: (1) implementing TEFA led to changes in the participant’s practice, and (2) the SSSPD model was instrumental in the participant learning how to implement TEFA. Findings also revealed changes in the participant’s beliefs, teaching strategies and in her modification of TEFA. Eight elements of teacher change were identified which were used to develop the Elements of Teacher Change in Adoption of Pedagogy (ETCAP) model. Gaining a better understanding of the SSSPD model and its potential as an effective model for PD is dependent on proving its effectiveness in promoting teacher change and sustaining that change over time. Key words: professional development, Technology Enhanced Formative Assessment, personal response systems, teacher change, teacher learning

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 95-102). Also available in print.

<p> Scenario-based instructional design is ideal for workplace training, as it promotes practical and performance-based learning through the use of realistic situations. The research problem is a need for well-defined heuristics, what Gibbons (2014) called operational principles and what York and Ertmer (2011) called rules of thumb, being basic guidelines that promote and characterize expertise, in the area of scenario-based online instruction. The purpose of this Delphi study was to gather expert feedback on ideas in the form of a set of best practices for scenario-based online instructional design for the workplace. The research questions break down the topic into four basic areas: identifying a learning problem, discovering scaffolds or learning resources, maintaining project momentum, and essential concerns for instructional development. Experts in workplace scenario-based instructional design, with particular emphasis on professionals with an online or academic presence, were recruited as subjects. A detailed review of the literature gathered forty-two original statements that were organized into five categories. Per Delphi methodology, the study was conducted as a three round iterative online instrument. Subjects were asked to rate each statement and to provide additional statements to clarify and expand on their best practices based on their experience. Twenty-nine subjects completed all three rounds of the research study. While the statements express a wide variety of best practices for the field, recommendations for further research generally focused on thoughtful consideration of the learner, the instructional development team, and a focus on the integrity or realistic authenticity of the learning scenario, throughout the instructional experience.</p>

<p> The purpose of this dissertation is to describe and understand how teachers describe the changes in their practices as a result of ten years participation in a one-to-one environment. This research study focuses on one successful middle school&rsquo;s adoption of laptops to support teaching and learning. A qualitative study using interviews of key participants was undertaken with teachers and administrators. The Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework was used in conjunction with Rogers&rsquo; Diffusion of Innovation framework to understand from the participants&rsquo; perspective changes to their practice. The results indicate teachers underwent changes in their use of technology to support teaching and learning, showing increasing overlap between the domains of technological and pedagogical knowledge. The changes resulted in an increase in the transparency of the teaching and learning process for other teachers, students, administrators, and parent. These changes were supported by four school-wide factors; the adoption of a common software suite, robust social networks, modeling by leadership and the professional development model used. The findings were discussed in relation to participants&rsquo; position on the adoption spectrum of Rogers&rsquo; Diffusion of Innovation theory.</p>

<p> This study was designed to investigate an accredited dental assisting educational program at a Midwest community college. The Bureau of Labor of Statistics (2015) claimed the profession of dental assisting is one of the fastest growing occupation, along with ongoing research that good oral health is linked to overall general health, thereby increasing the need for more dental assistants in the workforce. The aim of this study was to determine if dental assisting students taking courses in a face-to-face traditional format performed differently from students taking courses in a hybrid (a combination of face-to-face and online) format. The researcher invited a total of 92 students from cohorts in 2012, 2013, and 2014 to participate. Of the students who elected to participate, 62% were from the traditional cohort, and 39% were from the hybrid cohort. Data collected from a cross-sectional survey focused on the tenets of the theory of Communities of Practice. De-identified data were collected to compare students&rsquo; progress between the traditional and hybrid cohorts with retention rates and national examination scores using a t-test for data analysis. The results confirmed no statistically significant performance differences were apparent between the two groups of students. The hybrid delivery format was as effective in educating dental assisting students as the traditional educational format.</p>

<p> Technology usage in educational setting has gained ground in African countries, especially in Nigeria. Although technology resources in education are financed by the Nigerian government, the teachers required to use and implement such technology are not always accepting of technology use. The purpose of this quantitative correlational research was to examine any if there was a relationship between teachers&rsquo; perceptions of technology integration, level of technology integration, teachers&rsquo; age, educational level, grade level taught, years of experience, and content areas taught. The theoretical framework of the study was Bem&rsquo;s self-perception theory. Participants included 374 teachers from the Oyo State teaching service commission (TESCOM) drafted from two zonal offices in the Ibadan metropolis. Participants completed the Teacher Technology Integration Survey (TTIS) which was adapted from the Technology Integration Survey (TIS). Data analyses included both descriptive and correlational Spearman&rsquo;s rank. The results indicated there is a positive relationship in teachers&rsquo; gender, grade level taught, years of experience, or content areas taught and technology integration. A moderate positive linear relationship was found between technology integration between teachers aged 30 and below and 50 and above; whereas there was a weak positive linear relationship between teachers of age 30 and below and 31&ndash;40. A statistically weak negative relationship was found in levels of education; between a doctoral degree and Nigerian certificate of education (NCE), and also between a doctorate and bachelor&rsquo;s and master&rsquo;s. Recommendations include increased technology orientation and training for teachers.</p>