Thesis advisor: Diana Pullin / Thesis advisor: Vincent Cho / There is limited research that outlines how a superintendent's instructional vision can help to gain acceptance of a large-scale technology initiative. This study explored how superintendents gain acceptance for a large-scale technology initiative (specifically a 1:1 device program) through various leadership actions. The role of the instructional vision in helping superintendents gain acceptance for a technology initiative was the focus of this research. Five school districts where a large-scale, 1:1 technology initiative was being implemented were the location for this study. These superintendents as well as district administrators with key roles in the technology initiative were interviewed to explore their knowledge and perceptions regarding the district's instructional vision and how it was being utilized to gain acceptance for the technology initiative. The study found that the superintendents utilized various strategic processes to create resonance with stakeholders between the instructional vision and the technology initiative. The superintendents utilized instructional visions that contained many elements of constructivist and 21st century learning skills. However, the definition and communication of the superintendent's specific instructional vision was not always clear and consistent throughout the district. The mission statements, technology plans and district administrators often communicated an instructional vision for the district that was unrelated to the instructional vision communicated by the superintendent. Additionally, while the implementation of the instructional vision was described as a collaborative effort in all of the districts, the development of the instructional vision was primarily limited to the superintendent and his leadership team (principals and central office academic administrators). Study results showed that while there was an understanding amongst district administrators of how technology can support teaching and learning, there was inconsistency in the understanding of the superintendent's instructional vision for the district and how technology should be utilized to help accomplish these goals. Often, it would appear that the technology initiative was driving the instructional vision for the districts and not the other way around. Since there is limited research that outlines how a superintendent's instructional vision can help to gain acceptance of a large-scale technology initiative, this study hopes to highlight the use of the instructional vision in gaining acceptance of a large-scale technology initiative and the practical methods of achieving this. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Motivating learners to participate and interact in online discussions is a challenge faced by many instructors. Despite clear guidelines, learners do not always participate in online discussions and do not meet the expected participation criteria or requirements for the course. Because online interactions are integral to social constructivist learning, little or no learner participation can be a barrier to social dialogue process for knowledge building and learning. While learner participation in online discussions can be attributed to several contextual factors, formative feedback is important to motivate learner participation and interaction. One reason why students might not be motivated to participate could be little or no awareness of how to effectively interact in a course discussion. In this context, SNA can be used to visualize the structure and patterns of interaction in online discussions. Such information can be used to create self-awareness as well as an awareness of other students’ participation. This study explored if structural indicators e.g., participant location in the discussion and relational information about their interaction with others when provided as SNA-based feedback, can motivate learner participation and interaction in online discussion. For the purposes of providing SNA-based feedback, the study used Ego network and two centrality measures—Degree and Eigenvector. The ego network is the neighborhood of a participant and showed direct connections with others in the discussion network. Degree centrality was a measure of the total number of messages sent or received from different interaction partners. Eigenvector centrality was a measure of interaction with partners who in turn, have more interaction partners. Participants with a high centrality score are those who interact more with other participants as they send messages and receive replies. This study addressed student reactions to the SNA-based feedback. Of particular interest was motivational reactions of students and whether they would use the feedback to optimize their discussion participation and interaction. The two research questions that guided this study are: 1) What are learner perceptions of the SNA-based feedback? 2) How do learners participate and interact in the course discussion before and after receiving SNA-based feedback? The participants in the study were 10 students enrolled in a graduate level online course at a large southern research university. The 10 participants agreed to receive feedback and complete a survey at the end of the study. Of these 10 students, three agreed to participate in a follow-up interview. A modified version of Deci and Ryan’s (2007) Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) for pre- and post-survey was used in the study to measure learner motivation to participate in online discussions. Scores on the Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction subscales in a modified version of Keller’s (1987) IMMS survey were used to measure motivational reactions of students to SNA-based feedback. Prompted interviews were conducted with the three participants who indicated willingness to participate. The results of the IMI survey indicated that the students were motivated regarding their beliefs about online discussion. Regarding the perceptions of the SNA-based feedback, the results of the modified IMMS survey showed three of the 10 participants with high motivational reactions, two with low motivational reactions, and the remaining five showing medium motivational reactions regarding their perception of the SNA-based feedback. The Contribution Index (CI) showed that four participants each received more messages than the total number of messages sent. The remaining six participants sent more messages than the number of messages each participant received. While the motivational reactions to SNA-based feedback did not encourage the participants to post more messages, a visible change in behavior was noticeable in early discussion postings by the participants. Findings from this study indicate that the participants actively participated and engaged in the discussions throughout the entire discussion week. The participants appreciated the feedback as it provided them an opportunity to reflect on their behavior and also used to guide how they wanted to participate in the discussion. The participants also noticed a greater sense of connectedness with the whole class after receiving SNA-based feedback. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2017. / November 13, 2017. / Includes bibliographical references. / Vanessa P. Dennen, Professor Directing Dissertation; Ulla Sypher, University Representative; James D. Klein, Committee Member; Aubteen Darabi, Committee Member.

<p> Research on the "why" of collaborative learning is fairly extensive for a disciplinary focus that is comparatively young. Research on one critical aspect of collaborative learning, group work, has focused more on group functionality once they are together, as opposed to determining the most pedagogically sound method for forming the groups and determining their composition. The formation and composition of groups in a learning environment presents unique challenges. Structured as a phenomenological study, this study was not designed or intended to produce generalized solutions, it was designed to see what could be learned from the lived experience of seven full-time, tenured or tenure-track faculty teaching an undergraduate class and utilizing group work. </p><p> Group work is an established part of the educational experience and considered a critical component of a collaborative learning model (Hoadley, 2010; Slavin &amp; Cooper, 1999; Strijbos &amp; Weinberger, 2010; Webb, 1982; Webb, Troper, &amp; Fall, 1995; Yeh, 2010). Although learning collaboratively promotes "higher achievement than competitive and individualistic learning situations" (Johnson, Johnson, &amp; Stanne, 1986, p. 383), it can also create more problems than its use might solve (Johnson &amp; Johnson, 1999; Linn &amp; Burbules, 1993). </p><p> Even though some of the benefits of effective and functional group work have been documented, the formation and composition, and support of student groups, is often wrought with complicated and time-consuming problems. Problems will always vary, but some of the more common examples include: the group member who does not do his/her share (or any) of the work; general resistance by students to working in groups; or pairing group members who do not have appropriate skills or work styles to complete the learning objective. </p><p> There are many things to consider when determining if group work is the appropriate pedagogical approach. This research is predicated on the understanding that the instructor has already determined that group work is the best pedagogical approach for the assignment, project, or class in question. </p><p> Although there are some fundamental differences between working in groups or teams in-person versus online, the location of the group work was treated as another variable in the decision-making process of the instruction leader. Technology used by the instructor for the group formation and composition process is discussed briefly here, but the focus of this study was not about how instructors implemented their decisions, but why they made those decisions in the first place.</p><p>

It was the purpose of this study to determine what effect intrinsic motivation in software programs using graphics and non-graphics has on the achievement, attitudes, attendance and depth-of-involvement of 65 underachieving students. The study was conducted in the natural school setting over the period of a semester. Data was collected on three groups, the control group (n = 33), the alternate treatment group in which students were exposed to CAI without the use of graphics as a part of the instruction, and the experimental group in which students were exposed to CAI with graphics for at least 20 minutes three times per week. An ANCOVA was done on the pre and posttest Math Computation scores of the SAT and the pre and posttest weighted raw scores of the Motivation for Schooling subtest of the SAM. An ANOVA was done on attendance data and a measure of depth-of-involvement defined as time-on-task.;Results indicated that there was no statistically significant difference in the academic achievement, attitudes or attendance among the three groups. However, gains in academic achievement did approach statistical significance. Results for the measure of time-on-task did achieve statistical significance indicating greater involvement with graphic programming.;It was concluded that the use of CAI with or without graphics does not substantially improve the achievement, attitudes or attendance of underachieving students significantly more than other intensive remedial instructional techniques.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether teaching critical thinking skills with the microcomputer produces a greater increase in the thinking skills of middle school students than teaching critical thinking skills with conventional methods.;The sample consisted of ten intact classes (N = 204) of seventh grade students who had registered for a class called, "Problem Solving with the Microcomputer." Five of the classes were assigned at random to two treatment groups and five classes served as the control group. Trained teachers instructed the treatment groups in a nine week course in critical thinking and problem solving consisting of four learning modules: analogous reasoning, logical reasoning, inductive/deductive reasoning, and problem analysis. Both treatment groups were alternately taught two of the learning modules with the aid of the microcomputer and two of the modules taught with conventional methods. The control group received no special instruction in critical thinking skills. The conventional instruction consisted of lecture, discussion, and paper-and-pencil worksheets covering the same instructional objectives presented by the microcomputer software. All classes met daily for 50 minute periods. Selected subtests from the Ross Test of Higher Cognitive Processes and from the Test of Cognitive Skills were administered to all students as pretest-posttest measures of critical thinking skills. The Otis-Lennon Mental Ability Test was administered as a pretest-posttest measure of scholastic aptitude.;The major findings of the study were: (1) Students in both treatment groups, microcomputer and control, who received instruction in verbal analogies achieved significantly higher gains (p < .01) than the control group who received no instruction. A close match between the instruction and the assessment instrument seemed to be a contributing factor to this result. (2) No significant differences (p < .05) were found between the control, microcomputer, and conventional groups on logical reasoning, inductive/deductive reasoning, or problem analysis skills. (3) No significant differences (p < .05) in scholastic aptitude were found between the three groups as a result of instruction in critical thinking skills.

American Sign Language (ASL) has grown to be the 3rd largest enrolled secondary language course in the United States, and colleges and universities seek to identify effective assessment methods for this visual-based language. Although much research exists on sign language e-learning programs, asynchronous video feedback, and sign recognition software, very few studies have been conducted on using technology to as a method of assessment for sign language courses. The purpose of this hermeneutical, phenomenological, qualitative study was to document the lived experiences of students using the electronic assessment tool, GoReact, in courses. The conceptual framework was guided by engagement theory to address the student creation of sign language videos and the cognitive theory of multimedia learning to address the effectiveness of instructor-created assessment videos. Study participants were 6 students enrolled at a state college in the southeastern United States. Data were collected through interviews with ASL students in the semester before completing their associate degrees and analyzed using inductive coding analysis. Participants highlighted intuitiveness and customizability as positive perceptions of assignment completion, and video-based feedback from instructors as a positive feature of GoReact. Participants' negative perceptions included technical issues and low-quality stimuli, and inconsistencies in instructors' use of the tools. The findings of this study can influence positive social change by exploring the use of GoReact to improve the assessment and education of ASL interpreter students to better serve the deaf and people with hearing disabilities.

MyFoundationsLab (MFL) was implemented to complement math instruction and increase student performance in developmental/transitional algebra courses. However, student learning outcomes at the college under study demonstrated that some students were still unsuccessful in passing their math course (i.e., Summer 2015:30%, Fall 2015: 27.2%, Spring 2016: 41.6%). The problem addressed in this study explored the learning experiences of students, via a faculty lens, who were unsuccessful in their math course instructionally supported by MFL. Bandura's theory of reciprocal determinism, the technology acceptance model, and the ARCS model of motivational design were used in this qualitative case study to examine the perceptions of 4 faculty regarding student experiences with MFL; faculty were selected through purposeful sampling. The research question explored faculty perceptions of students who failed math while using MFL in addition to the overall learning experiences of students in using the learning system. The major themes that resulted from data analysis through semistructured interviews were student challenges with technology, learning barriers that students experienced, and faculty teaching influences. The emerging project was a faculty professional development seminar emphasizing teaching strategies that supported MFL instruction and faculty in-class teaching. The findings of the study can positively impact social change through affording students positive learning experiences that encourage them to persist in college and ultimately contribute to the economic growth of their communities.

Thesis (D.Min.)--Liberty Theological Seminary and Graduate School, 2007.

The purpose of this mixed-methods research study was to investigate the use of a closed social network, utilizing Ning, in an online educational environment. The research question driving this study was, does a student-centered online tool, such as Ning, foster knowledge construction through discussion boards more than a class-focused online tool, such as a traditional CMS? The participants were students enrolled in one of two online graduate education courses, one in a traditional Course Management System (CMS), and another class that utilized Ning for their discussions. Discussion Board postings from the Ning group were categorized based on the Interaction Analysis Model (IAM) developed by Gunawardena, C. N., Lowe, C., & Anderson, T. (1997), to assess knowledge construction. Survey instruments and interviews were conducted to provide additional insight into the use of a social network in an educational context.

This study employed a survey research design to identify factors that facilitate university faculty to integrate computer-based technologies into their teaching practice. The purpose of the study was to measure the practices and perceptions of higher education faculty toward instructional technology. The designed survey instrument established a series of five personal profile categories. The five categories were used as variables manipulated to enable a series of statistical analyses to examine factors that enable faculty to use technology in their teaching. The survey was electronically administered to faculty in 36 universities in the Appalachian Region; a target population of approximately 4000 potential survey respondents. A total of 427 faculty from 22 of these institutions responded to the survey, which was approximately 10% of the total population. The findings, showed statistically significant correlations between the teaching with technology subscale and personal technology use subscale. This may suggest that personal use and personal knowledge are indicators of whether or not university faculty will use technology in their teaching. Additionally, a statistically significant difference was found between the extent to which female faculty reported using technology compared to male faculty members. The generational factor (age), was not shown to have any significant relationship with the frequency of faculty members’ use of technology, but results indicated generational differences on the personal requirements profile. Lastly, one finding related to the personal requirements profile indicated that the most common requirement for using technology reported by the faculty was the knowledge that doing so would enhance students’ learning.