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.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the perception of school principals in school divisions with a student population of fewer than 2,500 as of June 2022, within the Commonwealth of Virginia regarding their school's use of online learning post-pandemic. School principals' perceptions regarding online learning can impact future implementation practices when global pandemics do not require the use of online learning. A qualitative study was conducted to analyze the perceptions and attitudes of principals. The research questions were: 1) How do principals in small school divisions perceive their school division's size as impacting decisions about online learning? 2) How have principals of small school divisions institutionalized online learning post-pandemic? 3) What perceptions do principals in small school divisions have about online learning post-pandemic? The research included building principals from elementary, middle, and high schools in small Virginia school divisions to better understand how the different age levels impact decisions regarding online learning. Interviews were conducted individually with eight interview questions. The findings suggest that online learning has not increased in the rate of use since the pandemic. Regarding principals' perceptions regarding online learning note concerns about the effects on their students. Particularly, 67% of elementary principals expressed concerns regarding the ability of younger students to gain foundation fine motor skills through online learning. Overall, principal participants agreed that there is a place for online learning to provide additional educational opportunities and access for their students when used in specific situations and circumstances. / Doctor of Education / The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of school principals regarding the use of online learning post-pandemic in Virginia school divisions with a student population of fewer than 2,500 as of June 2022. School principals' perceptions regarding online learning can impact the future implementation practices of online learning when global pandemics do not require the use of online learning. A qualitative study, which collects data about people's perceptions, was conducted to analyze the attitudes of principals regarding the use of online learning in public schools. The research questions were: 1) How do principals in small school divisions perceive their school division's size as impacting decisions about online learning? 2) How have principals of small school divisions institutionalized online learning post-pandemic? 3) What perceptions do principals in small school divisions have about online learning post-pandemic? The research included Building principals from elementary, middle, and high schools in school divisions to better understand the different age levels that impact online learning decisions, particularly in school divisions that may have used online learning. Interviews were conducted individually with eight interview questions. The findings suggest that online learning has not increased in the rate of use since the pandemic and the widespread use of online learning. Principals' perceptions regarding online learning note significant concerns about the effects on their students, particularly elementary principals. Although there was a consensus of concern regarding online learning, the participants agreed overall that there is a place for online learning, and it does provide additional educational opportunities for their students when used in specific situations and circumstances.

Yes

Increasingly the perceived benefits of using networked computers, software applications and computer simulations in learning activities are being exploited at all educational levels and within all curricula areas. As web-based and online software applications such as browsers, search engines, communication tools and data-bases mature, so does educator's use of this medium for teaching and learning. How we can investigate the impact of these technologies upon the educational experiences of learners was the fundamental concept addressed by this thesis. The study reports on the design, development and validation of a web-based survey instrument for use in online learning environments in tertiary education. The thesis investigated both previous psychosocial learning environment instrument development studies and the nature of environments created by the use of information and communication technologies. The research followed a two-phased instrument development process. Phase one focused on content validity, identifying salient scales and items and piloting the instrument with a limited audience. Phase two focused on construct validity, conducting an extensive field test with a web-based form and performing statistical analysis on the online data collected. Principal components analysis, with oblique and orthogonal rotations, confirmed the structure of a 35-item 7-scale instrument. The thesis concludes by confirming the new instrument, the Online Learning Environment Survey (OLLES), will allow conclusions to be drawn about student perceptions on the interactions occurring in their online environments in an economical and efficient manner.

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.

In this thesis an architecture, similar to subsumption architectures, is presented which uses low level behaviour modules, based on combinations of machine learning techniques, to create teams of autonomous agents cooperating via shared plans for interaction. The purpose of this is to perform effective single plan execution within multiple scenarios, using a modern team based first person shooter video game as the domain and visualiser. The main focus is showing that through basic machine learning mechanisms, applied in a multi-agent setting on sparse data, plans can be executed on game levels of varying size and shape without sacrificing team goals. It is also shown how different team members can perform locally sub-optimal operations which contribute to a globally better strategy by adding exploration data to the machine learning mechanisms. This contributes to the reinforcement learning problem of exploration versus exploitation, from a multi-agent perspective.

This case study examined the spread of ideas in a Gr. 5/6 classroom in which the teacher was attempting to foster a knowledge building community. The goal of the research was to explore the relationship between the social network of the classroom (in terms of face-to-face and computer-mediated interactions), the teacher’s role, and the spread of ideas. Further, the thesis examined how social network tools may help teachers better understand the pedagogical implications of Scardamalia and Bereiter’s (1991) Teacher A, B, C models. Analyses of videotaped lessons revealed the teacher used a complex mix of traditional instructional methods and knowledge building strategies while trying to shift the locus of control of learning to students. Critical teacher-driven processes included the class-wide adoption of knowledge building vocabulary and practices, and efforts to foster higher levels of student-student discourse. Analyses of online interactions provided strong evidence of highly interconnected student-student online networks, with the note reading network being especially dense. Longitudinal studies revealed these network established themselves early in the unit, and persisted during the course of the inquiry. There was evidence that idea improvement was present in addition to idea spread. In face-to-face classroom communication, the teacher’s role was more central, particularly in "Knowledge Building Talk" sessions. However, here too, the teacher made efforts to shift the locus of control. Overall the analyses suggest that social network tools are potentially useful for helping teachers make the difficult transition from "Teacher A" and "Teacher B" strategies, in which the locus of control is with the teacher, to "Teacher C" strategies, in which strategic cognitive processes are turned over to students. This dissertation proposes that movement toward Teacher C practices may be illustrated, in part, by a shift in classroom network topologies from that of a star-shaped network, centered on the teacher, to a highly interconnected student-student network. Finally, the thesis recounts a number of ways in which the use of social network tools uncovered discourse patterns of which the teacher was unaware, including gender differences in reading, building-on, and contribution patterns.

To date, the self-revealing interface has been the elusive holy grail of the user interface community. This research advocates the use of early language learning as a model for early user interface learning. This model can be used to reason about how users learn through exploration, and gain ideas as to how to design the implicit, online help needed to make a user interface self-revealing. The idea for this model came from a strong analogy between user interfaces and language. This analogy is based on fundamental similarities, and strengthened both by observations in a case study, and the general user interface literature. A case study of early exploratory user interface learning was done in the hopes of finding similarities between the learning of languages and interfaces. Although the study did reveal many similarities, which support the model, what was most interesting was their differences. Most notably, motherese, an important form of supportive feedback that is universally present in language learning, was missing in the user interface learning. Motherese is a distinct speech variant that is used by experienced language users in conversing with children. It helps to guide children towards an understanding of correct behaviours through acknowledgment, repetition, and correction of their utterances. An experiment was devised to evaluate an analogous type of instruction in the bootstrap learning of a novel user interface technique. The experiment validated the instruction's ability to shorten the initial learning period and ingrain new techniques better than un-aided exploratory learning. Motherese-style instruction meets the requirements for instruction that is self-revealing, and is firmly grounded by the strong analogy between language and user interfaces. The application of it to user interface learning is online and integrated within the actual context of the application. It is also demonstrative and non-verbal, giving users implicit instruction, and therefore does not suffer from the terminology or contextual switching issues that written instruction does. <br /><br /> Although a number of questions remain to be answered about the general applicability of motherese-inspired user interface instruction, the model presented has yielded the first empirically-based idea for designing self-revealing instruction. It is anticipated that future research using this model will help researchers to reason about both self-revealing instruction and new user behaviour.