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<div>With the advent of Machine Learning and Deep Learning models, many avenues of development have opened. Today, these technologies are being leveraged to perform a wide variety of tasks that were otherwise not possible with traditional systems. The power of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence makes it possible to compute very complicated tasks at near real-time speeds. To provide an example, Machine Learning models are used extensively in the retail industry to predict and analyze critical parameters such as sales, promotions, customer behavior, recommendations, and offers.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Today, it is increasingly common to observe AI being used across many of the biggest domains such as Health, Environment, Military, and Business. Artificial Intelligence being used in educational settings has thus been a growing field of focus and study. For example, conversational AI being deployed to act as virtual tutors to answer student questions and concerns. Additionally, there is a fill-the-hole type of AIs that will help students learn tasks such as coding by either showing them how to do it or by predicting where the student might go wrong and suggesting preemptive corrective steps. </div><div><br></div><div>As described, a great deal of literature exists about the use of Deep Learning and Machine Learning models in education. However, the existing tools and models act as external appendages that add to the course structure, thereby altering it. This proposed study introduces a Bayesian Knowledge Transfer model based on the Long Short Term Memory structure (BKT-LSTM) utilized in a live STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) classroom. The model discovers individual student learning profiles based on past quiz performance and customizes future quizzes based on the learned patterns. The BKT-LSTM model works in tandem with the existing course curriculum and only tests those knowledge items that have already been covered in the classroom. The model does not change the course structure but rather aims to improve the student’s learning experience by focusing on areas of the student's knowledge that require more practice in learning. </div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Within a live STEM classroom, the BKT-LSTM model acts as a herald of change in the way students interact with the curriculum, even though no major changes are observed in the course structure. Students interacting with the model are subjected to quizzes with questions that target the individual student’s lack of learning in particular knowledge areas. Thus, students can be expected to perceive the change as unwelcoming due to the increasing difficulty in subsequent quizzes. Regardless, the study focuses on measuring the learning performance of the students. Do the students learn more in the new system? Another focus of the study is the student’s perception of engagement while interacting with the BKT-LSTM model. The effectiveness of the new educational process is determined not only by increased student learning performance, but also by the student’s perception of engagement while interacting with the model. Are the students enjoying the new experience? Do the students feel like they are learning something? Another important factor was also studied, that is learning performance of students interacting with the BKT-LSTM. </div><div><br></div>

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a 1:1 iPad initiative on student engagement in the classroom, as perceived by students. The design of this case study consisted of a purposeful sample of six, 5th grade students from a suburban elementary school in North Central Texas who participated in surveys, individual interviews, and focus group discussions. Two research questions guided this study: (1) How do elementary school students perceive they are authentically engaged when using iPads in the classroom? (2) What types of instructional strategies do elementary school students perceive to be most relevant and meaningful? Data collected to answer the research questions was analyzed using thematic analysis, which entailed identifying recurring themes within the data, comparing, coding, combining, and then reporting them. The findings from the research suggested that 1:1 initiatives can foster engaging learning experiences that are meaningful to students and that the iPad provided students a more personalized learning experience which had a positive effect on their engagement. Additional findings disclosed that the type of assignments and schoolwork that students were able to do with the iPad also positively impacted their engagement and interest in the content and their learning. The conclusions reached in this study also supported findings from other studies on 1:1 programs and student engagement.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore faculty members’ accounts of their experiences as first-time online instructors during the Spring 2020 academic semester as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting mandatory shift to online instruction. The rapid and widespread nature of the outbreak created an unprecedented phenomenon that significantly impacted instructors with no prior experience teaching courses in a fully online fashion. I interviewed 10 professors from various disciplines with at least three years of teaching experience in the traditional classroom. Each instructor was asked to express how the pandemic affected them personally as well as how the mandatory shift to online instruction affected their teaching style. They were also asked to describe the role that institutional support played in their experiences during the pandemic and to share their feelings regarding how COVID-19 has altered the future of higher education. The analysis of this data identified the following common themes: the instructor, the discipline, the students, survival and adaptation, innovation and evolution, on-camera presence and etiquette, synchronous versus asynchronous, administrative leadership, technical support, the new normal and the lasting effects, the balance between in-person and remote instruction, and the notion that higher education is moving forward to a new reality rather than backward to a pre-COVID-19 atmosphere. These results can benefit institutional leadership and faculty in the development of hybrid and online courses.

Thesis advisor: Belle Liang / Ethnic racial identity (ERI) is a developmental model that recognizes that individuals with an ethnicity (e.g., Jamaican, Puerto Rican) and race (e.g., Black, White) will have attitudes, beliefs, and actions influenced by their ethnic and racial group membership which represents an important aspect of their identity (Umana-Taylor et al., 2014). Research on people of Color (POC) who positively identify with their own ethnic and/or racial group and academic outcomes has been mixed, with studies documenting no associations (Guzman, 2002; Ivory, 2003), negative associations (Sellers, Chavous, & Cooke, 1998), and positive associations (Rivas-Drake, Seaton et al., 2014). Moreover, there remains little research on examining the underlying mechanisms explaining the link between ethnic and/or racial identity and student engagement. Research in related fields suggests several potential mechanisms that may help explain the relationship between ERI and student engagement. For example, Sumner and colleagues (2018) posited that marginalization experiences likely shape youth purpose; POC, given their marginalization experiences, may be more purposeful than non-POC. Additionally, research suggests that positive feelings towards one’s ethnic or racial group are associated with positive mental health outcomes (Rivas-Drake, Syed et al., 2014) which in turn are associated with student engagement. The current study investigates the underlying mechanisms for the relationship between ERI and student engagement. Specifically, the study examined associations between either an assimilation (i.e., attitudes in which individuals define identities in nationalistic rather than ethnonationalist terms) or multiculturalist inclusive (i.e., positive attitude towards one’s ethnic-racial group as well as other ethnic-racial groups) ERI status and student engagement. Path analysis was employed to test the mediating role of purpose and mental health on the relationship between ERI and student engagement. The study also examined whether the relationship between ERI and mental health was different across ethnic-racial groups. The results indicate that ERI status was not directly related to mental health. Nor was ERI status indirectly related to student engagement through mental health. However, ERI status was directly related to purpose and indirectly related to self-regulation through purpose. Further, the association between ERI status and mental health differed across ethnic-racial groups. That is, ERI status, both assimilation and multiculturalist inclusive, was more highly associated with psychological wellbeing for POCs than for non-POCs. For White students, there was a positive association between a multiculturalist inclusive ERI status and depression. Youth purpose may explain additional relationships between ERI status and other outcomes. Implications of these findings for research, assessment, and intervention are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

The COVID pandemic changed life as we know it and transformed how we taught classes and acquired knowledge. And The ETSU Sherrod Library, with the help of Jonathan Wilson, Distance/ Online Service Coordinator addressed these challenges by developing The Personal Librarian (PL) program for students.

Higher student enrollment rates and evolving student expectations are current challenges for many universities.Today’s students expect teaching pedagogy that integrates technology and offers flexibility. Blended course designs provide both of these things because they include both face-to-face and online learning opportunities.Utilizing web-based learning platforms, now offered by many college textbook publishers, can also enhance a student’s online learning experience and performance. This research focuses on a blended-design general education nutrition course offered at Utah State University(USU). Prior to Fall 2015, “Mastering” (Pearson Publishing)was the web-based learning platform being used in this course.A separate study, completed in 2015, assessed the efficacy of Mastery over two consecutive semester periods and concluded that it was ineffective in increasing students’ final letter grade or improving knowledge retention. As a result, Mastering was replaced by anew web-based learning platform,called “Connect” (McGraw Hill Publishing). One of the purposes of this study was to evaluate Connect.Students who used Connect earned higher final grades and showed increased knowledge retention rates at the end of the semester compared to students who had used the old platform (Mastering). When below-average and above-average pre-test score groups were compared, there was no statistical difference between Mastering andConnect on students' knowledge retention rates on a post-test administered 4 months after course completion. We also found that, like Mastering, the knowledge retention rate for students who used Connect increased the most among the students who scored the lowest on an initial assessment of nutrition-related knowledge. One complaint of blended courses that students often report is a feeling of disconnection or decreased engagement.A second part of this research measured self-reported rates of student satisfaction and engagement to determine the effect, if any, of additional technological tools (Google+, for example) and greater interaction and support from a graduate-level teaching assistant(TA). Compared to the class without the additional tools and TA support, final grade, course satisfaction level,and student attendance rate improved in the classes that did incorporate these things. A student engagement survey was given at the beginning and end of the semester to measure the change in the engagement level during the semester.Interestingly, freshman students earned higher final grades than upper classmen and student engagement rates decreased as the semester progressed. Overall, the Connect platform and the additional tools and TA support had desirable effects, including greater student-reported levels of course satisfaction and improved academic performance. Also, it appears that these additional components helped at-risk students the most–especially freshmen students and students who scored low on the pre-test that measured existing nutrition knowledge at the beginning of the course.

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