System Design and Architecture of an Online, Adaptive, and Personalized Learning Platform

The authors propose that personalized learning can be brought to traditional and nontraditional learners through a new type of asynchronous learning platform called Guided Learning Pathways (GLP). The GLP platform allows learners to intelligently traverse a vast field of learning resources, emphasizing content only of direct relevance to the learner and presenting it in a way that matches the learner’s pedagogical preference and contextual interests. GLP allows learners to advance towards individual learning goals at their own pace, with learning materials catered to each learner’s interests and motivations. Learning communities would support learners moving through similar topics. This report describes the software system design and architecture required to support Guided Learning Pathways. The authors provide detailed information on eight software applications within GLP, including specific learning benefits and features of each. These applications include content maps, learning nuggets, and nugget recommendation algorithms. A learner scenario helps readers visualize the functionality of the platform. To describe the platform’s software architecture, the authors provide conceptual data models, process flow models, and service group definitions. This report also provides a discussion on the potential social impact of GLP in two areas: higher education institutions and the broader economy

Chapter 9- Defining Recruitment, Selection, and Matching Strategies

Chapter 9, “Defining Recruitment, Selection, and Matching Strategies” guides the program coordinator in recruiting mentors and mentees, selecting who will be in the mentoring program, and matching participants. The section on recruitment begins by emphasizing how the needs assessment, university vision, and program goals and objectives should align to create a clear vision and purpose for the mentoring program. It also describes how communication practices in various university ecosystems, rewards and incentives, and activities enhance enrollment. The section on selection delineates mentors’ positive and negative characteristics, exploring in-depth critical mentor communication skills and the characteristics of successful mentees. Finally, the last section helps the program coordinator consider the multiple alternatives in the matching process

Game-inspired Pedagogical Conversational Agents: A Systematic Literature Review

Pedagogical conversational agents (PCAs) are an innovative way to help learners improve their academic performance via intelligent dialog systems. However, PCAs have not yet reached their full potential. They often fail because users perceive conversations with them as not engaging. Enriching them with game-based approaches could contribute to mitigating this issue. One could enrich a PCA with game-based approaches by gamifying it to foster positive effects, such as fun and motivation, or by integrating it into a game-based learning (GBL) environment to promote effects such as social presence and enable individual learning support. We summarize PCAs that are combined with game-based approaches under the novel term “game-inspired PCAs”. We conducted a systematic literature review on this topic, as previous literature reviews on PCAs either have not combined the topics of PCAs and GBL or have done so to a limited extent only. We analyzed the literature regarding the existing design knowledge base, the game elements used, the thematic areas and target groups, the PCA roles and types, the extent of artificial intelligence (AI) usage, and opportunities for adaptation. We reduced the initial 3,034 records to 50 fully coded papers, from which we derived a morphological box and revealed current research streams and future research recommendations. Overall, our results show that the topic offers promising application potential but that scholars and practitioners have not yet considered it holistically. For instance, we found that researchers have rarely provided prescriptive design knowledge, have not sufficiently combined game elements, and have seldom used AI algorithms as well as intelligent possibilities of user adaptation in PCA development. Furthermore, researchers have scarcely considered certain target groups, thematic areas, and PCA roles. Consequently, our paper contributes to research and practice by addressing research gaps and structuring the existing knowledge base

Bridge Building in Higher Education: Multi-Modal Mentoring Programs to Support Retention & Career Preparedness

Despite the limitations on time for career preparedness and shrinking professional development budgets, mentoring remains as important as ever due to the interconnectedness in a global society and the changing demographics of postsecondary education students. The traditional-age population in college that lives on campus and does not work has been declining for over three decades. The majorities of current students that are now non-traditional, and work at least part-time are first-generation, and are pursuing degrees via distance or online learning. The importance of providing a diverse mentoring strategy for this new population is borne out in research in order to improve retention, persistence, and completion rates, as well as future professional success. As such, this study sheds light on the need to develop a multi-modal mentoring program to support different student populations through a flexible combination of faculty-student, student-student, alumni-student, and supervisor-student mentoring programs applied in different contexts and modalities. While results indicate that overall faculty-initiated mentoring is preferred by both populations and the most impactful method for mentoring is face-to-face with a faculty member with non-academic experience in the field of their discipline, other approaches are more effective for populations, such as first-generation, minority, and online and graduate students

The potential for virtual communities to promote diversity in the sciences

This article investigates the role of online networks in providing support and mentoring resources for underrepresented groups. The case study of the virtual community of practice WomenScientists1 explores how online communities can be mobilized to help close the ‘leaky pipeline’ that too often leads women to leave the sciences after completing a post-secondary degree. The forum provides a virtual space for scientists around the world to discuss how gender impacts professional life in scientific fields, both within the academy and beyond. This project analyzes the content of WomenScientists1 to understand how users form mentoring relationships in the forum. Overcoming the underrepresentation of women in the sciences is a primary objective of international organizations including the European Union and UNESCO, both of which have made efforts to investigate how mentoring impacts long-term professional success. By examining textual data and the sentiment of posts, the article concludes that this virtual environment provides unique forms of support that specifically promote mentorship and the exchange of personalized advice for women in the life sciences

Making Connections: A Handbook for Effective Formal Mentoring Programs in Academia

This book, Making Connections: A Handbook for Effective Formal Mentoring Programs in Academia, makes a unique and needed contribution to the mentoring field as it focuses solely on mentoring in academia. This handbook is a collaborative institutional effort between Utah State University’s (USU) Empowering Teaching Open Access Book Series and the Mentoring Institute at the University of New Mexico (UNM). This book is available through (a) an e-book through Pressbooks, (b) a downloadable PDF version on USU’s Open Access Book Series website), and (c) a print version available for purchase on the USU Empower Teaching Open Access page, and on Amazon

Students\u27 Evaluations of Black Faculty at Historically White Institutions: A Causal- Comparative Study

With a call for greater accountability, institutions of higher education have focused upon student evaluations to measure teacher effectiveness to ensure that students are learning. Education researchers have revealed that Black faculty reported negative experiences within academe such as microaggressions, insults, and not being regarded as credible scholars by students and other faculty. Very little research examines the role that race plays in students’ evaluations of Black faculty from the viewpoints of students. This quantitative, nonexperimental, causal-comparative dissertation investigates 210 students’ evaluation scores of actual university faculty as measured by academic competence, sensitivity to students, instructional effectiveness, and their viewpoints on racism as measured by the Social Dominance Orientation 7 Evaluation Form (SDO7) at Historically White Institutions in Southern states. Using a two-way ANOVA with the Bonferroni correction of p = .0125, there is a statistical significance in sensitivity to students and instructional effectiveness scores between Black and White faculty members while academic competence and viewpoints of racism scores were not significant. Through the lens of critical race theory, student evaluations of Black faculty are explored

A Phenomenological Study of the Lived Experiences of African American Women in Undergraduate STEM Degree Programs

This applied dissertation was designed to provide a better understanding of the lived experiences of African American women in STEM undergraduate degree programs at a 4-year degree granting institution in the southernmost part of central Virginia. The central problem is that there is disparity between the number of African American women with STEM degrees and that of other races in the STEM job market. The existing literature has gaps in the research of African American women’s perception of undergraduate STEM programs. Further, the researcher posits there is a lack of consideration for diversity that is detrimental to the United States; the STEM labor force was identified as a critical field to sustain the country’s economic growth and national security. The research addressed the lived experiences of African American women in undergraduate STEM degree programs. The findings could provide an association with the low enrollment and retention of African American women in STEM. The study utilized the social cognitive career theory, the interpretative phenomenological analysis process, and the meaning-making of African American women’s lived experiences that enable them to persist and attain their STEM undergraduate degrees. This study applied a qualitative phenomenology method guided by the central research question: What are the critical experiences that influence the lived experiences of African American females in STEM undergraduate programs? The findings of the study reflected that there are five significant themes that contribute to the lived experiences of African American women in undergraduate STEM degree programs: (a) Living in my skin and bringing emotions in the STEM program; (b) Persistence despite family context: Understanding family make-up and its role in sustaining motivation to remain in STEM; (c) Expectations and misconceptions in the academic environment; d) Support mechanisms while in the STEM program; and (e) Identifying needs for professors and mentors who are of the same race and gender and to increase transparency of financial resources to support African American women in STEM. The participants in the study recognized that implementing transformational practices such as (a) increasing funding for the marketing and recruitment of African American female students in STEM; (b) increasing the number of African American women professors and mentors in STEM courses; and (c) providing mental health and wellness support mechanisms are necessary measures that could address the critical shortage of African American women in STEM

The criticality of mentorship on the trajectory of imminent Black female leaders: a phenomenological narrative inquiry

As members of two minority groups, Black women are often required to overcome dueling obstacles in the workplace. Black women are the most underrepresented in leadership positions compared to other groups. For most Black women, the American dream is merely a glass-ceiling-laden reality. For Black women to ascend to the upper echelon of leadership positions, executives and organizations in various industries must alter how administration and operations best practices are conceived, executed, and monitored as they pertain to recognition and promotions. Mentoring helps to optimize professional potential, build skills, and enhance performance by assisting mentees in managing their learning to become the people they want to be. This qualitative study combines phenomenological and narrative inquiries that explore thirteen Black women\u27s lived experiences as mentees faced with intersectionality and social behaviors in the workplace and how the mentoring relationship supports their efforts to attain leadership positions. Four theoretical models (Critical Race Theory [CRT], Leader-Member Exchange [LMX], Social Exchange Theory [SET], and Maslow\u27s Hierarchy of Needs) guided this exploration. The study examined how formal and informal mentorship supports Black women on their path to leadership and the impact of intersectionality (race, misogyny, and workplace systems) on mentorship for Black women. Semistructured interviews allowed the participants to narrate their live interactions within the mentoring relationship and the exchange of leadership skills in the workplace. Four conclusions were gleaned from those themes: (a) the perpetuation of color blindness continues to exclude and impede Black women in the workplace; (b) mentoring is ineffective when there is a dearth of purpose, clarity, and engagement; (c) Informal mentors within and outside organizations are most effective in supporting Black women\u27s advancement into leadership positions; and (d) When effective mentoring for Black women occurs, it develops their capacity to mentor others. The study recommends that leaders and mentors in all industries strongly encourage mentorship by establishing, developing, or strengthening their color consciousness, thereby positively influencing the people and systems within their organizations. A holistic top-down and bottom-up approach is necessary to comprehend and rectify the ingrained institutional and cultural realities