Expansive Framing as Pragmatic Theory for Online and Hybrid Instructional Design

This article explores the complex question of how instruction should be framed (i.e., contextualized). Reports from the US National Research Council reveal a broad consensus among experts that most instruction should be framed with problems, examples, cases, and illustrations. Such framing is assumed to help learners connect new knowledge to broader “real world” knowledge, motivate continued engagement, and ensure that learners can transfer their new knowledge to subsequent contexts. However, different theories of learning lead to different assumptions about when such frames should be introduced and how such frames should be created. This article shows how contemporary situative theories of learning argue that frames should be (a) introduced before instructional content, (b) generated by learners themselves, (c) used to make connections with people, places, topics, and times beyond the boundaries of the course, and (d) used to position learners as authors who hold themselves and their peers accountable for their participation in disciplinary discourse. This expansive approach to framing promises to support engagement with disciplinary content that is productive (i.e., increasingly sophisticated, raising new questions, recognizing confusion, making new connections, etc.) and generative (i.e., supporting transferable learning that is likely to be useful and used in a wide range of subsequent educational, professional, achievement, and personal contexts). A framework called Participatory Learning and Assessment (PLA) is presented that embeds expansively framed engagement within multiple levels of increasing formal assessments. This paper first summarizes PLA as theory-laden design principles. It then presents PLA as fourteen more prescriptive steps that some may find easier to implement and to learn as they go. Examples are presented from several courses from an extended program of design-based research using this approach in online and hybrid secondary, undergraduate, graduate, and technical courses.Indiana University Office of the Vice Provost of Information Technolog

Assessing K12 Online Teachers Knowledge of Online Student Identities and Characteristics

As K12 online learning continues to grow across the nation, the population of online students, much like the population of face-to face students, continues to change. As the online student population becomes increasingly diverse, not only in terms of race, but in terms of religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status, research must be undertaken to assess the level of preparation that K12 online teachers have in terms of teaching this population. This dissertation intends to serve as a baseline analysis, providing information on K12 online teachers\u27 knowledge of the types of student characteristics and identities that may be present in their online students, as well as their abilities to meet the needs of these increasingly diverse students. Using the MAKSS-T survey measure and framed within the lens of Bourdieu\u27s field theory, this study found that while K12 online teachers feel as if they have a good understanding of a number of possible characteristics and identities in their online students, that terms related to sexual orientation were not as well understood. Additionally, teachers felt good in terms of their skills in addressing the unique needs of these students. However, teachers felt weakest in their ability to critique multicultural research. Teachers also noted that they do not feel adequately prepared to handle this changing population and desire additional training in this area

A Transcendental Phenomenological Study of Connective Experiences Between Elementary Teachers and Parents in a Virtual Setting

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand how connective experiences are built between elementary teachers and parents in a virtual setting at the ABC school district in the southeastern region of the United States. The theory guiding this study was Siemens’ connectiveness theory, as it explored the students\u27 knowledge impacted by the connective experiences of the network of elementary teachers and parents in accessing their learning and success in the virtual school setting. Three essential research questions focused on the connective experiences between elementary teachers and parents in the virtual setting in the southeastern part of the United States. Data collection for this study consisted of interviews utilizing researcher-designed questions conducted with a purposeful sampling of elementary teachers and parents who have received education through the virtual setting, focus groups, and journal questions from the same teachers. Data collection methods included interviews, focus groups, and journal prompts. Data analysis included the organization, analysis, and synthesis of data through phenomenological reduction, horizontalization, and identification of themes in clusters of significance. The results demonstrated how connective experiences supported connections between selected elementary teachers and parents, including themes relating to their experiences. Significant themes that emerged in the study included: teachers were connected with households due to the teachers teaching in the homes every day while building relationships with parents; accountability contributed to parents and teachers becoming a team to support students; and the virtual setting created an environment for students to become independent learners

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy Conference Program 2017

Official Conference Program. Conference was cancelled due to the impact of Hurricane Irma on the area

Curriculum-Based Professional Learning: The State of the Field

In recent years, open-source, high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) have presented exciting opportunities to enhance students' engagement and agency in their learning, expand access to grade-level content, and narrow the boundaries between home and school. However, research suggests that curricula, on their own, can only do so much to advance student learning; curriculum-based professional learning is an essential ingredient. Yet, to build the field of curriculum-based professional learning, a field of diverse, interdisciplinary actors from across the education sector must work together to collectively co-produce improved professional learning that strengthens educational experiences and outcomes for students. With support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Columbia University's Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL) researched the state of the field of curriculum-based professional learning, identifying its areas of strength and opportunities to grow, scale, and strengthen the effort. Building on an analysis of information provided by 146 people over the course of 122 interviews, as well as an extensive review of secondary sources, the research reveals that the field of curriculum-based professional learning is emerging. While its impact is not yet consistently felt across the education ecosystem, its infrastructure and field-level agenda are fairly well-developed. Its actors, knowledge base, and resources are still in more nascent stages and require focused attention for the field to reach its potential for impact

Curriculum-Based Professional Learning: The State of the Field

Providing curriculum-based professional learning at scale is challenging, complex, and contextualized. It requires time, people, money, and expertise at the systems-level and at the ground-level. No single school system, organization, or actor can accomplish it alone. Instead, scaling the curriculum-based professional learning on which HQIM relies requires a field of diverse, interdisciplinary actors from across the education sector who collectively co-produce improved professional learning through research, strategy, policy, and direct service. Put another way, to strengthen educational experiences and outcomes for students, proponents of HQIM and curriculum-based professional learning must build a strong, resilient field of individuals and organiza­tions working together to transform teaching and learning. Building on an analysis of information provided by 146 people over the course of 122 interviews, as well as an extensive review of secondary sources, this research reveals that the field of curriculum-based professional learning is emerging. While its impact is not yet consistently felt across the education ecosystem, its infrastructure and field-level agenda are fairly well-developed. Its actors, knowledge base, and resources are still in more nascent stages and require focused attention for the field to reach its potential for impact

Improving Educational Technology Integration in the Classroom

Teachers\u27 ability to integrate technology is a topic of growing concern given the importance of technology and 21st century skills readiness in both academics and the global society of 2014. This study investigated the technology integration barriers that educators faced, the training the educators received, and support needs of educators at a large, prominent, 30-year old international school located in Central America offering grades Pre-K 3 to 12. The social learning theory of Bandura, the constructivist theories of Piaget and Dewey, and the technology constructionism of Papert provided the theoretical framework. The research questions focused on understanding technology integration by assessing key aspects of the teachers\u27 technology proficiency and needs. A nonexperimental quantitative cross-sectional study design was used to examine the educational technology integration practices and deficiencies at the focus school. A Likert-style instrument, comprised of parts from 3 existing instruments, was completed electronically by 62 purposefully sampled certified teachers at the focus school. Descriptive statistics identified technology integration levels, training factors, and support needs of focus school educators. Correlational analyses failed to reveal any significant relationships between technology integration levels of the focus school teachers and the variables of interest: self-perceived barriers to technology integration, self-perceived confidence using technology, and participation in onsite professional development. In light of the survey findings, a 3-phase technology integration improvement plan was designed. The study yields social change for the focus school by improving their technology integration practices based on empirical evidence

Building a framework for transformation in higher education: Leadership lessons in emancipatory education

In this chapter, the authors share their experiences leading transformation in the Connie L. Lurie College of Education at San José State University in California. They ground their work in an emancipatory education framework that recognizes the histories of inequity, racism, and white supremacy in higher education and centers the voices and experiences of those who have historically been marginalized. Arguing that emancipatory work must move from words to actions, the authors reflect on moments of decision and leadership choices that have moved the culture and norms in the college and refocused the work to consistently prioritize equity in the college \u27s policies and practices