International Field Studies: Tools For Enhancing Cultural Literacy

As part of Loyola College’s Executive MBA Program, students participate in an international field study (IFS).  This IFS provides participants with an experientially based learning opportunity to understand that there are leadership universals that every executive and manager needs to practice in order to be world-class at home and abroad; and to appreciate that valuing and leveraging cultural differences is key to success  in a global environment. This paper presents our approach to enhancing the cultural competency and literacy of students enrolled in the program

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

A brief social-belonging intervention in the workplace: evidence from a field experiment

Brief interventions that strengthen an individual’s sense of social belonging have been shown to improve outcomes for members of underrepresented, marginalized groups in educational settings. This paper reports insights based on an attempt to apply this type of intervention in the technology sector. Adapting a social-belonging intervention from educational psychology, we implemented a quasi-random field experiment, spanning twelve months, with 506 newly hired engineers (24% female) in the R&D function of a west coast technology firm. We did not find a statistically significant effect of the treatment on a core attainment outcome—bonus relative to base salary—that exhibited a significant gender gap, with women receiving proportionally lower bonuses than men. We did not find anticipated gender gaps in promotion rates or social network centrality, and we also did not find a statistically significant effect of the treatment for women on these outcomes. Drawing on meaningful differences between educational versus workplace settings, we identify four theoretical moderators that might influence the efficacy of social-belonging interventions adapted from educational settings into the workplace. Finally, based on the limitations of our study design, we provide four recommendations that future researchers might adopt.Accepted manuscrip

Architecture of Engagement: Autonomy-Supportive Leadership for Instructional Improvement

This multiple paper dissertation addresses the importance of improving student success in online higher education programs by providing support for instructors. The autonomy-supportive structures to improve instructional practice are explained through three main domains, including instructional development, instructional design, and instructional practice. The first paper addresses instructional leadership with the theoretical foundations and practical considerations necessary for instructional leaders. Recommendations are made to use microcredentials or digital badges to scaffold programming using self-determination theory. The second paper addresses the importance of instructional design in improving instructional practice including the intentionality involved in implementing a gamification strategy to improve online student motivation. The third paper addresses instructional practice with a mixed-method sequential explanatory case study. Using the community of inquiry framework, this paper explains intentional course design, course facilitation, and student perceptions of the digital powerups strategy. The conclusion considers implications for practice and the need for instructional leaders to scaffold an architecture of engagement to support instructors and improve student success

Integrating Best Instructional Practices into Contemporary Health Education

The purpose of this action research project was to analyze my instructional strategies pertaining to culturally responsive teaching, evidence based practices, and health specific pedagogy. Qualitative data including formal written lesson plans, edTPA commentary, and observation notes from my field supervisor, school-based instructional coach, as well as my cooperating teacher were used to examine my growth as a teacher when it comes to supporting English language learners, structuring my lessons to facilitate student-centered learning, and integrating a skills-based approach in my health lessons. At the center of my research was relational capacity; I not only hoped to improve my teaching through differentiation and scaffolding but also identify if relational capacity is at the center of effective teaching. Through a review of literature I concluded that there is a commonality between culturally responsive teaching, student-centered learning, and skills-based health education: relationships. Analysis of the data listed above showed that while there are areas in which I improved as an educator over the last year and a half, specifically building relationships with my students and making them feel welcome, there is still plenty of room for growth. Although this action research project did not conclusively answer all three of my research questions, it does suggest that through a process of intentional data collection, reflection, and analysis teachers can identify both areas of strength and growth, thus improving the teacher profession and the educational experience of our students

Deception Detection in Group Video Conversations using Dynamic Interaction Networks

Detecting groups of people who are jointly deceptive in video conversations is crucial in settings such as meetings, sales pitches, and negotiations. Past work on deception in videos focuses on detecting a single deceiver and uses facial or visual features only. In this paper, we propose the concept of Face-to-Face Dynamic Interaction Networks (FFDINs) to model the interpersonal interactions within a group of people. The use of FFDINs enables us to leverage network relations in detecting group deception in video conversations for the first time. We use a dataset of 185 videos from a deception-based game called Resistance. We first characterize the behavior of individual, pairs, and groups of deceptive participants and compare them to non-deceptive participants. Our analysis reveals that pairs of deceivers tend to avoid mutual interaction and focus their attention on non-deceivers. In contrast, non-deceivers interact with everyone equally. We propose Negative Dynamic Interaction Networks to capture the notion of missing interactions. We create the DeceptionRank algorithm to detect deceivers from NDINs extracted from videos that are just one minute long. We show that our method outperforms recent state-of-the-art computer vision, graph embedding, and ensemble methods by at least 20.9% AUROC in identifying deception from videos.Comment: The paper is published at ICWSM 2021. Dataset link: https://snap.stanford.edu/data/comm-f2f-Resistance.htm

Enhancing surgical training by audio-visual simulation with hazard cognitive training and reflection tools: a design-based study in laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Abstract Background Surgical training has become more challenging in the UK with the reduction in training time and the reduced training opportunities, making every training opportunity precious. This study aims to address this curriculum challenge by enhancing surgical training and assessment in the surgical training environment. Methodology Using a design-based approach a two-step design was created. Step One involved creating an online, standalone, Cognitive Hazard Training module. It uses videos of real operations to mentally train candidates to recognise, anticipate and avoid hazards during the operation. An online example of this Module was created for laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The second design step was a Reflective Formative Assessment. The trainee and supervisor reviewed the trainee’s video-recording of a supervised-operation which involved reassessing the trainee’s performance to enhance feedback and reflection. Design feasibility was tested in the Northern Deanery training environment and the feasibility study was complemented by a theatre observation study to capture the details of the complex surgical training environment. Results The feasibility of this two-step design was tested with 2 experts, 32 trainees and 15 trainers. Trainee and trainer qualitative feedback was collected, via semi-structured interviews. Users’ feedback along with multiple additional data from the operation-recordings and video-review session were analysed and triangulated to improve the design and establish the feasibility and role of this style of video-review in the current surgical training. Observational data was also collected during live surgery in theatre to identify any factors affecting safety and training. Discussion This study has developed a novel approach to enhance surgical training, which has been tested and has received overwhelming support from both supervisors and their trainees. Cognitive Hazards Training steepened the learning curve and increased adherence to safety. The videoed operations were found to be an excellent teaching tool, which enhanced feedback and reflection. It increased trainees’ confidence and competence by tailoring the training to their individual needs. The success of this work forms the foundation for future development and testing of this new approach to surgical skills training in the UK