Instructor formative assessment practices in virtual learning environments : a posthumanist sociomaterial perspective

The importance of undergraduate science learning for the workforce and scientific literacy is consistently emphasized by prominent organizations and influential publications such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (1993, 2013), the National Research Council (NRC) (2010, 2011, 2012a, 2012b, 2013) and the Coalition for Reform of Undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Education (CRUSE) (2014). Moreover, important undergraduate and K-12 reform policy documents including the National Research Council (NRC) (2012) and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (Achieve Inc., 2013) set lofty goals aimed at improving science education. At the same time, science curricula content and assessment are shifting to virtual formats (Smetana & Bell, 2012), and enabling learning and assessment to be depicted in more dynamic and interactive ways. Furthermore, assessment scholarship offers opportunities to make instructional decisions with the aim to aid student learning (e.g. Bell, 2007; Black & Wiliam, 1998, NRC, 2012; Shepard, 2000). Nonetheless, harnessing the full potential of virtual formats to reach these goals for science learning and assessment has proven challenging. Therefore, in this research study, I explored how the technology in one online undergraduate biological science course can impact how an instructor can aid student learning. ... The findings have implications for instruction and research and suggest that learning communities may want to consider that student centered learning theories and student-centered course design for online education could be incomplete. The primary implication includes ways to support formative assessment practices for science instructors in virtual environments by looping instructor formative assessment opportunities throughout a course. Finally, these findings can help others develop assessments that fully support student learning by including the instructor's assessment needs and abilities. The conclusions I present cannot be considered a solution to all courses. However, I encourage other researchers to consider alternative explanation(s) by thinking with theory.Includes bibliographical reference

A Systematic Review of Studies on Educational Robotics

There has been a steady increase in the number of studies investigating educational robotics and its impact on academic and social skills of young learners. Educational robots are used both in and out of school environments to enhance K–12 students’ interest, engagement, and academic achievement in various fields of STEM education. Some prior studies show evidence for the general benefits of educational robotics as being effective in providing impactful learning experiences. However, there appears to be a need to determine the specific benefits which have been achieved through robotics implementation in K–12 formal and informal learning settings. In this study, we present a systematic review of the literature on K–12 educational robotics. Based on our review process with specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, and a repeatable method of systematic review, we found 147 studies published from the years 2000 to 2018. We classified these studies under five themes: (1) general effectiveness of educational robotics; (2) students’ learning and transfer skills; (3) creativity and motivation; (4) diversity and broadening participation; and (5) teachers’ professional development. The study outlines the research questions, presents the synthesis of literature, and discusses findings across themes. It also provides guidelines for educators, practitioners, and researchers in areas of educational robotics and STEM education, and presents dimensions of future research

Adaptive and Re-adaptive Pedagogies in Higher Education: A Comparative, Longitudinal Study of Their Impact on Professional Competence Development across Diverse Curricula

This study addresses concerns that traditional, lecture-based teaching methods may not sufficiently develop the integrated competencies demanded by modern professional practice. A disconnect exists between conventional pedagogy and desired learning outcomes, prompting increased interest in innovative, student-centered instructional models tailored to competence growth. Despite this, nuanced differences in competence development across diverse university curricula remain underexplored, with research predominantly relying on students’ self-assessments. To address these gaps, this study employs longitudinal mixed-methods approaches with regard to theory triangulation and investigator triangulation to better understand how professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions evolve across varied curricula and contexts. This research emphasizes adaptive and re-adaptive teaching approaches incorporating technology, individualization, and experiential learning, which may uniquely integrate skill development with contextual conceptual learning. Specific attention is paid to professional education paths like design, media, and communications degrees, where contemporary competence models stress capabilities beyond core conceptual knowledge. Results from this study aim to guide reform efforts to optimize professional competence development across diverse academic areas

A Framework For The Integration Of Technology Into Curricula Development And Student Assessment

The purpose of this work is to amalgamate technology and education in a manner which will prove to be beneficial to all stakeholders involved and which will allow for an improvement in the ubiquitous process of curriculum development in the teaching and learning sphere. The primary motivation surrounds the issue of limited human resources in terms of teachers and expert knowledge as well as available physical resources such as computer equipment or other classroom artifacts. It should be duly noted that it is in many developing countries where the student-teacher ratio is very high and where such a framework will be most useful. However, this work has the potential to benefit not only developing countries, but also developed countries where the available technology is more advanced and where its integration in student learning is more pronounced. The major focus will be on the creation of a framework which will allow for systematic, structured and seamless curriculum development and learning outcome assessment. Therefore, a major component will be the modeling of a curriculum in a structured and qualitative way to include goals and objectives which will then lend it to adaptation and use downstream within the framework. Another key component is Assessment which will encapsulate various ways in which this paradigm can leverage the assessment aspects of a curriculum. The benefits from this work may prove to be quite immense as the proposed framework may help to standardize the design, delivery and assessment of any curriculum regardless of location and resource

A Case Study on the Efficacy of STEM Pedagogy in Central New York State: Examining STEM Engagement Gaps Affecting Outcomes for High School Seniors and Post-2007 Educational Leadership Interventions to Reinforce STEM Persistence with Implications of STEM Theoretic Frameworks on Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning

STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) has gained significant notoriety and momentum in recent years. STEM literacy highlights the vital connection between an educated STEM workforce and U.S. national prosperity and leadership. STEM educational and job placement goals have been a national priority for over the past 20 years. However, the STEM gap is widening—contributing to increasing STEM pipeline leakage and the social injustice milieu of a noncompetitive workforce— undermining efforts to create prosperity and sustain global leadership. The pace of STEM jobs filled lags the rate of technological advancement and the surges in skilled STEM labor demand. The aggregate disparity over time has troubling implications. The purpose of the study was to examine the STEM gap touchpoints for a Central New York high school during the transition period upon entering college or the workforce. A qualitative case study used Lesh’s translation model as a research framework. A semi-structured, focus group protocol was employed to gain a fresh perspective on the STEM gap problem and identify purposeful interventions. A major finding was the slow pace of adopting institutional reforms that replaces standardscompetency-based learning with progressive application- and outcome-based pedagogy. The study has implications for school districts, secondary schools, and higher education teacher preparedness programs in STEM pedagogy and curriculum development. A knowledge-based, progressive STEM theoretic framework with pedagogical scaffolding is conceptualized rooted in artificial intelligence and machine learning. The study presents recommendations for school districts, secondary education teachers, state education and legislative leaders, higher education institutions, and future research

Determining Content Validity for the Transition Awareness and Possibilities Scale (TAPS)

The Transition Awareness & Possibilities Scale (TAPS) was crafted after an extensive review of literature was conducted to find research that examined and described specific aspects of transition programming: inputs, including supports and skill instruction; processes, including parent and support provider perceptions of the transition experience; and outcomes, including quality of life and traditional, quantitatively-measured outcomes. Once developed, the TAPS will allow a teacher or transition coordinator to know what information a family is lacking about transition planning and adult service options for students with disabilities who need extensive or pervasive supports. In this research, content validity was used as a collective term to describe (a) wording clarity (b) content domain representativeness, and (c) content domain sampling adequacy. To establish content validity for the TAPS, ten experts who had backgrounds in the overall content area of special education and transition, specific niche areas (i.e., subtopics of inputs, processes, or outputs), as well as survey design were consulted. The reviewers were asked to rate the items on the TAPS using a researcher-created instrument. This allowed for the collection of both quantitative data and additional commentary. For each section, reviewers were asked to give standardized ratings for the representativeness of the content domain and wording clarity for both questions and answer choices. These were rated separately, each on four-point scales, with a rating of “4” indicating that no revisions were necessary, and a rating of “1” indicating that the item was not representative or not clear. From these scores, the average pairwise agreement was then calculated to determine the amount of absolute agreement between reviewers. The average pairwise agreement consistently revealed good agreement between the reviewers in all areas except wording clarity. The reviewers’ comments addressed six concerns: consistency, clarifications, additions, omissions, formatting, and relevancy. It was this qualitative data that provided the most insight to the ratings and made sense of the numbers (i.e., because the end goal is to revise the TAPS, the reviewers’ comments were more useful than statistics that simply indicated the reviewers’ disagreement)

Coding and computational thinking across the curriculum : A review of educational outcomes

Teaching coding and computational thinking is an emerging educational imperative, now embedded in compulsory curriculum in the United States, Finland, the UK, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Australia. This meta-synthesis of 49 studies critically reviews recent international research (2009–2022) of coding and computational thinking as core and integrated across the curriculum. It addresses four essential problems: (a) What are the key features of learning environments that successfully develop students’ coding and computational thinking? (b) What is the impact of student engagement in coding and computational thinking on learning outcomes across curriculum areas? (c) What pedagogical constraints are evident for coding and computational thinking, including across curriculum areas? and (d) Which conceptual frameworks support coding and computational thinking, and what has been marginalized or excluded? The review advances knowledge of coding and computational thinking—vital to guide and develop future AI-based solutions to real-world problems that challenge disciplinary boundaries

Toward an Undergraduate MIS Curriculum Model for Caribbean Institutions

Colleges and universities in the United States with undergraduate programs offer undergraduate Management Information Systems programs in their business schools to complement and balance computer science and computer engineering curricula. Similar institutions in the English-speaking Caribbean, however, slant their computing studies overwhelmingly toward Computer Science , which produces technologists for the IT industry. Although the vast majority of their graduates are engaged in applying technology solutions to information problems in business organizations, these English-speaking Caribbean institutions offer limited MIS programs, which prepare graduates for such roles. This article examines undergraduate computing curricula in the Caribbean and compares them with others elsewhere in the world. It recommends that English-speaking Caribbean universities give similar prominence to MIS education in their business programs in order to equip graduates to create more effective IT-enabled business solutions

Dynamic capabilities of Chinese small private vocational education and training institutions: a case-based research

China’s vocational education and training (VET) industry is undergoing rapid growth and transformation. Small private VET institutions face the dual dilemma of a shortage of educational resources and low market reputation. Thus, it is important to understand how these institutions may develop and sustain competitive advantages. This dissertation has analyzed the strategic development of ZK, a small private VET institution in China, using the dynamic capabilities framework. The company’s strategic success in the last years was due to its dynamic capabilities of sensing opportunities and threats, seizing opportunities, and managing threats and reconfiguring resources. The study has shown that ZK’s dynamic capability of sensing opportunities and threats has two micro-foundations, namely entrepreneurship and social capital at individual and organizational levels. Seizing capability were grounded on microfoundations such as the firm’s value chain positioning, integrating resources including complements, organizational flexibility, and commitment to implementation. The microfoundations of ZK’s dynamic capability of managing threats and reconfiguring resources were organizational learning and knowledge management. To support the future strategic development of ZK, four strategic initiatives were devised using the SWOT framework. The study contributes to management practice by increasing the understanding of the capabilities and microfoundations that can support the development of small private VET institutions in China. It also sheds light on the relationship between these capabilities and the obtention of competitive advantages in the Chinese market. Its conclusions are of interest to other VET institutions, government departments and other stakeholders, as well as foreign institutions interested in the Chinese VET industry.A indústria chinesa da educação e formação vocacional (inglês: Vocational Education and Traning ou VET) está em plena expansão e transformação. O estudo das estratégias das pequenas instituições de VET tem grande importância, no sentido de compreender como as mesmas podem se manter competitivas. Esta dissertação tem o objetivo de analisar o desenvolvimento estratégico da ZK, uma pequena instituição chinesa de VET, através da teoria de capacidades dinámicas. O éxito estratégico da ZK deveu-se ao seu dinamismo em antever oportunidades e riscos e reestruturar os seus recursos. Este dinamismo resultou de um forte espírito empresarial e de um elevado capital social, tanto ao nível individual como institucional. O aproveitamento das oportunidades deveu-se a cinco micro-fundamentos: o posicionamento da empresa na cadeia de valor, a integração de recursos, a inclusão de complementos, a flexibilidade organizacional e a dedicação na implementação. Por sua vez, a capacidade de minimizar riscos e reconfigurar recursos resultou de aprendizagem organizacional e de uma boa gestão da informação. Com base nas referidas capacidades dinâmicas, e através da matriz SWOT, foram desenvolvidas quatro linhas estratégicas para o desenvolvimento futuro da ZK. A dissertação contribui para uma melhor compreensão das capacidades dinámicas e dos micro-fundamentos que podem suportar o desenvolvimento das pequenas empresas de VET na China. Além disso, revela a íntima relação entre as referidas capacidades e as vantagens competitivas no mercado chinês. As conclusões são úteis para outras instituições de VET, departamentos governamentais relacionados, partes interessadas em VET na China e instituições estrangeiras interessadas nesse mercado