The Evolution of Student Engagement: Writing Improves Teaching in Introductory Biology

In response to calls for pedagogical reforms in undergraduate biology courses to decrease student attrition rates and increase active learning, this article describes one faculty member’s conversion from traditional teaching methods to more engaging forms of practice. Partially told as a narrative, this article illustrates a.) the way many faculty initially learn to teach by modeling the pedagogy from their own undergraduate programs; b.) the kind of support biology faculty may need to break out of traditional molds; c.) how writing can promote active learning; and d.) the impact of reformed pedagogy on student levels of engagement. The latter will be demonstrated through assessment results gathered from student surveys, reflective writing, and focus group interview. Ultimately, the study challenges misunderstandings some faculty might have regarding the value of writing in science classes and offers inspiration, urging critical reflection and persistence

Mapping Learning and Game Mechanics for Serious Games Analysis in Engineering Education

In a world where students are increasing digitally tethered to powerful, ‘always on’ mobile devices, new models of engagement and approaches to teaching and learning are required from educators. Serious Games (SG) have proved to have instructional potential but there is still a lack of methodologies and tools not only for their design but also to support game analysis and assessment. This paper explores the use of SG to increase student engagement and retention. The development phase of the Circuit Warz game is presented to demonstrate how electronic engineering education can be radically reimagined to create immersive, highly engaging learning experiences that are problem-centered and pedagogically sound. The Learning Mechanics–Game Mechanics (LM-GM) framework for SG game analysis is introduced and its practical use in an educational game design scenario is shown as a case study

Co-design processes in industrial design education

Co-design is a process that allows designers to develop products with greater insight to user needs through the participation of users in the design process. During this process what users say, make, and do is investigated using common research methods in combination with newer generative and exploratory approaches created for this purpose. Co-design encompasses many design practices. Despite the prevalence of the co-design process, a lack of studies into the education of designers on co-design have been implemented, leaving a gap of information that needs to be filled in order for co-design to become integrated into design education and practice. The purpose of this project is to understand the current state of co-design education in the U.S. and to assimilate popular teaching techniques, by surveying teaching methods of co-design within Industrial Design programs at U.S. Universities with reputations as leaders in the field. This project also aims to design a learning aid for Industrial Design students derived from the findings of interviews, materials review, and literature. A snowball sampling was performed with schools leaders in co-design. Schools were contacted and given a survey, interviewed with selected participants and assessed on their materials and practices on co-design. Various qualitative data analysis was performed with the surveys, interviews and materials. The conclusion includes a composite of common methods for teaching co-design, which are assembled into a learning aid artifact. The artifact incorporates findings into a practical outcome. The significance of this project is to further research into teaching methods of co-design as well as providing a common framework for design educators to follow in higher level learning institutions.MSCommittee Chair: Rebola, Claudi

Using a Design-Based Research Study to Identify Principles for Training Instructors to Teach Online

Within the overall framework of design-based research, this paper reports on a study that focused on evaluating an online training course for online instructors. This intervention was designed as a possible solution to the problem facing many higher education institutions of how to provide quality, accessible training for mostly part-time instructors who are making the transition to teaching online. The research project explored whether the training course had any impact on the participants’ later teaching practice. The major outcome of this research study is the identification of design principles that can be used by other researchers and practitioners designing online instructor training

Honors in Practice, Volume 16 (complete)

2019 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS-- Radical Honors: Pedagogical Troublemaking as a Model for Institutional Change Richard Badenhausen ESSAYS-- Music in the Holocaust as an Honors Colloquium Galit Gertsenzon Brave New Worlds: Transcending the Humanities/STEM Divide through Creative Writing Adam Watkins and Zahra Tehrani Humanities-Driven STEM—Using History as a Foundation for STEM Education in Honors John Carrell, Hannah Keaty, and Aliza Wong Best Practices in Honors Pedagogy: Teaching Innovation and Community Engagement through Design Thinking Beth H. Chaney, Tim W. Christensen, Alleah Crawford, Katherine Ford, W. Wayne Godwin, Gerald Weckesser, Todd Fraley, and Phoenix Little Teaching Critical University Studies: A First-Year Seminar to Cultivate Intentional Learners Elizabeth Bleicher A Potential for Improving Honors Retention with Degree Planning Teddi S. Deka A Meaningful and Useful Twofer: Enhancing Honors Students’ Research Experiences While Gathering Assessment Data Mary Scheuer Senter Statistics: A Cautionary Tale Len Zane Contracts for Honors Credit: Balancing Access, Equity, and Opportunities for Authentic Learning Patrick Bahls BRIEF IDEAS ABOUT WHAT WORKS IN HONORS-- Authors: Brent M. Blackwell; Jeffrey Lamp and John Korstad; Kate Krueger; J. Robert Baker; Cathlena Martin; Ashleen Williams; John Zubizarreta; Steve Elliott-Gower; Anne Dotter; Kelsey L. Bennett and Nicole Becwar; Gary H. Bischof, Alexander J. Hamilton, and Adrian J. Hernandez; Jason T. Hilton; Steve Garrison and Cody Parish; L. Benjamin Boyar; and Andrew Martino

Threshold concepts and transfer: A curriculum mapping tool for first-year writing

Writing scholars Adler-Kassner and Wardle, Beaufort, and Devet have placed pragmatic learning goals of transfer at the core of education’s purpose. This thesis shares the assumption of pragmatic learning goals for education and examines these goals for transfer through Meyer and Land’s theory of threshold concepts in the context of first-year composition courses. Covering Meyer and Land’s foundational work on threshold concepts and Thorndike and Woodworth’s groundbreaking research that later informed Perkins and Salomon’s work in transfer, this thesis aims to contextualize this literature within and operationalize it for first-year writing programs’ curriculum course design through the creation and testing of a curriculum mapping tool

Stretching the boundaries of medical education: A case of medical college embracing humanities and social sciences in medical education

Objective: Aga Khan University, a private medical college, had a vision of producing physicians who are not only scientifically competent, but also socially sensitive, the latter by exposure of medical students to a broad-based curriculum. The objective of this study was to identify the genesis of broad-based education and its integration into the undergraduate medical education program as the Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) course. Methods: A qualitative methodology was used for this study. Sources of data included document review and in-depth key informant interviews. Nvivo software was utilized to extract themes. Results: The study revealed the process of operationalization of the institutional vision to produce competent and culturally sensitive physicians. The delay in the establishment of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, which was expected to take a lead role in the delivery of a broad-based education, led to the development of an innovative HASS course in the medical curriculum. The study also identified availability of faculty and resistance from students as challenges faced in the implementation and evolution of HASS. Conclusions: The description of the journey and viability of integration of HASS into the medical curriculum offers a model to medical colleges seeking ways to produce socially sensitive physicians

Curating Digital Pedagogy in the Humanities

This is the published introduction to the born-digital, open-access, peer-reviewed *Digital Pedagogy in the Humanities*. More a rationale and scholarly study of both Digital Pedagogy and DPiH in general, this introduces articulates the uses, theory, rationale about digital pedagogy as it has been shaped in U.S. institutions since the explosion of Digital Humanities in 2009. As a separate field now, Digital Pedagogy is built on the generosity of its practitioners, but saving the *stuff* of teaching and pedagogy is difficult. The introduction historicizes this now-published project, its open peer review process, and its development in the early years (starting in 2010) in addition to offering multiple pathways into using DPiH for both experienced practitioners and anyone curious about how to use the 500+ pedagogical artifacts among the 59 keywords. By defining digital pedagogy, articulating the 5 key concepts that surfaced with the creation of this project, and discussing potential obstacles about engaging in Digital Pedagogy (including an enumerated step-by-step process for getting started in using Digital Pedagogy strategies), this introduction invites all levels of engagement. In addition, the introduction provides an analysis of the types of content, contributors, and curators as well as early network analysis about the connections among all of the keywords, curators, and the shared pedagogical artifacts. Finally, the authors assess the project\u27s infrastructure, open access, and open peer review publishing process over the 10 years it took to bring this project to fruition, luckily, right at the moment that all higher education institutions were forced to grapple with a sudden move to online learning during March 2020. The concluding sections discuss the shifting role of published and publisher with this born-digital project and considers the use of new forms of infrastructure for a scholarly work that values pedagogy above all else

Design: A Path to Agency, Design thinking: An Educational Imperative

Design(ing) and Design Thinking are valuable frameworks that should be used to drive agency: This thesis explores what design and design thinking are and builds a case for incorporating design into art education.Design isn’t a mainstream subject of study in public school curricula. Design offers a unique body of knowledge that is highly relevant to the inner-workings of our world: knowledge imperative to teach if we want to succeed in solving wicked problems like global warming and mitigating global injustices. Studying design allows students to connect academic learning to the world outside the ivy, bridging the gap between the natural world and what is considered human intelligence, and finding self-actualization. Design thinking trains students to think critically, work together, and, most importantly, to ACT, instilling a sense of agency within. Design and design thinking lend themselves to be neatly applied through art education