Alternatives to Firm Innovation with IT in the Face of Performance Gaps

What do firms do when they choose NOT to innovate with IT when they face performance problems and why? Though counterintuitive, we suggest that studying this question enables us to: explore alternatives to the dominant rational maximizer logic prevalent in innovation research; overcome the pro-innovation bias critique; and more carefully study the very earliest time period of the innovation process. We answer this question through an exploratory, qualitative study of what firms do when they encounter problems (specifically performance gaps) and we pay special attention to what they do when they elect not to adopt new information technology solutions to solve them. Through systematic analysis of our qualitative data set and application of a problemistic search/sensemaking lens, we discover that common actions include tinkering, stretching, making do and going back to prior IT. Because firms wrestle with complex environments with multiple, weak and ambiguous cues which hinder the identification of performance problems, and feel pressed to economize on scarce resources, they develop smaller and more familiar solutions rather than attempting unfamiliar and more resource-demanding innovations. When these solutions work, they become long-term alternatives to IT innovation. We conclude with a discussion of how our approach succeeds in going beyond the dominant paradigm, informs an agnostic stance towards innovation and promotes a call for a new frontier of research into the pre-innovation phase of IT innovation research

Hiding in Plain Sight: Identifying Computational Thinking in the Ontario Elementary School Curriculum

Given a growing digital economy with complex problems, demands are being made for education to address computational thinking (CT) – an approach to problem solving that draws on the tenets of computer science. We conducted a comprehensive content analysis of the Ontario elementary school curriculum documents for 44 CT-related terms to examine the extent to which CT may already be considered within the curriculum. The quantitative analysis strategy provided frequencies of terms, and a qualitative analysis provided information about how and where terms were being used. As predicted, results showed that while CT terms appeared mostly in Mathematics, and concepts and perspectives were more frequently cited than practices, related terms appeared across almost all disciplines and grades. Findings suggest that CT is already a relevant consideration for educators in terms of concepts and perspectives; however, CT practices should be more widely incorporated to promote 21st century skills across disciplines. Future research would benefit from continued examination of the implementation and assessment of CT and its related concepts, practices, and perspectives

Interventions using digital tools to improve students’ engagement and learning outcomes in higher business education

The papers of this thesis are not available in Munin. Paper 1: Bertheussen, B. A.: "Cultivating spreadsheet usage in a finance course through learning and assessment innovations". Available in International Journal of Innovation in Education 2015, 3(1). Paper 2: Bertheussen, B. A., Myrland, Ø.: "Relation between academic performance and students’ engagement in digital learning activities". Available in Journal of Education for Business 2016, 91(3), 1–7. Paper 3: Bertheussen, B. A.: "Er handelshøyskolene innelåst i historiske pedagogiske spor?". Available in Magma 2013, 16(5),40–48. Paper 4: Bertheussen, B. A. "Ruteark eller regneark. Kognitive utfordringer med å løse finansoppgaver på papier og PC". Available in Uniped 2012, 35(3):87–101. Paper 5: Bertheussen, B. A.: "Validating a Digital Assessment Practice". (Manuscript). Paper 6: Bertheussen, B. A. "Power to business professors. Automatic grading of problem-solving tasks". Available in Journal of Accounting Education 2014, 32(1):76–87. Paper 7: Bertheussen, B. A.: "Automatisk formativ feedback kan gi god motivasjon og læring". Available in Uniped 2014, 37(4):59–71. Paper 8: Bertheussen, B. A. "Revitalizing plenary finance lectures". Available in Beta 2013, 27(1):78–92. The purpose of the present study was to develop interventions using digital tools to improve student engagement and learning outcomes. The empirical context was an undergraduate finance course wherein digital learning and assessment interventions were important features of the course design. When designing the interventions, the development activities were underpinned by pedagogical principles based on cognitive and sociocultural learning perspectives. Special emphasis was placed on integrating spreadsheet usage into all learning and assessment activities and constructively aligning course targets, assessment tasks and learning activities with the overall goal to foster an active and engaging learning environment. In addition, rooted in a pragmatic research paradigm, the methodology utilised includes many similarities with interventionist action research, which has gained a foothold in qualitative management accounting research. This interventionist research project includes two main contributions. The first is its impact on practice by designing and developing interventions to solve complex problems in an authentic classroom setting. Consequently, six practical educational interventions are discussed in this dissertation. The second contribution is theory building, which advances our knowledge regarding the characteristics of the interventions and the process of designing and developing them. Consequently, a total of eight refereed scientific articles have been produced during this research and development project. As outlined in this study, the development of the digital formative feedback intervention, is in line with research stating that, in higher education, traditional paper-based feedback is being supplemented with and in some cases replaced by innovative use of ICT. Moreover, software algorithms can effectively provide detailed and helpful individual formative feedback to students regarding their learning processes and outcomes. This study strongly supports the claim that it is problematic to use technology to enhance learning without recognition through assessments. The digital summative assessment intervention reported is regarded as a precondition for establishing a spreadsheet user-culture in the subject, especially as it served as an ‘icebreaker’ for other learning interventions that were integrated into the course design. The intervention processes discussed have been through several iterations and their stepwise development and implementation have emerged through negotiating, compromising and resolving tension between the practitioner researcher, students and institution. The resulting compromises resolved tensions which sometimes resulted from limited physical resources. As the students valued the outcome from engaging in the digital learning and assessment interventions, they had a flexible attitude and deployed their private infrastructure (laptops) within the learning environment. Consequently, a vital part of the institution’s infrastructure was transformed from a fixed asset (number of PCs available in a data lab) to a flexible asset in the theatres. This compromise that was negotiated between the institution, the practitioner researcher and the students was essential for the digital educational interventions to work and progress. The overall theoretical research findings from this study are presented in the form of a tentative framework, which can help bridge the gap between the intervention practice and theory. A central conjecture in the framework is that tool usage that is integrated into interventions can be influential on learning activity and engagement and consequently on students’ learning outcomes. Moreover, the framework supports the notion of ICT as a mediating cultural tool that provides a new type of affordance that can extend the mind and promote an active and engaging learning environment. In particular, integrating a spreadsheet tool in learning of management accounting subjects can offer opportunities for learners to rapidly construct financial models, enable simulations using the completed models and stimulate subject reflections based on the functions of the models and their results. The practical outcome of this study has been emphasised through the development of artefacts that aim to support practitioners intending to integrate spreadsheet usage within their subject teaching and learning. By publishing and sharing the artefacts, the current research project is capable of informing future development and implementation decisions by guiding practitioners in similar pedagogical contexts

Developing Critical Thinking Military Officers

Critical thinking is frequently identified as an important trait for military officers. This paper examines critical thinking from a historical, pedagogical, and warfighting perspective. The author uses his experience teaching mathematical reasoning at the Naval Postgraduate School to provide helpful advice for educators charged with teaching deductive and inductive reasoning. The paper argues that critical thinking should be taught early in an officer\u27s career. It emphasizes a systematic and Socratic instructional approach along with the importance of equipping students with the necessary tools to evaluate problem-solving techniques and critique their associated solutions. Finally, the paper discusses Augmented Intelligence and the growing need to adopt a more holistic view of the combined Human and Machine-Learning decision making system

The Effects of a Blended Learning Environment on Students\u27 Discourse in a Secondary Mathematics Classroom

To prepare students for college and careers, the Common Core Mathematical Practice Standards propose teachers engage students in classroom discourse where they make sense of mathematics by working collaboratively and communicating their thinking. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore the relationship between a blended learning environment and the discourse students produce while in an AP Calculus AP course. Participants in this study are members of a large high school enrolled in either hybrid or virtual learning environments. Data were collected through recorded observations, coded using the Mathematics Classroom Observation Practices Protocol (MCOP2) and analyzed using statistical tests and thematic coding. The data in this study indicate there is an association between different aspects of discourse and the learning environment. Numerous themes arose from the 110 groups as they completed five different tasks. As there is a lack of research on the impact of COVID-19 on students’ productive mathematical discourse while in a blended learning environment, the findings of this study will contribute to teachers’ and educational stakeholders’ understanding of how groups can create discourse regardless of their learning modality

Mathematics teacher educators’ addressing the common core standards for mathematical practice in content courses for prospective elementary teachers: A focus on critiquing the reasoning of others

Over the last forty years, standards and recommendations for teachers and learners of K-12 mathematics in the US have evolved to highlight mathematical practices (e.g., Common Core State Standards of Mathematics, Standards for Mathematical Practice [SMPs]). Practice standards (i.e., SMPs) describe mathematical competencies that should be developed in learners of mathematics at all levels. National organizations (e.g., Conference Board of Mathematical Sciences) have specifically called for attention to be given to SMPs in collegiate mathematics content courses for prospective elementary (ages 5-12) teachers (PTs). The goal of this paper is to help instructors of such courses, especially those new to the field of mathematics education, gain familiarity with the organizations and documents that support the development of these practices and conceptualize ways in which they might engage PTs in their content courses in SMPs. First, we synthesize the evolution of mathematics standards for K-12 learners and teachers in the US. Second, we report results from an investigation into the ways in which mathematics teacher educators (MTEs) are addressing SMPs in their content courses for PTs. In this study, SMP3: Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others was reported by MTEs as being addressed in their courses more than any other SMP. This finding precipitated a qualitative analysis of the ways in which PTs were being provided opportunities to engage in SMP 3 within the descriptions and samples of tasks provided by the MTEs. We will share and discuss example tasks that provided opportunities for PTs to analyze others’ thinking. Lastly, we consider the potential benefits of leveraging children’s thinking in SMP 3-related tasks for PTs and provide resources for MTEs who are interested in utilizing samples of children’s thinking in their classes

Supporting Teachers’ Learning about Mathematical Modeling

In the United States, one of the Standards for Mathematical Practice of the Common Core Curriculum (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2010) is Model with mathematics. This standard requires that students be taught in a manner that will enable them to ―apply the mathematics they know to solve problems arising in everyday life, society, and the workplace‖ (p. 7). However many prospective and practicing teachers acquire a pedagogical style that does not support this standard. To promote higher levels of student thinking associated with mathematical modeling, teachers must thus be taught not only what mathematical modeling is, but how it can be effectively incorporated in their lessons and presented to their classes. Teacher training should also include how to develop rubrics for assessment, among which are rubrics that enable students to demonstrate mathematical modeling proficiency in different ways. In this research, the topics addressed include ways professional development can help in-service teachers appreciate the importance of mathematical modeling tasks; concerns about teacher backgrounds in mathematical modeling; and the most effective ways for improving in-service teachers’ knowledge of mathematical modeling and their teaching of mathematical modeling. While the primary focus of this research is on teacher education and training in the United States, the findings from both domestic and international research are clearly significant for those who are responsible for various aspects of teacher preparation worldwide

Defining the Relation between Cognitive Neuroscience and Discourse Studies

In contemporary linguistics, both cognitive and critical approaches to language have been elaborated in some detail. Unfortunately, the two perspectives have seldom converged, despite the potential theoretical advances such collaboration offers. Although historically and sociologically understandable, this separation of fields is bound to block progress. Only a handful of researchers and scholars in literature, music, film, esthetics, and art history have been attempting to follow and engage with developments in cognitive neuroscience. This represents a lost opportunity for scientists no less than for humanists, as critics and theorists of the arts are uniquely trained to pose questions and adduce examples that could bring more rigor and refinement, as well as cultural resonance, to the new sciences of mind

Micro-Futures

One of humankinds oldest quests has been to find the ‘elixir of life’, a mythical potion that, would grant the drinker immortality (and preferably, eternal youth!). One of the most famous tales of a search for this fabled tonic was that of the first emperor of a unified China, Qin Shi Huang (246 BC. to 210 BC), who, in the latter part of his life, is said to have become preoccupied with finding this illusive concoction. This article is presented at a workshop that is taking place in the heartland of what was Qin Shi Huang's empire (China), and touches on a modern day search for an elixir of life, this time a high-tech approach based on computers and artificial intelligence technology, that goes by the name of ‘The Technological Singularity’. However, as fascinating as a search for an elixir of life may be, the real motivation of this paper is to introduce micro-fiction as a methodology for capturing and communicating visions for scientific, business and societal innovations. To those end, The Technological Singularity is described and used as a means to illustrate the workings of micro SciFi-Prototyping (micro-SFPs)

An Exploration of Manipulatives in Math Education

Pre-existing literature has shown that the education system needs to re-evaluate mathematical teaching practices in a manner that can boost students’ confidence in mathematics. Thus, the research is to investigate the use of manipulatives in reducing students’ anxiety by increasing their learning experience and engagement in mathematics. Furthermore, the purpose of this thesis is to explain the interconnectedness of math manipulatives, student engagement, and problem-solving. An in-depth literature review is conducted, which contains definitions, important benefits and methodologies of manipulatives, as well as the teacher’s role regarding these three terms. When manipulatives, student engagement, and problem-solving are in harmony, students can achieve intellectual comprehension of abstract mathematical concepts. The thesis will conclude with a list of future research ideas and recommendations to strengthen mathematical teaching practices