Integrating Research and Teaching in the IS Classroom: Benefits for Teachers and Students

Creating a link between research and teaching activities in higher education is a common and recurring challenge for many academics. Especially in practice-driven areas like Information Systems (IS), educators as well as students can benefit substantially from well-designed course curricula that facilitate research-driven learning processes. In this paper, we discuss the benefits and challenges of research-driven education from the perspective of both teachers and students and propose a research-driven course design in the case of a graduate course in IS development and implementation. The suggested approach includes a set of different techniques that allow for a successful integration of research content and activities throughout the whole course lifecycle. In order to validate our design empirically, we conduct a survey among course participants (n=194) and discuss the results. Our findings provide initial support for the proposed design, which can be the basis for future research and guide the composition of research-driven courses in the IS field

Let me explain! The effects of writing and reading shortjustifications on students' performance, confidence andopinions in audience response systems

Background The feedback offered to students in audience response systems may enhance conformity bias, while asking closed-type questions alone does not allow students to externalize and elaborate on their knowledge. Objectives The study explores how writing short justifications and accessing peer justifications as collective feedback could affect students' performance, confidence and opinions in multiple-choice audience response systems that apply the Peer Instruction model of voting/revoting. Methods For 8 weeks, 98 students, enrolled in an undergraduate course, attended each lecture following a flipped classroom approach. At the beginning of each lecture, students participated in a quiz with eight multiple-choice questions. Four of these questions included a justification form in which students could elaborate on their answers. The students were randomly grouped into two conditions according to the collective feedback they received: the Shared group (n = 54) could see both the percentage each question choice received from the class and the respective peer justifications, while the Unshared group (n = 44) could only see the percentage information. Results Analysis showed that students in both groups performed significantly better in questions with the justification form being available. Also, the two groups were comparable in terms of performance and self-reported level of confidence suggesting no main effect for making peer justification available. Despite this, students in the Shared group expressed a significantly more positive opinion in the end-of-activity questionnaire in terms of perceived learning gains and the helpfulness of writing justifications for their answers. Take Away Writing short justifications can have a positive impact on students' academic performance

ReflAct:Formative assessment for teacher reflection in video-coaching settings

Video coaching appears to be a promising approach for teachers' professional development, but is not automatically productive. To our knowledge, there are no tools to help coaches to formatively assess the quality of reflective talk. Such a tool is needed to help coaches realize the potential of reflective video coaching conversations. Key features of a minimally viable prototype were explored through a mixed-methods proof-of-concept study, focusing on (perceptions of) added value, compatibility, clarity, and tolerance. A total of 17 participants with insight into teachers' reflective practices participated in an online study. Data were collected through think-aloud protocols, interviews, surveys, and use logs. Findings showed modest, yet concrete evidence that a tool would be viable and is worth developing further. First, users indicated that it could add value in terms of development and calibration that outweighed the associated costs. Second, the tool was deemed compatible with improvement needs, though respondents pointed out that attention should be paid to user differences, and to strengthening familiarization opportunities. Third, seven sub-factors require explanation to increase the tool's clarity. Finally, the tool appeared tolerant of various modalities of use, but reasoning about the nature of reflective conversations requires support. Together, the results yield quality criteria that can be used for further development and evaluation, and the findings extend current theory on the collaborative learning and reflection of (pre- and in-service) teacher educators. Overall, this study illustrates how digital technology can facilitate operationalization of ambiguous processes like reflective talk, and highlights the importance of attending to the implementation early on

Supporting Collaborative Online Science Education with a Transferable and Configurable Conversational Agent

Teachers in online science laboratories frequently struggle to provide timely discussion support to different groups. Collaborative conversational agents have been proposed to bridge this gap and foster productive talk in small-group discussions. Current implementations are usually highly configurable, but rather limited when modeling users' intent in a transferable way. In this paper, we propose a new conversational agent that supports productive talk while addressing these requirements. Also, we discuss lessons learned from a pilot study in a science classroom with secondary students. Findings illustrate the agent's potential to support productive talk among students during online science lab activities.</p

A learning analytics-based collaborative conversational agent to foster productive dialogue in inquiry learning

Background: Sustaining productive student–student dialogue in online collaborative inquiry learning is challenging, and teacher support is limited when needed in multiple groups simultaneously. Collaborative conversational agents (CCAs) have been used in the past to support student dialogue. Yet, research is needed to reveal the characteristics and effectiveness of such agents. Objectives: To investigate the extent to which our analytics-based Collaborative Learning Agent for Interactive Reasoning (Clair) can improve the productivity of student dialogue, we assessed both the levels at which students shared thoughts, listened to each other, deepened reasoning, and engaged with peer's reasoning, as well as their perceived productivity in terms of their learning community, accurate knowledge, and rigorous thinking. Method: In two separate studies, 19 and 27 dyads of secondary school students from Brazil and the Netherlands, respectively, participated in digital inquiry-based science lessons. The dyads were assigned to two conditions: with Clair present (treatment) or absent (control) in the chat. Sequential pattern mining of chat logs and the student's responses to a questionnaire were used to evaluate Clair's impact. Results: Analysis revealed that in both studies, Clair's presence resulted in dyads sharing their thoughts at a higher frequency compared to dyads that did not have Clair. Additionally, in the Netherlands' study, Clair's presence led to a higher frequency of students engaging with each other's reasoning. No differences were observed in students' perceived productivity. Conclusion: This work deepens our understanding of how CCAs impact student dialogue and illustrates the importance of a multidimensional perspective in analysing the role of CCAs in guiding student dialogue.</p

Economic impact to shipping industry : Economic impact to shipping industry considering Maritime Spatial Planning and green routes in pilot case studies

In this project, three case studies are considered in order to examine the economic impact of the implementation of MSP when considering environmental impact of the shipping industry. Specific characteristics and limitations of areas in the Greek Sea, the Balearic Sea and the Baltic Sea are evaluated with respect to their economic effects on the maritime transport domain. The purpose of the above is to evaluate the economic impacts and risk implications of different scenarios and particularly: The economic impact of vessel traffic rerouting and/or reducing the speed in order to reduce the probability of vessel strikes or other negative impact to endangered marine species. Analysis and treatment of costs (constraints and penalties) from unexpected delays, in addition to the additional transit time cost. Estimation of the direct and indirect economic impact on the shipping industry and the effects of potential port call dislocation for the implementation of the proposed management options (e.g. speed deceleration or ship rerouting).https://commons.wmu.se/monalisa2/1001/thumbnail.jp

How to improve the peer review method: Free-selection vs assigned-pair protocol evaluated in a computer networking course

This study provides field research evidence on the efficiency of a “free-selection” peer review assignment protocol as compared to the typically implemented “assigned-pair” protocol. The study employed 54 sophomore students who were randomly assigned into three groups: Assigned-Pair (AP) (the teacher assigns student works for review to student pairs), Free-Selection (FS) (students are allowed to freely explore and select peer work for review), and No Review (NR) (control group). AP and FS student groups studied and reviewed peer work in the domain of Computer Networking, supported by a web-based environment designed to facilitate the two peer review protocols. Our results indicate that students following the Free Selection protocol demonstrate (a) better domain learning outcomes, and (b) better reviewer skills, compared to the AP condition. Overall, the study analyzes the benefits and shortcomings of the FS vs AP review assignment protocol, providing evidence that the FS condition can be multiply beneficial to students who engage in peer review activities

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder