Editor’s Welcome

Welcome to this special edition of the Journal of Computing in Higher Education. (First paragraph) The articles in this issue focus on the instructional design process and the preparation of instructional designers. Instructional design is traditionally closely aligned with instructional technology; so much so that many refer to the discipline as instructional design/technology. We are honored to serve as guest editors for this special issue of JCHE and hope the articles that comprise this issue help articulate critically important aspects of the instructional design process as well as issues associated with the education of instructional designers

Performance Improvement in Healthcare: Integrating Gilbert\u27s Behavior Engineering Model Within a Just Culture

Healthcare leadership and department management personnel are tasked with the responsibility of ensuring safe, high-quality patient care delivered by competent and proficient staff. This responsibility often comes in the form of identification of discrepant and erroneous practices that result in subsequent employee disciplinary action process improvement discussions and implementation. This case study presents an example of a sentinel event and how Gilbert\u27s Behavior Engineering Model (BEM) was utilized in the context of a Just Culture to ensure both processes and personnel were adequately supported to meet expected task outcomes

The Utility of Storytelling Strategies in the Biology Classroom

Conveying scientific information with high intrinsic cognitive load to students is a challenge. Often, students do not have the existing schema to incorporate the information in a comprehensive manner. One method that has shown promise is storytelling. Storytelling has been successfully used to convey public health information to non-experts. Therefore, it was of interest to determine whether storytelling could be used in the classroom to present information with high intrinsic load to students in a meaningful manner. This study used a post-test only quasi-experimental study design to explore the utility of storytelling as an instructional strategy in anatomy and physiology classes at a community college. Students in the treatment group received instruction that used storytelling to present examples of application. Both control and experimental groups were assessed through the use of a proximal formative quiz, distal multiple-choice questions, and a novel critical thinking exercise administered after the instruction. Results suggest that storytelling was as effective as the instructional methods delivered to the control group. These findings suggest that storytelling may be used as a means to convey complex scientific information in the classroom

Effectiveness of Drafting Models for Engineering Technology Students and Impacts on Spatial Visualization Ability: An Analysis and Consideration of Critical Variables

Results from a number of studies indicate that the use of drafting models can positively influence the spatial visualization ability for engineering technology students. However, additional variables such as light, temperature, motion and color can play an important role but research provides inconsistent results. Considering this, a set of 5 quasi-experimental studies, was conducted to identify additional critical variables. According to the results, a dynamic, 3Dprinted drafting model, presented with a blue background under lighting conditions between 500–750 lux had the highest impact on spatial visualization ability of engineering technology students

Does the Sequence of Instruction Matter During Simulation?

Introduction: Instructional strategies must be balanced when subjecting students to full-immersion simulation so as not to discourage learning and increase cognitive overload. The purpose of this study was to determine if participating in a simulation exercise before lecture yielded better performance outcomes among novice learners. Methods: Twenty-nine participants were divided into 2 groups as follows: group 1 participated in simulation exercises followed by a didactic lecture and group 2 participated in the same learning activities presented in the opposite order. Participants were administered a multiple-choice cognitive assessment upon completion of a workshop. Results: Learners who participated in the simulated exercises followed by the didactic lecture performed better on post assessments as compared with those who participated in the simulation after the lecture. A repeated-measures or nested analysis of variance generated statistically significant results in terms of model fit F (α = 0.05; 4.54) = 176.07 with a P \u3c 0.0001. Despite their higher levels of increased performance, 76% of those who participated in simulation activities first indicated that they would have preferred to participate in a lecture first. Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that differences occur among learners when the sequencing of instructional components is altered. Learners who participated in simulation before lecture demonstrated increased knowledge compared with learners who participated in simulation after a lecture

An Exploration of Student Experiences with Learner-Centered Instructional Strategies

In this exploratory study, we examined how undergraduate students experience learning in a learner-centered teaching environment and their perceptions of motivation towards learning material in an introductory public speaking communications course. Six faculty members participated in a semester-long study where their teaching strategies were observed. Three faculty members participated in a cognitive apprenticeship where they were taught how to implement learner-centered instructional strategies into their coursework. Participants were 109 students who were enrolled in an introductory public speaking course. Data was collected by means of classroom observations, interviews, and the administration of a survey. Our findings indicated that students who were engaged in learner-centered activities within the communications course demonstrate higher levels of motivation towards the course and are more actively engaged in their learning

A Multidisciplinary Examination of the Decision-Making Process Used by Designers

Design-thinking is an abductive and participatory process in which designers are required to manage constraints, generate solutions, and follow project timelines in order to complete project goals. This exploration study sought to look at how designers in various disciplinary fields approach design projects. Designers were asked to describe a project and a decision that they had to make. Decisions were analyzed to determine whether they were ready-made versus custommade solutions and the process by which the designers arrived at the decisions was categorized as idea-imposition or discovery. Results indicated that designers work with multiple constraints while designing and the majority used a custom-made solution following a discovery process

MPATI: The Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction (1959-1971)

It is 1964 and high in the sky, flying in a figure-eight formation over a 200-mile radius and six Midwestern states, is a plane with a large 24-foot antennae hanging from its belly. Transmitting 24 separate courses recorded ahead of time then played back to member schools in six states, the Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction (MPATI) was designed to meet the need of providing educational television to a wider audience. In the late 1950s, the FCC decided that certain channels would be allocated for non-commercial educational use. Schools were bursting with students; teachers were in high demand and educators wanted television classroom instruction to ease their burden. Offering simultaneous programs to schools across the country similar to commercial networks seemed impossible. Hence, the Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction, a not-for-profit consortium of educational institutions and television producers, was born

Physician as Teacher: Promoting Health and Wellness Among Elementary School Students

BACKGROUND: Every day, physicians engage in teaching during their patient encounters. It may be that medical students who are introduced to the principles of teaching and learning are more likely to become good communicators and learners. Service-learning may be an effective way for medical students to practice skills in teaching and communication in a real-world setting, while also filling a need within the community. The purpose of this study was to identify common themes within medical students\u27 reflections on what they learned through participating in a teaching exercise with local elementary school children. METHODS: As a required component of a longitudinal prevention and public health course that spans the first and second years of undergraduate medical education, second year students at the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, in Detroit, Michigan, in the USA completed a service-learning activity, which included teaching a standardized curricular module to local elementary school children. Students were required to complete a reflection assignment based on their teaching experience. Medical students\u27 responses to assignment\u27s three guided questions were qualitatively coded to identify common themes among the responses related to the teaching activity. RESULTS: Qualitative analysis of students\u27 reflections revealed several themes regarding what the students learned and viewed as the benefits of the activity: The importance of early education and parental involvement; the importance of understanding your audience when teaching; the importance of simplifying complex concepts to the audience\u27s level; and the importance of preparation for teaching. Medical students identified the difficulties of communicating at an audience appropriate level and providing patient education outside the confines of a controlled classroom setting. DISCUSSION: This activity provided medical students with hands-on experience presenting to an audience age-appropriate, health-related topics. Presenting in an elementary school environment helped students better understand what health information various age groups knew about and the importance of clarifying information when communicating with a younger audience

Toys Redesigned: The Intersection of Industrial Technology and Service-Learning Principles

To provide students with a situated learning experience that encouraged them to develop creative design solutions, the authors created a service-learning activity that required industrial technology students to apply design principles and procedures to design and develop toys to be given to pediatric patients at a local children\u27s hospital. The following are excerpts from student reflections addressing the technological skills used and key takeaways from the project: * I was able to use my mechanical skills in this project by knowing how to operate the drill press and by cutting all the pieces that were needed and assembling them. * We were supposed to use most of the tools that we have been practicing using, such as a saw to cut the board, the pegs, the edges, and making holes after measuring the distance between them (math skills), not just the math skills, it also applied to designing (design skills). Students shared: * This project gave me experience with team building as well as using machinery that I hadn\u27t had much experience with that I will most likely need in the future. * The skills learned while using all of the tools in the lab as well as the teamwork involved in all of the team labs will be lifelong lessons held dearly because once you learn those skills they do not go away. The incorporation of the guided reflective exercise helped students take a moment to reflect on how they had applied course competencies to an authentic project context