Comparing the cognitive profile of the HCI professional and the HCI educator

Previous research into Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) education has focussed mainly on the curriculum, pedagogy and the gap between education, and little is known about the cognitive profile of the HCI practitioner or educator, or how their individual differences impact upon practice in the field or the classroom. This research intends to address this gap by investigating the cognitive style of HCI practitioners, educators, and those with both roles. 315 professionals responded to a global online survey which captured their individual cognitive style using the Allinson and Hayes Cognitive Style Index (CSI) which tests whether the subject tends more towards an intuitivist or analyst, and the Object-Spatial Imagery and Verbal Questionnaire (OSIVQ) which suggests a three dimensional model of cognitive style – object imagers who prefer to construct pictorial images, spatial imagers who prefer schematic representations and verbalizers who prefer to use verbal-analytical tools. Together, these two instruments provide a profile that matches the skills required to work within the field of HCI. The respondents included practitioners in the field (N=179), educators (N=61), and some who were both practitioner and educator (N=75). A one-way between-groups ANOVA and MANOVA was performed to investigate differences in the role of the professional, and the CSI and OSIVQ profiles respectively, followed by the Welch t-test to compare their OSIVQ scores with the published normative values. The ANOVA comparing the CSI scores for each of the groups revealed a statistically significant difference of F(2, 312) = 3.35, p= 0.38 and post-hoc comparisons using the Tukey HSD test indicated that the mean score for the educators was significantly different from that of the ‘both’ group. The practitioners did not differ significantly from either the educators or ‘both’. This may in some part be explained by the fact that very often HCI is taught by an academic with a computer science background rather than an HCI specialist, but further investigation is needed in this area. The MANOVA used the three constructs of the OSIVQ as dependent variables. No significant difference was found between the groups. However, the t-tests comparing the professional against the normative data revealed that whilst there was no significant difference between the object imager score of the HCI professional and the scientist, there was a difference between the spatial imager score of the HCI professional and the visual artist, perhaps again reflecting the computer science background of many professionals. 24 survey respondents have been interviewed and the resulting data will form the basis of a thematic analysis to extend the cognitive profile, and to identify the predominant technological frames of operation. Applying this concept of technological frames to the domain of HCI, will help to make sense of the adoption and application of knowledge, tools and techniques amongst this community. In order for the curriculum to meet the needs of the market, the educator needs to understand the practitioner in order to produce graduates equipped for the role. Finally, as HCI is delivered in a multidisciplinary environment, should it not also be taught by a multidisciplinary team

The impact of an elementary algebra course on student success in a college-level liberal arts math course and persistence in college

Many students enter community college underprepared for college-level math and are placed into developmental elementary algebra without consideration if the algebra will provide a foundation for their needed college-level math course. Large percentages of those students are unable to succeed in the developmental course and, therefore, are unable to graduate (Bahr, 2008; Bailey, Jeong, & Cho, 2010). This quasi-experimental design focused on students who are not in math-intensive majors, needing only a general liberal arts math course. The purpose was to determine the impact of the elementary algebra course on success in college-level math and persistence in college. Student performance data were aggregated from four community colleges within a state in the northeastern United States. Students\u27 success in a college-level liberal arts math course and total credits earned were examined. An independent t test showed students who scored above the cut-off for developmental placement outperforming those who scored below, yet all differences disappeared when a regression discontinuity was implemented, leading to a conclusion that the actual placement in developmental algebra had no impact on students\u27 success in college-level math or total credits earned

Artist as rhetor: strategies for the visual communication of artistic & scientific concepts

The notion that art, like science, contributes to scholarly discourse remains a contentious issue in academic debate. However an increased interest in the visual image within intellectual inquiry and a shift in the scholarly position concerning the image as a valid form of inquiry has provided an avenue in which to argue that art is a legitimate form of knowledge. This argument is premised on the notion that images are significant to both artistic and scientific discourse in that both disciplines have long utilised the image as a means to construct meaning and communicate concepts. Consequently the key insights derived from this study’s research findings are understood through a framework of visual rhetoric. This study, through a constructivist grounded theory approach, presents a substantive theory of the visual image in academic discourse and in doing so advances the understanding that art is an authoritative way of knowing. In this way this study identifies the image, which is the product of an image-making process, as knowledge artefact whereby knowledge exists through a plurality of practices involving both verbal and visual forms of representation. For this study the image-maker is considered significant to the production, representation and dissemination of knowledge. This is because as rhetor the image-maker, whether artisan or artist, utilises the image to bring forth new findings and thus new knowledge

A survey of students\u27 attitudes on the implementation of an integrated high school mathematics program

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a significant difference in the attitudes of general education students toward their math education before and after the implementation of an integrated mathematics program. The study population was comprised of students enrolled in ninth grade general education classes at Williamstown High School in Williamstown, NJ. The sample consisted of ninety-six students. A survey was administered to students to examine their attitudes toward general math class. After a four-week implementation of the Interactive Mathematics Program, the survey was administered a second time. T-tests and an ANOVA were performed to determine significant differences in attitudes. The research questions determined if there was a significant difference in the attitudes of students toward their math education before and after the implementation of an integrated math program, if there was a difference between students in inclusion classes and non-inclusion classes, and if there was a significant difference in the researcher\u27s classes compared to other teachers. The results indicated no significant difference in the students\u27 attitudes and no significant difference between instructors. Students in the inclusion classes found their math class to be more fun after the implementation of the integrated math program

Exploring Cultural Differences in HCI Education

The discipline of human-computer interaction has become a subject taught across universities around the world, outside of the cultures where it originated. However, the intercultural implication of its assimilation into the\ud syllabus of courses offered by universities around the world remains underresearched. The purpose of this ongoing research project is to provide insights for these implications in terms of the student and teacher experience of HCI. How this subject is socially represented across the different universities studied is a key question. In order to develop intercultural awareness of these questions\ud universities from UK, Namibia, Mexico and China are collaborating in a multiple case study involving students and lecturers engaged in evaluation and design tasks. Findings will then be used to propose an international HCI curriculum more supportive of local perspectives. This paper describes the initial steps of this study and some preliminary findings from Namibia, India and Mexico about cognitive styles and cultural attitudes

2 - Engaging across disciplines – Transformative education in the human services

Education that prepares students to work ethically in the margins with vulnerable and diverse populations demands deep learning and exploration of self to challenge biases and develop new ways of understanding complex social issues. Human service work is about societal transformation as well as individual transformation. Human service learning itself can be difficult and transformational. We do not seek to develop static knowledge about theory. We aim to empower students to develop critical and compassionate thinking so that they may be empowered to create social change. To accomplish this deep learning, we must transcend the interdisciplinary knowledge base at the foundation of human services. This sort of teaching demands that we do more than collaborate across ideology. It demands that we transcend boundaries to prevent unwitting adherence to disciplinary dogma to create new knowledge bases inspiring students to develop innovative ways of re-envisioning our social worlds. Blending perspectives from child and youth care and social work, we have not only enriched our own teaching, but have also uncovered novel approaches to enhance curricula and expand the threshold of possibility for each student. This process of connecting and exploring beyond our own disciplinary knowledge bases has not always been easy and it has required trust in the process and in the relationship between colleagues. In our speed presentation we will share why we engage in transdisciplinary work and how it has resulted in growth in our own teaching practices

Silver Linings – Increasing Connection and Building Community in a Pandemic World

Learning is social, and a significant piece of the experience is connection, belonging, and instructor presence (Darby & Lang, 2019). Learners are not passive containers waiting for delivery of disembodied content. To make meaning, learners require engagement with peers and instructors who help shape their understanding and support their development of new ways of perceiving the world. Establishing learning communities and connections came with relative ease in the face-to-face pre-COVID world, but that is not our current reality. The declaration of the pandemic in mid-March left us scrambling to meet student needs as we retreated to the isolation of our homes and our classes moved to the online world. We had little experience with online teaching, nor were we versed in the fine arts of Moodle or video conferencing. We did the best that we could and learned much along the way. Summer teased us with the promise of a break, but knowing what lay ahead and feeling alone, we were relieved to see the professional development opportunities offered by our colleagues in Educational Technologies. With their rally cry, we formed our own learning communities and met in virtual summer camps to think outside the box and learn new pedagogical approaches to teaching in a pandemic. We implemented what we knew as fall arrived. There were challenges and there were successes and, in this presentation, we share our experiences in developing a learning community with colleagues, with students, and with the wider community who welcomes us for field learning opportunities. We also invite participants to share their experiences so that we can continue to learn from one another as we navigate these new seas

White Paper #3: Implementation Drivers

This paper summarizes the results from interviews with CCR&R and the Utah Office of Child Care (OCC) about the implementation of Care About Child Care (CAC) relative to implementation drivers. As was discussed in the first white paper, implementation drivers describe groups of behaviors that build and maintain the program. Drivers are split into three categories including competency drivers that support the capability of staff; organization drivers that support the infrastructure necessary to implement a program; and leadership drivers, or characteristics of those who successfully manage the program implementation

White Paper #4: Summary and recommendations

This is the fourth and last white paper in the series describing an implementation science evaluation of Utah’s Care About Childcare (CAC) QRIS program. CAC is a voluntary, strengths-based program wherein providers report the quality criteria met by their child care program. CAC is administered by the Utah Office of Child Care (OCC) and the regional CCR&R offices. OCC staff and CCRR directors and staff involved in CAC were interviewed for this white paper series. Their responses are organized according to an implementation science framework. Methods are reported in the first white paper. In this paper we report on CAC’s measures of success as summarized by CCR&R interviewees. We then summarize overall strengths and opportunities for growth noted during the interview