An Instructional Design and Development Research Study with an Interdisciplinary Instructional Design (IdID) Team in Geotechnical Engineering

abstract: The purpose of this instructional design and development study was to describe, evaluate and improve the instructional design process and the work of interdisciplinary design teams. A National Science Foundation (NSF) funded, Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science (TUES) project was the foundation for this study. The project developed new curriculum materials to teach learning content in unsaturated soils in undergraduate geotechnical engineering classes, a subset of the civil engineering. The study describes the instructional design (ID) processes employed by the team members as they assess the need, develop the materials, disseminate the learning unit, and evaluate its effectiveness, along with the impact the instructional design process played in the success of the learning materials with regard to student achievement and faculty and student attitudes. Learning data were collected from undergraduate geotechnical engineering classes from eight partner universities across the country and Puerto Rico over three phases of implementation. Data were collected from students and faculty that included pretest/posttest scores and attitudinal survey questions. The findings indicated a significant growth in the learning with the students of the faculty who were provided all learning materials. The findings also indicated an overall faculty and student satisfaction with the instructional materials. Observational and anecdotal data were also collected in the form of team meeting notes, personal observations, interviews and design logs. Findings of these data indicated a preference with working on an interdisciplinary instructional design team. All these data assisted in the analysis of the ID process, providing a basis for descriptive and inferential data used to provide suggestions for improving the ID process and the work of interdisciplinary instructional design teams.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Educational Technology 201

Evaluating Improvisation As A Technique For Training Pre-service Teachers For Inclusive Classrooms

Improvisation is a construct that uses a set of minimal heuristic guidelines to create a highly flexible scaffold that fosters extemporaneous communication. Scholars from diverse domains: such as psychology, business, negotiation, and education have suggested its use as a method for preparing professionals to manage complexity and think on their feet. A review of the literature revealed that while there is substantial theoretical scholarship on using improvisation in diverse domains, little research has verified these assertions. This dissertation evaluated whether improvisation, a specific type of dramatic technique, was effective for training pre-service teachers in specific characteristics of teacher-child classroom interaction, communication and affective skills development. It measured the strength and direction of any potential changes such training might effect on pre-service teacher’s self-efficacy for teaching and for implementing the communication skills common to improvisation and teaching while interacting with student in an inclusive classroom setting. A review of the literature on teacher self-efficacy and improvisation clarified and defined key terms, and illustrated relevant studies. This study utilized a mixed-method research design based on instructional design and development research. Matched pairs ttests were used to analyze the self-efficacy and training skills survey data and pre-service teacher reflections and interview transcripts were used to triangulate the qualitative data. Results of the t-tests showed a significant difference in participants’ self-efficacy for teaching measured before and after the improvisation training. A significant difference in means was also measured in participants’ aptitude for improvisation strategies and for self-efficacy for their implementation pre-/post- training. Qualitative results from pre-service teacher class iv artifacts and interviews showed participants reported beneficial personal outcomes as well as confirmed using skills from the training while interacting with students. Many of the qualitative themes parallel individual question items on the teacher self-efficacy TSES scale as well as the improvisation self-efficacy scale CSAI. The self-reported changes in affective behavior such as increased self-confidence and ability to foster positive interaction with students are illustrative of changes in teacher agency. Self-reports of being able to better understand student perspectives demonstrate a change in participant ability to empathize with students. Participants who worked with both typically developing students as well as with students with disabilities reported utilizing improvisation strategies such as Yes, and…, mirroring emotions and body language, vocal prosody and establishing a narrative relationship to put the students at ease, establish a positive learning environment, encourage student contributions and foster teachable moments. The improvisation strategies showed specific benefit for participants working with nonverbal students or who had commutation difficulties, by providing the pre-service teachers with strategies for using body language, emotional mirroring, vocal prosody and acceptance to foster interaction and communication with the student. Results from this investigation appear to substantiate the benefit of using improvisation training as part of a pre-service teacher methods course for preparing teachers for inclusive elementary classrooms. Replication of the study is encouraged with teachers of differing populations to confirm and extend results

Interdisciplinary Engineering Education Research Collaborations: Exploring Ways of Thinking using a Mixed Methods Approach

abstract: There has been a growing emphasis on the education of future generations of engineers who will have to tackle complex, global issues that are sociotechnical in nature. The National Science Foundation invests millions of dollars in interdisciplinary engineering education research (EER) to create an innovative and inclusive culture aimed at radical change in the engineering education system. This exploratory research sought to better understand ways of thinking to address complex educational challenges, specifically, in the context of engineering-social sciences collaborations. The mixed methods inquiry drew on the ways of thinking perspectives from sustainability education to adapt futures, values, systems, and strategic thinking to the context of EER. Using the adapted framework, nine engineer-social scientist dyads were interviewed to empirically understand conceptualizations and applications of futures, values, systems, and strategic thinking. The qualitative results informed an original survey instrument, which was distributed to a sample of 310 researchers nationwide. Valid responses (n = 111) were analyzed to uncover the number and nature of factors underlying the scales of futures, values, systems, and strategic thinking. Findings illustrate the correlated, multidimensional nature of ways of thinking. Results from the qualitative and quantitative phases were also analyzed together to make recommendations for policy, teaching, research, and future collaborations. The current research suggested that ways of thinking, while perceived as a concept in theory, can and should be used in practice. Futures, values, systems, and strategic thinking, when used in conjunction could be an important tool for researchers to frame decisions regarding engineering education problem/solution constellations.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Learning, Literacies and Technologies 201

Designing Motivational Interviewing Instruction Employing the First Principles of Instruction

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)Health care reform emphasizes prevention of chronic disease through the reduction of modifiable risk factors as a way to reduce health care costs, morbidity, and mortality. Motivational interviewing (MI) is an effective method of health behavior counseling. It has been used successfully applied in health related behavior change and self- management of chronic disease. The knowledge, skills, and attitude of MI are acquired through learning as other techniques used in the health professions. Nurse practitioner faculty need guidance on how to design instruction in MI that incorporates competencies and utilizes innovative strategies. Prescriptive instructional design theory utilizes knowledge from educational research to establish the steps in the design process. The purpose of this research was to apply prescriptive instructional theory to the design of effective, efficient, and engaging instruction in MI resulting in beginning proficiency in the NP students. A formative design was used for this study. The First Principles of Instruction served as the prescriptive design theory used in the design of instruction in MI. Data sources included the researcher’s design journal, observation during interaction with the instance, demographics of authentic users, authentic user reaction, and knowledge testing. Four cycles of design-redesign were completed. Results of the study point to improvements in the First Principles of Instruction. The instruction was effective, based on the improved scores from pretest to posttest on the Helpful Response Questionnaire. The improved scores also indicated an increase in knowledge of MI. Efficiency was not improved from pretest to posttest. The definition of efficiency as less time to completion of the task did not apply to MI communication skills. The First Principles of Instruction were useful in the design of the techniques of MI. However, there is little guidance for the affective component of MI such as empathy. The prescriptions of the First Principles of Instruction were useful in designing the instruction in MI. NP students indicated in post instruction interviews that engagement in the instruction was related to the relevance of the subject matter to practice and interactive exercises

Implications of an integrated curriculum in a polytechnic or competence based environment

This is a comparative case study of an innovative approach to teaching computer programming to novices. The focus of this study is to evaluate the integrated curriculum which blends face-to-face interaction with computing practice and online learning to first-year polytechnic students in an engineering informatics diploma course. To examine the efficacy of the blended learning approach, the integrated curriculum is compared to its predecessor which has applied the traditional structured curriculum. This thesis gains relevance from its study of different dimensions of the curriculum comprising the curriculum aims and objectives, the teaching-learning activities and the different forms of assessment. The research design is mainly qualitative employing analytic induction methods to arrive at its inferences and findings. Content analysis and observation have been performed to evaluate the curriculum of each of the cases. A quantitative analysis is performed on students' performance in the computer programming module to add validity to the qualitative findings. Data were collected for students taking the Principles of Computing module in the first semester of the first year in 2005 and 2006 respectively; a total of 232 students came from the 2005 cohort and 247 students came from the 2006 cohort. The dependent variables are the module score and its sub-components, the project score and the individual test score. The independent variable significant to this study is the student's entry level GCE 'O' levels aggregate; gender is not a significant variable unlike in other studies involving mathematics or science. The findings highlight the differences that exist between a traditional structured learning environment to the blended learning environment and how students perform under the different learning environments. A major contribution of this study is the constructive alignment framework incorporating the integrated curriculum characteristics to support the blended learning approach. By reviewing the curriculum, the teaching methods, the assessment procedures and the learning environment with regard to the integrated curriculum characteristics, this study has made significant discoveries on the strengths and limitations of the blended learning approach. The results of this study show how the roles of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment are inter-related and have to be integrated into the curriculum to foster better learning for students. Finally, the findings reveal the importance of the influence of the tutor in the blended learning delivery and the students' preference for tutor interaction. Through these findings, the study is able to recommend future improvements to the Principles of Computing module