LONG LIVE TRADITIONAL TEXTBOOK PROBLEMS!?—CONSTRAINTS ON FACULTY USE OF RESEARCH-BASED PROBLEMS IN INTRODUCTORY COURSES

Though many research-based problem types have been shown effective in promoting students’ conceptual understanding and scientific abilities, the extent of their use in actual classrooms remains unclear. We interviewed and surveyed 16 physics and engineering faculty members at a large US Midwest research university to investigate how university instructors value and use different types of problems in teaching their introductory courses. Most of these instructors valued traditional textbook problems as a useful building block and used them frequently. They also valued non-traditional problems but seldom used them in their introductory courses. The divergence between value and use in part is due to limited resources and experience, time constraints, student reactions, and personal preferences. It is, however, also due to the fact that the beliefs held by some instructors regarding the nature of problem solving deviate from commonly accepted views in educational research. Although on average instructors were hesitant to reduce more than 20 % of course content for research-based materials, they showed great interest in collaborating with educational researchers at a more personal level to increase the use of non-traditional problems in teaching. Our study indicates that instructors need not only research-based problems suitable for their introductory classes, but also assistance in how to effectively implement these problems.     

Lessening the Load of Misconceptions: Design-Based Principles for Algebra Learning

The current study examined the effectiveness of self-explanation prompts, visual signaling cues, and a combination of the two features on middle school students’ (N = 202) algebra learning. Also explored were the differential effects of features for students with faulty conceptual knowledge (evidenced by a higher prevalence of making errors during problem solving) on learning. That is, we assessed whether students who make prevalent conceptual errors predictive of algebra performance differentially benefit from design features. Participants were randomly assigned to complete 1 of 4 sets of worked example assignments supplemented with self-explanation prompts (n = 51), visual signaling cues (n = 49), both features (n = 51), or neither feature (n = 51). Worked examples supplemented with either self-explanation prompts or signaling cues led to greater learning from pre- to posttest in comparison to the worked example control, with practically meaningful effects. The effect of assignments supplemented with signaling cues was moderated by error prevalence. Those who made errors more frequently demonstrating misunderstanding of algebraic concepts (e.g., the meaning of a coefficient) benefited significantly more from visual signaling cues alone than self-explanation prompts alone or control assignments. These findings highlight the importance of considering differential effects of design features when used in combination or in isolation, particularly for struggling students.     

Students’ participation in peer-to-peer communication supported by social media

Social media (SM) support new approaches to learning that rely on voluntary, peer-to-peer communication using devices and software provided and managed by students rather than on institutional course management systems. We present one case of such an approach with first-year university students (n = 86) in Thailand using SM for asking and answering questions between peers in a face-to-face computer-programming course. Encouraging students to ask questions about course content can result in improved performance. In general, understanding how students participate and what drives them to participate can provide insights into how universities and instructors can be socially ready. Students used SM during 10 weeks of an 18-week course. Each of four sections selected one form of SM as follows: Facebook [n = 33], Instagram [n = 21], Twitter [n = 21], and Line [n = 11]. The mixed-methods case study involved quantitative measures of how students participated and quantitative and qualitative measures of students’ perceptions of what drives or discourages their participation. Results revealed patterns in participation as follows: participation and motivation; passive and active participation; participation and sample size; participation and type of SM and; participation and student demographics. Implications for practice relate to the value of instructors’ understanding of the social incentives for student participation such as social recognition, gratification of needs and convenience. Implications for research focus on the value of investigating new forms of participation available to read-only participants and ‘lurkers’ using features of SM such as ‘liking’ and sharing.     

Two instructional aids to optimise processing and learning from instructional explanations

Although instructional explanations are commonly used to introduce learners to new learning content, previous studies have often shown that their effects on learning outcomes are minimal. This failure might partly be due to mental passivity of the learners while processing introductory explanations and to a lack of opportunity to revise potential misunderstandings after working on introductory explanations. Against this background, we provided learners with two instructional support measures to optimise the introduction of new principles and concepts by providing instructional explanations in the domain of management theory: (a) prompts designed to induce inferences that are focused on the central content of the explanations, and (b) remedial explanations that are adapted to the learners’ knowledge gaps. We tested their effects in a 2 × 2 factorial experimental design with the following factors: (a) prompts designed to induce focused processing (with vs. without), and (b) remedial explanations (adapted vs. random). The participants consisted of 80 psychology students. We found that the prompts fostered both the share of deep-oriented processing and the acquisition of conceptual knowledge. The beneficial effect of prompts on conceptual knowledge was mediated by the number of inferences that learners generated in response to the prompts. In addition, we found that prompts also fostered the instructional efficiency of providing instructional explanations. The provision of adapted remedial explanations, however, fostered neither deep-oriented processing nor the acquisition of conceptual knowledge. We conclude that prompts designed to induce focused processing can foster deep-oriented processing as well as both the effectiveness and efficiency of learning from instructional explanations.     

Evaluating the quality of interaction in asynchronous discussion forums in fully online courses

Fully online courses are becoming progressively more popular because of their “anytime anywhere” learning flexibility. One of the ways students interact with each other and with the instructors within fully online learning environments is via asynchronous discussion forums. However, student engagement in online discussion forums does not always take place automatically and there is a lack of clarity about the ideal role of the instructors in them. In this article, we report on our research on the quality of discussion in fully online courses through analysis of discussion forum activities. We have conducted our research on two large fully online subjects for computing students over two consecutive semesters and used a grounded theoretic approach for data analysis. Our results reveal what students and instructors consider as quality interaction in fully online courses. We also propose two frameworks based on our findings that can be used to ensure effective online interaction.     

Academic support model for post-secondary school students with learning disabilities: student and instructor perceptions

ABSTRACT

While post-secondary school students with learning difficulties confront many challenges, there is little research on methods of support. In the current study, the ‘adapted course’ model was qualitatively examined from the perspective of both students and instructors. The main goal was to explore how students and instructors perceived the instruction in adapted courses. Five pre-service students with learning disabilities (LD) and/or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and three instructors were interviewed. Responses were analysed using subjective analysis, with central content categories identified based on student and instructor statements. Six main themes emerged: (1) small class size; (2) emotional support; (3) adjusted teaching methods; (4) independent practice exercises; (5) instruction by modelling; and (6) instructor characteristics. The current study can inform pedagogical principles on which a support model for post-secondary students with LD can be based. It provides analyses of the effectiveness of one support model and presents the perceptions of both faculty and students. Moreover, the study provides an opportunity to learn about potential components of effective teaching-learning, not only in the specific context of adapted courses, but in any supportive learning situation (e.g. tutoring) or course.     

Exploring Flipped Classroom Instruction in Calculus III

In an undergraduate Calculus III class, we explore the effect of “flipping” the instructional delivery of content on both student performance and student perceptions. Two instructors collaborated to determine daily lecture notes, assigned the same homework problems, and gave identical exams; however, compared to a more traditional instructional approach, the flipped instructor utilized videos to communicate more procedural course content to students out-of-class, with time in-class spent on more conceptual activities and homework problems. Findings from two semesters indicate similar performance on more procedural problems and small to moderate gains for the flipped students (N = 74) over their traditional counterparts (N = 77) on more conceptual exam problems. However, student perceptions remain mixed, with flipped students reporting increased communication during class but traditional students perceiving more effective use of class time, despite the gains in performance for flipped students.     

The expertise reversal effect in prompting focused processing of instructional explanations

Providing prompts to induce focused processing of the central contents of instructional explanations is a promising instructional means to support novice learners in learning from instructional explanations. However, within research on the expertise reversal effect it has been shown that instructional means that are beneficial for novices can be detrimental for learners with more expertise if the instructional means provide guidance that overlaps with the internal guidance provided by the prior knowledge of learners with more expertise. Under such circumstances, prompts to induce focused processing might even be detrimental for learners with expertise whose prior knowledge already provides internal guidance to learn from explanations. On this basis, we aimed at experimentally varying expertise by developing prior knowledge. Specifically, we used a preparation intervention with contrasting cases to enhance learners’ prior knowledge (expertise). Against this background, we tested 71 university students in a 2 × 2 factorial experimental design: (a) Factor of expertise. Working with contrasting cases to develop prior knowledge and expertise to provide internal guidance to learn from instructional explanations (with vs. without), (b) Factor of prompts. Prompts to induce focused processing of the explanations (with vs. without). The results showed that prompts to induce focused processing fostered conceptual knowledge for novice learners whereas prompts hindered the acquisition of conceptual knowledge for learners with expertise that was developed by working with contrasting cases beforehand. Moreover, measures of subjective cognitive load and learning processes suggest that the instructional guidance provided by prompts compensated for the low internal guidance of novice learners and overlapped with the internal guidance of learners with expertise.     

Reflective pedagogy: the integration of methodology and subject-matter content in a graduate-level course

This article presents a critical reflection on how we, instructors of a graduate-level course in higher education administration, sought to integrate theoretical and subject-matter content and research methodology. Our reflection, guided by autoethnography and teacher reflection, challenged both our assumptions about curriculum design and our process of designing and teaching the redesigned course. We found that our efforts to integrate course content and methodology differed from students’ prior experiences and resulted in a disconnection between their experience and the intended course learning objectives. Recommendations include understanding the degree program culture and students’ course expectations, using assignments that facilitate learning of both theory and methods, and balancing classroom discussion among theory, methodology, and the integration of the two.     

Creating first-year assessment support: lecturer perspectives and student access*

While online courses provide opportunities for a range of assessment tools and resources, little is known about how lecturers might best provide assessment cues to support diverse cohorts. This study explored how lecturers communicate messages about assessment expectations to first-year students in two courses at an Australian regional university (Nursing, n = 323; Engineering, n = 153), and how students accessed the assessment resources. A comparative case study methodology was used. Data included interviews with course coordinators to identify the assessment cues provided, course online content related to assessment and data recording student access of assessment resources. Diverse messaging systems were observed and verbal and written cues were abundant and embedded throughout both courses; however, not all students accessed all cues. What remains unclear is how students might bring together these cues in a productive way. Further research must explore the extent to which students can be better supported to improve their learning.     

Perceptions of college of education students in Turkey towards organizational justice, trust in administrators, and instructors

In this research, the perceptions of college of education students in Turkey regarding organizational justice, trust in administrators, and trust in instructors were determined. In the present study, the answers to three research questions were sought. The research was done using the survey method. After choosing six universities of various sizes and from different geographical regions, 1,872 students were selected randomly as participants. As data collection instruments, “The Organizational Justice Scale”, developed by Hoy and Tarter (Int J Educ Manag 18(4):250–259, 2004), and the “Student Trust in Principals” and “Student Trust in Faculty” scales, developed by Forsyth et al. (Collective trust, Columbia University, New York: Teachers College Press, 2011), were used after being translated into Turkish. The results show that while statistically significant mean differences are found between at least two groups (p < 0.05), there is a high positive relationship between organizational justice and trust in both administrators and instructors.     

Classroom Voting Questions to Stimulate Discussions in Precalculus

Classroom voting can be an effective way to stimulate student discussions. In this pedagogy, the instructor poses a multiple-choice question to the class, and then allows a few minutes for consideration and small-group discussion before students vote, either with clickers, cell phones, or a non-electronic method. After the vote the instructor guides a class-wide discussion. Here we report on a study of precalculus voting questions that includes data from 25 classes taught by eight instructors at five institutions over the course of 7 years. The goal of this study is to explore ways of identifying the questions most likely to provoke good student discussions. We recorded the percentage of each class voting for each option on each question posed, a total of 851 votes. We have 60 questions on which we recorded the results from at least five classes. We identified the five questions with the most widely dispersed votes, a method that has a history of being helpful in identifying good discussion questions. We present these five questions here, four of which we found to be examples of questions which are particularly good at stimulating student discussions. We include notes about how we used the questions in class.     

The effects of successful versus failure-based cases on argumentation while solving decision-making problems

Solving complex, ill-structured problems may be effectively supported by case-based reasoning through case libraries that provide just-in-time domain-specific principles in the form of stories. The cases not only articulate previous experiences of practitioners, but also serve as problem-solving narratives from which learners can acquire meaning. The current study investigated the effects of different case-types (success, failures) on analogical transfer to similar problems. In the first week, undergraduate sales management students (N = 36) were assigned to different case library treatments (success, failure) and asked to construct a multifaceted argument (initial argument, counterargument, rebuttal) to resolve an ill-structured, decision-making hiring problem. In the following week, students constructed an argument to solve a novel case without the support of the case library. Data analysis revealed the failure-based case library condition produced significantly higher scores on measurements of counterarguments and holistic argumentation scores on both tasks. A discussion of the implications for pedagogy and instructional design are also presented.     

The Effect of Computer-Assisted Learning Integrated with Metacognitive Prompts on Students’ Affective Skills

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of computer-assisted learning integrated with metacognitive prompts on elementary students’ affective skills on the subject of electricity. The researchers developed educational software to enable students to easily and comprehensively learn the concepts in the subject of electricity. A case study method was used. Eighteen students from the seventh grade (12–13 years) participated in the study. Students’ views on their performances while using educational software and the impact of the software on their affective skills towards the subject of electricity were examined. Data were collected by open-ended questions in the educational software. According to the research results, there were students who had negative attitudes and perceptions before starting to learn about the subject of electricity. Interactive activities, animations, and visual experiments in the educational software were effective in overcoming the students’ negative attitudes and perceptions about the subject. Besides, students who assessed their own performances during the learning process believed themselves to be more successful over time. In the light of the research results, some suggestions are made for future studies.     

2 + 2 = BSW: An Innovative Approach to the Community College-University Continuum in Social Work Education

This article is a case study of a 2 + 2 undergraduate social work degree program developed by a regional urban community college and a social work program at a midwestern university. This program brings the undergraduate social work degree program from the university's main campus to the community college campus, using university instructors to deliver the same upper-level courses in the major in a venue, structure, and schedule that accommodates the needs of lower-income, nontraditional, first generation, and racial and ethnic minority community college students. By reviewing the process of developing and implementing this 2 + 2 degree completion program, the article will assist university and community college faculty and administrators who would like to develop similar community college-based, bachelor degree programs. Challenges faced in this specific case study are delineated, and suggestions are offered for successfully developing this kind of 2 + 2 degree program.     

Cutting the distance in distance education: Perspectives on what promotes positive,online learning experiences

This qualitative research study was designed to inform the development and implementation of effective online learning environments by exploring, from both teacher and student perspectives, what constitute effective online learning experiences. The study examined course content, tasks, and pedagogical approaches, as identified by students and instructors, which contributed to or hindered positive online learning experiences. Researchers interviewed 6 online course instructors and 10 adult students to understand their experiences in undergraduate and graduate level online degree programs. Using a Cognitive Apprenticeship Model to inform the analysis of data, findings revealed an emphasis on text-based content and lecture; instruction that led to disconnect between students, teachers, and course content and goals; and one innovative program that links real-world experiences with online classroom learning. Given the growing number of online programs, the study provides insight for course development and pedagogy as well as offers possibilities for additional research.     

Self-regulated learning and the role of ePortfolios in business studies

Students’ work in ePortfolios was assessed through a case study supported by observation techniques and eQuestionnaires to gather data from a sample of eighty students over a period of 4 years (20 students per academic year). The main purpose of the study was to explore whether ePortfolios can be used efficiently to support the learning process of postgraduate business students taking a course where finance modules were a major component. The use, role and learning value of integrating ePortfolios into the learning process in a higher education institution was analysed over the period of study. The empirical findings suggest that ePortfolios could be used to facilitate and enhance students’ self-regulated learning. Additionally, the role of the instructor was found to be fundamental during early stages of the learning process to guide and coach students on how to use the tool. This role diminished as students became familiar with the course requirements. Overall, students judged the ePortfolio as being positive to their education, noting a significant improvement in their learning experience when compared to a traditional learning approach. The evidence suggests that ePortfolios could be used to support technical and complex modules in a controlled environment. At the same time, ePortfolios were found to be flexible enough to give students creative space by helping them to integrate their own ideas and views through their learning process. Students were also able to offer their instructors feedback on their learning achievements.     

Students' Assumptions and Professors' Presumptions: Creating a Learning Community for the Whole Student

This paper postulates that having students engage in albeit limited and flawed research is a more effective way of changing attitudes than lecture or discussion. A common goal of the introductory linguistics course is to instill healthy language attitudes, but there is little extant research on the pedagogy of linguistics indicating how this may be accomplished. This case study presents an experimental design that allows students to develop empathy for speakers of stigmatized dialects and serves simultaneously to introduce students to the scientific method and to reinforce the idea of linguistics as a science. It offers ideas that instructors in any discipline dealing with multiculturalism may be able to adapt.     

Use of the Case Method in MBA Education

The position of the case method in MBA education is discussed, followed by an examination of the nature of business cases, benefits to be derived from the case method, roles for students and instructors in case-oriented courses, and issues concerning integration of cases into an overall course design. It is argued that case analysis helps students to develop the kinds of skills that are essential to success in business organizations: identification and analysis of complex business problems, application of judgment in developing solutions, interactive problem-solving, and persuasive presentation of conclusions. The case method presents special challenges to both the instructor and the student. Both are required to sacrifice their traditional roles. The instructor is a facilitator rather than a content expert, and the student must assume a highly active role, providing the substantive content for the discussion. Both instructor and student are well rewarded for their adjustments by the many benefits of the case method.