Anne Mendenhall

Selection of Team Interventions Based on Mental Model Sharedness Levels Measured by the Team Assessment and Diagnostic Instrument (TADI)

Researchers have claimed that successful team performance depends on shared mental models. While there are a number of techniques that have been employed to measure shared knowledge, Johnson and colleagues (2007) developed and validated an instrument for measuring team-related knowledge. This chapter focuses on the application of the Team Assessment and Diagnostic Instrument (TADI). Using the results of this five-factor model (including general task and team knowledge, general task and communication skills, attitude toward teammates and task, team dynamics and interactions, and team resources and working environment), TADI is used to assess the current state of team alignment with respect to the five team-related knowledge factors. Based on the alignment and degree of response, this measure can be used to assess the level of team synergy as well as determine misalignment in specific areas of teammates’ mental models. With this information, team members, leaders, and coaches can better anticipate team problems thereby guiding the selection of team performance interventions ultimately mitigating team problems and improving team learning and performance.

Habitat tracker: learning about scientific inquiry through digital journaling in wildlife centers

This poster presents preliminary results from an ongoing research project designed to help elementary school students learn about scientific inquiry. Florida State University, in partnership with the Tallahassee Museum (a wildlife center in Tallahassee, FL), has developed a digital journaling system that uses online and mobile technologies to help students better understand the nature of science. The projects goal is to encourage students to become active participants in the scientific inquiry process by collecting and analyzing data about natural habitats, before, during, and after visits to a wildlife center. Preliminary results show that a mobile learning application specifically designed for elementary school students can support the scientific inquiry process at wildlife centers and in the classroom, and help students master the scientific inquiry and nature of science benchmarks advocated by science education reform efforts.

Implementation of an Online Social Annotation Tool in a College English Course

An online social annotation tool was implemented in the context of utilizing question-answering tasks with reading documents. The tool and tasks were used in order to foster students’ cognitive development with higher-order thinking, critical analysis, and development of sophisticated arguments in English writing. The effects of the tool on students’ mental models as well as their motivation for and achievement in a college argument and persuasion course were investigated. The findings are discussed along with implications and possibilities for future studies.