Stacie Rohrbach

Why interactive learning environments can have it all: resolving design conflicts between competing goals

Designing interactive learning environments (ILEs; e.g., intelligent tutoring systems, educational games, etc.) is a challenging interdisciplinary process that needs to satisfy multiple stakeholders. ILEs need to function in real educational settings (e.g., schools) in which a number of goals interact. Several instructional design methodologies exist to help developers address these goals. However, they often lead to conflicting recommendations. Due to the lack of an established methodology to resolve such conflicts, developers of ILEs have to rely on ad-hoc solutions. We present a principled methodology to resolve such conflicts. We build on a well-established design process for creating Cognitive Tutors, a highly effective type of ILE. We extend this process by integrating methods from multiple disciplines to resolve design conflicts. We illustrate our methodologys effectiveness by describing the iterative development of the Fractions Tutor, which has proven to be effective in classroom studies with 3,000 4th-6th graders.

Designing an engaging digital learning tool: A report on a motivation study and its impact on the design of an online learning tool

Communication skills are critical to the success of students entering the working world as professional engineers because effective writing underpins many of their duties. Unfortunately, engineering curricula are usually filled with discipline-specific courses, leaving little room for communication-related electives. Some engineering programs have started to integrate communication instruction into their existing curricula. However, subject instructors frequently struggle to teach communication skills in their courses as lessons often extend beyond their areas of expertise, and Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) programs are not available at every school. Our project addresses this problem through the development of an online self-learning resource that incorporates video lessons, self-assessment activities, and hands-on exercises. This paper describes a major challenge that we encountered while testing our online self-learning resource-motivating students to try the tool when they are not required to use it-and how we addressed the problem by conducting a testing exercise of motivation approaches that lead us to modify the ways we engage students in the online self-learning resource.

Teaching visual design without instructors

This paper presents a preliminary implementation of an online just-in-time self-learning tutorial for college students to learn basic document design skills. This project is motivated by a lack of resources and opportunities for students who are not majoring in visual design to learn basic visual communication skills. The tutorial consists of audio-visual explanations of basic concepts and skills, self-assessment tools for testing declarative knowledge, and guided hands-on exercises with individualized feedback. The results of a pilot evaluation study suggest that certain visual design skills can be taught via this self-learning tutorial.

Experiential Augmentation: Uncovering The Meaning of Qualitative Visualizations when Applied to Augmented Objects

As we move toward commercial usage of ubiquitous computing and augmented reality, it is important to think about how computing should communicate with us when it is distributed in our environment. This paper proposes that qualitative indexical visualizations based on learned understanding of physical phenomena (Experiential Augmentation) can enhance our interaction design language and aid digital interfaces in communicating in a real-world context. We present a study that gathers data on how participants interpret such visualizations, and propose a model with which to analyze their responses. Finally, we also give a set of design recommendations for those interested in creating similar augmentations.

Supporting Technical Professionals’ Metacognitive Development in Technical Communication through Contrasting Rhetorical Problem Solving

ABSTRACT This article presents an experimental pedagogical framework for providing technical professionals with practice on writing skills focusing on the development of their metacognitive rhetorical awareness. The article outlines the theoretical foundation that led to the development of the framework, followed by a report of a pilot study involving information technology professionals in a global setting using an online learning environment that was designed based on the framework.

Designing an online learning environment to support the development of rhetorical skills

This short paper presents the design of Practikon, an experimental online learning environment, aimed at providing students and professionals, primarily in engineering and technical disciplines, with practice on technical communication skills and rhetorical strategies. The primary focus of this article is on the design and implementation of Practikons learning activities. The high-level design requirements are presented, followed by an overview of specific design choices. The results of the two exploratory pilot studies are then presented, along with the iterative design changes made based on the findings.

A methodology for understanding global communication practices

This paper describes the methodology component of a funded project which has brought together faculty on technical communication and the learning sciences from our campuses in the US and the Middle East. The goal of the project is to research, develop and disseminate in classrooms and local workplaces online modules aimed at improving professional communication practices. In order to understand such global practices, we developed a methodology which would accurately capture these practices and align them with learning objectives and goals. This methodology combines quantitative and qualitative approaches, including discourse-based interviews, student and professional work products, and literature research on student writing development.