Tiffany A. Koszalka

Designing online courses: A taxonomy to guide strategic use of features available in course management systems (CMS) in distance education

Course developers can be distracted from applying sound instructional design principles by the amount of flexibility offered through online course development resources (Kidney & Puckett, Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 4 (2003), 203-212). Distance education course management systems (CMS) provide multiple features that can be easily integrated into online instruction. Easy integration does not equal good design, and poor design can impede learning (Kearsley, A guide to online education (1997) http://gwis.circ.gwu.edu/∼etl/online.html). A taxonomy of the instructional value for CMS features is described. An example of how a course was translated into an online version, initially a failure, and redesigned using this taxonomy is presented. A taxonomy that strategically guides the use of appropriate CMS features to integrate informational, instructional, and learning elements into online courses can support designers in the development of quality of online instruction.

Exploring Instructional Design Factors Prompting Reflective Thinking in Young Adolescents

Reflective thinking is important to young adolescents as they develop their thinking skills. Various instructional methods have been recommended to support reflective thinking, yet the nature of the underlying factors in these methods is unclear. Exploratory factor analysis was used to determine the factors prompting reflective thinking. Results of this study suggest that young students perceived three clusters of methods as supporting their reflection: reflective learning environments, reflective teaching methods, and reflective scaffolding tools. A one-way within subjects ANOVA showed that the most helpful factor was the reflective learning environment, with the most helpful elements being freedom and collaboration. Students’ perceptions of concept mapping and reflective question prompts were found to differ significantly across gender. Recommendations are provided for designing learning environments that prompt reflective thinking.

Combining assessment and research during development of large technology integration projects

Descriptions of large technology integration projects can be found in the literature. Amongst reports of instructionally sound designs and increases in learning loom debates on the effectiveness and impact of the use of technology in education. Combining assessment and research components for large technology integration projects should yield results that inform this debate. The task of integrating assessment and research, however, is complex. Descriptions about how either assessment or research should be conducted can be found, but detailed examples illustrating integration of such strategies are scarce. This paper provides brief definitions of assessment, evaluation, and research and describes strategies for integrating and managing assessment and research activities for a large education technology development project. Examples of tools used to develop and manage a comprehensive assessment and research plan in a large technology integration development and research project are provided.

Synthesis of Recent Literature on Educational Technologies in Medical Curricula

A recent call for medical school reform in the USA has sparked a renewed interest in the use of educational technologies to help enhance and standardize the complex medical curriculum. Medical school goals focus on preparing medical students to be physicians who connect multiple knowledge bases to clinical experiences, develop professional competencies, and continually self-assess knowledge and learning needs. Educational technology has been suggested as a critical factor in meeting these goals. Although there is a growing presence of technologies in medical schools, recent educational technology studies in medical education outlets overwhelmingly appear to be solo pilot efforts that are evaluative in nature and primarily describe uses and perceived value of technology. Few report widely studied technology phenomena and produce evidence-based results powerful enough to support uses of technology to inform curricular reform. Medical education scholars have suggested that more interdisciplinary and rigorous empirical studies are required to determine how educational technologies may enhance the efficiency and quality of medical curricula. This chapter describes the evolving process of educating physicians and provides a synthesis of recent themes in the medical school educational technology literature covering areas of adoption of educational technology innovations, technology support structures, design and development challenges, and recent research. Conclusions suggest future research that by nature is collaborative, interdisciplinary, multi-institutional, and aligns with curriculum enhancement themes.

A Methodology for Assessing Elicitation of Knowledge in Complex Domains: Identifying Conceptual Representations of Ill-Structured Problems in Medical Diagnosis

This study addressed a need to more effectively assess progress in knowledge development for complex practice domains. The result of identifying and implementing such assessment methodologies may be useful in guiding the development of instructional interventions and support mechanisms to help novices progress more efficiently and effectively toward expertise. The first challenge was to determine whether a proposed annotated concept mapping methodology could be used to identify patterns among experts in their problem conceptualizations of ill-structured problems. The second was to identify if there were differences between experts and novice problem conceptualizations. Highly experienced physicians (experts) and less experienced medical students (novices) were engaged in creating annotated problem representations for given medical diagnosis problems. The data generated were used to determine whether (1) patterns in medical diagnosis problem conceptualizations were identifiable for experts, (2) differences existed between expert and novice conceptualizations of the medical diagnosis problems, and (3) a strong argument for using annotated concept maps to assess learning in complex domains could be supported. Findings suggested that there were similarities in how experienced physicians thought about the representative ill-structured problems and these similarities were different than novices’ conceptions. These findings support the notion that this methodology is useful in generating data that can aid in distinguishing relative levels of expertise in conceptualization of ill-structured problems in a medical diagnosis contexts. Discussions of the implications of this line of research and for the further development of this methodology are provided.

Investigating the Effects of Visual Cues in Multimedia Instruction Using Eye Tracking

This study employs eye-tracking technology to investigate the effect of visual cues in multimedia-based, self-directed online instruction. Eye tracking data such as fixation time, fixation count, and movement trails were collected to document how participants directed their attention during their online learning process. Compared with the learning experience without visual cue presence, this study provides empirical evidence on how visual cues affect online learners’ learning pattern, learning experience, and learning outcome, and proposes tentative guidelines for designing effective multimedia instructional content for online or blended learning environments.

Self-regulation of the use of digital resources in an online language learning course improves learning outcomes

ABSTRACT This study investigated how community college students in an online introductory-level language course self-regulated their learning while using digital learning resources. An analysis of reflective journals revealed that learners reported engaging with resources in ways consistent with the six dimensions of self-regulated learning. Only learners who demonstrated higher levels of oral proficiency reported monitoring performance. There were also differences in use of time and methods of learning used by learners at different performance levels. All participants struggled to remain motivated throughout the course. These findings offer evidence that providing scaffolding for monitoring performance, methods of learning, use of time, and motivation may be helpful to online language learners.