Spring 2018
April 9
Joshua M Rosenberg
Patterns of Engagement in a Flipped Undergraduate Class: Antecedents and Outcomes
The flipped classroom is a promising and increasingly popular instructional approach used in STEM courses to promote active engagement and deeper learning (Gross, Pietri, Anderson, Moyano-Camihort, & Graham, 2017)). However, it is assumed that successful flipping depends on students’ engagement with online lecture materials, including the frequency and duration of their video views. To better understand how students engaged with online lecture videos in flipped classrooms, patterns of engagement with online video lectures in an undergraduate anatomy course were examined (N = 272). Focusing on the time period between first and second exams, a mixed effects modeling approach was used to estimate trajectories of students’ engagement, which showed a slight decline between the first and second exams with a sharp increase just prior to the second exam. Person-specific estimates were used to examine the relations of antecedents (perceived competence, cost) and outcomes (exam 2 performance, final exam performance, course grade) to the trajectories. Neither perceived competence nor effort cost significantly predicted students’ engagement; however, the findings for effort cost showed a trend suggesting that high effort cost was associated with declines in engagement and then a sharp increase just prior to the second exam. Students’ initial levels of engagement were positively associated with higher achievement; a sharp increase in viewing just prior to exam was associated with lower achievement..
March 19
Sukanya Moudgalya
Back to the Gaming Board: Understanding Games and Education Through Board Reviews
Recent academic research into the use of games for educational purposes has focused almost exclusively on video games. In this study, we explore player perceptions of board games with regards to education. We started with a large dataset of 7,806,486 reviews of 53,960 games collected from the BoardGameGeek website. We performed a keyword search for “education,” resulting in a working dataset of 1,978 reviews. First, we evaluated what games were being discussed with regards to education, looking at educational reviews per game title as well as educational games per subdomain and category. We also qualitatively coded a sample of 200 reviews to describe the perception of the educational value of these games and the perception of the quality of these games. We found, through a number of quantitative and qualitative measures, that reviewers were generally accepting of games’ potential for educational purposes.
February 19
Patrick Beymer (with Joshua M Rosenberg & Jennifer A. Schmidt)
Investigating the Effects fo Interest and Choice: An Experience Sample Approach
Using data collected via the Experience Sampling Method, we explore the effects of choice and momentary interest on student engagement and affect in high school science classrooms. Results from Hierarchical Linear Modeling indicate independent effects of choice and interest, and further suggest that the types of choices educators offer to students are differently associated with affect and engagement. The choice of who to work with was associated with increased positive affect but was unrelated to engagement. Choices regarding how to do an activity predicted increased engagement but not affect. Choices regarding time allocation predicted negative affect. However, relative to choice, momentary interest was a stronger predictor of affect and engagement across all models. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Sarah Gretter
Learning in the Misinformation Age: Are U.S. Preservice Teachers Prepared to Teach Media & Information Literacy?
In our knowledge era, students are exposed to overwhelming amounts of unfiltered information on a daily basis. Media Information Literacy (MIL) is a set of skills that empowers individuals to navigate and respond to information through a critical lens. This also implies that teachers need to be able to integrate these skills in their pedagogical practices. However, little is known about preservice teacher preparation in MIL. In this presentation, I will discuss results from a qualitative study looking at preservice teachers’ intention to teach MIL in their future classroom, as well as findings from a follow-up qualitative study where an online module with a series of reflective activities was designed to better understand how preservice teachers’ views about teaching MIL manifest themselves in practice.
January 29
Day Greenburg
Critical Youth Participatory Explorations of STEM Pathways (Dissertation Work in Progress)
Day will be sharing updates from her (ongoing) dissertation research. She is working with a group of youth to explore their out-of-school STEM learning and development over time and space, and to support their efforts to construct STEM pathways to their futures.
Doug Hartman
Space to Think: Exploring the Use of Large-Screen Technology for Literacy Learning -- Initial Cases from a University-School-Corporate Partnership
This brownbag examines and illustrates the literacy-learning affordances provided by large, multimodal, touchscreen technology.
