Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes both ASU Theses and Dissertations, submitted by graduate students, and the Barrett, Honors College theses submitted by undergraduate students.
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- All Subjects: Educational technology
Description
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of instructor response prompts and rubrics on students' performance in an asynchronous discussion-board assignment, their learning achievement on an objective-type posttest, and their reported satisfaction levels. Researchers who have studied asynchronous computer-mediated student discussion transcripts have found evidence of mostly mid-level critical thinking skills, with fewer examples limited to lower or higher order thinking skill demonstration. Some researchers suggest that instructors may facilitate increased demonstration of higher-order critical thinking skills within asynchronous discussion-board activities. However, there is little empirical evidence available to compare the use of different external supports to facilitate students' critical thinking skills performance and learning achievement in blended learning environments. Results of the present study indicate that response prompts and rubrics can affect students' discussion performance, learning, and satisfaction ratings. The results, however, are complex, perhaps mirroring the complexity of instructor-led online learning environments. Regarding discussion board performance, presenting students with a rubric tended to yield higher scores on most aspects that is, on overall performance, as well as depth and breadth of performance, though these differences were not significant. In contrast, instructor prompts tended to yield lower scores on aspects of discussion board performance. On breadth, in fact, this main effect difference was significant. Interactions also indicated significant differences on several aspects of discussion board performance, in most cases indicating that the combination of rubric and prompt was detrimental to scores. The learning performance on the quiz showed, again, the effectiveness of rubrics, with students who received the rubric earning significantly higher scores, and with no main effects or interactions for instructor prompts. Regarding student satisfaction, again, the picture is complicated. Results indicated that, in some instances, the integration of prompts resulted in lower satisfaction ratings, particularly in the areas of students' perceptions of the amount of work required, learning in the partially online format, and student-to-student interaction. Based on these results, design considerations to support rubric use and explicit feedback in asynchronous discussions to support student learning are proposed.
ContributorsGiacumo, Lisa (Author) / Savenye, Wilhelmina (Thesis advisor) / Nelson, Brian (Committee member) / Legacy, Jane (Committee member) / Bitter, Gary (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Virtual Patient Simulations (VPS) are web-based exercises involving simulated patients in virtual environments. This study investigates the utility of VPS for increasing medical student clinical reasoning skills, collaboration, and engagement. Many studies indicate that VPS provide medical students with essential practice in clinical decision making before they encounter real life patients. The utility of a recursive, inductive VPS for increasing clinical decision-making skills, collaboration, or engagement is unknown. Following a design-based methodology, VPS were implemented in two phases with two different cohorts of first year medical students: spring and fall of 2013. Participants were 108 medical students and six of their clinical faculty tutors. Students collaborated in teams of three to complete a series of virtual patient cases, submitting a ballpark diagnosis at the conclusion of each session. Student participants subsequently completed an electronic, 28-item Exit Survey. Finally, students participated in a randomized controlled trial comparing traditional (tutor-led) and VPS case instruction methods. This sequence of activities rendered quantitative and qualitative data that were triangulated during data analysis to increase the validity of findings. After practicing through four VPS cases, student triad teams selected accurate ballpark diagnosis 92 percent of the time. Pre-post test results revealed that PPT was significantly more effective than VPS after 20 minutes of instruction. PPT instruction resulted in significantly higher learning gains, but both modalities supported significant learning gains in clinical reasoning. Students collaborated well and held rich clinical discussions; the central phenomenon that emerged was "synthesizing evidence inductively to make clinical decisions." Using an inductive process, student teams collaborated to analyze patient data, and in nearly all instances successfully solved the case, while remaining cognitively engaged. This is the first design-based study regarding virtual patient simulation, reporting iterative phases of implementation and design improvement, culminating in local theories (petite generalizations) about VPS design. A thick, rich description of environment, process, and findings may benefit other researchers and institutions in designing and implementing effective VPS.
ContributorsMcCoy, Lise (Author) / Wetzel, Keith (Thesis advisor) / Ewbank, Ann (Thesis advisor) / Simon, Harvey (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
This study collected and examined information on K-12 teachers currently involved in online education in the United States. The purposes of this study included defining the demographics of these teachers, determining the extent to which they were formally educated and/or trained to teach online, and to compare these findings to those from a similar study conducted six years earlier. A web-based survey, including questions in both open and closed form, was used to gather data from 325 participants currently teaching at least one online class at publicly funded K-12 online schools nationwide. Survey questions covered the following six domains: a) personal demographics, b) educational background and experience, c) pre-service training, d) in-service training, and e) current online teaching assignments. The results of this study indicate that those currently teaching online to K-12 students have demographic characteristics that are similar to face-to-face teachers, particularly in terms of gender, age, and ethnicity/race; however, the online teachers generally had higher levels of educational attainment, more years of teaching experience, and were significantly more likely to teach on a part-time basis. It was found that teachers working with K-12 students online are self-motivated, place a high value on learning and education, and enjoy the challenge and process of using technology for this purpose. Based on findings, only a limited number of university-based teacher preparation programs address any aspect of the methods and techniques required for teaching online, and even fewer offer online field placement opportunities for pre-service teachers. For the most part, current online teachers were found to have received training after graduation, while working in the field. Further research is needed to specifically define and empirically validate the methods and techniques required for effective online teaching at the K-12 levels so that formal educational and training programs can be further developed to effectively prepare future K-12 online teachers.
ContributorsLarson, Jean Sutton (Author) / Archambault, Leanna (Thesis advisor) / Savenye, Wilhelmina (Thesis advisor) / Bitter, Gary (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
The purpose of this survey study was to collect data from pre-K-12 educators in the U.S. regarding their perceptions of the purpose, conceptions, use, impact, and results of educational research. The survey tool was based on existing questionnaires and case studies in the literature, as well as newly developed items. 3,908 educators in a database developed over 10+ years at the world's largest education company were sent a recruiting email; 400 elementary and secondary teachers in the final sample completed the online survey containing 48 questions over a three-week deployment period in the spring of 2013. Results indicated that overall teachers believe educational research is important, that the most important purpose of research is to increase effectiveness of classroom practice, yet research is not frequently sought out during the course of practice. Teachers perceive results in research journals as the most trustworthy yet also perceive research journals the most difficult to access (relying second-most often for research via in-service trainings). These findings have implications for teachers, administrators, policy-makers, and researchers. Educational researchers should seek to address both the theoretical and the applied aspects of learning. Professional development must make explicit links between research findings and classroom strategies and tactics, and research must be made more readily available to those who are not currently seeking additional credentialing, and therefore do not individually have access to scholarly literature. Further research is needed to expand the survey sample and refine the survey instrument. Similar research with administrators in pre-K-20 settings as well as in-depth interviews would serve to investigate the "why" of many findings.
ContributorsMahoney, Shawn (Author) / Savenye, Wilhelmina (Thesis advisor) / Nelson, Brian (Committee member) / Atkinson, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
With the unveiling of the National Educational Technology Plan 2010, both preservice and inservice K12 teachers in the United States are expected to create a classroom environment that fosters the creation of digital citizens. However, it is unclear whether or not teacher education programs build this direct instruction, or any other method of introducing students to the National Education Technology Standards (NETS), "a standard of excellence and best practices in learning, teaching and leading with technology in education," into their curriculum (International Society for Technology in Education, 2012). As with most teaching skills, the NETS and standards-based technology integration must be learned through exposure during the teacher preparation curriculum, either through modeling, direct instruction or assignments constructed to encourage standards-based technology integration. This study attempted to determine the extent to which preservice teachers at Arizona State University (ASU) enrolled in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College (MLFTC) can recognize the National Education Technology Standards (NETS) published by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and to what extent preservice teachers are exposed to technology integration in accordance with the NETS-T standards in their preparation curriculum in order to answer the questions of whether or not teacher education curriculum provides students an opportunity to learn and apply the NETS-T and if preservice teachers in core teacher preparation program courses that include objectives that integrate technology are more likely to be able to identify NETS-T standards than those in courses that do not include these elements In order to answer these questions, a mixed-method design study was utilized to gather data from an electronic survey, one-on-one interviews with students, faculty, and administrators, and document analysis of core course objectives and curriculum goals in the teacher certification program at ASU. The data was analyzed in order to determine the relationship between the preservice teachers, the NETS-T standards, and the role technology plays in the curriculum of the teacher preparation program. Results of the analysis indicate that preservice teachers have a minimum NETS-T awareness at the Literacy level, indicating that they can use technology skills when prompted and explore technology independently.
ContributorsLewis, Carrie L (Author) / Nelson, Brian (Thesis advisor) / Archambault, Leanna (Thesis advisor) / Savenye, Wilhelmenia (Committee member) / Atkinson, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
This study explored three methods to measure cognitive load in a learning environment using four logic puzzles that systematically varied in level of intrinsic cognitive load. Participants' perceived intrinsic load was simultaneously measured with a self-report measure--a traditional subjective measure--and two objective, physiological measures based on eye-tracking and EEG technology. In addition to gathering self-report, eye-tracking data, and EEG data, this study also captured data on individual difference variables and puzzle performance. Specifically, this study addressed the following research questions: 1. Are self-report ratings of cognitive load sensitive to tasks that increase in level of intrinsic load? 2. Are physiological measures sensitive to tasks that increase in level of intrinsic load? 3. To what extent do objective physiological measures and individual difference variables predict self-report ratings of intrinsic cognitive load? 4. Do the number of errors and the amount of time spent on each puzzle increase as the puzzle difficulty increases? Participants were 56 undergraduate students. Results from analyses with inferential statistics and data-mining techniques indicated features from the physiological data were sensitive to the puzzle tasks that varied in level of intrinsic load. The self-report measures performed similarly when the difference in intrinsic load of the puzzles was the most varied. Implications for these results and future directions for this line of research are discussed.
ContributorsJoseph, Stacey (Author) / Atkinson, Robert K (Thesis advisor) / Johnson-Glenberg, Mina (Committee member) / Nelson, Brian (Committee member) / Klein, James (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
This study investigated the effects of concurrent audio and equivalent onscreen text on the ability of learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) to form associations between textual and aural forms of target vocabulary words. The study also looked at the effects of learner control over an audio sequence on the association of textual and aural forms of target words. Attitudes towards experimental treatments and reported level of cognitive load were also examined in the context of a computer-based multimedia instructional program. A total of 200 college students took part in the study. Participants were randomly assigned to experimental conditions in a 2 x 3 factorial design with level of learner control (learner-controlled vs. not-learner-controlled) and format of presentation of information (audio + no text vs. audio + full text vs. audio + keyword text) as factors. The subjects completed a pretest, a posttest, cognitive load questions, and an attitude questionnaire. The results revealed the following findings: (a) groups in the audio + keyword text conditions outperformed those in the audio + no text and audio + full text conditions on text-sound association, (b) within the audio + keyword text conditions, the learner-controlled group outperformed the not-learner-controlled group on text-sound association, (c) within the learner-controlled conditions, the audio + keyword group outperformed the audio + no text and audio + full text groups on text-sound association, (d) a redundancy effect was not found for any treatment condition, and (e) overall, participants had positive attitudes towards the treatments. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed within the frameworks of cognitive load theory and cognitive theory of multimedia learning.
ContributorsEnciso Bernal, Ana Maria (Author) / Nelson, Brian C. (Thesis advisor) / Savenye, Wilhelmina (Committee member) / Atkinson, Robert K. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
In an effort to stress the benefits of the application of renewable energy to the next generation of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) professionals, instructional modules on energy and biogas were integrated into a summer camp curriculum that challenged students to apply STEAM concepts in the design and development of chain reaction machines. Each module comprised an interactive presentations and a hands-on component where students operated a manipulative relevant to the content. During summer 2013, this camp was implemented at two high schools in Arizona and one in Trinidad and Tobago. Assessments showed that the overall modules were effective in helping students learn and retain the information presented on energy and biogas production. To improve future implementations of these modules, specifically the module on biogas production, the anaerobic digester was redesigned. In addition, a designed experiment was conducted to determine how to optimize the influent and operational environment that is available in an average high school classroom to generate maximum biogas yield. Eight plug-flow anaerobic digesters made of PVC piping and fixtures were used in a 2x3 factorial design assessing: co-digestion (20mL or 50mL) used cooking oil, temperature (25°C or 40°C), and addition of inoculum (0mL or 200mL). Biogas production was captured at two intervals over a 30-day period, and the experiments were replicated three times. Results showed that temperature at 40°C significantly increased biogas production and should be used over 25°C when using anaerobic digesters. Other factors that may potentially increase biogas production are combination of temperature at 40°C and 50mL of used cooking oil. In the future, the improvements made in the design of the anaerobic digester, and the applications of the finding from the experimental design, are expected to lead to an improved manipulative for teaching students about biogas production.
ContributorsMcCall, Shakira Renee (Author) / Dalrymple, Odesma O (Thesis advisor) / Bradley, Rogers (Committee member) / Hristovski, Kiril (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
This thesis is an initial test of the hypothesis that superficial measures suffice for measuring collaboration among pairs of students solving complex math problems, where the degree of collaboration is categorized at a high level. Data were collected
in the form of logs from students' tablets and the vocal interaction between pairs of students. Thousands of different features were defined, and then extracted computationally from the audio and log data. Human coders used richer data (several video streams) and a thorough understand of the tasks to code episodes as
collaborative, cooperative or asymmetric contribution. Machine learning was used to induce a detector, based on random forests, that outputs one of these three codes for an episode given only a characterization of the episode in terms of superficial features. An overall accuracy of 92.00% (kappa = 0.82) was obtained when
comparing the detector's codes to the humans' codes. However, due irregularities in running the study (e.g., the tablet software kept crashing), these results should be viewed as preliminary.
in the form of logs from students' tablets and the vocal interaction between pairs of students. Thousands of different features were defined, and then extracted computationally from the audio and log data. Human coders used richer data (several video streams) and a thorough understand of the tasks to code episodes as
collaborative, cooperative or asymmetric contribution. Machine learning was used to induce a detector, based on random forests, that outputs one of these three codes for an episode given only a characterization of the episode in terms of superficial features. An overall accuracy of 92.00% (kappa = 0.82) was obtained when
comparing the detector's codes to the humans' codes. However, due irregularities in running the study (e.g., the tablet software kept crashing), these results should be viewed as preliminary.
ContributorsViswanathan, Sree Aurovindh (Author) / VanLehn, Kurt (Thesis advisor) / T.H CHI, Michelene (Committee member) / Walker, Erin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
This dissertation describes Space Vector 1 and Space Vector 2, two video games that introduce Newtonian mechanics concepts. Space Vector 1 is a side-scrolling game, in which players choose to drop bombs or supplies. Players had to identify if the physics was correct during a mission, or they had to plot the trajectory of a falling object, which was then simulated. In Space Vector 2, players were given velocity and acceleration values and had to plot the trajectory of a spaceship across a grid, or players were given a trajectory of a spaceship on a grid and had to program the velocity and acceleration values to produce the trajectory. Space Vector 1 was evaluated with 65 college undergraduates. Space Vector 2 was evaluated with 18 high school students. All participants were given a subset of the Force Concept Inventory, a standard assessment tool in physics education, as a pretest and posttest. Space Vector 1 was evaluated with a single group pretest-posttest design. Space Vector 2 was evaluated with a 2 x 2 ANOVA, where the factors were game mechanic (prediction mechanic or programming mechanic) and bonus questions (bonus question after a mission or no bonus question). Bayesian statistical methods were used for the data analysis. The best estimate for the average change in test scores for Space Vector 1 was a score gain of 1.042 (95% Highest Density Interval (HDI) [0.613, 1.487]) with an effect size of 0.611 (95% HDI [0.327, 0.937]). The best estimate for the grand mean of change scores in Space Vector 2 was an increase of 0.78 (95% HDI [-0.3, 1.85]) with an effect size of 0.379 (95% HDI [-0.112, 0.905]). The prediction
o bonus question version produced the largest change in score, where the best estimate for the mean change score was an increase of 1.2. The estimation intervals for the Space Vector 2 results were wide, and all included zero as a credible value.
o bonus question version produced the largest change in score, where the best estimate for the mean change score was an increase of 1.2. The estimation intervals for the Space Vector 2 results were wide, and all included zero as a credible value.
ContributorsKeylor, Eric Karl (Author) / Gee, James P. (Thesis advisor) / Stevens, Scott M. (Committee member) / Nelson, Brian C. (Committee member) / Atkinson, Robert K. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014