Being actively engaged in a task is often associated with critical thinking. Cultivating critical... more Being actively engaged in a task is often associated with critical thinking. Cultivating critical thinking skills, such as purposefully reflecting and analyzing one’s own thinking, is a major goal of higher education. However, there is a challenge in providing college students opportunities to clearly demonstrate these skills in online courses. This research explores the effectiveness of incorporating word clouds—visual representations of word frequency in a given passage of text—into online discussions. We sought to establish whether implementing word clouds in online discussions would result in a higher incidence of critical thinking and engagement. Survey results from undergraduate participants (n=132) revealed that students analyzing text in word clouds reported moderately higher scores on critical thinking and engagement than students analyzing the text in a linear fashion. A positive relationship was found between critical thinking and engagement, as well as peer interaction. This strategy can be applied to a wide range of educational environments to stimulate critical thinking and engagement.
Pedagogy Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature Language Composition and Culture, 2016
The purpose of this article is to share how classroom incorporation of technology with feminist p... more The purpose of this article is to share how classroom incorporation of technology with feminist pedagogy in mind both elicited and constrained learning opportunities in a large, blended class setting. Technology selection, assignment revision, and changes to teaching practices are addressed. We conclude with recommendations for teachers facing similar circumstances.
Patricia Maguire is celebrated for leading the charge to infuse a feminist approach to action res... more Patricia Maguire is celebrated for leading the charge to infuse a feminist approach to action research, penning the groundbreaking book ‘Doing Participatory Research’ in 1987. She is a Professor Em...
Author(s): Reyes-Foster, Beatriz; DeNoyelles, Aimee | Abstract: Anthropology classrooms challenge... more Author(s): Reyes-Foster, Beatriz; DeNoyelles, Aimee | Abstract: Anthropology classrooms challenge instructors to critically engage students in theories of the field and how these are visible in everyday life. At the same time, the rise of online education has made new technologies and tools available that allow for the design of innovative pedagogical strategies. This article considers the use of photovoice, a feminist ethnographic research method, as a classroom strategy in an online discussion in an introductory linguistic anthropology course that was taught in a variety of modalities. We explore the students’ products, photographs representing the course concept of performativity, as well as accompanying discussion posts, in order to gauge the effectiveness of the activity. Specifically, we analyze students’ photos and related discussion posts to answer the following question: In what ways did photovoice as a pedagogical strategy illuminate students’ knowledge about the concept o...
This 2019 ACRL proceeding consists of two parts. The first describes a collaboration between libr... more This 2019 ACRL proceeding consists of two parts. The first describes a collaboration between librarians and instructional designers to promote affordable textbooks and includes results of a study investigating the impact of an open textbook adoption on student academic outcomes and behaviors. The second part consists of a case study describing how one librarian has both successfully promoted and supported adoption of affordable course materials with faculty in an academic department.
Poking the bear: Promoting textbook affordability in the face of a restrictive institutional envi... more Poking the bear: Promoting textbook affordability in the face of a restrictive institutional environment 3-24-2017 Penny Beile University of Central Florida, pbeile@ucf.edu Aimee deNoyelles University of Central Florida, aimee.denoyelles@ucf.edu Rich Gause University of Central Florida, richg@ucf.edu Sarah A. Norris University of Central Florida, sarah.norris@ucf.edu John Raible University of Central Florida, john.raible@ucf.edu
Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 2021
Instructors face challenges in facilitating higher levels of shared cognition in large enrolment ... more Instructors face challenges in facilitating higher levels of shared cognition in large enrolment classes. One strategy to foster shared cognition is the use of asynchronous discussions; however, these can be difficult to support with large numbers of students. Online protocols have been found to help students take more ownership of the discussion, reducing the workload of instructors and thus may be helpful in this context. The purpose of this study was to determine the most effective design of online protocols in large enrolment classes. The study used a design-based research methodology to iteratively design, assess and refine the online protocols and the design principles of its underlying protocol pedagogy. Participants for this study were 1,286 students enrolled in a blended undergraduate class in business that used online protocols for discussions over three semesters. The paper describes how iterative changes in the design of protocol-based discussions influenced students'...
Being actively engaged in a task is often associated with critical thinking. Cultivating critical... more Being actively engaged in a task is often associated with critical thinking. Cultivating critical thinking skills, such as purposefully reflecting and analyzing one’s own thinking, is a major goal of higher education. However, there is a challenge in providing college students opportunities to clearly demonstrate these skills in online courses. This research explores the effectiveness of incorporating word clouds–visual representations of word frequency in a given passage of text–into online discussions. We sought to establish whether implementing word clouds in online discussions would result in a higher incidence of critical thinking and engagement. Survey results from undergraduate participants (n=132) revealed that students analyzing text in word clouds reported moderately higher scores on critical thinking and engagement than students analyzing the text in a linear fashion. A positive relationship was found between critical thinking and engagement, as well as peer interaction. ...
In this paper, the editors of the Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository (TOPR) will share global... more In this paper, the editors of the Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository (TOPR) will share global insights derived from the last ten years of pedagogical entries. What technologies and techniques of online teaching and learning were “hot” a decade ago, and what is currently trending? What are the most visited entries? TOPR’s value in relation to the COVID-19 crisis will be explored, as many educators were forced to teach in remote and online learning environments for the first time. Finally, readers will learn about the process of submitting their own strategies to TOPR, along with an update on the peer-review process for submissions in Spring 2021.
While online discussions remain popular in college classrooms, mixed results persist about their ... more While online discussions remain popular in college classrooms, mixed results persist about their effectiveness in eliciting authentic learning. This case study explores how students perceive the influence of the Photovoice method on their authentic learning, critical thinking, engagement, and peer interaction in an asynchronous online discussion. Photovoice is a research method combining photography with social action, in which people express their points of view by photographing scenes that highlight certain themes. Students in an online undergraduate course engaged in an online discussion which asked them to connect personal images to the course content. Students reported that this strategy supported authentic learning, critical thinking, engagement, and interaction; in addition, a correlational analysis found that these factors are highly interrelated. This case study proposes recommendations for practitioners interested in using a similar approach.
This paper describes the redesign of a faculty development program at a large public university t... more This paper describes the redesign of a faculty development program at a large public university that transitioned from weekly face-to-face meetings to a version that reduced seat time by half. Focus is on course development activities in which individual faculty began designing and developing their online courses. Survey data was collected and analyzed from two “pre-revision” and two “post-revision” versions of the faculty development program to assess the satisfaction with the course and perceptions about faculty course development progress. Results indicate that faculty expressed a higher overall satisfaction with the “post-revision” program and expressed stronger perceptions about their ability to develop their online courses. This is attributed to three reasons; first, there was a balance of autonomy and support; second, an emphasis on adult learning principles to support content creation; and third, a shift from individual to community. Implications for practice are shared and ...
There are substantial quantitative research and anecdotal reports on blended learning and blended... more There are substantial quantitative research and anecdotal reports on blended learning and blended learning courses. However, few research studies focus on what happens at the classroom level. This research study aims to consider the highly contextual environment of effective blended learning courses by identifying the strategies instructors use to unify the face-to-face and online components of their courses to support student success. Using a case study model, interviews were conducted with three community college instructors who were identified as exemplary teachers of blended learning courses in their institutions. The research questions explored in this article are: (R1) What are exemplary community college teachers’ perceived obstacles to student success in blended courses? and (R2) What solutions or strategies do exemplary community college teachers employ to overcome perceived obstacles to student success in blended courses? The interviews were analyzed by the researchers to ...
It can be difficult to foster focused and effective communication in online discussions within la... more It can be difficult to foster focused and effective communication in online discussions within large classes. Implementing protocols is a strategy that may help students communicate more effectively, facilitate their learning process, and improve the quality of their work within online discussions. In this exploratory research study, a protocol was developed and improved over two iterations in a very large undergraduate video-streaming business course (N1=412; N2=450). The discussion instructions were consolidated and adjusted, and design elements such as a grading rubric, exemplary student samples, and due date reminders were added in the second iteration. There were higher perceptions of social, cognitive, and teaching presences in the second iteration, as well as significantly more group cognition within the discussion measured through a Community of Inquiry coding template. Findings suggest that protocols are a potentially useful strategy to manage online discussions in large cl...
Being actively engaged in a task is often associated with critical thinking. Cultivating critical... more Being actively engaged in a task is often associated with critical thinking. Cultivating critical thinking skills, such as purposefully reflecting and analyzing one’s own thinking, is a major goal of higher education. However, there is a challenge in providing college students opportunities to clearly demonstrate these skills in online courses. This research explores the effectiveness of incorporating word clouds—visual representations of word frequency in a given passage of text—into online discussions. We sought to establish whether implementing word clouds in online discussions would result in a higher incidence of critical thinking and engagement. Survey results from undergraduate participants (n=132) revealed that students analyzing text in word clouds reported moderately higher scores on critical thinking and engagement than students analyzing the text in a linear fashion. A positive relationship was found between critical thinking and engagement, as well as peer interaction. This strategy can be applied to a wide range of educational environments to stimulate critical thinking and engagement.
Pedagogy Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature Language Composition and Culture, 2016
The purpose of this article is to share how classroom incorporation of technology with feminist p... more The purpose of this article is to share how classroom incorporation of technology with feminist pedagogy in mind both elicited and constrained learning opportunities in a large, blended class setting. Technology selection, assignment revision, and changes to teaching practices are addressed. We conclude with recommendations for teachers facing similar circumstances.
Patricia Maguire is celebrated for leading the charge to infuse a feminist approach to action res... more Patricia Maguire is celebrated for leading the charge to infuse a feminist approach to action research, penning the groundbreaking book ‘Doing Participatory Research’ in 1987. She is a Professor Em...
Author(s): Reyes-Foster, Beatriz; DeNoyelles, Aimee | Abstract: Anthropology classrooms challenge... more Author(s): Reyes-Foster, Beatriz; DeNoyelles, Aimee | Abstract: Anthropology classrooms challenge instructors to critically engage students in theories of the field and how these are visible in everyday life. At the same time, the rise of online education has made new technologies and tools available that allow for the design of innovative pedagogical strategies. This article considers the use of photovoice, a feminist ethnographic research method, as a classroom strategy in an online discussion in an introductory linguistic anthropology course that was taught in a variety of modalities. We explore the students’ products, photographs representing the course concept of performativity, as well as accompanying discussion posts, in order to gauge the effectiveness of the activity. Specifically, we analyze students’ photos and related discussion posts to answer the following question: In what ways did photovoice as a pedagogical strategy illuminate students’ knowledge about the concept o...
This 2019 ACRL proceeding consists of two parts. The first describes a collaboration between libr... more This 2019 ACRL proceeding consists of two parts. The first describes a collaboration between librarians and instructional designers to promote affordable textbooks and includes results of a study investigating the impact of an open textbook adoption on student academic outcomes and behaviors. The second part consists of a case study describing how one librarian has both successfully promoted and supported adoption of affordable course materials with faculty in an academic department.
Poking the bear: Promoting textbook affordability in the face of a restrictive institutional envi... more Poking the bear: Promoting textbook affordability in the face of a restrictive institutional environment 3-24-2017 Penny Beile University of Central Florida, pbeile@ucf.edu Aimee deNoyelles University of Central Florida, aimee.denoyelles@ucf.edu Rich Gause University of Central Florida, richg@ucf.edu Sarah A. Norris University of Central Florida, sarah.norris@ucf.edu John Raible University of Central Florida, john.raible@ucf.edu
Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 2021
Instructors face challenges in facilitating higher levels of shared cognition in large enrolment ... more Instructors face challenges in facilitating higher levels of shared cognition in large enrolment classes. One strategy to foster shared cognition is the use of asynchronous discussions; however, these can be difficult to support with large numbers of students. Online protocols have been found to help students take more ownership of the discussion, reducing the workload of instructors and thus may be helpful in this context. The purpose of this study was to determine the most effective design of online protocols in large enrolment classes. The study used a design-based research methodology to iteratively design, assess and refine the online protocols and the design principles of its underlying protocol pedagogy. Participants for this study were 1,286 students enrolled in a blended undergraduate class in business that used online protocols for discussions over three semesters. The paper describes how iterative changes in the design of protocol-based discussions influenced students'...
Being actively engaged in a task is often associated with critical thinking. Cultivating critical... more Being actively engaged in a task is often associated with critical thinking. Cultivating critical thinking skills, such as purposefully reflecting and analyzing one’s own thinking, is a major goal of higher education. However, there is a challenge in providing college students opportunities to clearly demonstrate these skills in online courses. This research explores the effectiveness of incorporating word clouds–visual representations of word frequency in a given passage of text–into online discussions. We sought to establish whether implementing word clouds in online discussions would result in a higher incidence of critical thinking and engagement. Survey results from undergraduate participants (n=132) revealed that students analyzing text in word clouds reported moderately higher scores on critical thinking and engagement than students analyzing the text in a linear fashion. A positive relationship was found between critical thinking and engagement, as well as peer interaction. ...
In this paper, the editors of the Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository (TOPR) will share global... more In this paper, the editors of the Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository (TOPR) will share global insights derived from the last ten years of pedagogical entries. What technologies and techniques of online teaching and learning were “hot” a decade ago, and what is currently trending? What are the most visited entries? TOPR’s value in relation to the COVID-19 crisis will be explored, as many educators were forced to teach in remote and online learning environments for the first time. Finally, readers will learn about the process of submitting their own strategies to TOPR, along with an update on the peer-review process for submissions in Spring 2021.
While online discussions remain popular in college classrooms, mixed results persist about their ... more While online discussions remain popular in college classrooms, mixed results persist about their effectiveness in eliciting authentic learning. This case study explores how students perceive the influence of the Photovoice method on their authentic learning, critical thinking, engagement, and peer interaction in an asynchronous online discussion. Photovoice is a research method combining photography with social action, in which people express their points of view by photographing scenes that highlight certain themes. Students in an online undergraduate course engaged in an online discussion which asked them to connect personal images to the course content. Students reported that this strategy supported authentic learning, critical thinking, engagement, and interaction; in addition, a correlational analysis found that these factors are highly interrelated. This case study proposes recommendations for practitioners interested in using a similar approach.
This paper describes the redesign of a faculty development program at a large public university t... more This paper describes the redesign of a faculty development program at a large public university that transitioned from weekly face-to-face meetings to a version that reduced seat time by half. Focus is on course development activities in which individual faculty began designing and developing their online courses. Survey data was collected and analyzed from two “pre-revision” and two “post-revision” versions of the faculty development program to assess the satisfaction with the course and perceptions about faculty course development progress. Results indicate that faculty expressed a higher overall satisfaction with the “post-revision” program and expressed stronger perceptions about their ability to develop their online courses. This is attributed to three reasons; first, there was a balance of autonomy and support; second, an emphasis on adult learning principles to support content creation; and third, a shift from individual to community. Implications for practice are shared and ...
There are substantial quantitative research and anecdotal reports on blended learning and blended... more There are substantial quantitative research and anecdotal reports on blended learning and blended learning courses. However, few research studies focus on what happens at the classroom level. This research study aims to consider the highly contextual environment of effective blended learning courses by identifying the strategies instructors use to unify the face-to-face and online components of their courses to support student success. Using a case study model, interviews were conducted with three community college instructors who were identified as exemplary teachers of blended learning courses in their institutions. The research questions explored in this article are: (R1) What are exemplary community college teachers’ perceived obstacles to student success in blended courses? and (R2) What solutions or strategies do exemplary community college teachers employ to overcome perceived obstacles to student success in blended courses? The interviews were analyzed by the researchers to ...
It can be difficult to foster focused and effective communication in online discussions within la... more It can be difficult to foster focused and effective communication in online discussions within large classes. Implementing protocols is a strategy that may help students communicate more effectively, facilitate their learning process, and improve the quality of their work within online discussions. In this exploratory research study, a protocol was developed and improved over two iterations in a very large undergraduate video-streaming business course (N1=412; N2=450). The discussion instructions were consolidated and adjusted, and design elements such as a grading rubric, exemplary student samples, and due date reminders were added in the second iteration. There were higher perceptions of social, cognitive, and teaching presences in the second iteration, as well as significantly more group cognition within the discussion measured through a Community of Inquiry coding template. Findings suggest that protocols are a potentially useful strategy to manage online discussions in large cl...
Book chapter describing a partnership between academic librarians and instructional designers to ... more Book chapter describing a partnership between academic librarians and instructional designers to promote textbook affordability and facilitate OER adoptions at one large, urban institution.
Librarians and instructional designers (IDs) from a university in the U.S. will describe the part... more Librarians and instructional designers (IDs) from a university in the U.S. will describe the partnership formed to promote no-cost textbook solutions (OER, library-sourced) in the face of a restrictive environment. The institution is divided in two tiers: the President's Office, which oversees non-academic functions such as Business Services, and the Provost's Office, which is responsible for teaching and learning. This creates an inherent tension concerning course materials and revenue, troubling the conception of education as a fundamentally shared practice. Our group aimed to promote change at the university level, while also collaborating to facilitate the efforts of faculty.
Typically, the group meets with faculty to discuss objectives, and open or library-sourced materials are located. Copyright permissions are reviewed by a librarian, and materials are created and integrated into the course by IDs. Simply put, the resources could not be created without the collaboration of librarians and IDs. Highlighted will be one scenario in which the group collaborated with a faculty member to adopt existing resources, overcome issues such as copyright and licensing, and create an open text in ePub format to replace the traditional text. This scenario prompted some challenges with regards to time and scalability; however, the end product proved valuable for both students and faculty. Students expressed gratitude with the faculty's effort of providing free materials. In turn, the product was shared with other instructors, ensuring further equitable access for students.
We will identify future directions and touch on areas of interest such as playing an active role in the campus bookstore contract negotiations, securing grant funding for OER opportunities, and participating in Faculty Senate. We hope that our efforts will result in institutional change and a stronger OER effort, and hope that this panel will help others identify action points in their own contexts.
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Typically, the group meets with faculty to discuss objectives, and open or library-sourced materials are located. Copyright permissions are reviewed by a librarian, and materials are created and integrated into the course by IDs. Simply put, the resources could not be created without the collaboration of librarians and IDs. Highlighted will be one scenario in which the group collaborated with a faculty member to adopt existing resources, overcome issues such as copyright and licensing, and create an open text in ePub format to replace the traditional text. This scenario prompted some challenges with regards to time and scalability; however, the end product proved valuable for both students and faculty. Students expressed gratitude with the faculty's effort of providing free materials. In turn, the product was shared with other instructors, ensuring further equitable access for students.
We will identify future directions and touch on areas of interest such as playing an active role in the campus bookstore contract negotiations, securing grant funding for OER opportunities, and participating in Faculty Senate. We hope that our efforts will result in institutional change and a stronger OER effort, and hope that this panel will help others identify action points in their own contexts.