|
Special Project in Educational Technology
- Utilizing Peer Feedback in Online Discussions
A collaborative group of researchers across Purdue's campus has been investigating the use of peer feedback in online discussions in an effort to improve students learning while working to decrease instructor load. Several research questions have been investigated to date including (1) examining the impact of peer feedback when used as an instructional strategy to increase the quality of students? online postings, (2) how the peer feedback process is perceived by students, and (3) if peer feedback impacts students' critical thinking skills. Findings to date suggest that the quality of students' postings was maintained through the use of peer feedback and that students noted that peer feedback can be valuable. More importantly, students described how giving peer feedback not only reinforced their learning, but enabled them to achieve higher understanding.
Team members: Jennifer Richardson (co-lead), Peg Ertmer (co-lead), Jim Lehman, Tim Newby, Dave Meyer, John Campbell, and Jay Akridge.
The team members for this ongoing project just received a 2006 FIPSE award from the US Department of Education entitled: Increasing Access to Quality Learning Through Effective Use of Peer Feedback in Online Discussions.
- Assessing and Validating a Cross-disciplinary Team Learning (CDTL) Framework
A team learning framework has been developed to assess team learning, motivation, and performance. The framework will be validated with EPICS teams at Purdue University. This project is a partnership with Engineering Education faculty and graduate students.
Team members: Scott Schaffer, Kimfong Jason Lei, Lisette Reyes Bill Oakes, and Carla Zoltowski.
- Reasoning From Cases: Expert-Novice Approaches to Solving Ill-Structured Problems
In an ongoing effort, Ertmer and Stepich (Boise State University) have been investigating the effectiveness of case-based instruction as a method for professional education in instructional design. Current efforts are focused on verifying a conceptual definition of "ID expertise" through studies of experts and novices as they solve ID problems.
Team members: Peg Ertmer and Don Stepich.
- Design Principles for Team Learning
Principles for the development of a design support system based on the CDTL framework will be created based on analysis of existing open-source and proprietary collaboration tools for teams. Project partners include: Engineering Education faculty.
Team members: Scott Schaffer, Lisette Reyes, Kimfong Jason Lei, Alejandra Magana, and Bill Oakes.
- Robotic Telementoring
A process for training surgeons at a distance to conduct surgical procedures using robots will be developed and tested. Project partners include Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Education faculty and graduate students, and Indiana University School of Medicine. Team members: Scott Schaffer, Bill Peine, and Dale Harris.
- The Educational Technology Faculty and Students are also involved regularly in distance education development efforts with other departments. For example:
- Designing online nursing management courses (capstone course offered by the School of Nursing) (Huang)
- Designing online faculty teaching workshops for the Center for Instructional Excellence (Huang)
- Designing a "boot camp" for Purdue students taking distance education courses (Newby and Mong)
- Tech-Know-Build: Indiana Students Building Knowledge with Technology
As part of a nearly $10 million Technology Innovation Challenge Grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Purdue Educational Technology faculty are working with the Crawfordsville (Indiana) Community Schools, the Indianapolis Public Schools, and Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) to:
- Implement a holistic approach to reform by directly involving all who impact or are impacted by this effort (students, pre- and in-service teachers, administrators, teacher educators, parents, IDOE officials, business and community leaders).
- Create and implement a learner-centered and problem-based curriculum utilizing portable technology, developed by teachers in cooperation with other stakeholders, in alignment with local, state, and national standards.
- Create a network of electronic mentors (preservice teachers, parents, community members) who will collaborate with students and teachers to design, implement, and evaluate students' problem-solving activities.
- Evaluate, institutionalize, and disseminate results (processes and products) of our efforts to others through the Internet, professional presentations, and publications.
Team members: Jim Lehman and Peg Ertmer.
- Purdue Project to Prepare Tomorrow's Teachers to use Technology (P3T3)
With the assistance of a $1.1 million Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) grant from the U.S. Department of Education, one of hundreds awarded nationwide, this project will:
- Prepare teacher education faculty in Purdue's schools of Education, Science, and Liberal Arts to teach pre-service teachers in technology-rich environments, modeling approaches that future teachers should use themselves, and
- Prepare pre-service teachers to demonstrate fundamental technology competencies, using technology as a tool for teaching/learning, personal productivity, communication, and reflection on their teaching.
A key element of the project will be the development of a dynamic assessment system will provide pre-service teachers the tools and opportunities to select multiple ways of viewing their evolving teaching practice, reflect on that practice, and use digital representations to meet performance-based assessments as they build digital multimedia portfolios.
Team members: Jim Lehman and Jennifer Richardson. |
