Learning Sciences Research

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12265/2

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 54

AI and the Future of Learning: Expert Panel Report
(Digital Promise, 2020-11) Roschelle, Jeremy; Lester, James; Fusco, Judi
This report is based on the discussion that emerged from a convening of a panel of 22 experts in artificial intelligence (AI) and in learning. It introduces three layers that can frame the meaning of AI for educators. First, AI can be seen as “computational intelligence” and capability can be brought to bear on educational challenges as an additional resource to an educator’s abilities and strengths. Second, AI brings specific, exciting new capabilities to computing, including sensing, recognizing patterns, representing knowledge, making and acting on plans, and supporting naturalistic interactions with people. Third, AI can be used as a toolkit to enable us to imagine, study, and discuss futures for learning that don’t exist today. Experts voiced the opinion that the most impactful uses of AI in education have not yet been invented. The report enumerates important strengths and weaknesses of AI, as well as the respective opportunities and barriers to applying AI to learning. Through discussions among experts about these layers, we observed new design concepts for using AI in learning. The panel also made seven recommendations for future research priorities.
Ambitious Mashups: Reflections on a Decade of Cyberlearning Research
(Digital Promise, 2020-09) Center for Innovative Research in Cyberlearning
This report reflects on progress from over eight years of research projects in the cyberlearning community. The community involved computer scientists and learning scientists who received NSF awards to investigate the design of more equitable learning experiences with emerging technology—focusing on developing the learning theories and technologies that are likely to become important within 5-10 years. In early 2020, the Center for Innovative Research in Cyberlearning's team analyzed the portfolio of past and current projects in this community, and convened a panel of experts to reflect on important trends and issues, including artificial intelligence and learning; learning theories; research methods; out-of-school-time learning; and trends at NSF and beyond.
Broadening Participation in STEM College Majors: Effects of Attending a STEM-Focused High School
(AERA Open, 2018-11) Means, Barbara; Wang, Haiwen; Wei, Xin; Iwatani, Emi; Peters, Vanessa
To increase participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) studies and careers, some states have promoted inclusive STEM high schools. This study addressed the question of whether these high schools improve the odds that their graduates will pursue a STEM major in college. State higher education records were obtained for students surveyed as seniors in 23 inclusive STEM high schools and 19 comparison schools without a STEM focus. Propensity score weighting was used to ensure that students in the comparison school sample were very similar to those in the inclusive STEM school sample in terms of demographic characteristics and Grade 8 achievement. Students overall and from under-represented groups who had attended inclusive STEM high schools were significantly more likely to be in a STEM bachelor’s degree program two years after high school graduation. For students who entered two-year colleges, on the other hand, attending an inclusive STEM high school was not associated with entry into STEM majors.
Commentary on Interest-Driven Creator theory: a US perspective on fostering interest, creativity, and habit in school
(Springer Open, 2019-10-25) Roschelle, Jeremy; Burke, Quinn
In this commentary on Interest-Driven Creator (IDC) theory, the authors reflect on the proposed three-step cycles of (i) sparking students’ interest, (ii) fostering individual creativity, and (iii) inculcating lifelong learning habits. Each component of IDC theory pulls together a wide span of prior research and emphasizes active roles for students. Although the context of IDC as a prototype for educational reform is K- 12 Asian classrooms, we note that some US schools are also mired in a focus on test scores. This is especially true among the US most struggling, low-income schools, where a lack of electives and afterschool programs correspond to diminished student perceptions about their own autonomy as learners and their future creative potential. Thus, while IDC is an important provocation for curricular reform in Asia, there is also the need to broaden its scope and begin to explore the potential of IDC as a leadership tool beyond Asia. The wider learning sciences community, the commentary concludes, is uniquely suited to support such an extension, and there are many opportunities for productive international collaboration.
Continuous Improvement and Postsecondary Student Success
(Digital Promise Global, 2019-03) Means, Barbara; Neisler, Julie
Review of our prior research on the effectiveness of adaptive courseware for Gates Foundation used in introducing our role to colleges participating in Every Learner Everywhere.
Cyberlearning Community Report: The State of Cyberlearning and the Future of Learning with Technology
(SRI International, 2017) Roschelle, Jeremy; Martin, Wendy; Ahn, June; Schank, Patricia
Cyberlearning researchers envision and investigate the future of learning with technology. In an earlier generation of research, the theoretical focus was on students’ reasoning, the standard technology was a laptop or desktop computer, and the typical setting was a conventional classroom. Such research remains tremendously important. However, emerging frontiers in the learning sciences now call on cyberlearning research to develop new theories, investigate developing technological capabilities, and consider diverse education settings. This report, organized by CIRCL and co-authored by 22 members of the U.S. cyberlearning community, describes six design themes emerging across multiple NSF-funded cyberlearning projects.
Deepening Science Engagement With Challenge Based Learning: Research Report
(Digital Promise, 2020-02) Iwatani, Emi; Means, Barbara; Romero, Maria R.; Vang, Mai Chou
Learn about the Challenge Based Science Learning Project and its larger implications for the fields of Next Generation Science Learning and Open Educational Resources. The project involved 18 middle school teachers and five administrators from three U.S. school districts partnering with instructional coaches and learning sciences researchers from Digital Promise to address an ambitious educational challenge: How might we deepen engagement and learning of middle school science in our schools and beyond?
Designing an App to Support Families’ Joint Engagement with Media: Design Principles and Lessons from Research
(Digital Promise, 2021-06) Digital Promise; The Jim Henson Company; Concord Evaluation Group; Curious Media;
In this paper, our collaborative project team shares design principles and lessons learned from research for designing an app to support families’ joint engagement with media and promote powerful shared learning experiences. We provide a rationale, based on research literature, for why a second-screen app in particular addresses our project goals. In addition, we describe the Splash and Bubbles for Parents app components as well as the co-design process and design-based research studies conducted to inform its design and development. Finally, our team offers design principles grounded in findings from our research that may be useful to app developers and researchers interested in continuing and expanding on this work.
Designing for the future of research: Putting equity-relevant research into practice with scenarios and personas
(Digital Promise, 2022-10) Pakhira, Deblina; Fusco, Judi
SEERNet, a hub of five digital learning platforms (DLPs), either in K-12 or higher education, are enabling researchers with capabilities to conduct research and collect data on large numbers of students. Based on the new Standard for Excellence in Education Research (SEER Standards) around Equity, we propose that researchers should consider future-oriented approaches and methodologies to conduct equity-relevant research using DLPs. Taking a future-oriented approach, we created scenarios and personas to help us envision an equitable and inclusive future. Scenarios and personas are tools that may help center equity in research. We make three additional recommendations to bring new perspectives into future-oriented, equity-relevant research practices. First, include diverse research perspectives. Second, engage teachers, students, and families as partners in research. Third, minimize bias. In SEERNet, we invite the research community to join in future conversations as we continue to consider personas and future-oriented scenarios and see what they can help us understand and do.
Designing Gateway Statistics and Chemistry Courses for Today’s Students: Case Studies of Postsecondary Course Innovations
(Digital Promise, 2022-08) Peters, Vanessa; Pakhira, Deblina; White, Latia; Fennelly-Atkinson, Rita; Means, Barbara
Scholars of teaching and learning examine the impacts of pedagogical decisions on students’ learning and course success. In this report, we describes findings from case studies of eight innovative postsecondary introductory statistics and general chemistry courses that have evidence of improving student completion rates for minoritized and low-income students. The goal of the case studies was to identify the course design elements and pedagogical practices that were implemented by faculty. To identify courses, Digital Promise sought nominations from experts in statistics and chemistry education and reviewed National Science Foundation project abstracts in the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) program. The case studies courses were drawn from 2- and 4-year colleges and were implemented at the level of individual instructors or were part of a department or college-wide intervention. Among the selected courses, both introductory statistics (n = 5) and general chemistry (n = 3) involved changes to the curriculum and pedagogy. Curricular changes involved a shift away from teaching formal mathematical and chemical equations towards teaching that emphasizes conceptual understanding and critical thinking. Pedagogical changes included the implementation of peer-based active learning, formative practice, and supports for students’ metacognitive and self-regulation practices.
Digital Promise COVID-19 Student Survey Topline Data Report
(Digital Promise, 2020-07) Digital Promise and Langer Research Associates
This Digital Promise survey was conducted May 13-June 1, 2020, among a random national sample of 1,008 full- or part-time students enrolled in a two- or four-year college or university who were taking in-person or blended for-credit courses before the coronavirus outbreak began that then transitioned to remote instruction. The sample includes 620 students who took a STEM course that transitioned completely online. Results have a margin of sampling error of 3.6 points for the full sample, 4.6 points among students who took a STEM course and 5.8 points among those who did not take a STEM course. Error margins are larger for subgroups. At a 50/50 division of opinion, a difference of 8 points between STEM and non-STEM students is needed for significance at the 95 percent confidence level.
Driving Interdisciplinary Collaboration through Adapted Conjecture Mapping: A Case Study with the PECAS Mediator
(Digital Promise, 2022-05) Chang, Michael Alan; Magana, Alejandra; Benes, Bedrich; Kao, Dominic; Fusco, Judith
In this report, we demonstrate how an interdisciplinary team of computer science and learning sciences researchers utilize an adapted conjecture mapping tool during a collaborative problem-solving session. The session is documented through an edited “Dialogue” format, which captures the process of conjecture map construction and subsequent reflection. We find that creating the conjecture map collaboratively surfaces a key tension: while learning sciences theory often highlights the nuanced and complex relational nature of learning, even the most cutting-edge computing techniques struggle to discern these nuances. Articulating this tension proved to be highly generative, enabling the researchers to discuss how considering impacted community members as a critical “part of the solution” may lead to a socio-technical tool which supports desired learning outcomes, despite limitations in learning theory and technical capability. Ultimately, the process of developing the conjecture map directed researchers towards a precise discussion about how they would need to engage impacted community members (e.g., teachers) in a co-design process.
An Efficacy Study of a Digital Core Curriculum for Grade 5 Mathematics
(AERA Open, 2019-05) Roschelle, Jeremy; Shechtman, Nicole; Feng, Mingyu; Singleton, Corinne
The Math Curriculum Impact Study was a large-scale randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test the efficacy of a digital core curriculum for Grade 5 mathematics. Reasoning Mind’s Grade 5 Common Core Curriculum was a comprehensive, adaptive, blended learning approach that schools in the treatment group implemented for an entire school year. Schools in the control group implemented their business-as-usual mathematics curriculum. The study was completed in 46 schools throughout West Virginia, resulting in achievement data from 1,919 students. It also included exploratory investigations of teacher practice and student engagement. The main experimental finding was a null result; achievement was similar in both experimental groups. The exploratory investigations help clarify interpretation of this result. As educational leaders throughout the United States adopt digital mathematics curricula and adaptive, blended approaches, our findings provide a relevant caution. However, our findings are not generalizable to all digital offerings, and there is a continuing need for refined theory, study of implementation, and rigorous experimentation to advise schools.
Emerging Technology Adoption Framework: For PK-12 Education
(Digital Promise, 2022-10) Ruiz, Pati; Richard, Eleanor; Chillmon, Carly; Shah, Zohal; Kurth, Adam; Fekete, Andy; Glazer, Kip; Pattenhouse, Megan; Fusco, Judi; Fennelly-Atkinson, Rita; Lin, Lin; Arriola, Sheryl; Lockett, David; Crawford-Meyer, Valerie; Karim, Sana; Hampton, Sarah; Beckford, Belinda
The Emerging Technology Adoption Framework was created with education community members to help ensure that educational leaders, technology specialists, teachers, students, and families are all part of the evaluation and adoption process for placing emerging technologies in PK-12 classrooms. We engaged an Emerging Technology Advisory Board through Educator CIRCLS based out of The Center for Integrative Research in Computing and Learning Sciences (CIRCLS) and gathered additional feedback from researchers, policy experts, the edtech community, educators, and families to ground our work through a community of experts. This framework is specifically designed to include community members in the process of making informed evaluation and procurement decisions and outlines the important criteria to consider during three stages of emerging technology implementation: (1) initial evaluation, (2) adoption, and (3) post-adoption. Each criterion has specific questions that can be asked of decision makers, district leaders, technology researchers and developers, educators, and students and families, as well as resources and people who might serve as resources when answering these questions.
Enabling Analytics for Improvement: Lessons from Year 2 of Fresno’s Personalized Learning Initiative
(Digital Promise, 2018) Peters, Vanessa; Means, Barbara; Langworthy, Maria; Neufeld, Phil; Coe, Ryan; Meehan, Kenneth; Smith, Stevin
Evaluation of an Online Tutoring Program in Elementary Mathematics
(Digital Promise, April 2020) Roschelle, Jeremy; Cheng, Britte Haugan; Hodkowski, Nicola; Neisler, Julie; Haldar, Lina
Many students struggle with mathematics in late elementary school, particularly on the topic of fractions. In a best evidence syntheses of research on increasing achievement in elementary school mathematics, Pelligrini et al. (2018) highlighted tutoring as a way to help students. Online tutoring is attractive because costs may be lower and logistics easier than with face-to-face tutoring. Cignition developed an approach that combines online 1:1 tutoring with a fractions game, called FogStone Isle. The game provides students with additional learning opportunities and provides tutors with information that they can use to plan tutoring sessions. A randomized controlled trial investigated the research question: Do students who participate in online tutoring and a related mathematical game learn more about fractions than students who only have access to the game? Participants were 144 students from four schools, all serving low-income students with low prior mathematics achievement. In the Treatment condition, students received 20-25 minute tutoring sessions twice per week for an average of 18 sessions and also played the FogStone Isle game. In the Control condition, students had access to the game, but did not play it often. Control students did not receive tutoring. Students were randomly assigned to condition after being matched on pre-test scores. The same diagnostic assessment was used as a pre-test and as a post-test. The planned analysis looked for differences in gain scores ( post-test minus pre-test scores) between conditions. We conducted a t-test on the aggregate gain scores, comparing conditions; the results were statistically significant (t = 4.0545, df = 132.66, p-value < .001). To determine an effect size, we treated each site as a study in a meta-analysis. Using gain scores, the effect size was g=+.66. A more sophisticated treatment of the pooled standard deviation resulted in a corrected effect size of g=.46 with a 95% confidence interval of [+.23,+.70]. Students who received online tutoring and played the related Fog Stone Isle game learned more; our research found the approach to be efficacious. The Pelligrini et al. (2018) meta-analysis of elementary math tutoring programs found g = .26 and was based largely on face-to-face tutoring studies. Thus, this study compares favorably to prior research on face-to-face mathematics tutoring with elementary students. Limitations are discussed; in particular, this is an initial study of an intervention under development. Effects could increase or decrease as development continues and the program scales. Although this study was planned long before the current pandemic, results are particularly timely now that many students are at home under shelter-in-place orders due to COVID-19. The approach taken here is feasible for students at home, with tutors supporting them from a distance. It is also feasible in many other situations where equity could be addressed directly by supporting students via online tutors.
Every Learner Everywhere and Lighthouse Institutions: First-Year Experiences
(Digital Promise and Every Learner Everywhere, 2020-03) Digital Promise; Every Learner Everywhere
In this report, Every Learner Everywhere & Lighthouse Institutions share first-year experiences of 2- and 4-year colleges piloting new versions of gateway courses incorporating adaptive learning in an effort to address achievement gaps for first-generation students, low-income students, and students of color by improving teaching and learning with the support of adaptive tools.
Feedback Loops: Mapping Transformative Interactions in Education Innovation
(Digital Promise, 2022-05) Baker, Anthony; Weisgrau, Josh; Brister Philyaw, Kristal
This report details the feedback loops initiative at Digital Promise in which we evaluated and mapped the way we generate insights and knowledge and the ways in which our partners contribute, perceive, and share in that process. In particular, we are interested in how we can create new processes we call feedback loops that can aid us in including our partners in more meaningful collaborations, developing solutions that are better targeted to the audiences they are intended for, and elevating the voices, needs, and excellence of the members of school communities. We believe there are cases where feedback loops will provide superior outcomes compared to traditional methods of feedback, and we detail in this report our conception of feedback loops, their components, and places within the Digital Promise ecosystem where they are currently in use, as well as provide guidance for others wishing to carry out this work.
A Field-Driven, Equity-Centered Research Agenda for OpenSciEd: Updated Version
(Digital Promise, 2022-03) McElhaney, Kevin; Baker, Anthony; Kasad, Zareen; Roschelle, Jeremy; Chillmon, Carly
In order to catalyze the research community around OpenSciEd, Digital Promise, with support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, has developed the OpenSciEd Research Agenda. Early on, we determined that three broad relationships between OpenSciEd and a research community could be fruitful. OpenSciEd enabled research encompasses questions in science education and beyond that can be best answered using OpenSciEd. OpenSciEd inspired research aims to drive innovations based on OpenSciEd’s distinctive features and affordances. OpenSciEd partnership research would address questions of mutual interest to researchers and OpenSciEd developers. This paper details the processes utilized to frame the research agenda, recruit stakeholders and engage them in activities to generate research questions, and identify emergent themes for future OpenSciEd research.
Finding kinship in a far away land: The relevance of Japanese cultural perspectives to education research in Eastern Kentucky (アメリカ・ケンタッキー州東部の教育研究:日本文化との共通性)
(Digital Promise, 2023-01) Iwatani, Emi
In this presentation, Emi Iwatani shares how the "Tough As Nails, Nimble Fingers: Developing a K-8 Coding Pathway for Kentucky Appalachia" was conceptualized to explore the idea of "cultural fit" of computational thinking and computer science education in Eastern Kentucky. It also shares project activities and findings related to that topic, and comments on the potential relevance of Emi's personal cultural (Japanese) background to project conception and execution.

Browse

Browsing Learning Sciences Research by Title

Results Per Page

Sort Options