This study tested an iPad application using a dichotomous key as a scaffolding tool to help students make more detailed observations as they identified various species of birds on display in a museum of natural science. The Mobile Dichotomous Key (MDK) iPad application was used by groups of fifth and seventh grade students. Analysis of the findings suggest that the MDK was equally as effective and in some ways more effective than the educator-led intervention at improving students’ scientific observation skills. In general, the scaffolding key in both mobile and educator-led form was found to be more effective for fifth grade students than for seventh grade students. In addition, the it was found to be effective at improving the level of detail students provided and the number of scientific terms they used, but not at improving the number of valid inferences students made.

The purpose of this research was to explore how technology can be used to teach technological skills and to determine what benefit flipping the classroom might have for students taking an introductory-level college course on spreadsheets in terms of student achievement and satisfaction with the class. A pretest posttest quasi-experimental mixed methods design was utilized to determine any differences in student achievement that might be associated with the instructional approach being used. In addition, the scalability of each approach was evaluated along with students' perceptions of these approaches to determine the affect each intervention might have on a student's motivation to learn. The simulation-based instruction tested in this study was found to be an extremely scalable solution but less effective than the regular classroom and flipped classroom approaches in terms of student learning. While students did demonstrate learning gains, the process focus of the simulation's instruction and assessments frustrated students and decreased their motivation to learn. Students' attitudes towards the topic, their willingness to refer the course to others, and the likelihood that they would take another course like this were considerably lower than those of students in the flipped or regular classroom situations. The results of this study support the conclusion that a technology enhanced flipped classroom was both effective and scalable; it better facilitated learning than the simulation-based training and students found this approach to be more motivating in that it allowed for greater differentiation of instruction.

Federal legislation currently mandates that technology be integrated into school curricula because of the popular belief that through technology learning is enhanced. The challenge for educators is to understand how best to teach with technology while developing the technological expertise of their students. This paper outlines a framework of technological literacy designed to helps educators understand, evaluate, and promote technology integration properly.

This article explores and summarizes trends in research and scholarship over the last decade (i.e., 1998-2007) for students completing dissertations and theses in the area of distance education. The topics addressed, research designs utilized, and data collection and analysis methods used were compiled and analyzed. Results from this study indicate that most of the distance education research conducted by graduate students in this period of time has been descriptive, often addressing the perceptions, concerns, and satisfaction of various stakeholders with a particular distance education experience. Studies of this type typically used self-report surveys and analyzed the data using descriptive statistics. Validating the concern of many distance education scholars, there was a lack of graduate student research aimed at developing a theory base in distance education. On a positive note, projects directly comparing distance education with traditional face-to-face classrooms to determine the merit of specific programs declined significantly in 2007 compared to 1998. This result might indicate that distance learning is becoming accepted as a viable and important educational experience in its own right. Another encouraging finding was the decreased emphasis on studies focused on technology issues, such as those analyzing the quality of distance education technology and questioning educators’ ability to provide an acceptable technology-enabled distance learning experience.

This paper considers the underlying assumptions related to the use of random assignment in educational research and evaluation; more specifically, the ability of random assignment to create similar comparison groups for the purpose of determining the effectiveness of educational programs. In theory, randomly assigning individuals to comparison groups is considered to be the best method available to maximize the likelihood that groups used in this type of research will be similar; however, in educational research designed to identify proven best practices, random assignment of individuals is rarely possible; other methods including random assignment of intact units and non-random selection techniques are often used. Using a database simulation, this study set out to determine the degree to which various selection methods might be effective at creating comparable groups. Given the complex dynamics of the teaching and learning process and the abundance of potentially confounding variables, it seems likely that comparison groups will always be dissimilar to some degree. While random assignment of individuals performed as expected when controlling for a single extraneous factor, the likelihood that comparison groups created in this manner will differ on one or more potentially confounding variables is extremely likely. Based on the results of this study, random assignment of intact units is not an acceptable alternative to random assignment of individuals. In fact, when using intact units, non-random selection techniques were considerably more effective at controlling for potentially confounding influences than randomly assigning existing classrooms to treatment and control groups.

Learning can be enhanced through the use of technology; however, learning does not take place simply because technology is used. Neither can technology fully replace the intelligent human guidance of a skilled science teacher. Technology improves science instruction in a laboratory situation when the learning activity is aligned with the learning objectives of the course, is well-structured, and when the equipment and materials to be used are well-managed. In order for this to happen the science teacher must have a clear understanding of the true nature of science, both the content and the process. Both teacher and students need to obtain a working knowledge of the function and utility of the technology. And while technology enhanced instruction does tend to motivate students to participate in learning activities, learning is more likely to occur when the technology being used becomes a transparent tool in the learning process and not the main focus of the activity.

This paper explores student learning strategies in an introductory spreadsheets course. Student study habits were tracked at a level of detail not available in previous research. Detailed data were collected regarding reading, video watching, actions in practice assignments, references to assignment instructions, and actions in graded assignments. The analysis indicates that student strategies cluster into four primary learning groups. The study provides insight into how instructors can develop their courses and lectures in ways that better match the learning strategies of their students

For students pursuing engineering degrees, training in ethics, social responsibility, and allied
topics is advocated by a variety of stakeholders, mandated in ABET accreditation requirements,
and largely presumed by professional associations and licensing bodies. As a consequence,
almost all engineering students have at least some exposure to engineering ethics training.
Additionally, many formal courses and programs have been created to promote ethical integrity
and professional responsibility among engineering graduates, while a variety of other
interventions (e.g., service learning programs) have been developed to more broadly challenge
engineering students to see themselves as socially engaged citizens and professionals.

Nonetheless, there has been a surprising lack of research on development of social and ethical
responsibility among undergraduate engineering students. Few studies have systematically
examined levels of ethical knowledge, decision-making capabilities, and commitments to social
responsibility among large numbers of engineering students, much less examined how such
indicators change over time and are impacted (or not) by specific kinds of learning experiences.
As a result, faculty, administrators, and other stakeholders have little evidence to guide creation
of high-impact courses and programs. Still other recent research suggests that such impacts may
be blunted by a “culture of disengagement” that pervades many engineering schools.

This paper reports on an National Science Foundation (NSF) supported CCE STEM research
project that aims to address some of these gaps. Our study addresses two main questions:
• RQ1: What do engineering students perceive as responsible (and irresponsible)
professional conduct, and what do they perceive as socially just (and unjust) technical
practices?, and
• RQ2: How do foundational measures and understandings of social and ethical
responsibility change during a four-year engineering degree program, both in general and
in relation to specific kinds of learning experiences?

This paper offers an overview of the longitudinal mixed-methods study design we are using to
collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data from undergraduate engineering students at
four universities. These schools represent a variety of institution types, and each has students in
programs of particular interest, e.g., those involving service-learning or intensified ethics
instruction. Our data collection efforts were initiated in early Fall 2015, with survey responses
collected from 757 first-semester engineering students at four schools. The survey includes items
and measures related to engineering ethics knowledge, justice beliefs, political and social
involvement, macro-ethical considerations, moral attentiveness, moral disengagement, ethical
climate, and extensive demographics. Repeat measures will be collected from as many of the
original respondents as possible during their fifth and eighth academic semesters. To more
deeply probe constructs and themes of interest, we will also conduct semi-structured interviews
with more than 10% of survey respondents during their first and eighth academic semesters.

In addition to describing our study design, this paper reports preliminary insights from the first
phase of our study. We especially focus on some highlights from our initial analysis of the
survey data, as well as how select survey results are being used to stratify the interview sample
and tune the interview protocol to focus on some observed patterns in the survey data. We expect
this paper will be of interest to scholars involved with teaching and/or conducting research on
ethics, social responsibility, and related topics.