skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: Kira & the Spinners: Exploring the Dilemmas of a Structured-Choice Learning Environment in a Public School
We report a case drawn from 6 months of ethnographic and interview research in a STEAM Lab. Free to choose what to work on, students acquired difficult skills and demonstrated what school leaders had identified as valued capacities: collaboration, creativity, and persistence. The teacher struggled, however, to apply conventional grading practices to recognize this learning. We analyze the case of Kira, a 7th grader who learned to design and 3D print an original fidget spinner and began to imagine herself as a designer and entrepreneur. Kira’s story came to a surprising and sad end, as she failed to produce the “evidence of learning” required for a high grade. The case highlights the dilemmas of recognizing and assessing consequential learning experiences in project-based environments.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1657438
PAR ID:
10227847
Author(s) / Creator(s):
;
Editor(s):
Gresalfi, M; Horn, I
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Proceedings of the 14th International Conference of the Learning Sciences: The Interdisciplinarity of the Learning Sciences
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; (, Proceedings of the 14th International Conference of the Learning Sciences: The Interdisciplinarity of the Learning Sciences)
    Gresalfi, M; Horn, I (Ed.)
    Teaching is one of the most extensively studied topics in education research. However, most studies of teaching assume a standard learning arrangement, in which the teacher is the content expert and directs student learning. What happens when this is not the case, when the resources for learning lie elsewhere (online, other students) and the expertise that the teacher brings is in how to facilitate learning rather than convey content? How do teachers navigate the role of ‘facilitator’, and what are the pedagogical best practices for doing so. Here, we address these questions by examining facilitation in one set of in- and after-school making and learning environments, called FUSE. Drawing on student and teacher interviews, classroom observations, and video, we analyze the needs experienced by facilitators and the tools and practices they implemented to address those needs. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; ; (, Journal of Science Teacher Education)
    There is limited time for elementary teacher professional learning in science in order to meet the aspirational goals of current reform efforts. In this study, we investigated what and how teachers learn on-the-job to gain insight into modes of support less often included in teacher education design. Specifically, we studied elementary teachers’ participation in a system-level organizational routine: curriculum materials adoption processes(CMAPs).Using a communities of practice framework, we explored teacher learning in a comparative case study of three U.S.school districts’ CMAP routines, observingCMAP committee meetings and interviewing participants about their expeirences. We found that what teachers learned varied across each district’s CMAP. We argue this variation can be traced to two CMAP features:(1) teachers’ use of boundary objects and (2) their boundary spanning roles and structures. Results have implications for the design of educational systems’ organizational routines to more intentionally serve a dual role as a professional learning opportunity. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, Proceedings of 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition)
    This work in progress paper presents an example of conducting a systematic literature review (SLR) to understand students’ affective response to active learning practices, and it focuses on the development and testing of a coding form for analyzing the literature. Specifically, the full paper seeks to answer: (1) what affective responses do instructors measure, (2) what evidence is used to study those responses, and (3) how are course features connected with student response. We conducted database searches with carefully-defined search queries which resulted in 2,365 abstracts from 1990 to 2015. Each abstract was screened by two researchers based on meeting inclusion criteria, with an adjudication round in the case of disagreement. We used RefWorks, an online citation management program, to track abstracts during this process. We identified over 480 abstracts which satisfied our criteria. Following abstract screening, we developed and tested a manuscript coding guide to capture the salient characteristics of each paper. We created an initial coding form by determining what paper topics would address our research questions and reviewing the literature to determine the most frequent response categories. We then piloted and tested the reliability of the form over three rounds of independent pair-coding, with each round resulting in clarifications to the form and mutual agreement on terms’ meanings. This process of developing a manuscript coding guide demonstrates how to use free online tools, such as Google Forms and Google Sheets, to inexpensively manage a large SLR team with significant turnover. Currently, we are in the process of applying the coding guide to the full texts. When complete, the resulting data will be synthesized by creating and testing relationships between variables, using each primary source as a case study to support or refute the hypothesized relationship. 
    more » « less
  4. ; (, IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON))
    Recent trends in the cybersecurity workforce have recognized that effective solutions for complex problems require collective efforts from individuals with diverse sets of knowledge, skills, and abilities. Therefore, the growing need to train students in team collaboration skills propelled educators in computer science and engineering to adopt team-based pedagogical strategies. Team-based pedagogy has shown success in enhancing students' knowledge in course subjects and their motivation in learning. However, it is limited in offering concrete frameworks specifically focusing on how to teach team collaboration skills. As part of an interdisciplinary effort, we draw on Transactive Memory Systems Theory-a communication theory that explains how individuals in groups learn who knows what and organize who does what-in developing a Team Knowledge Sharing Assignment as a tool for student teams to structure their team collaboration processes. This paper reports a result of a case study in designing and facilitating the assignment for cybersecurity students enrolled in a scholarship program. Students' evaluations and the instructor's assessment reveal that the assignment made a positive impact on students' team collaboration skills by helping them successfully identify their team members' expertise and capitalize on their team's knowledge resources when delegating functional roles. Based on this case study, we offer practical suggestions on how the assignment could be used for various classes or cybersecurity projects and how instructors could maximize its benefits. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; (, 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference)
    null (Ed.)
    To preserve the stories of resiliency and document the infrastructure damages caused by Hurricanes Irma and María and the 2020 earthquakes in Puerto Rico, the timely collection of evidence is essential. To address this need, case studies of damages caused by the natural disasters and a repository of information aimed to keep record and centralize information regarding relevant cases that provide examples of evidence of infrastructure damages and processes worth preserving is needed. To develop said case studies and a repository, a two-prong approach was used in this study. First, the case study methodology was followed. According to Yin, a case study is “an intense study of a single unit with the purpose of a larger class of (similar) units”. Case studies are used in academia for both research and teaching purposes. Our research team advocates for the use of case studies as tools to inform both learning and decision-making. Secondly, the repository model was developed. This paper presents the results of the development of the repository and includes sample case studies. The repository allows students, academics, researchers, and other stakeholders to understand the impact of extreme environmental conditions on the built environment. Faculty can use the repository in their courses to teach Architecture, Engineering and Construction students topics related to resiliency and sustainability in the build environment. Each case study developed and deposited in the repository, answers to research questions regarding what, how and when the damages happened, who were the stakeholders involved in the processes, what were their actions, and what are the lessons learned. The case studies have the potential of becoming responses to hypotheses for those mining the repository. The paper contributes to the body of knowledge by presenting the results of the development of case studies and a database that can be used for both research and teaching purposes. These can be replicated in the US and other countries, in need of recording and systematizing information after natural events. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email