WIP: Instances of Dynamic Pedagogical Decision Making in the Uptake of a Technology Tool

Harpreet Auby; Milo Koretsky; John Galisky; Susan Nolen

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: ERM: Exploring Educational Technology in Engineering
Page Count: 7
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--40618
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/40618
Download Count: 270

Paper Authors

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Milo Koretsky Tufts University

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Milo Koretsky (he/him/his) is the McDonnell Family Bridge Professor holding a joint appointment in Chemical and Biological Engineering and Education at Tufts University. He received his BS and MS degrees from UC San Diego and his PhD from UC Berkeley, all in chemical engineering. He is interested in integrating technology into effective educational practices and in promoting the use of higher-level cognitive and social skills in engineering problem solving.

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Harpreet Auby Tufts University

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Harpreet Auby is a STEM Education MS and Chemical Engineering PhD student at Tufts University. He is a graduate research assistant working with Dr. Milo Koretsky within the Institute for Research on Learning and Instruction (IRLI). Harpreet received his BS in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His current work focuses on machine learning applications in educational research and evaluation, learning assistants, and uptake of an online technology tool emphasizing concept-based learning called the Concept Warehouse. His broad research interests include engineering education, learning and sensemaking in STEM, and liberatory pedagogies in STEM Ed.

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John Galisky University of California, Santa Barbara

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Susan Nolen

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Professor Emerita, Learning Sciences & Human Development, College of Education, University of Washington

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Abstract

In this work-in-progress paper, we continue investigation into the propagation of the Concept Warehouse within mechanical engineering. Educational technology is becoming an ever increasing element in classroom culture. At their best, these new technologies can allow teachers to engage in a more diverse array of instructional practices which can lead to increased interactivity and access within the classroom. However, technology tools oriented at widespread adoption and use are often conceived from a turn-key lens where professional development is largely focused on procedural competencies. Educators are given the tool, taught the logistics of how it works, and then left to their own accord to implement it within their courses, which sit within particular instructional contexts. There is little emphasis on sustainable incorporation of technologies into their instructional practices. In this paper, we focus on interactions between instructor, tool, and student within a larger ecosystems model.

We are studying the propagation of the Concept Warehouse, a technology tool used to facilitate concept-based active learning within the context of a larger project. Twelve instructors from five different institutions were interviewed at various times in their adoption. In addition, the instructors participated in a community of practice to discuss and reflect upon the use of the tool within their instructional practices. For this WIP, we explore a bounded case study of two different instructors, Al and Joe, who both were central participants in the project, participating in interviews and in the community of practice.

Both Al and Joe had deep pedagogical knowledge, were committed to active learning, and actively discussed their ongoing adaptation of the tool in the community of practice. However, their decisions about how to integrate the tool fundamentally differed, including the aspects of the tool they took up and the ways they made sense of their use. In analyzing these two cases, we uncovered how instructors navigate the dynamic nature of pedagogical decision making by considering their goals relative to interactions of their students with the tool.

Citation
Format

Koretsky, M., & Auby, H., & Galisky, J., & Nolen, S. (2022, August), WIP: Instances of Dynamic Pedagogical Decision Making in the Uptake of a Technology Tool Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--40618

TY - CPAPER
AB - In this work-in-progress paper, we continue investigation into the propagation of the Concept Warehouse within mechanical engineering. Educational technology is becoming an ever increasing element in classroom culture. At their best, these new technologies can allow teachers to engage in a more diverse array of instructional practices which can lead to increased interactivity and access within the classroom. However, technology tools oriented at widespread adoption and use are often conceived from a turn-key lens where professional development is largely focused on procedural competencies. Educators are given the tool, taught the logistics of how it works, and then left to their own accord to implement it within their courses, which sit within particular instructional contexts. There is little emphasis on sustainable incorporation of technologies into their instructional practices. In this paper, we focus on interactions between instructor, tool, and student within a larger ecosystems model.

We are studying the propagation of the Concept Warehouse, a technology tool used to facilitate concept-based active learning within the context of a larger project. Twelve instructors from five different institutions were interviewed at various times in their adoption. In addition, the instructors participated in a community of practice to discuss and reflect upon the use of the tool within their instructional practices. For this WIP, we explore a bounded case study of two different instructors, Al and Joe, who both were central participants in the project, participating in interviews and in the community of practice.

Both Al and Joe had deep pedagogical knowledge, were committed to active learning, and actively discussed their ongoing adaptation of the tool in the community of practice. However, their decisions about how to integrate the tool fundamentally differed, including the aspects of the tool they took up and the ways they made sense of their use. In analyzing these two cases, we uncovered how instructors navigate the dynamic nature of pedagogical decision making by considering their goals relative to interactions of their students with the tool.

AU - Milo Koretsky
AU - Harpreet Auby
AU - John Galisky
AU - Susan Nolen
CY - Minneapolis, MN
DA - 2022/08/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - WIP: Instances of Dynamic Pedagogical Decision Making in the Uptake of a Technology Tool
UR - https://peer.asee.org/40618
DO - 10.18260/1-2--40618
ER -