Collaborative learning is acknowledged as an important skill in both higher education and modern society. However, there are many challenges when designing and implementing collaborative learning and many studies report that college students are often frustrated when placed in such situations. Despite the fact that the literature has a wide range…

This dissertation explores Generation Z's perceptions and experiences with Learning Management Systems, emphasizing the influence of user experience design on engagement. The study uses a qualitative postphenomenological method to identify key user experience design attributes that affect student engagement. Analyzing semistructured interviews…

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand biblical worldview development of church members at Community Church. The theory guiding this study was Garrison et al.'s (2010) Community of Inquiry. The central research question for this study was: Using a blended online learning approach based on instructional design and…

The world of work is changing, and soft skills like critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork, and collaboration are essential for professional and personal success. With the increase in online enrollment, institutions can improve online learning to promote the development of soft skills. There has been a lack of articulated methods or…

Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) contributed to over 20% of all bachelor's degrees earned by African American students. Since the 2019 pandemic, HBCUs have provided more online course offerings to their students. The continued success of HBCUs depends on their ability to grow with technology. This study examined the lived…

The purpose of the qualitative narrative inquiry study was to explore factors that influence online learning designs while maintaining quality and promoting innovation in online learning design practices. Subject matter experts (SMEs) and instructional designers (IDs) were asked to participate in a one-to-one semi-structured interview facilitated…

This Educational Leadership Portfolio (ELP) reviews the state of online learning at the University of Delaware (UD). UD lacks the sufficient infrastructure and resources to support online learning, despite its steady growth in online enrollments over the past decade. This growth was punctuated with a spike in online enrollments due to the pivot to…

My dissertation examines undergraduates' online learning experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic through three distinct studies. The primary goal of my dissertation is to shed light on crucial aspects of social cognitive learning theories and learning experience design (LXD) applied in distance learning. These studies, using an LXD approach…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how high school teachers describe problem-based learning as an instructional model for student learning in various academic disciplines in the United States. The research was grounded in constructivist learning theory and Problem-based learning (PBL). The study addressed two research…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive mixed methods research study was to determine online learners' perceptions of nationally-recognized and research-based online course design standards and how those standards relate to their learning outcomes. The study utilized a Likert scale survey to collect quantitative data on students' perceptions…

This dissertation describes a practitioner's design-based development of a prototype chatbot to guide students in learning biological concepts of genetic mutations and protein synthesis. This chatbot's architecture provides learning activities, feedback, and support throughout a series of short, connected lessons. The chatbot is designed to…

This three-article dissertation explores Learning by Evaluating (LbE), an educational approach that enhances student learning through the process of assessing and providing feedback on peer work. Leveraging principles of comparative judgement, students evaluate pairs of exemplars side-by-side to determine which is better and provide a rational for…

The purpose of this Executive Position Paper was to research how to design an online, synchronous, asynchronous, or face-to-face training program for higher education instructors to serve the needs of a diverse student population of emergent learners, specifically in the community college sector. The subsequent research resulted in a faculty…

Adaptive learning systems aim to emulate how skilled educators provide every student with the best possible learning experience. We investigate how these systems might be enriched by incorporating activities and indicators of social learning, which focus on the influences of learners' social context and interactions. This doctoral research aims to…

The purposes of this study were to investigate the structural relationships among the factors that affect online learners' satisfaction with the learning experience, and to develop a structural model that explains online learners' satisfaction. For these purposes, a research model was developed based on the principles of social cognitive theory…