This dissertation project began with the development of a Design-Focused Approach (DFA) to First-Year Composition (FYC) curriculum largely informed by multimodal pedagogical theory. In the DFA to FYC curriculum, I highlighted the importance of multiliteracy and the demand for multiple modalities for students to effectively communicate in various…

This study aimed to discover the lived experiences of Serious Game designers. More specifically, how they incorporate higher-order thinking skills, as defined by Revised Bloom's Taxonomy (2001), and assessing these skills. The main research questions are: "Which Serious Game design principles allow for the incorporation of higher-order…

Even though an instructional designer may not have formal authority or direct reports, to be successful, they need leadership skills. Although the literature calls for instructional designers to possess several critical leadership skills, it does not consistently present the same important skills and often defines them very broadly. Further,…

Critical thinking is one of the most desired skills in the workplace, as it assists an individual in solving complex problems and making informed decisions, resulting in their workplace success. Argumentation is one instructional approach that provides students an opportunity to engage in higher-order thinking and improve their communication…

Higher education in the 21st century is changing from the traditional residential program where the student sits in the classroom and is guided through their learning process to one that is online where the student receives their learning away from the classroom. The change from these traditional programs to online programs has increased the age…

As the internet increases in size, our body of research into what visitors prefer for website design is leaving out a growing group of people. Those with visual impairments are one of the fastest growing minorities with a disability online. This extremely under-studied group uses the internet for as many different purposes as sighted users do, but…

Adjuncts continue to be an integral part of higher education; however, they are rarely onboarded at higher education institutions. Onboarding involves systematically introducing a new employee to an organization's values, processes, and procedures. For adjuncts, they also need formalized training in pedagogy. Without onboarding adjuncts, higher…

Many things can influence a student's success in a course. Previous research has shown that students are more successful when they complete the course reading, but students may not always comply with reading requirements for multiple reasons, such as other time pressures or financial costs. Issues with reading requirements may be compounded if an…

Public space design cannot be a one-size-fits-all project. It has often failed to reflect diversity and inclusion usually by overlooking women and minority groups in current design thinking and practice (Chuko & Chen, 2016; Geddes 2019; Sokolowsk, 2019). Due to cultural and religious diversity, designing inclusive spaces with women's…

Sketching is considered a helpful activity in STEM design and education. Scholars have argued for including children in designing technology as it has been found to improve product design and leads to social and cognitive benefits for children. However, little is known about children's learning and sketching experiences when participating in…

Instructional designers and professional trainers conduct many different types of training. However, some topics are job- and- task-specific and are more effectively taught by subject matter expert (SME) trainers. In some cases, these SMEs are given training and/or instructional design (ID) resources, and in other cases they have to learn best…

Quality online course design requires course designers to make carefully informed decisions based on current resources and considerations for the learner. Some faculty at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) design online learning without the assistance of instructional designers, training, or a technological infrastructure that…

Improvement science enables researchers to focus on a theory of change in structures and processes in classroom practices. This improvement science intervention was designed to reorient practitioners toward new instructional norms that promote discourse between teacher-students and student-student during instruction. The purpose of this research…

The work of instructional design in community college settings is woefully understudied. This study documents that work in three community colleges in the southeastern United States while placing it in the theoretical context of neoliberalism, and in line with that theoretical context, takes a post-structuralist stance in its methodological…

As higher education institutions go online to reap the benefits of technology and align their programs with a world economy that is increasingly becoming digital, the multimedia learning theory warns of possible challenges. Large device screens have been used to present related information elements of a learning task simultaneously to facilitate…