Digital learning platforms (DLPs) are beginning to become open to research. Specifically, in our work in SEERNet, developers are extending five platforms, each used in either K-12 or higher education by more than 100,000 users, to enable third-party researchers to explore, develop, and test improvements. SEERNet seeks to enable equity-relevant…

When a researcher tests an educational program, product, or policy in a randomized controlled trial and detects a significant effect on an outcome, the intervention is usually classified as something that "works." When expected effects are not found, there is seldom an orderly and transparent analysis of plausible reasons why.…

Factors that drive delivery mode decisions are multifaceted and often necessarily go beyond instructional design needs. Additional influencing factors include logistical, technical, and policy considerations. The COVID-19 pandemic illuminated the many opportunities and challenges that accompany the chosen distance delivery mode, prompting the need…

BME HealthReach is an educational outreach program where undergraduate BME students participate in an out-of-class design thinking course to create and teach interactive STEM activities to K-12 students, where children with chronic illnesses are the primary clients. We detail research that seeks to answer the following: (1) what impact does this…

A core element of systems thinking is perspective taking. Perspectives help people distinguish between salient and irrelevant information, take particular types of actions, and make sense of the world. In this article, we consider what systems thinking and perspective taking means for designers in education. First, we present a framework,…

This article presents the results of a collective case study exploring how K12 practitioners perceive the interaction of systems thinking, creativity, and learning from failure within their professional practice. In order to identify K12 practitioners who were well-versed in systems thinking, we targeted students within an instructional design and…

The automated water filtration design challenge integrates computer programming and basic electronics concepts through the SIMILAR systems engineering design process. The SIMILAR systems design process is to state the problem, investigate alternatives, model the system, integrate the system, launch the system, assess performance, and reevaluate…

Purpose: Education is a key institution of modern society, long recognized for its central role in the reproduction of inequities and with the potential to challenge them. Schools behave as their systems are designed. Achieving equity and excellence is not possible through attempts to fix "the school" or educators. Principles of systemic…

This is the second of three whitepapers on designing curricula for diversity. It provides the step-by-step process for using the Equity and Inclusion for Curriculum Design (EI-CD). Additionally, it describes how the framework can be used to design and adapt STEM+CS [science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and computer science] curriculum…

This study explored educators' perceptions of green school practices in the USA using an online survey to address the larger issue of what it means to be "green" in an educational context. A total of 93 green schools from 27 states in the USA returned a completed survey. SPSS was used to analyze educators' perceptions of green school…

For the forty-second time, the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two volumes. Volume 1 contains papers dealing…

School leaders across the United States face the challenge of creating safe and secure environments across their campuses in a way that helps promote the achievement of schools' educational objectives. To help them meet this challenge, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency asked the Homeland…

With the adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the new English Language Development (ELD) standards, California has embarked on its third wave of major curriculum reform, continuing a process that began with the initial round of curriculum frameworks in the 1980s and that continued with the adoption of the California State…

More stakeholders are turning to technology to advance the professional learning required to support new standards and evaluation systems. Yet how technology is used will determine its potential to influence educator practice and results for students. This brief outlines how technology can enhance professional learning, offers examples of how…

For the thirty-sixth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Anaheim, California. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…