For Massive Open Online Courses to have trustworthy credentials, assessments in these courses must be valid, reliable, and fair. Item Response Theory provides a robust approach to evaluating these properties. However, for this theory to be applicable, certain properties of the assessment items should be met, among them that item difficulties are…

We use a continuous improvement model to evaluate an information design assignment by analyzing 120 student drafts and finals alongside instructor feedback. Using data from across sections (N = 118), we illustrate a process focused on improving student learning that other technical and professional communication program administrators and faculty…

MOOCs (massive open online courses), because of their scale and accessibility, have become a major area of interest in contemporary education. However, despite their growing popularity, the question of their quality remains a central concern, partly due to the lack of consensus on the criteria establishing such quality. This study set out to fill…

There is a growing interest in using Augmented Reality technologies in education due to common perceived advantages like its accessibility and the increase in academical performance and motivation it promotes. Yet, most research done does not offer a deeper analysis of how AR technologies are used to reach different educational goals or the…

In recent years, the growing incidence of blended and online learning has highlighted instructional design concerns, especially STEM instructional design. Existing studies have often adopted observations, questionnaires, or interviews to evaluate STEM instructional design plans. However, there is still a lack of quantitative, measurable, and…

This study explores instructional designers' perspectives on the prioritization of competencies relevant to their professional practices. The competencies examined in this study are derived from the 2012 International Board of Standards for Training, Performance, and Instruction (IBSTPI). Using Q methodology, a unique approach that combines…

Intersectionality and positionality can be used to examine how various aspects of identity are analyzed in the context of learners' lived experiences. When examining how learners are recognized for their skills and competencies, there are several ways in which education and credentials can be leveraged. Autoethnographies were used to examine the…

Instructional designers perform informal formative evaluation in design practice. An evaluation may be used to locate errors in alignment of instructional objectives or to increase the quality or effectiveness of a design. An instructional design review is similar to peer reviews in higher education which are often structured, and tools are…

This article argues for exploring, connecting, and applying utopian imagination, speculative design, and planetary thinking as a way forward for higher education to reimagine and move towards more hopeful planetary futures. It examines hopepunk and solarpunk perspectives on possible futures to propose a design agenda for rewidening and rewilding…

The rapid changes in technology available for teaching and learning have led to a wide variety of potential tools that can be deployed to support a student's education experience. This article examines the learning interfaces for pedagogical virtual reality (VR) environments, including immersive VR (iVR). It also looks at how microlearning (ML)…

Many previous studies have indicated that teachers often hold a blend of conceptions of teaching, combining both teacher-oriented and student-oriented perspectives. This research extends the existing literature by investigating whether these mixed conceptions lead to dissonant combinations, and by examining how teachers perceive and manage these…

Undergraduates often express that they feel powerless to help solve important challenges such as climate change and environmental degradation, consistent with the broader phenomena of ecoparalysis. Viewed through value-expectancy frameworks for motivation, value for an outcome and self-efficacy to achieve it lead to goals, which motivate…

ChatGPT, an AI software, has rapidly gained popularity for a wide variety of applications, including educational uses. This research explores the use of ChatGPT to supplement Geographical Information Systems (GIS) coursework creation, to help educators with little experience in GIS. Visualizing sea level rise (SLR) and quantifying the extent of…

In this study, temporal speech cues were integrated into online curriculum to solve non-routine problems in curricular multimedia. Teachers-in-training (n=56) were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions. It was expected that participants in the temporal speech cues condition would be more likely to solve problems than those in the…

The generative learning strategy of learning by drawing has received increased attention in recent years. Although this strategy is regularly used by educators, the literature suggests that the effectiveness of the method depends on several factors. In this review, we highlight recent research trends and methodological progress within the field.…