14:00-14:50 | Room: 322B (3F)
Sunday Session III Gaming & Online Education Session Chair: Hee Jin Bang 54771
14:00-14:25 | 322B (3F)
Competency Education Goes Online: Overview of an Undergraduate Early Childhood Education Program Moving to Competency Based, Online Education John Lowdermilk, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, United States
This presentation examines both the need and process used to create an online, competency-based program at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. This project is funded by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The rationale for selecting this program for development to an accelerated competency-based format is the growing need for childcare professionals with advanced academic training and credentials at the local, state, and national levels and the insufficient number of programs in colleges and universities that offer credential and degree programs in this area. In recognition of this growing need, PreSchoolTeacher.Org reported that state spending on preschool programs between 2014 and 2015 grew by $6.5 billion, an increase of $553 million from the year before. The following year, 32 states increased spending for preschool programs by a total of $767 million. Further, a report conducted in 2015 by the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council, corroborates the urgency of this problem and the need to create affordable certificate and bachelor’s programs in the childcare sciences: The Institute of Medicine (IOM) and National Research Council (NRC) were commissioned to explore the implications of the science of child development for the professionals who work with children birth through age 8. In the resulting report, Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8: A Unifying Foundation, the committee found that much is known about what professionals who provide care and education for children need to know and be able to do and what professional learning supports they need. 55381
14:25-14:50 | 322B (3F)
Can Students be Nudged Toward Success? Implementing Nudges in a Self-Paced, Online, University Course Ariana Eichelberger, University of Hawaii at Manoa, United States Faye Furutomo, University of Hawaii, United States Dan Hoffman, University of Hawaii, United States Paul McKimmy, University of Hawaii, United States
The University of Hawaii at Manoa has developed a new course, LTEC 112 - Technologies for Academic Success. The course teaches students a variety of technology tools and is offered asynchronously online on a custom platform that collects detailed student activity data. The design of LTEC 112 incorporates elements of competency-based learning including flexibility in when assessments are submitted and choice of topics to study. Because the course is largely self-paced, students must engage in self-regulated learning to be successful. However, students often procrastinate assessment submissions as evidenced by activity peaks around the course deadlines that do exist. Procrastination has been referred to as the “quintessential self-regulation failure” and students in the course report poor self-regulation skills via survey and course evaluations. One strategy for addressing procrastination is the use of nudges which help individuals make decisions in their own best interest without coercion. Nudges, such as reminders, feedback, and warnings have been shown to promote behavior change and improve student outcomes. Nudging is thought to support development of self-regulatory skills by preserving students’ autonomy. A number of nudges have been implemented in LTEC 112 with the goal of supporting students’ self-regulation. This presentation will describe the generic and personalized nudge types developed in the course, show how and when they are implemented and share data from over 700 students regarding behavior after receiving nudges. Additional findings from student activity data, lessons learned from using the nudge approach and practical implications for future implementations will be discussed. 55463
14:50-15:15 | 322B (3F)
Using Digital Games to Help Young Chinese English as a Foreign Language Learners Develop English Language Skills Hee Jin Bang, Age of Learning, United States Jacey Chen, Age of Learning, United States
Despite the recent increase in the number of digital games designed to facilitate learning, little is known about their effectiveness in helping young children learn foreign languages (Hung, Yang, Hwang, Chu, & Wang, 2018). As children in Asia start learning English as a foreign language at increasingly early ages, research is needed to help teachers, parents, and curriculum developers make informed decisions about digital resources that help young learners’ English language development. This presentation reviews results from a study of 64 kindergarten-aged beginning learners of EFL in Hangzhou, China who played a digital game designed to help them learn English for 15-20 minutes a day for 6 months. The design of digital EFL game activities was informed by best practices in second language instruction and research, and weekly surveys completed by parents provided feedback on the extent to which these activities were engaging and helping children’s English language development. Pre- and posttests of English language skills, along with survey, interview, and focus group data from children and parents offered insight into which activities were most helpful and how the learning activities shaped children’s English language learning experiences. Results showed that kindergarteners who played the digital language learning game developed on various measures of English. Qualitative data shed light on the relative helpfulness of specific game elements in promoting children’s engagement. Suggestions for creating effective digital activities to help EFL learners are discussed, aimed at parents and teachers of young Chinese EFL learners.
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