This collection highlights selected readings that influenced my academic work and professional thinking. Each entry includes a citation, a brief summary of the source, and my interpretation of its relevance to learning, technology, design, and human behavior.
Dunn, W. N. (2018). Theories of the policy process. In Handbook on Policy, Process and Governing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781784714871.00013
For this article, the author is elaborating on and describing the various methodologies and frameworks that comprise the totality of the policymaking process. This process is not always grounded in a specific framework and the author is expounding on the role of the individual, as well as that of the collective group, to promote or change a policy. Multiple-streams, punctuated-equilibrium, and advocacy coalitions theory are discussed and how each has a different effect on the decision-making process. “In the advocacy-coalition and the punctuated-equilibrium theories, policy change depends on what has occurred around the issue over a long period of time” (Schlager, 2018, p. 310). Multiple-streams theory differs in that the combining of like items, or streams is needed to successfully enact a policy change. In short, the careful and detailed process of deciding on a framework and theory should combine the quantitative and qualitative components in determining the policy explanation.
Greeno, J. G. (1994). Gibson’s affordances. Psychological Review, 101(2), 336–342. https://doi-org.libproxy.library.unt.edu/10.1037/0033-295X.101.2.336
Gibson’s Affordance Theory states that there are “affordances” or clues within our environment and how we perceive and interact with those clues are the basis for a decision or action to be made. Greeno (1994) states that “affordances are, in this view, preconditions for activity, as I believe is made clearer when they are treated as conditions for constraint” (p. 340). Humans modify their environment to obtain the desired response one is seeking. When we see a doorknob or a door leading to the destination we are attempting to arrive at, we pick up on affordances that prompt us to act, i.e., turning the doorknob or opening the door. The more we learn about our surroundings and how we perceive and interact with it, then our actions begin to make sense and our decisions more logical. Greeno expanded on his thoughts and added conditional constraints to his theory in that the constraint must follow certain conditions that exist in the background.
Mikropoulos, T. A., & Natsis, A. (2011). Educational virtual environments: A ten-year review of empirical research (1999–2009). Computers & Education, 56(3), 769–780. https://doi-org.tamut.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2010.10.020
For this study, the authors reviewed empirical research articles that dealt with the topic of educational virtual environments. Various databases were searched for specific keywords (virtual environment, virtual reality, etc.) and a total of 53 studies, published between 1999-2009, were found. From this, the authors were also curios to know which articles followed the tenets established by Jonassen’ seven principles of constructive learning. 33 of the studies were conducted in an educational environment and 40 of the studies refer to STEM topics. Interestingly, the authors noted that social science instructors also used VR but to a different extent (contextualization vs abstraction). In conclusion, the authors agreed with Higgins and Spitulnik (2008) when they stated that “despite the promise of technology for instruction, research to date has indicated that teachers tend to use new technologies to support existing practices, rather than developing methodologies more suited to the unique affordances of educational technology” (p. 778).
Ögren, M., Nyström, M., & Jarodzka, H. (2017). There’s more to the multimedia effect than meets the eye: is seeing pictures believing? Instructional Science, 45(2), 263–287. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-016-9397-6
The authors in this study are seeking to determine the effect that multimedia (text, pictures, graphs, etc.) helped or hurt participants in a Vector Calculus course. Meaning, when presented with a problem statement and a graph, was the subjects’ attention or thought process hindered or aided by the presence of a graph. The authors “found no support for an overall multimedia effect (H1). Instead, graphs had a beneficial effect on performance only when problem statements were to be confirmed (instead of rejected), which is referred to as the picture bias effect (H2)” (Ogren et al., 2017, p. 281). When a graph was present, students made more use of other information sources, evaluated the problem statement to a closer degree, and made better use of creating more efficient mental models. Participants also paused more, or were silent longer, when contemplating problems that involved a graph.
Reeves, T. (1998, April 18). Evaluating what really matters in computer-based education. Reeves: Evaluating What Really Matters in Computer-Based Education. Retrieved February 16, 2022, from https://www.eduworks.com/Documents/Workshops/EdMedia1998/docs/reeves.html
The purpose of this article, as stated by the author, is to “describe fourteen pedagogical dimensions of CBE that have the potential to provide improved criteria for understanding describing and evaluating CBE” (Reeves, 1998, p. 2). The following pedagogies are discussed further:
- Epistemology (Objectivism vs Constructivism)
- Philosophy (Instructivist vs Constructivist)
- Psychology (Behavioral vs Cognitive)
- Goal (Focused vs Unfocused)
- Experiential (Abstract vs Concrete)
- Teacher (Didactic vs Facilitative)
- Flexibility (Unchangeable vs Modifiable)
- Errors (No errors vs learning from mistakes)
- Motivation (Extrinsic vs Intrinsic)
- Differences (None vs Many)
- Learner Control (Restricted vs Unrestricted)
- User (Access vs Engagement)
- Cooperation (Unsupported vs Supported)
- Culture (Sensitive vs Non-Sensitive)
The author then applies these principles to two programs developed in the late 80’s and early 90’s, Writing to Read and the Jasper Woodbury Problem Solving Series, and subjectively determines where the programs align in accordance with the stated pedagogies. In short, WTR is a highly structured, traditional, behavioral based approach to learning, whereas Jasper is more collaborative based and ground in constructivism and cognitivism.
Reiser, R. A. (2001). A history of instructional design and technology: Part II: A history of instructional design. Educational Technology Research and Development, 49(2), 57–67. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02504928
The history of ID can be traced back to World War II and the psychologist who were tasked with creating training manuals and screening processes for our US soldiers. From there, and because of the war, the mid-to-latter half of the 20th century featured a whirlwind of change. Wars and a depression walked jointly with civil rights and technological advancements. New demands in the form of military aircraft and space shuttles created a need for more complex forms of learning. The needs of the time called our brains to action, and we responded accordingly. B.F. Skinner’s theory on behaviorism was being replaced by Gagne’s theory of the conditions of learning and Bloom’s Taxonomy identified our principal designs of learning. The 1970’s saw an increase in the amount of instructional design models. In 1983, David Merrill developed his CDT theory and PLATO was one of the first computer systems to be integrated into the instructional realm. The 1990’s brought Constructivism to the forefront, process improvement, prototyping, and computer-based training modules. E-Learning was becoming mainstream with the prevailing thought being that it would reduce costs and establish a set of e-learning standards.
Scarantino, A. (2003). Affordances Explained. Philosophy of Science, 70(5), 949-961. doi:10.1086/377380
For this article, the author is attempting to clarify some of the nuances of Gibson’s Affordance Theory while also expanding on the nature characteristics of affordances. Scarantino (2003) states that affordances are more than just a singular event in which “their manifestation is always constituted by an event in which the affordance-bearer X and the organism O are both involved” (p. 957). The author believes that a distinctive class of new affordances, goal and happening, to describe events that are happening to someone, or events that someone does. The distinction brings into account the differing degrees in which an event can happen, the current ability of the affordance, as well as the certain and probabilistic outcomes that could occur.
Schober, M. F., Conrad, F. G., Antoun, C., Bowers, A. W., Hupp, A. L., & Yanna Yan, H. (2020). Interacting with Interviewers in Text and Voice Interviews on Smartphones. Interviewer Effects from a Total Survey Error Perspective, 179–190. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003020219-17
In reading through this synopsis of a study, it appears the authors are attempting to determine the effect that interviews have on their respondents. Due to the truncated nature in which the material is presented, it is difficult to try and expound upon the theory or literature behind the topic of inquiry (but here goes). Thirty-two respondents were asked questions in the following format: Human voice, human text, automated voice, and automated text. In turn, participants responded more to the human voice and text more so than the automated version. As a result, the following claims are presented by the researchers:
- Text interviews decreased the social pressure of the interview, created less small talk, and allowed the respondent to answer when convenient.
- Participants shared less when an automated system was the medium
- “As people’s communication habits evolve—including increased interaction with automated systems—previous wisdom about effects of interviewers may change.”
Wells, A. J. (2002). Gibson’s Affordances and Turing’s Theory of Computation. Ecological Psychology, 14(3), 140–180. https://doi-org.libproxy.library.unt.edu/10.1207/S15326969ECO1403_3 In this article, the author is examining the different views on affordances from various writers, but of importance is Turing’s mathematical model that forms the basis of the paper. “The complementarity between animal and environment is captured in the way that the set of instructions relating affordances to effectivities specifies the way that the animal behaves. Turing machines have both structure and dynamics and are, thus, capable of providing models of the animal, the environment, and behavior” (Wells, 2002, p. 161). In applying a Turing machine application to that of affordances, it is the hope of the author to point out the relational and “that affordances are facts of the environment and facts of behavior, but that they are facts of the environment and of the agent that are determinately linked to behavior via effectivities. The configurations of Turing machines are causally associated with their behavior but are conceptually distinct from the behavior that they cause” (Wells, 2002, p.170). Lastly, the configurations that are created because of the application shows the balance between the organism and its environment