Research

LED members at work.

The Learning & Experience Design (LED) research group pursues four main research goals (Reeves & Oh*, 2017). We share with the authors that the scientific community engaged in educational technology research should take time to reflect on the lack of impact of research on practice and the inability of research to transfer into contexts of practice.

Theory Development/Synthesis Goals

We focus on explaining how education works through the logical analysis and synthesis of theoretical knowledge and principles related to teaching and learning.

• • The Effects of Instructors’ Participation in Online Discussions on Students’ Performance: A Systematic Review. This study analyzes how instructors’ participation in online discussions affects students’ performance through a systematic literature review.
  • A Systematic Review of Distributed Pair Programming (DPP) as an Effective Learning Activity. This systematic review of the literature addresses the contexts where the DPP approach is implemented, the programming languages and integrated development environments used in DPP activities, and the factors that facilitate DPP as an effective team activity.
  • A Systematic Review of Empirical Studies on Teaching Computational Thinking from a Learning Design Perspective. The purpose of this review is to analyze existing empirical studies on ways to teach computational thinking using Scratch.
  • A Critical Review of Research on Academic Libraries Use of Online Digital Literacy Instruction. The purpose of this research is to categorize common themes and alternative methods to analyze how academic libraries teach digital literacy.

Design/Development Goals

We focus on creating and improving effective solutions to education problems and identifying reusable design principles related to teaching and learning.

• • Experiential Learning in Online Education. A design case that showcases how learner-centered design and innovative and entrepreneurial thinking can be incorporated into online graduate education.
  • Neonatal Education at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The goal of this project is to design and develop high-quality educational materials and tools that will be used by new trainees.

Action/Evaluation Goals

We focus on studying a particular program, product, or method for the purpose of describing, improving, or estimating its effectiveness and worth.

• • Teachers-Pay-Teachers as a Socialized Knowledge Community. This study looks at how K-12 teachers use Teachers-Pay-Teachers resources on Computational Thinking to teach this topic.
  • Learning in Diverse Educational Contexts. This action-research study intends to understand how culturally rich learning experiences in urban settings can change teachers’ perceptions towards social justice.
  • Evaluating Videoconferencing Systems for Educational Purposes. This study analyzes four widely used videoconferencing systems – Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams, and WhatsApp – using experiential e-learning as the framework for analysis.

Descriptive/Interpretivist Goals

We focus on portraying how education works by describing and interpreting phenomena related to teaching and learning.

• • Understanding Instructional Design Decisions. Learning designers and developers often support unscientific practices based on debunked theory or anecdotal data. This study explores the complex relationship between professional identity and practice.
  • A Case Study in Designing for Adult Learners. This study examines the opportunities presented and the challenges inherent in deconstructing a face-to-face learning experience and reimagining it as a virtual one.
  • Promoting Engagement in Mobile Learning Applications. This study aims to identify critical factors that promote learners’ engagement in mobile learning applications and to examine effective engagement strategies offered in top-ranked mobile learning applications.
  • Nomophobia and lifestyle. This study explores nomophobia (fear of being away from one’s smartphone) correlation with lifestyles and determines if more active and healthier lifestyles act as a protective factor of nomophobia.
  • Bringing Authenticity to Online Teaching and Learning. Learner-centered design strategies and entrepreneurial thinking are analyzed as ways to elevate online learning experiences through engagement, ownership, and collaboration.
  • Authentic Online Discussions. This study uses narrative inquiry to offer reflections from four graduate students who, for a period of two years, led, created, and facilitated online discussions for graduate-level courses.

  *Reeves, T. C., & Oh, E. (2017). The goals and methods of educational technology research over a quarter century (1989–2014). Educational Technology Research and Development, 65(2), 325–339.