Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

Adaptive Learning Module for Introduction to Materials Science

Public Deposited

Downloadable Content

Download PDF
https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/s4655q85w

Descriptions

Attribute NameValues
Creator
Abstract
  • There is a growing need for individualized instructional designs in 4-year institutions due to: 1) growing undergraduate enrollment trends across the U.S., 2) broader diversity in students backgrounds, and 3) the growing prevalence of asynchronous remote learning. With the growth in computer technology in education, tools such as adaptive intelligent tutoring systems have been developed to respond to this need. However, these commercially available tools come with high costs and typically lack the emphasis on conceptual learning, since activities and assessments that promote conceptual understanding are difficult to make. As a result, this dissertation addresses this limitation by expanding the research in conceptual learning with the development of the Crystallography Adaptive Learning Module (CALM). This novel tool incorporates activities and assessments that promote engagement and conceptual learning. The content is focused on the topic of crystallography as it was found to be challenging for many undergraduate students in materials science introductory courses, but the design is general and could be applied to any conceptually challenging STEM topic. As various factors can affect conceptual learning, the first part of this work compared conceptual gains in students who enrolled in different modalities – in-person face-to-face (F2F) versus asynchronous online. The results showed the conceptual learning gains were significantly lower for the online, asynchronous mode and confirmed that the different modality can affect conceptual learning in students. Next, as part of the development of an adaptive conceptually based assessment in the CALM, the study examined experts’ ability to predict the difficulty level of a concept question by comparing student actual performance with instructor predictions. No clear correlation was found, suggesting actual student performance data is needed to make such conceptually driven learning adaptive tools. Lastly, the role of adaptivity was assessed in terms of conceptual learning performance and student engagement with learning materials. In a quasi-experimental, randomized study were either guided students through the learning materials with adaptive feedback (via CALM) or were allowed to self-select the amount and content of the learning materials they received. Within this comparison, student overall academic performance (cumulative grade point average, GPA) was also considered. Results showed that the level of engagement with interactive learning content was higher for the CALM instructional design, however, there was no statistically significantly difference in performance between the two instructional designs and among subgroups of the same cumulative GPA groups. There was some evidence that suggests the adaptive individualized feedback pedagogy might improve student conceptual understanding for the middle cumulative GPA group. In summary, this dissertation confirms of various factors to consider that can affect student conceptual understanding; course modality, pedagogical design, and student overall academic performance, The CALM individualized computer tool developed was found to be a promising tool that improve student participation and conceptual understanding in certain group of students and should be continued in upgrading and expanding research toward other topics. Findings from this dissertation can benefit educators, researchers, and software developers who focus on enhancing student conceptual learning in challenging STEM topics.
License
Resource Type
Date Issued
Degree Level
Degree Name
Degree Field
Degree Grantor
Commencement Year
Advisor
Committee Member
Academic Affiliation
Rights Statement
Related Items
  • AIChE Concept Warehouse
Publisher
Peer Reviewed
Language

Relationships

Parents:

This work has no parents.

In Collection:

Items

Thumbnail Title Date Uploaded Visibility Actions
file details NigonNutnicha2023.pdf 2023-12-15 Public Download