CEHHS Faculty Present Research at International Conference

AUSTIN, TX. - Dr. Stein Brunvand and Dr. David Hill, Associate Professors from the UM-Dearborn College of Education, Health, and Human Services (CEHHS), presented research on the gamification of learning at the 28th Society for Informational Technology in Teacher Education (SITE) annual conference held this year in Austin, Texas from March 5-9, 2017.

Dr. Stein Brunvand

Dr. Brunvand and Dr. Hill have been using GradeCraft in their undergraduate courses since the 2015 winter semester to create gameful learning experiences for their students.  GradeCraft is a gamified learning management system (LMS) that was created on the Ann Arbor campus. 

In a gamified course, students have the freedom to choose what assignments they will complete in order to earn the points they need to “level up” to the overall grade they want.  This is much like a video game environment where players earn points in order to move through the different levels of the game.  In addition, in a gamified course there are locks/unlocks with different assignments and tasks that students need to complete in order to access more difficult assignments.  This is also similar to a video game that requires the player to find hidden treasure, secret keys and other items in order to unlock other challenges and levels. 

The use of gamified learning has increased within the educational community over the last decade in an attempt to enhance student learning in multiple ways. 

Dr. David Hill

In particular, researchers have started to examine gamified learning and the potential impact on student motivation and engagement within educational settings. However, few studies have examined the relationship between specific tools embedded within a LMS and student outcomes at the postsecondary level.

The purpose of this study conducted by Dr. Brunvand and Dr. Hill was to investigate the impact of a grade predictor tool embedded within GradeCraft on 75 college students’ ability to accurately predict their final grades. You can view their presentation slides online if you are interested in learning more about their work.

CEHHS Faculty AERA Presentation Highlights

CEHHS faculty members Martha Adler, Seong Hong and Kirsten Dara Hill all from the department of Education, presented at the nationally recognized American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference this past April 16- 20. Excerpts of their research and presentations are included below.

Dr. Martha Adler - AERA Presentation 
A Case Study of Undergraduates Developing Understandings While Learning, Working, and Creating Relationships Across Cultures

This is a case study of a university summer program where 15 undergraduates spent four weeks working with Mexican teachers tutoring in English and a local NGO building a house for a family of twelve. Students were engaged in authentic activities designed to develop cultural awareness—of themselves, each other and our Mexican hosts. Living and working outside their comfort zones, they gained understandings of literacy development, dual language literacy, Mexican culture, and poverty. The opportunities to experience new cultures and to interact with children in poverty and their families revealed that the students also gained understandings that allow them to examine related issues within their own communities and the U. S. through a more nuanced and informed lens.This is a case study of a university summer program where 15 undergraduates spent four weeks working with Mexican teachers tutoring in English and a local NGO building a house for a family of twelve. Students were engaged in authentic activities designed to develop cultural awareness—of themselves, each other and our Mexican hosts. Living and working outside their comfort zones, they gained understandings of literacy development, dual language literacy, Mexican culture, and poverty. The opportunities to experience new cultures and to interact with children in poverty and their families revealed that the students also gained understandings that allow them to examine related issues within their own communities and the U. S. through a more nuanced and informed lens. 

For more information on Dr. Adler's research please view her faculty biography. 

Dr. Kirsten Dara Hill - AERA Presentation 

Urban Parents' Perspectives on Organized School Visits to Inform Advocacy and School Choice in an Underserved School District

This ethnographic case study examined the perspectives of parent participants in an organized parent group in Detroit seeking the best school options for their children entering Kindergarten.   Their residency and school choices have emerged against the grain of public schools that have racially charged histories and decades of residential mobility trends.  Interviews and surveys examined parents’ perspectives for 1) fulfilling school and community linkages with city schools 2) impressions of school visits and 3) expectations for curriculum.  This study documented the group’s first year.  During this time,  school choices have been informed by  information sharing of documentation gathered from organized daytime school visits with a school evaluation checklist, which outlined the groups’ desired school criteria.  Findings revealed participants’ preferences for schools that are connected to the community, positive impressions of school visits, and expectations for project and inquiry based curriculum.

What Urban Parents Want:  A Parent Group's Negotiation of Schooling Options in an Underserved School District

This community-based, participatory action research study examined the outcomes of parent participation in an organized parent group in Detroit seeking the best school options for their children entering Kindergarten.  Examined during the group’s first year are ways in which the parent group collaborated and organized meetings and daytime public, private, and charter school visits to inform their school choices.  Surveys, interviews, and field notes examined parents’ preferences and expectations for school traits, across public, private and charter school entities. Documentation in school evaluation checklists examined the landscape of parents’ preferred schools, particularly factors that satisfied parents’ expectations. Findings revealed a variety of high performing schools that satisfied parents’ criteria, including child-centered practices, strong parent leadership, and a safe school atmosphere. 

For more information on Dr. Hill's research please view her faculty biography. 

Dr. Seong Hong - AERA Presentation
Emergent Curriculum-Cycle of Inquiry (EC-COI): A Conceptual Model for Emergent Curriculum Operationalized through Planning Artifacts

Based on thinking practices like interpreting observational data and planning close to children's thinking, emergent curriculum has an anecdotal history of success yet it is difficult to describe, teach, and study (Gandini & Goldhaber, 2001;Wein, 2008). The one study of the approach and child outcomes is limited by the varied descriptions of philosophy and practice in each school (Mardell & Carbona, 2013). This paper presents the Cycle of Inquiry (COI) planning model, organizing our conceptualization of emergent curricular planning practices as cognitive behaviors and locates visible products of these in five COI planning forms. W e present a first-draft rubric assessing how planning practices follow the model and we report on a small-scale study of measurement properties of this rubric. 

For more information on Dr. Hong's research please view her faculty biography.