Interactive Learning Assessment System (ILAS)

<p>NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY:<br/> The University of New Mexico will design an online Interactive Learning Assessment System (ILAS) to allow instructors to build virtual counseling cases. The ILAS provides instructors with feedback on how students learn, allowing them to improve teaching. By improving teacher instruction and students' professional identities, we aim to recruit and graduate more underrepresented nutrition students.
<p>APPROACH:<br/> Phase 1. Design and Development (5 mo, Sept-Jan FY13): Conceptual design (1 month): Drs. Svihla and Yakes will oversee conceptual design of cases in coordination with Hispanic nutrition students. The technology team and Dr. Svihla will begin work on the conceptual design of the ILAS. Research Planning (1 mo): Drs. Svihla and Yakes will coordinate with the evaluation team to develop/review measures and interview questions aligned to project and learning objectives. Any necessary modifications to the IRB research protocol will be made. Technology development and beta-testing (4 mo): The technical development of ILAS will involve infrastructural development of an authoring system and learning environment. The authoring system development will include creating an easy to use graphical user interface (GUI) for the development of cases, including upload of
content files (images, video, text, documents), the development of branching points of assessment, and a visual representation of the branches. The learning environment development will include virtual mentors and clients designed to provide guidance and mechanisms for logging student activity and responses. Beta-testing will ensure that data are captured and exported, accounts can be password protected. Content development (4 mo): Content (videos, audio files, images, text, and documents) will be developed based on the conceptual design of the example cases. Cases will be developed using the authoring system. Initial case development will focus on cases for use in the spring course, Management in Dietetics II. Phase 2. Deployment and evaluation (6 mo, February-June FY13): Initial implementation will occur in Management in Dietetics II. The evaluation team will assess the impact,
focusing on how ILAS may be effectively embedded in context. For research purposes, data collection and analysis will be undertaken. Phase 3. Evidence-based refinement (3 mo, July-September FY13-14): Based on the pilot implementation, the cases will be adapted for use in high school settings and other nutrition and science classes. Further case development will occur to support the fall courses, Nutrition through the Lifecycle and Management in Dietetics I. Phase 4. Initial dissemination (3 mo, July-Sept FY13-14): Conference publications, a project website, and demonstrations will be used to promote our design and approach. Phase 5. Redeployment and evaluation (9 mo, Oct-June FY14): Implementation of refined cases will occur in the fall and spring nutrition courses. Any partnerships established through dissemination efforts will be contacted for interviews/further data collection.
Evaluation strategies discussed in the narrative and refined with the evaluation team will be used to assess the impact. Phase 6. Dissemination and Publication (5 mo, Mar-July FY14): Concurrent to Phase 5, peer-reviewed publications will be prepared and will target journals focused on learning technologies and education of nutrition/dietetics students. Updates will be posted to the project website, including example cases, instructions for creating and adapting cases, and details about the technology specifications.
<p>PROGRESS:<br/> 2012/09 TO 2013/08Target Audience: In the first year of the project, two Interactive Learning Assessment (ILA) cases were developed and used in Nutrition courses: (1) Undergraduate students enrolled in Nutrition through Lifecycle (N=42), including Hispanic students (n=14) completed an ILA case related to childhood obesity; (2) Graduate students enrolled in Nutrition Assessment (N=20), including Hispanic students (n=4) completed a case focused on anemia assessment. Changes/Problems: Originally, we intended to implement ILA cases in the Management in Dietetics I and II courses at UNM; while this will likely eventually be achieved, it may not be possible during the grant period because of the time/effort involved in developing the cases and the authoring system. We still anticipate reaching more than 100 Nutrition undergraduate students. What opportunities
for training and professional development has the project provided? 1. Undergraduate and graduate nutrition students received additional training in nutrition content and counseling, as part of our project goals. 2. The PD has been able to work closely with the Co-PD, who is an expert in teaching and learning 3. The interdisciplinary team includes undergraduate computer science students and graduate nutrition students who have had opportunities to: (a) learn about working on an interdisciplinary team; (b) present at conferences; (c) plan and conduct studies using ILA for the fulfillment of degree requirements; (d) conduct literature reviews of relevant research under the mentorship of the PD and Co-PD; (e) attend bi-weekly research group meetings. 3. The PD, Co-PD, and one graduate student presented ILA research to the UNM Academic Science Education and Research Training (ASERT) program
for postdoctoral fellows, which provides three years of support to fellows wishing to achieve excellence as both educators and research scientists in biology, bioengineering and biomedical sciences. 4. The Co-PD presented an ILA case to her pre-service science teachers (n=9). 5. The Co-PD presented ILA research to the New Mexico Discipline-Based Education Research Group Journal Club. 6. The PD presented ILA research to the New Mexico Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (NM WIC), and NM WIC plans to use ILA cases to train staff on gestational diabetes. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The results have been disseminated at new graduate student orientation and faculty meetings, and via student and faculty presentations at local, regional and national conferences focused on nutrition, learning and technology. The results
are also disseminated through the project website: https://sites.google.com/site/iddealab/iddea-lab-projects/interactive-l…-