An Investigation of the Design Space for Student Learning Tools that Aid Interaction with Recorded Lecture Content
Restricted (Penn State Only)
- Author:
- Dhanorkar, Shipi
- Graduate Program:
- Informatics
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- June 09, 2022
- Committee Members:
- Priya Sharma, Outside Unit & Field Member
D. Benjamin Hellar, Special Member
Mary Beth Rosson, Chair & Dissertation Advisor
Mary Beth Rosson, Program Head/Chair
Jack Carroll, Major Field Member
Kenneth Huang, Major & Minor Field Member - Keywords:
- Lecture Recording
AI
Human-Computer Interaction
Design
Scenario-Based Design Research
Higher Education - Abstract:
- The last two decades of research in higher education have seen a major shift to learning that takes place online, for example as augmentation of classroom activities at a university, or as a new paradigm for remote education delivery (e.g., MOOCs). This shift further intensified with the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to even more new forms of teaching and learning. Yet, a substantial component of education in higher education institutions continues to be delivered in analog form as lectures. The persistence of lecture-based instruction motivated my research that seeks to tinker with existing educational infrastructure and offers a blueprint for a novel intelligence infused learning support tool for enriching undergraduate students’ learning experiences. Towards this vision, I took a human-centered approach that places users at the center of the design endeavor. Specifically, I began by conducting a survey study of college students’ study motivations and strategies, with particular emphasis on how they currently acquire or elaborate knowledge within lecture-based courses. This survey was fielded at the onset of the pandemic, allowing me to also investigate the opportunities and challenges emerging from the natural disruption of in-person teaching and learning activities. Next, based on my initial findings, I developed three design probes, each one comprising a scenario of student learning grounded in current practices but also invoking the support of intelligent tools that were illustrated by a set of wireframe mockups. I used scenario-based design methods to evoke students’ perceptions and preferences for my preliminary design ideas. Working from students’ reactions, I synthesized design implications that guided my design of an interactive prototype. I empirically evaluated the prototype that lets students interact with the lecture material in flexible ways that they themselves initiate and discuss lessons learned from this body of work. This thesis is situated in the multifaceted context of higher education. It makes contributions to three areas - education, human-centered design and applications of natural language processing - and brings these areas closer together while systematically exploring the design space for a learner-centered lecture enhancement tool. It accords a fresh perspective on the value of lecture recordings, especially important now, as we reckon with new realities of teaching and learning.