Browsing by Author "Merrill, Henry S."
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Item Assessing & Improving Online Learning Using Data From Practice(Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, and Community Education, 2003) Merrill, Henry S.; DiSilvestro, Frank; Young, Raejean C.This research uses a qualitative case study approach to investigate online course instruction, and the dimensions of both learner and facilitator/instructor engagement. The research team analyzed archival data from course management software "Course Statistics," and coded indicators using word processing software to examine learner and facilitator writings in the courses.Item Clinical Educators' Adoption of Socioculturally-Based Teaching Strategies(2009-06-24T12:47:13Z) Phillips, Janet Martha; Ironside, Pamela M.; McDaniel, Anna M.; Halstead, Judith A.; Merrill, Henry S.Nursing education is faced with addressing the challenge of educational reform as a result of the rapid changes in the complexity of health care delivery systems, increased technology and biomedical knowledge, a shortage in nursing faculty, and increased enrollment in schools of nursing. Although national nursing organizations have called for reform and innovation in nursing education little is known about the factors that are related to educators’ adoption of such changes. The purpose of this descriptive, exploratory, correlational, survey study was to explore the adoption of socioculturally-based teaching strategies (SCBTS) by examining the following variables in relation to their adoption using Everett Rogers’ diffusion of innovations model: (a) clinical nurse educators’ perceived characteristics of SCBTS, (b) clinical nurse educators’ perceived organizational support for innovation, and (c) selected demographic characteristics. Minimal research has been conducted regarding the factors related to clinical nurse educators’ adoption of SCBTS, which may better prepare nurse graduates for today’s health care system. Findings from this study suggest that adoption is not straightforward, but the perceived characteristics of teaching strategies play an important role in the clinical nurse educator’s decision to adopt or not adopt SCBTS. Rogers’ model was partially supported based on the findings that clinical nurse educators were more likely to adopt a teaching strategy if it was perceived to be advantageous, compatible, and not too complex. On the other hand, clinical nurse educators were more likely not to adopt teaching strategies that they must “try out” or that must be observable by others, which was not supportive of Rogers’ model. Adopters of SCBTS were more experienced clinical educators who felt supported by their academic organizations in terms of innovation; however organizational support for innovations was not associated with adoption of the teaching strategies. Holding a certificate in a nursing specialty, the type of program in which the educator taught, and the age of the educator were not associated with the adoption of SCBTS. Future research using Rogers’ model or other appropriate models is called for to further explore the adoption of SCBTS by clinical nurse educators.Item Exploring BSW educators' experiences of working with under-prepared students(2015-04-20) Richardson, Robert F., II; Lay, Kathy; Adamek, Margaret E.; Vernon, Robert; McGuire, Lisa E.; Merrill, Henry S.Little is known about the perspectives of social work educators who work with under-prepared students in baccalaureate social work (BSW) programs. Educators across fields believe that students are increasingly under-prepared to be successful in higher education, and social work programs face greater numbers of under-prepared students seeking BSW degrees. Although an increasing amount of research offers strategies for matriculating, retaining, and teaching under-prepared students, these strategies are often presented without the contextual experiences faced by the educators who work with under-prepared students on a day-to-day basis. The following research seeks to begin to fill that gap. The researcher interviewed 11 participants and used Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to uncover the essential experiential elements of working with under-prepared BSW students and to reveal the meaning that social work educators create within these experiences. Analysis resulted in four overlapping themes including understanding under-preparation as social injustice, questioning what it means to be a social work educator, recalling compelling moments, and demonstrating care in and out of the classroom. These results suggest that social work programs and educators can more explicitly recognize how working with under-prepared students mirrors traditional social work practice, and discuss how this mirrored process might affect both educators and students. Based on these results, the meaning of advancing social justice for under-prepared students, the conflicting roles that educators often adopt with under-prepared students, and the influence of external forces on educators' work all deserve further research.Item Integrating individual and social learning strategies in a small-group model for online psychoeducational intervention : a mixed methods study of a parent-management training program(2014) Wilkerson, David A.; Kim, Hea-Won; Merrill, Henry S.; Westhuis, David J.; Ouellette, Phillip M.; Hall, James A., 1948-In the fields of formal and informal online adult education, the absence of a social context for instruction has been found to present significant limitations for learner persistence and retention. In the field of online psychoeducational intervention, self-administered and self-paced individualized prevention programs have been developed for delivery to large populations of anonymous users. These delivery models provide limited social context for instructional activities, due in part to the anonymity of their participants. When social interaction is included in their prevention programs through voluntary, asynchronous self-help/mutual aid discussion forums, anonymity may still limit social interaction, in favor of observational learning advantages for self-efficacy appraisals derived from "lurking". When these large-group models have been applied to online psychoeducation intervention programs for the purposes of encouraging mutual aid, interactive participation has been limited. This mixed methods study focused on a model for the design of an online small group psychoeducational intervention that integrated individual and social learning in a parent management training program. Self-paced participation was replaced with facilitator-led participation in an asynchronous discussion forum where topics were prioritized and sequenced with learning content from individual web-based training modules. Social interaction was facilitated through online problem-based learning discussion group. Despite assertions that interactive participation in online psychoeducational discussion forums may only be accomplished once a subscriber threshold of several hundred participants has been reached, this study found that small group participation through the program's integrated design resulted large effects for increases in parent self-agency and reduction of over-reactive, coercive parenting behaviors. Participation in the online problem-based group discussion forum was found to have contributed to participant outcomes when posting characteristics revealed the presence of both mutual aid processes and the application of individual learning module content.Item Multigenerational Adult Development Research Project In An Online Graduate Course In Adult Learning(Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, and Community Education, 2003) Merrill, Henry S.This paper describes research in two arenas. First is a research project using the life course dynamics perspective as a lens to investigate the patterns and timing of life events in multiple generations within extended family. Second is an experiment in the scholarship of teaching to pilot test this research project in an online graduate course in adult development and learning. The course is D505 Adult Learning through the Lifespan. The course description reads: Review of selected adult education literature describing the adult lifespan as it relates to participation in learning projects and adult education programming. Identify how social and cultural forces influence the engagement of adults in the learning process.