| As a result of my concern for building thinking and collaboration skills, a learner-centered philosophy guides all my teaching and research activities. I believe that if instructors "assist" in learning, instead of simply assessing it, human learning will be significantly enhanced. With these student learning ideals, I am driven to find the most powerful learning formats and environments. Consequently, I experiment with ideas related to constructivism, cooperative learning, and computer conferencing in all my classes. I am constantly using my research findings to tinker with my instructional practices, while concurrently reflecting on how my classroom practices can inform my research. My research on Web-based instruction, electronic collaboration and conferencing, computer support for writing, essay and summary writing, cooperative reading strategies, learner-centered instruction, and social interaction and dialogue all have significant implications for teaching and learning in higher education. My research involves dozens of graduate students at Indiana University as well as many international colleagues. The majority of these research efforts have been published in educational technology related journals and books. In summary, as a learner-centered psychologist and educational technologist, I view teaching and learning at the undergraduate, master's, and doctoral levels as my life mission. From study skill courses to learning centers to research centers on learning and technology, I am dedicated to finding resources and monies that improve college student learning. In my teaching efforts, I have utilized a myriad of distance education and computer conferencing tools, supervised Associate Instructors, mentored dozens of graduate students into research, assisted in teacher education reform at two different universities, developed entirely new courses and programs, organized colloquia related to teaching, and invented a range of pedagogical strategies. My research and publications efforts, furthermore, include journal articles on unique applications of videoconferencing technology, book chapters on learning tools and web-based instruction, articles on adult learning and education, research on online case-based reasoning, manuscripts on improving college teaching, and books on electronic collaboration and learning with technology. With all these activities, I am building a research and teaching reputation that is starting to spread throughout the State of Indiana via distance education as well as to other universities and countries. |






