Papers by Stephen A. Sivo, A PhD
Storytelling to Enhance Teaching and Learning: The Systematic Design, Development, and Testing of Two Online Courses
International Journal on E Learning, Mar 1, 2012
Telling stories to enhance teaching and learning: The systematic design, development and testing of two online courses
ABSTRACT Storytelling may be a powerful instructional approach for engaging learners and facilita... more ABSTRACT Storytelling may be a powerful instructional approach for engaging learners and facilitating e-learning. However, relatively little is known about how to apply story within the context of systematic instructional design processes and claims for the effectiveness of storytelling in training and education have been primarily anecdotal and descriptive in nature, with little to no empirical data to support related claims. In this article, we describe the design, development and testing of two online courses that applied an innovative, storytelling approach to instructional design, including Level I and Level II training evaluation data gathered from over 100 educators who completed the two courses over a nine month period. Descriptions of the systematic process illustrate how a needs assessment, task analysis, and a unique StoryLearnTM method were applied to design and develop the two courses. Level I and II training evaluation data are analyzed and reported for the field-test. Results indicate that (a) learners' perceived levels of attention, relevance, confidence, satisfaction (ARCS), and overall motivation were higher for the two online courses than for two prior online courses that applied more conventional online course designs, (b) learners' perceived levels of ARCS, and overall motivation remained high throughout the two online courses that applied the storytelling approach, (c) factors, such as age, gender, technology proficiency, and educational level, had no effect on learners' reported levels of ARCS, and overall motivation, (d) learners' performance in both courses was consistent with expected performance rates in graduate courses, and (e) learner reported levels of ARCS, and overall motivation were unable to predict scores on course tests, assignments and activities. The findings suggest that storytelling may be a powerful approach for engaging learners and facilitating e-learning worth further investigation.
Identifying the Attractiveness Factors of Kish Island's Shopping Centers: With an Approach to Categorization of Customers
Nowadays shopping centers are among the most competitive activities in the country. Therefore, th... more Nowadays shopping centers are among the most competitive activities in the country. Therefore, the managers of these centers usually seek to attract potential shoppers towards themselves through identifying the attractiveness factors. With the development of shopping centers in the recent couple of years, the attractiveness factors of these centers can be paid attention to as the data for formulating some aggressive strategies by the owners of the centers. When a customer faces an obstacle at a shopping center, he/she tries to fulfill his/her demand at another one and regarding the intense competition in this field, the center that is able to provide the customer with satisfaction will be more successful. Categorization (segmentation) of customers is a vital subject matter for shopping centers to formulate marketing strategies appropriate for each category of shoppers. The shopping centers being able to examine, investigate (reconsider) and predict behaviors of consumers are success...
Journal of Educational Media & Library Sciences, Sep 1, 2004
The present study concentrated on the interplay of subjective norms and attitudes towards WebCT o... more The present study concentrated on the interplay of subjective norms and attitudes towards WebCT over time in a U.S. higher education setting. Panel data collected on three occasions over the course of a semester were investigated in a Web-enhanced hybrid undergraduate psychology course, using a crosslagged and autoregressive model. Results suggested: 1. the degree to which students report deferring to their professor s expectations and peer opinions (subjective norms) influences the degree to which they, on future occasions, report deferring to their professor s expectations and peer opinions; 2. students attitudes towards using WebCT influence their attitudes assessed on immediately following occasions, but only those attitudes assessed immediately afterwards; 3. the degree to which students report deferring to professorial expectations and peer opinions (subjective norms) influences contemporaneously measured attitudes toward WebCT use; 4. student attitudes regarding WebCT use actually influence how students on a later occasion report their degree of deference to professorial expectations and peer opinions (subjective norms). Further research was suggested.
An SEM Evaluation of the General Model of Instructional Communication
Group Differences between English and Spanish Speakers' Reading Fluency Growth in Bilingual Immersion Education
The primary objective of this cross-cultural investigation is to compare patterns in student resp... more The primary objective of this cross-cultural investigation is to compare patterns in student responses to an empirically scrutinized character education measure administered to students in four school districts in Florida with students in a school in Kenya. In this way, the generalizability of findings for scale scores could be compared across cultures. To this end, we conduct a mean structure analysis using structural equation modeling to observe whether multivariate mean differences exist among the factor structures underlying student responses. The results suggest that while students at a school in Kenya rated their school higher on the four scales, overall the latent scores for students within school districts in the United States appear higher. Thus, with respect to the underlying construct of character, this character education measure evidences some multicultural bias at the level of the latent scores. Based on these results, it is concluded that the character education measure does not completely yield generalizable results across cultures. Character education represents a vibrant stream of educational research and practice. In 2007, the most recent systemic review of character education research to date, researchers attempted to establish a more coherent picture of what is effective in character education . These researchers were able to incorporate 64 empirical studies, three meta-analyses, and two literature reviews demonstrating positive effects of 33 character education programs. The federal government supported this movement through grants from the Department of Education and, from 1995 to 2005, 45 states were awarded funding for partnership initiatives. Additionally, from 2004 to 2009, 20 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam shared $79.9 million in grant funding to promote character education in the school (Office of Safe and Healthy Students, 2011). Despite the upsurge of interest in character education since the 1980's , there is a dearth of empirical studies dedicated to the measurement of character education, particularly those using sophisticated analytical procedures capable of detecting whether one common factor such as character underlies measures of kindness, caring, respect, responsibility, fairness, and
The Journal of technology studies, Apr 1, 2005
Cognition in the elderly has been widely investigated, but there has been some disagreement conce... more Cognition in the elderly has been widely investigated, but there has been some disagreement concerning this phenomenon fostered in part by differences in instruments used, in data collection methods, and in analytic methods used. This study used Immediate and Delayed Recall data collected by the Health and Retirement Survey housed at the University of Michigan. After excluding respondents not available for all 5 time periods over the span of 1992 through 2000, there was a final sample of 7,169. A latent growth curve model was used to estimate the mean and variability of scores over a 6-year time span. Results indicate there was a statistically significant decline in both immediate and delayed recall. However, there was substantial variability in both the change of scores and the starting values. (Contains 4 figures and 14 references.) (Author/SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
discussed a measure designed to assess the cognitive functioning of older adults who participated... more discussed a measure designed to assess the cognitive functioning of older adults who participated in the study formerly known as the Asset and Health Dynamics among the Oldest Old (AHEAD). The measure derived from four well-known tests of cognitive functioning, but improves on them by combining elements of each emphasizing those aspects most relevant to the cognitive changes in the gerontological population. This measure promises to allow researchers to identify cognitive changes that may lead to dementia more effectively. While this measure has been used to assess large numbers of people, it has not been scrutinized empirically as an evaluative tool to assess the internal and external structural validity evidence of the scores produced. To understand this underlying factor structure of the instrument better, longitudinal congeneric, tau-equivalent, and parallel models were fit using five waves of the Health and Retirement study data (previously the AHEAD study) obtained from the University of Michigan. There were 2,681 male respondents and 3,841 females. The final three survey years provided surprisingly consistent models of the cognitive indicators. The first two survey years did not. Results indicate that the three measures used as indicators of cognition (immediate recall, delayed recall, and reverse 7s) are neither tau-equivalent nor parallel. Immediate and delayed recall, however, are equivalent measures of cognition when the word list contains 10 words, but are not parallel. (Contains 2 figures, 3 tables, and 9 references.) (Author/SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Measuring cognitive function 1
The present study focuses on five latent factors affecting students 'use of WebCT in a Web-enhanc... more The present study focuses on five latent factors affecting students 'use of WebCT in a Web-enhanced hybrid undergraduate course at a southeastern university in the United States. An online questionnaire is used to measure a hypothetic model composed of two exogenous variables (i.e., subjective norm and computer self-efficacy), three endogenous variables (i.e., perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and attitude toward WebCT use), one dependent variable (i.e.; actual system use), and eleven demographic items. PROC CALIS is used to analyze the data collected. Results suggest the technology acceptance model may not be applicable to the higher education setting. However, student attitude toward WebCT instruction remains a significant determinant to WebCT use on a non-voluntary basis. Educational achievement (i.e., student final grades) is regressed on the attitude factor as an outcome variable. Suggestions for practitioners and researchers in the field are mentioned.
Testing the General Theory of Instructional Communication Model
The counseling profession is dependent on research in order to maintain and develop the field. Th... more The counseling profession is dependent on research in order to maintain and develop the field. Therefore, graduate training programs are accountable to properly train students how to research and report their results (Lambie, Sias, Davis, & Akos, 2008). The dispersing of research and sharing of clinical ideas is one of the standards of counseling set by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) (2009) (Section II, G.8.a.). Research is also a necessary part of doctoral programs, whether the student's career goal is that of practitioner or academic . Students who expect to transition from learner to practitioner need a curriculum that supports that transition, which should be an essential component of doctoral counselor education programs (DCEPs) . Since research is an expectation of training and future practice, it should be modeled in doctoral counselor education programs (DCEP) so that students become well-prepared independent researchers . The value of strong research practices in both academic pursuits and general practice provides the counselor field with a rich, developing resource of knowledge for the future growth of the field. However, many counselor education programs do not provide adequate research training and mentoring of their students or junior faculty . Further, many doctoral students report having lower confidence in their research abilities despite having a training environment that was rigorous in research training . Research self-efficacy (RSE), interest in research (IR), and research mentoring (RM) are essential components to developing the research skills of doctoral students in counselor education . The development of doctoral students into effective researchers is greatly influenced by the variables of RSE, IR and RM. These three constructs are measured within this study and are described below. In social cognitive theory, self-efficacy is defined as an opinion or decision making process (i.e., use of a judgment by the individual) of an individual's ability to perform some action. In his description of self-efficacy, Bandura lists four sources of selfefficacy: (a) performance accomplishments, (b) vicarious experience, (c) verbal persuasion, and (d) emotional arousal. The first source of self-efficacy (i.e. performance) is based on an individual's personal experience while the remaining three sources are based on outside influences. RSE has been found to be a strong predictor of students' IR and related activities (e.g. . Lambie and Vacarro (2011) conducted a national study of 89 counselor education doctoral students and found that doctoral students with higher degrees of RSE have higher degrees of IR. Additionally, 69.7 percent of the participants in the study (n = 59) reported no scholarly activity and lower RSE scores than those participants who had scholarly activity. Prior experiences conducting research have been shown to facilitate higher degrees of RSE in doctoral students . Such studies found that higher levels of research experience lead to greater gains in RSE . While there have been studies examining the construct of RSE with doctoral students, there have been limited studies examining RSE among counselor education doctoral students (Lambie & Vacarro, 2011). IR for students in DCEPs can be connected to having higher degrees of RSE (e.g., . The connection between these two can also be found in Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT, Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994). According to SCCT, an individual's career choice relates to an individual's self-efficacy and interest. IR can be promoted within a training setting if the aspects of the environment and faculty promote research and model research behaviors . While IR can be promoted, it is still does not receive enough attention in doctoral training environments and warrants further study (Lambie & Vacarro, 2011). Bishop and Bieschke (1998) examined the influences of IR using a national sample of 184 counseling psychology students. The influences of RSE, research outcome expectations, and vocational choice on IR were examined. They found that the three factors examined were significant influences of IR. Webb (2004) conducted a study with 73 participants. Participants were in their very first class of their psychology and counseling training programs. Results of the study found that participants showed greater IR when the program's emphasis was on research. Participants in programs that emphasized therapeutic training showed a lower IR. West, Kahn, and Nauta (2007) investigated the effect of learning style (i.e., visual vs. auditory learning) on IR with 132 psychology graduate students from 11 universities across the United States. The results of the study found that verbal learners showed higher IR than students who were more visual. According to Gelso (1979), research is an essential component of the training environment for new professionals in counseling, and believe that mentoring in research should be a focus in students' training environment. Although this relatively new construct in higher education is gaining increased attention, it is still not well researched in the literature (e.g., , but it is believed that mentoring can
Journal of Educational Media & Library Sciences, 2004
The present study concentrated on the interplay of subjective norms and attitudes towards WebCT o... more The present study concentrated on the interplay of subjective norms and attitudes towards WebCT over time in a U.S. higher education setting. Panel data collected on three occasions over the course of a semester were investigated in a Web-enhanced hybrid undergraduate psychology course, using a crosslagged and autoregressive model. Results suggested: 1. the degree to which students report deferring to their professor's expectations and peer opinions (subjective norms) influences the degree to which they, on future occasions, report deferring to their professor's expectations and peer opinions; 2. students' attitudes towards using WebCT influence their attitudes assessed on immediately following occasions, but only those attitudes assessed immediately afterwards; 3. the degree to which students report deferring to professorial expectations and peer opinions (subjective norms) influences contemporaneously measured attitudes toward WebCT use; 4. student attitudes regarding ...
Profiling elearning students is a common practice in the field. It carries good intention. Which ... more Profiling elearning students is a common practice in the field. It carries good intention. Which learner group requires more attention of the university administration in optimizing resources and creating incentives resulting into a social outcome that is efficient and makes all concerned parties better off? Results suggested that the learners who perceive higher in university’s CMS support, instructor instructional and communicational use of CMS, and affinity for technology may deserve better attention of the management. Background and Introduction Profiling elearning students is becoming a common practice in the field (e.g., Yu, DiGangi, JannaschPennell, & Kaprolet, 2008; Yukselturk & Top, 2013). Using a Web survey or questionnaire, an increasing number of learner characteristics and demographics can be studied in a form of data. Given this easy access to the collected data, researchers have attempted to take into account multiple (i.e., twoor more-way) profiling variables (e.g., ...
An SEM Evaluation of the General Model of Instructional Communication
The primary objective of this cross-cultural investigation is to compare patterns in student resp... more The primary objective of this cross-cultural investigation is to compare patterns in student responses to an empirically scrutinized character education measure administered to students in four school districts in Florida with students in a school in Kenya. In this way, the generalizability of findings for scale scores could be compared across cultures. To this end, we conduct a mean structure analysis using structural equation modeling to observe whether multivariate mean differences exist among the factor structures underlying student responses. The results suggest that while students at a school in Kenya rated their school higher on the four scales, overall the latent scores for students within school districts in the United States appear higher. Thus, with respect to the underlying construct of character, this character education measure evidences some multicultural bias at the level of the latent scores. Based on these results, it is concluded that the character education measu...
Journal of Pedagogical Research, 2021
Negative life events are unpleasant, stressful, and uncontrollable experiences found to be risk f... more Negative life events are unpleasant, stressful, and uncontrollable experiences found to be risk factors for increased psychological distress and decreased life satisfaction in college students. In addition, distress and life satisfaction are closely related to college students' quality of life and academic performance. Conversely, positive psychological states have been hypothesized to buffer the effects of negative life events. Data from 738 college students in the U.S. were analyzed to examine the moderating effects of three positive psychological variables on negative life events: optimism, hope, and gratitude. The results showed that negative life events positively predicted distress and negatively predicted life satisfaction. The results also revealed that optimism, hope, and gratitude moderated the effects of negative life events. The authors conclude that the evidence supports positive psychology interventions in college counseling to combat the effects of negative life events through the positive psychological states of optimism, hope, and gratitude. The specific clinical implications for practicing counselors and educational settings are suggested.
Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 2020
Practitioners and researchers are conducting more focus groups online as a qualitative data colle... more Practitioners and researchers are conducting more focus groups online as a qualitative data collection method, yet rigorous methodological studies investigating the diversity of findings versus traditional in-person focus groups are limited. Previous studies primarily focused on health topics, varied on topic scope (broad to sensitive), format (synchronous vs. asynchronous), and online platform (several no longer exist). This experimental study sought to address that gap by randomly assigning participants into treatment groups to brainstorm sustainable practices for the hospitality industry (i.e., a broad topic) on a popular publicly available platform (i.e., Reddit). Although the in-person focus groups generated a greater word count and number of ideas, they generated an equivalent number of unique ideas. In terms of idea diversity, thematic analysis revealed a relatively high degree of overlap in themes from both groups. Of 13 themes, 10 (77%) occurred in both treatment groups. Th...
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Papers by Stephen A. Sivo, A PhD