Suzanne Ehrlich | University of North Florida (original) (raw)

Uploads

Papers by Suzanne Ehrlich

Handbook of Research on Applying Universal Design for Learning Across Disciplines

This chapter highlights strategies, content, and design methods for infusing the universal design... more This chapter highlights strategies, content, and design methods for infusing the universal design for learning (UDL) mindset and framework into two graduate-level training and development programs. From the re-development of a program's conceptualization in design to instructional strategies to streamline UDL implementation into curricula, this chapter will spotlight how two faculty members actively engaged in curricula development to advance practice among training and development professionals enrolled in these programs.The chapter will consist of two existing graduate-level programs' curricula work to integrate the UDL framework into program objectives and outcomes. This was constructed by improving instructional strategies for mindset development as well as creating authentic tasks into module lessons.

Research shows that mentoring is a way to enhance learning teaching and learning outcomes. CAMP (... more Research shows that mentoring is a way to enhance learning teaching and learning outcomes. CAMP (Collegiate Achievement Mentoring Program) Osprey is a mentoring program where collegiate students serve as leadership mentors to at-risk K12 students. To overcome geographic and financial barriers faced by our high-poverty, urban and rural partners, the program harnesses the use of “virtual leadership mentoring” and videoconferencing technology to connect students throughout the nation. This report examines the theoretical and conceptual frameworks embedded within virtual mentoring and illustrates the benefits and best practices that effective virtual mentoring can play in leading to significant and lasting mentoring relationships.

This paper provides a glimpse into the use of interactive dialogue to increase and improve intera... more This paper provides a glimpse into the use of interactive dialogue to increase and improve interactivity among interpreter education students via VoiceThread. The focus of the paper is primarily drawn from experiences in the education of signed language interpreting students, however, it is also relevant to spoken language interpreting students. While this article aims to explore the use of VoiceThread (also known as MyThread) as a dynamic digital tool to enhance dialogue, the concepts highlighted go beyond tools to demonstrate how improved connectivity and dialogue can serve as a strong foundation for community building in eLearning environments. Both theory and application of the ways in which dynamic dialogue can be integrated will be addressed throughout the paper. Exemplars are provided to guide educators through use and implementation of VoiceThread to improve dialogue in the classroom.

Technologies for eLearning continue to evolve and provide additional mechanisms for teaching and ... more Technologies for eLearning continue to evolve and provide additional mechanisms for teaching and facilitating learner engagement. As the number of engineering courses and programs provided in an online format continues to increase, the need for evaluating the efficacy of these eLearning tools also increases. One of the main concerns in online learning is learner persistence, so technologies and pedagogies that support persistence are especially important. A growing body of literature suggests that when students feel connected and supported, they are more likely to continue with a program. Finding ways to accomplish this support and engagement for online programs then is a significant factor in program delivery.

In this paper we report on the results of a pilot study that examined the use of text-based and interactive feedback using the framework of the Community of Inquiry (COI) Model. This model includes elements of cognitive presence, social presence and teaching presence which are associated with student engagement, connectedness and support. The pilot was conducted over two semesters in an online engineering course at a large Midwestern university. Students were provided both traditional text-based feedback on assignments and interactive feedback. Surveys were administered to measure students’ response to both forms of feedback and to gauge how both forms of feedback impacted elements of the COI Model.

The pilot study indicates that feedback has the greatest impact on teacher presence with smaller association with social presence and cognitive presence. The use of interactive feedback was certainly appreciated by the students but perhaps of more importance is timeliness of feedback and personalizing feedback to the individual. Student engagement is improved with the use of interactive feedback but the effort to provide this type of feedback may not be warranted for all courses.

When it comes to public school curricula in the United States, social studies is the most encompa... more When it comes to public school curricula in the United States, social studies is the most encompassing and inclusive of all subjects (Ross, 2014). It is in social studies that students are educated for participation in a pluralist democracy. It is in our subject matter courses that students should be given opportunities to grapple with decision-making, reaching consensus, participation in groups, and controversy in preparation for life in and outside of school. Given such an important task, social studies educators must think how their pedagogy (i.e., what they do in the classroom) is tied to the goals of social studies as a school discipline. What are we doing in the classroom that prepares students for active participation in civic life? Or as Parker (2010) framed this, “How should we think about the boundary between content and pedagogy?” (p. 11). As the NCSS (2008) statement on “Powerful Teaching and Learning in the Social Studies” makes clear, our classes should be “meaningful, integrative, value-based, challenging, and active” (para. 9-13). Statements from NCSS notwithstanding, this does not describe the pedagogy that most students in social studies experience. Scholars have long lamented the quality of instruction found in schools across the US. The stereotype of lower-order pedagogies, drill and kill teaching, and rote exercises across disciplines is supported by an ample body of evidence (Goodlad, 1984; Swift & Gooding, 1983). And, in social studies, the picture isn’t any better (Barton & Levstik, 2003; Cuban, 1991; Knowles, & Theobald, 2013; Levstik, 2008; Ross, 2000). Given that our discipline is oriented towards helping students understand the world and their place in it, traditional pedagogy (i.e., lecture, recitation, rote memorization), in and of itself, does not meet the demands of our profession. In what follows, we first argue that discussion in social studies, as an intentional and planned pedagogical move, is integral to democratic citizenship education, and second, that discussion pedagogy can be strengthened through the use of structured protocols.

As the presence of mobile technologies continues to emerge in our everyday lives, so do situation... more As the presence of mobile technologies continues to emerge in our everyday lives, so do situations that demand immediate interpreting services in postsecondary settings. Access to interpreting has not always been easy, and with the invention of mobile technologies comes an opportunity to build a largely
unprecedented bridge to this service. This study was designed to gain an overview of how users of interpreting services on a daily basis employ technology for accessing education through their use of on-demand interpreting via iPad technology. This paper will highlight the success and challenges of implementing technology in a post-secondary setting. Initial findings outline the complexity of implementing on-demand, remote services in post-secondary settings, and highlight a gap worthy of further exploration to impro

Teacher identity has most often been studied in reference to preschool through grade 12 (P-12) te... more Teacher identity has most often been studied in reference to preschool through grade 12 (P-12) teachers' professional devel-

The purpose of our article is to discuss the use of a discussion strategy called protocols, which... more The purpose of our article is to discuss the use of a discussion strategy called protocols, which can be used in both online and face-to-face environments. Protocols provide a structured way of having a discussion that empowers all students to contribute their ideas in a safe environment by providing specific rules and clear roles for guiding the discussion. First, we provide a brief background on protocols and our experience with using protocols within an online course titled Orientation to Deafness. We then provide readers with a variety of example protocols that can be used in both face-toface and online environments. We also provide example ground rules, which provide instructors with the necessary information to implement these protocols. The article concludes with the implications of using these protocols within the field of signed and spoken language interpreting.

This case study used a mixed-method approach to analyze students' perceptions of their ability to... more This case study used a mixed-method approach to analyze students' perceptions of their ability to learn American Sign Language in a videoconferencing-based course and investigated the instructor as a factor which influenced their perceptions of learning American Sign Language in a videoconferencing environment. Individual and focus group interviews were conducted and triangulated with pre-course and post-course surveys, instructor interviews, and observational data. The course was delivered to students in one on-campus classroom and two connecting off-campus sites. Nine students were present in the on-campus classroom; two students attended at one off-campus site and one at the other. A total of twelve students and one instructor participated in the study. Most students were enrolled part-time. All were students in a sign language interpreting program and enrolled as either juniors or seniors at a small urban community college.

Conference Presentations by Suzanne Ehrlich

Articles by Suzanne Ehrlich

Books by Suzanne Ehrlich

This collection brings together innovative research and approaches for blended learning using dig... more This collection brings together innovative research and approaches for blended learning using digital technology in interpreter education for signed and spoken languages. Volume editors Suzanne Ehrlich and Jemina Napier call upon the expertise of 21 experts, including themselves, to report on the current technology used to provide digital enhancements to interpreter education in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Belgium, Finland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Divided into three parts, Innovation, Change, and Community Engagement, this study focuses on the technology itself, rather than how technology enhances curriculum, delivery, or resources.

Initiatives described in this collection range from the implementation of on-demand interpreting using iPad technology to create personalized, small-group, multidimensional models suited to digital media for 160 languages; introducing students to interpreting in a 3D world through an IVY virtual environment; applying gaming principles to interpreter education; assessing the amenability of the digital pen in the hybrid mode of interpreting; developing multimedia content for both open access and structured interpreter education environments; to preparing interpreting students for interactions in social media forums, and more. Interpreter Education in the Digital Age provides a context for the application of technologies in interpreter education from an international viewpoint across languages and modalities.

Handbook of Research on Applying Universal Design for Learning Across Disciplines