Running head: capstone project 1

Capstone Project Submitted for Culmination of the Master of Education at Post University

Erica McCarthy

Post University

March 2017
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Abstract

This project studied innovative pedagogical techniques in order to make history more

engaging and interesting to the online learner. The study of history teaches students advanced

critical thinking and analytical skills that can be utilized across any academic and professional

setting, so it is important to ensure students stay engaged while they're learning to maximize

their potential for growth. Through the course of the project, innovative pedagogical and

andragogical techniques were evaluated and applied to a new online course, for the purpose of

increasing student engagement, and applying what the students have learned to the real world.

The final deliverable product showcased a number of ways to increase student engagement, as

well as critical thinking and analysis skills throughout the study of history; however, there is still

some improvement that can be made.

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Capstone Project Submitted for Culmination of the Master of Education at Post University

Problem Statement

If one were to randomly sample the population at large, it is almost a foregone conclusion

that history is considered by many to be boring and useless. Indeed, a recent Gallup poll

indicated that, out of the main four subjects (math, science, English, and history), history came in

dead last (Jones, 2013). The main problem is how to make history, in general, more interesting in

an online format. The study of history always seems to be considered the least important subject

in school. In fact, in 2012, the Washington Post reprinted a blog article by Roger Schank, a

cognitive scientist from Yale University, in which he explained why subjects are useless and why

students hated being required to learn them. In it, hes quoted as saying you will learn untruths

about the Revolutionary War and the Civil War and World War II, all meant to teach that the

United States is the best country in the world (Schank, 2012, para. 6). While this is, in effect,

one argument that students make in regards to history, it is an opinion that can be overcome.

There are a number of reasons as to why the addition of history programs and/or courses at Post

are important. History is important because we need to know where we have been in order to see

where we are going. Too often, the vast majority of people are ignorant (usually through no fault

of their own) about things that directly impact their lives. History, that is, the day to day

knowledge of how we got here, has been lost to the general masses, in favor of institutionalized

ignorance. The study of history is how we get it back. This project will address the following

questions: How do we make history more engaging and interesting in an online format?
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Introduction

The study of history always seems to be considered the least important subject in school,

and there are significant reasons why that is so. A significant part of the problem is not just in

what is being taught, but how it is being taught. History is taught as a set narrative-- a process

that reinforces the mistaken idea that the past can be synthesized into a single, standardized

chronicle of several hundred pages (Conway, 2015, para. 5). Students are taught that historical

analysis is simple and based solely on the views of the victor. There is, after all, a reason why the

phrase history is written by the winner has become clichd. The argument, then, is how

educators break from this mold of history taught in a traditional pedagogy that may or may not

give students the skill set expected of them.

The three major points of this literature review are as follows: how do we make online

courses in general, and history specifically, more interesting and engaging for the general student

to enjoy it and want to take more classes; the importance of history programs and the study of

history across the board; and the utilization of Blooms Taxonomy in regards to critical thinking,

analytical skills, and learning outcomes.

If there is a course that engages students through assessments that require more than just

rote memorization of facts, really gets them involved, and connects history to them in a more

personal way, then students will be more engaged in the subject material and actually retain the

information and critical thinking skills, and this will result in better learning outcomes, more

interest in history, and (maybe) interest in a full history program (long term goals).

Engaging online learners in history classes

History, when taught the way most people have taken it, is nothing more than a large

number of facts, figures, people, and dates that need to be memorized. It is for this reason that
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many people say that they have never liked history (or flat out hated it). It is difficult, as an

online instructor, to really engage students in meaningful ways, especially in regards to a topic

they do not want to take or have any care for. One of the ways to keep their attention and change

this opinion of history as useless is to make even the basic classes more interesting and engaging,

using better pedagogical techniques, especially for online learning, to make the coursework more

engaging, interesting, and exciting.

There are a number of sources out there that help instructors with different ways of

keeping students engaged. Two of the main ones are The Online Teaching Survival Guide and

Engaging the Online Learner. Both of these sources include a number of examples of exercises

and activities that can be adapted and implemented across an 8-week course (Conrad &

Donaldson, 2004; Boettcher & Conrad, 2010). The Online Teaching Survival Guide gives a

number of techniques and tips based on traditional pedagogy but updated for an online or

blended course. As an instructional tool, it allows for any instructor, regardless of whether they

are well-versed in pedagogy or have little knowledge of educational theory, to apply effective

learning strategies to an online course (Conrad & Donaldson, 2004). Engaging the Online

Learner, on the other hand, is a book entirely focused on activities and resources for the purposes

of creative instructionthat is, how does an instructor make an online class engaging and fun,

while still fulfilling all learning outcomes that are required for the course (Conrad & Donaldson,

2004).

Within Pedagogical Models: The Discipline of Online Teaching, Shaugnessy & Fulgham

(2011) brought together a number of educators who wrote essays on various pedagogical models.

One such essay, specifically on instructional design, discusses how to build an online course in

an organized and systematic way, arguing that his way of building a course will produce an
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end result that is exciting for both student and teacher (Simonton, 2010, p.51). In The Pedagogy

of Online Instruction, Berge (2010) argues that the overall goal of learning, regardless of how

that instruction gets delivered, should not change. Indeed, Berge argues that there are a number

of factors that determine whether online students are successful or not, and his chapter goes into

some detail about how to incorporate those factors in a way to make sure students are successful

(Berge, 2010). One technique in engaging online learners is by utilizing interactive entertainment

strategies, according to Stapleton & Hirumi (2010). It can seem counterintuitive to combine

entertainment with education; however the authors argue effectively that games can motivate

learners through fun, challenge and instant feedback within a virtual, interactive and immersive

environment (Stapleton & Hirumi, 2010, p. 184). By utilizing a different format for the delivery

of educational content, instructors might be able to engage students in a way that creates

experiential learning. Finally, editor Susan Fulgham (2010) writes about effective learning using

multimedia tools in an effort to engage students in another, more stimulating way. Fulgham

discusses techniques for instructors to choose appropriate media through principles learned by

research and practice, so they may in turn, create effective learning environments (Fulgham,

2010, p. 141).

In an article from the Quarterly Review of Distance Education, Fabry (2009) questions

what types of guidelines must be in place in order to ensure that learning outcomes are met in

both an online and a traditional classroom setting. While this article focuses mostly on

developing the classes with learning outcomes in mind (and thus probably could fit into another

section of a literature review as well), the article also talks about designing the courses in

general, with the idea of how to make them engaging.

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Another article, this one from Bill Pelz (2004) discusses his particular principles in

regards to effective online teaching. In the article the author discusses his three principles, laying

them out in a very clear way. His three principles are: let the students do most of the work,

interactivity is the heart and soul of effective asynchronous learning, and strive for presence

(Pelz, 2004). Under the heading of each principle, Pelz lists the different ways instructors can

build their online courses using these tools and tips.

Importance of historical study

The study of history is probably one of the most important subjects one can studyeven

the Framers of the Constitution thought so, with almost all of them having studied classical

Greek and Roman history before going to college. Indeed, it was their study of the classics that

led to the way our political system is structured. Beyond the fact that the demand for history

courses and programs is taking off, the study of history itself is vital to the continued

understanding of the world. The intrinsic problem, therein, is that history is studied in a linear

manner that does not do the discipline a serviceif anything, it denigrates the importance of the

subject (Conway, 2015). Indeed, history is vital to study as it is about explaining and

interpreting past events analyticallyskills integral to the first year of a college education

(Urist, 2015, para. 12-14).

There is really only one topic in this section, but there have been a number of articles on

it. The American Historical Association published an article titled Why Study History? on their

website (Stearns, 1998), and as part of their discussion on history standards, UCLAs National

Center for History in the Schools talked about the importance of learning history in regards to

being educated overall (National Center for History in the Schools, n.d.). A third article,

published in the Chronicle of Higher Education, discussed the importance of history even to
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STEM fields (Dubcovsky, 2014), thus showcasing that it does not matter what the field is, the

study of history is vital to it. All of these articles indicate that importance of history in regards to

building a better-informed society of people. Stearns (1998) argues that history, in general, is a

storehouse of information about how people and societies behave (para. 5); arguably, then, the

study of history is beneficial across subjects with a distinct social science focus. Stearns (1998)

also argues that political and current events can be understood, stating that only through history

can we begin to comprehend the factors that cause change (para. 5).

One article, by Stephen Stein at the University of Memphis, discusses not just the

importance of history as a general rule in higher education, but also the experiences he had in

building an online history program at his university, indicating that it was also a popular program

(Stein, 2014). This is included here solely as an example not just of the importance, but also as a

reference in regards to building courses that spark interest in the field itself.

There have also been books written on the importance of learning history. One such book

is a set of essays, edited by Williamson Murray and Richard H. Sinnreich, indicating the

importance of history in the military profession. Indeed, in their introduction to the book, the

editors put the U.S. military on blast, stating that the political and military assumptions

preceding the 2003 invasion of Iraqlargely ignored the history of the region (Murray &

Sinnreich, 2006, p. 1). They went on to argue that because the leaders of the Iraq invasion had

believed they could control the future, and as such, chose deliberately or by oversight to ignore

history. The future, unfortunately, turned out to look all too much like the past (Murray &

Sinnreich, 2006, p. 1).

The overall importance of studying history, regardless of ones chosen major, should be

evident based on the literature presented here.

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Connections to Blooms Taxonomy

At the end of the day, making history interesting is one thing, and is relatively easy to do.

The challenge, therefore, is in keeping it interesting within the confines learning outcomes. In

making history interesting, one must also make sure that, through the coursework, students are

meeting specific learning outcomes and gaining a sense of historical awareness. To do so within

those confines requires a strong study and knowledge of Blooms Taxonomy of learning.

The studies that evaluate Blooms taxonomy are numerous, though not all that varied.

Most of them, such as one by Halawi, McCarthy, & Pires (2009), talk about the use of Blooms

taxonomy through online classes, which is the purpose of this capstone project. Within their

study, the authors discuss the effectiveness of Blooms taxonomy in an online setting, citing a

variety of other sources that have also done research into the topic (Halawi, McCarthy, & Pires,

2010). This indicates that the utilization of Blooms taxonomy within online education has been

thoroughly studied, allowing for multiple future resources and references to delve into the

efficiency of Blooms taxonomy in regards to learning outcomes.

Another such article discusses using Blooms taxonomy as a learning tool towards

critical thinking (Athanassiou, McNett, & Harvey, 2003). Indeed, the authors mention that they

focused on Blooms taxonomy in regards to critical thinking skills because one of the authors

noticed that her students lacked an ability or willingness to frame interesting questions

(Athanassiou, McNett, & Harvey, 2003, p. 534). Such a comment is one that is certainly not

limited strictly to the management field. Since critical thinking is such a vital skill within the

study of history, articles such as these provide a necessary framework for understanding how

Blooms taxonomy contributes to the ability of history coursework to meet specific learning

outcomes.
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Some studies use Blooms taxonomy with the theory of multiple intelligences to plan

curriculum in a way that connects all students with the coursework. One such article is by Toni

Noble, a senior lecturer in education in Australia. In her article, she discusses the necessity of

using both Blooms taxonomy as well as multiple intelligence theory to keep students engaged

and interested while also meeting specific learning outcomes (Noble, 2004). Noble, though

focused on special education and gifted children in elementary schools, argues that both

beginning and experienced teachers are reluctant or unable to differentiate their curriculum to

cater for the student diversity in their classrooms (Noble, 2004, p. 193). Through the connection

of Blooms taxonomy with Gardners theory of multiple intelligences, Noble found that by

combining these two theories, teachers were able to provide a practical structure or grid to

facilitate their programming to cater for greater breadth (over the multiple intelligences) and

greater depth (at different levels of thinking) (Noble, 2004, p. 208). Ideally, this line of thinking

indicates that, regardless of grade level, the combination of Blooms taxonomy with multiple

intelligences should keep students engaged long enough to ensure they are retaining the

information they have learned.

Conclusion

There has not, as yet, been a lot of study in this area, though the general idea of making

history more interesting is prevalenta simple Google search would showcase this. Overall, the

idea of making history more interesting is mostly overshadowed by those who consider the study

of history to be irrelevant or out-of-date. This is especially true in regards to the current

economic climate, which seems to disregard the value of solid critical thinking skills in favor of

job-ready degrees. While those degrees are important, the preference for those over other

degrees (such as history) that are perceived as useless, as many in the humanities field are
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considered, denies students across the board the ability to think critically about our past in order

to avoid repeating the same mistakes that those before them have made. The phrase those who

do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it is trite, but true.

Overall, the strength in this is the amount of information regarding the importance of

history to every field. It is difficult to convince students that history is important to study when

so many of them find it boring to sit through and retain none of what they have learned. This lack

of interest, generally, leads to a lack of the very courses which could teach them the critical

thinking skills they need to become educated global citizens. A very strong argument can be

made that the lack of interest in history, therefore, is hurting the student body, both in their

critical thinking skills as well as in their overall general knowledge of the world around them,

and that these oversights in their education would be a hindrance in their job search, as many

employers are looking for such skills.

As yet, it would be difficult to argue the importance of a whole program in history, even a

minor, in a school where the majority of students are focused in business or public service. As

yet, there has not been a clamoring for more history classes, and the concern is that there may

never be, which is a fair concern to have. However, an argument could be made that by making

the current course offering more interesting, this might cause students in general to be more

interested in the field, allowing students more opportunity to learn the very skills that historical

study gives them.

The lack here is in the statisticsthere really are not any strong, solid statistics behind

this line of study. Because history is a more artsy profession (that is, history doesnt focus on the

hard sciences, but the more interpretive details), there are few statistics that study or focus on the

strength of these courses in regards to giving students the skills they need once they enter the job
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market. There are no studies (as yet) that indicate with statistics that students who study history

have better outcomes coming out of degree programs, or that they even use them. Most of the

evidence out there, as seems to be the case for the study of history as well as the profession itself,

is anecdotal.

The study of history is important to developing a more educated, informed global citizen.

More evidence is needed to fully understand the level of skills that students acquire through the

study of history, and how those skills translate into the real world. Anecdotal evidence is good,

but the lack of solid evidence does cause some concern in regards to the necessity of the study.

However, even the anecdotal evidence is enough to realize that further study in this area is

necessary, if for no other reason than current global events necessitates the requirement that the

next generation of student has the critical thinking and analytical skills to understand the world

around them, and what their choices can mean for future generations. Through the utilization of

effective online teaching practices and an application of Blooms taxonomy, making history more

interesting is not only possible, but a requirement if that goal is to be achieved.

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Research Design and Methodology

The research design for this capstone project is the nonrandomized control group, pretest-

posttest design. Much of the reason for that design style is because the group that is being

surveyed is not random in any way. This capstone will not be implemented; as such, it requires

the use of a panel of expertshence the nonrandomized control group. Essentially, the

nonrandomized, pretest-posttest design will allow me to use the panel of experts who already

have an idea of both online course design as well as a background in the subject matter. That

does, to a certain extent, remove the problems of selection and maturation that are inherent in

this design. Many of the other designs mentioned in the textbook would not work for the type of

capstone project being undertakenthis one really is the best option, and even then, some

adjustments will need to be made.

Methodology

This capstone project is to build an online course in the American Revolution, with the

purpose of proving that history can be both interesting and engaging in an online format, while

also fulfilling specific learning outcomes in the process. Were this capstone to be implemented, it

would be on a sample of online student learners; however, since non-implementation is the goal

here, the sample will be a panel of experts with a background knowledge in the subject matter as

well as online course design.

Before the test course even sees another person, the researcher will be building it from

scratch. This is the plan stage.

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Building the Course

Using Coursesites, the researcher will build a fully functional, eight-week long online

course. This course will include rubrics for each assignment, learning outcomes for each unit,

discussion boards, and assignments.

To begin, some basic choices need to be madespecifically, the start and end dates of the

course. Knowing that the course is going to be focused solely on the American Revolution, this

means setting beginning and end times would need to be decided. For the purpose of this course,

the American Revolution will be defined as a period from 1763-1800. By starting at 1763,

students will be able to understand the earliest catalysts for revolution, since the end of the

French-Indian War is considered by many revolutionary historians to be the earliest starting

points for revolutionary activity. The end date of 1800 is more challenging, as historians have

not, as yet, reached a consensus for a true end to the revolution. However, the election of 1800 is

a solid place to round out the course in general. From here, the researcher will plan out what each

unit/week will cover, with students using the skills from the previous week to build upon the

information and assignments for the following one.

Having decided on the dates of the course, the next step is to decide upon textbooks. Post

University traditionally uses electronic course materials; however, in this case, it would be best

to utilize traditional books that also come in e-book format. To that end, two books were chosen

The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution 1763-1789 (revised and expanded edition) by

Robert Middlekauff, and Colonies to Nation, 1763-1789: A Documentary History of the

American Revolution, edited by Jack Greene. These two books together combine both a

traditional, secondary synthesis of the American Revolution with a primary source history book.
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Additionally, other references, including primary source documents from after 1789, and videos

will be used to expand comprehension of the material.

Each week, now having been planned and with the knowledge of the textbooks being

utilized, will need set learning outcomes, and assignments that go toward these learning

outcomesthis is step three. Assignments will include papers, presentations/videos, and, in at

least one unit, a discussion board debate. The purpose, of course, of the various styles of

assignments is to engage students in as many ways as possible to keep them engaged and

interested throughout the course.

Having planned the course week-by-week--the assignments, the discussion boards, and

the references being utilizedit will be time to decide upon the panel of experts. This panel will

likely include the assistant academic program manager for liberal arts at Post University, a

member of the associate faculty in history at Post University, a Ph.D. candidate who focuses on

the early republic at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, a course designer and adjunct faculty

member at University of Bridgeport, and the academic program manager for the instructional

design and technology education department at Post University. Upon finishing the course in its

entirety, the course was opened to those experts. The experts were questioned about the ease of

use, information within, the appropriateness of the learning outcomes and the assignments, and

whether the course is effective in its set goal, among other questions. The information was

analyzed and evaluated based on their answers.

Action Research Project Steps

The eight steps for evaluating an action research project are simply four steps repeated

twicereflect, plan, act, and observe. The difference between the two sets is what is being

reflected upon, planned, acted upon, and observed. For the first half, the researcher is reflecting
capstone project 16

upon a problem, planning a solution, acting upon that solution, and observing how the solution

works, identifying any problems that are related to the problem. The second half begins by

reflecting on the new information garnered from the original plan of action, followed by an

updated plan to resolve the secondary problem discovered, acting on that plan, and observing

how the new solution works (Ary, Jacobs, Sorenson, & Walker, 2014).

Assessment

The purpose of this project was to ensure students were more engaged and interested in

the study of history, with the goal of increasing their critical thinking and analytical skills across

disciples and platforms. The first stage of reflection, also known as identifying and limiting the

topic (Ary et al., 2014, 554), is where personal experience as an instructor of adult students in

an online format was used to identify the fact that students were not as engaged with the work as

a whole. Upon recognition that the type of coursework necessary did not exist, a plan was

formed to build one that would suit those specific needs. This first planning stage is defined as a

plan for taking action and/or for gathering information and data (Ary et al., 2014, 554). At that

point, the topic of historical study and engagement of online students was discussed with

department heads and colleagues. Subsequently, a new online course was built from the ground

up that had its basis in historical study. Learning outcomes, rubrics, assessments, and discussion

boards were all written with the goal that the course would, through these activities, combine

innovative ideas with traditional methods in order to increase student engagement and, hopefully,

critical thinking skills, thus making history more interesting and relevant in the lives of the

students.

While the project itself would be implementation ready by the end of EDU 699, there is

no feasible way to do so. Post University does not employ an Institutional Review Board, which
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would allow the course to be put in front of real students, nor would it be feasible for the

administration to allow an untested course to go live for credit. As a result, a panel of experts was

assembled to evaluate the course on a variety of different aspects. There are many moving pieces

that indicate whether a course would work in the real world or not; due to this fact, there is only

so much that a panel can evaluate. The only concrete way to know what does and does not work

would be to put the course in front of real students. Since that cannot happen, the best outcome,

in this case, would be that the panel of experts evaluating this project come to the conclusion that

the course would work in a real-world scenario.

There were five members of this panel of experts. They were all given access to the

project course, and they were all given a copy of the questionnaire to assess and evaluate the

effectiveness of the project (see Appendix A). Using the questionnaire, the panel evaluated the

pedagogical structure of the course, as well as whether it was student-centered, whether the

objectives were linked to an assessment, appropriate workload, adequate and varied resources,

and whether the class would meet the different needs of different learners, among others. Based

on the answers to the questionnaire, the course was updated to better reflect what the panel

thought would work, and what did not.

After completion of the questionnaire, and the adjustments made to the course based on

those answers, it is assumed that the project as it stands could be implementable as of March 6,

2017.

Discussion and Reflection

This was both simple and significantly more challenging than originally anticipated. It

seems like such a simple thingmake history exciting for students so they do not get bored. Yet,
capstone project 18

at the same time, the sheer amount of work and thought that goes into building a course from the

ground up is so much more involved and complicated than expected.

From the beginning of building this project, many of the skills utilized by the researcher

had been learned through the online teaching concentration courses, including how to build a

successful rubric and how to write the best types of learning outcomes. The vast majority, in fact,

of the skills used to build this course came both from those four classes, as well as experience

teaching courses online. It is easy to know what works and what does not, to a certain extent,

when one is already teaching online history classes. Armed with that knowledge, the researcher

assumed more knowledge than was actually available. The first sign that this was going to be a

bigger project than originally anticipated while building my project management plan. Because

the requirements for that assignment were to list everything step by step, it very quickly became

apparent that there was significantly more work than previously anticipated. However, by laying

everything out clearly in that manner, it also meant that nothing was missing from the course.

History is both a difficult subject and not a difficult subject, and this project showcases

that contradiction. It gives the students the information they are expecting to learn, while also

almost forcing them to think outside the box with a few of the assignments. One very large

challenge was figuring out interesting assignments that were also feasible in an online format,

and there are precious few of those, which is why there were few assignments rather than

most. With a longer session, it is likely that it would be possible to do certain things that did

not seem possible within an 8-week class session (specifically, a Constitutional online debate).

Another significant challenge, which may be due to the researchers inexperience as a

course designer, was figuring out the proper workload for the hypothetical students. One of the

main concerns from the panel of experts was that the workload seemed too light. Most weeks,
capstone project 19

the students only had one discussion board, so the recommendation was made to put in

requirements for length of the initial post. Otherwise, it would be too easy for students to type

one paragraph and fulfill the minimum requirements. Another concern was that most of the

discussion boards were traditional, so the recommendation therein was to require a video

discussion board or two. It was really only after the questionnaires came back from the panel that

this even occurred as a problem. Large spans of time were spent making sure that there was not

too much or too little reading; the idea that the workload itself was not up to par for what would

be a 300 level class never came up.

Overall, the main concern from the panel regarding the workload was that it just was not

enough. However, upon objective self-assessment of my project, the concern is that the work that

is there is not innovative enough. More studyboth in the education field as well as the field of

course designwould be needed to truly make a course of this type innovative enough. As it

stands, while there are some aspects that are different and engaging, and most of the assignments

are built to keep students engaged, it does not go far enough to be truly innovative. It fulfills its

set purpose, but there is definitely work to be done.

As previously mentioned, this was so much more challenging than expected and, as a

result, there are many things that could have been done differently. However, the foundation of

the project showcases a number of connections to the program objectives for the Master in

Education at Post University, both through the core curriculum, as well as the classes taken for

the concentration in online teaching. The idea of innovation in teaching is a thread that connects

both the concentration classes, as well as the core classes, and this project does showcase some

innovative ideasthe researcher has yet to see an online course that utilizes debate in the same

way my project does. Additionally, every discussion board and assignment was set up using
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techniques taught in the concentration classes. The biggest goals for this project were to ensure

that every assignment was pedagogically sound, that they were innovative and interesting (for

the purpose of keeping students engaged in the coursework throughout the length of the course),

and that those assignments were set up to reach a diverse population of students with different

learning styles, while still teaching them the skill set they need to be successful in the future.

With that in mind, the researcher stands by the opinion that this project has accomplished

its intended purpose, and has done so while meeting every expectation of the outcomes for both

the capstone project, as well as the overall Master in Education program.

capstone project 21

References

Ary, D., Jacobs, L. C., Sorenson, C. K., & Walker, D. A. (2014). Introduction to Research in

Education (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Athanassiou, N., McNett, J. M., & Harvey, C. (2003). Critical Thinking in the Management

Classroom: Bloom's Taxonomy as a Learning Tool. Journal of Management Education,

27(5), 533-555. doi:10.1177/1052562903252515

Berge, Z. (2010). Pedagogy of Online Instruction. In S. Fulgham, & M. F. Shaughnessy (Eds.),

Pedagogical Models: The Discipline of Online Teaching (pp. 87-96). Hauppauge, NY:

Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R.-M. (2010). The Online Teaching Survival Guide: Simple and

Practical Pedagogical Tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Conrad, R.-M., & Donaldson, J. A. (2004). Engaging the Online Learning: Activities and

Resources for Creative Instruction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Conway, M. (2015, March 16). The Problem with History Classes. The Atlantic. Retrieved from

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/03/the-problem-with-history-

classes/387823/

Dubcovsky, A. (2014, February 24). To Understand Science, Study History. The Chronicle of

Higher Education. Retrieved from http://www.chronicle.com/article/To-Understand-

Science-Study/144947/

Fabry, D. L. (2009). Designing online and on-ground courses to ensure comparability and

consistency in meeting learning outcomes. Quarterly Review of Distance Education,

10(3), 253-261.
capstone project 22

Fulgham, S. (2010). Effective Learning with Video, Audio, and Simulations. In S. Fulgham, &

M. F. Shaughnessy (Eds.), Pedagogical Models: The Discipline of Online Teaching (pp.

141-152). Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Halawi, L., McCarthy, R. V., & Pires, S. (2010). An Evaluation of E-Learning on the Basis of

Bloom's Taxonomy: An Exploratory Study. Journal of Education for Business, 84(6),

374-380.

Jones, J. (2013). Americans Grade Math as the Most Valuable School Subject. Gallup. Retrieved

from http://www.gallup.com/poll/164249/americans-grade-math-valuable-school-

subject.aspx

Murray, W., & Sinnreich, R. H. (Eds.). (2006). The past as prologue: The importance of history

to the military profession. New York: Cambridge University Press.

National Center for History in the Schools. (n.d.). Significance of History for the Educated

Citizen. UCLA Department of History. Retrieved from UCLA Department of History:

http://www.nchs.ucla.edu/history-standards/preface/significance-of-history-for-the-

educated-citizen

Noble, T. (2004). Integrating the revised Bloom's taxonomy with multiple intelligences: A

planning tool for curriculum differentiation. Teachers College Record, 106(1), 193-211.

Retrieved from

http://bestcluster.cc.com.au/2007web/HelenMcGrath/article_integrate_bloom.pdf

Pelz, B. (2010). (My) Three Principles of Effective Online Pedagogy. Journal of Asynchronous

Learning Networks, 14(1), 103-116.

Schank, R. C. (2012, September 7). A message to high school students who hate high school:

Here is why you hate it. Washington Post. Retrieved from

capstone project 23

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/why-kids-hate-school--

subject-by-subject/2012/09/06/0bf1acc4-f5d6-11e1-8398-0327ab83ab91_blog.html

Simonton, M. (2010). Instructional Design for Online Courses. In S. Fulgham, & M. F.

Shaughnessy (Eds.), Pedagogical Models: The Discipline of Online Teaching (pp. 51-79).

Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Stapleton, C., & Hirumi, A. (2010). Interplay Instructional Strategy: Engaging Learners with

Interactive Entertainment Conventions. In S. Fulgham, & M. F. Shaughnessy (Eds.),

Pedagogical Models: The Discipline of Online Teaching (pp. 183-212). Hauppauge, NY:

Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Stearns, P. N. (1998). Why Study History? Retrieved from American HIstorical Association:

https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-

archives/archives/why-study-history-(1998)

Stein, S. K. (2014). Lessons Learned Building the Online History Program at the University of

Memphis. History Teacher, 47(3), 373-386.

Urist, J. (2015, February 15). Who Should Decide How Students Learn About Americas Past?

The Atlantic. Retrieved from

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/02/who-should-decide-how-

students-learn-about-americas-past/385928/
capstone project 24

Appendix A

EMcCarthy Capstone Project

Questionnaire
This questionnaire is in regards to the American history class I've built.
An invitation to join the class on CourseSites has been sent to you via email.
Please submit this questionnaire no later than January 29, 2017. Thank you.
Required
1. This course uses techniques that are pedagogically sound.
Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

2. This course is student-centered.

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

3. All objectives within the course are linked through an

assessment.
Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

4. The work load for this course is appropriate for a 300-level

course.
capstone project 25

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

5. If you answered "strongly disagree," "disagree," or "neutral" to

the workload question: what would you change about it? Is it too much
or too little?

6. The resources utilized for this course are adequate and varied.
Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

7. If you answered "strongly disagree," "disagree," or "neutral" to

the resources question: what would you change about it?

8. The assignments within this course appeal to a wide range of

learning styles, and meets the different needs of different students.
Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree
capstone project 26

9. If you answered "strongly disagree," "disagree," or "neutral" to

the learning styles question: what would you change about it?

10. The assignments and discussion boards within this course

require students to think critically and analytically about the questions.
Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

11. The learning objectives for the course cover the entirety of
Bloom's Taxonomy.
Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

12. If you answered "strongly disagree," "disagree," or "neutral"

to the Bloom's Taxonomy question: what do you think is missing from
the assignments?

13. In your professional opinion, would this course work if

implemented in a real-world classroom?
Yes

No
capstone project 27

14. Does this course meet your expectations? Overall, what could
be improved upon?

15. Please include any final comments you may have.

Submit
capstone project 28

Appendix B

Rubric: Capstone Rubric

This rubric is designed to evaluate the online course built as a requirement for completion of the M.Ed.
program. This rubric assesses the course's instructional design, presentation design, interaction design and
assessment design, not content.

Deliverable Product
Exemplary Proficient Needs Deficient Comments

3 pts 2 pts Improvement 0 pts (N/A)

1 pts
Course Design

This section will help you determine the effectiveness of the course design.
Course Exempla Proficie Nee Deficie Commen
Design
ry nt ds nt ts
Description of

learning objectives
Improvement 3
Learning objectives are Learning objectives Learning objectives

clearly defined; Each are clearly defined; are vague or

Learning
unit includes Most units include incomplete; simplest
objectives are
objectives for that learning objectives, levels from Bloom's
implied; Learning
section and incorporate which incorporate Taxonomy included,
objectives are
various levels from some levels from if at all.
sometimes
Bloom's Taxonomy. Bloom's Taxonomy.
included in the

units, and

marginally

incorporate levels

from Bloom's

Taxonomy.
capstone project 29

Course Exempla Proficie Nee Deficie Commen

Design
ry nt ds nt ts
Use of links and

other course-specific
Improvement 2
Instructional design A large amount of Very limited
resources to help the
includes learning supplemental information to help
student Supplemental
activities and information, as well the student further
information is
information presented as links, are provided develop their
given to students
in ways that will to the student to knowledge gained
to help them
engage all learning enhance the from the course; few,
further develop
styles. knowledge they gain if any links, are
their knowledge
from the course incorporated in the
gained from the
course content.
course; some

links to re-

enforcing

material are

included to help

the student
Course Exempla Proficie Nee Deficie Commen
Design
ry nt ds nt ts
Development of

critical
Improvement 3
Assignments, exercises Course provides Course provides
thinking/problem-
and tasks requiring many activities to limited if any
solving skills Course provides a
critical thinking and promote critical activities to promote
few activities to
problem solving skills thinking/problem- critical
promote critical
are integrated solving activities thinking/problem-
thinking/problem
throughout the course. among students. solving activities
-solving activities
among students.
among students.
Assessments

This section will help you determine the effectiveness of the assessment design
capstone project 30

Assessme Exempla Proficie Nee Deficie Commen

nt
ry nt ds nt ts
Assessing Student

Learning
Improvement 3
All assessments are Assessments are Assessments not

aligned with learning almost always aligned aligned with

Assessments
objectives. with course objectives.
generally aligned
Assessments are objectives. Expectations and
with objectives.
appropriate for the Expectations and criteria not
Expectations and
target learning level. criteria usually communicated.
criteria
Expectations and communicated. Most Assessments do not
sometimes
criteria always clearly assessments promote contribute to
communicated.
communicated. All or student learning. learning.
Some
nearly all student Some rubrics are
assessments
assessments contribute used.
promote student
to learning. Rubrics are
learning.
used where

appropriate.
Assessme Exempla Proficie Nee Deficie Commen
nt
ry nt ds nt ts
Facilities for prompt

feedback on all
Improvement 3
Course has facilities The course makes Feedback is not
student assessments.
built in for both adequate provision addressed in the
The course makes
informational and for feedback. Some course.
some provision
acknowledgement rubrics are provided.
for feedback. Few
feedback. Instructor
if any rubrics are
commits to prompt
provided.
feedback in the

syllabus or orientation

area.
capstone project 31

Assessme Exempla Proficie Nee Deficie Commen

nt
ry nt ds nt ts
Assessing for

Quality
Improvement 2
Assessments and The course has No facilities for
Improvement
feedback loops are several opportunities course assessment or
There are limited
fully incorporated into for feedback to the feedback are
opportunities for
the course. instructor. available to the
the students to
student.
provide feedback

to the instructor.
Connection to M.Ed. Program
Connectio Exempla Proficie Nee Deficie Commen
n to Program
ry nt ds nt ts
Assesses whether

the learning
Improvement 3
Project demonstrates Project demonstrates Project demonstrates
objectives for the
master of the proficiency in the little proficiency in
M.Ed. program Project
objectives set out by objectives set out by the objectives set out
were met demonstrates
the M.Ed. program the M.Ed. program; by the M.Ed.
some proficiency
some aspects could program
in the objectives
be improved upon
set out by the

M.Ed. program;

many aspects

could be

improved upon
capstone project 32

Connectio Exempla Proficie Nee Deficie Commen

n to Program
ry nt ds nt ts
Assesses whether

the project
Improvement 2
Project showcases Project showcases Project does not
showcases evidence
evidence of significant some evidence of showcase evidence
of professional Project
professional growth professional growth of professional
growth showcases little
and knowledge base and knowledge base growth or knowledge
evidence of
base
professional

growth or

knowledge base,

some aspects

missing or

incomplete
Capstone Project

All aspects of the capstone, including the process, the paper, and the Share Fair presentation
Exemplary Proficient Needs Deficient Comments

3 pts 2 pts Improvement 0 pts (N/A)

1 pts
Capstone Exempla Proficie Nee Deficie Commen
Project
ry nt ds nt ts
Adherence to PMP

and other deadlines

Improvement 3
Each step in project Most steps in project Most steps in project

completed in a timely completed on time, not completed on

Some steps in
fashion, based on PMP based on PMP and time, based on PMP
project completed
and other in-class other in-class and other in-class
on time, based on
deadlines deadlines; some deadlines
PMP and other
aspects handed in
in-class
late
deadlines; most

aspects handed in

late
capstone project 33

Capstone Exempla Proficie Nee Deficie Commen

Project
ry nt ds nt ts
Action research

cycles followed
Improvement 3
Project showcases Project showcases Project showcases

evidence that all the evidence that most evidence that few
Project
eight steps of the steps in the action steps in the action
showcases
action research plan research cycle were research cycle were
evidence that
were followed followed followed; many
some steps in the
aspects missing or
action research
incomplete
cycle were

followed; some

aspects missing

or incomplete
capstone project 34

Capstone Exempla Proficie Nee Deficie Commen

Project
ry nt ds nt ts
Share Fair
Improvement 3
Presentation is Presentation is mostly Presentation is

complete, clear, and complete and clear; incomplete and lacks

Presentation is
includes all of the minor aspects missing clarity; major aspects
somewhat
required information or incomplete; missing or
complete; some
about Capstone includes most of the incomplete;
aspects absent,
project; presentation is required information unprofessional
unclear, or
professional and able about Capstone presentation
incomplete;
to be shared publicly. project; presentation
includes some of
is mostly professional
the required
but requires some
information about
edits to be shared
Capstone project,
publicly.
but major points

are absent;

presentation

requires many

edits to be

considered

professional and

before it can be

shared publicly.
capstone project 35

Capstone Exempla Proficie Nee Deficie Commen

Project
ry nt ds nt ts
Organization,

grammar, spelling,
Improvement 3
Organized, logical and Demonstrates Lacks organization,
formatting
clearly articulated; organization, logic grammar/spelling
Lacks
Polished, demonstrates and clarity; deficient; No
organization,
a high level of Demonstrates sources
clarity, polish;
proficiency in proficiency in
Minimal
grammar and spelling; grammar and
proficiency in
APA format evident spelling; Attempts
grammar and
throughout paper. APA formatting with
spelling; APA
few errors.
rarely used

throughout paper.