Mahnaz Moallem

University of North Carolina Wilmington, IT, Foundations & Secondary Education, Faculty Member

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I am a professor of Instructional Technology and Research and Grant Coordinator at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW), Watson College of Education where I have been a faculty member since 1993. I received my Ph.D. in Learning Systems Design and my Program Evaluation Certificate from Florida State University. As a learning design and learning science researcher, I study applications of various learning and design theories and models for learning and human performance improvement. I have a special interest in the application of problem-based/project-based learning (PBL) and assessment of complex learning outcomes such as problem-solving and critical thinking for STEM fields. During my career, I have designed, developed and successfully implemented and evaluated several programs that have been using PBL as their pedagogical framework. In addition, within last fifteen years, I have coordinated innovative projects funded by National Science Foundation and Department of Education on the integration of PBL with computer modeling and simulation. I have worked with a number of international colleagues and serve on editorial board of a number of prestigious national and international journals. I have been the recipient of a number of teaching, research and other achievement awards and have served as a rotating scientist (IPA) for two years at the National Science Foundation.
Supervisors: Prof. Marcy, P. Driscoll,
Phone: 910-962-4183
Address: UNCW- Watson School of Education
601 South College Rd.
Wilmington, NC 28403

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Papers by Mahnaz Moallem

The Content and Nature of Reflective Teaching: A Case of an Expert Middle School Science Teacher

The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 1997

(Calderhead 1989; Hatton and Smith 1995). We also know very little about expert reflective teache... more

Instructional Technologists at Public Schools: A Study of the Role and Effectiveness of Technology Resource Teachers

Human resource positions that are becoming known as Technology Coordinator (for district-level pe... more Human resource positions that are becoming known as Technology Coordinator (for district-level personnel) and Technology Resource Teacher (for school-level personnel) have been created to help integrate technology into classroom instruction. This study assessed the progress and effectiveness of Technology Resource Teachers, or TRTs, as technical and instructional support persons. Their roles and responsibilities were examined to identify any changes in their positions or their approaches to achieving their long-term goals. The study also compared its new results with previous results in order to identify the future roles of instructional technologists in public schools. Data collection methods included: interviews with TRTs; classroom, computer lab and site observations; public and personal records, reports, and documents; and teacher questionnaire and attitude surveys. The study was conducted in six middle schools in the southeastern United States. Results indicated that the TRTs were generally successful in establishing and maintaining a computer lab in their respective schools. The support of TRTs was instrumental in increasing their teacher constituents' confidence in their own computer skills and usage of their home computers. Teachers, however, did not yet show any major improvement in their attitude toward or usage of computers in classroom instruction--despite receiving regular training and technical support. On the whole, teachers' positive perception of TRTs and their role at the school, combined with the improvement in teachers' computer competency skills across the schools, are indicators of the TRTs' progress in their effort. A series of tables present the study results. (Contains 20 references.) (AEF).

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Analysis and integration of 21st Century Skills for Learning and Assessment

Abstract: This paper describes the complex 21st century skills and provides an analysis of those ... more

The Impact of Personalized Learning on Motivation in Online Learning

Knowing what students know: assessments of complex skills in global economy & fast changing world

Interaction in Online Learning: A Comparative Study on the Impact of Communication Tools on Student Learning, Motivation, Self-regulation, and Satisfaction

Localization and Globalization of Learning

Abstract: With the technological advancements movements of ideas, technologies and products acros... more

Emerging technologies in learning: its impact on cognition and culture, Part 1

Emerging Technologies in Learning: Impact on Cognition and Culture

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The Power of Computational Modeling and Simulation for Learning STEM Content in Middle and High Schools

Improving K-12 STEM Education Outcomes through Technological Integration, 2016

Design and Implementation of Computational Modeling for Learning Mathematical Concepts

Common Core Mathematics Standards and Implementing Digital Technologies, 2013

Integrating Wireless Computer Technology into Classroom Instruction

Abstract: The wireless computer technology offers a convenient environment for teachers to integr... more

An Experienced Teacher's Model of Thinking and Teaching: An Ethnographic Study on Teacher Cognition

This study was designed to explore an expert teacher's model of thinking and teaching as it occur... more This study was designed to explore an expert teacher's model of thinking and teaching as it occurred within the social and cultural context of the classroom. The model was then compared with instructional systems design (ISD) to identify similarities and differences between them. To accomplish these goals, the study focused on the process and relationships among four aspects of teacher thinking: (1) the teacher's experiential world and frame of reference; (2) the teacher's knowledge and beliefs; (3) the teacher's planninr; and interactive teaching; and (4) the teacher's reflective thinking. An ethnographic, naturalistic approach combining different methodological techniques was employed. Data analysis suggested an interactive relationship between teacher's thinking and teaching, and showed that reflection was an integral component of the experienced and competent teacher's thought process. Comparisons between the teacher's model of thinking and teaching with ISD models revealed fundamental differences between them. Separation of instructional planning from implementation and evaluation, the linear or procedural model of teaching and planning, and the concept of reflection or evaluation of effectiveness of instruction after implementation were found to be major sources of differences between the ISD models and the teacher's model. (Contains approximately 40 references.) (LL)

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An interactive online course: A collaborative design model

Educational Technology Research and Development, Dec 1, 2003

The purpose of this paper is to describe the evaluation results of using an interactive design mo... more The purpose of this paper is to describe the evaluation results of using an interactive design modelfor the development of an online course. Specfically, it examines: (a) how an interactive design model was used to develop collaborative and cooperative learning activities; (b) how activities were structured to promote the level and quality of communications among students, as peers, and between students and the instructors; and (c) how students responded to such interactive design model. The paper also provides information about the delivery process and describes what happened when this interactive model was fully implemented and used.

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On the Social Construction of an Experienced Teacher

This study was designed to explore an experienced teacher's thinking and teaching within the soci... more This study was designed to explore an experienced teacher's thinking and teaching within the social and cultural environment of the classroom. It investigated the thinking, planning, subsequent action and reflection processes and relationships in a real situation of learning. A naturalistic approach was used to investigate the socio-cultural context and events that occurred in the life of the classroom. The participant was a secondary school teacher who teaches language arts in grades 6-12 at a school in a southeastern city. Data were collected through participant observation, extended ethnographic interviews, pre-and post-observation interviews, document analysis, and stimulated recall. The data were analyzed in the constant comparative style. Results demonstrated that: (1) the teacher's teaching was more social than originally anticipated; (2) his experiences as a learner and as a teacher influenced the way he taught, and the way he thought about himself as a teacher; (3) pre-planning and interactive thinking were based on his interpretations and judgments of previous experiences; and (4) the social context of teaching was the basic source of reflective teaching. (Contains 37 references.) (Author/LL)

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Reflection as a Means of Developing Expertise in Problem Solving, Decision Making, and Complex Thinking of Designers

This paper focuses on reflection and reflective thinking as a means of developing expertise in in... more This paper focuses on reflection and reflective thinking as a means of developing expertise in instructional designers. The need for the reflective instructional designer is discussed, and reflective thinking is examined from several perspectives, i.e., controlled thinking, tacit knowledge, epistemic assumption, abductive reasoning, willingness to act, and social practice. A reflective thinking model made up of the following five phases is then described: problem recognition; problem clarification; hypothesis or suggestion formation and modification; mental elaboration of suggestions; and actions taken on the basis of the best supported hypothesis/suggestion. Six components explain the nature of reflective thinking: willingness to be thoughtful; willingness to recognize and understand the context in which assumptions and actions are formed; willingness to explore and imagine alternatives; understanding and accepting epistemic assumptions; using abductive inference; and exposure to a variety of interpretive considerations in dialogue with others. Three aspects of reflection identified by the preceding model--self-reconstruction; action-reconstruction; and social-reconstruction--are considered, and strategies for promoting reflective thinking in instructional designers based upon these aspects are offered. A figure illustrating the reflective thinking model is included. (Contains 26 references.) (DLS)

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Instructional Systems Design and Preservice Teachers' Processes of Thinking, Teaching and Planning: What Do They Learn and How Do They Change?

This study explored the development and processes of thinking, planning, and decision making of t... more This study explored the development and processes of thinking, planning, and decision making of two preservice teachers as they progressed through their teacher education program. The effects of training in the systems approach on two preservice teachers' thinking about instruction and on their actual instructional planning documents were examined. Also investigated was the relationship between these teachers' training in instructional systems design and the approaches to teaching and planning for instruction presented in the pedagogical courses of their teacher education program. Two preservice teachers enrolled in an instructional design course participated in this study. Data were collected over a 3-year period; the primary data sources were interviews, students' notes, journals, assignments, projects and lesson plans, an instructional design survey, observations of student teaching, and personal communication with the students' university supervisors. While the students' beliefs did not change drastically over the course of their teacher education program, they refined, expanded, and validated their beliefs by gaining theoretical and practical knowledge. The results of the instructional design survey indicated that both students used instructional design principles, and to some extent procedures, thereby reflecting a systems perspective on instruction. Analysis of the students' lesson plans and their execution showed that the lesson format taught by the university, the cooperating teacher's style, and the textbook materials highly influenced the way both participants designed their lessons. The lesson plans and the statements that these preservice teachers made revealed an increasingly complex but also integrated conception of the teaching-learning process.

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Handheld, Wireless Computers: Can They Improve Learning and Instruction?

Computers in the Schools, Jan 11, 2006

Technology Resource Teachers: Is This a New Role for Instructional Technologists?

Public schools have created the position of the Technology Resource Teacher (TRT) in an attempt t... more Public schools have created the position of the Technology Resource Teacher (TRT) in an attempt to establish a technical and instructional support system at the school level to assure the proper usage of technology (particularly computers) by both teachers and students. This study explores the roles and responsibilities of the Technology Resource Teacher (TRT), and the effects of the TRT's role on the integration of technology in the classroom. The study also examines how the TRT's role differs from that of instructional designers/technologists in the same position.

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Accommodating Individual Differences in the Design of Online Learning Environments: A Comparative Study

Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 2008

The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a comparative and descriptive study that ex... more The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a comparative and descriptive study that examined the relationship and effects of incorporating students' learning styles in the design of instruction and the outcome of students' learning, including their attitude and satisfaction. The paper will first explain how the literature on learning styles was used to develop a list of assumptions about learning styles, and further how these assumptions were used to identify a learning style model. It will also provide a detailed description of the process of using the learning style model to design and develop multiple instructional materials for two units of instruction for an online course. Finally, the paper will report the effects of this approach on students' learning and their perception, attitude and satisfaction in comparison with instructional materials that are designed and developed on the basis of the content and objectives, without incorporating students' different learning styles. (Keywords: learning styles and online learning, instructional design and development, distance education.)

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