
Xun GeUniversity of North Texas | UNT
Xun Ge
Ph.D.
About
136
Publications
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Introduction
Xun Ge Ph.D., is Professor of Learning Sciences and Technologies in the Department of Learning Technologies at the University
of North Texas. Her research involves ill-structured problem-solving, scaffolding, and designing digital
learning environments (e.g., game-based, VR and AR bases, and makerspace) to support learner
skill development in problem representation, argumentation, mental models, and self-regulation. Her scholarly
work intersects cognition, motivation, design, and assessment.
Additional affiliations
July 2012 - July 2020
August 2001 - present
Publications
Publications (136)
This collection of 12 papers reflects the evolving research methods at different design and development stages of educational design research (EDR). With the theme of investigating human-cantered digital technologies serving inclusion, equity, and accessibility, the researchers conducted EDR to solve real-world problems and promote learning access....
Kun Huang Victor Law Xun Ge- [...]
Ling Hu
Information problem solving (IPS) is an important twenty-first century skill, but it is lacking at all age levels. One type of information problem, those of an ill-structured nature that require multiple iterations of (re)defining problems and formulating emerging solutions, can be particularly challenging but have received less attention in the IP...
A qualitative study was conducted in a secondary school to evaluate student learning processes and outcomes by examining their inquiry questions, journals, and maker artifacts in a curriculum-based maker learning environment supported by the Guided Inquiry Design (GID). Thirteen 8th-grade students in a suburban middle school in the southwest of the...
Problem-based learning (PBL) represents an instructional approach through which learning is gained by investigating, negotiating, and resolving meaningful problems. PBL can be challenging to implement, and the online learning ecology adds another layer of challenges as it demands effective interactions between pedagogy and technology. To inform the...
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges as well as opportunities in different aspects of life and various settings, including K-12 public schools. This chapter presents the first author’s reflexive accounts of her family’s innovative responses and transformative experience to overcome the challenges as an educator and researcher,...
Problem-based learning (PBL) represents an instructional approach through which learning is gained by investigating, negotiating, and resolving meaningful problems. PBL can be challenging to implement, and the online learning ecology adds another layer of challenges as it demands effective interactions between pedagogy and technology. To inform the...
We start by reviewing key research on approaches to learning (deep vs. surface approaches), followed by an introduction to a unique and important type of learning in the twenty-first century: ill-structured problem solving. We then discuss the intersection between these two research areas, and contrast deep and surface learning patterns in both pro...
The purpose of this chapter is to demonstrate that instructional design is an ill-structured problem-solving process involving iterative processes guided by self-regulation from problem representation to generating solutions. It is argued that instructional designers must focus on the process of iterative problem representation and generating solut...
This is an open access book which can be downloaded at https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-99634-5#about-this-book. It focuses on making the transition from in-person, classroom education to other feasible alternative modes and methodologies to deliver education at all levels. The book presents and analyzes research questions to explor...
In this chapter, the authors reported a design-based research project for an educational digital game Functions of the Machine, which was designed to motivate college students to learn mathematics through playing a digital educational game that scaffolded their reasoning, critical thinking, and problem-solving in mathematics, specifically algebra....
Contribution: A systematic interdisciplinary engineering and technology instructional model using cutting-edge technologies is proposed in this research. This model consists of four key components: 1) interdisciplinary collaboration; 2) hands-on projects; 3) real-world simulations; and 4) cutting-edge technologies. The model was designed to engage...
This paper is in response to the published article entitled “Success, failure and emotions: examining the relationship between performance feedback and emotions in diagnostic reasoning” (Jarrell, Harley, Lajoie, & Naismith, Education Technology & Research Development, 65, 1263–1284: 2017) focusing on its implications to inform educational practice...
This case study investigates how students from three disciplines (i.e., architecture, interior design, and instructional design and technology) develop design thinking over an interdisciplinary collaborative project aiming at designing a learning space for K12 schools. The findings revealed the benefits of interdisciplinary collaborative project-ba...
The purpose of this chapter is to understand learners’ challenges in ill-structured
problem solving and identify effective strategies and tools to scaffold their problem-solving
processes. The following goals serve to organize the chapter: (1) presenting
an updated expert model of ill-structured problem solving by critically synthesizing
the litera...
Students today routinely conduct research in the digital world to solve problems in daily life and in learning tasks. Although research to date has proposed different models to describe the processes of information problem solving (IPS), little is known about the cognitive patterns demonstrated in the processes, particularly the iterative nature of...
This chapter focuses on the role of self‐directed learning (SDL) in Problem‐Based Learning (PBL). The construct of self‐directed learning is defined in relationship with the construct of self‐regulated learning. Then, the chapter discusses various demands placed on learners’ SDL in PBL such as epistemic beliefs, motivation, cognition and metacognit...
The concept of computers as cognitive tools has been revisited to provide insight into the motivational and social dimension in light of the emerging technologies. Central to this concept are the two opposing philosophical views: learning from technology (amplification view of technology) versus learning with technology (constructivist view of tech...
The concept of computers as cognitive tools has been revisited to provide insight into the motivational and social dimension in light of the emerging technologies. Central to this concept are the two opposing philosophical views: learning from technology (amplification view of technology) versus learning with technology (constructivist view of tech...
This chapter is a report of a study conducted to explore the development of teachers’ technology-integration self-efficacy in an open-ended professional development (PD) environment. Six elementary teachers participated in problem-solving activities (i.e., collaboratively and independently) related to technology integration. Using videos to present...
We assert a need for the incorporation of educational theory into engineering design, build, and test (DBT) courses, particularly in terms of how that theory can be used to improve such courses incrementally. In our course AME4163 –Principles of Engineering Design, a senior-level engineering DBT course, we have incorporated David Kolb’s experientia...
Research suggests that scaffolding is an important element when gaining problem-solving skills. However, very little research has investigated the role of fading and explored its implications in the context of deep learning. To address this gap, we investigated the effects of fading question prompts on argumentation as learners were given two fadin...
The focus of this chapter is on designing engaging educational games for cognitive, motivational, and emotional benefits. The concept of engagement is defined and its relationship with motivation and cognition are discussed. Design issues with many educational games are examined in terms of factors influencing sustained motivation and engagement. A...
The focus of this chapter is on designing engaging educational games for cognitive, motivational, and
emotional benefits. The concept of engagement is defined and its relationship with motivation and
cognition are discussed. Design issues with many educational games are examined in terms of factors
influencing sustained motivation and engagement. A...
The purpose of this chapter is to provide some practical guidance and theoretical basis on designing simulated learning environments to researchers and instructional designers, medical educators, instructional design students, and others who are committed to improving learning and instruction in medical education. This chapter will benefit those wh...
This study investigated the characteristics of deep and surface approaches to learning in online students' responses to instructor's qualitative feedback given to a multi-stage, ill-structured design project. Further, the study examined the relationships between approaches to learning and two learner characteristics: epistemic beliefs (EB) and need...
One of the goals for problem-based learning (PBL) is to promote self-regulation. Although self-regulation has been studied extensively, its interrelationships with ill-structured problem solving have been unclear. In order to clarify the interrelationships, this article proposes a conceptual framework illustrating the iterative processes among prob...
This study investigated the effects of metaconceptually-enhanced, simulation-based inquiry learning on eighth grade students’ conceptual change in science and their development of science epistemic beliefs. Two experimental groups studied the topics of motion and force using the same computer simulations but with different simulation guides: one en...
Self-regulation has been shown as a critical factor in learning in a regular classroom environment (e.g. Wolters and Pintrich in Instr Sci 26(1):27–47, 1998. doi:10. 1023/ A: 1003035929216). However, little research has been conducted to understand self-regulation in the context of collaboration (Dinsmore et al. in Educ Psychol Rev 20(4):391–409, 2...
One of the goals for problem-based learning (PBL) is to promote self-regulation. Although self-regulation has been studied
extensively, its interrelationships with ill-structured problem solving have been unclear. In order to clarify the interrelationships,
this article proposes a conceptual framework illustrating the iterative processes among prob...
In this concluding chapter, the importance of STEAM education in supporting the 21st century skills is again emphasized. We have analyzed three themes that emerged from the chapters included in this book: (1) different perspectives towards STEAM education and the role of Arts, (2) the role of technology in STEAM education, and (3) the pedagogy and...
In response to the significant changes in education, healthcare, and technology over the past few decades, in Spring 2014 the guest editors of this special issue solicited articles of original research on Problem-based Learning (PBL) in health professions education. Of numerous proposals representing various areas of health professions education fr...
This exploratory study examined the perspectives of African American female students toward online collaborative learning. The participants were nine African American female graduate students in an online multimedia instructional design course in the southeastern United States. A qualitative study was conducted, with data obtained from open-ended i...
The Kiowa Language and Culture Revitalization Program is a community-based learning model designed to help language learners construct knowledge and practice an endangered language in situ through networks of community members, protocols, scaffolding, and tools. In this model, tribal members act as linguistic and cultural resources, and teachers us...
This case study was designed to investigate students' perceptions and experiences of the dynamics of online collaborative learning over a semester. Multiple sources of data were collected and triangulated through pre- and post-surveys, personal interviews, group reflection papers, and instructor's observations. Forty-one graduate students enrolled...
Digital game-based learning, especially massively multiplayer online games, has been touted for its potential to promote student motivation and complex problem-solving competency development. However, current evidence is limited to anecdotal studies. The purpose of this empirical investigation is to examine the complex interplay between learners' m...
Digital game-based learning, especially massively multiplayer online games, has been touted for its potential to promote student motivation and complex problem-solving competency development. However, current evidence is limited to anecdotal studies. The purpose of this empirical investigation is to examine the complex interplay between learners’ m...
The important but little understood problem that motivated this study was the lack of research on valid assessment methods to determine progress in higher-order learning in situations involving complex and ill-structured problems. Without a valid assessment method, little progress can occur in instructional design research with regard to designing...
This chapter presents a web-based, database-driven cognitive support system for scaffolding self-regulation in the process of ill-structured problem solving. Self-regulation theory was used as a guiding framework for the design of this cognitive tool. The design features, functions and rationales of the system are detailed in the chapter. Of partic...
The important but little understood problem that motivated this study was the lack of research on valid assessment methods to determine progress in higher-order learning in situations involving complex and ill-structured problems. Without a valid assessment method, little progress can occur in instructional design research with regard to designing...
This study explored students and instructors' perceptions and experience of technology affordances in an technology-enhanced Active Learning Classroom (ALC) to promote students' collaborative problem solving. Multiple case studies were conducted. Five classes of 92 students and five professors participated in this study. The data sources were class...
This chapter begins with a brief overview of the historical development of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in literacy education in China. A number of themes related to current trends in ICT integration and the uses of ICTs to teach Chinese language and literacy were identified from an extensive review of over 600 journal articles...
This paper discusses a qualitative study which examined students' problem-solving, metacognition, and motivation in a learning environment designed for teaching educational technology to pre-service teachers. The researchers converted a linear and didactic learning environment into a new open learning environment by contextualizing domain-related c...
Looking at the historical synopsis of games, an antagonism between games and work is noticeable. However, another important question is present: How can a game be beneficial for life? Games are classified as fully recreational games, serious games for informal context, serious games for formal context, and as assessment games. However, the implemen...
This chapter presents a design framework of scaffolding that can be applied in designing adaptive e-learning systems. The framework is primarily grounded in socio-cultural theory and built on a critical analysis of literature on scaffolding. It addresses three key processes in scaffolding (i.e., diagnosis, supporting, and fading) and four condition...
This article examines the development of novice instructional designers in a reflective learning community. The study was situated in a blended learning course, which utilized a web-based learning management system as a communication platform. Drawing from communities of practice as a theoretical framework, we examined (1) how individual and group...
Following a design-based research framework, this article reports two empirical studies with an educational MMOG, called McLarin's Adventures, on facilitating 9th-grade students' complex problem-solving skill acquisition in interdisciplinary STEM education. The article discusses the nature of complex and ill-structured problem solving and, accordin...
This study used technology-rich ethnography (TRE) to examine the use of game development in a high school computer programming class for the development of 21st century skills. High school students created games for elementary school students while obtaining formative feedback from their younger clients. Our experience suggests that in the teaching...
This special issue is dedicated to creating, building, supporting, sustaining and evaluating virtual learning communities (VLCs) using emerging technologies. The contributors from diverse disciplines have come together to share their valuable experiences and findings through their research in the following themes: (a) instructional models, strategi...
This qualitative study investigated a situated learning environment implemented in an educational technology course where pre-service teachers worked collaboratively on meaningful real-world projects, assuming the role of professional teachers. With a traditional learning environment as a critical frame of reference, we found that the students in t...
The central thesis of this chapter is that emerging technologies such as digital games compel educators, educational researchers, and instructional designers to conceptualize learning, instruction, and assessment in fundamentally different ways. New technologies, including massively multi-player digital games offer new opportunities for learning an...
A qualitative study using the cross-case analysis method investigated the experiences of faculty members as they transitioned from one Learning Management System (LMS) to another. The study has several implications for administrators, researchers, instructional designers, trainers, and educators on how to implement a new instructional technology an...
A semester-long ethnography study was carried out to investigate project-based learning in a graduate software engineering course through the implementation of an Open-Source Software Development (OSSD) learning environment, which featured authentic projects, learning community, cognitive apprenticeship, and technology affordances. The study reveal...
An experimental study was conducted to investigate the effects of question prompts and peer review on scaffolding students’ problem-based learning in a web-based cognitive support system. Ninety-six pharmacy students were randomly assigned to a treatment or control condition. The students in both conditions were asked to generate solutions to a rea...