Badges in Higher Ed: Research Findings, Secret Sauce, and The Future
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Transcript of Badges in Higher Ed: Research Findings, Secret Sauce, and The Future
Badges in Higher Ed:Research Findings, Secret
Sauce, & The Future
James E. Willis, III, Ph.D.Research Associate
Center for Research on Learning and TechnologySchool of Education
Indiana University - Bloomington
The Design Principles Documentation (DPD) Project
The Design Principles Documentation (DPD) Project
The Design Principles Documentation (DPD) Project
The Design Principles Documentation (DPD) Project
The Design Principles Documentation (DPD) Project
Associationist: building and strengthening specific associations = badges as recognition of very specific competencies
Constructivist: rationalize new information, smaller “higher-order” competencies (problem-solving, critical thinking) = badges as project-based, inquiry-oriented learning
Sociocultural: knowing and learning are situated in social, cultural, and technological contexts = badges as crowdsourced recognition, transformative assessment, social motivation
Hybrid: not clearly marked as any of the above, but incorporate multiple elements
Grand Theories of Learning
DPD General Practices and Principles
• Badges appear to have worked better…–When they present unique information and
evidence.–Where educational content already exists.
-- In some places than others.
DPD General Practices and Principles
• Badges appear to have worked better…–Where expectations for assessment of
individual skills and competencies were modest and manageable.
–Where learning, recognition, and assessment was primarily social.
–When awarded for completion of workshops, courses, or projects, rather than specific skills or competencies.
DPD Specific Practices and Principles
• Badges appear to have worked better…–When used to map learning levels and
pathways.–When aligned to internal and/or external
standards as appropriate.–When communities of peer endorsers and
networks of expert endorsers were already established.–When any external endorsements are based
on existing institutional relationships.
DPD Specific Practices and Principles, cont’d
• Badges appear to have worked better…–As informal, evidence-rich
credentials that speak for themselves rather than formal credentials whose value is rooted in conventional accreditation systems.
–When they can be endorsed by multiple stakeholders and/or after they are issued, based on the evidence contained in the badge.
–When used to recognize diverse types of learning.
DPD Specific Practices and Principles, cont’d
• Badges appear to have worked better…–When used to externally
communicate learning.–When effort is invested at
maintaining the web-enabled evidence they contain and/or whether that evidence should expire after a specified time.
–When awarded to both teachers and students.
–When not offered for formal course credit.
–When used to help learners discover opportunities to learn.
DPD Specific Practices and Principles, cont’d
• Badges appear to have worked better…–When used to help programs discover
learners.–When leveled assessment practices are
carefully designed and based on successful examples.–When computer-based and expert
assessment systems are carefully designed and based on successful examples.
DPD Specific Practices and Principles, cont’d
• Badges appear to have worked better…–When the badges were layered into an
existing well-designed eportfolio system that streamlined creation, curation, and assessment.–When badges and formative assessments are
designed in a way to ensure the feedback is both useful and used to support learning.–When any student involvement in the design
of assessment practices is done carefully and judiciously.
OBHE: Distilling findings in Higher Ed
OBHE: Distilling findings in Higher Ed
OBHE: Distilling findings in Higher Ed
OBHE: Distilling findings in Higher Ed
OBHE: Distilling findings in Higher Ed
OBHE: Distilling findings in Higher Ed
Key Accomplishments (2014 – 2016)
Worked on team to issue the first open badge in Open eddy platform (2014)
Hosted first International Badges Day (2015)
Hosted bi-weekly Badges in Higher Education call (2015-2016)
OBHE: Distilling findings in Higher Ed
Key Accomplishments
31 postings ……. 41,074 reads
One posting had 16,895 reads
Publication Stats:
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles (2)
Peer-Reviewed Book Chapters (3)
Papers (3)Conference Proceedings (3)
Presentations (22) Interviews (4)
Consults (2014-2016)166 Consultations
• 122 different organizations
Finland, Ireland, Germany, Austria, United Kingdom, Australia, United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Canada, and all over the United States
An Emerging Trend: Badges + ______?
Badges + Learning Management Systems
Badges + ePortfolios
Badges + Professional Development
Badges + Faculty Development
Badges + Validity
Badges + Privacy & Ethics
An Emerging Trend: Badges + ePortfolios
Badges: Next Step
Interested, but waiting to see
how badges pan out
Badges Already
An Emerging Trend: Badges + Faculty Development
PathwaysGold / Silver / Bronze: can compromise some meaning to
outsidersTimeline: particular programs with clear chronology or
Year 1 / Year 2Reasoning and rationale to valuable faculty time
EvidenceGenerally all existing initiatives linked to Teaching &
Learning Center workshopsSome badges stopped thereOthers required evidence in form of reflections or blogsVery few looked at in-classroom practiceFew articulate why a badge is helpful beyond learning
EcosystemsMost systems rewarded engagement in existing
initiatives Few explicitly state that badges could be used for
tenure / promotionFew provided clear pathways for learningFew provided rationale for why time should be spent on
badges
An Emerging Trend: Badges + Privacy and Ethics
When educational data persists, and can be linked to other individual data sources, what are the possible outcomes?
What obligations do institutions have to protect, retract, or alter learning artifacts in the near and far future?
What are practices to help students learn how to control their own learning artifacts?
When evidentiary narratives form regarding a student’s ability, and then become public, can students come to hold false beliefs about their own capabilities?
http://www.idselpaso.com/
When learning evidence is linked between other technologies and badges, do new ethical questions regarding student privacy emerge?
The Secret SauceIn a phrase: Build Compelling Evidence
Claim of learning / accomplishment Evidence to support claim
Think Big, Start Small, Work Fast
Don’t compete with formal credentials; rather, think about informal learning
At all stages, think: Why should earner care about this badge? Why should someone viewing the badge care?
Pathways, Stack-ability, Portability
Possible Future(s) for Badges
Networked systems to locate individuals based on learning evidence will change job recruitment
OBI fields are meta-data: searchable, mineable, predictive (?)
LD will allow greater mining, team assembly Short term: Badges will function as a type of learning currency Long term: Badges may function as the artifact learning evidence
Registrars: governance and digital repositories Badges will drive educational reforms like Competency-Based EducationMissing: difference between technê (procedural knowledge) & epistêmê (understanding why)