Dr. Dazhi Yang came to Boise State University in 2010 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Technology. She worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher and Instructional Designer in the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University after earning her Ph.D. in Educational Technology from Purdue in December 2008. Dr. Yang works in the area of instructional design and instructional strategies for teaching difficult and complex science and engineering concepts, and her research interests include teaching and learning STEM in online and blended learning environments, technology assisted learning, evaluation and assessment, and teacher professional development.
Articles and Published Technical Reports
Using Computer-Based Online Learning Modules to Promote Conceptual Change: Helping Students Understand Difficult Concepts in Thermal and Transport Science (with Ruth A. Streveler, Ronald L. Miller, James D. Slotta, Holly M. Matusovich, and Alejandra J. Magana), International Journal of Engineering Education (2012)
Misconceptions about engineering and science concepts persist among engineering students, and some are resistant even...
Cross-Cultural Differences in Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of Online Barriers (with Larisa Olesova and Jennifer C. Richardson), Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks (2011)
The intent of this study was to learn about students’ perceived barriers and the impact...
Identifying and Repairing Student Misconceptions in Thermal and Transport Science: Concept Inventories and Schema Training Studies (with Ronald L. Miller, Ruth A. Streveler, and Aidsa I. Santiago Román), Chemical Engineering Education (2011)
Engineers need to possess a deep understanding of the fundamental concepts of their field. Even...
The Development of a Content Analysis Model for Assessing Students’ Cognitive Learning in Asynchronous Online Discussions (with Jennifer C. Richardson, Brian F. French, and James D. Lehman), Educational Technology Research & Development (2011)
The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a content analysis model for...
Impact of Cultural Differences on Students' Participation, Communication, and Learning in an Online Environment (with Larisa Olesova and Jennifer C. Richardson), Journal of Educational Computing Research (2010)
Being aware of cultural differences and knowing how to deal with related differences is critical...
Conference Proceedings
A Cross-Cultural Comparison Study: The Effectiveness of Schema Training Modules Among Hispanic Students (with Aidsa I. Santiago-Román, Arturo Ponce, Alejandra Magana, Ruth A. Streveler, and Ron Miller), 42nd Annual Frontiers in Education Conference (2012)
Previous studies indicated that misconceptions related to heat transfer, fluid mechanics, and thermodynamics, persist among...
Repairing Student Misconceptions Using Ontology Training: A Study with Junior and Senior Undergraduate Engineering Students (with Aidsa Santiago Roman, Ruth A. Streveler, Ronald L. Miller, James Slotta, and Michelene Chi), American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) (2010)
Previous studies reported that misconceptions related to heat transfer, fluid mechanics, and thermodynamics, persist among...
Identifying and Repairing Students Misconceptions in Thermal and Transport Science (with Ronald L. Miller, Ruth A. Streveler, and Aidsa Y. Santiago Roman) (2009)
This paper describes an integration of two research lines combining identification of students’ misconceptions of...
Contributions to Books
Empowering Digital Learners: A Self-Managing Learning Process Framework for Digital Game-Based Learning System (DGBLS) (with Wenhao David Huang), Interactivity in E-Learning: Case Studies and Frameworks (2012)
Motivation drives our learning behaviors. Our abilities to intentionally control our motivation to learn, however,...
Online Interaction Styles: Adapting to Active Interaction Styles (with Jennifer C. Richardson), Handbook of Research on Practices and Outcomes in E-Learning: Issues and Trends (2010)
Past studies indicate that students demonstrate different online interaction styles, which consist of the ways...
Designing and Developing Online and Distance Courses, Encyclopedia of Distance Learning (2009)
The fifth annual report on online education in the United States revealed that nearly 3.5...
Transitioning from Face-to-Face to Online Instruction: How to Increase Presence and Cognitive/Social Interaction in an Online Information Security Risk Assessment Class (with Cindy York and Melissa Dark), Selected Readings on Telecommunications and Networking (2009)
Dissertation
The Development of a Content Analysis Model for Assessing Students' Cognitive Learning in Asynchronous Online Discussions (2008)
The purpose of this study was to develop, validate, and test a content analysis model...
Presentations
Invited Webinar: Boise State University’s K-12 Online Teaching Endorsement Program, St. John’s University (2012)
A Criss-Cultural Comparison Study: The Effectiveness of Schema Training Modules Among Hispanic Students (with Aidsa Santiago-Román, Arturo Ponce, Alejandra Magana, Ruth Streveler, and Ronald Miller), Frontiers in Education Conference (2012)
An Exploration of Learning Theories and Emerging Theories of Educational Technology on Teachers’ Use of Technology in Classrooms, Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) (2012)
Theories, especially learning theories, provide a critical foundation for effective instruction and the use of...
Teaching Difficult Engineering Concepts in the Language of Emergent Processes (with Natalie Barrett, Alejandra de Jesus Magana de Leon, Ruth A. Streveler, Ronald L. Miller, and Aidsa Ivette Santiago Romn), Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) (2011)
A previous study showed that teaching difficult engineering concepts in the language of emergent processes...
Can Instruction Reinforce Misconceptions? Preliminary Evidence from a Study with Advanced Engineering Students (with Ruth A. Streveler and Ronald L. Miller), Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) (2010)
Why are some misconceptions so hard to correct? This study investigates that question using Chi’s...