Thought Leadership
One of my greatest passions is in finding ways to connect pre-service and in-service teachers with existing research to inform teaching and learning. Reading literature reviews is a great way to learn what research is being conducted and what findings exist at a point in time; however, pre-service and in-service teachers do not necessarily have access to these journal articles, and they certainly do not have the time to read them. Similarly, academic and professional conferences are great places to learn about the most recent research, and yet, these conferences are not always accessible to teachers who cannot take time away from their classrooms to attend.
One thing that I can do to help with this problem is through thought leadership. In 2017, an assignment for my master’s program required me to create a blog. In the years since, I’ve kept that blog running, using it as a place to share, reflect, and learn. I’ve also blogged for Infobase to further share the findings of current research relating to teaching and learning in a format that is accessible to pre-service and in-service teachers.
Recent Posts on Mrs. Hebert’s Classroom
Infobase Blog: Adding 4 Cs to the 3Rs: 21st Century Skills in Today’s Classrooms
I remember when I was a kid, school was all about the Three Rs. This always irritated me because only one of them actually starts with an R, but I get the idea. Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic were the central goals of my primary and secondary school education, and as a lifelong bookworm I was more than happy to spend my days reading and writing. On the other hand, arithmetic is still my personal kryptonite. English and math classes were always given the highest priority, and I still see this emphasis today in standardized testing. For my last couple years of teaching eighth grade, my school shifted to a block schedule for English and math classes only, giving students two class periods of each.
Another facet of education has been gaining prominence, even starting back when I was a fourth grader reading my chapter books instead of doing my math homework and increasingly each year since. Skills that have come to be known as 21st-Century Skills are now underlying every subject in K12 schools, as education adds Four Cs to the Three Rs: Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity.
December 9, 2022
Mrs. Hebert’s Classroom: On Leadership
Welcome to the Fall 2022 semester, everyone! It is that time of year when everything gets busy and everyone gets tired. It’s also that time of year when I get reflective about my own goals and accomplishments. This semester, one of my classes is about leadership, so that’s the topic of my reflection today. Am I a leader?
The semester started with a Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire. The exercise reminded me of the Emergenetics instrument that I completed when I started working as an instructional designer. Emergenetics identified me as a mixture of Analytical and Conceptual, meaning that I have big ideas and then I figure out data-driven ways to make them happen. The overall description seemed pretty accurate, so I was excited to see how this leadership questionnaire would portray me.
August 23, 2022
Infobase Blog: Instructional Design Tips for Teachers
I was talking to my mom recently about how long I’ve been an instructional designer. This past February marked a full year in my new position, and it feels simultaneously like just a few days and several years have passed since I made this career change. (Of course, this might just be how we all view time since March 2020.) After that conversation, I realized that, right at this moment, I’m in a great position. I have a master’s degree and about a third of a doctorate along with just over a year of practical experience in instructional design, yet I’m not so far removed that I’ve forgotten what it was like to be in the K12 classroom.
This seems like a good time to leverage the knowledge I’ve gained over the past several years into some instructional design tips for teachers.
March 30, 2022
Infobase Blog: Post-Pandemic Lesson Planning: The Lessons We Learned
This month marks two years since the start of the chaos that was, and still is, the COVID-19 pandemic. I remember back in February and early March of 2020 when my eighth graders cracked jokes about someone “taking one for the team” and catching the coronavirus so that the school could close for two weeks. I wonder now if those students remember making those jokes. We had no idea then what lay ahead of us.
March 2, 2022
Mrs. Hebert’s Classroom: Once a teacher, always a teacher
This morning, I took the dogs outside and when I didn’t immediately melt under Texas heat, I realized that it is September. In fact, it’s almost the middle of September. Since I left teaching middle school, I’ve found myself far less capable of tracking time. I thought time had no meaning during the pandemic lockdowns; I had no idea people with “regular” jobs had to work so hard to know what month it is!
This year was the first year in my entire life that I didn’t have a true summer, and I honestly frequently forgot that it was summer until I’d walk outside of the house. Between working full time as an Instructional Designer and taking two intensive 10-week doctoral courses, June to August was actually the busiest couple months of my year so far, maybe even of my life so far.
September 12, 2021
Mrs. Hebert’s Classroom: The Future Dr. Hebert
At the end of my last synchronous online meeting of CUIN 3312: Educational Technology, one of my students commented that I am Superwoman for teaching their class while teaching full time and working on my doctorate. I personally don’t think I am Superwoman, but I am probably crazy. This has been a… busy semester, to say the least.
I knew what I was getting myself into when I started. I thought long and hard about whether to continue teaching at the University of Houston once I started my own doctoral classes, and ultimately decided that I just could not give up teaching that class. Teaching CUIN 3312 is the highlight of my week every week. It’s my favorite part of my busy schedule, and there was no way I would give it up. So, I knew coming into this semester that I would be one busy beaver, teaching at UH and teaching 8th grade English and completing two doctoral classes all at the same time. I did step down as department chair because even I have limitations, and I didn’t feel I could commit to the amount of extra time the position required in order to do it well. I probably could have made it happen if I needed to, but I knew that I would not be as good of a leader for my department with all my extra responsibilities.
Of course, I did not anticipate the pandemic. (Who did?) I did not know how different and how impossible my job as an 8th grade English teacher was going to be this semester. I received my acceptance email to Sam Houston State University on March 5th, just weeks before the pandemic lockdowns began. I have thought numerous times about whether or not I would have stuck with starting the program this year or if I would have postponed my doctoral plans for another year if I’d had the foreknowledge of what this semester was going to be like. And if I’m being perfectly honest with myself, I don’t think I would have changed it. What can I say? I’m
December 6, 2020stubborn. I mean, determined.
Mrs. Hebert’s Classroom: Dear Nic Stone
While standing on the stage in the Cullen Performance Hall, wearing a stunning technicolor outfit, Nic Stone asked the rapt audience to turn to page 152 in her debut novel, Dear Martin. Sitting four rows back from the front, I eagerly turned to the page to see which brilliant line from the novel she wanted us to read. It was this one:
“You can’t change how other people think and act, but you’re in full control of you.”
This quote that I already had underlined in my own copy of the novel. This quote that sums up exactly what I try to instill in my 8th grade students every day. This quote that I myself often fail to remember.
August 25, 2019
Mrs. Hebert’s Classroom: Enhance with Pear Deck
As an educator and a student of educational technology, I’m always on the lookout for new tools that increase student learning and student engagement. I strive to authentically teach my curriculum in ways that students have fun at least some of the time and that students will remember after they leave my classroom. It’s not always an easy task to accomplish, but I like to think I work hard at it.
January 16, 2018
Mrs. Hebert’s Classroom: Painting with a Technological Brush
Dear World of Educational Technology,
STOP BEING SO CRAZY.
Utilizing technology does not have to mean using the flashiest, fanciest, floofiest of websites with all the bells and whistles. It doesn’t have to mean spending tens, hundreds, thousands of dollars on software or tools. It doesn’t even have to mean using the Internet.
Use Paint.
February 8, 2017
Scholarly Writing
I am a scholar of education.
I’ve collected several research interests since I first began graduate-level coursework at the University of Houston, and they tend to follow my career. I was a high school English teacher when I completed my master’s Capstone project, which revolved around educational technology in K12 English education. At the time I thought that would be my primary interest; however, I evolved to focus more on teaching and learning at the higher education level, with my first publication focusing on the use of GroupMe in higher education courses. After I transitioned into a temporarily remote instructional design position, I completed a phenomenological study about the experiences of instructional designers during the transition to emergency remote teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic. My current interests tend to align with pre-service teacher preparation, including my dissertation topic.
Peer-Reviewed Article: Experiences of Higher Education Instructional Designers as Remote Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Hebert, W., Ramirez, A., Wilson, J., LaPrairie, K., & Lopez, D. (2023). Experiences of higher education instructional designers as remote workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Applied Instructional Design, 12(4). https://edtechbooks.org/jaid_12_4/_experiences_of_higher_education_instructional_designers_as_remote_workers_during_the_covid19_pandemic
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic-driven shift to emergency remote teaching (ERT) tasked instructional designers (IDs) with supporting faculty while simultaneously transitioning to a work-from-home (WFH) environment. In the post-pandemic return of students to physical campuses, IDs continued to WFH, triggering a need for those training IDs for future dynamic learning situations to understand their realities. Using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, this study explored the lived experiences of six IDs who worked remotely for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Six themes were revealed through participant interviews: job responsibilities, work communication, equipment needs, WFH benefits, future work plans, and WFH challenges.
Keywords: instructional designer | COVID-19 pandemic | phenomenology | higher education institutions | work from home
Peer-Reviewed Article: Knowledge Systems Design (KSD): Rebranding the Field of Instructional Technology in the Education and Professional Development Community
Ramirez, A., LaPrairie, K. N., & Hebert, W. (2023). Knowledge systems design (KSD): Rebranding the field of instructional technology in the education and professional development community. TechTrends, 67(5), 803-812. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-023-00870-w
Abstract: A name for the field of instructional technology has long been debated. Terms such as learning design, educational technology, instructional systems design and learning systems have been used to describe the field over the past 100 years. With an exploration of the history of the field, this article rebrands the field as Knowledge Systems Design (KSD). Whether it is a knowledge of skills or concepts, knowledge is the end goal of all instruction. Systems are the processes through which knowledge is transferred to the learner. The learning processes necessary for knowledge creation must be carefully designed. Together, these three terms provide a description for an ever-changing field that transcends time and fully encompasses the transfer of knowledge in any setting.
Keywords: educational technology | instructional technology | knowledge management | knowledge systems
Peer-Reviewed Book Chapter: Legacy Building Through a “Teaching with Technology” Open Textbook Project
Gronseth, S. L., Zhang, H., & Hebert, W. (2023). Legacy building through a “teaching with technology” open textbook project. In J. Olivier & A. Rambow (Eds.), Open educational resources in higher education: A global perspective. Future Education and Learning Spaces Series. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8590-4_8
Abstract: Situated within a department that offers both undergraduate teacher preparation programs and graduate programs in various educational specialization areas, an open textbook project was conducted in which graduate students served as content contributors to a textbook that was then utilized as a part of an undergraduate course. The project design employed an OER-enabled pedagogical approach, amplifying the element of students-as-contributors in the development of OER. With the target audience for the OER being future teachers, the OER authors having more advanced educational experience, and both groups being co-located within the same department, the project embodied an explicitly designed “legacy” aspect in which the OER can be viewed as a means of knowledge transmission within a local community of practice. Topics addressed in the textbook include facilitating creativity through technology, leveraging technologies to support academic goals, erasing borders and encouraging collaboration, and teaching students to become responsible digital citizens. The chapter describes the OER development process initiated during a 16 week graduate course in the learning, design, and technology program area and details how the textbook and associated supporting materials were used during its implementation in the undergraduate educational technology course spanning four years. Design considerations of openness, legacy-framing, designed flexibility, text format, and readability for the target audience are discussed.
Keywords: OER enabled pedagogy | open education | educational technology | pre-service teacher education | flipped classroom | renewable assignment | instructional design
Peer-Reviewed Journal Article: Profiles of Vocational College Students’ Achievement Emotions in Online Learning Environments: Antecedents and Outcomes
Cheng, S. L. C., Huang, J., & Hebert, W. (2022). Profiles of vocational college students’ achievement emotions in online learning environments: Antecedents and outcomes. Computers in Human Behavior, 138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107452.
Abstract: The goal of this study was to identify achievement emotion profiles and environmental barriers vocational college students encountered in online learning environments. The individual antecedents and outcomes of achievement emotion profiles were also examined. Latent profile analysis revealed three distinct profiles: Blends of Negative Emotions, Nonemotional, and Pure Positive Emotion. Multinomial logistic regression showed thatexpectancies for online learning significantly predicted the increased likelihood of membership into the profile characterized by Pure Positive Emotion. The Pure Positive Emotion profile was associated with better time management and motivational regulation and lower academic procrastination. Text mining analysis of qualitative data showed that the major environmental barriers students in the Blends of Negative Emotions and Nonemotional profiles faced were related to instructor immediacy, peer interaction, help-seeking, and technical difficulties.
Keywords: online learning | achievement emotions | expectancies | self-regulated learning | environmental barriers
Peer Reviewed Book Chapter: Connecting Learners Through Technology in COVID-19: Facilitating Pre-Service Teacher Collaboration During the Pandemic
Gronseth, S. L., Fu, J., Hebert, W., Zhang, H., Ugwu, L., & Nguyen, P. (2020). Connecting learners through technology in COVID-19: Facilitating pre-service teacher collaboration during the pandemic. In R. E. Ferdig, E. Baumgartner, R. Hartshorne, R. Kaplan-Rakowski & C. Mouza (Eds). (2020). Teaching, Technology, and Teacher Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Stories from the Field (pp. 179-185). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). https://www.learntechlib.org/p/216903/
Abstract: When the COVID-19 global health crisis disrupted a University semester in-progress, instructors for the technology integration courses at a large, public university faced multiple challenges in maintaining instructional continuity and community. Specifically, we explored instructional strategies and technologies that would foster online learner engagement and connection during this time. We redesigned course activities for the online format and utilized mobile instant messaging, digital whiteboard, and synchronous session technologies in conjunction with the learning management system functionality. Early results based on instructor reflections and student feedback offer insights into how the collaborative strategies and tools have fostered meaningful social connectedness for students and instructors during the pandemic. Suggestions for collaborative technology applications to support online teaching are provided.
Keywords: connectedness | collaborative technologies | online learning | pre-service education | educational technology
Peer Reviewed Journal Article: GroupMe: Investigating Use of Mobile Instant Messaging in Higher Education Courses
Gronseth, S. L., & Hebert, W. (2019). GroupMe: Investigating use of mobile instant messaging in higher education courses. TechTrends, 63(1), 15-22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-018-0361-y
Abstract: In this study, the use of the mobile instant messaging (MIM) tool GroupMe was explored in the higher education context. The tool was used to facilitate online course discussions, small group work, and other course communications in face-to-face and online sections of two graduate educational technology courses. Over 900 postings were generated from 29 participants, then coded and analyzed by the researchers. Qualitative data was also obtained through an e-mail follow-up questionnaire. Findings indicate that the MIM platform afforded students opportunities to engage in productive course-relevant conversations and provided additional ways for learners to exhibit online social presence through tool features. Recommendations for the use of MIM to support teaching and learning and suggestions for further scholarly inquiry are discussed.
Keywords: mobile instant messaging | online discussion | higher education | instructional technology
Waneta Hebert 