Ali Korkmaz is a PhD candidate in Instructional Systems Technology, Indiana University. He earned his MS in Science Education in 2000 and BS in Mathematics Education in 1998 from Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey.
He designed and developed online course modules for K-12 students at the Agency for Instructional Technology. He created a module for Inorganic Chemistry for undergraduate students and taught Educational Computing courses at Indiana University. He is currently working on the evaluation project of the Cisco Networking Academies program as a research analyst.
His main area of interest is exploring ways to improve teaching and student learning. He particularly focuses on the design and development of instructional environments and the evaluation of teaching and learning methods, strategies and practices.
His main area of interest is exploring ways to improve teaching and student learning. He particularly focuses on the design and development of instructional environments and the evaluation of teaching and learning methods, strategies and practices.
Assessing and Evaluating Student Learning and Engagement: I believe that learning and succeeding in schools requires the active engagement of students, teachers, administrators, and families. Students should be confident in their ability and skills to learn and succeed in challenging learning environments. In my dissertation, which is related to the CNA project, I investigate what types of student engagement practices are associated with greater student success when student and school characteristics are taken into consideration. I use multivariate analyses techniques, such as multiple regression and Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analysis. While hierarchical analyses are helping to identify the relative significance of different variables on student success and engagement, my follow-up research focuses on why in some schools, students perform much better than the model predicts. Understanding why students at these schools perform better than expected can guide researchers and practitioners in the educational community to identify best practices that can then be adapted by similar schools.
Designing Learning Environments: In the spring of 2002, I joined a multidisciplinary project team working on the Reciprocal Net in the Indiana University Molecular Structure Center. The Reciprocal Net is funded by a grant from the NSF-Digital Library ($900,093). I was a research assistant and worked as a designer, developer, and researcher. I was one of the designers of the Common Molecules Collection Web site, which later received an award from 2004 Sci/Tech Web Awards by Scientific American. Working with a Science Education faculty member, I designed and developed a learning module for Symmetry and Point groups for Inorganic Chemistry students by using the tools developed by the lab. We examined how students use these 3-D tools, and how they can be improved for student learning and instruction. The visualization tools and 3-D environments are providing new learning opportunities for students, but it requires more research as how to use them collaboratively and as an inquiry tool. The paper that discusses our development of the module and of how students use it was acknowledged by elearning-reviews published by the Swiss Centre for Innovations in Learning.
