Research & Teaching

My research explores the design of learning experiences in higher education through the lens of 4E cognition, the view that cognition is embodied, embedded, enactive, and extended. I’m most interested in how it can inform instructional design and produce authentic, relevant learning experiences that prepare pre-professional students for their careers.

Selected studies

Video game tutorials and software training

In a grounded theory study, I looked at how video game tutorials are designed from a pedagogical point of view and what serious software training could learn from them. I recorded gameplay from seven popular games across different genres and broke each tutorial into discrete instructional units. Coding those 269 units produced 13 axial codes and a single selective theme, “designed situatedness,” which led to three design principles that could be applied to software training. I presented the results at the AECT International Conference.

VR rehearsal experience for pre-service music teachers

I filmed a music rehearsal with a stereoscopic camera, capturing a 180-degree view from the ensemble director’s position, and edited the footage into an immersive VR experience. Participants see the rehearsal from an expert director’s perspective, with visual cues that point out potential affordances in the room, so pre-service teachers can practice recognizing what an experienced director notices and how to respond. I piloted it with a pre-service teacher, recording their view in the headset, their spoken reactions, and a follow-up interview.

View the VR experience

Publications and presentations

  • Zhu, Z., Kopcha, T. J., Jin, S., Ding, A., Lord, D., Innocencio, D. M., & Demirata, A. (2024). Blending immersive virtual reality and traditional language instruction in foreign language learning: A case study. The Journal of Applied Instructional Design, 13(4). https://doi.org/10.59668/2033.18648
  • Lord, D. (2024). Designing and implementing an academic program to support undergraduate success in public speaking and presentations [Conference presentation]. USG Teaching and Learning Conference, Athens, GA.
  • Lord, D., & Kopcha, T. J. (2023). Leveraging the design of video game tutorials to improve software training [Conference presentation]. AECT International Conference, Orlando, FL.

Workshops and talks

  • Reflections on Public Speaking, a workshop for Digital Village in Mutare, Zimbabwe
  • Preparing for Conference Presentations, a brown bag session for ITSA in Athens, GA

Teaching

My teaching starts from a question students ask all the time: “Why do we have to learn this?” I want students to be able to answer it for themselves, so I tie content to real problems outside the classroom, share the learning outcomes and the reasons behind them from the first day, and adjust the course as student feedback comes in. I also design for the students actually in the room, with outcomes broad enough for different backgrounds and goals, flexible deadlines, and room for revision.

Faculty workshops at the Center for Teaching and Learning

  • Meaningful Student Interactions with Perusall in eLC
  • Building Assessments with Quizzes and Question Libraries in eLC
  • Exploring Testing Integrity Management Tools in eLC
  • Grading Assignments and Configuring Your Gradebook in eLC
  • Navigating Assignment Submission and Delivering Effective Feedback in eLC
  • Adding and Organizing Content for Successful Learning Experiences in eLC

University courses

  • Instructor of record, EDIT 2000e Computing for Teachers
  • Teaching assistant, EDIT 7650e Applied Project in Instructional Technology
  • Teaching assistant, EDIT 6900e Research Methods in Instructional Technology
  • Course resource and OER refresh support, EDIT 6200e Designing Interactive Learning Environments