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Dr. Alison Carr-Chellman (Ph.D) is an instructional design[1] theorist and author.[2]. She is currently the Department Head of Learning and Performance Systems at Pennsylvania State University where she is a Professor of Education in Learning, Design, and Technology[3]. Personal Life:

Alison A. Carr-Chellman worked as a former third-grade teacher in the elementary school system. She realized the traditional elementary school classrooms did not facilitate some students and worked to their disadvantage. She saw the traditional system as lacking innovation and therefore having the inability to change.[2] Her interest is in change and innovation within schools and the education system to make the system work better. She is an educator at Pennsylvania State University in the Learning and Performance Systems Department, where she works with doctoral-level students. Carr-Chellman's research focuses on assisting practicing teachers to learn how to improve their own instructional design practices and how to improve their classrooms. She is married and lives on a family-owned farm[4] with her children, her husband, and her in-laws.[5] She has twin sons and a daughter.[6]

Education and academic career:

Alison Carr-Chellman obtained her elementary education at Ohio State University for Elementary Education. She worked at this institution for some time, before attending Syracuse University, where she pursued a master's degree in Instructional Design, Development and Evaluation. She completed her Doctorate at Indiana University in Bloomington. Her graduate studies focused on Educational Systems Design and was completed under the direction of Charles Reigeluth. Carr-Chellman has also worked in private industry for McDonnell Douglas in Denver, Colorado, where she designed jet fighter pilot training for the Navy.[7]

Research Interests:

Alison Carr-Chellman's work is focused around instructional design and instructional design theory. Her work has a direct focus on how to address the deficiencies which the system imposes on some groups, and more specifically on boys. Among her other interests in which she has focused is distance education[15] and distance education technologies.She has written extensively on these subjects.[8]

Carr-Chellman's interest has led her to become interested in the place of boys in the education system.[9] There is a global phenomenon which shows that boys are under-performing underachieving in the education system[10]. In many countries throughout the world, from Australia to Latin America, boys are falling out of the education system, whilst girls are achieving top grades. Carr has focused on this problem and her theories provide an explanation of this 'gender gap' in the education system. She sees an outdated school environment as being responsible. She has proposed it is a gender-culture problem.[11] She identifies a school culture whilst boys have their own culture - a boys' culture. Carr-Chellman sees a mismatch between the school culture and boy culture.[4] Boys' today, have a different culture from school culture. Their culture is inclusive of technology such as video games. In her work, she has identified reasons why boys are falling out of the education system. She has also provided recommendations to re-engage them using non traditional methods such as the use of video games and other non-traditional methods.[12]

Her theories have addressed the larger system and have been making recommendations on how to make changes to the education system and how to sustain these changes.[6] Carr advocates for the use of technology and even the use of video games to engage boys in the education system[13]. Carr's research challenges traditional learning systems and advocates for learners (users) to participate in the design of their own learning environments. She also proposes new methods and strategies that show how users can participate in the process of creating their own learning[14]. Carr-Chellman advocates for the tools of professional designers to be shared with groups of users and other participants in the process of creating their own learning.

Carr-Chellman has co-authored together with Charles Reigeluth, several articles. Together they have edited a very prominent text in instructional design "Instructional-Design Theories and Models Building a Common Knowledge Base Volume III. In this text Reigeluth and Carr-Chellman have introduced the concetp of situational principles, which they explain are ones that are not universal and which are necessary when precision is the goal in instructional principles.  Carr-Chellman and Reigeluth have also pointed out that increased precision is important for helping practitioners to design and enact quality instruction.  In order to increase precision, they have specified three means: kinds, parts and criteria.  Kinds - the authors give an example of practice and explain that kind indicates the different kinds of practice which are available to increase precision.  This is a situational method which is called a guideline or a situational principle of instruction.  Each kind will be used in a special situation. Parts - provide additional precision by describing the parts of a method. Unlike kind, all the parts may be necessary to make up an entire method. Criteria is the third way. This may specify standards or criterion for an instructional theory.

The authors introduce another concept 'heuristics'. Performing some tasks require persons to think in terms of steps. However this is not done for all tasks and instead the tasks will be completed by using principles, rules of thumbs, guidelines, and causal models. They use the example of a counsellor who will have to approach each patient differently based on the situation. For example the patient's condition, but also the patient's disposition along with other factors. This is an illustration of the use of heuristics. Reigeluth and Carr-Chellman explain that instruction is a combination task but is predominantly heuristic. A metaphor is a based on first principles when they can be applied to the entire universe. However in the universe there are galaxies and one method may apply to one galaxy but not to others. Universal principles will apply throughout the galaxy whilst situational principles may apply to one solar system in the galaxy. . Some instructional methods may be used in situational contexts whilst others may be used in universal contexts. Honors & Awards

Winner (co author) AERA SIG for Systems Thinking in Education “Outstanding Publication Award for Established Scholar.” For book chapter, Creating Shared Visions of the Future for K-12 Education.

Outstanding Service Award, CHANGE Division, Association of Educational Communications and Technology (AECT).

TEDxPSU Talk: Bring Back the Boys: Gaming to Re-engage boys in their own learning. Moved from PSU local to global website for all TED talks January, 2011.

Publications:

Books: Carr-Chellman, A.A. (2010) Instructional Design for Teachers: Improving Classroom Practice.

Reigeluth, C.M. & A. Carr-Chellman (Eds.), (2009) Instructional-Design Theories and Models, Volume III: Building a Common Knowledge Base. New York: Routledge.

Carr-Chellman, A.A. (2006). User-Design. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Carr-Chellman, A. A. (Ed.). (2005). Global Perspectives on E-learning: Rhetoric and Reality. Sage Publications

Other Publications:

Carr-Chellman, A.A. (2011). Power, expertism, and the practice of instructional design: Empowering the users. In Instructional Technology: Past, present and future 3rd. Edition, Anglin G. (Ed.). Libraries Unlimited: Santa Barbara, CA.

Carr-Chellman, A.A. & Carr-Chellman, D.J.. (2011). Mr. Jones’s E-Z Elixir: Marketing higher education on the web19. In Instructional Technology: Past, present and future 3rd. Edition, Anglin G. (Ed.). Libraries Unlimited: Santa Barbara, CA.

Bianco, M.B. & Carr-Chellman, A.A. (2007) Exploring Qualitative methodologies in online learning environments. Reprinted. In Lupicinni, R. (Ed.). Learning communities in online education. Charlotte, NC. Information age publishing. (pp. 299-318).

Carr-Chellman, D.J., & Carr-Chellman, A.A. (2007). Prometheus unbound: Technology and the spiritual marketplace in education. In Robert Muffaletto & Julie Horton (Eds.). Multicultural Education, the Internet, and the New Media. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press. (pp. 23-37).

Reigeluth, C.M., Carr-Chellman, A.A., Beabout, B., & Watson, W. (2007). Creating shared visions of the future for K-12 education: A systemic transformation process for a learner-centered paradigm. The Journal of Educational Alternatives, 2(3), 34-66.

Kirby, J., Hoadley, C., & Carr-Chellman, A.A. (2005) Instructional Design and the Learning Sciences: A Citation Analysis. Educational Technology Research and Development, 53 (1), 37-48.

Carr-Chellman, A.A., Dyer, D. & Breman, J. (2000). Burrowing through the Network Wires: Does distance detract from collaborative authentic learning? Journal of Distance Education, 15 (1), 39-62.

Carr, A.A. (1997). User-Design in the Creation of Human Learning Systems. Educational Technology Research and Development, 45 (3), 5-22.

Peck, K. L. & Carr, A.A. (1997). Restoring Public Confidence in Schools through Systems Thinking. International Journal of Educational Reform, 6 (3), 1-8.

Carr, A.A. (1996). Leadership and Community Participation: Four Case Studies. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 12(2), 152-168.

Carr, A. A. (1995). Performance Technologist Preparation: The Role of Leadership Theory. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 8 (4), 59-74.

Carr, A. A. & Reigeluth, C. M. (1994). The Case for Systemic Restructuring as a Key to Information Technology Integration in Education. Teaching Education, 6 (1), 155-159.