Phone:                  (612) 747-0346                                   

Email:                  dubbe003@umn.edu

Office:                                    Center for Cognitive Science, 310 Elliot Hall,

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455.                 

EDUCATION

                                    University of Minnesota

                                    Curriculum and Instruction

                                    PhD. Reading Education 2011

Thesis: The Brain Is For Action: Embodiment, Causality, and Conceptual Learning with Video Games to Improve Reading Comprehension and Scientific Problem Solving

Advisor: David O’Brien                 

                                    University of Minnesota

                                    Curriculum & Instruction

                                    Master of Arts in Literacy Education

Thesis: Student 2.0—digital literacies and the future of learning

                                    Advisor: David O’Brien

February 2003                 

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

                                    Foundations of Educational Psychology

                                    Master of Arts in Educational Psychology

Emphases: Learning and Cognition, Educational Technology

Thesis Research: Computer Supported Reading and Text Comprehension to develop Fluency and Recall.

                                    Advisor: Robert Tennyson

May 1999

                                    Winona State University

                                    Winona, MN

B.S. English Teaching

                                    Advisor: Jim Reineke

ACADEMIC HONORS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

Fulbright Scholar.  Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Dept.  Psychology. Taught graduate course in research methodology; Participated in program evaluation for the Civil Engineering program; Worked with teacher candidates for English Language Arts.

Berman Fellow.National Institutes of Health funded position using qualitative methods on quality of life for recipients of organ transplants. CAM Center School of Pharmacy.

University of Minnesota Graduate School FellowshipStipend for study abroad in application and development of research methods and data collection for the use of computer models in reading comprehension.

IGI Global New Discovery:Dance Dance Education paper chosen and republished with IGI global republished as a chapter as a “new discovery”.

NSF Video Games and STEM Education:Requested paper for innovation, games, and STEM education.

Internal Review Board, Human Subjects Committee. University of Minnesota

ADDITIONAL HONORS                 

NSF Scholarship Recipient ICCS3 2000

NSF Grant Funding for Seminar on Complex Systems

                                    Center for Cognitive Science Doctoral Associate, University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota Presidential Service Award nominee

Fellow, Education Arcade 2005

Board of Regents Grant Recipient, U of MN

Gil Kraft Scholarship Recipient

School of Education Representative to the Student Senate 2003-2004

                                    Student Council Rep. CEHD Senator Grad. Prof. Student Assembly

                                    Chair College Ed. Academic Development Committee

Center for Cognitive Sciences Grant (2x)

Educational Psychology Travel Grant (3x) University of Minnesota

Dean’s List

New Media Consortium Scholarship

World Futures Society Target Scholar 2007

 GRANT WRITING

Investment in Innovation Fund (I3) STEM Gaming Proposal: Goldberg Variations

Cyberlearning NSF 11-587 Working Memory in Science Learning

CREATIV NSF 12-012: Creative Research Awards for Transformative Interdisciplinary Ventures: Teaching Scientific Problem Solving with Virtual Robotics

CHAPTERS

Dubbels, B.R. (2010) Designing Learning Activities for Sustained Engagement -- Four Social Learning Theories Coded and Folded into Principals for Instructional Design through Phenomenological Interview and Discourse Analysis.In Discoveries in

OBrien, D.G. & Dubbels, B. (2009) Promoting technological literacy. In Wood, K.E. & Blanton, W.E. (Eds.) Promoting Literacy with Adolescent Learners: Research-based Instruction. Guilford Publications.

Dubbels, B.R. (2008) Video games, reading, and transmedial comprehension. In R. E. Ferdig (Ed.),Reference. Information ScienceHandbook of research on effective electronic gaming in education.  

Dubbels, B.R.  (2008).  Student blogging about their video game experience.  In R. Beach, C. Anson, L. Breuch, & T.  Swiss, T.  Engaging students in digital writing.  Norwood, MA: Christopher Gordon.

ARTICLES

Dubbels, B.R. (in preparation) Toward a Unified Theory of Classroom Comprehension Assessment: Situations, Situation Models, and Event Indexing. Reading Research Quarterly.

Dubbels, B.R. (2012) The Importance of Construct Validity in Designing Serious Games for Return on Investment. GAMES FOR HEALTH: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications. Volume 1, Number 2.

Dubbels, B. R. (2011). Cognitive Ethnography: A Methodology for Measure and Analysis of Learning for Game Studies. International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations. Special Issue on Virtual Environments for Learning. 3(1) IGI Publishers

Dubbels, B. R. (2009) Dance Dance Education and Rites of Passage---Lessons learned about the importance of play in sustaining engagement from a high school “girl gamer” based upon socio- and cultural-cognitive analysis for designing instructional environments to elicit and sustain engagement through identity construction. International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations. 1(4) IGI Publishers

Kwon M., Legge G.E., Dubbels B.R. (2007) Developmental changes in the visual span for reading. Vision Research, 47 (22), pp. 2889-2900.

Kwon M., Legge G.E., Dubbels B.R. (2005) Developmental changes in the visual span for reading. Journal of Vision September 1, 2005 vol. 5 no. 8 article 807

BOOK  REVIEWS

Dubbels, B.R. (2010) Understanding Video Games: the Essential Introduction. International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations. 2(2) IGI Publishers

COMMISSIONED PAPERS

O’Brien, D.G.  & Dubbels B.R. (2004) Reading-to-Learn:  From Print to New Digital Media and New Literacies. NCREL (North Central Research Education Laboratory). White Paper.

Grant Review

5 Star Schools, US Dept. of Education

Internal Review Board, Human Subjects Committee. University of Minnesota

Editorial Review

Associate Editor: International Journal of Games and Computer Meditated Simulations

Editorial Review Board: Games for Health

Minnesota Department of Education

Selected for consultation on all phases of the construction of Minnesota Comprehension Assessment

Current Appointment

Director: Minnesota Guild of Public Charter Schools (The Guild):

Authorize and review intent to apply from organizations interested in becoming a charter school in the state of Minnesota.  Review applications according to assessment criteria as initial and on-going process for determination of authorization of approval or denial of charter status. Including:

·       Statutory Purposes,

·       Vision and Mission Statements,

·       Goals and Student Performance Expectations,

·       Educational Program Model,

·       Evaluation Plan and School Capacity,

·       Governance Plan,

·       Financial Management Plan,

·       Administration Plan,

·       And Operations Plan.

The Guild is one of three charter granting organizations in the state of Minnesota, established through Minnesota Statute 124D.10, to exist approve or deny charter school applications, monitor charter school operations, and hold charter school accountable for their mission and statutory requirements. The Guild was established through an initiative by the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers through an innovation grant from the American Federation of Teachers.  The mission of the Guild is to support eh establishment and operation of charter schools that embody research-based best practices in teaching, learning, and student achievement, built upon a sustainable base of operating efficiency and community engagement.

Principal Learning Architect:Design and develop online training resources for United Health Group online U Learn training. vgAlt LLC // Learning Solutions LLC

Key responsibilities include:

1. Manage project budget and timelines and communicate about deliverables and objectives to the project advisory board;
2. Oversee the preparation of project reports and presentation materials on the project
3. Coordinate the development of grant and other funding opportunities for the project.
4. Coordinate and oversee the design, development, and implementation of interface and game experience;
5. Coordinate and oversee the design, development, and implementation and assessment of prototypes and learning outcomes;
6. Ensure regular and frequent communication with and between subject matter experts and technical experts;
7. Use listening, inquiry, communication, and project management skills to capture essential aspects of the subject matter and technical requirements to maintain high levels of quality and authenticity in the game design and implementation;
8. Ensure regular and frequent communication with technical developers to lead the production process and development/evaluation of playable game prototypes.

Recent Projects

A Better Life – Unity 3d training game for health and care-giving professionals in care facilities.

Institute for Creative Technologies

University of Southern California

I3 grant for Goldberg Variations;

IES grant for Science and Mathematics Education on Control of Variables Strategy Game

NSF ITEST 11-525

NSF Cyberlearning 11-587

Discovery Research K-12 (DRK-12) NSF 11-588

United Health Group

Development of computer based training modules applying learning sciences and statistical modeling to professional development and content delivery.

Benedictine Health Services

Principal learning architect for certified nursing assistant transformational training game for Benedictine Health Systems

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities

Principal Learning Architect for development of Learning Gardens Floating Worlds virtual world development in Second Life

Hennepin County Public Libraries

Program evaluation of Guys Read Program. This program evaluation provided insight and observation to the Hennepin County Board to make an informed decision on the practices and preferences of boys reading between the ages of 9 and 14. This study was done looking at the pedagogy, literature, and practice, as well as outcomes of creating informal reading experiences for boys outside of typical formal (academic) reading experiences. The outcomes of this study with Deborah Dillon and David O’Brien were presented at the American Educational Research Association.

Academic Appointments

The University of Minnesota

Graduate Instructor

Reading Education

I have worked for the University of Minnesota designing and teaching various classes between Educational Psychology, Curriculum and Instruction, the General College, and the Materials Science Program. Classes I have taught include:

·       Video Games as Learning Tools.This course is in its fourth year and has been chosen as an elective in the Reading Education PhD coursework. The course was one of the first to integrate games and reading comprehension, and is innovative in the use of online web 2.0 applications to extend learning and increase student interaction through learning management software, three-dimensional learning environments like Second Life, integration of gaming, and the development of student blogs and the co-creation of a course wiki for student summary presentation learning. This course has been developed and taught online for school districts around the country.

·      Introduction to Instructional Leadership in K-12 Reading. I was responsible for running the online components as well as creating assignments, assessments, and researching literature to meet student individual needs and questions.

Educational Psychology

·       Psychology of Student Learning.  I taught this course for two semesters, creating the coursework and aligning our class time with the professors’ lectures as well as the testing and the development of WebCT courseware.

·       Intelligence and Creativity. This course was offered one semester with emphasis on research-based views on intelligence and creativity through Educational Psychology.

College of Liberal Arts

·       Speech Persuasion.  This course was a required through the Materials Science program. I taught the elements of persuasion in information consumption, performance, and composition.

·      Composition.I taught this course for two semesters integrating online content and assessment and structured interactive learning with multimedia.

·       The Short Story.  I taught two sections of this course as the instructor at the General College. I was responsible for course content, activities, and assessment. I also mentored two teaching assistants who assisted me in the course with content and correction.

In the course of this experience I have been identified as an innovator in implementing new technologies and sound evaluation systems. I have been recognized for my work as an invited presenter at numerous conferences and currently blog for EducationFutures.com from the University of Minnesota.

My student responses to my teaching have always listed me as an effective and popular instructor.

Research Associate Appointments, the Center for Cognitive Sciences

Minnesota Reads. Conducted qualitative data analysis of practices of teacher licensure programs and how they relate to national certification requirements as well as current research. This work informed the TERI program.

HumanFirst Laboratory: A human factors research laboratory applying psychological theory and research methodologies to support a scientific understanding of driver performance and cognitive functions in relation to fatal traffic crashes. In particular, I worked on studies of driver aggression, road design, and portable electronics use while driving.

Low Vision Laboratory: Organized study for development features of visual span. Recruited schools, wrote IRB documents, recruited students, ran experiment.

School of Pharmacy. Conducted data analysis and literature review for quality of life studies in Complementary and Alternative Medicine for NIH. Included narrative analysis.

School Improvement in Professional Practice.  Served as consultant and content literacy integration specialist working with teachers on the integration of standards, clarification of assessments, and the integration of reading and literacy instruction. In the course of this position, I created many online inventories and developed online resources for professional development. Conducted outcomes analysis and interpretation for teachers to use data it inform instruction.

Consultancy

Educational Testing Service Keynote: One of three speakers chosen to speak at Educational Testing Service’s internal conference on the integration of games and digital media for curricular integration. “How I raised reading scores on standardized tests with commercial off the shelf video games as informative assessment.”

Richfield Public Schools

Full day staff training on the use and integration of research and integration of games and play as a INFORMATIVE assessment, where the task in itself becomes the measure and also empowers the learner and builds relations with the staff to build and design the curriculum, standards, and model quality and habits of mind and character.

Wyoming Humanities Commission

Full day staff training on the use and integration of research and integration of games and play and the use of virtual worlds such as Second Life, games such as World of Warcraft, and Simulations in classroom learning as analogs as well as digital learning experiences. This included workshops on Second Life and the use of SLOODLE.

Red Leaf Press

Review and consult on education texts for Red Leaf Press.

Minnesota Department of Education.

I have been part of the test construction of the Minnesota Comprehension Assessment test

 for four years as a consulting committee member and have taken part in twelve different development sessions for validation and reliability of these documents for secondary education reading assessment. My current work for them is in data analysis.  Alice Golden

MNSCU

Program Evaluation for Certified Nursing Assistant Game

Develop  an evaluation component for game that provides several scenarios for the Certified Nursing Assistants to make decisions on patient care that measures the games effectiveness in teaching the CNAs the necessary skills. This work is done in collaboration with David Shaffer at the ADL CoLab at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Patrick Opatz

Adayana

Consultant for online learning design and development of educational software technology.

Recent work included consultation on integration of 3d environments for LMS for military and commercial training.

4444 West 76th Street,

Suite 200

Minneapolis, MN 55435

U.S.A.

Josh Byrne

Other employment

Oracle Corporation

Data center and technical support

Worked in the data center for Oracle providing technical support over the phone for Oracle clients creating work tickets and performing technical support on IBM, SUN, & Unix systems.

Xerox PARC

Student intern in Information Center as well as Human Resources. Was responsible for data and development support on DataLib an online, and back then, revolutionary online catalog resource for book and document circulation, as well as Human Resources software for routing applicant information for departmental consideration. Also trained new interns.

Minneapolis Public Schools

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities

FILE FOLDER NUMBER: 382277

                                    Available: http://cfl3.state.mn.us/servlet/LicenseDisplayCFL?382277

Language Arts 7-12,

K12 Media

K12 Reading (pending)

I have been teaching in the Minneapolis Public Schools for 8 years:

·      Engineering Instructor 9-12. I offered two engineering courses as well as Shop course in Sheet Metal Fabrication

o   Design and Development:  An engineering research course in which students work in teams to research, design and construct a solution to an open-ended engineering problem. Students apply principles developed in the four preceding courses and are guided by a community mentor. They must present progress reports, submit a final written report and defend their solutions to a panel of outside reviewers at the end of the school year.

o   Introduction to Engineering and Design: A course that teaches problem-solving skills using a design development process. Models of product solutions are created, analyzed, and communicated using solid modeling computer design software to teach mathematics and science.

·       Technologist and Instructional Designer for Minneapolis Online. I created innovative online content using learning management systems and web 2.0 applications in conjunction with video game technologies to enhance and extend innovation into the online education program. Through this, I was given responsibility for                   developing and delivering professional development, Supplemental Educational Services, and serving on committee with the District Technology Advisory Committee and the eLearning Games and Simulations Workshop as a representative for the Minneapolis Public Schools.

·       Content Literacy Specialist. I worked one year for Henry High School and the Literacy and Learning at the University of Minnesota mentoring teachers with Standards in Practice and the integration of content literacy into their courses. This included developing, delivering, and using assessments to build data-driven curriculum decisions for design and implementation.

·       Media Specialist: I managed a  Montessori k8 media center collection and technology for my building. In this position I offer 25 unique preps a week that serve all grade levels. I am responsible for collaboration with faculty to develop innovative and engaging curriculum for developing reading, media literacy, and enjoyment of fiction and expository texts. I am also one of the coordinators for school-wide testing. I am a member of the Child Study team, our group is the mediating step for offering classroom support and teacher data collection before students are recommended for special education evaluations.

·       Language Arts teacher. Most of my time has been spent in Language Arts and English Education. I have been interviewed and reported on numerous times for excellence and innovation for my ability to explore new media with traditional narratives and composition activities. These include projects on the Odyssey and Video Games, Dance Dance Revolution and technical writing, as well as performance and interpretation of oral traditions in literature in the form of a game called Star Maker, a game where students put poetry and prose to music with Garage Band®.  These projects which were reported on by WCCO, The Star Tribune, and Practice Made Public and Games in Education were taught to students in grades 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, & 12 for a total of five years of work for Minneapolis Public Schools, including working as a Site Manager and Course Designer for Minneapolis Online. During those years, I taught Honors English, for the Auto Magnet (we did a project called Pimp My Ride), and taught composition for the Medical Magnet.

Invited Presentations

Pandora’s Xbox – Nine ways that video games can be used to mediate, assess, and produce learning artifacts in education. Presented at ETS special conference on games. February 2009. Princeton, New Jersey.

Dubbels, B. “Video Games as Learning Tools.: Games, design, and instructional systems.” Presented at a special forum for the Digital Media Alliance Florida Education Task Force. March 27^th, 2008.

Dubbels, B. “Learning by Design: Games, Play, and Structuring Classroom Learning for Reflection and High Engagement.” The Center for Research on Developmental Education and Urban Literacy. November Forum. The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

Dubbels, B. “Possible Worlds and New Pedagogies: What Teachers Need to Know About Using Video Games in the Classroom” Presented at Games in Education A Symposium on the Use of Video Games as Teaching Tools Presented by 1st Playable Productions and WMHT, Troy NY, Monday, July 23rd 2007.

Dubbels, B. “Games in the Classroom: Experiences and observations from teaching reading with video games with 6^th, 8^th, and 12^th students.” Presented at Games in Education A Symposium on the Use of Video Games as Teaching Tools Presented by 1st Playable Productions and WMHT, Troy NY, Monday, July 23rd 2007.

Dubbels, B “Gaming in schools for preparing “students 2.0” for the new economy”.

Presented  at Horizon Forum Mini-Conference, EDPA, College of Education and Human Development, the University of Minnesota. April 30, 2007

Dubbels, B “Student 2.0: Education, Learning, Relevance, and Engagement”.

Gaming and Animation as Instructional Tools, TIES KIC meeting. January 16, 2007.

Dubbels, B. “The figured world of education”. Presented to The Center for Research on Developmental Education and Urban Literacy on Febraury 11, 2005.

Dubbels, B. & O’Brien, D. G. “Content Area Literacy and Academic Literacy Support at Patrick Henry High School: A Three-Year Project Funded by a Comprehensive School Reform Grant, Patrick Henry High School, and Minneapolis Public Schools". Presented to the Metropolitan Higher Education Consortium. January 15, 2005

Dubbels, B. “Video Games as Tools for Educators”. Presented to The Center for Research on Developmental Education and Urban Literacy on Febraury 11, 2004.

Dubbels, B. “Methods for games analysis: Usability software and think aloud protocol to investigate game players’ experience “. Presented at Game Studies ITU Copenhagen, Denmark. November, 16, 2004.

Dubbels, B. “Reading Between the Lines: The Politics of Reading within College and the Community”.  Presented at CRDEUL April 28, 2003, 3:30-4:45 p.m.

319 Appleby Hall, General College, the University of Minnesota

Presentations

Dubbels, B. “Second Life and Preparing the New Learner for the New Economy with Games.” Presented at eLEARNING: GAMES & SIMULATIONS WORKSHOP for K-20 Thursday, May 24, 2007   Normandale Community College, Bloomington, MN www.mngts.org/elearning07games

Sponsored by iSeek and Learning Innovations Council:

http://www.mngts.org/elearning07games/Hosts.html

Dubbels, B. “Second Life for Educators.”Presented at the eLearning Games and Simulations. eLEARNING: GAMES & SIMULATIONS WORKSHOP for K-20  Thursday, May 24, 2007   Normandale Community College, Bloomington, MN www.mngts.org/elearning07games

Sponsored by iSeek and Learning Innovations Council:

http://www.mngts.org/elearning07games/Hosts.html

Dubbels, B. “Student 2.0 Engagement and Literacy in the New Media” Presented at: Classrooms of the Future: Teaching, Learning, and Technology: In That Order. May 22, 2007 Hamline University

Dubbels, B. “Video Games as Learning Tools -- Teaching Reading with Need for Speed Underground”. Presented at: Realizing Student Potential • ITeach Conference 2008

View details. Center for Teaching and Learning Conference.  Minneapolis Community and Technical College/Metropolitan State University (Minneapolis Campus) February 28 - March 1, 2008

Deborah R. Dillon, David G. O’Brien, Cassandra Scharber, Kristen Nichols,  & Brock Dubbels University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. "Guys Read": An Evaluation of a Summer Library  Reading Program for Boys Partners: The Library Foundation of Hennepin County, Hennepin County Library Staff, and the University of Minnesota--College of Education and Human Development, Literacy Program Area Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Conference, April 12, 2007

Dubbels, B.R  Video Games for Teaching Genre and Literary Elements to Reluctant Audiences. Games Learning and Society Conference. Madison, WI.http://www.glsconference.org/2006/pop/dubbels.htm (7/29/06)



O,Brien, Beach, Scharber, & Dubbels (2006) Struggling Middle School Students’ Multimediating Countering Institutionally Defined Notions of Incompetence. The National Reading Conference

Dubbels, B. R. (4/15/ 02) Constructing a framework

to simplify teaching and learning with complexity theory for teacher training. American Educational Research Association; New Orleans, LA, USA

Dubbels, B.R. (2001) The greater good Conference on Social and Community Psychology; Trondheim, Norway.

Dubbels, B.R., (2001). The Effects of Prosody in Reading Comprehension. (2001) International  Conference of Cognitive Science; Beijing, China.

Dubbels, B.R. (2001). The Role of Formatting in Text Presentation and

It’s Effect on Reading Comprehension. Mind and Emotion. Hosted by the Center for Cognitive Sciences, The University of Minnesota; Minneapolis, MN, USA

Dubbels, B.R. (2001). The Use of Cascading Text in Promoting Reading Comprehension. Ed-Media Conference 200; Tampere, Finland.

Dubbels, B.R. (2001) The Greater Good-- Gratitude in Service Minnesota Council Teachers of English 2001, Duluth, MN. USA

Dubbels, B.R.  Extending Reading Skills for Developing Readers with

Prosody. (2001).  ITeach: Best Practices in Teaching with Technology Conference; Minneapolis, MN

Dubbels, B.R. (2001). The Emergence of Mind. 2001 Conference of The American Educational Research Association, Seattle, WA.

Dubbels, B. R. Simplifying Literature with Complexity. International Conference on Complex Systems 2000

Reineke, J. R.  & Dubbels, B. (1999) Reflections on Mentoring Education Faculty In Instructional Technology with an Undergraduate Mentorship Program. AACE 1999.

Review of Journals, Conferences, and Publications

Handbook of Research on Effective Electronic Gaming in Education.

AERA

Contract reviews of educational texts and textbooks.

Interviews, Reports, and other Publications

EdTech

T.H.E. Journal Web 2.0-- 5 Don’ts of  Blogging

Wcco feature story

Star Tribune

National Catholic Reporter

TechNewsWorld.com, February 7, 2007

Parenting

Investor’s Business Daily, Animated Computer Characters

Find Role In Classrooms, Training. Sheila Riley

NEA

Disaboom

CENT

Startribune – This story circulated to over 15 regional papers and 5 international papers for publication.

Oprah.