International Board of Standards for Training, Performance, and Instruction (IBSTPI)
Professor of Instructional Systems, The Pennsylvania State University
Barbara L. Grabowski is Professor Emerita of Education (Instructional Systems) at The Pennsylvania State University. She was a Professor of Instructional Systems from 1991 to 2012 and has held emerita status since 2012. She earned her Ph.D. in Instructional Systems from Penn State in 1979. Her scholarship spans technology‑enhanced and online learning, generative and self‑regulated learning strategies, game‑based learning, hypermedia design, and Web 2.0 tools for collaborative learning. She also contributed to competency frameworks with IBSTPI, including the Online Learner Competencies.
A validated model specifying 14 competencies and 75 performance statements that describe attitudes, knowledge, and skills associated with successful participation in online and blended learning.
Standards for instructors teaching in face‑to‑face, online, and blended settings, defining domains, competencies, and performance statements to guide practice and evaluation.
British Journal of Educational Technology • Journal
Examines effects of three concept‑mapping approaches (expert‑generated, partially learner‑generated, fully learner‑generated) and learners’ self‑regulated learning (SRL) skills on knowledge acquisition with 124 undergraduates. Fully learner‑generated maps produced higher achievement than expert‑generated maps, and high‑SRL learners outperformed low‑SRL learners across treatments.
British Journal of Educational Technology • Journal
Investigates whether gameplaying improves fifth‑graders’ mathematics outcomes and attitudes, and compares cooperative Teams‑Games‑Tournament (TGT), competitive, and no‑game conditions. In a sample of 125 students, gameplaying outperformed drills on achievement, and cooperative gameplaying yielded the most positive attitudes toward mathematics, regardless of gender, SES, or prior ability.
Educational Technology Research and Development • Journal
Explores how trait curiosity interacts with learner control and advisement in a computer‑based art education lesson for first‑ and second‑graders. High‑curiosity learners generally performed better, and advisement benefited first‑graders more than second‑graders. Usage data suggest younger learners heeded advisement more, informing age‑appropriate advisement design.
Educational Technology Research and Development • Journal
Evaluates how different levels of learner control in a computer‑based interactive video lesson affect elementary students’ achievement and curiosity. Using a posttest‑only design, findings show that variations in learner control differentially influence outcomes, offering design guidance for children’s interactive video instruction.
The Wiley Handbook of Learning Technology • Chapter
Synthesizes standards of performance and current issues in learning technology to inform competent practice for designers, instructors, and online learners. Discusses evolving pedagogy, digital tools, and learner characteristics, and integrates this with IBSTPI competency models to guide professional practice.
Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology • Chapter
Reviews theory and international research on using Web 2.0 tools (e.g., blogs, wikis, collaborative documents, VoiceThread, video sharing, microblogging, social networking, bookmarking) to support learning through collaboration. Synthesizes affordances, effective practices, opportunities, and challenges, and outlines directions for ECT researchers.
Information Age Publishing (The ibstpi Book Series) • Book
Presents a validated set of 14 competencies and 75 performance statements to guide success as an online learner. Based on a global validation study with over 1,000 respondents, the book details domains, performance indicators, development methods, and uses for learners and organizations implementing online education.
Handbook of Research on New Media Literacy at the K‑12 Level: Issues and Challenges • Chapter
Introduces Web 2.0 technologies as cognitive tools that can support K‑12 learners’ content understanding, metacognition, and self‑regulation. Summarizes conceptual and empirical research, provides classroom scenarios, and discusses design and implementation considerations for teachers adopting new media in schools.
Information Age Publishing (IBSTPI) • Book
This volume articulates validated instructor competency standards across face‑to‑face, online, and blended settings, expanding the traditional view of instruction to contemporary modalities. It presents the competency development model, the validated set of competencies and performance statements, and guidance on individual and organizational uses (e.g., professional development, hiring, and certification).
Information Age Publishing (for IBSTPI) • Book
This IBSTPI standards reference articulates validated competencies for instructors across face‑to‑face, online, and blended environments, including associated performance statements and assessment guidance. It supports certification, professional development, and program design aligned with evidence‑based instructional practice.