5 Strands of Research

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My research brings culture to the forefront of human learning in technological contexts. Culture is the prism through which humankind can better understand race, ethnicity, social justice, equity, inequality and the like. In my research, culture is everything made by humans and nature; therefore, everything in this world represents our culture. My 5 research strands include: 1. Culture-Based Artificial Intelligence, 2. Human Learning in Technological Contexts, 3. The History of Instructional Design & Technologies Made by and for African Americans, 4. Culture in Instructional Design & Technology, and 5. Culture-Specific Information & Communication Technologies.

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Strand 1: Culture-Based Artificial Intelligence

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My research investigates how artificial intelligence can serve diverse learners equitably. I have tracked technologies and continue to notice that a culture-based framework that minimizes algorithmic bias is needed. My work addresses fundamental questions: How do we integrate culture in the design of AI and all technologies for learning? How do we build technological systems that minimize bias? How can AI recognize diverse learning patterns as valid?

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In 2011, I applied the Culture Based Model to AI tutoring systems in "The Significance of the Culture Based Model in Designing Culturally-Aware Tutoring Systems" (Artificial Intelligence & Society) demonstrating how systematic cultural frameworks prevent designer bias from becoming embedded in intelligent systems. My 2021 book, Human Specialization in Design & Technology tracks the global shift toward specialized designs serving specific human needs, with Chapter 5 examining AI's evolution toward human-centered specialization and critiquing algorithmic bias. This book won the 2021 Outstanding Publication Award from the Association for Educational Communications & Technology.

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I engage broader audiences on AI's implications for education through public scholarship: "Should AI be permitted in college classrooms? 4 scholars weigh in" (The Conversation, 2023) and "The future of college will involve fewer professors" (The Conversation, 2021).

My future research will digitize the Culture Based Model, converting its 1,500 questions and 70 design factors into datasets that can train AI learning systems to recognize and respond to diverse cultural approaches to learning. Once a culture-based database is established, designers can build products, services, or environments from the same dataset—scalability that positions digitized CBM as foundational infrastructure for equitable AI in education.

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Strand 2: Human Learning in Technological Contexts

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I am curious about ways to improve human learning, and how the design of technologies can aid in advancing knowledge for young children and adults. A recent example of this can be found in my article: "Challenges in developing a systematic process to understanding computational thinking in early childhood educators: A culture-based study" (2024).

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My book, Human Specialization in Design & Technology: The Current Wave for Learning, Culture, Industry and Beyond (2021), published by Routledge/Taylor Francis is the culmination of a decade of ideas about how society is moving more towards specialized (culture-specific, race-specific, gene-specific) designs and technology. Human Specialization exemplifies the natural, but inevitable, evolution to innovate specifically for human needs and conditions. This cultural phenomenon is being enacted across business, manufacturing, science, technology and education industries through trends such as standardization, customization, personalization and specialization. This text grounds its development in the field of Educational Technology to disclose the intricacies of human innovation or lack thereof. Section 1 explores the what and how of human innovation looking broadly across industries, the history of personalization, and COVID-19. Section 2 provides narratives on the current state of Educational Technology and forecasts future outcomes. Some of the topics include: The future professor, public schools, equity & access, XR Technologies, artificial intelligence, Open Educational Resources, organizational cultures, leadership and the EdTech of People, Places and Things. This book is winner of the 2021 Outstanding Publication Award for a Book: Culture, Learning and Technology Division, Association for Educational Communications & Technology.

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Strand 3: The History of Instructional Design & Technologies Made by and for African Americans

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The intersection of technology and learning began in my dissertation research; I sought to disclose the cultural and educational significance inherent in historical artifacts made by and for African Americans. Specifically, I examined The Freedman's Torchlight, a newspaper textbook (1866), 24 issues of W.E.B. Du Bois' children's magazine The Brownies' Book (1920-1921) and Bridge: A Cross Culture Reading Program (1977). I believed these historical artifacts provided critical insights in how to enhance the educational experiences and outcomes of African American students, and of equal importance, how they might aid in the design of culture-based information and communication technologies. After many iterations and expansions on these ideas, I developed the Culture Based Model as a framework for the design of culture-specific (specialized) or culture-neutral (generic) information and communication technologies. The Culture Based Model is situated in the field of instructional design and technology and served as the foundation for my 2009 book, Instructional Design Frameworks and Intercultural Models. One of the underlying purposes of the model is to help designers create more inclusive designs of information and communication technologies that minimize biases of designers or biases directed toward users. This means to design with equity in mind. This is an empirically based model. The Culture Based Model is recognized and published in the seminal book of the field of instructional design, Survey of Instructional Design Models authored by Tonia A. Dousay and Robert Branch (2022).

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Two additional articles in this area include: "Disclosing the Design of an African American Educational Technology: Bridge: A Cross Culture Reading Program" (2020, 2015) published in the International Journal of Designs for Learning. This manuscript is an interactive multi-media article that provides images of the designers, audio recordings of interviews with the designers and excerpts from the instructional materials. Another important article is "M³: Leroy Raadel Posey an African American Inventor of a Mathematics Teaching Machine" (2019); this is a newly discovered record of an African American contributing to the history of teaching machines.

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Strand 4: Culture in Instructional Design & Technology

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Culture in Instructional Design & Technology represents a strand of my research that serves a high significance in the field. In 2009, I published the book Instructional Design Frameworks and Intercultural Models; this book describes The Culture Based Model, one of the most comprehensive cultural models in any field.

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The Culture Based Model is a comprehensive framework for the design of culture-based information & communication technologies. The model is represented by the acronym ID-TABLET to identify the eight areas: Inquiry, Development, Team, Assessments, Brainstorming, Learners, Elements, and Training. Using ethnographic research methods, the Culture Based Model provides a blueprint to plan, design, analyze and build culture-based technologies, environments, products and services (Young, 2009).

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The Culture Based Model includes 70 Design Factors that aid in better understanding a society, culture or target audience and how to build culture-based information and communication technologies. The areas under project management include: Brainstorming, Team, Development, Learners, Assessments and Training. The areas under project design (specific to content development and monitoring) include Inquiry and Elements. There are 25 Elements or Design Factors intended to be a comprehensive total of which all culture is composed. There are 25 design factors divided into three sections. The Anthropology of Culture covers design factors E1 through E13 and draws from key concepts in the fields of anthropology, language, history, economics, demography, communications and the physical and environmental sciences to explore the depth of culture. The Psychology of Culture covers design factors E14 through E20 and draws from the fields of cognitive anthropology and cultural psychology that focus on cognitive, psychological and social realms. The Science of Culture covers design factors E21 through E25 and draws from key concepts in the fields of physical science, biological science, earth science, ecology, futures research and cross-cultural studies to explore the scientific nature of humanity and the possibilities of cultural futures.

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(See page 132 of the book Human Specialization in Design & Technology for an overview of the model. Instructional Design Frameworks & Intercultural Models explains The Culture Based Model in its entirety.)

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My most recent article in this area is "Culture as a Gauge Towards Social Justice" (2024). Other works that ground my research in this strand include: "Cultural implications in educational technology: A survey" (2020); "The presence of culture in learning" (2014); "The significance of the Culture Based Model in designing culturally-aware tutoring systems" (2011); "The Culture Based Model: Constructing a model of culture" (2008); "The Culture Based Model: A framework for designers and visual ID languages" (2008); and "Exploring culture in the design of new technologies of literacy" (2008).

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In 2008, I won the Outstanding Journal Article Award from the Design & Development Division of the Association for Educational Communications & Technology for my article "Integrating Culture in the Design of ICTs."

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Strand 5: Culture-Specific Information & Communication Technologies

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Culture-specific information & communication technologies is a deliberate act to include and build technologies that consider others. This is a social justice agenda, because it is both exclusive (to a particular individual or group) and inclusive (includes underrepresented individuals and groups).

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At the Association for Educational Communications & Technology presidential session, I gave the keynote address titled: "Culture Specific Design: The Current Wave of EdTech Innovations." This speech proposed that the current wave of educational technology innovations reveals products, services and environments that are culture-specific or specialized to the needs of human beings.

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Overall, my research reflects scholarly publications in leading refereed publications and respected professional outlets such as: Artificial Intelligence and Society; British Journal of Educational Technology; Educational Technology Research & Development; Journal of Educational Technology & Society; Journal of Language, Identity and Education; Race, Ethnicity & Education; and the Journal of African American Studies. In addition, I have published in highly cited and valued handbooks such as: Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology (2020, 2014); Sage Encyclopedia of Educational Technology (2015); Handbook of Research on New Literacies (2008); and Handbook of Visual Languages for Instructional Design: Theories and Practices (2008).