Ayesha Sadaf
Ayesha Sadaf
Ayesha Sadaf is an Associate Professor of Learning, Design and Technology in the Department of Educational Leadership at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She is the Director of the Post-Master’s Certificate in University and College Teaching and coordinator for the LDT concentration in Ed.D. Educational Leadership. She received her PhD in Learning Design and Technology and MS in Computer Graphics Technology from Purdue University.
Dr. Sadaf’s research focuses on promoting a learner-centered approach to instruction using emerging technologies and innovative pedagogies in digital learning environments to support student learning. The driving question behind her research is–how to design digital learning environments using emerging technologies and instructional strategies that promote high-level learning, critical thinking, cognitive presence, collaborative learning, and student engagement. She has published her research in several leading journals in the field of instructional technology, including the American Journal of Distance Education, Educational Technology Research and Development, Computers & Education, Journal of Research on Technology in Education, and Journal of Computing in Higher Education.
Dr. Sadaf has more than 20 years of experience in designing, developing, and teaching courses in online, hybrid, and face-to-face formats. Her teaching experiences inform her research, ultimately demonstrating a process that emphasizes theory-into-practice. In recognition of her research informed practice, she received the 2013, 2015, and 2022 Distance Education Best Practice Awards from the Association of Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) and the 2016 Effective Practice Award from the Online Learning Consortium (OLC).
Dr. Sadaf served as the Faculty Teaching Fellow for the College of Education and Associate Quality Matters Faculty Fellow for the Center for Teaching and Learning at UNC Charlotte. She served as the President of the Division of Distance Learning, Association of Educational Communications and Technology (AECT). She also served as the Vice President of Online services for the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) Charlotte. She is currently serving on the editorial board of the Journal of Research on Technology in Education and the guest editor for the Online Learning Journal.
Research Interests:
Online Learning
Teacher Technology Education
Community of Inquiry (CoI)
Cognitive presence and Critical thinking
