Walter Archer | University of Alberta (original) (raw)

Papers by Walter Archer

This paper presents a tool developed for the purpose of assessing teaching presence in online cou... more This paper presents a tool developed for the purpose of assessing teaching presence in online courses that make use of computer conferencing, and preliminary results from the use of this tool. The method of analysis is based on Garrison, Anderson, and Archer’s [1] model of critical thinking and practical inquiry in a computer conferencing context. The concept of teaching presence is constitutively defined as having three categories – design and organization, facilitating discourse, and direct instruction. Indicators that we search for in the computer conference transcripts identify each category. Pilot testing of the instrument reveals interesting differences in the extent and type of teaching presence found in different graduate level online courses.

Scholarly and Research Communication, 2019

The Canadian Journal of Higher Education (CJHE) has been the sole journal for higher education sc... more The Canadian Journal of Higher Education (CJHE) has been the sole journal for higher education scholarship in Canada for over 40 years, and is the primary source of commentary on trends and relevant research in the Canadian postsecondary context. Since its inauguration in 1971, the CJHE has promoted both English- and French- language higher education research, and the shi from a print to open access journal in 2009 further promoted the accessibility of this scholarship. Along with documenting the success and growth of the CJHE, this article highlights ongoing production challenges and the need to support greater diversity in regard to language, themes, and authorship. It concludes by presenting a vision plan for the future – an articulation of hopes for the field of higher education in Canada. RésuméLa Revue canadienne d’enseignement supérieur (RCES) est l’unique revue savante dans le domaine de l’enseignement supérieur canadien depuis plus de 40 ans en plus d’être la principale so...

Canadian Journal of University Continuing Education, 2013

A recent book by Clayton M. Christensen, Associate Professor of Business at Harvard University, d... more A recent book by Clayton M. Christensen, Associate Professor of Business at Harvard University, discusses the sometimes devastating impact in the corporate environment of what he refers to as "disruptive technologies." Successful, well-managed firms that dominate their markets have sometimes gone into a sharp decline or even collapsed when a new technology disrupts the pattern of their market segment. Other firms, however, have handled such transitions smoothly, maintaining their position of dominance in the market by employing specific techniques to integrate the new and disruptive technology into their operations.Traditional research universities enjoy a dominant position in the higher education "market," but they are beginning to feel the impact of disruptive technologies such as distance education. They may benefit not only from an examination of the insights that Christensen has derived from his study of the impact of disruptive technologies in the corporate...

Academic Technologies for Learning (ATL) unit. Terry has 15 years of experience related to distan... more Academic Technologies for Learning (ATL) unit. Terry has 15 years of experience related to distance education as a teacher, researcher, and administrator, including employment as Director of Contact North in Northern Ontario. His e-mail address is terry.anderson@ualberta.ca. D. Randy Garrison is a professor and Dean of the Faculty of Extension at the University of Alberta. His areas of research relate to the teaching and learning transaction in the context of adult, distance, and higher education. He has published extensively in both of these areas. His e-mail address is

The purpose of this study is to provide conceptual order and a tool for the use of CMC and comput... more The purpose of this study is to provide conceptual order and a tool for the use of CMC and computer conferencing in supporting an educational experience. Central to the study introduced here is a model of community inquiry that constitutes three elements essential to an educational transaction – cognitive presence, social presence, and teaching presence. Indicators (key words/phrases) for each of the three elements emerged from the analysis of computer conferencing transcripts. The indicators described represent a template or tool for researchers to analyze written transcripts as well as a guide to educators for the optimal use of computer conferencing as a medium to facilitate an educational transaction. This research would suggest that computer conferencing has considerable potential to create a community of inquiry for educational purposes. The use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) is becoming increasingly common in higher education. Many higher education institutions are ...

discusses the sometimes devastating impact in the corporate environment of what he refers to as “... more discusses the sometimes devastating impact in the corporate environment of what he refers to as “disruptive technologies. ” Successful, wellmanaged firms that dominate their markets have sometimes gone into a sharp decline or even collapsed when a new technology disrupts the pattern of their market segment. Other firms, however, have handled such transitions smoothly, maintaining their position of dominance in the market by employing specific techniques to integrate the new and disruptive Un livre récent de Clayton M. Christensen, Professeur adjoint en Administration des affaires à l’Université Harvard, examine l’impact parfois dévastateur dans le milieu des affaires de ce qu’il appelle les “technologies perturbatrices.” Les universités traditionnelles axées sur la recherche dominent le “marché ” de l’éducation supérieure, mais commencent à ressentir l’impact des technologies perturbatrices comme l’éducation à distance. Elles pourraient s’inspirer de l’étude de Christensen sur l’imp...

Instructional media such as computer conferencing engender high levels of student-student and stu... more Instructional media such as computer conferencing engender high levels of student-student and student-teacher interaction; therefore, they can support models of teaching and learning that are highly interactive and consonant with the communicative ideals of university education. This potential and the ubiquity of computer conferencing in higher education prompted three of the authors of the this article to develop a community of inquiry model that synthesizes pedagogical principles with the inherent instructional and access benefits of computer conferencing (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000). This article explicates one element of the model, social presence. Social presence is defined as the ability of learners to project themselves socially and affectively into a community of inquiry. A template for assessing social presence in computer conferencing is presented through content analysis of conferencing transcripts. To facilitate explication of the scheme and subsequent replicatio...

The adoption of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in higher education has far out-paced our u... more The adoption of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in higher education has far out-paced our understanding of how this medium should be used so as to best promote higher-order learning. This medium is substantively different, in several important ways, from face-to-face classroom teaching. A number of other scholars are now trying to remedy this deficiency in our understanding by studying various aspects of the use of CMC in this educational environment. At the heart of the challenge facing us is the need to create a critical community of inquiry – the hallmark of higher education - within a virtual text -based environment. We have, therefore, focused our efforts on developing the means to assess the nature and quality of critical discourse that takes place within a text -based educational environment. The paper begins with an overview of the model of critical thinking that we have developed as a framework for our study. Within this overall framework, we propose a model of “cogni...

In Preparing Students for Life and Work: Policies and Reforms Affecting Higher Education’s Princi... more In Preparing Students for Life and Work: Policies and Reforms Affecting Higher Education’s Principal Mission the editors assemble works by scholars of higher education who address various aspects of the policies and reforms that affect the education and ultimately the lives and work prospects of students. Chapter topics include the social and government policy context of higher education in various countries, including Canada, Mexico, the USA, Japan, Germany, Europe generally and the Bologna process specifically. Aspects of teaching and learning in higher education, including MOOCs, student services, and treatment of international students are also addressed. Finally, how students themselves have had major impacts on higher education in various countries is touched upon in several chapters.

Part and chapter headings: Acknowledgment. Preface. Conceptual Framework. A Transactional Perspec... more Part and chapter headings: Acknowledgment. Preface. Conceptual Framework. A Transactional Perspective. Foundations. Learning Perspectives. Critical Thinking. Self-Directed Learning. Approaches and Strategies. Approaches to Teaching. Learning Activities. Teaching Strategies. Assessment and Grading. Distance Education, Design and Technology. A Systemic Perspective. References. Subject index.

This paper discusses the potential and the methodological challenges of analyzing computer confer... more This paper discusses the potential and the methodological challenges of analyzing computer conference transcripts using quantitative content analysis. The paper is divided into six sections, which discuss: criteria for content analysis, research designs, types of content, units of analysis, ethical issues, and software to aid analysis. The discussion is supported with a survey of 19 commonly referenced studies published during the last decade. The paper is designed to assist researchers in using content analysis to further the understanding of teaching and learning using computer conferencing. SCENARIO Professor Jones has just completed her first university course delivered entirely on- line. The 13-week semester class has left Jones in a state of mild exhaustion. However, the course is finished, the marks have been assigned, and now, thinks Jones, time for some reflection, analysis and perhaps a publishable paper. Jones smiles, confident in the knowledge that the complete transcrip...

In many developed countries the proportion of the population that is in the ‘normal’ age range fo... more In many developed countries the proportion of the population that is in the ‘normal’ age range for attending university is declining; at the same time, there is an ever-increasing proportion of the population falling into the ‘older adult’ category. The recently developed concept of ‘community-university engagement’ allows higher education institutions (HEIs) to address both of these issues together; they can do this by engaging older adult learners and creating a community of learners that exposes older adults to a range of university resources and opportunities, including participating in educational programmes, engaging in research, working on collaborative outreach activities, and engaging in intergenerational learning. In some cases, HEIs may actually encourage older adults to live on campuses. Such community-university engagement activities can add vibrancy and public support for the higher education institutions, while at the same time benefiting older adults and thereby cont...

Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 2004

Higher education is currently undergoing what may be its most significant change since the advent... more Higher education is currently undergoing what may be its most significant change since the advent of the printing press in the fifteenth century. A number of socioeconomic forces, primarily globalization, have increased student mobility and created a need for increased and more flexible access to education. At the same time, the recent vast expansion of electronic communication capability has presented us with the means to provide the desired increased access, using various types of distributed learning. Having this tool at hand has, in turn, created a demand for new levels of administrative flexibility on the part of educational institutions while at the same time increasing budgetary pressures on them (Clarke 2002).

Preparing Students for Life and Work

Canadian Journal of University Continuing Education, 2010

Canadian Journal of University Continuing Education, 2009

Scholarly and Research Communication, 2019

Canadian Journal of University Continuing Education, 2013

Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 2004

Preparing Students for Life and Work

Canadian Journal of University Continuing Education, 2010

Canadian Journal of University Continuing Education, 2009

It has been widely recognized in research and policy that our work and learning is no longer char... more It has been widely recognized in research and policy that our work and learning is no longer characterized as linear, with a period of education or training in young adulthood to Work and Learning Network 2008 | iv be followed by a stable career in a single field. It is also widely recognized that new patterns of work have created opportunities, but in many ways have also exacerbated inequities in work and learning. We are very pleased to present a collection of manuscripts that focus on how these new patterns of work have created gaps and misalignments in labour, education, and labour market transitions, and how the problems this creates might be addressed. The range of presentations is rich; it includes critical perspectives, empirical studies, and applied works, all of which, in their own ways, contribute to our collective ability to understand and respond to issues in the important, dynamic study of "work and learning."