Enhancing learning in an online doctoral course through a virtual community platform (original) (raw)
Related papers
Doctoral Student Online Learning: Addressing Challenges of the Virtual Experience
2020
Doctoral student attrition is a major problem in higher education. This qualitative study sought to understand student beliefs and perceived confidence levels in a primarily online professional doctoral degree in education. Before accessing course material and formal instruction, respondents assigned scores to a Likert-style survey and answered open-ended questions about their understanding of basic educational research methodology. The rise of distance education follows the rapid growth of technological advancement. Yet, much is still unknown about pedagogical practices that contribute to improved learning outcomes for students in the virtual environment. Themes that emerged from this study suggest that (1) student expectations do not align with prior preparation, (2) student beliefs about scholarly work lack depth, and (3) students exhibit high anxiety regarding doctoral instruction. Key terms: doctoral student persistence, online learning, virtual experience, doctoral student per...
Doctoral Education Online: Challenging the Paradigm
I-Manager's Journal of Education Technology, 2012
INTRODUCTION Doctoral education has a long, well-established history in the academic environment. Stereotyped by visions of the traditional research emphasis with established teachers and professors leading groups of eager learners through a complex, daunting exploration of the philosophical foundations and theoretical possibilities of their field, doctoral education has always emphasized the learning experience as a function of the totality of the academic environment. Extending beyond credit hours, classroom experiences or assessments of knowledge, doctoral education highlights the interactive, immersion of the learner into the academic and professional community. The key to the traditional model is transfer of knowledge to the next generation of scholars. Up to now, this doctoral culture has served well, but changes in our modern society, driven by rapid advances in educational and communicative technology, are challenging the classic vision of doctoral education. The proliferation of online education and the launching of doctoral programs into this method of delivery have prompted reflective questions about what it means to be a doctoral learner. Specifically, can online education prepare doctoral learners in a manner accepted by the academic environment? By Online education has been plagued with concerns about the validity, effectiveness and quality of student learning outcomes. Despite a plethora of research establishing the equivalence between learning gains available via online or face-to-face education (see http://www. nosignificant difference.org/, Russell, 2010, for a comprehensive discussion of the issue), many still question the value and relevance of online learning. Inherent in this challenge is the assumption that online learning should mimic face-toface learning; that the values, nature and purpose of an online education should be equivalent to that of a traditional program. But the same technological and social forces that provided impetus for the growth of online education simultaneously shaped the demands, nature and characteristics of the learners seeking these "new" online degrees (frequently referred to as professional or scholar-practitioner degrees). Learners now demand educational experiences that are not only mobile and flexible, but degree programs that integrate professional experience within the context of the theories, ideas and methodologies espoused by traditional academia (Servage, 2009). While this trend holds across the spectrum of post-secondary education, the impact is most noticeable at the point of the online educational
Higher Learning Research Communications
Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to comprehensively describe and justify the case design of an approach for the integration of synchronous virtual meetings to support nontraditional online doctoral candidates. As more nontraditional doctoral students are completing their degree programs virtually through online universities, the nature of their degree progression and the development of critical knowledge and skills differ from traditional on-campus programs. Method: The case design of an approach to integrating synchronous online interactive meetings to support these learners is identified and justified through references to research in the learning sciences including sociocultural learning, heutagogy, and constructivist instructional design methods. The instructional design process resulted in a scaled schedule of interactions linked to the development of specific cognitive processes, academic skills, and expert knowledge required by doctoral candidates for successful compl...
Becoming scholarly practitioners: creating community in online professional doctoral education
Distance Education, 2021
Although many professional education doctorates have traditionally been offered as blended programs, since spring 2020 there has been an upsurge in online teaching and learning. Using a theoretical lens guided by the community of inquiry framework, this qualitative study examined how a cohort of students (n = 15) in one professional education doctorate in the United States of America, which used a blended delivery prior to the pandemic, perceived the adapted pedagogies employed in an online course and the perceived effect of these strategies on learning and community. The results suggest the key role of purposeful teaching presence in establishing a community of inquiry in both largeand small-group environments. The article discusses the promise of critical friends groups in the doctorate and suggests formalizing its structure, specifically as it relates to peer feedback and support. It presents implications for blended professional education doctorates and underlines instructional strategies for field-based scholarly practitioner learning.
Reflections on Best Practices for a Successful Online Doctoral Program
Advances in Educational Technologies and Instructional Design
The popularity, convenience, and professional acceptance of attaining online degrees account for an increase in enrollment in online courses from undergraduate through doctoral levels. This chapter includes discussion of how the option of choosing a digital doctoral degree experience may enhance or diminish the progress of completing a terminal degree. Additionally, this chapter contains a brief description of the structure and organization of the Educational Technology Leadership doctoral program at New Jersey City University (NJCU), focusing on the challenges and best practices related to the classes and the coursework and how the professors interact with the students. The main thrust of the chapter will be a discussion of the best practices within this program as well as suggestions for improvement. Finally, the authors, members of this program's first cohort, provide recommendations for a successful online doctoral program that meets the needs of all students.
Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 2021
The transactional distance created by asynchronous online course formats poses unique challenges to the development of a collaborative learning environment. The lack of face-to-face interaction also challenges instructors’ ability to make adaptive changes to course content in response to emerging student needs. The authors describe a professor’s process of continuous improvement in an online doctoral course to create a collaborative learning environment. Leveraging available communication technologies and bridging media cultivated a supportive community of inquiry, including social, cognitive, and teaching presence. The authors describe the identified problem, course goals, and process of this work, as well as a brief summary of students’ feedback about their experiences with this process.
eflections on the design and realization of an online course
Reflecting on the design and development of online learning activities is important to help improve and consolidate good practices. This paper analyses the issues faced and the solutions adopted in the design and implementation of an interdisciplinary online course, run within an international Virtual Doctoral School. Reflecting on the lessons learned from this experience allowed the author to spot a number of aspects where effective solutions were adopted to meet the context requirements and lead the course to positive outcomes.