Using online tools for communication and collaboration: Understanding educators' experiences in an online course (original) (raw)

A Cognitive Apprenticeship Approach to Student and Teaching Staff Online Learning and Teaching Skills Development: Enculturing Novices into Online Practitioner Environments and Cultures

In this paper, I propose an outline concept for a learning and teaching ancillary/support studies/service-learning department, programme, or institute. It is intended to bridge perceived gaps between learners', faculty's, and teaching staff's knowledge, skills, and abilities and what is necessary and sufficient for them to work effectively and productively in online learning environments. Assuming that learning is a process of psychological change, I propose that such an organisation should cultivate and establish the necessary and sufficient psychological conditions for that change to take place (Rogers, 1957). I also argue that legitimate peripheral participation (Everyday Life and Learning with Jean Lave, 2012; Lave, 1989; Lave & Wenger, 1991) and learning by doing and reflecting (Gibbs, 1988) alongside more proficient practitioners in authentic environments as a process of enculturation into practitioner culture is a potentially more effective and productive way for learners and teaching staff to acquire the necessary and sufficient knowledge, skills, and abilities to study in online environments (Boling et al., 2014).

Design of a learning-centered online environment: a cognitive apprenticeship approach

The design of online course materials is rarely informed by learning theories or their pedagogical implications. The goal of this research was to develop, implement and assess a virtual learning environment (VLE), SOFIAA, which was designed using the cognitive apprenticeship model (CAM), a pedagogical model based on learning-centered theory. We present an instructional design case study that reveals the steps taken to improve student performance in a master's level blended learning course on program evaluation. The case study documents four phases of improving on-line instruction in program evaluation, starting with Online Course Materials (OCM) that contained resources and information required to complete team field projects. In phase 1, quantitative analyses revealed that there was improvement of student test scores using the OCM, however, qualitative analyses of think-aloud sessions found that students failed to attain key course objectives. In phase 2, a team of experts reviewed the materials and suggested ways to improve opportunities for student learning. In phase 3, a (VLE) was designed based on the results of phase 2 using a reconceptualization of CAM as a design model. In phase 4, the

Online Course Design: A Case Study

2009

This case study uses the How People Learn (HPL) framework as the conceptual model to examine an online course in a teacher licensure program for evidence of high level learning outcomes that involve collaboration, reflection, mentoring, and problem solving. The HPL framework focuses on the learning environment and indicates that effective learning takes place to the extent that the learning environment is learner-centered, knowledge-centered, assessment-centered, and community-centered. Analysis of the data resulted in themes that coincide with the elements of the HPL framework: professional growth, peer learning, teaching presence, and collaboration. The design of the course appeared to have a positive impact on student learning as far as complex problem solving and collaboration with peers. Results of the study demonstrate that the HPL framework provides a powerful structure for creating and assessing environments conducive to the work of prospective professionals.

Teaching Online: Three Perspectives, Three Approaches

2007

Online courses are growing in popularity, providing opportunities for individuals to complete their education while overcoming time and distance constraints. Innovations in distance education allow for the design and development of online courses that adapt to meet the specific needs and/or learning styles of the students enrolled, and reflect the unique teaching style and personality of the instructor. The purpose of this descriptive case study is to share three perspectives and three approaches of three faculty members who teach a range of graduate level educational technology courses at a university located in northeast Texas. Tips, techniques, lessons learned, and examples of proven interaction activities while meeting course objectives and addressing specific needs of students will be discussed.

Integrating cognitive apprenticeship methods in a Web-based educational technology course for P-12 teacher education

Computers & Education, 2008

The purpose of this study is to investigate the integration of a cognitive apprenticeship model in a Web-based course. The subject of this study is an educational technology course for pre-service P-12 teacher education students. Specifically, this study presents student reports of how cognitive apprenticeship methods impacted student learning processes of (a) technology skills and (b) technology integration methods for teaching. The methodological framework for this qualitative investigation is an interpretive case study. Student reflections and teacher observations revealed that students found modeling, coaching, scaffolding, and exploration key to fostering skill knowledge, and they found the use of cognitive apprenticeship methods fostered an understanding of integrating technology for teaching and learning. when they advocated the use of the apprenticeship model for classroom instruction. Brown, Collins, and Duguid (1996) argue that cognitive apprenticeship methods attempt to ''enculturate students into authentic practices through activity and social interaction in a way similar to that evident in craft apprenticeship''. Within cognitive apprenticeship practices, learners are provided with modeling, scaffolding and coaching. Additionally, learners are provided with opportunities for exploration, articulation and reflection. Because cognitive apprenticeship methods foster the emergence of practical skills within an authentic setting, they may provide an effective means to enculturate pre-service P-12 teacher education students into the practice of integrating technology into their future teaching practices.

The Creation of Virtual and Face-To-Face Learning Communities: An International Collaboration Experience

Journal of Educational Computing Research, 2006

This article examines the use of technology in higher education to support an international collaboration between 2 graduate seminars in cognition and instruction, one in Mexico and another in Canada. The culture of both seminars is described in the context of using computer mediated collaboration systems. The online collaboration between and within the 2 groups happened through the use of the communications tools available in WebCT, a Web-based course management system. The analyses reveal the discursive patterns between instructors and students in both settings, with an examination of teacher presence as it pertains to a cognitive apprenticeship perspective, with particular attention to teacher's modeling and scaffolding. We also present the nature of the student interactions in terms of the cognitive elements present in the discourse and the types of social interactions that support the community of inquiry model. Students in both seminars revealed high levels of critical thi...

Different Approaches to Designing Online Courses at the Post-secondary Level

2019

This research aims to identify the approaches used in online courses and their impact on the task of online teaching in three post-secondary institutions in Quebec. From 32 individual interviews and 6 group interviews, results show that courses are offered for continuous enrollment in two institutions, and in cohort for the third. In each of these institutions, these courses are offered asynchronously and are mainly focused on independent learning. The teaching task usually found in the classroom is subdivided, for online courses, into a design task and a student supervisory task that are not performed by the same people. In two institutions, course design is done by external staff and course management is done by specialists rather than the designers. In the third institution, regular teachers design the courses; they also manage their courses after they have been put online, as well as managing the student support staff. Following these results, we present the advantages and disad...

Online Instructor Development: A COOL story

Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching, 2020

This paper explores the development of a flexible, free, online certificate program built on open educational resources to support instructors transitioning to online and non-traditional teaching modes. The program offers multiple pathways to completion, including recognition of prior learning and immersing participants in the online learning environment. We describe the challenges learners had to overcome to engage in the program and how, in doing so, they were able to embrace constructivist and connectivist approaches. These, in turn, afforded them ongoing connections, broke the mold of preconceptions and myths when preparing to engage future online learners, and shaped their practice through exposure to learning theories and evidence-based practices. In this paper, we explore the initial design of the program through the lens of the program facilitators and learners from the first cohort, and share our collective learning and reflections from this process. Nous nous penchons ic...

Never Going Back: Lessons To Carry Forward In Online Instruction

The Advocate

Research has long demonstrated that students thrive best in an online learning community when some basic tenants are followed. These tenants include establishing a peer community, module supports, studying while balancing life commitments, confidence, and the approach to learning (Farrell & Brunton, 2020; Kahn, Egbue, Palkie, & Madden, 2017; Dixson, 2010). Cultivating active engagement in online communities is a purposeful and deliberate practice that requires educators to bring together an assortment of innovative instructional techniques to foster the establishment of Communities of Practice (COP). Wenger, Trayner, and de Laat (2011) define a CoP as a "learning partnership among people who find it useful to learn from and with each other about a particular domain" (p.9). At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the unexpected shift to online learning in schools at all levels caused schools of education to engage in "stop-gap" measures as they worked to move quality face-to-face instruction to online learning platforms so to allow students to continue their educational pathways. By contrast, the graduate programs in Curriculum & Instruction and Educational Administration at a small Midwestern University have been fully online for nearly two decades. While course delivery has naturally evolved during that time, past experiences allowed faculty to maneuver the pandemic and online learning seamlessly. This paper will explore what works well and should be carried forward in online teaching and learning.