International online collaboration as a boundary crossing activity for vocational educators

Vocational educators cross boundaries between practices in schools, colleges and workplaces, renegotiating their identities as professionals in a particular vocation and as educators. In order to support learners to enter the global workforce, they also require opportunities to cross boundaries through international practices. However, opportunities for international and intercultural learning are often limited, particularly for trainee vocational educators. This paper highlights an online collaborative process (COLIGE) designed to develop competencies for global education. The COLIGE process has been evaluated through the lens of boundary crossing. Participants were trainee vocational educators undergoing their professional teaching qualification in Scotland and Finland. Action research was undertaken during this three-year project to explore participants’ experiences and evaluate the learning mechanisms observed during the activities. Findings suggest activity though all four learning mechanisms (identification, coordination, reflection, transformation), although they were not universally experienced. Difficulties faced by learners are discussed and point to the potential for transformation of practice without sequential engagement with all learning mechanisms.     

网络学习中的人际交互研究

网络学习的出现产生了网络学习群体。学习者以信息技术为中介进行人际交互,并在人际交互中进行知识意义的建构。网络学习中的人际交互具有积极主动和交互层面广等特点。这种积极、广泛的人际交互对于掌握网络学习方法及对传统课堂教学都有不少有益的启示。     

Developing pre-service teacher knowledge using online forums: supporting confident and competent teaching practices

ABSTRACT

This small study examines how one group (n = 59) of first-year undergraduate students developed their knowledge through co-construction using an online forum as a platform as part of a three-year Initial Teacher Training (ITT) programme. Professional dialogue at the online interface supported them to cope with the challenges they faced during teaching practice. The data showed that there were gains in student subject and pedagogical knowledge, observed to a greater extent among the peripheral learners. The data presented provide an alternative view from that published in the existing literature about the size and type of both peripheral and core online interactions that were useful in building the confidence and competence of students in the role of teachers in a primary classroom. Ultimately, the online knowledge exchange among peripheral participants provided agency in learning over actions and the ability to cope during teaching practice. This was corroborated by student self-assessment using post-online reflective brainstorms. Sixty-four per cent of the students concluded that they would use this new subject and pedagogical knowledge when in school as part of their teaching practice.     

Adult learners’ emotions in online learning

The aim of the research study reported in this article was to investigate how adult learners talk about their emotions in the context of a year‐long online course, the first online course these adults take, as part of a distance education program. The theoretical and methodological approach focused on formulating an account of how emotion discourses are used by learners, what role they play in online learning, and how they change over a one‐year period (if they do so). The findings of this study provide three insights: (1) they show how adult learners (who also happen to be novice online learners) respond emotionally and talk about their emotions in relation to online learning; (2) they call attention to the ways in which emotion talk changes from the beginning of the course to the end, always in response to specific demands and dimensions of online learning; and (3) they reveal the differential emotional responses between men and women in relation to their social and gender roles and responsibilities. Empirical and policy implications of this study are discussed at the end.     

From the Field: Characteristics of Successful Tertiary Online Students and Strategies of Experienced Online Educators

Online learning, now a popular method of education at the tertiary level, creates new challenges for students and educators. Faculty members may know little about how to assist students in succeeding in this new learning environment, and students may be ill prepared to tackle the new demands put upon them. This research sought to identify dimensions of successful online learners by examining primary screening documents and mapping them to the literature base, and then invited experienced online educators to review the dimensions and provide strategies they use to ensure student success. Seven dimensions were identified and confirmed as significant, each dimension with slightly different importance, including access to tools; technology experience; learning preferences; study habits and skills; goals or purposes; lifestyle factors; and personal traits and characteristics. The experienced educators provided several online teaching strategies including students' posting biographies; frequent interaction; collaboration; required participation; question-asking forums; topical flexibility; and minimizing technology requirements.     

Transforming online teaching practice: critical analysis of the literature on the roles and competencies of online teachers

Understanding what is lacking in the online teaching literature is critical to helping researchers and practitioners develop programs and support mechanisms for online teachers in higher education. This review formulates a critique of the standards- and competency-driven vision of online teaching from the perspective of transformative learning theory, in order to offer an alternative exploration of the professional development of online teachers as adult learners. The results indicate that while research about online teacher roles and competencies guides the development of teacher preparation and training programs, it lacks in terms of addressing the issues of empowerment of online teachers, promoting critical reflection, and integrating technology into pedagogical inquiry. An alternative perspective is suggested that considers teachers as adult learners who continuously transform their meaning of structures related to online teaching through a continuous process of critical reflection and action.     

Reconceptualising higher education pedagogy in online learning

The purpose of this collaborative inquiry project was to examine teacher education practices in two early childhood degree programmes in a school of education at a regional university in Australia. All students are enrolled in these online courses as distance learners. The reconceptualised online pedagogy immersed students, peers and their lecturers in ‘teaching through assessment’ (Edwards, 2010) in a collaborative online environment that mirrors the complexity that students are experiencing in their workplaces. This article describes the pedagogical and conceptual underpinnings we used to reconceptualise our degree programmes. It also outlines our evolving conceptualisations of learning as knowledge creation (Hong & Sullivan, 2009) in the context of our teaching and learning in online courses.     

The challenges of undergraduate online learning experienced by older workers in career transition

This paper presents the findings of a research project on older workers transitioning into work as vocational educators through online undergraduate university study. The study involved interpretive phenomenological analysis of the experiences of 10 older learners. Their experience of online learning was found to be shaped by diverse influences and to comprise three distinct but interrelated elements: their use of technology, their use of hypermedia and their independent learning. Challenges raised by each of these elements called for a distinctive response from the university, respectively: short-term, readily available technical advice and support; tutoring to develop Web navigation and exploration skills, or the provision of selected readings; and opportunities for online or face-to-face dialogical engagement with others. Recommendations for the online provision of higher education for such learners, then, pointed to the need for an appropriately distinctive response to challenges in each of the three elements: the use of technology calling for individualised and immediate responsiveness to learner issues; the use of hypermedia calling for aggregated advice and resources prepared in advance; and independent learning calling for the prior structuring of opportunities for interactive engagement. Further research is suggested focusing on the relative cost and effectiveness of different approaches to addressing those needs.     

Personalising and localising knowledge: how teachers reconstruct resources and knowledge shared online in their teaching practice

ABSTRACT

Online platforms that enable teachers to share knowledge and resources with other teachers are increasingly common mechanisms for supporting teachers’ learning. Despite their growing presence, there remains limited understanding of how teachers engage with and utilise the resources and knowledge they gain online in their teaching practice. This study employs qualitative methods to investigate the processes through which teachers engage with, interpret and utilise teacher-created teaching resources and curriculum materials that are shared on two online platforms. A three-stage knowledge reconstruction model is proposed, with teachers progressing from the selection of resources online, through the modification and implementation of the resources and knowledge, and finally to the evaluation and embedding of resources and knowledge in their practice. The findings further explore the factors that shape teachers’ behaviour and actions, and the learning that occurs at all three stages of the knowledge reconstruction process.     

网络课程对高职差生英语学习动机的影响

学习动机是外语学习成功与否的关键因素之一。网络课程可以提供不同于传统课堂的学习情境,因而可能作用于学习动机。本文用问卷调查的方式研究高职差生的英语学习动机类型以及网络课程对学习动机的影响。研究发现：高职差生的英语学习动机类型与本科生有所区别;高职差生喜欢通过网络课程学英语;网络课程能有效提高差生对英语的内在兴趣一一学习情境的改善增加了学习乐趣,而且使学生感到更自在。     

Diversity and Difference in the Online Environment

ABSTRACT

The online environment challenges social work educators in their approach to developing students’ cultural awareness and culturally competent skills. To develop student competencies, it is important for accredited social work programs to consider both their explicit and implicit curricula. Although research has focused on the influence of multicultural classrooms and engaging diverse students, scant literature has been focused on teaching about diversity and difference in the online environment. This article hopes to fill this gap in knowledge by providing recommendations for social work programs to consider as they look to teach diversity and difference in the online environment.     

Instructor-provided summary infographics to support online learning

Infographics are a visualisation tool that can be used to improve retention, comprehension and appeal of complex concepts. The rise of infographic use in education has facilitated new forms of application and design of these tools. Instructor-provided summary infographics are a new form of infographic, whereby key learning objectives and content are summarised in graphical form at the end of a lesson. However, it is unknown whether these types of infographics can support learning in online environments. This exploratory research investigates student perceptions, retention, applications and activity generation of instructor-provided summary infographics in a massive online learning environment. Using both post-course learner survey data (n = 1,899) and text mining analysis (n = 72,490 words), results present how learners perceived instructor-provided summary infographics as useful and appealing for retaining, clarifying and understanding learning concepts. The research contributes a novel understanding of summary infographics in online learning environments, and supports their use as a design tool for educational delivery in the online space.     

Understanding community in synchronous online learning: do perceptions match behaviours?

ABSTRACT

The community of inquiry (CoI) framework is becoming increasingly popular in online learning. The relationships among CoI constructs (cognitive, teaching and social presences) were generally investigated through surveys. However, some methodological challenges were noticed in CoI studies such as the limitations in data diversity or data verification. Hypothesising that learners’ perceptions about CoI constructs may not reflect their actual behaviours, this study matches students’ perceptions and actual behaviours reflecting the CoI constructs in an online learning setting in a synchronous online undergraduate programme. Data from CoI surveys, online discussion records and observations were comparatively discussed. The results indicated that relationships between the behaviours and perceptions about CoI constructs were quite positive and students’ perceptions about CoI constructs almost matches with their actual behaviours. Thus, the study confirmed the power of determining the interactions reflecting CoI constructs in online learning within CoI surveys. It is hoped that the study may shed a light with its contribution in providing some evidence for the question of whether conventional data collection techniques in CoI studies is required to be revisited or not.     

Novice online educator conceptual frameworks: a mental model exploration of mindful learning design

This research study explores the relationship between the socio-cognitive concept of mindfulness and university educators’ learning design conceptualisations. The multi-method research strategy utilises a concept-mapping exercise to reveal learning designer mental models for comparison with Langer Mindfulness Scale scores and critical event interviews to further illuminate the conceptualisations and factors that impact educators’ thinking when designing online units. Research participants were asked to create a concept map of their learning design and to be mindful of concepts incorporated into a Graduate Certificate of Tertiary Education. The analysis highlights some congruence between educators’ mindfulness dimensions and their learning design conceptual frameworks. The mindfulness scores appear to indicate a propensity to be more mindful in designing curriculum, as indicated by participant concept maps, yet not necessarily towards the adaptive use of technology or learner/activity-based pedagogies. The authors suggest metacognitive strategies to encourage learning design reconceptualisation.     

Networked learning: design considerations for online instructors

The considerable increase in web-based knowledge networks in the past two decades is strongly influencing learning environments. Learning entails information retrieval, use, communication, and production, and is strongly enriched by socially mediated discussions, debates, and collaborative activities. It is becoming critical for educators to better understand and become skilled at utilizing online networks and their affordances to improve the quality of learning experiences for their students. Along the same lines, networked learning could be seen as an effort to respond to the advances in electronic networks by putting the focus on the students and paying close attention to their educational needs, learning preferences, and social interactions. The aim of this paper is to review and synthesize empirical research on networked learning for online higher education courses and offer suggestions for future studies based on the gaps found in the literature. Implications of networked learning for instructional design are also discussed.     

Levinas and the "inter-face": The ethical challenge of online education

The capacity of online education to produce learning environments that are supportive of hybrid identities, complex discourses, and multiple relations among learners raises questions about the ethical response of online educators. To investigate the ethics of online education, we discuss two questions: How are identity and communication constituted in online education? What are the features of an ethical pedagogy in online education? Such questions help us think in alternative ways about the ethical dimensions of online education. We argue that Emmanuel Levinas's views on ethics and otherness can overcome some of the ethical challenges inherent in online education by helping educators and learners become more aware of how they respond to the Other and consider their ethical responsibility to the Other's multiple and complex identities. An ethical pedagogy for online education that takes seriously the unknowable and irreducible Other has the potential to provide us with a different notion of what constitutes ethical pedagogies.     

Threshold concepts in higher education: a synthesis of the literature relating to measurement of threshold crossing

In relation to teaching and learning approaches that improve student learning outcomes, threshold concepts have generated substantial interest in higher education. They have been described as ‘portals’ that lead to a transformed way of understanding or thinking, enabling learners to progress, and have been enthusiastically adopted to inform teaching approaches and curriculum design. A growing body of literature has critiqued the relevance and applicability of the threshold concept theory and identified threshold concepts relevant to specific disciplines. More recent research has identified how students cross these thresholds and provided measures of the successful acquisition of threshold concepts. This literature synthesis critiques existing evidence on threshold crossing and acquisition to provide a succinct and informative overview of the outcomes to date. Key questions relevant to educators and researchers investigating whether students acquire the threshold concepts associated with their teaching, arose from the literature synthesis. These were: whether or not threshold crossing can be measured; how variation in student learning can be addressed during measurement; tools that can be used for measuring threshold crossing; whether the way units or concepts are taught should alter prior to measurement, and the challenges and limitations of measuring threshold crossing.     

网上学习小组特性的研究

网上小组学习是远程教育一种重要的协同学习形式,而网上学习小组的特性(如学习小组的组织结构、组员对小组活动促进学习的认识、情感因素,以及对教师的期待等)会影响到活动的效果。但目前国内外有关网上学习小组的实证研究较为鲜见。本研究通过教学试验、问卷调查和书面访谈后发现,成功的学习小组规模要适中,组员的水平、志趣、背景等有一定差异,对网上小组活动在学习上的促进作用认同程度高,能处理好协作与自主、认知与情感、个人成就与集体荣誉等关系,形成一个平等、互动、宽松、愉悦的虚拟学习社区。同时,教师从学习活动的设计、组织到整个过程都要“积极干预”,既解疑释惑、传授知识又培养正确的学习技巧,同时,也要体现人文关怀,肯定成绩,指出不足,营造学习氛围,鼓励大胆创新。     

Community,Towards Dialogue: A Self-Study of Online Teacher Preparation for Special Education

ABSTRACT

Online teacher education is experiencing significant growth worldwide. One of the major challenges accompanying this growth is that many teacher educators find themselves underprepared and under pressure to design online teacher education courses that reflect their beliefs about what constitutes high-quality teacher preparation practice. Further, teacher educators in disciplines such as special education face additional challenges in developing understandings about the legalities of writing and implementing disability service plans and performing additional testing. In this self-study of online special education teacher education practice, two collaborators worked to identify strategies and practices for professional community building in a class about teaching reading to students with disabilities. The findings highlight issues of teacher educator authority and presence online against other needs to model collegiality and promote scholarly thinking. Researchers in online teaching may find insight into both the cognitive and contextual concerns as they work to enhance online teacher education while they plan their own investigations.