Browsing by Subject "Online teaching"

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    Shifting Perspectives of Adult Learners Through a Graduate-Level Parent-Child Interaction Course: A Post-Intentional Phenomenological Investigation
    (2015-04) Cline, Heather
    This post-intentional phenomenological study examined the phenomenon of shifting perspectives as it took shape for six adult learners through a graduate-level, online parent-child interaction course (Vagle, 2014a). Learning in adulthood is not a neutral endeavor, but rather a process involving the assimilation of new information to fit with prior knowledge, assumptions, and practices. Acquiring content expertise and developing proficiency in professional skills alone may transfer to practice, but in a manner that supports one's current frame of reference, which may perpetuate narrow minded and/or rigid beliefs (Kumashiro, 2002). Therefore, adult learners must be guided to critically examine preconceptions in order to recognize and revise faulty assumptions and narrow views, which may lead to the development of competencies that are more thoughtful, justified, and inclusive (Mezirow, 2012). Conceptual change and transformative learning theories provide useful frameworks for understanding and investigating how this type of learning may be promoted and investigated in higher education settings (Mezirow, 2000; Strike & Posner, 1985). This study aimed to understand how shifting perspectives took shape for adult learners through a graduate-level, online parent-child interaction course designed to promote change and transformation with pre-service parent educators and others who plan to support families in a professional capacity. Additionally, this study explored the topics about which participants shifted their perspectives, and ways in which the learning environment may have contributed. Data was gathered retrospectively in the form of students' written participation in the online course Moodle site, and analyzed using a whole-parts-whole phenomenological approach (Vagle, 2014a). Findings depict the phenomenon of shifting perspectives as taking shape through four tentative manifestations: 1) moving through multiple contexts and relationships, 2) distancing and taking ownership, 3) experiencing cognitive-affective conflict, and 4) broadening horizons. Embedded in these dimensions are findings revealing that participants' shifted perspectives regarding topics related to parent-child interaction content and parent educator practice. Furthermore, shifting perspectives was supported by ongoing opportunities for both peer dialogue and personal reflection within a process-oriented learning environment that encouraged deep engagement in rich course material. Study implications inform pedagogical practices which may promote shifting perspectives with adult learners in higher education settings.
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    Why Is This So Hard? An Interpretive Case Study Approach to Understanding Faculty’s Challenges in Transitioning to Fully Online Teaching During the COVID-19 Pandemic
    (2022-06) Barbaro, Valerie
    “The COVID-19 pandemic has created the largest disruption of education systems in history, affecting nearly 1.6 billion learners in more than 190 countries and all continents”: This sentence opens the August 2020 United Nation’s policy brief on the education during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond (p. 2). We read such a statement and don’t even blink at the missing other side of the equation—the teacher. But this is nothing new. Research on online teaching and learning in higher education has long ignored the teacher’s perspective (Martin et al., 2020), which, during the pandemic, came at a great cost to teachers and students alike. This dissertation study seeks to begin rectifying this oversight. Guided by the threshold concepts for online teaching line of research (Gosselin et al., 2016; Kilgour et al., 2019; Northcote et al., 2011; Northcote et al., 2015), this study applies an interpretive case study approach (Merriam, 1998) to understanding faculty’s challenges as they transition from teaching face-to-face (f2f) to teaching fully online courses during the pandemic. It addresses one main research question, Why is transitioning to online teaching so hard for f2f teachers, despite their technological know-how? with three sub-components: 1) What challenges fit into the threshold concepts framework? 2) What challenges fall outside of this framework? and 3) What is the nature of the challenges that fall outside the threshold concepts framework? The study features three focal participants—all technologically capable, seasoned faculty, each representing a different level of attitude toward/comfort in their new role as an online instructor—with a goal of developing a deeper understanding of the nature of this phenomenon. Digging beyond the surface-level challenges to really come to appreciate faculty’s grapplings, this dissertation study aims to lay the groundwork for then beginning to address these issues to improve the teacher (and student) experience of online courses.