COMMUNITY BUILDING IN ONLINE PBL COURSES: INSTIGATING CRITICALITY

Presented by: Dr. Roland VanOostveen

University of Ontario Institute of Technology

Dr. Elizabeth Childs,Royal Roads University

Kathleen FlynnJessica Clarkson

University of Ontario Institute of Technology

HEIT 2015

Teaching vs. Learning Environments

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Present educational systems and practices

Learning Centered Environments

• primarily instructor-driven • learner-driven

• content-centred • process-centred

• fosters individual work • fosters team work

Desjardins, F. & vanOostveen, R. (2008). Collaborative Online Learning Environment: from PBL theory to working prototype. A presentation at the 1 Annual conference for the Canadian Network st for Innovation in Education (CNIE), April 27-30, 2008, Banff, AB.

Instructor Directed vs. Learner Driven

Instructor Directed Environments Learner Driven Environments

•instructor is responsible for delivery of information (content) to the learner and for modelling appropriate learning behaviours

• students are responsible for their own learning

• emphasis on information organization and clarity of delivery

• emphasis on students understanding the material (content and processes) to be learned

• most educational choices made by instructor

• many (if not most) educational choices made by the students

Content vs. Process Orientations

Content Process

• focuses on and meets the requirements of the content

• learning is active

• mastery (memorization and application) of the content is preeminent

• emphasizes student’s ability to perform tasks by producing their own work with their knowledge and skills

• course organization cannot be changed to meet the needs of either the instructor or the students

• assessment includes observation of and making judgments about the student’s demonstration of a skill or competency in creating a product, constructing a response, or making a presentation

AEDT Online Pedagogical Model(Modified from Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2000)

AEDT Program Components: YouTube Videos(24 Channels: search YouTube for ‘AEDT’)

AEDT Program Components: Adobe Connect Tutorials

AEDT Program Components: Collaborative Online Tools

AEDT Case Study DiscussionParticipants

Data Collection:Thematic Questions

Sessions framed around initial areas for discussion:

Roles – student/ TA/ faculty and program director (S1)Delivery – synchronous component (S2)Design philosophy – PBL (S3)Future characteristics of the program (S4)Faculty experience (S5)Student experience (S6)

TCU Framework

Data Analysis:Thematic Questions

Puentedura, R.R. (2012). The SAMR model: Background and exemplars. Retrieved from http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/archives/000073.html

SAMR Model

Frequency of Intersections of BA program with TCU Framework and SAMR

Finding 1:Lack of Distinction btw

Social Presence and Collaborative Learning

We’ve grown used to showing up to tutorials and being poked with question[s] and then we poke back with questions and then poke each other with questions and I think a lot of us really appreciate that environment, it allows us to think all over the place, to think in areas that we already have pieced together and when someone mentions something that we haven’t quite pieced together...(Participant, 2014).

Finding 2:Relatively high frequency of Cognitive Presence on

the Redefinition Tier

“coming into PBL which was this other world that I didn’t understand, there was a lot of fear, a lot of anxiety for a perfectionist like myself... it was stressful, I had to work really, really, really hard but ultimately it was that much more of a prize, of a reward when I got to the end. So the harder I had to push, the further I had to push, the more rewarding it was to get there and then I could see that process” (Participant, 2014). “ having gone through an experience where there is so much authenticity in the creation of the final products and deliverables...figuring out things as we went along and it took me a lot longer than I thought it would” (Participant, 2014).

Finding 3:Role of the Digital

Environment

“think[ing] back to the very first group coming through around the technology because it was so frustrating for many and there were so many different types of technology (WebKF, Dropbox, Skype, Adobe Connect, UOIT email)... a real community started to form just around “can you help me figure this out” (Participant, 2014).

Summary• There is some evidence of enhancement (augmentation tier) and

transformation (modification and redefinition tiers) across all components of the BA AEDT program model.

• Learners, as part of a community of inquiry, not only aggregate, filter and connect information, but actively create their own understandings as they construct their learning trajectories.

Related Future Endeavours• Research team is embarking on a detailed study of online community

development, as it currently exists within the BA AEDT program and in other forums.

• Plans are in place to completing a far more detailed analysis of the present data set and the team is working on a project that will attempt to identify the essential characteristics that are required for an online community to become and remain viable

• Another set of projects is underway to look at the interaction effects of PBL and technology competencies.

Roland.Vanoostveen@uoit.caElizabeth.Childs@uoit.caKathleen.Flynn@Uoit.caJessica.Clarkson@uoit.ca