Education Commons^™

Asynchronous Online Learning: Perceptions And Experiences Of Nontraditional Adult Emergency Services Students, Dr. R. Jeffery Maxfield

R. Jeffery Maxfield

This study used hermeneutic phenomenology, a qualitative methodology, to explore and interpret the lived experience of nontraditional emergency services students in an asynchronous online learning environment. This understanding was achieved through rigorous analysis of in-depth, semistructured interviews and journal entries of four nontraditional adult students enrolled in an online baccalaureate degree program. The research question for this study was: How do nontraditional adult undergraduate students experience asynchronous online instruction? Results revealed that student experiences fell into two overarching themes, each with related subthemes. The two identified themes and subthemes are: (a) Flexible Learning, with the subthemes of convenience, self-directedness/self-discipline, and …