Online and Distance Education Commons^™

Social Presence As A Predictor Of Social Construction Of Knowledge In Discussion Forums In Asynchronous Online Higher Education Courses, Austin Megli

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

The three research papers completed and compiled to make up this dissertation explore the relationship between social presence and social construction of knowledge in asynchronous online discussion forums in higher education courses in the instructional technology field. Paper 1 is a literature review of the interaction analysis model (IAM) (Gunawardena et al., 1997) as a methodology, which is used to measure and determine the social construction of knowledge in online discussion forums. This literature review identified and highlighted the need to determine how the social environment of online learning influences the social construction of knowledge. This led to the second …

The Development Of Discourse Markers In Narrations Written By Spanish Heritage Language Learners: A Case For Explicit And Implicit Instruction, Mark Cisneros

Spanish and Portuguese ETDs

This Dissertation attempted to determine the types and number of discourse markers (DMs) used in narrations written by Spanish Heritage Language (SHL) learners and if they benefitted from the following pedagogical intervention (i.e., Explicit Instruction + Input Flood + Textual Enhancement) regarding the use of DMs. It also calculated the syntactic complexity, morphosyntactic accuracy, and fluency of their narrations. For this study, 39 SHL learners served as participants: 19 in an Experimental group and 20 in a Control group. All participants wrote two narrations of two short, silent films: a pre-test narration and an immediate post-test narration. Before completing the …

Adults Perspectives Of Friendships And Social Interaction Between Students With And Without Complex Support Needs During A Pandemic, Jorden Morales

Special Education ETDs

Social interactions and friendships are important for all individuals including those with complex support needs (CSN). The voices of adults including parents/guardians, primary caregivers, teachers, and related service providers who responded to a survey provided insight into supporting social interactions and friendships for children with CSN during the Covid-19 pandemic This mixed methods study used thematic analysis to explore participants’ responses to open-ended questions while multiple choice questions were analyzed through descriptive statistics. Additionally, this study included a research narrative to speak to the various roles I hold related to this study (i.e., parent, educator, researcher). Three themes emerged from …

Mental Health And Online Learning - Systematic Review Dataset, Stephanie L. Moore Phd, George Veletsianos, Michael Barbour

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

While there has been a lot of debate over the impact of online and remote learning on mental health and well-being, there has been no systematic syntheses or reviews of the research on this particular issue. In this paper, we review the research on the relationship between mental health / well-being and online or remote learning. Our review shows that little scholarship existed prior to 2020 with most studies conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. We report four findings: (a) pandemic effects are not well-controlled for in most studies; (b) studies present a very mixed picture, with variability around how mental …

Online Assessment Methods For Student-Centered Learning: Active Learning, Collaboration, And Application With Authentic Assessment, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Stephanie L. Moore Phd, Linda Barril, Kathiravelu Thabotharan

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Agenda

Introduction
Lani Gunawardena

A Learning and Pedagogical Foundation & Taxonomy for Selecting Assessment Methods
Stephanie Moore

Assessing Collaborative Learning
Lani Gunawardena

Student-Centered Assessment Methodologies at the University of Jaffna
K. Thabotharan

Technologies for Assessment
Linda Barril

Labs & Art Online - Assessing Practicals
Stephanie Moore

Questions & Discussion

Social Network Centrality, Social Construction Of Knowledge, And Nurse Practitioner Competency In Asynchronous Online Discussions Among Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Students, Sharon Schaaf

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

The relationships between social network centrality, social construction of knowledge, and nurse practitioner competency among adult gerontology acute care nurse practitioner students participating in asynchronous online discussions were explored. Social network centralities (betweenness, in-degree, out-degree, closeness, and eigenvector) were determined through social network analysis. Social construction of knowledge was assessed by the Interaction Analysis Model (IAM). Nurse practitioner competency was evaluated using the Novice to Expert model. A retrospective exploration of an online discussion board from the College of Nursing at the University of New Mexico was conducted. The centralities of betweenness, closeness, and eigenvector demonstrated a significant relationship with …

Online Course Design For Student Centered Learning, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Neelakshi Chandrasena Premawardhena

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Agenda

1. Why do we need a paradigm Shift to Student Centered Learning ?

2. What is student centered learning (SCL)?

3. What’s the theoretical basis for SCL?

4. What are the design features of SCL?

5. An example of SCL from the University of Kelaniya

6. A framework for designing SCL

Culturally Inclusive Online Learning For Capacity Development Projects In International Contexts, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

This paper explores cultural inclusivity in online learning design by discussing two international capacity development projects: an online tutor mentor development program in Sri Lanka and a hybrid physician assistant training program in Ghana. Inclusivity involves establishing partnerships and conducting needs assessments to maximize the capacity that already exists within a given context, and addressing cultural factors that impact online learning- — developing a learning community, negotiating identity, power, and authority, generating social presence, supporting collaboration, engaging in authentic inquiry-based learning, navigating interactions in a second language, and developing co-mentoring relationships to support learning. The paper provides a framework, WisCom …

Distributed Co-Mentoring As A Means To Develop Culturally Inclusive Online Learning Communities, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Gayathri Jayatilleke, Geetha Kulasekara, Malinda Kumarasinha

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Transformative online pedagogies call for innovative ways of conceptualizing the online environment and the student, teacher, and peer relationships. In this paper, we focus on how distributed co-mentoring can scaffold both social and knowledge building processes to develop culturally inclusive online learning communities. We critique traditional mentoring relationships, which have often sustained a biased class structure exclusive of diverse populations. We conceptualize co-mentoring drawing from the perspectives of two alternative mentoring theories: (1) feminist postmodern values that bring women and minorities into educational networks, and (2) mentoring mosaic where a diverse range of individuals of different ranks, ages, genders, ethnicities, …

From Theory To Platform: Designing Software To Support Online Wisdom Communities, Casey Frechette, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Ludmila Layne

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Online wisdom communities provide virtual spaces for diverse learners to discover collaborative solutions to real-world problems. Working for the common good, communities based on wisdom encourage both individual and collective growth. Based on sociocultural theory, we developed an instructional design framework, “WisCom,” that guides educators in cultivating culturally inclusive online environments, such as courses and web-based training sessions. Within the WisCom framework, practitioners can tailor existing tools and platforms, such as Moodle and Sakai, to encourage collaborative discussion and problem-solving. However, a platform created with the tenets of WisCom in mind has not yet been designed. Based on our previous …

Instructional And Institutional Planning Guide For Online And Blended Instruction, Stephanie L. Moore Phd

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

This job aid is designed to support programs, universities, and schools in developing quality online learning and engage in online or blended program and institutional planning. Part 1 is a Planning Guide for Institution / District level planning. Part 2 is a worksheet for online and blended instructional design and planning. It includes sections on teamwork and collaboration online, interaction and engagement, materials, technology selection, assessment, and development and implementation checklists to facilitate the design and development process. Part 3 is a coordination guide to help align instructional and institutional planning. This is a companion to workshops where material is …

Employing Social Learning Analytic Methods (Slams) To Reimagine The Social Dynamic Of Online Learning Collaborations, Damien Sanchez, Nick Flor, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

As online networks expand, learning collaborations will occur across disciplines, countries, and people. A particular challenge is determining the process and progress of these collaborations, and how the social dynamics of interacting groups support knowledge construction. Traditional methods that rely predominantly on content analysis of transcripts to determine social construction of knowledge are time consuming to conduct and often do not provide actionable data to improve the process before it is completed. One answer to this challenge is emerging Social Learning Analytic Methods (SLAMs) that offer robust and expedient means to analyze the performance of interacting groups online. The purpose …

Erecting A Virtual Schoolhouse Gate, Maryam Ahranjani

Faculty Book Display Case

The very first amendment to the United States Constitution protects the freedom of speech. While the Supreme Court held in 1969 that students “do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate,” since then the Court has limited students' freedom of speech, stopping short of considering the boundaries of off-campus, online speech. Lower court holdings vary, meaning that a student engaging in certain online speech may not be punished at all in one state but would face harsh criminal punishments in another. The lack of a uniform standard leads to dangerously inconsistent punishments and poses the ultimate threat to …

Conference Summary Report, International Conference Role Of Nepali Diaspora In Higher Education In Nepal, Ambika P. Adhikari, Govinda P. Dahal, Basu Sharma, Dinesh Gajurel

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

The ongoing international migration from developing countries to developed ones has led to a large presence of Diaspora population in developed countries. Many of those well-educated and established professionals and businessmen have felt a need to give back to their home countries. The impact of Diaspora in their home country has been realized mainly in four different areas: economic development through remittance, investment and trade; intellectual development via knowledge transfer and knowledge application; social development through philanthropy and volunteerism; and political development via diplomacy, lobbying, awareness raising and political participation.

Diaspora giving back mechanisms have deployed various programs. Such programs …

Analyzing Social Construction Of Knowledge And Social Networks In Online Discussion Forums In Spanish, David R. Gomez

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

This mixed methods research project examined social construction of knowledge and social networks in three non-structured student centered online discussion forums, which were part of a graduate online course on web conferencing in Spanish within the Mexican sociocultural context. The purpose of the study was to identify interaction patterns among twenty-one graduate students by analyzing discussion forum posts, measuring student centrality, and generating social network diagrams in order to explain the characteristics of posts and social networks that may contribute to social construction of knowledge.

The researcher used a sequential approach, starting with the application of an interaction analysis model …

Elearning For Medical Educators (Elme): Pod Network 2016 Educational Development Internship Program, Gary A. Smith, Audriana Stark

Office for Medical Educator Development (OMED)

eLearning for Medical Educators (eLME) is under development as a mechanism to provide professional learning in medical education to anyone, anytime, anywhere. The project began in 2016 at the Office for Medical Educator Development within the UNM School of Medicine in order to support community faculty who host medical students and residents at their clinics. eLME was planned with numerous stakeholders using the Kirkpatrick Business Partnership Model. Two modules were delivered in early 2017 and include a combination of self-reflection, interactive multimedia, and assessment.

The Influence Of Student Characteristics On The Preferred Ways Of Learning Of Online College Students: An Examination Of Cultural Constructs, Linda Barril

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

The ongoing popularity and increased availability of online college courses and programs has attracted a greater diversity of students. Along with continued female-majority enrollment, increasing numbers of students of traditional college age and students from a variety of ethnicity groups are taking online courses. The prevailing guiding assumptions that have informed much of the online pedagogical and instructional practices have primarily come from theories of adult learning, particularly andragogy, which has been heavily criticized for not acknowledging student diversity. As online education becomes ever more established in higher education, it is vital to examine the diversity of contemporary student populations …

The Relationship Between Online Students' Use Of Services And Their Feelings Of Mattering, Tracy L. Hart

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

The purpose of this single case study was to examine the relationship between online students’ use of support services and their feelings of mattering using a convergent parallel research design to collect quantitative and qualitative data. Students enrolled exclusively in online classes during the academic year 2015-2016 at the University of New Mexico (UNM) were invited to participate. The survey was based on the theoretical and conceptual frameworks for comprehensive services and mattering theory. Responses provided descriptive statistics and correlation analysis with stories that added to the description of students’ service experiences.

Service-to-service correlations showed correlation strength of moderate, strong, …

An Alternative Pathway To College: A Qualitative Case Study Of An Adult Learner In An Online Competency-Based Education (Cbe) Bachelor’S Degree Program, Fang Chen

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

My dissertation research investigated an adult learner’s experience in an online competency-based education (CBE) bachelor’s degree program. The purpose of my study was to understand how CBE was transforming the practices of traditional post-secondary education and how CBE was serving the needs of students, particularly nontraditional adult students in higher education.

The methodology used in this dissertation research was a qualitative case study. The participant was an adult learner enrolled in an online CBE bachelor's degree program at a public institution. My case study used a series of face-to-face interviews, document analysis, participant-guided web tours, and participant observation to collect …

Cultural Perspectives On Social Presence: Research And Practical Guidelines For Online Design, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

How Do Faculty At The University Of New Mexico Use Humor In Online Teaching, John T. Granato

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

Humor is a ubiquitous experience that facilitates learning, social coordination and wellbeing. This study examined how the faculty at the University of New Mexico used humor in its online courses. The process involved faculty interviews, a focus group of instructional online designers, questionnaires and documentation to collect data, and then used thematic analysis and code development to arrive at its findings. The study found that the humor pedagogy at the University of New Mexico has fallen into disuse for online courses because of (1) a hesitation (fear) to use humor, (2) fear of what students would think, and (3), hesitation …

Analyzing Social Construction Of Knowledge Online By Employing Interaction Analysis, Learning Analytics, And Social Network Analysis, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Nick V. Flor, David Gomez, Damien Sanchez

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

This article examines research methods for analyzing social construction of knowledge in online discussion forums. We begin with an examination of the Interaction Analysis Model (Gunawardena, Lowe, & Anderson, 1997) and its applicability to analyzing social construction of knowledge. Next, employing a dataset from an online discussion, we demonstrate how interaction analysis can be supplemented by employing other research techniques such as learning analytics and Social Network Analysis that shed light on the social dynamics that support knowledge construction. Learning analytics is the application of quantitative techniques for analyzing large volumes of distributed data ("big data") in order to discover …

Negotiating Cultural Spaces In An International Mobile And Blended Learning Project, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Agnieszka Palalas, Nicole Berezin, Caitlin Legere, Gretchen Kramer, Godwin Amo-Kwao

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

This paper explores the cultural spaces that had to be negotiated by a team of North American and Ghanaian partners when designing, developing and implementing a mobile and blended learning solution to train physician assistants in Ghana. In addition, it examines how these cultural spaces correspond to five mobile and blended learning spaces: temporal, physical, transactional, technological and pedagogical. Employing qualitative narrative inquiry and paradigmatic analysis procedures, we analyzed six types of data to determine the cultural spaces that emerged. Results indicate that cultural spaces were most often negotiated in the transactional mobile and blended learning space and included: identity …

How To Design Culturally Inclusive Online Learning Experiences, Casey Frechette, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Ludmila Layne

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

In this paper, we argue that adapting online courses for specific cultural groups takes time-intensive guesswork. Instead, instructional designers should employ the principles of universal design and social constructivism to build a course culture inclusive of all learners. Culture affects learners’ experiences in important, interconnected ways. Yet, it is equally difficult to predict culture’s effects on learning (Guild & Garger, 2016). These difficulties stem from the inherent complexity in human behavior. First, individuals may not reflect their cohort, especially when they belong to groups with conflicting values. Second, beliefs can influence one another in unforeseeable ways, and cultural values can …

Globalization, Culture, And Online Distance Learning, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Globalization, the Internet, and access to telecommunication networks have increased the demand for education and educational quality across the globe. The reasons for this demand explains Carnoy (2005) are two-fold: The first is economic, the rising payoffs to higher education in a global, science-based, knowledge intensive economy make university training more of a “necessity” to get “good” jobs, which in turn, changes the stakes at lower levels of schooling and the demand for high-quality secondary schools. The second reason is socio-political: Demographics and democratic ideals increase pressure on universities to provide access to groups that traditionally have not attended university. …

Supporting Diverse Online Learners, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Learner support is the critical link in online education. A learner support system is comprised of human and non-human resources that contribute to the learning process of an online course and should be designed as an integral part of the course. For example, if the online course requires students to access library resources to complete a research paper, then, easy access to library resources must be provided as part of the learner support system for that course. Learner support for online learners will differ based on the context, learner characteristics such as needs, expectations, prior learning experiences, etc., and the …

Online Identity And Interaction, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

The increasing interest in developing online learning communities and communities of practice (COP) has generated the exploration into issues of identity that impact online communication.

Culture And Online Distance Learning, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Online distance learning (ODL) has become a global phenomenon transcending national, political, and geographical boundaries challenging distance educators to re-examine notions of teaching and learning and issues of culture inherent in cross-border delivery of online courses and programs. Rogers, Graham and Mayes (2007) note that the sheer amount of learning content being developed in the West (defined for this chapter as Eurocentric, North American, Australasian) and exported via the Internet to other countries, highlights the crucial need to explore questions of culture more thoroughly in our online course designs to provide a more equitable learning experience for all. Global universities …

Designing Wise Communities That Engage In Creative Problem Solving: An Analysis Of An Online Design Model, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Ludmila Layne, Casey Frechette

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Addressing the conference theme of “design thinking,” this paper discusses an instructional design model, WisCom (Wisdom Communities) that we developed to build a wise learning community online, to solve open-ended, ill-structured problems such as solving a health crisis or an environmental disaster, which requires the exchange of multiple perspectives, inter-disciplinary thinking, creative problem solving, and social construction of knowledge. Based on socio-constructivist, sociocultural theories of learning and mediated cognition (Vygotsky, 1978), distributed cognition (Hutchins, 1995; Pea, 1993), group cognition (Stahl, 2006), research on how people learn (Bransford, Vye, Bateman, Brophy, & Roselli, 2004), and distance education design principles (Moore & …

Developing Online Tutors And Mentors In Sri Lanka Through A Community Building Model: Predictors Of Satisfaction, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Buddhini Gayathri Jayatilleke, Shantha Fernando, Chulantha Kulasekere, Mark Lamontagne, Madduma B. Ekanayake, Thanaraj Thaiyamuthu

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

This paper discusses the results of a tutor mentor development program that utilized a community building model to train online tutors and mentors in higher education institutions and professional organizations in Sri Lanka. Based on WisCom; an instructional design model for developing online wisdom communities, this tutor mentor development program which utilized a blended format of face-to-face and online activities in MOODLE, attempted to build a learning community between trainees, both academics and professionals who represented diverse disciplines and organizations. A regression model examined predictors of learner satisfaction, using four independent variables: Community Building, Interaction, Course Design, and Learner Support. …