Continuing to Engage the Online Learner

More Activities and Resources for Creative Instruction

Rita-Marie Conrad, J. Ana Donaldson

• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781118235447
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Inclusive Education

Continuing to Engage the Online Learner

Contributing to both the theoretical and practical literature, Continuing to Engage the Online Learner expands on the work of Conrad and Donaldson's bestselling Engaging the Online Learner. This next-step resource introduces a new phase to their proven model, the Phases of Engagement, and addresses a wide range of online and hybrid learning environments, technology tools, and communication styles.

Comprehensive in scope, the book provides an introduction to the theory of engaged learning and its design, assessment, and management in online and blended learning environments and describes the types of activities that motivate the online learner in each phase of engagement. This down-to-earth resource also includes 50 new and illustrative activities paired with each phase of engagement. In Continuing to Engage the Online Learner Rita-Marie Conrad and J. Ana Donaldson provide relevant and theoretically-sound information to enhance teaching and engage learners, offering a practical handbook for instructors.

"Conrad and Donaldson have done it again! Not only have they presented a solid and useful discussion of the phases of engagement, they have brought the theory alive through the presentation of practical activities that would work well in any online or hybrid course." —Rena Palloff, faculty, Fielding Graduate University and author, The Excellent Online Instructor

PART ONE
Revisiting Online Engagement

This section of the book presents the theoretical basis for engagement and discusses the latest issues that are shaping online engagement. In addition, the Phases of Engagement model introduced in our earlier work, Engaging the Online Learner, is updated and reviewed, along with aspects to consider when implementing the Phases of Engagement model and assessing online engaged learning.

CHAPTER 1
The State of Online Engagement

We must bring 21st-century technology into learning in meaningful ways to engage, motivate, and inspire learners of all ages to achieve.

National Education Technology Plan, 2010

A significant element in meeting the instructional needs of the twenty-first-century learner is to discover effective ways to reach the individual in the context of diverse technology-enhanced opportunities. Since Engaging the Online Learner was first published in the early 2000s, the focus on engagement has intensified, as indicated by the numerous publication of books on the topic since that time (Aldrich, 2009; Barkley, 2010; Bonk & Zhang, 2008; Palloff & Pratt, 2005, 2007; Shank, 2007; Watkins, 2005; West & West, 2009). As the emphasis on online learning intensifies, the demand for quality instruction increases. We believe that an awareness of this evolving instructional approach has been captured within the concept of transformational learning. As Merriam, Caffarella, and Baumgartner state, “transformative or transformational (terms used interchangeably in the literature) learning is about change—dramatic, fundamental change in the way we see ourselves and the world in which we live” (2007, p. 130). Additional opportunities need to be provided for online learners and instructors to engage not only with the content, but with one another in the spirit of transformational learning (Mezirow & Associates, 2000). The historical foundations of engagement began with Dewey and continue to evolve with the addition of transformational learning.

FOUNDATIONS OF ENGAGEMENT

The paradigm shift to the instructor as a facilitator of active student learning began with Dewey over a century ago. Dewey (1916/1997) valued teachers’ and students’ contributions to the learning experience in addition to contributions from diverse and meaningful peer collaboration. Houle’s early work in the 1960s identified three adult orientations toward learning. He identified learners as being goal-oriented, activity-oriented, or learning-oriented (Houle, 1988). Malcolm Knowles’ (1980) research on adult learners—andragogy was his preferred term—determined that an active collaborative learning situation, where the student is self-directed and shares her or his own personal experiences, is one of the key elements to a successful learning experience. Adult learning theory has built heavily on the instructional methodology that is often identified as situational cognition or constructivism. “Concepts such as cognitive apprenticeship, situated learning, reflective practice, and communities of practice are found in both adult learning and constructivist literature” (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007, p. 293). Additional theorists have influenced instructional approaches that support adult learners in a learner-focused learning environment.

Bruner, Vygotsky, and Piaget are several of the past theorists who supported the concept that learning is enriched when it includes collaborative and learner-engaged instructional approaches. Bruner wrote that learning includes a “deep human need to respond to others and to operate jointly with them toward an objective” (Bruner, 1966, p. 67). Vygotsky’s research introduced the concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) (Vygotsky, 1978). The concept of ZPD enforces his belief that individual learning can be expanded with assistance and interaction with a more knowledgeable individual. Piaget (1969), who preferred the term constructivism over the term engaged learning, conducted further research on Vygotsky’s ZPD concept of mentoring-learning relationships. His research findings indicated that the synergy between equal partners results in a richer learning experience because it is not adversely affected by power conflicts. The world of online learning continues to evolve rapidly, with an increasing emphasis on collaborative learning and student engagement.

The concept of the instructor as a guide on the side is now being revised even further, with the teacher serving as an additional resource within the expanding learning network that is available through the instant access technology provides to information. Building upon this user-driven access to information, the recent decade saw the introduction of the concept of connectivism. George Siemens and Stephen Downs are two of the leading advocates of this emerging view. “Connectivism is a theory describing how learning happens in a digital age … The connections that enable us to learn more are more important than our current state of knowing … Learning and knowing are constant, ongoing processes (not end states or products)” (Siemens, 2006, pp. 42–43). Viewing knowledge acquisition as a cyclical, ongoing process reinforces our understanding of the ways in which collaborative and transformative learning environments are increasing the richness of the online environment. Connectivism supports the idea that online learning is not limited to a one-way linear path from instructor to student. “The learning process is cyclical, in that learners will connect to a network to share and find new information, will modify their beliefs on the basis of new learning, and will then connect to a network to share these realizations and find new information once more” (Kop & Hill, 2008, p. 1). Siemens recommends a new instructional approach, noting that “advocates of problem-based, discovery and cooperative approaches to learning suggest traditional lecture-based learning is ineffective” (2008, p. 12). Siemens (2008) and Bonk (2007) share the educator’s view of the instructor in dual roles: knowledge expert and guide facilitating learner discovery. An online course allows the instructor’s role as learning facilitator to enrich the experience for all participants.

ENGAGEMENT IN TODAY’S ONLINE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

No longer is the learner a passive recipient of wisdom disseminated from the all-knowing instructor. Today’s online student is expected to be an active participant in her or his own learning experiences. “Many online teachers have observed … how online classroom behavior mirrors the shift of power from teacher to student” (Coombs, 2010, p. 24). While it may still be a surprise to some learners to find that online learning requires more from them than some of their earlier classroom and online learning experiences, the message is being more consistently sent by online programs and instructors in the form of student orientations and course guidelines concerning the learner involvement.

The process of online engagement includes the interactions between a teacher and students and also among the students within a course’s learning community. A great deal of emphasis has been placed on learner engagement, but effective learner engagement is dependent on active participation from each contributor: teacher and student. For the learner, “motivation and active learning work together synergistically, and as they interact, they contribute incrementally to increase engagement” (Barkley, 2010, p. 7). The online instructor must remember that “in this century, the first role of the teacher is to maintain and foster enthusiasm for learning. The second role of the teacher is to assist the student in her or his learning and knowledge” (Draves & Coates, 2011, p. 39). Instructor enthusiasm and support are important elements for successful learning experiences.

The focus on instructor engagement is also increasing. Research has shown that a successful online experience is dependent on the interactions between faculty and students (Cavanaugh, 2009). Student engagement has long been considered a foundational element for a successful learning event. However, faculty modeling of dynamic interactions as an instructional strategy is a critical aspect of instructor-to-learner engagement. An important consideration for ensuring course success is a high level of communication opportunities between students and instructor. “Research and experience tell us that prompt feedback is important in online learning settings, where students lack many of the traditional nonverbal cues to which they are accustomed in face-to-face venues” (Finkelstein, 2006, p. 23). The requisites for an effective online instructor are being redefined. Best practices for online teaching have emerged from various authors and organizations in the last few years and signal that instructional roles are shifting from content experts to pedagogical experts addressing student learning within a challenging technology-enriched online context.

Technology continues to be a double-edged sword for engagement. On the one hand, it is the element that enables engagement to occur online. On the other hand, students need to be provided with additional support to overcome unique online barriers usually related to the technology. Many times this needed support needs to come from sources other than the instructor, such as a help desk or classmates willing to be of assistance. Often technical problems are short-lived. Within the firs...

Table of contents

• Cover
• contents
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Tables, Figure, and Exhibit
• Dedication
• Preface
• The Authors
• PART ONE: Revisiting Online Engagement
• PART TWO: Activities to Engage Online Learners
• References
• Index