Advancing On-line Educational Practice through Researcher/Teacher/Student Collaboration

Community Concepts for Psychiatric Nursing Practice

• The course provides a foundation for the analysis of the context of community and community mental health nursing practice from a systems perspective
• Converted for delivery online in January of 1997
• Original course inherited from previous instructor who had structured it using discussion-based conferences organized around existing units in a course distance education manual. There was no formal training for online instructors.
• No substantive changes were made to the course because it was the instructorÕs first exposure to online teaching and learning
• The original course had 6 students, 5 of them had participated in a previous online course
• The second version of the course had 10 students without any previous online learning experience

The Process

Figure 1: Original Course

Consultation Occurred in Three Phases:

1. Pre-Course Conference:

2. Mid-term Conference:

3. Follow-up Conference:

PHASE 1: Pre-course Conference

Process

• Course review
• Literature review
• Participatory design session: Instructor & VU Project team

New Goals

• Increase student collaboration
• Integrate technology more effectively
• Introduce a wider variety of teaching strategies

Results

• "Course Cafe" as a Social Space for student and student/instructor interaction
• Rather than self introductions, partners assigned to interview and introduce one another at the beginning of the course to give experience with e-mail and navigation of the Virtual-U classroom
• "Course Keeping" Conference developed for the dissemination and clarification of course related information, site navigation, and help with technical questions
• Instructor Web pages on "Expectations for Students" and "Teaching and Learning Philosophy" to provide clear guidance for learners developed
• "Moderate and Summarize" roles assigned to promote student collaboration and responsibility
• Distributed group activity based on dyads in sub-conferences preparing a group presentation developed
• Ongoing support for learners new to technology and online learning through conference postings and private e-mail

PHASE 2: Mid-term Conference

Process

• Participatory design session: Instructor & VU Project team
• Assess the effects of the changes on the teaching and learning processes.
• Identify successes and problems

Results

• Decision to interview the students to determine their perceptions of the teaching and learning process
• Strategies to keep students involved and motivated in course work explored
• Student concern about grading practices for online contributions addressed
• A "Case Study" was proposed to promote critical analysis and application of theory

New Goals

• Meet the needs identified by the students
• Modify grading practices by removing spelling and grammar requirements in conference posts
• Continue supporting student participation
• Conduct Student Survey. The students who consented to participate in the research were asked to respond to a number of questions about the course teaching strategies, instructor expectations, and their satisfaction with online learning
• Responses were edited to preserve student identity
• Feedback was provided to the instructor and to the student group

PHASE 3: Results -- Follow-up Conference

Process

• Review student feedback collected by the VU team
• Discuss instructor perceptions of teaching/learning process

Results

• Due dates for assignments adjusted and the last planned conference was dropped as a result of feedback on workload
• StudentsÕ comments on their experiences  and their learning processes were overall very positive and they were satisfied with the online experience
• Many of the students were new users of computer technology and online learning. The lack of prior knowledge of technology resulted in some discomfort and emerging feelings of anxiety and frustration. Additional Web Pages and site navigation tips were posted. Instructor used private e-mails to clarify problems and offer support.
• The interaction between students and student and instructor was valued
• Learners enjoyed the new teaching strategies. Some thought there were too many conferences and too much homework was required to keep up
• Students "appreciated the instructorÕs support, effectiveness, commitment, ability, openness, and participation." The instructor was engaged with the students in their conferences & used private e-mails to support, motivate, solve problems, promote active learning
• The evaluation strategy was considered adequate and fair
• Students thought the workload associated with online versus distance learning was heavy
• The students liked being consulted about the teaching strategies and their learning processes

Figure 2: Refined Course

Conclusions

The Researcher/Teacher/Student collaboration provided a rich opportunity for the active participation of a learning community in the critique of teaching and learning processes/course design.

Online educational practice can be enhanced through the sharing of knowledge and the provision of support to instructors by experienced and knowledgeable researchers.

References

Harasim, l., Hiltz, S., Teles, L. & Turnoff, M. (1995). Learning networks: A field guide to teaching and learning online. MA: MIT Press.

Silva, M. & Breuleux, A. (1994). The use of participatory design in the implementation of internet-based collaborative learning activities in K-12 classrooms. Interpersonal Computing and Technology: -2 (3). http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/misc/ipct.html.