Online Learning Communities: A Vision of the Future of Vanderbilt

If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow. John Dewey Educational Reformer 1858 – 1952

Categories of Learning Environments

Online Enrollment in Higher Ed Allen, E. I., Seaman, J., & Straut, T. T. (2016). Online report card: Tracking online education in the United States. Babson Park, MA: Babson Survey Research Group.

Online Learning in Higher Education More than one in four higher ed students enrolled in at least one of their courses online in Fall of 2014. More than one in seven higher ed students took all of their courses exclusively online in Fall of 2014. Poulin, R., & Straut, T. T. (2016). WCET distance education enrollment report. Boulder, CO: WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies.

Online Line Programs Deemed Critical Allen, E. I., Seaman, J., & Straut, T. T. (2016). Online report card: Tracking online education in the United States. Babson Park, MA: Babson Survey Research Group.

Online Graduate Degrees at Peabody

“Sense of Community” “...a feeling that members have of belonging, a feeling that members matter to one another and to the group, and a shared faith that members’ needs will be met through their commitment to be together.” McMillan, D. W., & Chavis, D. M. (1986). Sense of community: A definition and theory. Journal of Community Psychology, 14(1), 6-23.

Elements of “Sense of Community” Membership Influence Integration and fulfillment of needs Shared emotional connection See also: Sense of Community Index

What’s the difference between change and progress? Research Opportunity What’s the difference between change and progress? Progress requires measurement and comparison.

“Community of Inquiry” INTERACTION W/PEERS INTERACTION W/CONTENT LEARNING INTERACTION W/INSTRUCTOR Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment. Computer Conferencing in Higher Education, 2, 87–105.

“Community of Inquiry” Supporting Discourse INTERACTION W/PEERS INTERACTION W/CONTENT LEARNING Setting Climate Selecting Content INTERACTION W/INSTRUCTOR Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment. Computer Conferencing in Higher Education, 2, 87–105.

“Community of Inquiry” SOCIAL PRESENCE COGNITIVE PRESENCE TEACHING PRESENCE Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment. Computer Conferencing in Higher Education, 2, 87–105.

Teaching Presence (Learner-Instructor) “The instructors’ ability to project themselves in online courses.” Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment. Computer Conferencing in Higher Education, 2, 87–105.

Cognitive Presence (Learner-Content) “The ability of a community of learners to construct meaning through sustained communication. It develops as students collaborate to explore, construct, resolve, and confirm their understanding of content.” Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment. Computer Conferencing in Higher Education, 2, 87–105.

Social Presence (Learner-Learner) “The ability of participants in a community of inquiry to project themselves socially and emotionally, as ‘real’ people (i.e., their full personality), through the medium of communication being used.” Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment. Computer Conferencing in Higher Education, 2, 87–105.

Building a Sense of Community Entire class discussions Small group discussions Exchanging resources Contributing personal experiences Collaborative group projects Introductions Peer teaching Social communication Ice-breakers Shackelford, J. L., & Maxwell, M. (2012). Sense of community in graduate online education: Contribution of learner to learner interaction. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 13, 228-249.

Building a Sense of Community entire class discussions Frequency contributing personal experiences small group discussions exchanging resources Importance

Three Questions to Consider What factors influence Sense of Community (SOC) in your graduate degree programs? How could learning in an online program potentially reduce SOC? What strategies could be used to enhance SOC in online programs?

Q & A Andy Van Schaack, Ph.D. andy.vanschaack@vanderbilt.edu