This meta-synthesis research analyzed 17 primary data sets to investigate the impact of a VCoP on the professional development of online instructors. The findings unveiled an interesting discernment of the faculty experiences and how learning through social constructivism can occur within a VCoP. Based on the research findings and 10 emergent themes, five overarching dimensions were compiled to synthesize and discuss the results further. These are (1) social nature of online learning; (2) faculty participation in a VCoP; (3) acquisition of knowledge and skills; (4) enhanced teaching and learning practices; and (5) overall impact of a VCoP on FPD. These overarching dimensions specifically accentuate on my theoretical framework, independent …show more content…
and dependent variables, (see Figure 1) and answer my research question: What impact does a VCoP have on the professional development of online instructors? Social Nature of Online Learning The results from the study were proven to be essential in the areas of higher education and FPD to understand the overall impact of social constructivism theory in faculty professional learning within a VCoP. Social constructivism encompasses social presence, social interaction, and collaborative learning as its core learning components to thrive in social a surrounding (Vygotsky, 1978). Social presence.
Social presence enacts substantiate role in the construction and enhancement of faculty teaching effectiveness. This study demonstrated how social presence in a VCoP promotes a high sense of connectedness and belonging while bridging faculty isolation issues. In addition, through online collaboration and social interaction, instructors connect with their like-minded colleagues to share and create new knowledge. Therefore, the social aspect of constructivist theory influences instructors to construct their own knowledge through a dialectic process and then disseminates their perceived knowledge to the rest of the community in order to create a better and more meaningful learning …show more content…
environment. Social interaction. Social interaction promotes collegiality and a sense of belonging, which in turn contributes to the growth and success of online teaching and learning effectiveness. Social interaction among online members can instigate cognitive presence while enabling instructors to construct new knowledge in a digital space. There is evidence that social interaction among online instructors can “perpetuate and serve as a reinforced foundation for reflective practice and constructivist discovery” (King, 2002, p. 240). Moreover, the findings also affirmed the efficacy of experiential learning and peer mentoring in a VCoP, which could strengthen instructors’ knowledge acquisition and communication skills through authentic problem-solving methods. The authentic problem-solving pedagogy encourages the learners to delve deeply into more complex problems and find the best solution to their authentic problems collectively. Likewise, social constructivist theory advocates the role of the learner-centred pedagogy, whereby the learners create new knowledge and make sense of the world around them through social interaction with others. This learner-centred approach instigates the concept of learner autonomy and independence by placing the emphasis on the learners to take responsibility for their own learning. Collaborative learning. In a collaborative learning environment, faculty may lead discussions, offer new perspectives, and learn in a dynamic manner. More specifically, collaborative learning allows for richer and deeper meaning-making while fostering growth and engagement within the online learning environment. For instance, through peer mentoring instructors could share mutual information and ideas related to a variety of teaching and learning topics as well as suggest useful educational networks and resources. Subsequently, due to the social nature of online learning and constant peer feedback, instructors are stimulated to create and disseminate knowledge within their community, which they would not have achieved individually. Thus, the prominence of applying what have been learned in an online community can result in augmented teaching practices. Faculty Participation in a VCoP In particular, online learning is neither superior nor inferior to other approaches, but it may help to reduce some of the teaching challenges such as lack of experience, insufficient skills in online technologies, as well as time constraints. In this regard, Wenger (2011) suggest that a VCoP offers enormous opportunities such as problem-solving activities, information seeking techniques, building an online presence, social interaction, collaboration, and participation in a virtual environment to keep instructors engaged (p. 2). Perhaps it is critical to acknowledge that if a VCoP is designed and integrated properly it could subsequently work as a vehicle for accessing teaching and learning resources while leading to a higher performance and lifelong learning. These assumptions are also in line with Eib and Miller’s (2006) study, who reported “carefully designed faculty development approaches can facilitate and create a culture supports a thoughtful focus on teaching, while at the same time, nurture a sense of connectedness and collegiality across the organization that is vital to continuous innovation and improvement” (p. 1). The research findings also revealed how building a virtual community of learners could conform to the overall professional development of online instructors. A VCoP supports the facilitation of informal faculty training, which attributes to the continual growth and success of faculty development. Participants highlighted a substantial attitude transformation towards online teaching and demonstrated a high level of willingness and enthusiasm to participate in online discussions and forums. This evidence also shows that faculty motivation, confidence, and engagement in a VCoP are driven solely from the urge to enhance their teaching and learning skills. More significantly, increased online intensity might enable instructors to attain a deeper level of knowledge and skills while reproducing their teaching resources. Building an online presence could be well-suited for instructors who live in rural areas and/or have a long commute to the campus. The usability and flexibility of online discussions, allow instructors to review, reflect, find a solution to their problems and discourse online without being conscious that they are judged by others. As a result, the use of a VCoP in a FPD could eliminate some of the preparedness challenges faced by online instructors in facilitation of their online courses. Acquisition of Knowledge and Skills Numerous findings observed the affordances of digital technologies in FPD, which promote group collaboration, knowledge transformation, and information attainment within the developmental milieu. Through the use of online technologies, instructors systematically proceed from the process of knowledge assimilation to the creation of knowledge and via social discourse they co-construct solutions to their real-life problems. More specifically, a VCoP has the potential to transform learner’s behaviour to autonomous learner, which attributes to the notion of being cognizant of their learning, critical analysis, and develop new perspective. It is also interesting to note that the existence of social constructivism in a VCoP could instigate instructors’ critical reflection behaviour while empowering them to act as autonomous and self-directed professionals. Autonomous and self-directed learning inspires instructors to analyze and manipulate information independently in order to reinforce the problem-solving and critical thinking skills proficiency. This notion coincide with Baran, Correia and Thompson’s (2011) findings, who reported “it is through critical reflection that teachers can be empowered as autonomous and self-directed professionals who constantly engage in a dialogue about solving complex problems, making decisions, reflecting in action, and collaborating with other key actors” (p. 431). Eventually through autonomous learning behaviour, instructors could involved in active and self-discovery learning, which would assist them in the process of analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating of their own teaching and learning practices (Laferriere, Lamon, & Chan, 2007). In most studies, the capacity of online learning demonstrated superior exposure to conceptualization of new information, which triggers the cycle of practical inquiry. Generally, the cycle of inquiry vitalizes dissemination of purposeful knowledge and critical discourse among its members. While reinforcing instructors to build new cognition skills and articulate the meaning of the content around them through social interaction with their peers, the material, and their social environment. The majority of instructors comprehend the momentous of critical thinking skills and they ratify the integration of higher-order thinking skills in their teaching practices. Ultimately, through community building online instructors can enhance their collegiality, sustain relationships, and create opportunities to exchange information, while through critical reflection they could improve their teaching and learning practices. Enhanced Teaching and Learning Practices The efficacy of well-designed and technology leveraged FPD could generate enhanced online teaching and learning effectiveness. In particular, online learning prepares instructors to become competent in online teaching strategies while encouraging them to become life-long learners. A VCoP has the affordances to amalgamate integral components of FPD in one communal space in order to grant access to a variety of knowledge and teaching repertories. Interestingly, the accessibility of online courses and programs, educational and technological tools empower instructors to learn from anywhere at anytime as well as utilize online content in their courses. In addition, a VCoP has the aptitude of customizing the learning needs of individual instructor and offers new opportunities to advance their online learning and teaching networks. These results are in line with Eib and Miller’s (2006) findings who stated, “colleagues do share resources and insights with each other … to improve programs and develop new ones” (10). Similarly, instructors also learned how to merge digital tools in their instructional content to effectively nurture best online teaching approaches. As a result of a VCoP in FPD, the online instructors showed a potential enhancement in their professional and technical skills and knowledge, which are deemed highly successful. Impact of a VCoP on FPD In this section, the answer to my research question is presented: “What impact does a virtual community of practice have on the professional development of online instructors?” Based on the research findings, themes, and subthemes, this study demonstrated an influential impact of a VCoP on FPD.
Online learning crosses the boundaries of time and place offering instructors access to different online teaching materials from anywhere at anytime. Likewise, this flexibility enables instructors to take charge of their own learning and build awareness of contemporary technologies in order to assimilate best approaches. Within the online discussions, instructors are challenged to learn with their colleagues and reflect upon their learning through social discourse. The informal nature of online learning was recognized to be a core augmentation to the FPD of online instructors. Thus, it is through the integration of social constructivism in a VCoP that instructors go through learning transformation and become more critical and creative thinkers, analyzers and knowledge creators. The results of this study pointed that a VCoP may provide optimal experience between community support and addressing the practicality of time constraints and sustained critical reflection and discourse about their teaching
practice.
I identify with being a white, Catholic, straight, teenager girl living in Owensboro, Kentucky. I considered those my cultural and societal groups. There is no objective way to pick my real group. With my taste, opinions, characteristics and age constantly changing so are my cultural and societal groups.
The constructivist-interpretative paradigm states that reality is constructed through interactions between a researcher and the research subject. According to Smith (2008), “[s]cientific knowledge can be created by virtual experience and conversations” (p. 102). Berger directly went into the Northern communities and spoke to many people about the Pipeline project. The indigenous people interviewed stated to Berger, how the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline would personally affect them; this is an example of a micro level of analysis, which is the ontology of this paradigm. The Inquiry focuses on individual counts of the pipeline rather then the whole community. Other paradigms, for example the critical paradigm, focus on how oppressed groups have been affected by a specific event. People in the North are being faced with pressures to change their ways of life and into a more colonized society (Berger, 1988, p. 166). Putting pressure on the Northern people will cause them to lose who they are, their traditions, native economy etc. According to Travers (2010), [c]onstructivist-interpretative s...
Empiricists and rationalists have proposed opposing theories of the acquisition of knowledge, which appear unable to coexist. Each theory holds its own strengths but does not demonstrate a strong argument in itself to the questions, “Is knowledge truly possible?” and “How is true knowledge obtained?”. Immanual Kant successfully merged the two philosophies and provided a convincing argument with his theory of empirical relativism, or what some may call constructivism. His theory bridges the gap between rationalism and empiricism and proves that empiricists and rationalists each present a piece of the full puzzle. In order to truly understand Kant’s epistemology, one must first review and understand both empiricism and rationalism on an impartial basis.
Caruso, C. (2008). Bringing Online Learning to Life. Educational Leadership, 65(8) 70. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
In the social process theory, three areas are covered. The three are social learning theory, social control theory, and social reaction theory.
In a study conducted with 358 African American adolescents, Neblett (2009) studied the racial construction of the high school students and the influences race had on their identity. This longitudinal study identifies patterns of adolescent-reported racial socialization from a medium-sized public school district in the Midwestern United States. There were 144 male (40%) and 214 female (60%) participants and they ranged from 11 to 17 years of age. The study observed two important things: self-definition of race and the importance of this meaning to the respondent.
As discussed above, the literature showed that more studies are needed on learners use of technology and their preferences, on the skills they bring to the course and on their perception of experts; what I mean hear is not any expert but teacher(s), irreplaceable in such online learning environment of “freedom and chaos” where there is no certainty that if “one connect one will learn”.
"The Teacher's Role in Developing Interaction and Reflection in an Online Learning Community." (n.d.): n. pag. Taylor and Francis. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
..., Google, and the Apple Learning. Interchange resourceful models by adopting successful strategies to promote teacher on-line collaboration. Furthermore, Wellings and Levine (2009) also suggested that teachers develop a setting for suitable and receptive learning where students construct meaning by linking their existing skills to acquired skills. Conduct sessions to prepare for state mandated assessments. To prepare diverse learner with state mandated assessments, differentiate instructional practices through interactive software, games and activities (Wellings & Levine, 2009). Therefore, differentiating instructional practices effectively demands a change of attitude of reluctant teachers to accept technology usage in their instructional practices (Su Luan & Teo, 2009) and apply the concept of social constructivism (SC) to promote constructive social change.
Among many teaching styles and learning theories, there is one that is becoming more popular, the constructivist theory. The constructivist theory focuses on the way a person learns, a constructivist believes that the person will learn better when he/she is actively engaged. The person acts or views objects and events in their environment, in the process, this person then understands and learns from the object or events(P. Johnson, 2004). When we encounter a certain experience in our life, we think back to other things that have occurred in our life and use that to tackle this experience. In a lot of cases, we are creators of our own knowledge. In a classroom, the constructivist theory encourages more hands-on assignments or real-world situations, such as, experiments in science and math real-world problem solving. A constructivist teacher constantly checks up on the student, asking them to reflect what they are learning from this activity. The teacher should be keeping track on how they approached similar situations and help them build on that. The students can actually learning how to learn in a well-planned classroom. Many people look at this learning style as a spiral, the student is constantly learning from each new experience and their ideas become more complex and develop stronger abilities to integrate this information(P. Johnson, 2004). An example of a constructivist classroom would be, the student is in science class and everyone is asking questions, although the teacher knows the answer, instead of just giving it to them, she attempts to get the students to think through their knowledge and try to come up with a logical answer. A problem with this method of learning is that people believe that it is excusing the role of...
Constructivism is a defined, when referring to the learner, as a "receptive act that involves construction of new meaning by learners within the context of their current knowledge, previous experience, and social environment" (Bloom; Perlmutter & Burrell, 1999). Also, real life experiences and previous knowledge are the stepping stones to a constructivism, learning atmosphere. (Spigner-Littles & Anderson, 1999). Constructivism involves the learner being responsible for learning the material and, not necessarily, the teacher (Ely; Foley; Freeman & Scheel, 1995). When learning occurs, the goals, values, and beliefs of the individuals need to be linked to the new data. Also, in constructivism, the person, who is taking in the knowledge, can somehow filter, amend, and reformat the information that he or she feels is important to the schema (Spigner-Littles & Anderson, 1999). A constructivist learner uses the creative approach to apply their own meaning to a topic using the social and cognitive circumstances around themselves (Bloom; Perlmutter & Burrell, 1999). A short and sweet summary of constructivism is "how one attains, develops, and uses cognitive processes" (Airasian & Walsh, 1997).
To build an online course there must be a process; this process needs to incorporate the methods of instructional design and applying these components into an online format. The overall end result is that the student learning outcomes are developed into instructional activities used for learning. Key decisions were made into developing the online design. Part of the process included documentation as to the online design, methods for interactivity, number of contacts with the faculty-member, and methods for online assessment and evaluation. One thing that was important to realize was that developing an online courses was different than developing a traditional face-to-face course. An article written by Nanette Johnson-Curiskis, a faculty member from Minnesota State University has provided some additional cons...
Wang, A. (2001). Online Lectures: Benefits for the Virtual Classroom. Retrieved April 12, 2005, from, http://www.thejournal.com/magazine/vault/A3562C.cfm
Vrasidas, C. (2000). Constructivism versus objectivism: Implications for interaction, course design, and evaluation in distance education. International Journal of Telecommunications, Educational Telecommunications, 6(4), 339-362. Retrieved on April 22, 2011 from http://www.cardet.org/vrasidas/pubs/continuum.pdf
I believe online learning has equal integrity and effectiveness compared to classroom settings. Furthermore, the engagement online is very comparable to classroom debate and learning. My experience with online learning including my doctoral of ministry project entitled: E-vangelism; Developing and Implementing a Social Media Ministry for Outreach which using social media to engage and connect with people online. I consider myself an expert in the field of social media and have been an advocate and proponent of online learning and social