Critical Elements Assignment

12 April 2012

Written by Lorraine Taylor – wlaj@orcon.net.nz

11052568 – Massey University

Part A - Organizer

Six critical elements are defined – social presence, interaction, collaboration, learner centeredness, cognitive strategies and teacher presence.  The significance of each element describes the reason the element is important in online learning.  The implications for teaching roles and activity include what needs to occur in online learning for the element to be effective and present. 

Social Presence – Social online presence refers to the ability of learners to project their personal characteristics into the community of inquiry, thereby presenting themselves as ‘real people’ (Anderson, 2008; Barclay, 2007; Short, Williams, & Christie, 1976).

Significance

• Authentication is important in an online environment. Short, Williams and Christie (1976, as cited in Gunawardena & Zittle, 1995) highlight the importance of online persons being perceived as ‘real persons’.

Implications

• Actively participating in the social learning process needs to be appropriately rewarded to ensure contributions (Anderson, 2008). For example, 10% – 15% of the final grade can be allocated to contributions and discussions. Rubrics defining expected contributions should be clearly outlined and given to course participants at the start of each course. Most importantly, in my experience as a student, I participate most actively if the task is part of refining ideas that are the basis of another assignment.
• Cultural differences need to be acknowledged due to the fact that social practices among cultures vary and affect how people communicate (Lanham & Wanlei, 2003). It is important that a supportive environment is established to account for cultural, personality and learning differences.
• Positive social presence allows for disagreements to be expressed, viewpoints to be shared, and differences to be explored (Anderson, 2008).  A conducive environment for these to take place needs to be nurtured by all members.
• Role modeling by the teacher for discussions can be helpful (Rourke & Anderson, 2002) in establishing a positive social presence among online participants.

Interaction – Moore (1989) identifies three types of interaction: learner-content, learner-instructor and learner-learner.  Hillman, Willis & Gunawardena (1994) also acknowledge that todays learners need to interact with technology as well. Learner-content interaction results in changes to the learners understanding, perspective or cognitive structures in the learners mind (Moore, 1989).  Learner – instructor interaction is evolving with advances in technology.  Learner-learner interaction refers to one on one and groups situations (Moore, 1989). Learner – interface interaction refers to how learners utilize available technology usefully and responsibly (Hillman, et al., 1994).

Significance

• Research has shown that the electronic environment can be structured for effective social constructivist learning (Stacey, 2002; Wilson & Stacey, 2004) in the form of interactive online discussions requiring learners to interact with a technological interface, as well as, other learners and instructors. Interactive communication is facilitated through computer-mediated communication that establishes a vehicle for socially constructed learning. Early research in computer mediated communication has focused on aspects of participation and has revealed that for students who are shy to participate and collaborate in a classroom setting might change their participation behavior online (Zhu, 2006).

Implications

• Students often use technology in their personal lives but often do not know how to use this same technology outside of their personal lives (Hillman, et al., 1994).  In my experience in using social media tools in a classroom setting, tools familiar to students can successfully be incorporated into classroom learning.
• Students need to feel at ease with technology (Hillman, et al., 1994). Even though students use technology in their own life it cannot be assumed that they have the skills to use it effectively in a learning context.  Guidance and scaffolding is necessary to make full use of the technology.
• As students interact they need to do so responsibly (Hillman, et al., 1994). This refers to being responsible for the hardware, as well as, the social presence and interaction that is created through interactions online.
• Advances in technology have enhanced communications between students and instructors and among students themselves.  Many college instructors have moved or extended part of a classroom discussion to an online forum furthering the learning and interaction (Zhu, 2006). In my experience as a student, being able to extend the learning outside of the stated classroom time has been useful. However, I have also found it most helpful when clear boundaries are set regarding when instructors will respond to forums, emails, and assignment tasks.  This is further supported throughout the learning as instructors reiterate these boundaries.  Online learning does not imply being available 24/7 but is aided when ‘office hours’ are clearly stated.

Collaboration – A social network is defined as individuals with whom a person is in some sort of regular and sustained contact. Information exchange and interaction among learners during discussion helps form a specialized social network, which holds together a group of learners for the purpose of achieving specific learning goals (Zhu, 1998).

Significance

• Collaborative work in online environments increases motivation, student satisfaction and performance (Gunawardena & Zittle, 1995).  Online discussion messages are artifacts of learning that demonstrate student behaviors during the learning process (Zhu, 1998). Learning revolves around learners conversations about what they are learning, not teacher interpretations (Stacey, 2002), and this new knowledge is then used to construct and create understanding.

Implications

• Workplaces which are free from fear and allow people to express their views openly are a critical condition to facilitate people learning (Anderson, 2008; Sense, 2011). This helps to build strong collaborative virtual teams.
• Collaborating groups need to appreciate the differences in learners’ linguistic, cultural, and social backgrounds (McCoombs, 2005).  These differences can be used to offer different perspectives to knowledge and understanding.
• It is important that collaboration is an integral part of learning design because it connects individual learners in meaningful dialogue, learning and change across traditional boundaries of teachers, students, schools, classrooms, and individual communities (McCoombs, 2005).

Learner Centeredness – The Internet and the World Wide Web have made it possible to establish a new type of learning environment in which learners can collaborate with fellow students to construct a meaningful and powerful learning experience (Stacey, 2002) drawn from their understanding and experiences.

 Significance

• The purpose of education is to help learners communicate with others, find relevant and accurate information, and be co-learners in diverse learning communities (McCoombs, 2005) but, ultimately, the learning needs to be of value to each individual person.

Implications

• Discourse not only facilitates the creation of the community of inquiry, but also the means by which learners develop their own thought processes by articulating their ideas to others (Anderson, 2008) and drawing understanding from their own experiences.  Tasks and skilled prompting of questions will allow this to happen so that learners build upon what they know and to be able to apply this to their unique situation.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
• Learner-centeredness is a complex interaction of the programs, practices, policies and people as perceived by the individual learners (McCoombs, 2005). It is important to allow for flexibility and choice in designing learning environments.
• Support and instructional guidance is needed so that the learner can be successful in creating meaningful and coherent ideas (McCoombs, 2005) and concepts.
• McCoombs (2005) acknowledges that a learner’s creativity, higher order thinking, and natural curiosity all contribute to the motivation to learn.  The learning design needs to stimulate intrinsic motivation by ensuring that learning tasks are optimally difficult, relevant to personal interests, and provide for personal choice and control.
• Electronic learning environments allow for ideal learner-centeredness as they become places for “just-in-time learning” and “learning anytime, anywhere” (McCoombs, 2005, p. 1587).

Cognitive Strategies – Cognitive strategies refer to the development and growth of critical thinking skills (Anderson, 2008). Cognitive engagement involves seeking, interpreting, analyzing, and summarizing information; critiquing and reasoning through various opinions and arguments; and making decisions (Zhu, 1998).

 Significance

• Online discussion messages are artifacts of learning that demonstrate student behaviors during the learning process (Zhu, 1998).  These transcripts offer a richer understanding of social and cognitive aspects of learning (Zhu, 1998).

Implications

• Cognitive engagement in an online learning environment is discernable from discussion messages (Zhu, 1998).  Finding ways to promote greater depth and assessment is needed.
• As instructors, we need to be very clear about learning goals and outcomes and design appropriate activities that engage students in learning and useful strategies that assist them in moving between levels of cognitive engagement (Zhu, 1998).
• It is important to explore the correlation among measures of cognitive engagement to understand how each student engages and learns in an online course (Zhu, 1998). More research is needed to explore and understand the role of online discussion, online instruction, and student learning.
• For online discussion to be effective, the discussion activity has to be closely connected with student learning goals and course objectives (Zhu, 1998).

Teacher Presence – The establishment of a supportive environment occurs when the teacher designs and organizes the learning experience, devising and implementing activities to encourage discourse and adds subject-matter expertise through a variety of forms (Anderson, 2008).

Significance

• Online instructors take the responsibility of keeping discussions on track, contributing knowledge and insights, weaving together various discussions threads and course components, and maintaining group harmony (Rohfeld & Hiemstra, 1995, as cited in Zhu, 2006).

Implications

• Learners are demanding more control in their learning (Anderson, 2008). It is imperative that instructors work with a team of other specialists to design effective online learning environments where learners achieve autonomy and instructors become facilitators and co-learners.
• Simms (2003; Wilson & Stacey, 2004) concluded through research that learners need control of their environment, with active communication involving feedback, in order to be engaged in an interactive online environment.  Instructors need to encourage interaction among participants to raise the quality of learning (Wilson & Stacey, 2004.
• It is important to professionally develop staff to use information and communication technologies (Wilson & Stacey, 2004) so that instructors can effectively manage and scaffold learning in an online environment. A competent and confident online teacher is a new and different role for academic staff (Wilson & Stacey, 2004). 
• Teaching presence at senior levels is delegated to or assumed by students as they contribute their own skills and knowledge to the developing learning community (Anderson, 2008).  Tasks need to be set within the learning design to enable this to happen effectively (Anderson, 2008). Rourke & Anderson (2002) have found that much greater levels of participation, motivation, and student satisfaction occur when discussion groups are led by student moderators.
• Assessment is an important aspect of learning design.  Teachers who cultivate a presence of flexibility, concern, and empathy will reflect these characteristics in the style and format of assessment (Rourke & Anderson, 2002).  Rourke & Anderson also found through research on assessment that timely and detailed feedback, provided as near in time as possible to the performance, is the most effective in providing motivation shaping behavior and developing mental constructs. 

Part B - Justification

Teacher Presence – The Sixth Element

I consider Teacher Presence as the sixth critical element of online teaching. Teachers design and organize the learning experience, devising and implementing activities to encourage discourse, as well as, adding subject-matter expertise through a variety of forms (Anderson, 2008). The context of professional practice that this element is situated is that of a learning and development specialist. In workplace learning, the presence of the instructor becomes one of encouraging, through design, discourse and implementation, the learning amongst a team of workers.  Fruchter and Lewis (2000) found through their research that students benefit from a mentors’ extensive experience in cross-disciplinary teamwork.  Subject matter specialists can take on the role of mentor to broaden learning across disciplines and job tasks.  In workplace learning, these subject matter specialists need to be integrated into the community of learners. In business situations today, learning specialists can design and support effective learning in virtual teams by ensuring that teacher presence is positive and is a role taken on by a variety of members in the workplace learning community.

Part C - Narrative

Introduction

 At present, I am not directly involved in a standard work environment.  I have taken a few years out of professional work to focus on research and develop skills. The first section of this narrative will focus on relevant research to support the adoption of the Critical Elements Framework (CEF) in a future professional environment.  A job I intend to apply for is a Learning and Development Specialist with Emirates Airlines responsible for the implementation of corporate learning and development solutions for functional areas to support business goals. The second section will incorporate strategies that are evolving as I participate more in a virtual learning environment as a post-graduate student, as well as, involvement in communities of practice on the Internet. This is more relevant to online learning analysis than my previous fifteen years of teaching experience as there was no online component.  The third section will identify key issues that need to be considered in not just developing but sustaining positive online learning.

Adopting the Critical Elements Framework (CEF) to Professional Practice

Online learning environments are designed for businesses to assist in corporate learning. Facilitating interaction among participants raises quality (Wilson & Stacey, 2004).  Interaction, in reference to CEF, refers to learner-content, learner-instructor, learner-learner (Moore, 1989) and learner-interface (Hillman, et al., 1994). Emirates Airlines is a large company with a continually moving workforce.  It is imperative that employees keep up-to-date with new knowledge and continually upgrade skills.  The traditional learner-instructor interaction could further be adapted by allowing teaching presence to be delegated and assumed by employees (Anderson, 2008). Furthermore, discussion on current practices by employees, could be integrated into the corporate learning design (Anderson, 2008) so that greater levels of participation, motivation, and employee satisfaction would be experienced. (Rourke & Anderson, 2002).

Workplaces which are free from fear and allow people to express their views openly are critical in facilitating learning (Anderson, 2008; Sense, 2011). Trust helps to build strong collaborative virtual teams. Emirates Airlines workforce comprises 160 nationalities (Emirates, 2010) and it is essential that collaborating groups appreciate the differences in learners’ linguistic, cultural, and social backgrounds (McCoombs, 2005). The differences that exist can offer different perspectives to knowledge and understanding.

Workplace learning discussions that are initiated within a learning context need to have clear learning goals and outcomes.  Activities need to be designed to engage learning include useful strategies that assist employees to move between levels of cognitive engagement (Zhu, 1998). It is important to explore the correlation among measures of cognitive engagement, especially with the language and cultural diversity in the airline, to understand how each employee engages and learns in an online environment (Zhu, 1998).

 Integrating Teaching Practice 

New technologies and social media can be used to promote greater cognitive and participatory learning in the workplace. As a post-graduate student and participant in virtual learning communities, the way that I acquire, create, and share knowledge is positively changing.  Learning is “just-in-time” and learning is happening anytime and anywhere (McCoombs, 2005). The tools that I am acquiring and actively using can be adapted to workplace learning.

It is important that I develop a social presence in order to present myself as a real person in an online environment.  I contribute to forums and online discussions as part of completing University papers. My website and portfolio outline my interests and characteristics as related to my professional life.  Involvement in Twitter ensures that I remain responsible in dialogue with others in a learning community. In workplace virtual team development it will be important to ensure that individuals have a way to present themselves as real people which might include part of a website or portfolio.Interaction and dialogue can be encouraged through hashtags using Twitter or other available ways of conversing ‘in the moment’.

More detailed discussions, based on Twitter, occur in HootCourse where books are discussed generating ideas and real application. This type of collaboration can be adapted to workplace learning by focusing specific reading and information into compact dialogue sharing environments ensuring learner-centeredness.  I have gained experience in creating collaborative wikispaces.  Wikis can be used for sharing company information allowing teacher presence to move effectively amongst all participants.  The use of GoogleDocs has given me the experience to use collaborative workspaces to complete required tasks.  These are very effective in virtual situations and proper scaffolding can be designed into their use to ensure effectiveness.

I reflect on my learning through blogging which I collect on my website. Blogging ensures a learner-centered approach that develops cognitive understanding.  Feedback can easily be given on blogs and this can be incorporated into a learning culture, ensuring that individual participants in a virtual team provide and receive feedback.  A virtual team blog could be initiated allowing  participants to each develop critical thinking skills and cognitive strategies and posting these as blogs.  Further cognitive engagement occurs when feedback is given in response posts. These artifacts along with presentations, such as the speeches and instructional videos I post on my website, are effective ways of sustaining and supporting virtual learning teams as all participants become active co-learners and co-producers.

Critical Elements Framework Future Considerations

Once the development of communities of practice, regarding workplace learning, are developed at a department level, they can be integrated together in project development as a temporary fusion of many different communities of practice.  New and unique practices and learning opportunities will emerge as diverse work groups, within the same airline, collaborate together (Sense, 2011; Wenger, 2003). Sense (2011) acknowledges that the details of how project participants are to work effectively together, what specific project process are to develop, and how relevant knowledge might be sourced and created are most often not formally prescribed by external sources.  A positive ‘teacher’ presence would be beneficial in this instance.  It is important to professionally develop staff to use information and communication technologies (Wilson & Stacey, 2004) so that staff can lead smaller collaborative communities of practice. Leaders can take responsibility to keep discussions on track, contribute knowledge and insights, weave together ideas and project guidelines, and maintain group harmony to sustain effective collaborative learning communities (Sense, 2011).   Effective modeling and scaffolding can enable sustained learning communities within workplace environments.

Electronic learning environments allow for ideal learner-centeredness as they become places for “just-in-time learning” and “learning anytime, anywhere” (McCoombs, 2005, p. 1587). However, Wilson & Stacey (2004) found one difficulty in integrating online technologies into teaching in higher education was that not all staff enthusiastically embraced the change that new technologies and pedagogies can bring (Wilson & Stacey, 2004). In a recent conversation with a project leader (Lendrum, 2012), more experienced and skilled scientists were uncooperative in contributing to team efforts due to changes in technology and work expectations involving the use of new communication mediums. People often use technology in their personal lives but may not know how to use this same technology outside of their personal lives (Hillman, et al., 1994).  Guidance and scaffolding is needed to make full use of the technology.  In my experience, using familiar tools can be effective in establishing confidence in using online tools and only integrating tools gradually, providing forums and resources to assist in the use of such tools. 

Conclusion

Workforce knowledge and skill development is an important consideration in businesses today.  The availability of web and social tools are creating more effective ways for knowledge to be shared and collaboration to be an integral part of a businesses learning culture.  The Critical Elements Framework offers clear guidelines necessary to sustain development of corporate learning.

References

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