“The Illusion of Collaboration”: An Integrated Examination of the Antecedents, Processes, and Consequences of Online Group Work

Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) presents postsecondary educators with a conundrum: how to design and support small-group activities without stifling deep and meaningful learning. The literature indicates that students are not consistently practicing higher-order cognitive activities, educators are not reliably designing or facilitating them, and/or researchers are not locating or identifying them where they are occurring. The aim of this dissertation is to explore these deficits by identifying the antecedent conditions that most affect collaboration. Specifically, I answer the question, how do learner’s prior knowledge, characteristics, and experiences manifest in their collaborative processes. Addressing a gap in the literature, this study employs distance ethnography to assess at a fine-grain level the social and cognitive interactions of a trio of collaborators in a natural setting—an object-oriented, small-group project in an online writing course. The results reveal several ways that learner dispositions and prior knowledge manifest as barriers to productive interactions, including tendencies toward indirect and unidirectional communication; siloed workspaces and individual orientations to group assignments; unequal coordination work; and the preservation of individual autonomy to the detriment of group knowledge objects. The study has pedagogical and theoretical implications related to the theory of transactional distance (TTD) and collaborative cognitive load theory (CCLT) and pedagogical and methodological implications for the integration of reflective-practitioner journals

Kindergarten Teacher Autonomy in High and Low Socioeconomic Environments

Kindergarten teachers are immersed in a high stakes educational environment and this environment has altered how kindergarten teachers must teach. Exploring the different distribution of autonomy in high and low-income groups contributes to the research about educational equity. This study examined the relationship between income level of teaching environment and kindergarten teachers’ levels of self-perceived autonomy. The research question that guided this study was: do kindergarten teachers in higher income schools experience greater levels of self-perceived autonomy than kindergarten teachers in low-income schools? The Teaching Autonomy Scale developed by Pearson & Hall (1993) was used to survey 91 kindergarten teacher participants from 31 states. The findings showed a significant gap in self-perceived autonomy between the two socioeconomic groups. Kindergarten teachers in high-income school environments had significantly higher self-perceived autonomy than kindergarten teachers in low-income environments. The findings contribute to the body of research about teacher self-perceived autonomy and the effects of school level income

Re-examining interaction and transactional distance through the lived experiences of postgraduate online distance learners.

Current research into online distance education (ODE) has established the importance of interaction to counter the potential isolation experienced by online distance learners (ODLs). Consequently, programme designers and instructors seek to maximise opportunities for interaction in their delivery. However, much of this research is confined to institutionally bound conceptions of interaction; interactions occurring beyond the study environment, particularly for postgraduate distance learners, are significant but are less thoroughly investigated. Moore's (1993) theory of transactional distance (TTD), which claims that distance learning is characterised by the psychological and communicative separation of teacher and learner, is often used as a basis for 'testing' how effective different forms of interaction are in reducing transactional distance (TD). Despite its transcendental usefulness, TTD was developed at a time when distance learning was of the correspondence variety; thus, it tends to be instruction- and instructor-focused without appropriately reflecting contemporary ODE. Therefore, there is a need to re-examine the theory from the ODL perspective. Using narrative inquiry and photo-elicitation, this thesis investigates the lived experiences of part-time postgraduate online distance learners (ODLs) studying a professionally related master’s degree. I draw on Dewey’s (1946, 1960) theory of transactionalism to examine the multiple interactions ODLs engage in within and beyond the study environment, and how these impact on their experienced TD. The narrative data suggest that interactions are complex, multi-layered and occupy multiple spaces, and are therefore more accurately conceived of as non-dualistic educational transactions. These transactions suggest that TTD is no longer sufficient for understanding the ODL experience. I offer a more nuanced interpretation of the theory, informed by participants' stories and recast from the learners’ perspective. This reconceptualisation will be of interest to ODE programme designers, instructors, and administrators when seeking to ensure a meaningful ODE experience

The Relationship of Student-Teacher Transactional Distance and Student Self-Regulation, Community Presence, and Satisfaction in Online Courses

D.Ed

DISTANCE LEARNING AND TEACHERS OF PHARMACY COURSE OF THE UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO PARANÁ: A STUDY QUALITATIVE

A Educação a distância é uma modalidade de ensino que está em crescimento. O presente trabalho investigou os significados e a apropriação da noção do conhecimento, percepção e avaliação da EAD no ensino superior dos docentes do curso de graduação em Farmácia. O estudo foi do tipo exploratório de abordagem qualitativa. Entrevistas semiestruturadas foram realizadas utilizando a técnica da análise do conteúdo. Participaram 18 docentes. Resultados: Os docentes do curso de graduação em Farmácia da UFPR têm pouco conhecimento e experiência em relação a EAD. Apesar do pouco conhecimento e pouca experiência na EAD, os docentes demonstraram aceitação em relação à esta modalidade, bem como, acreditam ser uma tendência no atual modelo de ensino para os cursos de graduação de ensino superior. A maior parte deles trabalharia com as suas disciplinas nesta modalidade. Os docentes identificaram muito mais vantagens do que desvantagens à EAD em relação a utilização da mesma tanto para docentes quanto para os discentes.

Creating a New Teacher Autonomy Measure and Its Effects on Teacher Job Satisfaction

The purpose of this study is to develop a new framework for describing teacher autonomy as a perception in relation to the educational context using the five dimensions of instruction, curriculum design, working relationships, professional development, and standardization which may lead to greater job satisfaction. Eight hundred fifty Pre-K to 12th grade teachers were sent a new instrument, the Five Dimensions of Teacher Autonomy Scale (FDTAS) with items concerning teacher autonomy as a perception and the Teacher Jos Satisfaction Questionnaire (TJSQ; Lester, 1987) measuring teacher job satisfaction. Several types of demographic data was also collected. Both Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses were conducted to determine the factor structure of the teacher autonomy measure. A multiple regression analysis was performed to determine if teacher autonomy as a perception predicts job satisfaction. The results indicated (a) that a three factor structure best fit the data, and (b) teacher autonomy as a perception was a significant predictor of teacher job satisfaction. Results provide implications and future research for teacher autonomy

Teachers\u27 Perceptions of the Adoption of New Pedagogies in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan has used the Soviet system of education since its independence in 1990. Researchers have noted shortfalls in education reform efforts and documented factors of teachers\u27 resistance to new pedagogies. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore local teachers\u27 perceptions of the new pedagogies in the context of understanding the local-international teacher program in Agrenov international schools (AIS). Three research questions focused on teachers\u27 perceptions of factors for adoption of new pedagogies in an educationally transforming school using the motivational and systems approaches and emotional intelligence conceptual frameworks. A conceptual framework constructed from three theories of motivation, systems approach, and emotional intelligence was used. The target participants were local teachers who had worked in state schools for a minimum of 3 years and for 2 years in AIS, and who had worked with national teachers. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with a random sample of 10 local veteran teachers from the target population. Thematic coding produced 4 themes: school, teacher, time, and political factors with 15 subthemes which can be used as areas of focus in researching, analyzing, and enhancing adoption of new pedagogies. The results of the study can be used to enhance teacher adoption of educational reform efforts locally in Agrenov international school Centre City and the AISes, and internationally