Exploring Learner Interactions in Cyberspace

(Poster Session)

Martha Gabriel,
University of Prince Edward Island

Colla MacDonald, Laura Farres, Emma Stodel

Computer conferencing as a mode of course delivery is a recent educational phenomenon which is growing rapidly as learner demand for accessible lifelong learning opportunities increases (Berge & Collins, 1995; Bullen 1998). Universities and instructors are exploring the potential benefits and pedagogical considerations of offering courses online. One benefit that computer conferencing offers is the possibility of developing a collaborative learning environment at a distance. However, though educators believe that the potential for collaboration and cooperation exists in online learning environments, research in this area is in the early stages.

A number of research studies have described and explored the text-based asynchronous nature of the computer conference. In earlier studies, researchers attempted to describe what was happening in the computer conference through participation analysis, that is, tracking the number of postings, tracing the threads of the "conversations", and counting the number of minutes spent online (Mason, 1991). This gives a partial picture of the activity within a computer conference, however, these counts do not indicate the quality of the postings, or whether there is, in fact, any learning occurring in the conference

writing. More recent studies (Gunawardena, Lowe, & Anderson, 1997; Henri, 1992) have developed content analysis strategies which allow researchers to describe the quality of messages in a conference, and to suggest strategies that participants are using to write and learn in the context of the computer conference.

Gunawardena, Lowe, and Anderson (1997) developed a content analysis model (the Interaction Analysis Model) for the evaluation of "the process of knowledge construction that occurs through social negotiation in CMC" (p.400). The model is predicated on constructivist learning theory- and suggests that CMC (computer-mediated communication) allows a group of participants who are separated in time and space to work together to develop a shared knowledge. This model has been utilized to assess conference postings in professional development conferences, however, it has yet to be used extensively to analyze conference postings with online university courses.

The research study reported in this paper is a multi-mode, multi-year research project. Learners enrolled in online graduate MBA programs in two different universities are participating in the study. Data is being collected through in-depth telephone interviews, analysis of course notes, and an online quantitative survey. Thirty-one students enrolled in an MBA course on management participated in this segment of the study, which was conducted to explore how participants approach the co-construction of knowledge in a computer conferencing environment. This poster presentation displays preliminary findings drawn from the online communications among these students.

A number of themes began to emerge as conference notes in the management course were examined. Participants in this research worked together in teams of five to accomplish course goals. The course itself was divided into six modules, with group assignments required for each. Postings by participants included notes which were described as:

confirming assignment arrangements.

the need for technological support.

positive feedback to group members for work done on assignments.

suggestions for group work strategies.

posting and commenting on various drafts of group work.

clarifying and extending comments.

reflections on how people can engage in learning in the context of a computer conference.

The researchers employed the original interaction analysis model developed by Gunawardena, Lowe, and Anderson (1997) to code these conference postings, in order to illuminate the knowledge construction activities in which participants engaged in the conference. In a more recent study, the five suggested phases of conference postings were

recategorized as "Social Construction of Knowledge" and "Social Discord and Knowledge Construction" (Kanuka & Anderson, 1998). However, in this case, the researchers chose to explore the applicability of the original model. The conferencing notes were coded with this schema in mind:

Phase I: Sharing and Comparing of Information.

Phase II: Discovery and Exploration of Dissonance.

Phase III: Negotiation of Meaning.

Phase IV: Testing and Modification of Proposed Synthesis or Co-Construction.

Phase V: Agreement Statements/ Applications of Newly-Constructed Meaning.

(Gunawardena, Lowe, & Anderson, 1997, p.412)

This poster presentation shares the results of this coding schema, and a discussion of how participants engaged in the co-construction of knowledge in the computer conferencing course.

References

Berge, Z. L. & Collins, M.P. (Eds.). (1995). Computer-mediated communication and the online classroom: Vol.I Overview and perspectives. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, Inc.

Bullen, M. (1998). Participation and critical thinking in online university distance education. Journal of Distance Education, 13 (2) 1-32.

Gunawardena, C. N., Lowe, C. A., & Anderson, T. (1997). Analysis of a global online debate and the development of an interaction analysis model for examining social construction of knowledge in computer conferencing. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 17 (4), 395-429.

Henri, F. (1992). Computer conferencing and content analysis. In A. Kaye (Ed.), Collaborative learning through computer conferencing:The Najaden Papers, (pp. 117-136). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.

Kanuka, H. & Anderson, T. (1998). Online social interchange, discord, and knowledge construction. Journal of Distance Education, 13 (1) 57-74.

Mason, R. (1991). Methodologies for evaluating applications of computer conferencing. In A. Kaye (Ed.), Collaborative learning through computer conferencing. Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.

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