Creating Meaningful Online Learning in Teacher Education

• In Event: Self-Studies of Technology Integration in Teacher Education

Abstract

In recent decades the use of information and communications technology (ICT) has opened opportunities for student-centered learning but has also raised new challenges to educators as they teach more and more courses online. These new settings for learning sometimes creates tensions for students and teachers, but at the same time offer opportunities for new ways of learning and teaching.
We, three teacher educators, responded to these changes by developing a learning environment online, using self-study to understand and learn about the opportunities the online space affords.
Context of the study
The School of Education, has for more than two decades offered distance education for undergraduate and graduate students. The graduate studies have offered blended distance study with three to five days of intensive sessions on-campus per term. The groups consist of students from several study lines who have a wide range of teaching experience and different concentrations in terms of school levels. One such course offered is Working in Inclusive Practices (WIP) with diverse group of students. It is a blended course, taught through a mixture of online learning and four intensive sessions on-campus.
Methodology
The purpose of this study was to see how we could create an online learning environment as part of our course. Our intention was to give students opportunities to participate in meaningful learning moments applying creativity and knowledge to solve problems that they identify working in inclusive practices. The goal of the study was to understand and learn about the opportunities the online space affords. Thus, the research question was: How can we create meaningful learning opportunities online?
Self-study methodology that builds on the notion of action-reflection-learning-action guided our inquiry (Author, 2004). By focusing on our collaboration, planning and teaching as well as students’ participation and learning, our understanding of the affordances of online teaching began to emerge.
We gathered data over three years, in spring 2013, 2014 and 2015. Sources of data include minutes and recordings of meetings (preparation and analytical meetings) and professional dialogues, e-mail communication, tickets out of class (TOCs) documentation from the online program and students’ tasks, discussions and projects. To understand our practice more deeply and to support our interpretation as self-study practitioners, we use the voices of our students as they provide the evidence for our claims (Pinnegar & Hamilton, 2010).
Findings
In our findings we describe how a course on inclusive education using innovation education as an approach developed through challenges we encountered and the solutions we designed. The online learning environment consisted of discussion threads about the topics in focus, the readings, presentations, different tasks or assignments.
Students were satisfied with the on-campus sessions, they liked face-to-face lessons, interacting with other students and teachers, experiencing multiple teaching strategies, hands-on activities and direct support. We decided to move and translate the versatile teaching methods and tasks to an online environment by adding a learning space online. This became one of our challenges, but also opened up for solutions that expanded student learning opportunities.

Authors

• Hafdis Gudjonsdottir, University of Iceland

• Svanborg Rannveig Jónsdóttir, University of Iceland

• Karen Rut Gisladóttir, University of Iceland