Participants Facilitating an Online Learning Community: Three Case Studies

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: Learning and Communities in Online Education

Abstract

Cultivating a sense of community and learner agency is especially important in online learning environments, where learners are often remote. One approach to supporting learner agency in a MOOC is to distribute leadership to community members by having participants play the role of facilitators. We invited active participants to become participant-facilitators, asking them to develop their own approaches to personally supporting the community. Featuring three cases of participants who volunteered as facilitators, this paper explores (1) how facilitators approached the role; (2) challenges of facilitators; and (3) implications for fostering community development. We found that the course enabled them to develop their own facilitation approaches and a sense of ownership over their work. Future implications for community development are discussed.

Authors

• Yumiko Murai, Simon Fraser University

• Lily Gabaree, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Carmelo Presicce, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Carolina Rodeghiero, Lemann Foundation

• Yusuf Ahmad, Massachusetts Institute of Technology