Adapting Alternative Approaches During COVID-19 to Explore Youth and Adult Learners' Informal Learning Experiences

• In Event: Research in Informal Learning Environments During COVID-19

Abstract

Objectives & Perspectives
In this paper, we report on research approaches undertaken by three early career faculty members during COVID-19 to alternatively collect qualitative data in informal learning environments to broaden the discussion of the structured session. Three researchers have mainly conducted qualitative research; however, our data collection methods had to consider alternative approaches during COVID-19, as described next.

Methods & Data Sources
The research agenda of the first researcher was to explore how youth in rural communities engage in interest-driven activities and investigate how library resources can support youth’s learning pathways. To address this agenda, the cultural probes (Gaver et al., 1999) were sent out to youth and librarians instead of conducting observations. Cultural probes included activities with the use of an instant camera to document where and when youth engaged in meaningful learning experiences.
The second researcher previously focused on sociotechnical and affective interactions of learners by mainly using video-based interaction analysis. However, during the pandemic, she conducted Zoom interviews and focused on learners’ narratives and reflections.
During the pandemic, the third researcher focused on making new collaboration opportunities. Although physical data collection involving multiple researchers was impossible, online interactions facilitated active exchange of ideas between researchers from different parts of the world and this triggered international collaborative research.

Results
Despite different research agendas, three researchers experienced similar challenges in conducting research during the pandemic. One notable struggle was the difficulty to recruit participants. In the first study, library partners that helped with youth recruitment were fully closed except for curbside pick-up. Consequently, only three youth participants completed the cultural probes. Even for the Zoom interviews, in the second study, it was harder to recruit participants perhaps because people might have wanted to avoid additional stress on their daily life. Another commonly experienced challenge was the difficulty to gain knowledge in methods that were less familiar.
In addition, the lockdown made it challenging to establish close relationships with potential research partners in informal learning institutions. Based on our prior experiences, a shared understanding and trust with the research partners were crucial as they often performed the role of intermediaries to connect the research team with potential participants. Considering that we started our positions at new institutions either right before or during COVID-19, the relationship-building process with potential partners needed to happen online which did not provide the same context to build long-term relationships.
However, there was an upside to the pandemic. The pandemic enabled researchers to build rapport and support system that are independent of the geographical locations. Also, the cultural probes completed by librarians provided useful data to explore their daily practices (Kim & Copeland, 2021), which highlighted the potential of another methodological approach to document participants' lives when participants are geographically located far from the research team.

Significance
Through our collective experience, we strive to clarify ways to effectively continue research agendas in informal learning environments under extreme circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic to support other early career researchers in educational research.

Authors

• Soo Hyeon Kim

• Yong Ju Jung, University of Oklahoma

• Gi Woong Choi, University of Cincinnati