SoTL corner - August 22, 2022 This week is a busy one … so I’m making the SoTL Corner easy on myself by featuring research done by Viola Manokore and myself. In October of 2020, we conducted a research study involving instructor surveys, instructor interviews, and student surveys. Much of this research was done with NorQuest faculty and learners. Our project was rich and complex. Survey data had to be coded by themes, sorted, and then reexamined for emerging patterns and significances. Interviews had to be note-taken or transcribed and then reviewed, compared, and correlated. Then Viola and I framed up three different inquiries and went through the process of writing articles and submitting them to peer reviewed journals for publication. This last part is like playing tennis. You submit the article, they send it back with suggestions, you make the changes and send it to them, and so on. In the end, both parties (writers and editors), end up with articles that are sharp and specific. Of course, not every SoTL inquiry must be as rigorous or academic as the one that Viola and I undertook. In fact, many SoTL studies are informal and remain in-house. Research questions, observations, and findings are shared only within a particular department. The relevance and application of these inquiries are very specific to a particular cohort or a particular course or instructional strategy. And there is a lot less stress ab out polishing and publishing! That said, it is kinda fun to put yourself out there and submit to online journals. This is something that Viola is very experienced with, and I am trying to catch up! At this point we have three articles published online and, in the last 90 days, they have been downloaded 288 times by researcher from all over the world. What follows is a quick snapshot of each article. If you want to read the full article, or just download it to read later, just click on the title! Our first article, TPACK Tried and Tested: Experiences of Post-Secondary Educators During COVID-19 Pandemic (based upon 140 Alberta instructor surveys) explored educators’ experiences during the rapid shift from face-to-face to emergency virtual remote teaching and learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings suggest that educators who were more comfortable with their TPACK (technical pedagogical content knowledge) had an easier transition to virtual remote teaching. Institutional support, students’ digital literacy/access, and overall wellbeing were also identified as factors that influenced educators’ overall experiences. This article really unpacks the whole concept of TPACK as well as Hutchings’ model for SoTL inquiry. It also shares many of the strategies and practices (for example: flipping the classroom, improving communication strategies, incorporating activity into synchronous lessons, and moving to a competency model) instructors used to be successful in a new teaching modality. Our second article, Replication or Reinvention: Educators’ Narratives on Teaching in Higher Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic zeroed in on the instructor interviews we conducted (11). The interviews yielded rich anecdotes about the shift to emergency remote virtual learning. Our thematic analysis revealed that educators’ experiences were influenced by three main factors: (a) student engagement, interactions, and persistence in learning; (b) competence in the application of teacher technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK); and (c) overall wellbeing of faculty and students. The article showed just how different the pandemic shift was for our post-secondary instructors. While some found the adjustments to be invigorating, others were frustrated and a little lost. And they let us know that! The third article, “I Did Not Sign Up For This”: Student Experiences of the Rapid Shift from In-person to Emergency Virtual Remote Learning During the COVID Pandemic was the latest to be published and I think it is the most interesting to read. In it you will hear the voices of our students and you will come to see their experience as much more complex than just simple “learning interactions”. Our students were impacted by the stress of the pandemic itself, varying levels of access to and confidence with technology, and a general sense of disconnect (even abandonment!). For this study, Viola and I used a model developed by Athabasca University’s Dr. Terry Anderson as an organizational frame. The data was organized and analyzed according to Anderson’s six factors in online teaching, namely: (a) Independent Study; (b) Peer, Family, & Professional Support; (c) Structured Learning Resources; (d) Community of Inquiry; (e) Communication; and (f) Paced, Collaborative Learning. The results are both affirming and concerning. You should click on the link and take a quick read! Now our research study is becoming a bit stale. It is time to check in with the field again. Are the instructors and students still struggling with the new teaching modalities, or have they attained a new level of comfort? So, what you planning to investigate this year? What aspects of student learning or of your teaching practice might need a closer look?
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AuthorJeff Kuntz Ph.D. ImagesExcept where indicated, images used in the blog posts are personal photos, images from NorQuest College or images from Pixabay. Pixabay is a vibrant community of creatives, sharing copyright free images, videos and music. https://pixabay.com/ Archives
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