Achieving Critical Dialogue in Online Doctoral Programs: an Exploration of Student Perceptions and Experiences with Mult
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Achieving Critical Dialogue in Online Doctoral Programs: an Exploration of Student Perceptions and Experiences with Multiple Modalities Melissa Warr 1 & Carrie Sampson 1
# Association for Educational Communications & Technology 2020
Abstract Critical pedagogy employs dialogue that is embodied, reflective, and authentic with aims to promote action toward social justice. Although online learning is well suited to support several characteristics of critical dialogue (i.e., participant diversity, student discussions, emphasis on reflection), it can also be impersonal and disembodied. The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences and perceptions of online doctoral students in a course designed to facilitate critical dialogue about education. The course experimented with three discussion formats aimed at achieving critical dialogue: (a) traditional, text-based discussion board; (b) asynchronous video (voice thread), and (c) recorded small-group, synchronous video discussions followed by asynchronous discussion board interactions. In this paper, we share results from student surveys of three semesters of the course (n = 22 of 46 students enrolled). The findings suggest that students preferred synchronous video chats and perceived this format as most supportive of critical dialogue. Students, on average, rated the discussion board format as the least enjoyable, least engaging, and least supportive of critical dialogue. Students’ open-ended comments emphasized that the discussion board and voice thread formats promoted reflection but were less supportive of interactive dialogue. We conclude by discussing implications regarding course design and student support for online instructors who aim to promote critical dialogue in online courses. Keywords Critical dialogue . Online learning . Video discussion
Over the past 30 years, online learning in higher education has grown significantly, both in the number of institutions that have adopted online courses and in the depth at which learning can occur online (Boyd 2016). For many institutions and their students, the benefits of online learning are reflected in factors such as broader access, lower costs, and more flexibility when compared to teaching and learning that takes place in a classroom. However, online learning also presents challenges, including the inability to create a physical space where students and instructors can connect and engage in real-time discussions that foster critical dialogue (Rudick 2016). Critical Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-020-00499-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Melissa Warr [email protected] 1
Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University, 202 E Baseline Road #266, Tempe, AZ 85283, USA
dialogue is an “educational strategy that supports a problemposing approach. .. in which the relationship of the students to teacher is, without question, dialogical, each having something to contribute
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