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Browsing by Author "Smith, Regina O."
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Item THE EXPERIENCE OF REAL WORLD CONTEXTS IN VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS:(2005-09-27T17:26:46Z) Smith, Regina O.; Dokter, Christina; Dirkx, John MThe purpose of this qualitative case study was to develop a deeper understanding of adult learners’ experiences participating in an online, problem-based course, and to enhance our understanding of PBL as a means to foster a sense of context in these environments. The findings the perception of meaningful context, is constantly mediated through differences among group members, and the need to manage group and interpersonal processes, particularly around unresolved issues of authority and intimacy. Implications for adult educators are discussed.Item Learning To See Through The Invisible: The Problem Of Process In Online Collaborative Learning(Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, and Community Education, 2004) Dirkx, John M.; Smith, Regina O.Educators are increasingly incorporating collaborative and other group methods into the design of online learning. For the most part, however, these efforts reflect technical-rational views of group process. In this paper, we argue that this view of group process understates the significance of unconscious and invisible processes in online learning. Using psychodynamic theory, we discuss the role of unconscious processes in online learning and pedagogical strategies that may be helpful in making these processes more visible. In The Little Prince we are taught that it is only with the heart that we see rightly and what is essential is invisible to our eyes. We are interested in fostering online learning environments characterized by teaching and learning from the heart. Such an approach, however, requires a richer understanding of the emotional dynamics of online collaborative groups and how deep learning reflects a process essentially invisible to the eye. Online learning programs are increasing at exponential rates (Bishop and Spake, 2003; Kariya, 2003) and many of their participants are adult learners. The design of learning experiences within these programs is also evolving. While early online programs focused largely on transmission and mastery of bodies of information, more emphasis is now being placed on collaborative methods (Bruffee, 1999; Dirkx & Smith, 2003)), such as case study, problem-based learning, and the fostering of learning communities in online contexts. For the most part, these collaborative approaches remain defined within a technical-rational paradigm that stresses subject matter or skill mastery. More expressive dimensions of adult learning, such as fostering awareness of and reflecting on the process and dynamics of individual and group learning remain underdeveloped or ignored by both researchers and practitioners. Yet, adult learning principles and constructivist approaches stress the centrality of meaning-making to learning and the dialectical relationship of the self of the learner with the content and context of learning (West, 2001). Process issues, however, are often difficult to discern even in face-to-face groups and can remain largely invisible in virtual, online contexts. The purpose of this paper is to explore the problem of group process in online learning, to elaborate a deeper understanding of the role of process in fostering deep learning, and to discuss pedagogical strategies that make more visible unconscious emotional processes and dynamics associated with these deeper forms of adult learning.Item Lost In Familiar Places: The Struggle For Voice And Belonging In Online Adult Learning Groups(Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, and Community Education, 2003) Smith, Regina O.; Dirkx, John M.Many adults express a preference for learning in small groups but often find their group experiences frustrating and dissatisfying. This tension is increasingly evident in online learning, as collaborative methods become more popular within these environments. The purpose of this study was to develop a better understanding of the emotional dynamics and processes reflected in this tension within online collaborative environments. Our findings suggest that online learning groups display behaviors that reflect two powerful, alternating, cyclical fears. On the one hand, the groups act as if they perceive a definite threat to individual identity. Such actions, however, seem to precipitate a corresponding fear of alienation and disconnectedness among group members. Getting stuck in this cycle of alternating fears may account for the lingering dissatisfaction adults have with group learning.