The issue that I would like to focus on for an actual mixed methods study is quality in online learning environments used in higher education. I chose this topic for several reasons. First, online education is no longer a trend in U.S. higher education. With 65% of graduate programs in the U.S. offering online options and 56% of U.S. universities and colleges indicating online education is a critical long-term strategy (Allen & Seaman, 2005), online education plays a formidable role in U.S. higher education today. It is therefore likely that educators who offer only traditional approaches will come face to face with decisions about offering online options, joining the ranks of online educators who provided online learning experiences to the 2.35 million online students enrolled in 2004 (Allen & Seaman, 2005). I believe that faculty who have the knowledge and experience in developing online learning environments that result in successful student learning need to take the lead in not only researching the use of online learning environments but also in educating colleagues in best practices of online course design and instruction.
Second, students are the driving force behind this increase use of online and many are entering the higher education scene as digital natives. Through their early experiences with various online technology tools, digital natives have the understanding about how these tools impact their life and research suggests that they have developed different thinking patterns. Are the university digital immigrants, faculty who generally create and instruct online courses, building online learning environments that challenge the digital native? Higher education institutes risk declining enrollment in online courses should students perceive online courses as not meeting learning needs.
Third, there is a concern about the quality of online learning currently offered in higher education. Research suggests that these online learning environments are simply frameworks to impart inert knowledge rather than learning and active knowledge (Herrington, Reeves, & Oliver, 2005). This concern necessitates an investigation of available online learning environments and the impact of design on the learning experience of students.
Finally, in my experience as an online instructor and a PhD. student, I have had conversations with students who have expressed negative comments specifically related to their learning experiences within the course management system (CMS) framework (i.e. Blackboard and WebCT). Through informal conversation, I have detected a frustration with online learning environments that do not provide meaningful experiences. It is my belief that CMS frameworks are not promoting active knowledge and are simply used as a means for students to acquire information.
To date much of the research has been on how to design online courses, online learner characteristics, student perspectives about the benefits and challenges of online learning, and faculty perspectives about the benefits and challenges of teaching in online environments. Most online learning environments found in higher education use CMS as the design framework. CMS frameworks offer the promise that any faculty member or adjunct can upload their courses to the Web and in a few steps, have a ready- to- use online course. Recent research indicates that most uses of CMS frameworks result in objectivist teaching behaviors rather than constructivist teaching behaviors. I see the difference as imparting information rather than constructing and applying knowledge and therefore, an online course that allows students to apply what they are learning is of higher quality in terms of learning.
Through this study I hope to better understand how course management systems are used in higher education and how well the ‘how to’ literature on online course design is employed. I would like to determine if the tools afforded by CMS frameworks are used or can be used to their full potential to provide high quality learning and knowledge building/applying. Through my research, I would like to influence and encourage faculty to incorporate online coursework by attending to constructivist pedagogies and building active knowledge or to investigate other alternatives which may not constrain their teaching. Research of technology issues has recently come under scrutiny for its lack of scientifically based inquiry. Schrum, Thompson, Sprague, Maddux, McAnear, Bell, & Bull (2005) have called upon us to “carry out research that is needed, relevant, rigorous, and influential in the formulation of educational policies” (p. 206). Through this research I hope to produce knowledge that has been developed through rigorous methods and has an impact on online educational practices by taking an in-depth look at how CMS impact student learning.
There are several questions I have about the issue of quality in online learning environments, specifically in those that utilize course management systems at this University as a full online course or part of a hybrid program. Excluded from this study might be cases where CMSs are used to simply to organize course materials. How are CMSs used across the University? How do these courses measure up in terms of best practices in design and online teaching as reflected in the literature? Do CMS tools support constructivist practice? What are student perspectives regarding their learning in online courses designed in CMSs? What are student perceptions about their development and application of knowledge in CMSs? Is there a relationship between student perceptions of quality of learning and the type of learning offered through online CMS courses, i.e. do students distinguish objectivist learning from constructivist learning?
These questions are interesting to me because as an advocate of online learning, I wish to see these environments succeed. As a faculty member I wish to offer students the best possible online learning experiences. With these questions, I hope to paint a picture of the current state of CMS use at this University and the impact of CMS use on student learning. At a time when budgets are strained, even CMSs need to prove their worth.
I see mixed methods as a useful strategy in this study because this issue has layers of complexity that involve the instructor and/or course designer, student, and course materials. While I am interested in the perspectives that students have constructed about their learning, I also need to be aware of other plausible explanations and the validity threats. Using a mix of methods may help me to address these issues. I envision the use of observations, interviews, surveys, student course evaluations, student grades, and some kind of course quality evaluation. I wish not only to show associations between variables, I also would like to use a realistic approach with qualitative methods to “treat causal processes as real events” (Maxwell, n.d.) and directly observe these processes by looking at course discussion boards and student interactions and understandings. I will need to resolve conflicts with constructivist perspectives and realist perspectives.
I believe that my stance also has a hint of ideologically oriented inquiry in that I believe there is a problem in the way students are instructed in online environments and faculty have a responsibility to fully understand the environment in which they design and teach courses. Faculty with little to no education in designing and teaching in online environments have been thrown a technology tool with a promise that it will instantly bring to life a viable option to face to face instruction. The University has a duty to ensure appropriate support to faculty in providing high quality online education. Students have no power or voice in determining what kind of online environment or pedagogy is used in the design. I believe that most students are not aware of how their learning is different in an objectivist environment and a constructivist environment, unless they have prior experience with each. I am advocating a change in which online learning is used in higher education and for faculty to take the responsibility for initiating best practices.
The challenges I see in carrying out this research is possibly the scope of the project. Collecting and analyzing a multiple mix of data can be a challenge for a single researcher.
Obtaining access to some of the data such as course evaluations and student grades may be problematic. I also see the need to identify and ‘come clean’ about my biases as an online advocate but when researching for change, I think this is a very important aspect of the research. I also see a challenge in using multiple methods as a first time large research approach. Balancing, identifying, and understanding the complementary strengths and non-overlapping weaknesses of each method used maybe be a challenge for a novice researcher. I do not feel confident in how to integrate the methods in terms of analyses and validity issues at this time but I do know that this situation can be remedied by more in-depth study and practice.
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