Improving Online Interactivity and Learning: A Constructivist Approach (2003)

Abstract This article discusses how I used constructivist theory to teach the online graduate Research Methods In Education course. Because interactivity has been reported as a major issue in most online courses, I focused more on strategies of using constructivist theory to enhance interactivity, knowledge sharing, and building in the online course. These strategies included (1) individual weekly essay assignments/peer evaluations and (2) group projects, discussions, and collaborations via the bulletin board on WebCT. The results of the students' positive learning performances and evaluations indicate that online constructivist strategies will have significant implications for future online courses. Introduction Online education is increasing rapidly at all levels of education worldwide (Kearsley, 2000). Much research on online education has accumulated in recent literature. However, much current research has reported that online interactivity among students and teachers, as well as among students themselves has been reported as a major issue in most online courses (Arsham, 2002; Macdonald, 2001; Muirhead, 2001). According to recent research, constructivist theory, which proposed that learners could learn actively and construct new knowledge based on their prior knowledge, has been reported to be useful for improving interactivity in online learning (Rudestam & Schoenholtz-Read, 2002). According to Bruning, Schraw, and Ronning (1999), most constructivists agree on these four essential characteristics which influence learning: (1) learners construct their own learning, (2) new learning depends on current understanding, (3) learning is facilitated by social interaction, and (4) meaningful learning occurs within authentic learning tasks. Based on my recent online teaching experience, this article discusses how I used constructivist theory to teach the graduate Research Methods In Education course online. In this article, I focus more on strategies of using constructivist theory to enhance interactivity, knowledge sharing, and building in that online course. The article includes the following four major components: (1) a brief introduction of the course studied; (2) a brief discussion of the individualized online instructional and learning strategies; (3) a focus on constructivist online instructional and learning strategies; and (4) students' major outcomes in the course. An Introduction Of The Course Studied As one regular course assignment, in spite of no related institutional training or external incentives for an online course, I was asked to teach the graduate Research Methods In Education course online in fall 2001. Based on constructivist theory and my recent research experiences in distance education, I successfully delivered the course to 28 students online. Prior to this, I taught the same course in the traditional face-to-face environment. Based on my previous experience of teaching the course in the traditional classrooms, I retooled the course content and delivery strategies before the online delivery of the course. Before the start of the semester, I designed a very detailed syllabus for the course including all assignments' guidelines, due dates and my virtual office hours. In order to reduce learner's learning anxiety and to maximize learning efficiency, two face-to-face on-campus orientations were conducted in the first two weeks of fall 2001. During those two orientations, each student completed a series of the following tasks: introduced himself/herself to the class and exchanged contact information; learned how to use the common functions of the course delivery software-WebCT; learned how to use the library resources for the course, such as searching for research articles in online databases and how to request interlibrary loan services; selected group members (3-member group) based on the mutual interest and experiences for a group project; and had photos taken. …