Learning among adults in online courses.
Published: 2004
Language: eng
Number of pages: 133
Subjects: Computer-assisted instruction -- Ontario.; Teachers -- Training of -- Ontario.; Computer conferencing in education -- Ontario.
Description: Both courses were similar in the frequency and distribution of interactions, but individual learners displayed distinct patterns in the time and organization of interactions. In responding to the instructor, learners described their current understandings, provided examples of applications to classrooms or schools, and suggested implications for practice. Many of the responses of learners to other learners involved connecting with others' belief statements and supporting or challenging those beliefs through examples of applications in classrooms or schools from their own experiences. Those interactions that featured improvable ideas, epistemic agency and diversity of ideas supported progressive discourse.This study examined learning among adults taking research-based professional development online courses. Individual learners' activities were chronicled as learning pathways, captured in course transcripts. The learners within a course interacted by reading and/or responding to each others' postings. A subset of those interactions can be characterized as progressive discourse, resulting in learning.The data were drawn from the transcripts of two computer-mediated courses for teachers. Patterns of course activity across all learners were examined. In addition, the learning pathways, interaction patterns, and the content and nature of the discourse were investigated for several students from each course.
Notes: Adviser:  Ruth Childs.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Toronto, 2004.

Electronic version licensed for access by U. of T. users.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 65-05, Section: A, page: 1624.