Browsing by Author "Johnson, Carol"

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    Developing a Teaching Framework for Online Music Courses
    (2016) Johnson, Carol; Lock, Jennifer; Donlevy, J. Kent; Welling, Joelle
    Post-secondary music courses are being offered in an online learning format at an exponential rate of increase (Johnson & Hawley, in press). The purpose of this multiple case study was to develop a teaching framework that assists music faculty members in transitioning from traditional face-to-face classroom teaching to teaching in the online environment. The three case studies included: 1) hybrid online courses; 2) a fully online course focused on social constructivist learning and; 3) fully online courses with limited student interaction. Case data was collected from 11 faculty and 4 student interviews, 16 online student surveys, and 2 faculty focus group discussions between November 2014 and November 2015. First Cycle and Second Cycle data coding and analyses (Saldaña, 2013) revealed four essential elements for online music courses: 1) online music pedagogy (e.g., teaching philosophies, authentic music learning, openness to online music learning, institutional support, and learning approaches); 2) course design (e.g., planning, organization, multimedia use, and course design process); 3) assessment (e.g., meaningful opportunities to demonstrate music learning), and 4) communication (e.g., methods for exploring subject content and technology tools). The data collected from Community of Inquiry student surveys (Arbaugh et al., 2008) and student interviews indicated that the incorporation of these components assisted learning. The resulting teaching framework was developed from both literature and findings from the case studies. It incorporates evidenced components (course design, assessment, and communication) with online pedagogy incorporated in its iterative development process. This framework was presented to and subsequently validated by the faculty who participated in the study. The findings and implications of this study contribute relevant evidence about current online music learning and teaching practices. Overall, constructivist and social constructivist learning approaches to course design were found assistive to providing students with interactive learning in the online environment. The implications of this study are that online music faculty require ongoing active participation in sustainable workshops as well as mentoring, and that administrators choosing new online music faculty members should seek those who have both an openness for online teaching and past experience in teaching using innovative technology.
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    Developing teaching presence in online learning through shared stakeholder responsibility
    (2015-05-12) Altowairiki, Noha; Johnson, Carol
    Online learning is a contemporary learning environment common in post-secondary education (Allen & Seaman, 2013). There are various components that contribute to successful online learning stakeholders. From the Community of Inquiry framework, there are three important considerations for developing effective online learning environments: cognitive presence, social presence and teaching presence. One of the three presences, teaching presence is “thoughtful, focused and attentive” (Garrison, Cleveland-Innes & Fung, 2010, p. 32) and responsible for the balance of student learning needs through developing and maintaining social and cognitive processes (Garrison, 2011). As identified by Garrison (2011), “teaching presence represents perhaps a greater challenge in an e-learning environment” (Garrison, 2011, p. 25). Qualitative evidence suggests that teaching presence supports learner sense of community through meaningful participation, increases learner satisfaction through careful design of the learning experiences, and maintains the development of cognitive and social processing (Szeto, 2015). Therefore, to better enable instructor understanding of teaching presence, this poster presentation outlines the critical development process for creating effective teaching presence in the online learning environment. Specifically, we visually describe and outline four elements: preparing the stakeholders, designing the facilitation, implementing the facilitation and evaluating the facilitation. Together these components address the innovative learning practices necessary for developing teaching presence in the online learning environment through shared stakeholder responsibility.
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    It's Not Just a Book Club: A Novel Approach to Prepare Researchers for Practice
    (University of Calgary, 2015-06) da Rosa dos Santos, Luciano; Altowairiki, Noha; Johnson, Carol; Liu, Yang (Flora); Hill, Laurie; Lock, Jennifer; Werklund School of Education
    A diverse group of researchers faced the challenge of developing practical proficiency in using Universal Design for Learning (UDL). In order to address the problem, the group initiated a book club strategy to develop a common understanding of principles of UDL. Their book club supported collaborative and reflective discussions, which informed their practice. In this paper, we share our lived experiences with book club as a professional learning strategy. Out of this experience, three recommendations are offered: intentional selection of the book, shared facilitation in support of a community of practice, and fostering collaborative professional learning.
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    Moving Toward a Universal Design for Learning Mindset: A Case Study Transforming a Pre-Service Teacher Field
    (2015-05-13) Altowairiki, Noha; Johnson, Carol; Liu, Yang (Flora); da Rosa dos Santos, Luciano; Hill, Laurie; Lock, Jennifer
    Contemporary learning in higher education embraces an array of instructional strategies and approaches, including online and blended learning. Blended learning involves between 30-79 percent of the class occurring in an online environment (Allen & Seaman, 2013). As we design and develop online and blended learning environments, consideration needs to be given to the three principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL): 1) “provide multiple means of engagement”; 2) “multiple means of representation”; and 3) “provide multiple means of action and expression” (p. 89). The integration of UDL principles in learning helps to facilitate motivation, persistence, self-regulation, personalization of learning, and learning community participation (Meyer et al., 2014). In this interactive session, we will share a UDL approach that conceptualized a framework for planning, implementing, and assessing a University of Calgary blended learning approach used for a pre-service teacher education field experience course. The participants of the session will engage in a discussion focused on the following questions: 1) What factors influence the shift of using UDL principles in designing online and blended learning; and 2) What key strategies support the implementation of UDL principles in online and blended learning environments (i.e., design, develop, and evaluate)? The aim of this session is to examine of how principles of UDL enhance learning for all students in online and blended environments.