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Building an Adult Learning Community While Converting an In-Person Degree Program to an Online Format: A Case Study in Strategies and Lessons Learned

Building an Adult Learning Community While Converting an In-Person Degree Program to an Online Format: A Case Study in Strategies and Lessons Learned

Carrie Grimes (Vanderbilt University, USA) and Whitney Walters-Sachs (Vanderbilt University, USA)
Copyright: © 2024 |Pages: 39
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-8908-6.ch002
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Abstract

This case study examines the transition of a residential professional graduate degree program in educational leadership at a major research university to an online learning model. The case incorporates the observations and field notes of the program director and the inaugural online course instructor, along with survey data collected from students, investigating the opportunities and challenges of converting an established, community-rich, in-person professional degree program to an online model, with a focus on maintaining a strong sense of community. The theoretical framework and relevant scholarship are initially considered, followed by the case. Specific instructional strategies for building a sense of community and the affiliated evidence of the case are also discussed. The chapter concludes with key recommendations for how instructors and university program administrators can partner to design effective environments that foster engagement and meaningful learning experiences for online professional graduate students, contributing to long-term benefits for the institution.
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Theoretical Framework: Community Of Inquiry Theory

This study is grounded in a constructivist perspective in which learning is viewed as an active, social enterprise of ongoing, collective meaning-making (Bada & Olusegun, 2015; Tam, 2000). The community of inquiry theoretical framework focuses on the intentional development of a learning community. This kind of learning community is characterized as a group of individuals who engage in collaborative critical discourse and reflective practices with the aim of constructing personal meaning and confirming mutual understanding (Garrison et al., 2001). This framework revolves around intentionally cultivating three interdependent presences—social, cognitive, and teaching—which are in an ongoing state of interaction that contributes to creating deep and meaningful learning experiences.

Figure 1.

Conceptual frame of community of inquiry theory

978-1-6684-8908-6.ch002.f01
Note: Conceptual Frame of Community of Inquiry Theory. Garrison et al., 2001. Reprinted with permission from the Community of Inquiry website and licensed under the CC-BY-SA International 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).

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