Large Online First Year Learning and Teaching: the Lived Experience of Developing a Student-Centred Continual Learning Practice

This research presents an experience of post-digital learning of biotechnology in rural areas in Colombia by implementing a massive open online course (MOOC) for biotechnology education called Open Biotec. The objective was to improve Colombian rural development by creating learning communities around five topics: waste management, environmental biotechnology, bioprocesses, alternative energies, and bio-entrepreneurship. The study utilized various methods, including a socioeconomic diagnosis of a subregion of the department of Antioquia, Colombia, and the creation of MOOCs using the Action Research methodology. The pilot test of the training route in biotechnology involved the progressive development of the MOOC courses that comprise it. Around 918 students from rural areas were trained, and statistical analysis showed that the average grade of the students increased significantly from 6.13 to 7.53 and the median from 6.15 to 8.00. The study results demonstrate how the learning experience designed in the Open Biotec MOOC increases the degree of knowledge of students in this field of biotechnology, offering an opportunity to establish sustainable learning communities with participation and collaborative action mediated by virtual tools. The study concludes that rural education in Colombia could be strengthened with a training strategy for rural communities supported by MOOCs focused on the responsible use of local biodiversity from a biotechnological perspective.

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Between Two Crises

O'Brien

2021

Handbook of Research on the Global Empowerment of Educators and Student Learning Through Action Research

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The purpose of this chapter was to critically examine the reconstruction of professional identity between two crises: The Great Recession of 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. Using a critical participatory action research self-study design, the author deconstructs the transition from for-profit behavioral health care business leadership to adjunct professor. Data sources include U.S. government job classification profiles, syllabi from courses taught, and the university's corresponding student surveys to answer the primary research question: How can teaching action research contribute to the reshaping of professional identity? Data analysis revealed that iterative cycles of reflection and action in teaching action research supported the development of identity as an academic across time. The knowledge, skills, and abilities required for a career in business supported, and also interfered with, career transition. Lastly, the author understood that the problem of practice stemmed from lack of recognition of her own privilege.

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Large Online First Year Learning and Teaching: the Lived Experience of Developing a Student-Centred Continual Learning Practice

Cited by 4 publications

References 51 publications

Differences in Student Satisfaction in Online Learning and Remote Teaching Courses during the COVID-19 Adaptation Stage

Differences in Student Satisfaction in Online Learning and Remote Teaching Courses during the COVID-19 Adaptation Stage

Post-Digital Learning for Rural Development: A Case Study of Open Biotec MOOCs in Colombia

Between Two Crises

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