Online Education as an Opportunity Equalizer: The Changing Canvas of Online Education

Black, Debra; Bissessar, Charmaine; Boolaky, Mehraz

doi:10.1007/s10780-019-09358-0

Cited by 23 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 24 publications

(18 reference statements)

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“…With the increasing number of university courses moving to an online environment, one question that arises is whether gender bias becomes less predominant in a distributed environment. Online higher education has been promoted as an equalizer that breaks down the access barrier, and not only provides access for students from diverse cultures, but from diverse situations and economies all over the world (Black, Bissessar, & Boolaky, 2019). Cohen and Ellis, in 2008, posited that asynchronous learning networks (ALN) offered the potential to create a gender neutral communication environment.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Bias and Trends in Student Evaluations in Online Higher Education Settings

Marcham¹,

Ade²,

Patti³

et al. 2020

CARI

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End-of course evaluations have been frequently used to assess teaching effectiveness and influence critical decisions about faculty contract renewal, future course assignment, tenure and promotion in higher education. This quantitative study sought to determine whether there are differences in student perceptions of faculty performance based on gender or faculty status (full-time vs. adjunct) in an online higher education environment. It also sought to answer these questions: 1) Do adjunct faculty tend to grade more leniently than full time faculty, and as such, do adjunct faculty receive higher evaluation ratings than full time faculty, who may be more stringent in grading? 2) Do student evaluation scores differ depending on the course being evaluated? 3) Does gender or faculty status impact student response rates? Survey responses from a total of 683 sections associated with 24 courses were analyzed from the March 2018 to January 2019 timeframe. Due to the broad range of class sizes and differences between faculty characteristics, the variances for each comparison sample were observed to be significantly different using Levene's test for equal variances. Thus, the Mann-Whitney test for two variables and the Kruskal-Wallis test for evaluation of significant difference between more than two variables were used on the data. While other literature and personal anecdotes may indicate that gender bias exists, this study did not indicate that gender bias is occurring in online higher education courses taught for the time period studied, suggesting gender neutrality.

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confidence: 99%

Bias and Trends in Student Evaluations in Online Higher Education Settings

Marcham¹,

Ade²,

Patti³

et al. 2020

CARI

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“…These benefits of higher education forming the whole person align to the very outcomes sought by business and industry. World-renowned consultancies such as Deloitte and Accenture expound upon the need for social skills coupled with critical thinking and problem solving in employees (Black et al, 2019). At the same time, they recognise the expectations of the millennial generation for a holistic work experience.…”

Section: Recent Literature Addressing Psycap and Student Success In Umentioning

confidence: 99%

The missing HEROs: the absence of, and need for, PsyCap research of online university students

Black

Bissessar

Boolaky

2020

Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning

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“…Often, community leaders and even clinical staff have a more limited access to travel and conferences. Technology allowed us to foster collaborations between AIDS leaders, frontline staff and emerging researchers; online learning can be an equalizing agent [45].…”

Section: Learning To Experience Community-based Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Universities without Walls: A Blended Delivery Approach to Training the Next Generation of HIV Researchers in Canada

Ibáñez-Carrasco

Worthington

Rourke

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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(1) Background: Although HIV has not diminished in importance in Canada, the field of HIV research remains small, and the graduate students who decide to pursue careers within it feel isolated and uncertain about their professional skills and opportunities. Universities Without Walls (UWW) was created in 2009 to help redress these shortcomings. This paper presents a case study of UWW, a non-credit training program for emerging HIV researchers in Canada. In particular, we focus on the possibilities of experiential learning via online and blended delivery. UWW uses both online and in-person teaching modalities to teach engaged scholarship, interdisciplinarity, community-based research (CBR), intervention research, and ethics. (2) Methods: Using a case study, we elucidated the research question: “What are the factors that make Universities Without Walls a viable training environment in the contemporary HIV/AIDS field?” Focus groups were conducted with 13 UWW key stakeholders in 2012 during a program mid-point evaluation; in 2014, telephone or in-person interviews with the three directors were conducted by a UWW fellow (the 4th author of this paper), and in 2019 the authors analyzed the information and anecdotal evidence, which had been incorporated as thick description. In addition, fellows’ self-assessments via portfolio and results from formal learning assessments were included. We also thematically analyzed 65 student self-reports (2009–2015). (3) Results and Discussion: Each UWW cohort lasted 9 months to one year and was comprised of: a) sustained mentorship from the co-directors (e.g., phone conversations, assistance with grant writing, letters of reference, etc.); b) fortnightly online webinars that aim to develop fellows’ knowledge of community-based research (CBR), research ethics, intervention research, and interdisciplinary research; c) community service learning in the form of a “field mentoring placement”; d) face-to-face engagement with fellows and mentors, most notably at the week-long culminating learning institute; e) a stipend for fellows to carry out their training activities. The UWW pedagogical framework features experiential learning, critical pedagogy, and heutagogy made manifest in the field mentoring placements (community service learning), mentorship mediated by technologies, and in-person learning institutes. Our analysis showed that experiential learning was imparted by UWW’s a) transparency about its “implicit curriculum”, the attitudes, values, character, and professional identity imparted in the program as well as the overarching programmatic elements, such as commitment to diversity, the inclusion of those with lived experience, the flexible admissions policies and procedures, interdisciplinary faculty, flexible team, administrative structure, and valuing of technology in conducting research, learning, and teaching; b) curriculum co-designing and co-teaching, and c) sustaining a community of practice. The main results reported in our case study included significant “soft outcomes” for UWW fellows, such as developing a “social presence” as a precursor to lasting professional connections; learning to experience community-based research, intersectionality, and interdisciplinarity by interacting online with persons living with HIV, leaders in the field, and a variety of stakeholders (including nonprofit staff and policymakers). (4) Limitations: While fellows’ self-evaluation data were collected by an independent assessor and anonymized to the extent this was possible, the co-authors inevitably bring their preconceptions and positive biases to UWW’s assessment. As UWW was developed to function outside of traditional academic structures, it is unlikely that the UWW program could be transferred to a post-secondary environment in its entirety. UWW was also built for the socio-political environment of HIV health research. (5) Conclusions: The experiences of those involved with UWW demonstrate that explicit curricular components—such as interdisciplinarity, community-based research, intervention research, and applied ethics—can be learned through a blended delivery when combined with opportunities to apply the knowledge in ways, such as a field mentoring placement and a learning institute. Related to this outcome, our case study describes that implicit curricular components in the formation of a professional—the sense of self in the field as a researcher, student, and community member—can also be delivered through a blended model. However, the tools and activities need to be tailored to each student for their context, while pushing their disciplinarian and professional boundaries.

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Online Education as an Opportunity Equalizer: The Changing Canvas of Online Education

Cited by 23 publications

References 24 publications

Bias and Trends in Student Evaluations in Online Higher Education Settings

Bias and Trends in Student Evaluations in Online Higher Education Settings

The missing HEROs: the absence of, and need for, PsyCap research of online university students

Universities without Walls: A Blended Delivery Approach to Training the Next Generation of HIV Researchers in Canada

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