Hi there! A heartfelt welcome to chapter 4! This reflective chronicle focuses on constructivism, Online Collaboration Learning (OCL), and Communities of Inquiry (COI). Let’s dive in!
The image above is an excellent representation of constructivism! In the picture, there are construction workers and scaffolds that support both the building and the workers. These pictorial elements are quite important as they are symbolic of various aspects of constructivism. First, the construction workers are analogous to the learners in a distance learning environment. As can be seen in the photo, the workers are busy constructing a building. Similarly, learners under the constructivist vantage are considered to be constructers of their own knowledge. According to Kurt (2021), “students add (or build) their new experiences on top of their current foundation of understanding” (para. 2). Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, and John Dewey are a few of the associated theorists of this school of thought that viewed learners as active agents in the learning process. Moreover, the instructor plays a crucial role in this active process. In fact, educators are considered to be facilitators and guides that assist students in their construction process. This, is in fact, one of the major applications of the theory in distance education. In several online credit courses, instructors serve as facilitators guiding students throughout their learning journey as well as providing support throughout the process.
Interestingly, the construction process oftentimes involves scaffolding. In the initial photograph, the scaffolding provides support to the construction workers. Having already established that the construction workers represent learners, it is worth noting that the scaffold in the image above depicts and represent instructors or educators. The scaffolds are also analogous to Vygotsky’s scaffolding postulation. In one of the discussion boards, I learnt that it is simply an instructional method where students receive assistance to master something that they could not have mastered on their own. Vygotsky coined this as the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Prior to the discussions in the threads, I must admit that I was confused and struggled to understand scaffolding and his ZPD concept. However, the image below was provided in our discussion board and it really helped me understand Vygotsky’s constructivist notion clearly.
This illustration coupled with explanations from my instructor and readings from Bates’ (2019) work are the sources that I would definitely refer to. Finally, as I progress through my studies and career, I will continue to think about how I can strike a balance between serving as a facilitator and teacher in my context.
It is now time for me to delve beneath the surface of Online Collaborative Learning (OCL) and Communities of Inquiry (COI). According to Bates (2019), the constructivist perspective led to the development of the initial theory i.e., OCL. Linda Harasim is the mastermind of its development. She emphasized “the role of peer discourse as key to learning and defines learning as intellectual convergence, achieved through three progressive stages of group discourse: Idea Generating, Idea Organizing and Intellectual Convergence” (Harasim, n.d., para. 5). To the contrary, the associated theorists of COI specifically Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2000) identified different elements of the COI model. The elements are social presence, teaching presence, and cognitive presence. I created the venn diagram below to help me better conceptualize the differences between OCL and COI.
As can be seen in the illustration above, discourse is at the center of them all! I have come to the understanding that it is in fact the commonality between the two of them. Giving students the opportunity to have peer discussions via forums in the online classroom is thence a great way to apply both theories (especially considering the fact that discourse is a commonality between them). Although they are different to a degree, they have similarities which can make them seem a bit confusing and difficult to tell apart in the distance education setting. However, for clarity purposes, I like to think of them as siblings; siblings that are characteristically similar but also possess individual differences. Moreover, like human siblings, they too have their strengths and weaknesses. Precisely, although they facilitate deep learning and allow students to network with each other, they require skilled instructors and a small class size.
Finally, the article I shared with my peers in the threads for our find and share activity as well as Bates (2019) work emphasized the need for distance educators to be culturally aware when applying OCL and COI. Although the article did not make reference of Harasim's OCL theory, there were still pertinent and useful data. For example, LEE and Osman’s (2021) research encouraged educators to take cultural influences into consideration in the Online Collaborative Learning environment. Similarly, Bates (2019) specifically noted that “teachers need to be aware that there are likely to be students in any class who may be struggling with language, cultural or epistemological issues, but in online classes, where students can come from anywhere, this is a particularly important issue”. In light of this, I want to continue to think about how I can make pedagogies and learning activities culturally relevant in the higher education setting.
Having completed module 3, I feel like my learning seed has blossomed into a beautiful seedling that is finally above ground. The more I delve beneath the surface of each theory, the stronger my roots become and the more I experience growth above ground and beneath the soil surface. I look forward to seeing my discoveries in module 4 and I can not wait to share them with you!
See you in chapter 5!
Yours truly,
Kind Krista
References
Bates, A. W. (2019). Chapter 01: Fundamental change in education, and Chapter 02: The nature of knowledge and the applications for teaching. In Teaching in a digital age. SFU Document Solutions Books. https://teachonline.ca/teaching-in-a-digital-age/teaching-in-a-digital-age-second-edition
Harasim, L. (n.d.). OCL theory. Linda Harasim Blog. Retrieved from https://www.lindaharasim.com/online-collaborative-learning/ocl-theory/
Kurt, S. (2021). Constructivist learning theory. Educational Technology. https://educationaltechnology.net/constructivist-learning-theory/
LEE, J., & Osman, G. (2021). Students’ experiences and perceptions of online collaborative learning in higher education of Korea and the UAE. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 22(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.17718/tojde.849870
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