Category: LRNT 622

Appreciative Inquiry

Appreciative Inquiry is a theory and a model which promotes researching what is working the best in order to collectively create what could be even better (Bushe, 2013). Rather than try and fix things and focus on problem solving, the idea is to look in the direction you want to go, passionately seeking good things to forge a path of desirable evolution.

Conceptual Metaphor

According to Conceptual Metaphor theory, learning takes place from the transplanting of existing conceptions into new contexts (Sfard, 1998).

My Thoughts and Questions

All along throughout the odyssey of MALAT, I thought I would approach my topic based on the tried, tested and true Cognitive Load and Engagement theories. More recently I feel drawn to the other two listed above which are not as commonly tied to research in the field of online learning… but perhaps I could do the tying! What do you think? Would this be a lofty exercise of futility and frustration, or a worthy ambition to conquer for glory?

Since my research is focused on finding good ways to deliver digital learning, I will be appreciatively inquiring whether or not I name it as my overarching theoretical framework. Does it therefore belong in my methods section instead?

 

How would I like to share my graduate work? Thinking about this from the start might help shape my final research project more clearly and effectively.

The most obvious place to disseminate my research paper is amongst the examiners who will judge my work in order for me to obtain a Master’s degree. That is truthfully the only real purpose of someone like me disseminating thousands of my words in the form of a serious research paper devoid of colourful language and metaphors.

In my rich imaginary life, I might create a delusional fantasy about a brilliant end product, where prestigious journals are breaking down my door for the opportunity to showcase the genius of my secondary research.

I need not play make-believe, however, about what the world can gain from the rhizomatic effect of my research: I disseminate the knowledge into my own brain, and it travels further as I disseminate an array of wisely designed courses to future beneficiaries. These learners and organizations are graced by effective online educations, and the bountiful harvest is reaped by many. None of this would be nearly as awesome without the hard-toiled research by Angie Maksymetz.

The end goal is to collect, shape, and package masterful knowledge into a research paper, and this knowledge will grow and flourish, informing the hands-on building of dreamy modules of nutritious, delicious learning catered by me. This is my stone tossed into the lake, rippling outwards and onwards, advancing the evolution of digital learning: to do right by subsequent generations, and to make education voraciously appetizing.