Our Issue

A common issue in both our places of work is how we can encourage learners to become more engaged in the online learning environments we design.  We were challenged with how to encourage and sustain a community of practice where learners can support each other and share knowledge across their respective fields, thereby providing a heightened level of engagement as well as encouraging intellectual risk-taking amongst the group. In Steve’s situation, the issue is taking the theory portion of a carpentry apprenticeship course online.  Andrea’s current issue is training franchisees on a new computer software program that will run their business in an online environment. In both cases, the learners were generally not tech-savvy, were resistant to change, were unwilling to share knowledge to benefit the group, and seemed very reluctant to ask questions for fear of others perceptions of them.

Our Method

As we embarked on our design challenge using the Stanford University Institute of Design’s (2016) design thinking process our area of focus was to create a space in which the learners were engaged in the learning process; where they were comfortable to share knowledge in this online space; where they felt supported by the instructor and other learners; and to develop a real sense of community in the online environment. We looked at the issues through the lens of the learner and dug deep into some of the uncomfortable feelings that arose for the learner in these online settings. Rather than trying to solve the ways in which our courses were designed, we thought more about how we could train differently to encourage participants to be more engaged in the learning. “There is always more than one explanation for a wicked problem, with the appropriateness of the explanation depending greatly on the individual perspective of the designer” (Crichton, S. & Carter, D., 2017, p.25).

Our Solutions

Working in pairs for this design challenge allowed us to look at the issue from two different perspectives.  After we reflected on our positions, we compiled our respective resolutions and negotiated to arrive at the following solutions:

1. Foster a Community of Practice – Introduce a live synchronized icebreaker session at the outset of the course to make students feel comfortable with each other and with the instructor.
2. Utilization of Case Studies – All course materials would be based on a real-life situation; encouraging engagement and sharing of professional knowledge.
   • Steve-Online course structured around the building of a new house
   • Andrea-Online training structured around the opening of a business
3. Incorporate Storytelling – Share awkward situations during every major phase of the case study/course. Instructor shares an embarrassing moment/mistake related to that particular phase of the course.  Encourage participants to tell their stories to the group.
4. Encourage Collaboration –  Have participants work through solutions sharing challenge that mimics a real-life scenario. As a group, try to discuss their shared life experiences while encouraging them to draw on their intellect to contribute to the solution (maybe use Design Thinking process as a way to work through the problem).

Conclusion

Creating a community of practice draws on Garrison and Vaughan’s community of inquiry; creating a solution sharing challenge aligns with problem-based learning; and having participants share their stories based on their experiences in the field takes a constructivist approach to teaching and learning (Thomas, 2010).  We also tried to encourage a growth mindset in our learners by having them embrace our solutions sharing challenges, having them take inspiration by others life experiences, and having them recognize that there is a direct correlation between hard work in the online learning environment and success both in school/training and in their workplace (Crichton & Carter, 2017).

References

Crichton, S. & Carter, D. (2017). Taking making into classrooms toolkit. Open School/ITA.

Stanford University Institute of Design. (2016). A virtual crash course in design thinking.

Thomas, P. Y. (2010). Learning and instructional systems design. Towards developing a web-based blended learning environment at the University of Botswana. (Doctoral dissertation).