The 3-Rs – Expect to Engage with the Unexpected

This critical academic reflection leans somewhat towards the personal side, and opens with lighthearted discussion. This is due in part to the nature of the critical issue selected: engagement. 

“The long and winding road” (McCartney, 1970) seems to lead me back to the topic of engagement in online learning again and again, although I do not feel that I am left standing at the door alone and in despair, and not simply because misery loves company! The technology selected by Team 4 for our critical inquiry was a Community of Practice (CoP) (Chaddock et al., 2022), and implicit to this technology is a group of people with some common interest (Wenger, 2011). At the risk of beating a dead horse, academically speaking, I argue that on the threshold of engagement, all roads lead to Rome, and I stand in good company within a CoP as we develop the connections between participants: relationship!

My journey through our recent critical inquiry project within the Royal Roads Master of Arts in Learning and Technology program has been somewhat winding. I ventured into the topic of engagement in online learning (OL) with the intent of applying what I discovered towards my future research project focused on success in Grades Ten to Twelve online or hybrid learning. I soon discovered that definitions will be vital in order to limit the scope of my work, so I will include these in an upcoming final paper for LRNT 526. I also discovered that the topic of engagement has broad implications, not just for online learners, but for organisms in all circumstances. One stand-out from my research thus far is that the profile of professional and educational engagement has been elevated by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic; more specifically, disengagement and burnout are relevant global issues noted in many sectors such as education, health-care, and service work (Chan et al., 2021; Kordrostami, M., & Seitz, V. 2021; Roelen Corné, 2018; Sahi et al., 2022). I acknowledge the tension between the need to limit the scope of my research and the potential broad application of the topic of engagement, but I believe that there is a common denominator that will mitigate this: relationship!

I have sincerely enjoyed participating in recent group presentations by my colleagues demonstrating learning about critical issues as they related to their selected technologies and learning events. Some common threads that I note and appreciate carry human-centered themes such as equitable voice and access, safety, and the need to approach technology with a critical lens as we strive to ensure these are addressed. The effort and care invested in these projects was evident in the high-caliber presentations. In the complexity of such a multi-layered approach that includes content such as theories, a category of technology, a specific incidence of a learning event within said category, the process of executing a multi-faceted project with both individual and team products, and constructing understanding at both of these levels plus at the full cohort level, we ultimately see and experience the fruit of one vital underlying and overarching component: relationships!

References

Chaddock, B., Hadley, A., Miller, M., Vijayann, S. (2022). 526.1.3 – Team Blog. https://malat-webspace.royalroads.ca/rru0206/ 

Chan, S. L., Lin, C. C., Chau, P. H., Takemura, N., & Fung, J. T. C. (2021). Evaluating online learning engagement of nursing students. Nurse Education Today, 104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2021.104985

Kordrostami, M., & Seitz, V. (2021). Faculty online competence and student affective engagement in online learning. Marketing Education Review, Aug2021, P1. https://web.s.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=839076ae-d6eb-4d6c-8961-fb532295f543%40redis 

McCartney, P. (1970) The long and winding road [Song recorded by The Beatles]. On Let It Be. Apple

Roelen Corné A. M, van Hoffen, M. F. A., Waage, S., Schaufeli, W. B., Twisk, J. W. R., Bjorvatn, B., Moen, B. E., & Pallesen Ståle. (2018). Psychosocial work environment and mental health-related long-term sickness absence among nurses. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 91(2), 195–203. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-017-1268-1 

Sahi, G. K., Roy, S. K., & Singh, T. (2022). Fostering engagement among emotionally exhausted frontline employees in financial services sector. Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 32(3), 400–431. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-08-2021-0175

Wenger, E. (2011). Communities of practice: A brief introduction. https://scholar.google.ca/scholar?q=wenger+communities+of+practice+a+brief+introduction&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart