The experience of teachers in distributed learning environments : implications for teaching practice
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Issue Date
2012-08-09
Editor
Authors
Lemieux, Kimberly
License
Subject
asynchronous DL models
core reflective practice
distributed learning
e-learning
K-12 online learning
online teaching and learning
core reflective practice
distributed learning
e-learning
K-12 online learning
online teaching and learning
Abstract
This qualitative study used a narrative inquiry approach to conduct in-depth interviews of eight
distributed learning educators who designed and offered online English courses in British
Columbia during the 2011/12 school year. There were three research questions: (1) How do
teachers describe their professional experiences of teaching in a full time online environment?
(2) What are the enablers and inhibitors for online teacher development? (3) Do teachers feel
their teaching practice has changed over their career as online educators?
Findings were examined through the lens of Korthagen’s (2004) Onion Model. Six
themes that comprised this model, provided a framework for data analysis and insight into the
process by which teachers made sense of their lived experience. The findings revealed that
online educators valued their online experience because it removed the constraints of a regular
classroom. They expressed frustration with some aspects of the current model of online
education in BC because it prevented them from engaging in synchronous, highly connective
learning projects with their students. Recognition of the fact that online educators work in a
different milieu with a different set of environmental pressures is necessary to ensure the success
of distributed learning in BC.