ABSTRACT

Online learning was initially introduced to support face-to-face learning, but now represents a dominant pedagogical approach in Higher Education. The rapid shift from face-to-face learning to online platforms has left many academics feeling pedagogically unprepared. In this research, we initially sought to understand and enhance online student engagement in three undergraduate teacher education courses through the mapping of ‘pedagogical touchpoints’ – encounters students had with their online learning environment – to better understand their needs, preferences and behaviours as online learners, with a focus on recognising what students valued and identified as ‘engaging’. While seeking insight into the student experience through a range of data, including course feedback, survey data, interviews and researcher critical reflections, we noted that they approached their studies with a diverse range of needs and preferences for engaging in online learning, and that some aspects that were valued most highly were not necessarily identifiable or ‘measurable’, but represented less definable, but importantly – engaging qualities that students highly valued. These ‘unmeasurable’ elements were found to be related to the exercising of pedagogical care, not just in interactions between teacher and students, but an overall online pedagogy of care that permeated all aspects of course design and delivery. The research thus contributes an important insight into effective and engaging online pedagogy that forefronts the value of pedagogical care, and what this may look like when facilitating online learning.

摘要

在线学习最初是为了支持面对面学习而​​引入的，但现在代表了高等教育中占主导地位的教学方法。从面对面学习到在线平台的快速转变让许多学者感到在教学上毫无准备。在这项研究中，我们最初试图通过映射“教学接触点”（学生与在线学习环境的接触）来了解和提高在线学生对三门本科教师教育课程的参与度，以更好地了解他们作为在线学习者的需求、偏好和行为，重点是识别学生重视和确定为“参与”的内容。在通过一系列数据（包括课程反馈、调查数据、访谈和研究人员的批判性反思）寻求洞察学生体验的同时，我们注意到，他们在进行学习时对参与在线学习有不同的需求和偏好，并且一些最受重视的方面不一定是可识别或“可衡量的”，而是代表不太可定义，但重要的是 - 吸引人的品质学生高度评价。这些“不可衡量的”元素被发现与教学关怀的实施有关，不仅在师生之间的互动中，而且在贯穿课程设计和交付的各个方面的整体在线关怀教学法中。因此，该研究为有效和引人入胜的在线教学法提供了重要的见解，该教学法突出了教学护理的价值，以及在促进在线学习时可能会是什么样子。