Abstract
As a result of COVID-19, higher education instructors are exploring online solutions to support quality learning experiences for graduate students. The purpose of our paper is to report on our experiences developing and implementing our community-based approach in online mixed methods social science research course for graduate students at a southeastern university in the United States. Our study describes how traditional online technologies (discussion boards and videoconferencing) and an innovative technology (avatar-based meetings in a online world), were strategically employed to establish online relationships, support students’ mixed methods training, and connect course content and activities to students’ research interests. To study the implementation of these technologies, instructor field notes, an online survey taken by the graduate students, course materials (i.e., handouts, reflective memos), end of course evaluations, and selected electronic correspondence between instructors and students were collected and analyzed. Our findings suggest that our ‘mix’ of traditional and innovative strategies in the mixed methods course offered students opportunities to (1) engage the theory and practice of mixed methods, (2) receive meaningful feedback from the instructor and peers, (3) create videos, presentations, and diagrams, integrating mixed methods thinking, and (4) develop a mixed methods research proposal. In addition to reporting these study findings, our presentation will discuss the limitations of these online strategies, focusing on students’ apprehension towards the avatar-based meetings in a online world. We conclude outlining key lessons learned, which we believe contribute to the quality of online teaching and learning.
Presenters
Jori HallAssociate Professor, Lifelong Education, Administration, and Policy, University of Georgia, Georgia, United States Sara Campbell
Research Assistant, PhD Student, Department of Kinesiology, University of Georgia, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Considering Digital Pedagogies
KEYWORDS
ONLINE PEDAGOGY, MIXED METHODS, AVATAR-BASED VIRTUAL MEETINGS, HIGHER EDUCATION, SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH
